Welcome to the Wave Rally II and thank you for your interest to participate!
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 9th of January, 2026. Bring the fun vibes. It’s going to be epic!
EVENT SCHEDULE
Friday 9th January, 2026
09:00: Registration
10:30: Welcome & Skippers Meeting
11:30: First Heat
18:00: Last Heat
18:30: Sunset Sesh at 'Playas Lounge' (Event Site)
Saturday 10th January, 2026
10:30: Skippers Meeting
11:30: First Heat
18:00: Last Heat
18:30: Party at 'Playas Lounge' (Event Site)
Sunday 11th January, 2026
10:30: Skippers Meeting
11:30: First Heat
18:00: Last Final
18:30: 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 in available spots up to 100m away. 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 via this link when available - (TBA)
ENTRY
The standard entry fee for Wave Rally is $220. An early bird fee of $150 are for entries registered before the 9th December, 2025. Please help the event by entering early and saving 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 9th of January, 2026 between 09:00 and 10:30.
If you cannot come on time due to an emergency, please reach us through the 'Wave Rally II 2026' 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. On registration at 09:00 on Friday the 9th January, 2026, all men will be weighed and placed into one of three equally distributed weight divisions. Based on the experience from Wave Rally 2025, the three weight divisions were distributed to these weight ranges. It’s expected to be similar for the 2026 event.
The anticipated divisions are;
Open Women: All women
Lightweight Men: Under a 75kg
Middleweight Men: 75kg to 87kg
Heavyweight Men: Over 87kg
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 multi-fin board, either 2, 3 or 4 fins (no single fins)
- No boards with ‘Power Boxes’ or ‘Tuttle Boxes’ allowed
- Maximum 24cm sized swept back wave fins (no upright fins)
- Maximum 5 battens on sails
- Women’s & Lightweight Men’s division max sail size of 5.0m
- Middleweight Men’s division max sail size of 5.6m
- Heavyweight Men’s division max sail size of 6.3m
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 be providing inflatable high performance ‘WindSUP’ boards for all competitors to connect their sail to (Uni joint ‘pin system’). The light wind format will be a 'One Design’ race & all competitors will use this board. If wind increases to a suitable level (around 20 knots) the Race Director will announce on the PA system that sailors will transition to their wave gear in accordance with rules outlined above.
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 II 2026”. 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.
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 11:00 to 20:00.
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 - (TBA)
SPONSORS
Massive thanks to our sponsors for making the 2026 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. TBA - TBA
2. TBA - TBA
3. TBA - TBA
4. TBA - TBA
5. TBA - TBA
SPONSORS
1. TBA - TBA
2. TBA - TBA
3. TBA - TBA
4. TBA - TBA
5. TBA - TBA
6. TBA - TBA
7. TBA - TBA
8. TBA - TBA
9. TBA - TBA
10. TBA - TBA
11. TBA - TBA
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/1164761508361036
Wave Rally Home Page: https://www.facebook.com/waverally.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waverally
Website: https://www.waverally.org
