The Aloha Classic 2019: Qualifying riders

by International Windsurfing Tour 29 Sep 2019 08:32 PDT 27 October - 9 November 2019

2018 Aloha Classic © Si Crowther / IWT

The 2019 Aloha Classic will have the most elite field of international windsurfers to be seen in decades. Applications from riders across the world have been flooding in, all hoping for a place in the most prestigious windsurfing event on earth, and a crack at the 2019 Windsurfing World Title.

With the competition permit reduced to only 5 consecutive days within the 2 week advertised window (to ease pressure on the busy Ho'okipa Beach Park), there is no time to spare for trials this year. With no time for trials, selection for the event this year comes from the top ranked PWA and IWT riders, and a very limited series of wild cards that will be allocated by the PWA and the IWT.

The PWA will select its top qualifying riders using the PWA World Cup rankings at the close of the Sylt event in just over a week. The IWT riders will be selected using the new IWT World Ranking System. For fairness and full transparency of the selection process results to be included will be the 2018 Aloha Classic as well as all events between the IWT and PWA this year.

The Aloha Classic - photo © International Windsurfing Tour

Event points are weighted proportionally to the prize money offered at each event. A full PWA World Cup event has a total prize pool around $50,000 and this attracts 100% points for the event results. An IWT Wave event has a total prize pool of $10,000 and this therefore attracts 20% points for the event results. Last years Aloha Classic results are listed as full 100% point values because of the event's extremely high standard and International prestige. The full IWT World Ranking spreadsheets can be seen attached at the end of this press release. The IWT World Rankings will be updated once the Sylt event is complete. We are releasing the results now to help riders plan ahead and to understand how the qualification process for IWT riders will work.

The IWT World Ranking results do not represent any world title, or any kind of title. They are simply a tool. Only to be used to select IWT qualifying riders this year. It is a rational mathematical model, that we have used to determine the best riders of the past 12 months who have competed hardest and best to have thoroughly earned their place at the elite level of The 2019 Aloha Classic. This methodology ensures up to date competitive merit is the way for IWT access to the 2019 Aloha Classic. The IWT will continue to use this World Ranking system for 2020 and onward, to ensure event seeding is as accurate as may be mathematically possible, and to ensure event access continues to be based on mathematical merit.

This is all about maximum fairness and maximum transparency. This is also a simple acknowledgement that many riders now compete across both PWA and IWT and both results are of major significance, and especially valuable when weighted proportionally to event prize money. These are therefore the overall best IWT riders of the last 12 months. The best IWT 16 Pro Men and best IWT 8 Pro Women will now have their chance to compete in the most elite and most prestigious windsurfing event on earth: The 2019 Aloha Classic.

The IWT qualifying riders are listed below. The list is not yet fully complete as some riders are still to confirm they are fit for competition and able to attend. This list is being released now to help riders plan ahead, for those who are qualified here and for those who are not, all can now see where they sit, how they got there, and plan accordingly.

48 Pro Men Qualifying Methodology