The infamous ‘Rocks’ play a key role in the action when there is little wind and high waves. This is where Antony Ruenes picks up the bits and pieces of his windsurfing kit.

WWT / PWA Aloha Classic 2026

The quarter-final fixtures have been decided

Tropical air masses are causing heavy rainfall on Maui and disrupting the trade winds. Nevertheless, there was still plenty of windsurfing action. With light winds but increasingly large, clean waves, further heats in the men’s competition were held off Hookipa. The women’s competition has not yet started.

With such a light breeze – where it's impossible to glide without the push of the waves – it's like a slow-motion game of water chess as the riders manoeuvre into position at the spot. Anyone who rides a wave too far out or takes a tumble ends up either on Hookipa’s famous ‘Rocks’ or, in the best-case scenario, has to struggle their way out through the white water. The right tactics and the ability to read the waves – along with a bit of luck – are particularly important in these conditions.

Philip Köster

Philip Köster is currently second in the world rankings behind Marc Paré. A good result in Maui would be particularly important for Philip in the title race. In his first heat, Köster made it through to the second round, albeit trailing the lightweight Thomas Traversa by a significant margin. There, in an extremely strong heat, he faced Marcilio Browne and Morgan Noireaux. Browne won, with Noireaux finishing second.

Philip narrowly lost to Morgan Noireaux by 1.34 points. This means the German has been knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals. Moritz Mauch also finished third in his quarter-final heat against Antoine Martin and Thomas Traversa and was eliminated.

Liam Dunkerbeck

Things went exceptionally well for Liam Dunkerbeck, however. Björn Dunkerbeck’s son narrowly beat world number one Marc Paré Rico in his heat and qualified for the semi-finals alongside Marc Paré. Boujmaa Guilloul, Marcili Browne, Antoine Martin, Morgan Noireaux and Bernd Roediger also made it through to the semi-finals.

Bernd Roediger

In the men’s competition, the two semi-finals and the final are still to be contested. In the women’s main field of 16, a total of seven heats must be held to produce a complete result. The World Cup runs until 30 October.

Arthur Arutkin

Bernd Roediger