For 2026, Region 8 is officially back on the table, and it’s doing it with intent. What racers once knew as the Triple Crown has been reborn as The 8 Ball Cup, a championship series that doubles down on what made Northeast racing special in the first place: tight competition, deep fields, and zero room for shortcuts.
This isn’t a national mashup. This isn’t a traveling experiment.
The 8 Ball Cup stays exclusively rooted in IJSBA Region 8, reinforcing the loyalty, grit, and long-standing rivalries that define East Coast Watercross racing.
And the theme is fitting.
High stakes. One chance. Call the 8.
Four Classes, Ten Rounds, No Mulligans
The 8 Ball Cup will be contested across four cornerstone classes, each running the full ECW season:
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Pro/Am Runabout 1100 Limited
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Novice 1100 Limited
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Pro/Am Sport Spec
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Pro/Am Ski GP
From developing talent to established veterans, this lineup reflects the depth Region 8 has quietly been building for years.
The format is simple and unforgiving:
Five race weekends. Ten total rounds. IJSBA points system.
No cherry-picking weekends. No hiding from bad finishes. Championship contenders will be the racers who can show up — and deliver — every single round.
The final verdict comes at Sylvan Beach, New York, where the ECW Season Championship also doubles as an official Pro Watercross National Tour stop, complete with national TV exposure for racers and sponsors.
Real Hardware, Real Prizes
Backing the series is a lineup of names deeply tied to the sport, including Todd Czarzinski, Nickerson Performance, Jay “The Chicken Man” Edworthy, Jet-X Powersports, Extreem Service Center, and Hot Slag Co.
The projected prize pool is already pushing $30,000+, with fundraising raffles adding serious incentive along the way — including an XP800 donated by Todd from the BRP Museum and a fully restored, race-ready Sea-Doo HX Sport Spec built by Brad Nickerson.
Cash payouts go only to the top three finishers in each class, reinforcing that this is a championship chase, not a participation trophy tour.
And then there’s the hardware.
Hot Slag Co’s custom metal trophies return once again — iconic Region 8 iron that racers know carries real weight. Winning one doesn’t just mean points. It means legacy.
Winter Racing Is Closer Than You Think
If all this talk of gates dropping has you itching to ride sooner, don’t forget — ECW’s 2026 Winter Series in Florida is coming up fast.
Lake Alfred Lions Park will once again host two back-to-back winter race weekends (February 20–22 and February 27–March 1), complete with Friday practice days, youth development programs, camping on site, pit parties, and even AMA Supercross Daytona streaming live in the pits.
Between the return of Region 8’s flagship championship and winter racing loading up in Florida, East Coast Watercross isn’t easing into 2026 — it’s throttling into it.
Read Below for the Full Press Releases
The Region 8 Name Lives ON!!!!
The passion of the classic competition classes lives with it.
The 8 Ball Cup – Region 8 Championship Series
With the launch of the 2026 season, what was formerly known as the Triple Crown is coming back bigger, stronger, and fully rooted where it began.
Originally built around the core of IJSBA Region 8 racers, the series returns under a new identity — The 8 Ball Cup — and for the first time will remain exclusively within the iconic Northeast Region 8, reinforcing the strength, loyalty, and competitiveness of East Coast Watercross.
The 8 Ball Cup represents high stakes, no shortcuts, and all-in racing, where every round matters and every racer must “call their shot” across the entire season.
Classes Competing in the 8 Ball Cup
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Pro/Am Runabout 1100 Limited
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Novice 1100 Limited
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Pro/Am Sport Spec
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Pro/Am Ski GP
Season Format
Full ECW season: 5 weekends (10 rounds) using the IJSBA points system.
Champions will be crowned at the Sylvan Beach, NY finale, an official Pro Watercross National Tour stop with national television exposure.
Prize Pool, Payouts & Giveaways
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XP800 donated by Todd from the BRP Museum
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Sea-Doo HX Sport Spec race-ready build by Nickerson Performance
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Projected prize pool exceeding $30,000+
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Cash payouts to Top 3 finishers in each class only
Iconic Region 8 Hardware
Custom metal trophies by Hot Slag Co — a defining symbol of Region 8 championships for over a decade.
Ten rounds. Four classes. One region. One shot to call the 8.
2026 Winter racing in Florida is coming back to Lake Alfred Lions Park!
The Address for the venue is 175-N N Nekoma Ave, Lake Alfred, FL 33850
Dates- February 20-22, February 27-March 1
Friday Feb 20th and Friday February 27th practice 11-4pm
****NEW****Buoy 101 class held on friday the 20th! free of charge hosted by Cardone Race Corner- scroll to bottom to review details!
*****NEW***** Young Guns youth development will be on site on friday the 20th to do youth racer training! This is a non profit and runs soley on sponsorships so please donate! Big thank you to Worx Racing and Hot Products and all of the volunteers that put these events on! This will follow similar details as the buoy 101 just geared towards the 8-17 year olds. more info at the bottom of this page.
Saturday and Sunday both weekends riders meeting @8:30am followed by practice at 9am, then right into racing!
Weddings scheduled at the Adams Estate for 4pm so our quiet time is 4pm for all of the days we are there and we must be good neighbors so we need to make sure racing stays on time!
HOST HOTEL- call and tell them you are with ECW you save %15 on your stay! Or CLICK THIS LINK
Staybridge Suites Winter Haven – Auburndale
No booking link yet, call and tell them you are with ECW and you will receive 15% off!
Office: 863.229.5145
Mobile: 815.690.6462
305 5th St. NW Avenue D
Winter Haven, FL 33881
Tentative Class list- if we have 4 or 5 entries we can create any class!
– Junior X2
-Junior ski (depending on turnout we can break up into IJSBA junior age classes)
-Junior WX1050 AJSA RULES
-Junior Four Stroke Ski Lites
-Junior Sport Spec
-Vintage Ski 550
-Vintage Ski OPEN
-Superchicken
-Pro/am Sport GP
-Pro/am Sport Spec
-Pro/am Runabout 1100 Limited
-Nov Runabout 1100 Limited
-Beginner Runabout 1100 Limited
-Womens Runabout 1100 Limited
-Pro/am Runabout 1100 Open
-Pro/am Ski lites
-Pro/Am X2 Open
-WX1050 (AJSA rules)
-Pro/am runabout four stroke STOCK *******
-Pro/am Runabout Rec Lites
-Pro/am Ski Stock
-Pro/am Four stroke ski lites
-Pro/am Ski GP
CAMPING ON SITE ALLOWED- CAMPING IS ALLOWED DURING THE WEEK IN BETWEEN RACES! FREE OF CHARGE IF YOU PAY YOUR WEEKEND FEE NO ADDITIONAL COST FOR MID WEEK!
Racers can leave trailers on site if you need to fly home to get back to work for a few days between the races, we have a fenced in area that can be “locked” and we will have local police keep an eye on things as well as a good amount of people staying the week on site
Camping will be $100 per weekend paid on site per rig whether thats a trailer, camper, truck or van.
If Anyone needs to get trailers down to FL before too much snow flies we have a property available to us in orlando area courtesy of Sean Hagen- email me to coordinate.
LAKE ALFRED LIONS CLUB will be providing us with breakfast and lunch on site friday to sunday on both weekends and will also be hosting a friday night pit party each friday! complete with Pulled pork, baked beans, Mac n Cheese, and strawberry shortcake for only $20!!! oh yea and A CASH BAR!!! The lions club building is right on site so it couldn’t be easier and it goes to support a great cause! They may even have Bingo Saturday night if you are feeling lucky! Check them out at www.lakealfredlionsclub.com
SATURDAY FEB 28 AMA SUPERCROSS Daytona ON THE BIG SCREEN IN THE PITS!!! We will bring a projector and tie into our stereo system and projector! bring a chair and hang out and watch the pros race!!
