Santa Barbara's Sports News and Information
Gene Deering, a member of the first UCSB men’s soccer team to play in the NCAA Tournament and a prominent endurance athlete in the community, is the new president of the Semana Nautica Association.Deering has served on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara summer sports festival for the last five years.Semana Nautica will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.The festival includes such activities as ocean swimming, age group and masters swimming, beach volleyball, … [Read more...]
LOCAL SPORTS PULSE Each week PresidioSports.com publishes a running dialogue of updates and thoughts concerning the local sports scene, along with an occasional blend of national sports issues and events. FRIDAY --Gauchos Luis Silva, James Kiffe and Sam Garza are taking part in the Major League Soccer Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Silva, a projected first-round pick in next week's MLS SuperDraft, impressed soccer pundits covering the combine. CLICK HERE. Adam Serrano of Soccer … [Read more...]
New Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table president Rich Hanna has been awarded the Presidio Sports Sports Figure of the Month for October, 2011 for his stewardship of and commitment to the community’s expansive sports activities and programs.On the heels of again leading Semana Nautica – SB’s ever-growing, premier summer beach festival and athletic competitions over a two-week period, Hanna just dove headfirst into his new two-year SBART leadership post.It follows five years of … [Read more...]
The second annual Santa Barbara Beach Soccer Slam, presented by Community West Bank, played out on West Beach this Saturday, with eight teams dueling for a pair of titles.A newcomer to the event became the eventual champion of the Open Division, as AV Boas brought down last year's champions - Team Chi-Chi - in a hotly-contested championship match. With the score tied 2-2 after regulation, the two teams - both featuring current or former NCAA soccer players - battled through two scoreless … [Read more...]
It’s Saturday in Santa Barbara.And it seems like everyone’s watching …That’s because Kate’s in town with her polo-playing Prince.Kobe’s here too, actually – only he’s got a signing (non-polo) gig going down …So there’s an ‘extra buzz’ all around.But, ain’t nothin’ we can’t handle -- YO!!And then, of course, under the global radar screen --there are the normal … everyday …wonderful … fun events that make Santa Barbara such as awesome … [Read more...]
If swimming six miles in the ocean isn’t challenging enough, the competitors who took part in the annual Semana Nautica event also had to deal with a strong current and heavy kelp in their journey from the Goleta Beach Pier to Hendry’s Beach on Sunday morning.Those two factors reflected in the times. Seven swimmers last year finished under two hours, with winner Stewart Reid clocking 1:43.50. On Sunday, Ed Smith finished first in 2:29.14 and Valerie Eacret was the top woman in … [Read more...]
Four members of the open-water, world-record setting Ventura Deep Six relay team are among the hardy 32 swimmers signed up to do the Semana Nautica 6-mile ocean swim on Sunday.The swim starts at 9 a.m. at the Goleta Beach Pier and finishes at Hendry’s Beach.Tom Ball, Kurt Baron, Jim Neitz and Dr. John Chung were part of a six-man team that last September set the world record for a continous open-water swim by a relay team. They swam 202 miles around the clock, starting in Ventura, … [Read more...]
Not even a wrong lef turn could keep Irishman Donncha O’Siadhail from winning the Semana Nautica 5-mile biathlon on Saturday.O’Siadhail was so dominant in the 1-mile swim of the race that he had plenty of time to recover from a premature turn toward shore (about 150 yards before the finishing area) to win handily, beating perennial champion Jon Clark in the process.O’Siadhail, 33, a high school teacher in Ireland and a triathlete, won in 45 minutes, 26 seconds. Clark, 50, … [Read more...]
Presidio Sports hit the beach to cover the 74th annual Semana Nautica summer sports festival.The festival includes competiions in swimming, running, volleyball, sailing, tennis and even cardboard kayaks.Presidio Sports intern Nick Clark caught a lot of the action from the first full weekend of Semana Nautica on a video camera and put together a highlight video.Clark will be out and about again to capture events from the final weekend of the sports festival for another highlight … [Read more...]
Walker Bell got under 13 minutes for the first time in winning his ninth Nite Moves 1-kilometer swim at Leadbetter Beach on Wednesday night.Taking advantage of smooth water, Bell finished in 12 minutes, 33 seconds, his fastest time ever. He was followed by local triathlete Chris Braden in 12:52 and Jessica Broderick in 13:12. Bell's previous fast time was 13:16.COMPLETE RESULTSIn the 5k run, Ronnie Buchanan, a former track star at Righetti High now living in Phoenix, Ariz., ran away … [Read more...]
