2011 FLOW Championships Will Follow a New Format at Durban October 5-9

For the 2011 FLOW Championships, the decision has been made to break down the competition into three main divisions, each with three disciplines (see below). This new format will bring the best competitors in the world into each of these disciplines, rather than bringing only riders who can compete well in all three disciplines of their division, which ensures that the World Champion in each discipline is truly the best flowrider that we can find on the planet. The competitor who racks up the most total points in a division, will be the Overall FLOW Champion. It’s a streamlined and easy to follow change for both competitors and onlookers.

Men's Pro-Flowboard

FlowRider ^®
FlowBarrel ^® Strapped
FlowBarrel Strapless

Women’s Pro-Flowboard

FlowRider
FlowBarrel Strapped
FlowBarrel Strapless

Open Pro-Bodyboard

FlowRider
FlowBarrel Prone
FlowBarrel Drop Knee

This year we have made some format improvements that will allow more riders to participate in the Championships and vie for the title of Champion. First, there will be no Wild Card Team, instead there will be trials for each discipline. Any rider can enter any trial and the best will fill the open trial positions (see open positions below) and move on to compete in the Championships. Second, we are no longer requiring all riders to compete in all three disciplines of their division, see below for more details on the Team and Individual Rider descriptions. This new format allows competitors to compete in separate disciplines throughout the Divisions, based on their individual skill set. In 2011, we will see 9 individual Discipline Champion - the best of the best in each discipline, the Overall Champion - the best rider who competed in all three of his divisions, and the FLOW Championships Champions Team - the team with the highest sum of individual team riders' points.

Team Competition

While we have removed the Wild Card Team, we have introduced regional FlowRider Teams to the competition along with the traditional FLOW Championship Teams.

FlowRider Teams

The US, Europe and Asia regions are holding qualifying competitions on local FlowRider wave machines to determine their best riders. These riders are automatically seeded into the FlowRider disciplines of the FLOW Championships and their individual points will be totaled for their team to determine the FlowRider Team Champions.

Below are the dates of the FlowRider Team Qualifiers

Europe: September 10, 2011
Asia: October 1, 2011. Read More
US: August 13-14, 2011. Read More

FLOW Championships Teams

Each Wave House is holding a qualifying competition to select their top riders, who will be seeded into all disciplines at the FLOW Championships and are required to compete in them. Each individual rider's points will go toward their country to determine the overall FLOW Championship Team Champions.

Below are dates of each FLOW Championships Qualifiers

US: August 27, 2011. Read More
Singapore: September 3, 2011
Santiago: September 2-3, 2011
South Africa: September 3, 2011
UAE: September 8-10, 2011
Download Team Qualifier Format here

Individual Competitions

As mentioned above, the members of the regional FlowRider Team Riders will be seeded only into their FlowRider discipline, but the FLOW Championship Team Riders will be seeded into all disciplines of their divisions. However, each discipline will have additional spots available for individual riders.

There will be trials for each discipline prior to the main event that will allow any individual rider to try out for the chance to compete in the FLOW Championships. Riders can enter as many or as few trials as they want (unless gender specific), including FlowRider Team members trying out for the FlowBarrel disciplines. The winners of these trials will compete in the Championships along with the pre-determined Teams.

The Trials will result in the following competitors: