The 2026 Short Block Technologies World Finals are still headed for Lake Havasu City, but the venue will have a new name when the world’s largest PWC racing event arrives in October.
IJSBA announced Saturday that the property formerly known as Crazy Horse Campgrounds is now Red Rock Waterside, following a change in ownership. The 2026 SBT World Finals will remain at the same location, 1534 Beachcomber Blvd., from October 3 through 11.
According to IJSBA, Red Rock Waterside is an entirely new entity with new ownership, staff and plans for the property. More information about the new hosts and their plans is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
For this year’s World Finals, however, IJSBA is asking racers and attendees to make a good first impression.
The organization emphasized that Red Rock Waterside’s rules and policies will apply to everyone attending the event, including gate and security procedures. IJSBA is also asking the racing community to treat the property with care and avoid unnecessary impact to existing infrastructure as the new owners begin making improvements.
The message is essentially simple: World Finals attendees are guests, and IJSBA wants the new hosts to see the PWC racing community as guests they want to invite back.
“Start spreading the word: The 2026 SBT World Finals are held at Red Rock Waterside,” IJSBA said.
World Finals Awards Schedule May Change
IJSBA also announced another potential change to this year’s World Finals program, asking the racing community for feedback on a proposed new awards schedule.
Rather than holding the first awards ceremony on Friday as in previous years, IJSBA is planning to move it to Thursday. That would leave Friday evening open for attendees to experience Lake Havasu City’s restaurants and nightlife, as well as evening workshops being offered by trade show participants.
The bigger change could come on Sunday.
Lake Havasu City business owner and race director Brian “Bubba” Smith has proposed turning the traditional Sunday awards ceremony into a closing-ceremonies event beneath the London Bridge. The location, in the city’s English Village area, would provide a different setting for the final awards, including the Pro classes, with support from local businesses.
IJSBA says the proposed schedule would result in a few more classes being presented during Sunday’s ceremony while making Thursday’s awards shorter.
The organization is now asking racers and attendees whether they support moving the first awards from Friday to Thursday, and whether those awards should remain at the World Finals venue or also be held at the London Bridge location.
Feedback can be sent directly to IJSBA at [email protected].
With the 2026 SBT World Finals now less than two months away, it appears this year’s event will bring more than a new venue name. IJSBA is also looking to introduce some new ideas to the World Finals program — and is asking the racing community to weigh in before October.
Read the full press releases below:
2026 SBT World Finals Same Place, New Name: Red Rock Waterside
IJSBA is pleased to announce that the venue formerly known as Crazy Horse Campgrounds has new ownership and a new name to go with it! The 2026 Short Block Technologies World Finals will be held October 3 through 11 at Red Rock Waterside: 1534 Beachcomber Blvd in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Red Rock Waterside is an all new entity, all new staff, and all new plans. They plan some exciting directions for the venue to make it one of the most spectacular places to be anywhere in the city and to become the crown jewel of the island.
We will have more to release about our new hosts and their plans for the future over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, there are some things we are asking the PWC Racing Community to take note of. Red Rock Waterside was part of a rapid mid year transition and all the parties involved graciously have agreed that IJSBA’s existing agreement for 2026 is not a subject of contention. The racing community, which has been coming to this venue for decades, has been very vocal in the last couple of years about wanting to see upgrades to grounds where we hold the largest watercraft event in the world. Red Rock Waterside plans to make exactly those upgrades. This, of course, will not happen overnight.
Please spread the word so that everyone can come to the SBT World Finals, this year, with their “A Game.” The ownership and staff are all completely new from gate security all the way to executive management. This means attendees are making first impressions and we want these impressions to be great ones to forge a relationship going forward. It would be difficult to get this much space and infrastructure, and especially, as much waterfront anywhere in Lake Havasu City for as much time as necessary to operate an event of the scale of World Finals. We would like to be invited back. Help us help you by ensuring the following standards are met:
- Please be prepared to give full and complete respect to the Red Rock Waterside staff especially the gate and security crews who will be encountering us and the way we operate for the first time ever and have no understanding, nor should they, of how “it used to be done.” They will have rules, policies, and best practices in place designed to ensure the safety of their guests and staff and to ensure a peaceful environment for everyone staying there. Their rules are our rules and it does not matter who you are with, who is at the race site waiting for you, or anything like that- we will follow all rules as we are guests. We understand that by the time you get to World Finals, you have spent a lot of money, time is short, stakes are high, and there is a sense of urgency many times of the day. Regardless, we must have the decorum and professionalism that showcases the caliber of persons in our sport and shows the respect and stewardship expected of guests.
- As we are guests of this property, we are expected to care for it and mitigate our impact to the degree we would expect if others were guests of ours. Please avoid taking on a thought that says “they are redoing this property anyway so it is ok to be a little rough since they are going to rebuild it.” We will be evaluated for future opportunities based on our impact on the park. Being mindful of cement pads, water pipes and spigots, and other infrastructure that may be aging as this helps reduce the need for repairs during the event. The less impact we bring, the more likely we are to be invited to be guests in the future. This is especially the case if major investment is put into the grounds. If you want to race in a world class venue then we you need to demonstrate you will bring world class stewardship.
- Be a problem solver not a problem maker. Credentials and passes are always required. There will be a lot of learning this year. If a Red Rock Waterside staff is unsure about a protocol then lets show them we are patient until it gets worked out and that their staff are our guides and the gatekeepers for the rules as well as the information gatherers about whether we are worthy of inviting back. If there is an obstacle then work with their parameters and expectations until we overcome the obstacle and get things resolved. Please spread the word that we are going to show our new hosts that we are the greatest, most friendly people who set the gold standard for meeting expectations of respect.
- Most of all, start spreading the word: The 2026 SBT World Finals are held at Red Rock Waterside. Please use this name when referring to the event.
Thanks to everyone for sharing this message and we will see you all in less than two months!!!!
IJSBA Announces SBT World Finals Closing Ceremonies And Adjustments To Awards Ceremony Schedule
The 2026 Short Block Technologies World Finals are just around the corner, happening October 3-11 at Red Rock Waterside* in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Normally, we have two awards ceremonies which take place on Friday and Sunday and cover all completed classes. Lake Havasu City local business owner and race director, Brian “Bubba” Smith came up with some really good ideas for the 2026 SBT World Finals/Second Round WGP1 Word Series that IJSBA intends to implement.
First, he has conceived reimagining the Sunday final awards as a closing ceremonies event which takes place under the London Bridge. For those of you who are new to this, there is a whole English Village there wish restaurants and other attractions. This creates a very special display and gathering for all of the award recipients for the final classes including the Pro Classes. This has the support of many local businesses which Bubba has orchestrated to make a new concept of how the final awards are presented.
Second, IJSBA is planning to hold the first awards on Thursday instead of the traditional Friday. This will add a couple of classes to the Sunday awards but will make the Thursday awards a bit shorter. Moreso, this will allow attendees to enjoy a Friday night to experience the Lake Havasu nightlight and dining scene as well as some of the evening workshops that will be held from trade show participants. Normally, there are no free evenings due to awards being on Friday, the Freestyle Night Show being on Saturday and awards being on Sunday.
A lot of changes will be coming to World Finals along with new faces taking up leadership roles for segments of the event. New ideas are needed and we believe this is an exciting and welcomed change to the World Finas program.
So, we are asking you to comment on whether you support moving the Friday awards to Thursday and whether you believe it is best to have these awards at the venue or at the location under the bridge where the Sunday closing ceremonies and awards will be held. Please share your opinion by emailing IJSBA at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you in less than sixty days.
*used to be Crazy Horse. Same location and new name!!!
