The Professional Windsurfing Association (PWA) and the International Windsurfing Tour (IWT) announced a merge of their multiple sailboarding competitions.
The announcement aims to run the best-ever wave sailing world tour to celebrate the sport's 50th anniversary.
According to both organizations, the creation of a new unified wave windsurfing tour featuring a five-tier ranking system will get contests and athletes from local to world-class venues.
The pyramid starts at the bottom with 1-star events and wraps up with 5-star World Cup events and the crowning or champions in the Grand Final Aloha Classic in Hawaii.
40 Events in One Year
The PWT IWT Wave World Tour features a 40-event calendar in 25 countries that include the iconic waves of Cabo Verde, the shallow reef power of Cloudbreak in Fiji, the freight train left-hander of Topocalma in Chile, the longest rideable wave in the world at Pacasmayo in Peru, and the historical heartland of wave sailing at Hookipa Beach in Maui.
The plan is to balance these venues with legendary jumping spots like Omaezaki in the southeast of Japan, the mighty Pozo Izquierdo, and the blue water magic of Tenerife, both in the Canary Islands and the island of Sylt on the stormy North Sea coast of Germany.
"This is nothing short of a revolution in the sport of windsurfing," notes PWA World Tour manager Richie Page.
"For the first time, the grassroots base is directly connected to the very top of the pyramid with a cohesive, unified global sports structure."
"The new single and unified Rider Rankings allow any rider to earn ranking points at any of these events - modest points at the smaller events, bigger points at the bigger events."
The competitive format was inspired by the PGA and ATP World Tours.
The PWA is the professional windsurfing tour sanctioned by World Sailing. The IWT has been running the most popular wave windsurfing circuit on the planet since 2010.
Crowning the Wave Windsurfing World Champions
The men's wave windsurfing world champion will be crowned based on the three best season results plus the Grand Final Aloha Classic result.
The women's wave windsurfing world champion will be crowned based on the two best season results plus the Grand Final Aloha Classic result.
All 5-star World Cup events will be broadcast online.
The PWA Youth, the IWT Youth, IWT Masters, and IWT Open Am divisions will continue up and running but with a broader calendar and list of available events.