LET’S RIDE: a complete guide to 2020 Jet Ski events

If you’re looking to find a Jet Ski event, you may be a little lost as to where to go. Lucky for you, there’s Jet Ski events going on all over the world — and we’re going to map it out for you.

Throughout the U.S. (and the world) there are Jet Ski rides and races going on all year — but they can be hard to find… To ease your pain, we’ve compiled a list of events for rec riding, racing, freestyle and more!

If you’re completely new to Jet Ski racing, have no fear. Most events will offer a beginner class. You are allowed to race beginner class on a PWC of any kind/engine, and are allowed to race that class 3 times before you are moved to a skill level and class that supports you and your machine. 

There are several different series throughout the country that have their own championships. Most of the time, you earn points by competing in individual classes, and whoever has the most points at the end of the season is the series’ champion.

Several of these different series also have championship events. Some are simply a tour championship, but some may also have a BIG championship. These bigger championships usually include more riders, bigger tracks, and prize money. If you’re interested in attending one of the bigger championships, you may need to qualify for that event. 

 

CLOSED COURSE RACING 

Much like motocross, closed course racing features a line of several riders racing one another through a buoy course, sometimes accompanied by log jumps! 

WEST COAST

Jet Jam Racing Series

Jet Jam is a racing series primarily on the west coast. It is sanctioned by the AWSA. Their races feature compact classes and stand-up oriented tracks. They have a wide variety of classes for beginners and older model skis. These races are part of their own series, with their own series championship. They are not associated with the IJSBA. 

March 28-29 Nautical Resort, Lake Havasu City, AZ

April 18-19 Nautical Resort, Lake Havasu City, AZ

May 16-17 Nautical Resort, Lake Havasu City, AZ

June 6-7 Porterville, CA

June 20-21 Wheatland, CA

August 1-2 Lathrop, CA

 

AWSA Championship

September 18-20 Nautical Resort, Lake Havasu City, AZ

For more information on the Jet Jam series, visit their website here. 

 

IJSBA Best of the West Tour

The RPM Racing “Jettribe Best of the West” tour is an IJSBA sanctioned west coast race tour. These events will help you qualify for the IJSBA World Finals, and each day of racing counts as a qualifying round. These events follow traditional IJSBA classes and race formats.

April 4-5 Huntington Beach, CA*

May 2-3 Parker, AZ

June 6-7 Ventura, CA*

August 8-9 Lake Elsinore, CA

For more information, visit their website here.

*These events are moto-surf and freeride events. Motos will take place in the ocean, and will also have freeride events (freeride is similar to freestyle).


NORTHWEST 

Northwest Jet Sports tour

Sanctioned by the AWSA, the Northwest Jet Sports tour has several stops in Washington for closed-course Jet Ski racing.

June 27-28 Elma,WA

July 18-19 Pateros, WA

August 1-2 Oroville, WA

For more information, check out the AWSA or the NorthWest Jet Sports tour Facebook page.


MIDWEST 

Nauti Water Racing Series

The Nauti Water Racing tour is an IJSBA sanctioned closed-course Jet Ski racing series centered in the midwest. These races will qualify you for the IJSBA World Championship and each day of racing counts as a round.

June 6-7 Wichita, KS

July 11-12 Location TBA

August 7-9 Location TBA

For more information on the Nauti Water tour, check out their Facebook page here.

 

Texas Racing

Jettribe will be putting on an exhibition racing event in Texas to show what PWC racing is about. This is not a sanctioned event, or a qualifier for any championship series.

May 16 – Sulphur Springs, TX

For more information, join the Texas Watercross Facebook group here.

Great Lakes Watercross

The Great Lakes Watercross series is the longest running PWC series in the USA primarily in the Michigan/Wisconsin area.

June 6-7 Sinissippi Lake

June 20-21 Petenwell Lake

July 11-12 Neosho Mill Pond

August 1-2 TBA

August 29-30 Neosho Mill Pond

September 12-13 Lake Koshkonong

 

For more information, check out the Great Lakes Watercross Facebook page.

 

EAST COAST

East Coast Watercross

The east coast series is arguably the biggest series on the east coast in terms of attendance. This series is IJSBA sanctioned and will qualify you for the IJSBA World Championships.

May 30-31 Webster, MA

June 20-21 Wadington, NY

July 25-26 Plattsburgh, NY

August 22-23 Watkins Glen, NY

For more information on the East Coast Watercross racing series, check out their website here.

Pro Watercross

The Pro Watercross tour is primarily in the southern half of the United States, and ends with its own series championship.

April 18-19 St. Petersburg, FL

May 2-3 Daytona Beach, FL

May 9-10 Panama City, FL

June 6-7 South Padre Island, TX

June 27-28 Lake Hartwell, GA

August 8-9 Lake Charles, LA

October 29-November 1 Naples, FL

Find more info on Pro Watercross here.  

 

OFF SHORE RACING

Exciting endurance racing in some of the toughest ocean conditions in the world!

LB2CAT – July 18

RPM Racing enterprises puts on the iconic Long Beach to Catalina Island event every year. Check out the event info here.

 

P1AQUAX Series

P1AquaX is a fast-growing offshore endurance racing series that takes palce all over the world. They have several rounds in the United States.

April 18-19 Daytona Beach, FL

May 2 Tavares, FL

May 15-17 Cocoa Beach, FL

June 13-14 St. Pete Beach, FL

August 1-2 Michigan City

For international tour dates and more information, check out their website here. 

FREERIDE

If you’re just looking to Jet Ski and have a good time, check out these events! These may sometimes include a one off race or freestyle event.
Pismo Beach Freeride – Pismo Beach, CA

Wave Daze – Virginia Beach

Run Whatcha Brung Poker Run –  May 29-31 – Parker, AZ

That Sand Bar Run – April 11 – Lake Havasu City, Az

 

FREESTYLE

If racing isn’t your thing, check out these freestyle events! Freestyle is an event where each rider goes out individually and performs a short routine of tricks for the crowd, and is ranked by a panel of judges.*

US Freestyle Championship

*Most closed course events will also have freestyle exhibitions during intermission, send the series an email to see if you can show up and show off!

CHAMPIONSHIP SYSTEMS

In the U.S. there are several different series, some of which have their own championships. This is important to keep in mind when you are choosing which events you want to attend. Let us break it down for you.

All Jet Ski tours will have a “tour championship”. A tour championship is determined based on the rider who accumlates the most points in an indivusal class. The more events or wins you rack up, the more likely you are to win. Some series also have a stand alone championship at the end of the season which will feature bigger lineups, prize money, etc. This is a show up and win event and usually requires that you qualify before you can enter.  

 

AWSA Championship
The AWSA will be having their own championship apart from the tour championship in 2020. The tour championship is determined by the overall points in individual classes throughout the series. The championship will be a separate event, held in September. In order to qualify for this event, you must race an AWSA sanctioned event.

 

IJSBA World Series Championship / IJSBA World Finals

The IJSBA recently introduced the World Series, which is comprised of 3 major championships. If you win the most points from the three events, you become a “World Series” champion. One of these World Series rounds is the famous World Finals in Lake Havasu City, AZ. The World Finals take place the first week of October and typically sees athletes from 40+ different countries in attendance. In order to qualify you must race two rounds of IJSBA sanctioned racing prior to the World Finals.

 

Pro Watercross Championship

The Pro Watercross tour also has their own championship. This event takes place in Naples, FL. In order to take part in this event, you must race a Pro Watercross tour event prior to the championship.

INTERNATIONAL RACING SERIES

There’s a lot of racing around the world, but here are some of the big international series out there.

JSRA (Great Britain) 

Aquabike European Championships

Jetcross (Europe)

JJSBA (Japan)

NZJSBA (New Zealand)

AJSBA (Australia) 

SAJSBA (South Africa)

 

It may seem a little intimidating, but with a little research you’ll be ready to go. There’s Jet Ski racing going on all over the country throughout the year, and the world! If you have any questions, or need help tracking down your local race series, don’t hesitate to call the PWC people at Pro Watercraft.

If you’re not sure what you need to have to go racing, check out our article on 5 things you NEED to go racing, here.

Is there anything we can help you with?

Enter your details below to save your shopping cart for later. And, who knows, maybe we will even send you a sweet discount code :)