Announced in a press release today, Englewood Beach, Fla., has set its 2026 offshore racing dates for October 9-12. The venue hosted the American Power Boat Association National Championships and Union Internationale Motonautique World Championships last month.
The dates are connected, of course, with those of annual Englewood Beach Waterfest affair.
But they are not yet connected with either the APBA or whatever sanctioning organization arises out of the International Hot Rod Association, which is planning its own offshore racing series for the 2026. Neither outfit has released next year’s competition schedule.
“We simply don’t know yet,” explained Ray LaBadie, one of the longtime organizers of Englewood Beach affair. “But we wanted to release our dates for 2026 as early as possible.”
The Englewood Beach organizers are confident that the event will appear on either one sanctioning body’s 2026 competition schedule or the other. Which one it will be, however, may take time to emerge. Regardless, the team behind the Southwest Florida races are eager to see them return.
“With the success of this year’s event, we are well positioned for a strong turnout for our 2026
Waterfest event set for October 8th-11th, 2026.’ said Ralph Young, the Englewood Beach Waterfest race director.
Said Waterfest board of directors president Jay Henderson in the release, “This year’s championship was a thrilling showcase of skill and community spirit. We welcomed thousands of fans, supported local businesses and highlighted the natural beauty of Englewood Beach.
“Our volunteers and partners made the weekend possible,” he added. “We’re already excited to build on this momentum for future events.”