2026 UK Aufguss Championships
The British Sauna Society brings the UK Aufguss Championships to Galgorm Resort. Competitors debut the Modern Classic category domestically for the first time, alongside the theatrical Show Aufguss format.
The UK Aufguss Championships. Photo: British Sauna Society.
The 2026 UK Aufguss Championships run April 20 to 22 at Galgorm Resort in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. The British Sauna Society is the governing body. The host property has run its Celtic Sauna Infusion ritual for nine years and is the defending champion's home facility.
This is the third year of the UK Championships and the first year the event splits into two categories on the domestic stage. Show Aufguss keeps the costumes, lighting, narratives, and music integration. Modern Classic strips those out and judges on pure thermal mechanics: towel choreography, heat distribution, essential oil pacing.
Who to Watch
Zak Moore, Galgorm's 20-year-old Sauna Master, is defending his 2025 title in front of a home crowd. He won last year at ARC in Canary Wharf with a routine built around a Dublin pub owner and a leprechaun, and trained for it at Farris Bad in Norway under Lasse Eriksen, vice president of the Aufguss World Masters.
What It Qualifies For
The UK Championships feeds into the Aufguss World Masters playoffs in the Netherlands in August and the World Finals at Satama Sauna Resort in Germany in September. Top finishers typically advance to one or both. The Modern Classic Cup Finals at Farris Bad in Norway in October are the global equivalent for the traditional-technique side.
For the business case around why resorts and urban bathhouses are investing in Aufguss programming at all, see our unit-economics analysis of the category.
