Ribbon Cutting Sets the Stage for Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race
Aug 27, 2026 11:43AM ● By MB News Staff
(Photo via city of Manhattan Beach)
The city of Manhattan Beach this week held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new plaque at the Catalina Classic statue in advance of Sunday's iconic race.
The statue at the Manhattan Beach Pier honors the history and legacy of the Catalina Classic, the legendary 32-mile prone paddleboard race from Two Harbors to Manhattan Beach. The statue was first unveiled in 2023; the new plaque explains the location and history of the race.
Dating back to 1955, the Catalina Classic has brought generations of paddlers across the open ocean to the finish line in Manhattan Beach.
(Catalina Classic finishers pose for a photo following the 2025 race.)
This year's race will be held on Sunday, August 30, with 98 men and 4 women in the unlimited category, and 49 men and 12 women in the stock category. Paddlers generally begin arriving in Manhattan Beach as soon as 11:00 a.m.
The South Bay Boardriders Club and Culture Brewing will host a kickoff party and photo exhibit of the Catalina Classic tonight (Thursday). The gathering will begin at the statue just south of the Manhattan Beach Pier and will continue at Culture Brewing.
Classic Paddleboard Race Started in 1955
The
Manhattan Beach International Paddleboard Race, the precursor to the
Catalina Classic, was started in 1955 by Los Angeles County Lifeguard
Bob Hogan and the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce. (Or, as Steve Schlens, winner of the stock race in 2012,
described it, "It started with one lifeguard saying to another
lifeguard, 'Hey, I've got a really bad idea...'")
The
Catalina Classic has since become the premier paddling event of the
year, drawing paddlers from around the country and even the world.
(Winners' names are engraved on the race trophy)Paddlers
leave Isthmus Cove, Catalina Island, at 6:00 a.m. and paddle 32 miles
to the Manhattan Beach Pier on paddle boards using only their hands to
propel them through the water. Swells, currents, and wind conditions
play into what is notoriously one of the most grueling endurance events
in the world.
The Catalina Classic Paddleboard
Association, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, donates yearly to
local non-profit organizations that work with youth groups, education,
and water safety. Past recipients include the L.A. County Jr. Lifeguard
Scholarship Fund, The Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium, the Jimmy
Miller Memorial Foundation, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, and 1% for the
Planet.
