Nathan Benderson Park. Provided photo.

In a vacuum, five kilometers is not a very far distance. Equating to just over three miles, people run “5K’s” all the time. What the average person doesn’t do, however, is swim that distance. It’s a good thing then that the competitors in this Saturday’s race at Nathan Benderson Park are anything but average. On December 13, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA)—in conjunction with Visit Sarasota County (VSC) and Nathan Benderson Park—will host the 2025 CSCAA Open Water National Championship at the park.

The Championship, which will include around 240 swimmers from NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA programs from across the nation, is divided into a men’s and women’s race, both five kilometers in length. The top five finishers in each gender will earn invites to the USA Swimming 5K Open Water Championships, which will return to Nathan Benderson Park in April 2026.

“Open water swimming is not yet an NCAA-sanctioned sport,” says Maureen Palchak, chief operations officer of CSCAA. “Open water swimming has grown since USA Swimming debuted the open water marathon swim. It’s an awesome opportunity for college swimmers to try something different in a sport where they only spend time in the pool—it’s like trail running versus running on a treadmill. It gives you an appreciation for the sport all over again.”

The collegiate swimming season begins in September and ends in March, but typically includes a break in the early winter before the championship season ramps up in February. Saturday’s race will give swimmers the chance to face competition they otherwise would never see in a pool. “Last year, a swimmer from Grand Valley State University, a Division II school, was the winner on the men’s side. It’s unpredictable—the race isn’t the 50-meter free style that everybody is familiar with—the open water aspect levels the playing field,” says Palchak.

For the team at VSC, hosting the Open Water National Championship is just another step in continuing to grow Sarasota County as a destination for sporting events. “A big part of what we do is identifying and finding sporting events that fit our facilities and the culture of the sports that we’ve brought in,” says Nate Sweetman, VSC’s sports marketing manager. “I believe we’re expecting a little over 500 people in total here for this event, which gives us a great benchmark for how we can grow and improve it in the future.”

CSCAA’s Open Water National Championship, December 13, Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota

Nathan Benderson Park. Provided photo.

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