The 2020 Mike Stewart Pipeline Invitational will debut an innovative competitive format at Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.
For the first time in the history of the sport, the contest organized and sponsored by the legendary nine-time world bodyboarding champion will see all its disciplines' tricks and maneuvers being performed in heats.
In other words, athletes will be allowed to ride prone, drop-knee, stand-up during heats, with judges awarding the quality and consistency of the moves.
As a result, the Pipe event might crown a champion that is not necessarily a professional prone bodyboarder.
Competitors will be able to showcase a wider variety of maneuvers and eventually allow spectators to witness creative combinations of all three bodyboarding disciplines.
A Legendary Event
The 2020 Mike Stewart Pipeline Invitational will be run on the best day of the waiting period (February 24 - March 4).
All athletes will be seeded according to last year's APB and Pipe event rankings. The registrations for the iconic event close on February 20, 2020.
Thirty years ago, in 1990, Mike Stewart won the Morey Boogie International Bodyboard Championship at Pipeline after defeating Ben Severson, Alexandre de Pontes, and Chris Burkart in the final.
The event also delivered the biggest payday in the history of the sport - $6,000 for the winner.
The 2020 APB World Tour schedule has not yet been announced. The professional bodyboarding circuit is now a non-profit, rider-owned organization.
Terry McKenna plans to introduce the concept of World Bodyboarding Championships with the goal of allowing competitors with small travel budgets to get a shot at the world title.