Alejandro Candela Open Water Swim

Event information

About the event

The Travesía a Nado Alejandro Candela is swum on Saturday 17 October 2026 in Costa Teguise, in the municipality of Teguise, and it is the fourth of the five stages of the XII Lanzarote Open Water Swimming Cup 2026. Club de Natación Nadamás runs it, inside the series coordinated by the island sports service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote.

It lands on a busy weekend. The next day, Sunday 18 October, the Papagayo Beaches Crossing is swum in Yaiza, at the opposite end of the island. Anyone thinking about doing both needs to allow almost an hour of driving between Costa Teguise and the south, plus two early starts back to back.

Course and distances

The exact distance for the 2026 swim has not been published. The Cup rules set a range per category and each club picks its course inside it:

• Benjamín: up to 400 m
• Alevín: up to 800 m
• Infantil, junior, senior and masters: between 1,200 and 3,000 m

As a reference from last year, the 2025 edition was swum at Playa de Las Cucharas with a main distance of around 2 km. That gives you the shape of the race, but it is not the confirmed 2026 course: that comes when Nadamás publishes the race circular.

Entry and prices

Entry fees are the ones used across the series: 20 euros for the senior category, 12 euros for alevín and 8 euros for benjamín. Each swim is capped at 450 places and entries close on the Wednesday of race week at 23:59 Canary Islands time. There are no refunds.

Two kit rules catch people out. The official cap is compulsory and it is the same one for all five swims in the series, so you keep it from race to race; a replacement costs 2 euros at the Ciudad Deportiva Lanzarote. The chip is compulsory too: failing to return it costs 20 euros and blocks your next entry.

Wetsuits and water temperature

Below 18 °C a wetsuit is compulsory. From 18 °C upwards it is banned, with referee discretion up to 20 °C. Outside the range of 16 to 31 °C the race is called off. In October the sea around Lanzarote normally sits comfortably above 18 °C, so swimming without a wetsuit is the likely scenario, but the call is made on the beach on the day. Officials come from the Canary Islands Swimming Federation.

How the Cup scoring works

To appear in the overall standings you have to swim at least 3 of the 5 races. The best 4 scores count, or the best 3 if one stage is cancelled. The first 16 in each category score points. The closing gala and trophy ceremony is scheduled for late November 2026.

Planning your race

Costa Teguise is a windy corner of the island. The trade wind usually builds through the afternoon and ruffles the surface, so the morning tends to give the easier water; check the forecast the day before and leave it there. The beach has facilities right on the sand and parking close by, which is not the case at most swims on the island, and the shoreline lets spectators follow the whole thing without moving.