The ancient art of aufguss will be celebrated this April with the Second UK Aufguss Championships at destination spa and hotel Galgorm Resort in Northern Ireland.

Hosted from 22-24 April, the competition will draw individual competitors and teams from around the country who will demonstrate their mastery of the art of aufguss in front of a panel of judges.

The ritual involves an aufguss master waving a towel to distribute the sauna’s heat and often essential oils, with corresponding music and lighting. The top sauna masters can get very creative, weaving in storylines, costumes and complex movements to enhance the experience.

Competition entrants will be vying for the coveted title of Aufguss Champion and a place at the Aufguss VM World Championships which will be held in Holland in September.

Entry is now open to the UK championships to anyone employed as a master of aufguss in a spa facility and also to members of the public who’ve successfully completed the training course to master classical aufguss.

Deborah Carr, UK Aufguss lead, said: “I’m really excited about this year's event, it’s a great platform to elevate the popularity of the sauna experience and a fantastic opportunity for participants to showcase their amazing creativity, passion and expertise.”

The first UK Aufguss Championship took place in 2023 when Galgorm's own Pavel Poliacek was crowned UK Aufguss champion. The resort’s fitness and wellbeing instructor and sauna master then competed at the World Championships in the Netherlands and ranked 32nd globally.

Check out highlights here from last year’s event hosted at Rudding Park in Yorkshire.