A total of 950 swimmers are braving both the waters and jellyfish for the Sand to Surf ocean swim which is taking place at Mount Maunganui Main Beach today.

The event is the first of seven competitions which make up the annual New Zealand Ocean Swim Series and features a field of competitors aged from seven all the way up to 70 and over.

NZ Ocean Swim Series spokesperson Ruby Goodyear says despite a couple of jelly fish stings, the Sand to Surf is off to a great start.

'there are a couple of jelly fish in the water so we've had a few stings here and there, but other than that everything is going really well and there's a lot of happy, smiley faces.”

The ‘I'm Going Long' 2.6km swim around Motuotau and Moturiki Islands, which has just finished, was the first of four races to get underway this morning.

First out of the water in the men's event was Gisborne'sMatthew Scott, while Taranaki's Charlotte Webby was the first female across the finish line.

Up next are the ‘Step it Up' 1000m swim and the ‘Give it a Go' 500m swim, which is raced around a triangle course just off the Mount shoreline.

Then just after 12pm it'll be the young swimmers turn with the 'OceanKids' 200m swim which takes place in the shallow waters along the Main Beach shoreline and features a field of competitors aged 7-12.

Sand to Surf is on November 19 from 9am-2pm at Mount Main Beach. For more information, see: www.mytauranga.co.nz

Gisborne's Matthew Scott was the first male out of the water in 2.6km race of the Sand to Surf ocean swim competition at Mount Mounagnui today. Photos: Chris Callinan.