March 21, 2015. It's a date that was pencilled in a number of swimmers' calendars long ago for an event labelled the 'favourite” and 'most iconic” in the State Ocean Swim Series.

Mount Maunganui's Main Beach will be the place to be tomorrow as 1200 swimmers converge for the annual Sand to Surf event - leg five of the six-event series.

A trio of swimmers are all smiles after the 2014 Sand to Surf. Photo: Simon Watts www.bwmedia.co.nz

Split into four categories, swimmers will take on either a 200m, 300m, 1km or 2.6km version.

Event director Scott Rice is predicting another bumper day of swimming, with the predicted level of young and old entries on a par with 2014.

'It's great to be back in the Mount,” says Rice.

'For some people it's one of their favourite events in the series because it's quite iconic having the Mount there. And I know some people like some chop, which makes it a bit more interesting.”

Heading into the final two rounds of the 2.6km ‘I'm Going Long' event, Auckland's Phillip Ryan heads the men's points standings, slightly ahead of Cambridge's Troy Balvert, with the pair contesting three of the four races so far this season.

But with the pair missing this weekend's event along with Japan's Yasunari Hirai and Australian George O'Brien, it's a prime opportunity for fifth-placed Kiwi Liam Alberry to make up vital ground on the leader board.

Alberry will have his hands full though, with Rotorua's Kane Radford and Greerton's Nathan Capp, who have won the last two events in the State Ocean Swim Series, going head-to-head for the first time in the series this season.

Radford is in great form heading into the event, having taken out the New Zealand Open Water Championships earlier in the year.

But Capp will be brimming with confidence given his dominant victory in the State Capital Classic in February, while the unpredictability of racing at a surf beach can also level the playing field.

On the women's side of the draw, leader Abi Chapman heads a strong field, joined by Kiwi open water swimmer Charlotte Webby, Stephanie Gillespie and Australian Samantha Watts.

Chapman holds the slenderest of leads over Gendi Roberts and Aimee Moss, while Webby is back in fourth.

Runner-up last year, Webby is favoured to go one better at the Mount having won the opening two events on the State Ocean Swim calendar, but opted out of the Wellington and Akaroa legs.

In the ‘I'm going long' 2.6km event, swimmers start at Shark Alley for a circuit around Leisure (Moturiki) and Rabbit (Motuatau) Islands.

Both 1km ‘Step it Up' and 300m ‘Give it a Go' swimmers have a triangle course, starting and finishing in front of Commons Avenue, while the 200m ‘State Oceankids' start in front of Mount Drury and finish at Commons Ave.

And there is just as much excitement and pride in the less competitive events, whether it be young children completing the 200m distance or adults starting out in the sport taking on the 300m swim, says Rice.

'It's just nice and inspiring on different levels,” he adds.

Tomorrow's racing gets underway with the 2.6km at 8.30m, followed by the 1km at 11.10am, the 300m at 12pm, and 200m at 12.45pm.