About the IWT
The IWT is the organization for Riders. The IWT organise wave riding events in the unified 5 star global pyramid across North America, South America, in and around the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Australia, Asia, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. The IWT supports all riders, young and old, beginner and pro, men and women. Seeking out the best locations, with the best wave riding conditions on earth, for the best quality wave riding competitions. Our ultimate purpose is to discover, support and crown the most radical wave riders on earth. We’re taking the sport and its champions to a new digital generation.
The IWT runs the The IWT Wave Tour events, contributing over 40 events to the Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour, including the jewels in our crown of Japan, Chile, Fiji, Peru and of course The Grand Final Aloha Classic in Hawai’i to crown the Wave World Champions. We also run the IWT Big Wave Challenge crowing the biggest and most radical wave rides of the year and for all-time. For details of each please go to the relevant tabs on this website. For detailed rules and regulations for the World Wave Tour, go to the JUDGING tab. The IWT also creates world class entertainment content, including the feature movie by Director Jace Panebianco, called ‘RIDERS of the Liquid Plains’ that takes you on tour with the best riders and introduces the Wave Tour to to the world. We also support new rider movies like ‘Broken Molds’.
The Wave Tour
We strive to make the Wave Tour for ALL riders so it’s fun and inclusive. We welcome all riders from the OPEN AM division, for all genders, all skills, all ages, through the hotly contested age divisions for Juniors (<18), Pro Juniors (<21), MASTERS (45+), G.MASTERS (55+), all the way up to the most elite riders in PRO MEN & WOMEN. We believe events are better for the sport when we bring everyone together every chance we get, and it’s a huge amount of fun! All that fun and a chance to rise up to the very top of the sport. Check the full 1-5 star event calendar here: https://liveheats.com/WaveTour
The Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour generates the Rider Rankings which are a ranking like ATP and Golf. We punctuate that every year with the ALOHA CLASSIC GRAND FINAL to decide the overall World Champions in a single MAJOR media event for the riders, the fans, sponsors and the sport. This gives windsurfing the best of all the world’s sporting structures. To reach the final, RIDERS climb the ladder, from the BASE OF THE PYRAMID with Local and National Title 1-2 Star events, up through the Regional 3 Star events, to the World Cup 4-5 Star events. The best of the best will reach the TOP OF THE PYRAMID and the GRAND FINAL SHOWDOWN
1-2 Star Local & National Events. “The road to the final starts here.” Local and National events organisers and riders are excited and energised to be part of the global Rider Rankings. All are offered inclusion as LT-1 Star or NT-2 Star. An unlimited number of events in these categories can join the base of the pyramid for the Rider Rankings. Fully inclusive. Unifying. For a Mature global sport. This offers riders a very substantial base of the pyramid, and unifies us all at the grass roots level. For the first time. We have over 30 events that have joined as 1 or 2 Star, across 26 countries and 6 continents. A lower points scale is awarded for these events but the fully open and inclusive system offers all the chance to participate and be part of the global Rider Rankings. Every rider competing in Pro Men, Women, Junior, and Masters divisions earns an official regional and WORLD RANKING.
3 Star Regional Wave Tour Events. These are the introduction international events. They offer full inclusion with open access for all riders, with all divisions. All divisions welcome all comers and give all the chance to shine. All with an experienced judging team, and great media for the fans.
4-5 Star World Cup Events. These will be more tightly controlled, especially the limited entries for the 5 Star events. The elite pro divisions use the Rider Rankings to select the top riders with a maximum of Open Pro and Women in all 5 Star events. All 4 star and some 5 star events include Junior, Pro Junior, and Masters divisions pending local conditions. All these events are run with an experienced pro Judge team, excellent media, and great media for the fans.
The 5 Star Grand Final. The Aloha Classic. Windsurfing’s “Super Bowl”. The biggest and best event possible with mega media. The worlds attention turns to the finals. Crowning the worlds best riders, the World Champions.
The IWT Grand Final Aloha Classic
This is the pinnacle event of our sport. The single most prestigious windsurfing event title in the world today. To earn a place in this elite event, riders qualify by competing at the earlier IWT and PWA Wave Tour events, or, in exceptional circumstances, are granted one of the very limited wild-cards. This really is The Super Bowl of Windsurfing and the whole wave riding and windsurfing world tunes in to see the best of the best battle it out in the giant waves of mighty Ho’okipa Beach on Maui’s legendary North Shore. This event decides the champions in all major divisions with World Champions crowned at the official Aloha Classic Awards Night.
The IWT Big Wave Challenge
An entirely seperate competition from the IWT Wave Tour, the IWT Big Wave Challenge is all about extreme big wave riding and only the most experienced riders should take this on. To get the best big waves on the planet, this contest uses an online format, where riders and image makers enter a photo or video of their biggest wave rides using the hashtag #iwtbigwave on Instagram. An international panel of judges determines the biggest and best for Men, Women, Youth (<20) and now also Masters (45+). There are awards for the ‘all-time best’ and the ‘annual best’. We receive entries of giant waves from all across the planet, but the dominant big wave location is Pe’ahi (Jaws) on Maui’s north shore. This is where most of the top big wave riders base themselves to catch the biggest ridable waves from October through to March each year. The thunder-dome.
Winners announced at the IWT Big Wave Awards every year.
Categories: All-Time Awards + Annual Awards
Divisions: Men, Women, Youth (<20 at time of ride), Masters (45+ at time of ride)
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The RIDERS Movie
‘Riders of the Liquid Plains’ is a film by the great ocean action cinematographer, Jace Panebianco from Poor Boyz Productions. The movie captures the powerful story of riders on the IWT Wave Tour, as they travel to the best wave riding locations on earth, and compete for the coveted IWT Wave Title. The hero emerges as the wild French aerialist Antoine Martin, who takes on the Wave Tour to battle with US legends Morgan Noireaux, Bernd Roediger, Levi Siver, Camille Juban, and many more across events in Japan, Chile, Peru, Mexico, USA Wild West coast, and then takes on the whole world to win the IWT Grand Final Mercedes-Benz Aloha Classic on Maui’s north shore. Watch it now on this website in the IWT Streaming tab. Be inspired! Watch it now on our YouTube Chanel.
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IWT History
The IWT was created to serve the wave riders. Until the AWT, now IWT, started in 2009, there had been no open international wave riding events on this big blue water Pacific Ocean hemisphere for a vey long time. The first event that started it all was the 2009 Pistol River Wave Bash on the Wild West Oregon coast of the USA. In 2010/11 the AWT (American Windsurfing Tour) was formed and expanded with events in Oregon, California and Baja. In 2013 the tour expanded to include Peru. From there the expansion went fully international and in 2016 was renamed the IWT (International Windsurfing Tour). 2019 saw the introduction of The IWT Big Wave Challenge. 2020 has seen the Covid-19 shutdown of the tour for public safety. 2021 will see a strong return with a clear structure connecting the grass roots to the elite level offering competition for all riders from entry level youth all the way up to elit pro, with a clear pathway for young riders to rise from beginner to the top of the world. Each year starts with The IWT Wave Tour open to all riders in all divisions. The best riders from these competitions gain Official IWT Qualification and rise to represent their nations in The IWT Grand Final Aloha Classic at Ho’okipa Beach Park on Maui’s North Shore at the end of each year. The IWT Grand Final crowns the IWT Wave Tour Champions. Then the most radical big wave riders battle the giants of Pe’ahi JAWS to crown The IWT Big Wave Champions.
THE UNIFIED WAVE TOUR: At the end of 2022 the top riders in the world signed a letter asking the IWT and PWA management teams to unify the two wave tours and form a single World Title race. So we did. The IWT contributes the 5 Star Global Rider Ranking Pyramid structure, over 40 global events from over 30 grass roots 1-2 star events across the planet, up to the jewels in our crown around the Asia Pacific: Japan, Chile, Fiji, Peru and Hawaii. The PWA contributes the big money events in the European sphere with Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Sylt, as well as the offical World Titles as sanctioned by World Sailing. 2023 was the first year of the Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour.
The IWT Founders: The IWT was originally known as the AWT (The American Windsurfing Tour) founded by Americans Russ Faurot and Sam Bittner in 2010. At the end of the 2016 season, the AWT changed its name to the IWT (The International Windsurfing Tour). At the end of the 2018 season, the IWT was acquired by PACIFIC TRUST, operated by Australia’s Simeon Glasson, and partnering with original co-founder Russ Faurot through his Maui based company Sideoff Events LLC. The mission of the co-founders was to offer more opportunity, for more riders, for more fun, and to showcase the best riders from around the world. This remains the core mission today.
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IWT Vision
The Best Riders. The Best Waves. The Dream.
We aim to deliver The WSL of Windsurfing. We bring the most spectacular wave riding action footage and star power to millions of new viewers, all around the world, with a particular interest in the under 25 digital consumer market. We’ve relaunched the sport of wave riding to a new digital generation. The IWT GRAND FINAL ALOHA CLASSIC and the IWT BIG WAVE CHALLENGE receive the strongest online engagement. These two products have the highest individual product marketing value for brand partners, but the combined IWT suite of products offers the best overall value.
Our reach is global, with opportunities to customize programs at regional, national and local levels across the Asia Pacific and Americas. With competition and community events on four continents, we can tailor a program to reach the markets that best serve your brand and business needs.
Ways To Partner With Us:
* Integration into experiences and events around the Asia Pasific
* Custom wave rider content creation and promotion
* Social media amplification and custom programs
* Surf athlete and influencer partnerships
* Digital and linear advertising
#1 The IWT Grand Final Aloha Classic
* 5M+ views single event
* #1 Naming Rights
* #2 Presenting Rights
* #3 Supporting Rights
#2 The Unified PWA IWT Wave Tour (the full package 1,#2,#3)
* 100M+ views – all events
* #1 Naming Rights (the full package 1,#2,#3)
* #2 Presenting Rights (the full package 1,#2,#3)
* #3 Supporting Rights (the full package 1,#2,#3)
* 40+ global events
* 1.0M+ monthly digital reach
* 3.5M+ video minutes consumed
* 2.5M combined athlete social following
* 350K+ IWT social following
* 100M+ total global views each year
#1 The IWT Big Wave Challenge
* 5M+ views across the big wave season
* #1 Naming Rights
* #2 Presenting Rights
* #3 Supporting Rights
We understand and engage with Millennials and Generation Z each and every day around the globe, serving them powerful, authentic and highly aspirational content.
* 70%+ are Millennial or Gen Z
* 70%+ have above average HHI
* 15-30%+ Female followers
We are a gateway to one of the most desirable lifestyles and audiences on the planet. Our fans are:
* Adventurous
* Inclusive
* Eco-Conscious
* Educated
* Healthy
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