Strange sport: Bathtub races back at Kits Beach this weekend

Bathtub races return to Kitsilano Competitors left some bubbles behind as they splashed their way to the finish line in the annual KitsFest bathtub races Saturday.

Racers, start your (bathtub) engines.

The annual bathtub racing tradition is back at a Vancouver beach this weekend, and more than two dozen tubs are expected to take part.

On Saturday, racers will compete on a one-mile course off Kitsilano Beach, with three divisions and multiple heats, the city's park board says.

The event, which began in the 1960s, will take place during KitsFest, a sports and lifestyle festival running from Friday to Sunday at the beach.

Between 1967 and 1996, the course ran across the Strait of Georgia between Nanaimo and Vancouver. Last year, it was resurrected with a racing circuit across English Bay.

In the early days, the tubs were similar to what you'd find in a bathroom, but over time, the definition morphed to something much more modern. Examples of the souped up tubs can be found on the KitsFest website.

Other events include basketball, beach volleyball, tennis, touch football, water polo and sunset yoga.

The timing isn't ideal, as a week of warmer-than-usual weather comes to an end. Rain is possible in Vancouver Saturday and Sunday, and Environment Canada forecasts a high of 19 C.