After his first open water swim in Welland, Ian Feldman fell in love with the city's waterway.

So when the race director of a swim event that was held for 20 years retired without passing the series on, he grabbed it up.

Now, Feldman runs three swim events in the Rose City, using both the community boathouse on the north end of the recreational canal and Welland International Flatwater Centre on the south end.

"It's my favourite course," said the owner-operator of Canaqua Sports Open Water Swim Series.

Feldman started swimming at age eight and was a competitive swimmer.

"Swimming for me is my passion. The whole purpose of these races is to bring more people into the water year-round."

Swimmers of all calibres - beginners to elite - are welcome to jump in the water and compete in any of three races this season.

Race 1 takes place Sunday, June 9, at the community boathouse at 1087 Thorold Rd. E. It's a combination of two events, one of which is the SwimRun Challenge, first brought to the city last year.

In a previous interview, Feldman said SwimRun is a popular event in Europe and he brought it to Sudbury in 2017.

"It's nine kilometres it total and participants do it in multiple stages. They swim for one kilometre, run for three, swim for 500 metres, run for three more kilometres and finish off with a one-kilometre swim."

Welland's event will be a qualifying race for the Canadian Individual SwimRun Championships to be held in late July in Sudbury. The top two women and men from the Welland race will move on to the championships.

One of the unique things about the event is that swimming aids - hand paddles, fins, pull buoys, wetsuits - are permitted, but must be worn or carried during the run. Likewise, running shoes must be worn or carried during the swim.

June 9 will also see the first open swim of the season, with one-, three- and five-kilometre swims.

Feldman said the water is still fairly cold at that time of year and competitors will most likely be in wetsuits. Lifeguards, provided by the city, will be on the course.

"It's quiet out there . it's a beautiful location and meant to be more of a low-key event," he said of the season opener on the north end.

Sunday, Aug. 11, is the second event of the year in Welland on the flatwater centre course.

Feldman calls it the 'Cadillac' race of the series. It's the biggest event he runs and the venue has large grandstands friends and family can watch the race from, and open sightlines down the course.

"We get people from across Canada and a lot came up from the U.S. last year."

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More than 100 people - aged 12 and up - usually take the waters at the south end of the waterway.

"Last year we had one of the members of the Canadian Junior Open Water Swim Team, Alexander Axon, use the 10-kilometre race as a warmup for a race in Israel."

Feldman said he didn't know who Axon was when he took to the course but said there were swim coaches on hand who did.

"He just took off," said Feldman of the young swimmer.

Lifeguards will again be on hand for the swim, which has one-, 2.5-, five- and 10-kilometre courses. Competitors wear a device that electronically records their time.

The final race of the season is Sunday, Sept. 8, with one of the longest races in Canada being held - a 15-kilometre Ultra Swim. There are also two five-kilometre events that day, one of which is a two-person team challenge with each person swimming only 2.5-kilometre legs.

"I wanted to do something different to finish off the season," Feldman said.

More information on the events, including costs and registration, can be found at canaquasports.com/index.html.

Nathaniel.Johnson@niagaradailies.com

905-684-7251 | @DaveJTheTrib