Yamaha has revived the WaveBlaster for the 2027 Model Year and it is a fitting product for the modern era. This introduction comes at a massive wave of interest towards the nostalgia spirit of the sport and a return to performance levels similar to those found in the mid 1990s when the growth of the sport was driven by an unprecedented amount of new units sold. Here is a link to the new 2027 Yamaha lineup including the new WaveBlaster: Yamaha WaveRunners – The #1 Brand on the Water | Yamaha WaveRunners. Naturally, with an exciting new surprise product, IJSBA has received a pretty significant amount of questions this morning. We hope we have covered them below assuming Yamaha wants to have this product run in our Sanctioned Competition. We will have more information as it is received.
Questions and answers:
- Do the current WaveBlaster published specifications meet IJSBA's requirements for the Sport Class division of racing?
ANSWER: Yes. Sport Class requirements are a length no greater than 120 inches and a width between 26 inches and 38 inches. Yamaha's published specifications are within these parameters.
2. Can the new WaveBlaster compete in the same categories as previous Sport Class?
ANSWER: Yes. The IJSBA two stroke to four stroke compatibility formula allows naturally aspirated four stroke engine displacements up to 1100cc to run with two stroke engine displacements up to 800cc. Therefore, this 2027 WaveBlaster can be run in categories that feature the older WaveBlaster and other similar 1990s era Sport Class watercraft. Whether individual promoters wish to split mix the watercraft in some classifications will be their decision as to what is best for their individual market. IJSBA will begin developing a general 2027 Sport Division plan by having preliminary discussions with attendees at the 2026 SBT World Finals.
3. Can a manufacturer homologate Personal Watercraft for competition in quantities less than 500?
ANSWER: Yes. IJSBA Homologation Rule HOM.5.2.a provides for homologation in quantities below 500.
4. When can the 2027 WaveBlaster be used in sanctioned competition?
ANSWER: Units must be introduced and on the showroom floors available for purchase by the general consumer market 90 days prior to the annual World Finals. Otherwise, the units may be used in the current calendar year the day after World Finals ends. The IJSBA Homologation process must be completed prior to introduction in racing.
If you have questions or comments about this notice, please send them to IJSBA by emailing info@ijsba.com.
Ps- please notice that we have featured the female rider for article posting. This comes on the heels of a Women's Sport Spec class being incredibly successful in 2026 and will be featured at this year's SBT World Finals for the very first time ever. The women segment of Personal Watercraft Racing is growing. In fact some of the biggest changes to racing are going to becoming due to the role of women in the sport as participants and leaders in PWC specific businesses. Failures to identify and adapt to these types of increasing roles of women can lead to missed opportunities for the sport (it can also unfairly turn a very solid A paper into an A minus paper- don't think I have forgotten Dr. Wendy Sarvasy from my 1998 Cal State Women in Politics Class).
