Aufguss USA Nationals 2026 Returns With Doubled Field and Expanded Path to World Championships

The Aufguss USA Nationals 2026, the second annual qualifying competition for the Aufguss World Championships, returns to New York City May 19–21 with an expanded three-day format across two Bathhouse venues, more than double the competitor field of the inaugural event, and what organizers call the largest event sauna in the country as its centerpiece.

Aufguss USA has also earned expanded international qualification: the top two solo performers and top two teams will advance directly to the WM Finals at Satama Sauna Resort & Spa in Germany this September, with runners-up heading to the Playoffs in the Netherlands. Aufguss USA says the World Championship draws representatives from 20 countries.

Two formats, two venues

The 2026 competition introduces a two-format structure that mirrors how Aufguss is practiced at the international level. The Show Aufguss Competition (May 19–20) takes place at Bathhouse’s new Atlantic Avenue location in Downtown Brooklyn, where performers combine heat, scent, music, props, costumes, and choreographed towel work into multi-sensory theatrical productions. Think Cirque du Soleil at 185 degrees.

The Modern Classic Cup (May 21) moves to Bathhouse Flatiron for a more traditional, ritual-driven format. Judging centers on the fundamentals: heat management, scent selection, atmosphere, and the quality of the infusion itself. No costumes, no elaborate staging. Just a sauna master, a towel, water, and stones.

The split follows a long-running divide in European competitive Aufguss. Show Aufguss rewards spectacle and storytelling. The Modern Classic rewards mastery of the sauna itself.

The Atlantic Avenue venue, Bathhouse’s third New York City location, opens to the public on May 16, 2026, and houses what the organizers call the largest event sauna in the country, built to host more than 100 guests per session.

“We’ve always believed the sauna should be a social, immersive experience, not just something you pass through,” said Travis Talmadge, co-founder of Bathhouse. “Aufguss brings that to life in a powerful way, and this new space allows us to do it at a completely different scale.”

Qualification slots double for 2026

In its inaugural year, Aufguss USA earned one solo and one team qualification slot for the World Championships. For 2026, those slots have doubled: the top two solo performers and top two teams will advance to the WM Finals at Satama Sauna Resort & Spa in Wendisch Rietz, Germany (September 13–20, 2026), while the runners-up in both categories qualify for the WM Playoffs at Thermen Bussloo in the Netherlands (August 26–29, 2026).

“Earning expanded qualification in the second year is an exceptional outcome and reflects the strong foundation Aufguss USA is building in North America,” said Lasse Eriksen, President of Aufguss WM, in a statement accompanying the qualification announcement. Design for Leisure, the organizing sponsor, said the expansion speaks to the quality of US talent and the strength of the community forming around the tradition.

The 2025 edition in Verona was held at Aquardens Spa, where the Netherlands’ Sigrid van Rijswijk took the solo title and a Czech Republic trio won the team final. The event also saw the inauguration of the Sauna del Deserto, a 360-person-capacity sauna billed as the largest in the world.

What happened in 2025

The inaugural Aufguss USA Nationals took place June 23–24, 2025, at Bathhouse Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Approximately 11 competitors participated, and sessions sold out.

Alonzo Solorzano, Head Sauna Master at Bathhouse NYC, won the solo category. Joli and Alexi Irvine, performing as “The Wellness Blend” out of Fontainebleau Las Vegas, took the team title. Travis Talmadge, Bathhouse co-founder, placed second in the solo division and advanced to the Playoffs alongside the team of Solorzano and Tovi Wayne.

At the WM Finals in Verona, Team USA did not crack the top eight in either category. That is not unusual for a first-year nation: competitive Aufguss has deep roots in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, where training pipelines and venues have developed over decades. The US still earned expanded qualification after a single year of international competition.

Who is behind it

Aufguss USA was founded by Design for Leisure (DFL), the Cedar Park, Texas-based hydrothermal spa consultancy that is the exclusive US distributor for KLAFS. DFL’s CEO, Don Genders, has spent 30 years designing commercial spa environments and currently chairs the Global Wellness Institute’s Hydrothermal Initiative.

“For a long time, saunas in the US have been underused spaces,” Genders said. “Aufguss changes that completely, turning them into a place where people gather, engage, and experience something together.”

GWI’s Hydrothermal Initiative named “Guided Rituals, Free Bathing” as a defining 2026 trend, describing hydrothermal spaces moving from passive amenities to programmed rooms where guests arrive for a specific session rather than simply using the facilities. Aufguss is the most visible example.

Harvia, the Nasdaq Helsinki-listed Finnish sauna heater manufacturer, returns as a lead sponsor. “Sauna is for everyone, and Harvia’s ambition is to continue expanding how it’s experienced around the world,” said Nate Hagemeier, President of Harvia North America. “Through our partnership with Aufguss USA, we’re proud to support the 2026 competition in Brooklyn and help bring greater awareness to the ritual and its benefits.”

Additional sponsors include Aufguss Roots (a training and community platform for Aufguss practitioners), Aromen (a German scent and essential oil supplier for professional sauna use), and Romana (an Italian towel and textile manufacturer).

Aufguss is spreading beyond Europe

The BBC profiled the global Aufguss movement in January 2026, noting its spread from Central European spa culture to venues in Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Therme Group staged Culture of Bathe-ing, an 18-day sauna festival at Domino Park on the Williamsburg waterfront, from February 12 to March 1, 2026, with sessions led by Aufguss World Champions and New York bathing practitioners.

Bathhouse, the host venue, raised $35 million from Imaginary Ventures to fund an eight-city expansion. The Nationals are the first event in its Atlantic Avenue space, which is built for large-format sauna programming: high ceilings, ventilation for sustained heat at performance intensity, and bench space for 100-plus guests in a single room.

For operators weighing sauna programming, the event shows an audience for communal sauna performances, a talent pipeline in the competition, and sponsors (Harvia, DFL/KLAFS) willing to put capital behind the format. (SaunaNews published an operator playbook for Aufguss earlier this year.)

Tickets for all three days of Aufguss USA Nationals 2026 are available through the Aufguss USA website. Media credentials can be requested through the Aufguss USA media page. The Aufguss WM Finals take place September 13–20, 2026, at Satama Sauna Resort & Spa in Wendisch Rietz, Germany.

Related coverage: Bathhouse puts seven daily aufguss ceremonies on the world stage.