Windsurfing
A Force 10 storm is all it'll take to kick off the world's roughest and toughest windsurfing contest.
Starting January 5, 14 very anxious windsurfers will be constantly watching weather maps. What they're looking for on the maps is red – a code-red level storm that will bring the kind of waves they live for and kick Red Bull Storm Chase into life. Nothing about it is easy.
Only an epic storm will do
Most windsurfing contests work like this: you know the date and the location, and you show up hoping for wind and waves. Red Bull Storm Chase is built around the concept that it's a lot more fun to go where you know there's going to be guaranteed wind and waves. Is it easy? No. Is it epic? That's practically guaranteed.
How it works
The Red Bull Storm Chase crew works with professional meteorologists and forecasters to pin down the when and where of the perfect storm. Then it's go time. Riders go on watch 120 hours before the potential contest occurs. At 72 hours, the rider list is finalised – there's four places guaranteed to previous competitors and four more slots to be filled from a pool of 10 – and then riders and crew begin traveling to the location. Once they arrive at the chosen location, they then have 24 hours to prep for the storm.
Jumps, tricks and radness
Once Red Bull Storm Chase starts, each windsurfer will be out there doing his best – first to survive the pounding surf and then impress the judges. Riders are judged on the difficulty and amplitude of their jumps and tricks, and, of course, on style. Will a little scrappy bravery score you more points – it's tough to say, that's up the team of judges.
Check out the incredible action from Red Bull Storm Chase from last year in the video below.
How to watch
Don't want to miss the action? Follow the Facebook page and Instagram to get all the most up-to-date photos and video, and visit redbullstormchase.com for action clips and behind the scenes stories from the center of the storm. The contest window closes on March 17 so stay stoked for a storm.