The results here mean that overall rankings are starting to form up in each division. For the Pro Men it is clear that Antoine Martin is taking a blistering big early lead with two first places. He is very, very strong but international touring competition can be a long and hard road. Apart from the incredible high standard and depth of talent to compete amongst, there are many things that can go wrong on tour including airlines losing your luggage (Morgan has lost equipment on three recent trips that have affected his results), illness (two years ago Maria Andres was very sick with a mystery bug in Peru) and injury (Camille Juban has missed the first two events this year due to injury). With so many variables, achieving two top spots from the first two events is a major achievement for Antoine Martin.

His main rivals for the IWT 2019 Pro Men’s Championship so far are: i) Bernd Roediger (HI) who made the final in Japan, and came second and then missed the making the top eight here earning equal ninth  ii) Morgan Noireaux, who missed the top sixteen in Japan earning equal seventeenth and then made the final here coming fourth iii) Takara Ishii, who made the final in Japan, coming fourth, and then missed the top 16 here earning equal seventeenth iv) Federico Morisio, who didn’t come to Japan, and then came second here, so he won’t be high on the overall rankings for a while to come but he is sailing very well, and has a steely determination and a remarkable focus this year v) the current Aloha Classic Champion, Camille Juban, will join the tour in Pistol River for his first event and he plans to then compete in Baja, Peru and Maui to make up the four event results to count towards overall – Camille is a two-time Aloha Champion and three-time AWT Champion, but he cannot drop any results and now needs all four of those last events on the tour to go his way vi) Jake Schettewi made the final in Japan and came fourth, then didn’t follow up with Chile but if he gets to three more events (school commitments pending) he will also be a serious contender vii) the mighty Boumaa Guilloul just missed the final in Japan, coming fifth, and then did not come to Chile but will be in Pistol, Baja and Maui so he is definitely a serious threat viii) Levi Siver, fifth in Japan, and may come to more events ix) Edvan Souza, fifth in Japan, and then was bundled out before reaching the top sixteen here in Chile but will be back for Pistol where his jumping game will make him ultra dangerous x) Russ Faurot, tour co-founder and ripper, also just missed the final in Japan, earning a fifth place there, and then a ninth here in Chile, so he is once again in with the big guns xi) Graham Ezzy earned a ninth in Japan, and may be back for more, and is always a major threat at any international wavesailing contest.

The point is clear, it’s tough to win on the IWT any year with so many variables and challenges, but it is especially tough this year, with so many top riders gunning for the overall US$50,000 prize.

The Pro Women have yet to have any riders rack up more than one event score, so overall results have not yet formed up, but the winner of the first event in Japan, Arrianne Aukes, and the winner of this event in Chile, Maria Andres, are the clear front runners so far for the US$10,000 first place prize money. Two-time Aloha champion and three-time IWT champion, Sarah Hauser, will join the tour for her first scoring opportunity in Pistol River, and then will build her points from there with Baja, Peru and Maui. Sarah is perhaps the most dangerous woman on tour this year, with her strong record of IWT overall victories, and coming from behind with the points to unsettle the other top women. Sarah is determined to claim that big cash prize for herself! Many other big names will join the challenge as the events unfold. Fighting for equal prize money this year, this is a big opportunity for the top female wave riders of the world.