2027 Wave Rally World Championships

Details

Wed 06 Jan 2027 9:00AM - Sun 10 Jan 2027 7:00PM

Coronation Beach, Coronation Beach, Chapman Valley, WA

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Event information

Registrations for this event are not yet open. Entries open at Tue 15 Sep 2026 12:00AM.

Welcome to WAVE RALLY 3 and thank you for your interest to participate!

The organising authority for this event is Windsurfing WA Inc., hosted at the Geraldton Windsurf Club Inc with permission from the Department of Transport Major Infrastructure and The Shire of Chapman Valley.

See you all at Geraldton Windsurfing Club at Coronation Beach on the 2 best days from the 6th-10th January, 2027.

Bring the fun vibes. It’s going to be epic!

EVENT SCHEDULE

For Wave Rally 3, there is a change in how the scedule runs. In the past, Wave Rally ran in a 3-Day event window and that is now increasing to a 5-Day event window. The 2027 event window dates are the 6th-10th January however Wave Rally will run on the best 2 consecutive days within that date range. Entrants will be notified in the week leading up to the event through email, WhatsApp and social media which days the event happens depending on the forecast.

Event Day 1
09:00: Registration
10:30: Welcome & Skippers Meeting
12:00: First Possible Heat
18:30: Last Possible Heat
19:00: Sunset Sesh Banquet at 'Playas Lounge' (Event Site)

Event Day 2
10:30: Skippers Meeting
12:00: First Possible Heat
18:30: Mega Final
19:00: Presentation & Party 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.

ENTRY

The standard entry fee for Wave Rally is $200. An early bird fee of $150 are for entries registered before the 1st December, 2026. Please help the event by entering early and saving yourself some money!

Currently Wave Rally's capacity for entrants is 80 and once it sells out no more entrants will be taken. This is because the heat draw can't handle more in the special format Wave Rally uses that gives everyone maximum time on the water.

Around 80% of the event budget is funded by Sponsors and Government Grants. The remaining 20% is paid for from the entry fees. The cost per entrant to host Wave Rally is around $800 each which includes purchasing event equipment to help build the event for future years.

Parents/Guardians must register entrants under 18.

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 Day 1 between 09:00 and 10:00.

If you cannot come on time due to an emergency, please reach us through the 'WAVE RALLY 3' WhatsApp group.

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 the 1st day of the event, all men will be weighed and placed into one of three equally distributed weight divisions.

The divisions are;

Juniors: NEW for 2027 (Under 20 years of age)
Masters: NEW for 2027 (Over 60 years of age)
Open Women: All women
Lightweight Men: All male entrants weighed at registration and put into bottom 1/3 of group
Middleweight Men: All male entrants weighed at registration and put into middle 1/3 of group
Heavyweight Men: All male entrants weighed at registration and put into top 1/3 of group

There will be 7 Wave Rally Championship titles on offer. There will be a winner for each category above plus the main Wave Rally World Champion title. The top 8-12 sailors on the 'Wave Rally League Table' after the heats are completed, regardless of category, will race for the Wave Rally 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.
'FreeWave' boards with 'PowerBox' fin boxes are allowed however the fin size is restricted to the chart below.
Fins to be swept back wave style fins. No upright slalom style fins.
Maximum 3 footstraps. Footstraps must be set inboard.
Maximum 5 battens on wave style sails.
No 'Windsurfer LT' sails or equivalent.
Maximum sail and fin sizes allowed for all boards are as follows;

MEN WEIGHT	MAX SAIL SIZE	MAX FIN SIZE
Under 75 kg	5.0	18 cm
76 - 85 kg	5.3	20 cm
86 - 95 kg	5.7	22 cm
96 - 105 kg	6.2	24 cm
106 kg+	6.7	26 cm
ALL WOMEN	5.3	20 cm

*A variety of 18cm, 20cm, 22cm & 24cm powerbox K4 fins are available for purchase at the Admin tent for $90 if you need one.

COMPETITION FORMAT

There will be 2 competition days out of the 5-day event window.

Competition Day 1 will feature multiple round ‘League Style’ heat races where every sailor gets the same number of heats (5 heats). There are 5 rounds and 8 heats per round. Heat size numbers are based on the number of entries into Wave Rally but will be no more than 12. Round 1 heat draw is organised based on when the entrant registered for the event. The first entrant starts in the top heat. The last entrant is the final sailor in the last heat. Each round you will be sailing against sailors from all divisions. The races are scored by where you place at the finish line. In a 10-person heat, places 1^st- 4^thprogress up the heat structure. Places 5^th& 6^thstay in their bracket whilst the places 7^th- 10^thmove down a bracket. 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 2 there is another 2 rounds sailed and once complete the top 10 sailors in each division will enter their respective category finals (Women's, Lighweight Men's, Middleweight Men's & Heavyweight Men's). Additionally, the top sailors from any division at the end of all the rounds qualify for the 'Championship Final' with the opportunity to be crowned the overall Wave Rally World Champion!

In the event of light winds, we will be providing high performance inflatable high ‘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 the rules outlined above.

In the event of a race dispute, the organiser's decision is final.

For more information about the race format, watch this video.

NOTICES

The NOTICE OF RACE document can be viewed here.

The EVENT RULES AND REGULATIONS document can be viewed here.

COMMUNICATION

Our phone communication channel is the WhatsApp group 'WAVE RALLY 3'.

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 & DRINKS

The food van 'JBCuisine' will be set up at the event site. A variety of good quality food & drink options will be available for purchase. If you have a special diet, please take your own food in case your requirements are not offered at the event. Food van will aim to be open from 11:00 to 20:00.

At Wave Rally HQ there will be tables and chairs set up so you can enjoy your food in comfort while making some new friends from around the windsurfing world.

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 - Wave Rally Accommodation

VOLUNTEERS

The Wave Rally World Championships would not be possible without all the fantastic volunteers giving their time.

If you know someone who would like to volunteer at the event please register here.

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS

Massive thanks to our sponsors for making the 2027 Wave Rally World Championships a reality. This event wouldn't be financially viable without them, so make sure you give them your support.