Flyboard World Cup

 Flyboard USA

 

 Welcome to our Flyboard World Cup information page

H2RO Magazine provides comprehensive coverage of the Flyboard World Cup and other Pro Flyboarding events from around the world. We were in Doha, Qatar in 2013, Dubai in 2014 and are already looking forward to an exciting 2015 X Dubai Flyboard World Cup event. On this page you will find a bit of history about the largest Hydroflight competition currently happening in the world. We will also link you to our official event pages for each of the previous years.

2015 World Cup date is December 3, 4, and 5th

For the first time ever we will have a Hoverboard race at the 2015 X Dubai Flyboard World Cup. There will be prize money attached to the race and it should be a great event for both fans and competitors.

 Looks like at this year’s Flyboard World Cup competitors will have the choice between the new Flyboard Pro Series and the Flyboard Legend. They will also be flying with the new 75 ft X-Armour hose and on the new ZR impeller. The Pro Series board can be flown in the locked or unlocked (independent feet) setting depending on the competitors preference. This makes me think that even competitors who have not flown much on the Pro Series will still opt for it even if they leave it locked. We’ll see….

X DUBAI FLYBOARD WORLD CUP 2015 COMPETITION INFORMATION

REGISTRATION

• Participants must fill and return the registration form at: event@zapata-racing.com.
  (Link to download registration form coming soon)
• The registration will be validated at the reception of flight ticket and passport.
• The participants must pay attention to their passport validity.
  The nationals from the countries NOT mentioned in the list below will have to send their passport copy the soonest in order to receive the VISA for the entry into the Dubai territory.
  Countries for which a VISA is NOT required: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vatican City.

PARTICIPANTS
The competition will gather 42 professional competitors, 10 veterans and 10 ladies from more than 20 countries.
VIDEO PRE-SELECTION
40 participants will be selected either by the video pre-selection executed by the official World Cup judges or automatically entered due to a previous competitive result (see bullets below). The UAE Cup will also see two competitors fly in the Pro division.

• Only one video per participant
• Video should last a maximum of two minutes and be filmed in one sequential shot (no cut or editing allowed)
• Video must be sent BY OCTOBER 9th to event@zapata-racing.com with the subject line “XDubai Video – Name of the participant” and will appear on the dedicated youtube channel.
• In the case judges are at a stalemate, the number of “likes” or “thumbs up” on a competitors submission video will be taken into account when the judges make their final decisions.
  Competitors who have automatically earned a spot in the competition and do not need to submit a video:
• 16 finalists of the XDubai Flyboard World Cup 2014
• 4 finalists of the North America Flyboard Championship
• 2 finalists of UAE National Cup

COMPETITION AREA
The competition is organized on the sea, in a sheltered bay with calm water. The competition area will be in a square of 100 by 50 meters delimited by buoys. A pontoon will allow competitors to equip and take off.
SPORT PROGRAM

• 42 professional riders compete in the Qualifying Round.
• Top 16 competitors are then paired up for their first Battle Round based on their Qualifying Round score.
• Each Battle Round will see the competitor with the highest score compete against the competitor with the lowest score and so on.
• During each Battle both competitors will receive a score from the Judges which will determine the winner who will move on to the next round. The lower score of any battle is eliminated irregardless of its relationship to other scores in other battles. The running order will be given during the briefing.

SCORING SYSTEM
The competitors will be judged by a panel of judges composed of 5 professionals, and one Head Judge, who will assign points according to the following criteria:

• Technique: (Trick execution, trick difficulty and innovation) : 2 judges
  (a more accurate scoring scale will be posted mid-November)
• The variety/diversity of tricks : 1 judge
• Show (coherence and construction of tricks and combos, flow with an escalation in difficulty and a grand finale, attitude of riders)
• Competitors energy (number of scoreable tricks, execution speed, execution rhythm)

Each judge will score on a five point scale, which will result in a total score potential of a 100 points. The winner is the competitor who received the highest total score.
PRIZES AND AWARDS
At the end of the competition, the judges will award the 2015 X Dubai Flyboard World Champion with a gold Flyboard deck and prize money of $5000.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
Any competitor whose PWC goes out of the competition area will receive a yellow card. If it occurs a second time, the competitor will receive an elimination red card. ( We believe a red card and elimination will occur for a second offense incurred in any round of the competition)
If the PWC flips, the competitor will be disqualified.
EQUIPMENT
During the competition and exclusively during the stages (no training sessions), the following equipment will be available for the riders:
– Flyboard Pro-series 2015 (without hand stabilizers) + wireless EMK + Shoes S/M
In the case where the competitor wants to use his own equipment, the rider will have to bring the following items:
– Original Board 2014 or Original Board pro series 2015
– Shoes of his choice
– « Y » 2014 (ref. FB02B01)
– Wireless EMK (only wireless EMK are allowed)
Compulsory equipment:
– Lifejacket
– For ladies: wetsuit, no swimwear allowed
Drivers are not permitted.
COMPETITION PLANNING
WEDNESDAY 2nd of DECEMBER
18:00 Inscription and welcome dinner
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3rd // UAE NATIONAL CUP
Morning: UAE National Cup Starts // 2 Minutes Rounds

• Round of 16
• Round of 8
• Round of 4
• Final ( both finalists receive World Cup entries)

Afternoon: X DUBAI Flyboard World Cup Ladies // 1.5 Minutes Rounds

• Ranking of the 10 competitors
• Round of 8
• Round of 4 (To be held on Saturday)
• Final Round (To be held of Saturday)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4th

Morning: X DUBAI Flyboard World Cup Veterans // 1.5 Minutes Rounds

• Ranking of 10 veteran riders
• Round of 8
• Round of 4  (To be held on Saturday)
• Final Round  (To be held of Saturday)

Afternoon:  Pro Rider Qualifications and Ranking

• 40 competitors + 2 UAE finalists – individual run – time limit: 1.30 min ranking
  The riders will run individually in front of the judges and will have to present a minimum of 5 tricks in a time limit of 1.30 min. At the end of this stage, the top 16 riders will qualify for the next round.
  The score obtained during the qualification run will dictate a competitors rank for the Battle pairings but will not be recorded for the next stages.

Points: For ranking and qualifications, scores will be public
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5th

Morning: HoverBoard by ZR® Race (Test Run)
Afternoon: Completion of All Divisions

• Pro Riders – Round of 16
  16 competitors – 8 battles – time limit: 2 min

The top 16 competitors from Qualifying will be grouped into 8 battles (2 competitors by battle). The competitors will be divided according to the scores obtained during their qualification run. Each competitor receives two minutes to present the maximum number of tricks.

• Pro Riders – Round of 8
  8 competitors – 4 battles – time limit: 2 min

At this stage of the competition, the remaining 8 competitors are divided in 4 battle pairings. Each competitor will have 2 minute run.
• Ladies Semi Final // 3 Minute Round
• Ladies Final // 3 Minute Round
• Veteran Semi Final // 3 Minute Round
• Veteran Final // 3 Minute Round
• Hoverboard Crono (timed) Race with four competitors.
IMPORTANT NOTE: From the Quarterfinal Round to the Final Round,  competitors will have to perform the following figures: 1080, double back flip, superman and spin back flip, and will be judged on the quality of each trick.
(H2RO asks: What is a 1080 on the Pro Series board?)
• Pro riders SEMI FINAL
4 competitors – 2 battles – time limit: 3 min
• Pro riders FINAL
2 competitors – individual run – time limit: 4 min
For the final, the two finalists will each have four minutes to present their best tricks and choreography to music. This final overall performance will be judged and the highest score will determine the 2015 X Dubai Flyboard World Champion.
18:00 Award Ceremony
H2RO wishes all the competitors the very best and thanks them for their dedication to our young sport!
_______________________________________________________

FLYBOARD WORLD CUP HISTORY…

In 2012, 50 Professional Flyboarders from 21 countries arrived in Doha, Qatar to compete in the first ever Flyboard World Championship. The competitors skill levels were as diverse as the reactions by onlookers as these new ‘superheroes’ took to the sky with jets of water spraying from their feet and hands. The competition was a success on many levels in that it brought a community of athletes together who ended up pioneering a brand new sport called Flyboarding. The 2012 Flyboard World Champion was Stephane Prayas of France followed by Sweden’s Petter Berglund and Trey Andrews of the USA.

In 2013, one short year later the arms were off and the world had become very aware that flight was possible and a lot more fun than ever imagined. Again 70+ athletes headed to Qatar this time with a vastly improved command of the board and a repertoire of tricks that looked purposeful and inspiring run after run. None had taken their skills to a higher level than Thailand’s own Suksan Tongthai. His ‘Back to Back’ flip ( a double with a slight pause between flips) was a hugely impressive trick and he also unleashed new variations that made him impossible to beat. Cooper Riggs finished second and Ben Merrell third, both from the USA. 15 year old Damone Rippy burst onto the scene in 2013 with a fourth place finish and used the event as a launch pad to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable and successful Pro Flyboarders.

The 2014 X Dubai Flyboard World Cup was a spectacle both on and off the water. Again 70+ Pro Flyboarders competed and with new sponsor X Dubai at the helm the event has a home for the next four years. It will be scheduled for the last week of November or first week of December in Dubai. Suksan Tongthai dropped the first Flyboard triple backflip and repeated as World Champion while Damone Rippy continued to prove he’s one of the best in the world finishing second. Jake Orel a fellow Aquafly teammate of Damone’s flew his way onto podium for the first time with a 3rd place finish. 2012 World Champion Stephane Prayas found himself back in the mix finishing in 4th.

This year’s event will see some rule, scoring, judging and format updates similar we believe to the execution of the 2015 North American Flyboard Championship. X Dubai plans on doubling the prize money each and every year meaning that 1st place should be worth a cool $20,000 in 2015.

by--http://www.h2romagazine.com/flyboard-world-cup