The International Jet Sports Boating Association rang in the new year by offering an early look at its direction for 2026 — and while this initial post stops short of full detail, it signals a notable shift toward partnerships, restructuring, and long-term sustainability across the sport.

According to IJSBA, a more comprehensive white paper has been in development since before Christmas and is expected to spark broader industry discussion once released. In the meantime, the organization outlined several key priorities that frame where it believes personal watercraft racing — and organized PWC activity as a whole — needs to go.

Central to the plan is IJSBA’s intent to begin transitioning portions of race servicing for major events, including World Finals and U.S. Nationals, to third-party promoters or servicing groups. The organization confirmed it has already received multiple proposals tied to World Finals 2027 and emphasized that any future agreement is structured to keep the sport’s marquee event in Lake Havasu City through at least its 50th anniversary.

Beyond racing operations, IJSBA reiterated its push to expand the scope of the World Finals experience itself. Building on initiatives introduced in 2025, the association plans to further grow the trade show and increase recreational crossover opportunities — including fishing-focused activities, workshops, and low-impact competitive experiences — aimed at bringing more non-racing PWC enthusiasts into the event ecosystem.

The preview also highlights IJSBA’s emphasis on unifying regional and international entities while preserving individual autonomy. Rather than fragmenting the sport, the association says it is working toward a cooperative model designed to strengthen regional racing and create a sustainable foundation for future growth, even amid anticipated global economic and political challenges.

Additional focus areas include restructuring affiliate processes, refining U.S. membership programs, and increasing promoter participation in IJSBA’s digital and data platforms.

While many details remain forthcoming, IJSBA made it clear that cooperation — not conflict — will be the guiding principle moving forward, with the stated goal of keeping racing accessible, enjoyable, and viable for years to come.

Pro Watercross Flagged As IJSBA’s First 2026 US Partner 

Just days after previewing a broad strategic action plan for 2026, the International Jet Sports Boating Association has announced its first premiere U.S. partnership — naming Pro Watercross as a key sanctioned promoter moving forward.

According to IJSBA, the partnership represents an early step in the organization’s evolving approach to race operations, exposure, and long-term sustainability. The collaboration is positioned as a multi-faceted effort focused on expanding opportunities across all levels of personal watercraft racing while increasing outreach to recreational enthusiasts and independent racers.

Under the agreement, Pro Watercross will return as an IJSBA-sanctioned promoter in 2026, with both organizations emphasizing a clear division of strengths. IJSBA will continue to oversee administrative, legal, and governance responsibilities, while Pro Watercross takes on an expanded role in shaping the competitive racing experience and national tour structure.

At the center of the partnership is the 2026 Pro Watercross National Tour, branded as The Road to Havasu. The tour is designed to prioritize affordability, accessibility, and visibility for privateer racers — a group repeatedly emphasized as the backbone of the sport. Pro Watercross officials say the tour’s format aims to reduce travel burdens by aligning national rounds with regional events, allowing racers to compete for both regional recognition and national points during a single weekend, without increased entry fees.

The nine-round national schedule will culminate with a championship finale in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, reinforcing the city’s role as the sport’s historic centerpiece. The season structure blends consistency and peak performance, counting each racer’s top four national results alongside their performance at the finale to determine the National Champion.

Media exposure also plays a central role in the partnership. Pro Watercross highlighted its national television relationships and a renewed storytelling focus that extends beyond front-runners, with the goal of delivering meaningful sponsor value and visibility across the entire field.

Both organizations framed the 2026 season as a foundation year, setting the stage for a potentially more unified national and world championship format in 2027 — including the possibility of combined National Tour and World Finals events in Lake Havasu.

In follow-up posts on social media, Pro Watercross echoed that message, emphasizing affordability, privateer support, and a renewed effort to make national-level racing more accessible without sacrificing professionalism or exposure.

Taken together, the two announcements offer an early look at how IJSBA’s broader 2026 action plan is beginning to take shape. The initial outline of long-term goals is now paired with a concrete partnership and a defined race structure, providing the first real indication of how those ideas may translate from planning to execution. With additional details expected in the coming weeks, 2026 is shaping up as a transition year that could help define the future framework of organized personal watercraft racing in the United States.

Both IJSBA press releases are included, in full, below

Happy New Year from the International Jet Sports Boating Association. This posting is a short preview of IJSBA’s upcoming action plan reveal for 2026. We have a pretty crazy white paper that we have been working on since before Christmas that we hope will foster a lot of discussion and demonstrate the direction IJSBA is on with our partners. In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy these bullet points and short discussion.

2026 IJSBA Plan Highlights:

• IJSBA begins the process, in 2026, of preparing to partner with third party servicing groups, whether that be promoters or outside organizations, to service the racing portion of World Finals and US National efforts. We have received several proposals for World Finals 2027 and are in the process of developing these offers and preparing to work towards an agreement that will keep World Finals in Lake Havasu City up to, at least, the 50th anniversary.
• IJSBA, in carrying on with new programs from 2025, will further increase the trade show to include more crossover opportunities and will, especially, increase the recreational direction which will add expansion into new PWC activities such as fishing expo and workshops as a means of uniting all PWC enthusiasts and providing resources for formal non racing activities.
• IJSBA is working on unifying as many entities as possible working for a commons strength while empowering each entity’s autonomy without cost to them. This is a focus on making everything bigger rather than cutting it up into pieces. We believe that by the time we get to summer, we will have demonstrated that IJSBA’s continued operation using this methodology is the only sustainable path for regional racing.
• IJSBA is restructuring the affiliate process to ensure that races are being produced and new members have relevant experience for the categories they race in neighboring countries.
• IJSBA is restructuring the USA Membership program to encourage promoters to participate in IJSBA social media and contribute to the IJSBA database.

As announced in 2024, 2026 will be the year IJSBA finalizes outsourcing race management of World Finals in 2027. This may involve a consortium of more than one entity. IJSBA’s immediate goal is to ensure the support for United States Regional organizers continuing to give them the resources they need which IJSBA has been providing at virtually no cost. In 2025, IJSBA’s member services included dispute resolution, legal support services, product development consultation, and risk management assistance among other aid. At the 2025 Short Block World Finals, IJSBA held the first Poker Run in 20 years and had an uptick in vendor activity largely due to increased recreational enthusiast attendance at the event. IJSBA will take this even further in 2026 adding more elements to the SBT World Finals in October. This expansion will include fishing components, workshops, and low impact opportunities to experience organized competition.

IJSBA predicts difficult economic and political conditions globally. IJSBA’s key regional promoters were the only entities, world wide, that showed any form of growth in 2025. This indicates the importance of shoring up the foundation of affordable and easily accessible events where participants are enjoying their experience. We have been finalizing agreements with our global partners that will emphasize more local growth. This is where tomorrows racers will come from and we also expect these relationships will prepare our leaders of tomorrow to be ready for new responsibilities.

Most of all, the goal of IJSBA will be to ensure that racing operations stay available and sustainable. We intend to forger new partnerships that involve all parties playing to their strengths and making the entire sport grow over the practice of cutting it up into pieces. History has shown, consistently, that when there is cooperation, the sport grows. Conflict makes racing smaller and more unpleasant. This is our mantra and how we will move forward. We are confident that with our local partners we have a new system that will ensure World Finals stays in Lake Havasu City through our 50th anniversary and, hopefully, beyond. This gives whatever partners join the team to know how and where to plan for the globe’s signature event.

Please stay tuned to IJSBA for more announcements coming shortly. If you have questions or comments regarding this posting, please contact IJSBA by emailing [email protected].

IJSBA Announces Pro Watercross As First Premiere USA Partner For 2026

IJSBA announces Pro Watercross as first premiere partner in the United States of America.  This partnership will be intsrumental in strong directions for 2026 as well as new faces and new perspectives helping to forge an evolving identity for racing.  2026 will see a muti faceted approach which centers around exposure and opportunities for all levels of Personal Watercraft Racing as well as further outreach to enthusiasts.  Please see their press release below.

Official Pro Watercross Press Release – January 4, 2026

Honoring the Legacy. Redefining the Future.

For nearly half a century, Lake Havasu and the International Jet Sports Boating Association have built their legacies side by side, together shaping one of the most recognized venues in personal watercraft racing. As we launch the 2026 Pro Watercross National Tour, dubbed “The Road To Havasu”, we aren’t just racing for trophies, we are racing to preserve a 45-year tradition while ushering in a bold new era of unity for the sport. This allows IJSBA to play to its strength in maintaining administrative roles and legal aspects of the sport while giving Pro Watercross more opportunity to find new directions for the racing.

In 2026, Pro Watercross will return to the IJSBA as a sanctioned promoter, a thoughtfully considered move that sets the stage for a transformative chapter in 2027. This marks the beginning of a fresh outlook on how the National Champion is crowned and how the sport evolves, while unifying the sport from within. We are retooling the tour to ensure the World Finals in Lake Havasu truly benefits the Privateer Racer by optimizing the Havasu experience to reward the immense effort and travel costs invested to compete in the Jet Ski Capital of the World.

The independent racer is at the core of what we are doing, they are the athletes who wrench on their own skis and fund their own travel. These racers make up the vast majority of our base, and are the lifeblood of this tour. We are committed to making racing more affordable without sacrificing the professional stage we believe Pro Watercross racers deserve. This is a race program for everyone. The budget racer will be given the same attention and opportunity as the big trailer teams.

By strategically aligning multiple National Tour stops with Regional Races, we are reducing the travel burden. This unified format allows racers to “stretch their dollar” by competing for both regional recognition and national points during a single, high-impact weekend. The cost to enter these National Tour events will remain the same as a Regional event! We plan to give you an elevated experience in racing whether you attend one round or the entire season.

Visibility and viewership should be for all, benefitting everyone in our sport; the sponsors, promoters, venue locations and participants, including privateers. Our partnership with National television networking provides a massive platform to help reach all audiences passionate about racing. We aren’t just filming the leaders; we are telling the “Narrative of the Hunt,” highlighting the grit of racers throughout the entire field. Every stop is designed to generate professional media. We provide the high-quality photos, video clips, and TV airtime racers need to deliver real ROI to their local sponsors.

The 2026 season features a robust nine-stop schedule, culminating in the prestigious Championship Finale in Lake Havasu City, AZ, home to the iconic London Bridge and Body Beach. To ensure a fair pursuit of the title, the 2026 Tour Champion will be determined by a racer’s top four scores from the regular season, combined with their performance at the Road to Havasu Finale. Top finishers will be invited to pit out of the Pro Watercross VIP Pit area and will receive additional coverage at World Finals.

In the event that certain classes do not meet the minimum score requirements for this formula, the champion will be determined by total overall points accumulated throughout the season. This dual-layered structure rewards both season-long consistency and peak performance on the grandest stage.

Class offerings will be prioritized based on national high-point statistics, ensuring deep fields and high-octane racing in the most popular categories.

We believe in honoring the dedication of those who drive this sport forward. Recognition will be extended to the top five finishers in each class.

To match the prestige of a National Title, Trophy Extreme will be the official award provider for the 2026 Tour Champions! These one-of-a-kind awards are being custom-engineered to a scale and quality that reflects the magnitude of a national victory.

The 2026 season serves as the foundation to a transformative 2027, as we are building a future of combined events that will further streamline the path to the World Finals. Solidifying the Havasu experience as the gold standard of racing, we believe in continuing this experience for generations to come. We honor the 45-year history of the sport while prioritizing a future where the independent racer can thrive, get noticed, and win. IJSBA has invited Pro Watercross to be a unifying conduit for changes in the racing program and developing different perspectives that come from a collective national effort.

As we look toward 2027, we are exploring a unified combo-event where the National Tour and the World Finals converge. This approach aims to streamline the championship process, allowing independent athletes to compete for both National and World honors in a single, high-impact residency, maximizing both their resources and their media exposure on high profile national television coverage.

The Road to Havasu starts here.