Welcome to the 2025 Wave Rally World Championship!
Thank you for your interest in participating!
The organising authority for this event is Windsurfing WA Inc., in conjunction with Geraldton Windsurf Club Inc.
See you all at Geraldton Windsurfing Club at Coronation Beach on Friday the 10th of January, 2025. Bring the fun vibes. It’s going to be epic!
EVENT SCHEDULE
Friday 10th January, 2025
09:00: Registration
10:30: Welcome & Skippers Meeting
11:30: First Possible Start
18:30: Last Possible Heat
19:00: Sunset Sesh at 'Playas Lounge' (Event Site & BYO)
Saturday 11th January, 2025
10:30: Skippers Meeting
11:30: First Possible Start
18:30: Last Possible Heat
19:00: Party at 'Playas Lounge' (Event Site & BYO)
Sunday 12th January, 2025
10:30: Skippers Meeting
11:30: First Possible Start
18:30: Last Possible Heat
19:00: Presentation at 'Playas Lounge' (Event Site)
LOCATION
The Wave Rally World Championships takes place at The Geraldton Windsurfing Club at Coronation Beach, Howatharra, Western Australia.
There is a variety of parking spaces around the event site. The main car park near the club is likely to fill up so you may need to park a hundred metres away near the food vans or further. If you can share a lift with a friend to the event that would help congestion.
ELIGIBILITY
Competitors must be members of an affiliated Australian Windsurfing Association organisation (e.g., Windsurfing WA, Geraldton Windsurf Club or their State Windsurfing Association).
Volunteers must register with an online form that will be linked when available.
ENTRY
Entry fees are $150 for early bird tickets and $220 for entries from the 1st of December, 2024. Please help the event by entering early and save yourself some money!
Parents/guardians must register entrants under 18. Minimum age is 13.
REGISTRATION
Competitors must check in at the ‘Wave Rally Admin' tent in the ‘Playas Lounge’ (Geraldton Windsurfing Club) to pick up their competitor packs and complete registration. The collection of competitor packs is scheduled for Friday, the 10th of January, between 09:00 and 10:30.
If you cannot come on time due to an emergency, please reach us through the 'Wave Rally 2025' WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KllrKtxIobd7eGWFdacuDy. We can’t promise we’ll get you sorted, but we’ll try!
WAVE RALLY CATEGORIES
There will be 4 categories of competitors. However, all sailors will be mixed in the heats. The divisions are;
Open Women: All women
Lightweight Men: Under a 80kg
Middleweight Men: 80kg to 90kg
Heavyweight Men: Over 90kg
The men will be weighed at registration and put into the relevant division.
There will be 5 Wave Rally Championship belts on offer. There will be a winner for each category above plus a bonus Overall World Champion belt. The top 10 sailors on the 'Wave Rally League Table' after the heats are completed, regardless of category, will race for the Wave Rally Overall World Champion title.
WINDSURF GEAR ALLOWED
The Wave Rally concept is unique as the event is a 'Wave Slalom' style format however with certain rules on gear. The organiser aims to make the racing as fun & equal as possible, so in the spirit of this event, please respect Wave Rally's mission!
The equipment rules are simple;
- Must be a ‘Wave’ or ‘Freewave’ multi-fin board, either 2, 3 or 4 fins (no single fins)
- Maximum 5 battens on sails (no cambers)
COMPETITION FORMAT
There will be 3 competition days out of the 3-day event window.
Competition Days 1 & 2 will feature multiple round ‘League Style’ heat races where every sailor gets the same number of heats, most likely 4-5 rounds per day. Each round you will be sailing against sailors from all divisions. Up to 10 sailors will compete in each heat with the top 50% sailors in each heat progressing up the heat structure. The lower 50% of heat finishers will move down the heat draw. This way over multiple rounds you are likely to match with sailors of similar ability and give you something to aim for in trying to progress up the heat draw.
Competition Day 3 will see another 2-3 rounds sailed and once complete the top 20 sailors in each division will enter the Semi Final rounds with max 10 person heats. The top 50% sailors of each Semi Final will enter the Grand Final where the opportunity exists to be crowned Wave Rally World Champion.
There will also be a ‘Mega Final’ where the top 10 ranked sailors after all the rounds are completed regardless of division will go all in for the Overall Wave Rally World Champion!
In the event of light winds, we will provide inflatable high performance WindSup boards for all competitors to connect their sail to. The uni joint will be a 'pin style', so please bring an extension to accommodate that. The light wind format will be a 'ONE DESIGN' race & all competitors will use this board for equality. Competition on the WindSups will follow the same structure as above. If the wind increases to a suitable level, sailors can resume using their own gear as announced at the event.
The IWT has given the event a ‘3-Star rating’ for its Oceania leg of its proposed 2025 WORLD RACE TOUR. The highest-rated event of this kind in the region.
For more information about the race format, watch this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rc1KjdSO3M
*In the event of a race dispute, the organiser's decision is final. For more information, please refer to the document EVENT RULES AND REGULATIONS in the 'Files for Download' below.
COMMUNICATION
Our phone communication channel is the WhatsApp group “WAVE RALLY 2025”. You can join via https://chat.whatsapp.com/KllrKtxIobd7eGWFdacuDy.
SAFETY
There will be a jet ski with a Geraldton Surf Life Saver on the water for your safety. The Department of Transport has not exempted us from wearing life jackets beyond 400m from the shore. If you sail beyond 400m from the shore, the law requires you to wear a Type 2/Level 50 life jacket. A St John Ambulance will be at the event for the 3 competition days.
FOOD
Depending on the number of entrants, a variety of food & drink options will be available for purchase at food vans. If you have a special diet, please take your own food in case your requirements are not offered at the event. Food vans will aim to be open from 11 am to 8 pm.
ACCOMMODATION
All activities at the Wave Rally event are happening at the Geraldton Windsurfing Club site at Coronation Beach, Howatharra.
For a detailed rundown of the accommodation options at the event site, please watch this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5w9bbZVzBo.
VOLUNTEERS
The Wave Rally World Championships would not be possible without all the fantastic volunteers giving their time.
If you you would like to volunteer at the event please register here - https://www.windsurfingwa.org.au/events/262777
SPONSORS
Massive thanks to our sponsors for making the 2025 Wave Rally World Championships a reality. This event wouldn't be financially viable without them, so make sure you give them your support.
PARTNERS
1. OES Australia - https://oesaustralia.com
2. Rio Tinto - https://www.riotinto.com/
3. Mid-West Development Commission - https://www.mwdc.wa.gov.au/
4. Department of Local Government, Sport & Cultural Industries - https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au
SPONSORS
1. 2nd Wind Sailboards - https://www.2ndwind.com.au/
2. Ascend Business Results - https://www.ascendresults.com.au/
3. 65Thirty Events and Entertainment - https://65thirty.com.au
4. Nexus Airlines - https://nexusairlines.com.au/
5. Wind & Wave Project - https://www.windandwave.com.au/
6. Australian Sailing - https://www.sailing.org.au/
7. Windsurfing WA - https://www.windsurfingwa.org.au/
8. Kick Solutions - https://www.kicksolutions.com.au/
9. Jaffle Shack - https://jaffleshack.com.au/
10. Revolution Boardsports - https://www.revolutionboardsports.com.au/
11. Orth Stickers - https://www.orthstickers.com/
AND FINALLY...
Remember to bring your hat, water, sunscreen & good vibes. This is going to be fun!
Wave Rally Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/events/833300525283273
Wave Rally Home Page: https://www.facebook.com/waverally.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waverally
Website: https://www.waverally.org
