Words and Culture
Glossary
271 words of the sport in three families, each with the site's meaning in its own words, the era and language the research recorded, where it was sighted, and a grade for that sighting. The sightings run from the 1970s to the current rulebooks and across 3 languages, English, Portuguese and Spanish; the research also found the sport's words in Japanese, French and German, and no row rests on those sightings yet.
The grades
- Confirmed (214)
- A named source carries the term itself.
- Likely (27)
- A named source supports the thing but does not carry the term, or the only example is this project's own research.
- Contested (30)
- The sources disagree, or one sighting stands alone and unconfirmed. The note on the row says which.
Words that are easier drawn
Two groups of words make more sense as a picture than as a row. The sections of a two-stroke exhaust, in the order the gas meets them, are drawn first; their rows include head pipe, stinger and waterbox. How a jet craft steers by aiming its nozzle comes second; its rows are Nozzle and Off-throttle steering (OTS).
In order from the engine: manifold, then head pipe, expansion chamber, stinger, a hose, waterbox, and the outlet through the hull.
Gas from the engine meets these sections one after another. A class document can open some of them and hold the rest to the original part, so each section carries its own name in the rules.
How we know: the order is the one IHRA's rule P.2.1 lists and US patent 6,113,446 describes in paragraphs 28 to 30; the stinger and its cooling line are IJSBA's Ski Lites rule SKL.3.6.
Not to scale.
Seen from above, the jet is what steers: shut the throttle and very little steering is left, however far the bars are turned. Off-throttle steering systems were built to give some of it back.
How we know: the nozzle swung by the bars and the craft turning to its side are US patents 8,905,800 (paragraph 10) and 6,705,908 (paragraph 6); steering lost with the throttle shut, and the systems made to restore it, are US patent 6,523,489 (paragraphs 5 to 7 and 12).
Not to scale.
Jargon (89)
The words of the race weekend and the rulebook: starts, flags, scoring, the pit, the parts.
| Term | Meaning | Era and language | Sighted in | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 card | Starter signal. Turned sideways means the race starts at any moment. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| 2 card | Starter signal to start engines | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed |
| 2-Minute Hold | A delay a racer may call once per race start, requested only while the starting lights are flashing red. One is granted per race however many are asked for. Criterion from G.6.7 of the held IHRA rulebook, read 2026-10-02. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| affiliate | A national or regional organisation that runs racing under a sanctioning body’s rules by agreement with it. IJSBA’s General Rules apply at every IJSBA and IJSBA affiliate sanctioned event, which is how one rulebook reaches races the association does not run itself. Sighted in IJSBA General Competition Rules GEN.6.1 and GEN.6.2 (IJSBA and IJSBA affiliate sanctioned events, IJSBA and IJSBA affiliate members) and GEN.7.2 and GEN.7.3; the directory on the archive's bodies page lists the affiliates the project has found Collides with: sanctioning body | en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-29 |
| Aftermarket Part | A part that replaces an original one or is used in addition to it, and is not limited to providing the same function as its OEM counterpart. That is the 2010 glossary saying plainly what the 2002 one implied. The grade was lowered from confirmed to likely on 2026-09-30. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the note said the archive does not hold the IJSBA Glossary of Terms and that the class documents point to it for this word; the 2002, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 books in the mirror carry the glossary, the class documents point to it only for Replacement and Replica, and the grade is confirmed again. The closing clause on what a closed-list class allows came from a project commerce note, not from the IJSBA, and was cut. | all, en | a rulebook web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Black Buoy a form of Penalty buoy | The common name for the penalty buoy: a buoy placed on the course that a rider who misses or mis-negotiates another buoy must go round instead of going back for the one they missed. Criterion from the penalty buoy paragraph of the held IJSBA general rules, which gives Black Buoy as the common name, read 2026-10-02. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Black flag | Rider must leave the course immediately and report to the Race Director | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed |
| Blocking | Deliberately getting in a faster rider's way to hold or take a position. The IHRA book lists it as a prohibited manoeuvre and leaves the penalty to the Race Director. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Blue Flag | The flag shown to a rider who is about to be overtaken by a faster competitor, and who must yield to let the pass happen safely. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Buoy course | A race course marked out on open water by anchored buoys that riders must steer around. The rulebooks use the phrase in passing, for the slalom and for the tight courses of closed-course racing, whose formal names are slalom and closed course. | 2014-2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-29 |
| Buoy rounding | All riders must negotiate completely around any course marker buoy The site’s label for GEN.4.1 Corner/Course Marker Buoys. Searched on 2026-10-04: the words buoy rounding appear in no held text, though the UIM 2026 book says the buoys at the corners must always be rounded. Grade of Buoy rounding moved from confirmed to likely. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Likely, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Carburettor | A device that combines fuel and air into the mixture the engine burns, drawing the fuel in by the engine's own vacuum; UIM counts any fuel system that does not depend on that vacuum as fuel injection. Rulebooks name it when they limit what may be changed on it, for example whether its jets may be replaced. IHRA and IJSBA spell it carburetor, the 2016 UIM book prints both carburetor and carburettor, and this site uses the British spelling in its own labels. The description follows a glossary pasted into a 2016 GreenHulk terminology thread, held in the fetch cache, and UIM's definition of fuel injection. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the note said every rulebook spells it carburetor, which UIM 2016 contradicts, and the meaning's claim that jets and needles meter the fuel without electronics, which no held text makes, was replaced. | 1976-2018, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Chopping | A riding offence named in the IJSBA reckless and dangerous riding rule, listed with unnecessary bumping, crowding and blocking as conduct that may be penalized. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the row rested on project research and was graded likely, but the held IJSBA general rules print the word in GEN.10.3, as the IJSBA books have since 2002, so the source moved there and the grade to confirmed. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Class A inboard boat | The vessel category the IHRA book puts a personal watercraft in: an inboard craft built for one to three people and driven by a jet pump. The IHRA glossary defines the sport's machine by this category rather than the other way round, and the held IJSBA homologation text attributes the category itself to the United States Coast Guard. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Course Marshal | An official who oversees the racecourse and holds what happens on it to the rules and the safety standards. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Dead Engine Restart | A restart in which the engines are shut off and started again, run after a stoppage or a penalty. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Detonation | A word the class rules use when they bar adding detonation sensors to the engine's electronics; the compression article in the engine section explains it. A tuner writing in the nineties tied lower compression to a wider margin of safety from detonation on the pump fuels riders could buy. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 L.4.1, which bars detonation sensors, and in IJSBA's Ski Lites document at SKL.5.2, in nearly the same words. The compression link is Group K's Between The Lines for 1997, held in the mirror (key-figures/groupk-between-the-lines-1997.txt, line 238). The held texts use the word without defining it: pitbox and the whole mirror were searched for a definition on 2026-10-07 and none was found. Collides with: knock, pinging, pre-ignition | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| DNR | Did not race, the expansion the IJSBA scoring rules print (SCOR.4.7). A rider who did not race a moto is scored last place plus two under IHRA F.3, and as the number of riders entered in the class plus two under IJSBA moto scoring. The source moved from the IJSBA set to IHRA F.3, whose scoring rule the meaning now carries. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: a gloss that PWC books print DNR where most motorsport prints DNS was cut, since held PWC result sheets print DNS as well as DNR; IHRA F.3 uses the letters only, and the words did not race come from IJSBA SCOR.4.7. | all, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Dome | The part of the cylinder head over the piston, sized in cc. On some engines it is a separate insert that can be swapped to change compression, and rules then limit its size or ban the drop-down kind. The piston rules also list a dome profile among the things a replacement piston must keep, which concerns the piston rather than the head. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 M.6.1.1, Cylinder Head, which sets a minimum dome size and bars drop-down domes, and U.2.4, which names aftermarket or OEM head domes; the piston sense is in IHRA L.2.1 and O.2.1, Piston Assemblies, and IJSBA FSSK.3.1. Swappable domes are the subject of the site's ADA table (src/data/tech-specs/ada-dome-compression-octane.yaml) and of Group K's Between The Lines for 1997, lines 193 and 218. Collides with: head dome, combustion chamber, dome profile | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Drive shaft | The shaft that carries the engine's turn back through the hull to the impeller. Classes that let it be modified or replaced still require the engine and the pump to turn at the same speed. The intake grate rules use it as a reference line, asking for a grate bar that runs parallel to it. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 K.7.3 and S.5.1, Driveshaft, which keep the drive ratio between engine and pump unchanged, and J.18.1 for the grate bar; IJSBA's Ski Lites document at SKL.2.4 and UIM 2026 at 501.01.02 spell it as two words. Collides with: driveshaft | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| dry pipe | An expansion-chamber exhaust with no water injected into the chamber’s interior, its body cooled instead by a full-length water jacket, as Group K defines it for the Factory Pipe Products pipe its Kawasaki 750 kits use. IHRA names it only as the thing that may not be converted into a wet pipe in the classes that allow one. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 M.6.2.1.2. CORRECTED 2026-10-05: this note said no IJSBA document held here uses the phrase. The held 2010 IJSBA rule book does, in its Stock Spec Ski wet-pipe option, which says converting a dry pipe to a wet pipe is not allowed. No current IJSBA document held uses it, checked again 2026-10-06. Extended 2026-10-06 with the held Group K page on its Kawasaki SXi Pro 750 kits, whose Exhaust Systems section defines the term; Group K is a tuner, not a sanctioning body, so the claim about IJSBA documents stands. Collides with: wet pipe | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Dry Weight | The weight of a craft with no fuel, oil or other fluids in it, used as a class measure. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| existing technology OB/PWC | The engines 40 CFR 91.3 treats as pre-existing technology: an outboard or personal watercraft engine in production for model year 1997 or earlier, with no four-stroke, direct injection or catalyst. It is the federal vintage line. | 1996-2010, en | a government record federalregister.gov | Confirmed |
| expansion chamber | A long metal chamber in a two-stroke exhaust system, which forum and shop writing also call the tuned pipe or simply the pipe. The rulebooks list it with the manifold, head pipe, waterbox and muffler, as IJSBA FREST.3.7 and IHRA S.2.5 do, and in Ski Lites the exhaust must stay stock as the manufacturer supplied it, so an aftermarket one makes the machine ineligible for that class. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 P.2.1, S.2.5 and T.2.5, which name the expansion chamber as one part of the exhaust system a class may open; IJSBA's class documents use the same word, for example FREST.3.7 in Freestyle and RAL.4.7 in Runabout Limited. The description follows a glossary and a list of tuned pipe terms posted in a 2016 GreenHulk terminology thread and Group K's SXi Pro 750 racing page, all held. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the note placed the word in SKL.3.6 of the Ski Lites document, which does not print it. Collides with: pipe, tuned pipe | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Flying start | A restart that may be used once a race has been stopped after three or more laps. Riders line up single file in the order the last complete lap was scored, are led round the course at slow speed one boat length apart, and may race again when the starter waves the green flag. No passing is allowed before it. Criterion from GEN.3.6 of the held IJSBA general rules, read 2026-10-02. Reworded 2026-10-04: GEN.3.6 says a flying start may be used, not that it is the restart used, and names no one who decides. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Four-stroke | An engine type with its own capacity limits in the rulebooks; IHRA's Ski GP3 allows a 4-stroke up to 1050cc where a 2-stroke may have 850cc. Rulebooks state four-stroke capacity limits separately from two-stroke ones. The engine number on this site's model pages is the figure the records hold, which is not always a measured capacity. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the opening clause on one firing every two crankshaft turns and an oil supply kept apart from the fuel was removed, since none of the held texts describes the four-stroke cycle (searched 2026-10-07). | 2002-2027, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Fuel Bib | A protective covering required during refuelling, to stop fuel spilling into the water or the pit area. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Fuel injection | A way of pumping pressurized fuel into the engine's cylinders in place of a carburettor; UIM counts as fuel injection any unit that does not depend on the engine's vacuum to draw fuel in. IHRA's class rules mostly name electronic fuel-injection systems, which must carry approved flame arresters. The first clause follows the glossary pasted into a 2016 GreenHulk terminology thread, held in the fetch cache. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning tied fuel injection to electronic control and added a line on direct injection in two-strokes; UIM defines it by the vacuum test alone, and no held text describes direct injection on two-strokes (searched 2026-10-07). | 1998-2027, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| head pipe | The section of exhaust between the manifold on the engine and the expansion chamber. The rulebooks name it separately because a class can open one section of the exhaust and not another Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 P.2.1, S.2.5 and T.2.5, each naming the manifold, head pipe and expansion chamber among the exhaust parts that class opens; S.2.5 and T.2.5 add the muffler, and P.2.1 adds the gaskets and the hose to the original water box instead. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the note had all three rules naming a muffler, which P.2.1 does not. Collides with: exhaust manifold | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| HIN | A unique serial number the manufacturer assigns to a watercraft, used to check that a machine is the one it is claimed to be and is eligible for the class it is entered in. Definition from the IHRA rulebook glossary, read 2026-10-02. | all, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Holeshot | A word held sources use in two senses. The UIM Aquabike rules make the hole shot a point on the course, the first one set roughly 150 to 500 m from the starting line, and riders keep their lanes until they reach it. A 2016 forum glossary on greenhulk.net uses it for launching from a standstill faster than the other riders. The contest is between a place on the course in the UIM rules and the launch itself in riders' usage. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the apex definition and the motorcycle origin were cut because the Wikipedia page is not held and no held text gives the apex definition or the motorcycle origin; the example moved to the UIM 2026 rulebook (pitbox/uim-aquabike-2026.txt:1045), the forum sense is in tools/cache(main)/greenhulk.net/forum_pwc-performance-community_open-discussion_228841-pwc-terminology.txt:43, and a 1996 ignition patent uses holeshot for a racing start (tools/cache(main)/patents.google.com/patent_US5526785A_en.txt:389). | 2016-2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Homologation | Official approval of a model of craft, or of a part, as eligible to race under a body's rules. The terms vary by body and year; the 2002 IJSBA book wanted at least 500 identical units on sale (200 for the Ski Division), the 2026 UIM book wants at least 50 built and a homologation certificate for its GP4, GP3 and GP2 championships and a UIM logbook for a GP1 prototype, and the current IJSBA books also homologate aftermarket hulls. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the UIM figure of 50 units with a certificate was given as the whole UIM rule, when 500.02.01 applies it to GP4, GP3 and GP2 only and 500.02.02 has a GP1 prototype carry a UIM logbook instead. | 2002-2026, en | a rulebook web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Impeller | The bladed rotor inside the jet pump, fixed to the drive shaft that the engine turns. Water comes in through the intake grate, the spinning impeller drives it back through the pump, and it leaves the stern as the jet that pushes the craft along. IHRA's general rules (J.18.2), for Stock class, and IJSBA's Ski Lites let it be modified or replaced as long as it keeps its original diameter. The pitch number an impeller carries has an article of its own in the pump section. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 J.18.2, Trim Plates & Impellers; IJSBA's 2024 Ski Lites document sets the same diameter condition at SKL.6.1, and UIM 2026 at 501.01.06 for its GP4 ski category. The path of the water is from the held jet pump patent US 8,905,800 B2, background lines 64 to 70, and UIM 2026 500.01, which describes a craft driven by a water-jet pump and steered by directing a rear jet. | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Inspection Decal | The sticker technical officials put on a craft once it has passed safety and compliance inspection. IHRA requires one on every craft competing at the event and says seals and decals must not be tampered with, while its disqualification clause names a rider who removes, attempts to alter or reuses a seal without the consent of the Technical Director or Race Director. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning extended the disqualification clause to a seal or decal, but J.3.2 names only a seal in that sentence; decals fall under its general bar on tampering. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Intake grate | The bars across the pump's water inlet under the hull, which keep rocks, weeds and other debris out of the pump. The rulebooks require one, of the full-length kind with a bar running parallel to the drive shaft, and limit how far it may hang below the hull. Freestyle allows a horizontally mounted grate instead, provided it blocks a stated share of the intake. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 J.18.1, Intake Grate & Ride Plate; IJSBA's Ski Lites document at SKL.2.4 and UIM 2026 at 501.01.02, item 15, word the full-length requirement almost identically. The Freestyle alternative, blocking at least 40 percent of the intake area, is IHRA CC.4.3 and IJSBA FREST.2.5. What the grate keeps out is from the held jet pump patent US 8,905,800 B2, background line 66, which calls it an inlet grate. Collides with: inlet grate | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Jump Start | Leaving before the official start signal. It can cost the rider a penalty or force the race to be restarted. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| lanyard | The tether that connects the rider to the lanyard-type engine stop switch, so that the engine stops if the rider is separated from the craft. IJSBA GEN.8.9 and IHRA J.6 require the switch on every watercraft except those used in freestyle competition, and IHRA wants the lanyard fastened to the rider's vest or wrist, never wrapped around the handlebars or any other part of the craft. IJSBA does not allow modifications to the lanyard-type engine stop switch, using tape, wire or any other material, that the rider or pit crew can remove during or immediately after a competition event; IHRA treats any modification that disables or impedes the engine stop function as grounds for penalties or disqualification at the Race Director's discretion. Under IJSBA GEN.4, a rider who jumps the start and causes a restart must restart in the same position with a dead engine, standing or sitting upright, with the lanyard removed from the engine stop switch and held with the arm extended overhead, and may connect it and start the engine only after the green flag is waved or the starting gate is tripped. Sighted in IJSBA General Competition Rules GEN.4 (the lanyard removed and held overhead for a dead-engine restart) and GEN.8.9 (the switch every watercraft outside freestyle must carry), and in IHRA V.20260603 J.6, Lanyard/Stop Switch and Usage. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said neither body allows the lanyard taped or wired so the rider can shed it and that a restart is ridden with it held overhead; the IJSBA tape-and-wire ban is on the engine stop switch, the IHRA rule is on anything that disables or impedes the stop function, and the overhead hold lasts only until the restart signal. Collides with: tether, engine stop switch | en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| LCQ | A last chance qualifier: a qualifying race for which no points are awarded (IHRA F.1). The source moved from the IJSBA set to IHRA F.1, where LCQs are listed among the races that earn no points, and the unsupported claim that an LCQ completes the starting field was dropped. | all, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| LeMans Start | Competitors run to their craft, attach the lanyard and begin racing. IJSBA rule books from 2002 to the 2015 draft print the same start for endurance events, with riders running on foot from the shore to a craft steadied by a holder. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the row called this an IHRA-only term unsighted elsewhere and graded it contested, but the IJSBA books held for 2002, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and the 2015 draft all print a LeMans start, so the grade is now confirmed and the era starts in 2002. | 2002-2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Licence | A rider's permission to race. In the UIM book it is an international licence issued by the rider's national authority, without which nobody enters a UIM race; in the IJSBA and IHRA books, which spell it license, it names a skill level, as in the Expert or Pro license that the fastest classes recommend or require, and IJSBA issues it as a competition membership. Checked on the UIM 2026 PDF, held as text since 2026-10-01, the licence rule. | 2025-2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Life jacket a form of PFD | The everyday name for the PFD, and the one the IHRA and UIM books use most. IHRA requires a Coast Guard approved Type I or III worn at all times on the water, or a Jettribe competition race vest that is SGS buoyancy certified, with a whistle attached in endurance racing. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning gave the Coast Guard types as IHRA's only choice, but I.8 also approves Jettribe race vests with SGS buoyancy certification. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Log jump | An obstacle riders jump on a closed course. Where the course requires it, missing one costs a rider a lap, and a log jump may be excluded from the buoys a penalty buoy can make good. The obstacle is named in MEM.12.1 of the held IJSBA competition membership rules and the penalty is in the held general rules. Read 2026-10-02. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Merge Lanes | Lanes marked by buoys where a split racecourse brings riders back together. Crossing the line those buoys make costs a rider one lap, and going back to take the merge again is not allowed. The lane is described in the held IHRA rulebook under special-purpose buoys, and the penalty is GEN.4.3 of the held IJSBA general rules. Read 2026-10-02. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Moto | A single race in a multi-race scoring format. Under the IJSBA moto scoring system the same watercraft must be used in all motos, although the Race Director may authorize a backup craft that meets class and safety rules when the first is damaged or will not run. The source moved from the IJSBA set to the held general rules, GEN.1.7, and the claim of one of two races left the meaning: the IJSBA scoring document (7.4.7) adds two motos while IHRA F.1 adds any number, so the count is not part of the word. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning left out the backup-craft allowance in the second of the two rules the general rules number GEN.1.7, and the sense of one race among several rests on the IHRA glossary entry Moto Scoring System and on IJSBA scoring 7.4.6, not on GEN.1.7. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Moto Scoring System | A scoring format in which a rider’s finishing positions across the heats are added together and the lowest score wins. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| nose stab formerly refused | A named freestyle trick. The earlier wording of nose stab was corrected on a re-read of the source. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: graded contested though no source disputes it; the research note records it on PWCToday and X-H2O in threads from 2010 to 2021, so the grade is now likely, the most a row can carry while its only example is the project's research. Refused on the first pass as a wakeboarding and snowboarding word; then sighted as a named freestyle trick on two forums, in 2016 and 2021, with a definition in a rider's own words that is not quoted here. | en | a forum thread, no member quoted | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Nozzle | The outlet at the back of the jet pump. Its exit is narrower than its entrance, so the water speeds up on the way out and gives more thrust; a jet pump patent calls this part the venturi. Fitted to it is the steering nozzle, which pivots as the rider turns the handlebar and aims the jet to steer the craft. The rulebooks list the pump nozzle and the directional nozzle as separate parts, and IJSBA also names a reduction nozzle. IHRA V.20260603 S.5.2 and IJSBA's Freestyle document at FREST.6.1 list the pump nozzle and the directional nozzle as separate parts, and IHRA K.7.2 allows aftermarket nozzle trim systems; IJSBA's Ski Lites document lists a reduction nozzle at SKL.8.2. How the outlet speeds the water and how the steering nozzle pivots are from the held jet pump patent US 8,905,800 B2, background lines 68 and 69. Collides with: steering nozzle, directional nozzle, reduction nozzle, venturi | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| OEM | Original equipment manufacturer, meaning the part or specification as the maker of the machine supplied it; UIM defines OEM parts as those installed on each model at the time of manufacture. IHRA J.7.1 lets original equipment be updated or backdated with OEM parts from the same make and model when that brings no performance advantage, and it also allows like-for-like replacement parts that add no performance. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 J.7.1, OEM Replacement and Like-for-Like Components, and J.18.3 (wear rings within OEM specifications); IJSBA's class documents use the same abbreviation throughout, over two hundred times across the held set. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said a class keeping a part OEM allows a replacement only from the same make and model, though J.7.1 also allows like-for-like parts, and a line calling OEM what stock means when measured was cut, as no held text equates stock with a measurement (searched 2026-10-07). Collides with: stock, original equipment | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Off-throttle steering (OTS) | A jet-driven craft steers by aiming its jet, so with the throttle shut it steers poorly; OTS is a system that gives back some steering when the rider turns the bars off the throttle. Honda's 2004 AquaTrax material names one, the US Coast Guard sought research on the problem from 1997, and a search of the racing rulebooks this archive holds, made 2026-10-07 for off-throttle, OTS and OTAS, found no mention of it. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the rulebook absence claim now carries its search date and terms (pitbox, pitbox/ijsba-rulebooks, the mirror and the fetch cache's rulebook copies), and the steering mechanism is cited to patent US6135834A, which says jet-steered craft have no provision for off-throttle steering (tools/cache(main)/patents.google.com/patent_US6135834A_en.txt:305); the Honda release and Federal Register notice 97-26420 are both in the cache. | 1997-, en | a manufacturer hondanews.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Olympic Scoring | An IHRA scoring format in which a rider takes one point for first place, two for second and so on, the points from every race are added together, and the lowest total ranks highest. Regional series traditionally use it where national championships use moto points. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Option course | Named course feature in the IJSBA general rules | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed |
| Original Equipment | The parts installed on each model of watercraft at the time of manufacture, also called OE or OEM. The IJSBA Glossary of Terms defines it in the rule books held for 2002, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and the 2015 draft, and the current class documents send the reader to that glossary for Replacement and Replica only. Aftermarket Part and Replacement Part were regraded to likely on 2026-09-30 and this row was missed, because its disclosure sat in the meaning rather than in a note; it was regraded on 2026-10-02 to match them. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: all three downgrades rested on a claim that the archive lacks the IJSBA Glossary of Terms, which the mirrored books print, so this row is confirmed again and cites the 2014 book. | all, en | a rulebook web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Penalty buoy | Strategically placed buoy used to correct a missed buoy. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| PFD | Personal flotation device, the buoyancy vest every racer must wear whenever on the water. IJSBA asks for one that meets local rules, typically US Coast Guard Type I or III, and bars inflatable ones; UIM asks for a jacket designed for racing and certified to EN ISO 12402-5:2020 or meeting the current national authority standards. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the UIM clause named only a European standard, but rule 02 of the 2026 book accepts the current national authority standards as an alternative. | 2002-2026, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| pit party formerly refused | A gathering in the pits on a race weekend. The research note, read again on 2026-10-07, counts two threads by two members on one forum, PWCToday, both about Northeast race weekends; whether the term is used nationally is not shown. An established supercross term; cleared for the sport from posts about Northeast race weekends in 2013, so regional until sighted elsewhere. | en | a forum thread, no member quoted | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Pop-off | The point at which fuel pushed into a diaphragm carburettor forces its spring-loaded inlet needle off its seat and lets fuel into the metering chamber, measured on the bench with a pump and gauge. A watercraft's diaphragm carburettor has no float bowl, so this needle and spring do the float's job at any angle. The carburettor article explains it, and why a figure taken from another engine does not carry over. Sighted in Group K's Carburetor Fine Tuning Guide, held as a digest captured 2026-09-08 (docs/reference/group-k/04-tech-articles/carburetor-fine-tuning-guide.md), which puts pop-off among the basics to settle before any jetting change; the pit box lists restate it at TL-01 and MX-09, and the site's own carburettor article explains the needle and spring. Collides with: popoff | en | a manufacturer groupk.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| pump cover plate a form of ride plate | IJSBA's name for the ride plate in its class documents. The Ski Lites rule allows a modified or aftermarket one within stated limits on width and extension, with no fins, rudders or skegs on it Sighted in IJSBA's 2024 Ski Lites document at SKL.2.5, Pump cover plate may be modified or aftermarket; the archive's Ski Lites class page already notes the two names for one part Collides with: ride plate | en | a rulebook ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-29 |
| Pump housing | The casing of the jet pump that holds the impeller and, in some pumps, the stator as well. Rulebooks name it beside the impeller when they say which pump parts a class may change, sometimes as the impeller housing. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 K.7.2, Impeller and Housing, which says pump housing, and S.5.2, which says impeller housing; IJSBA's Freestyle document uses impeller housing at FREST.6.1. What it holds is from the held jet pump patent US 8,905,800 B2, background lines 65 and 67, which also notes that the stator can sit outside it. Collides with: impeller housing | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| re-boarding formerly refused | Getting back onto the craft from the water. First read as manufacturer safety-course language; then found in riders' own use, mostly as one word, reboarding. | en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-09-21 |
| Reed valve | A valve in the intake of many two-stroke engines, made of thin petals lying over a rigid cage. The Ski Lites rules of both IHRA and IJSBA treat the two halves separately, freeing the petals while the cage stays as the factory fitted it. Some engines use a rotary valve in its place. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 O.3.3, Reed Valves, which frees the petals and keeps the reed cage assembly original, and in IJSBA's Ski Lites document at SKL.4.3, to the same effect; IHRA P.2.3 opens the whole reed valve assembly, and V.3.5 names the rotary valve beside it. Collides with: reed petal, reed cage, reed block, rotary valve | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Replacement Part | A non-original part used to replace an original one, limited to providing only what its OEM counterpart provides. The 2002 glossary limits it to the function; the 2010 glossary lengthens that to the dimensions, performance and function, and the books since repeat it. The current IJSBA class documents send the reader to the Glossary of Terms for this word and for Replica. Its grade went from confirmed down to likely on 2026-09-30. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: that move assumed the glossary was missing from the archive, yet the 2002 book and every mirrored book from 2010 to 2015 print it, so the grade returns to confirmed; a sentence on where a replacement part is legal was also removed, being a project commerce note and not IJSBA text. | all, en | a rulebook web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Restrictor plate | In the IJSBA Ski Stock and Fixed Steering Ski Stock classes, junior competitors must use an IJSBA approved restrictor plate to compete. IHRA uses the term for an exhaust part in Runabout Lites, where the exhaust restrictor plate may be removed if the original outlet diameter stays unaltered. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning applied the rule to every junior competitor, but both IJSBA documents limit it to their own class, and the IHRA exhaust sense was added. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| ribbon delete | Removal of the ribbon that serves as the original flame-arresting device in some intake systems. IHRA W.3.5 allows it when airflow is not increased and the air filter still gives adequate flame suppression, permits it on Yamaha SVHO manifolds and bars it on Sea-Doo 300 and 325 models. Printed five times in the IHRA rulebook, once in the revision log (the W.3.5 entry) and four times in class rules. A rider's definition exists on a forum and is not quoted here. The count was corrected from twice. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the row said the term is defined nowhere, yet W.3.5 explains the ribbon and the conditions for removing it, so the meaning now carries that rule and the grade rose from contested to confirmed. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| ride plate | The flat plate that covers the cut-out in the hull for the jet pump, which the craft rides on; a shop's tuning notes report that the choice of plate trades smooth-water top speed against control and handling. IHRA calls it both the ride plate and the pump cover, and IJSBA's class documents name it the pump cover plate in their plate rules but also say ride plate in the trim tab rules that bar trim tabs attached to it. Both books bound how far an aftermarket one may extend past the original. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 J.18.1, Intake Grate and Ride Plate; the IJSBA wording pump cover plate is at SKL.2.5 of the 2024 Ski Lites document, https://ijsba.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-SKI-LITES.pdf. The description of the plate follows a glossary pasted into a 2016 GreenHulk terminology thread, and the handling remark Group K's Kawasaki SXi Pro 750 racing page, both held. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning split the two names between the bodies, but IHRA W.5.1 uses both and IJSBA SKM.2.7 says ride plate. Collides with: pump cover plate | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Riders Meeting | A meeting for all competitors at an event, held at an announced time and place and run by the Race Director or an appointed official, at which the course and flags are described. Attendance is mandatory under IJSBA rules, and riders who miss it or arrive late can be penalized. The IJSBA general rules name it as where exceptions on restart entry and log-jump penalties are stated and where specially coloured buoys are explained. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning placed it before racing and had it covering any exception to the printed rules; GEN.6.3 gives no timing, and the held exceptions it carries are only those on restart entry and log-jump penalties. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Riding Tune-Up Area | An area set aside at an event, where location and space allow, for riders to tune and test a watercraft. Everyone riding in it must wear an approved personal flotation device and helmet and ride safely. Criterion from 6.10.1 of the held IJSBA general rules, read 2026-10-02. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| run whatcha brung formerly refused | An open class or event where riders race whatever personal watercraft they bring. IHRA's drag rules call the Unlimited Class basically a run what you brung class, open to any PWC but barring surface props, and print Run What Ya Brung for the Stand Up Unlimited and 2 Stroke Unlimited classes. A second sighting cleared it after the first pass had refused it. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the words any machine and as it is went past the held rules, since IHRA DD.6 limits the class to personal watercraft without surface props, and the grade now rests on the IHRA rulebook. The spelling whatcha is held in a 2021 capture of a vintage jet ski site's post title, while IJSBA's About page writes watcha and IHRA writes what you and what ya. Sighted from three forum posters between 2006 and 2008, none of whom spelled it whatcha; IJSBA's own page is quoted elsewhere as run watcha brung. | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Runabout | A personal watercraft with a seat, ridden sitting down, and the division that races such craft. The IHRA book describes the runabout class as sit-down watercraft of a larger size and engine capacity than stand-up models, and UIM defines runabouts as craft for one or more people with a seat; IJSBA also keeps a separate Sport division beside its Ski and Runabout divisions. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning had IHRA calling runabouts more powerful than stand-ups, where its glossary speaks of larger size and engine capacity. Collides with: runabout as a small open motorboat in general boating | 2002-2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| sanctioning body | The organisation that writes the rulebook, licenses the riders and sanctions the events run under it; the IJSBA glossary defines a sanction as an agreement between the IJSBA or an affiliate and a promoter. Besides the IJSBA, UIM and IHRA books, the archive held national rules from Estonia's EJML and Hungary's MJSZ as of 2026-10-07. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 A.2, where the book calls IHRA a sanctioning body, and section F, where the sanctioning body or series organizer is the party that chooses the scoring system; the archive's own pages had used the words without saying what one is; the section reference was corrected from E.15.4 to section F, Scoring, Points, and Awards. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called IJSBA, UIM and IHRA the three bodies the archive reads, without a date, and said a club or series races under one of them by agreement, which neither A.2 nor section F says; the mirror also holds Estonian and Hungarian national books, and the agreement now rests on the IJSBA glossary entry Sanction. Collides with: affiliate | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Scrutineering a form of Technical inspection | The UIM rulebook's word, used beside technical inspection, for the officials' check of a craft. Under UIM rule 406.02 the first posted results are provisional for one hour; when the officer of the day imposes penalties from post-race scrutinizing and says so on the results sheet, the results stay provisional until one hour after post-race scrutineering is finalized. The American books say technical inspection instead. Checked on the UIM 2026 PDF, held as text since 2026-10-01, rule 406 for scrutineering. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning had every UIM result wait for post-race scrutineering, but 406.02 extends the provisional period only for penalties from post-race scrutinizing stated on the sheet, and then to one hour after scrutineering is finalized. | 2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Speed Alley | IHRA ten minutes of passes to set a World Record speed. Heading reads Speed Ally. The IHRA section heading spells it Speed Ally; the three bullets under it that name the run spell it Speed Alley. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| spin out a form of Spinout formerly refused | The two-word form of Spinout, which the IHRA rulebook glossary defines; also used by riders for losing the tail in a turn. The IJSBA general rules head GEN.10.5 Spin Outs, which lets a rider whose boat has spun out turn around once the course is clear. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the example moved from IHRA, which prints the word closed up as Spinout, to the IJSBA general rules, whose GEN.10.5 prints the two-word form. Refused on the first pass, then found defined in the IHRA rulebook glossary as Spinout and sighted on three forums in two senses. | en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Spinout | A rider losing control of the watercraft, often then having to rejoin the race, which is the IHRA rulebook glossary's own definition. G.4 turns that definition into a rule: a rider who spins out may continue, but must wait until the course is clear, must not impede others while rejoining, and may never ride against the direction of the course. The two-word form, spin out, was refused on the first pass and is now listed beside it. REGRADED 2026-10-04 from contested to confirmed, because the rulebook glossary carries the term itself and a refused variant spelling is not two sources disagreeing, which is the line Speed Alley settled the same day. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Sponson | A device fixed to the side of the hull to steady the craft and improve its handling, as IHRA's glossary describes it. IJSBA's hull guide sorts them into tubbies, which bulge from the hull side, and standard sponsons, a projection that is often a wing or a block. The rulebooks let racers fit, move or remove them within limits on how many, how long and how far they stand out from the hull. Defined in the glossary at the back of IHRA V.20260603 (Appendix A) and ruled on at J.16, Sponsons; the two kinds are from IJSBA's Aftermarket Hull Homologation document, which doubles as a sponson guide, and UIM 2026 rules on them at 501.01.02. Collides with: tubbie | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Stand-up | A personal watercraft built for one rider who stands on it and steers with a pivoting handle pole. Rulebooks race these in the Ski division; the IHRA book uses stand-up as its plain word for the craft, in its Ski class rules and its drag classes. Collides with: stand-up paddleboarding | all, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-29 |
| Stator | Two different parts share this word. In the jet pump it is the fixed blades behind the impeller, which reduce the water's spin so that almost all the energy given to the water goes into thrust; the rulebooks call it the stator vane assembly or the pump stator. On the engine it is the ignition stator plate, which some rules require to sit at the factory timing mark on the crankcase. The pump sense is named in IHRA V.20260603 P.2.6 and S.5.2 (stator vane assembly) and in IJSBA's Ski Lites document at SKL.8.2 (pump stator), and its job is described in the held jet pump patent US 8,905,800 B2, background line 67. The ignition sense is IHRA U.4.1, where the stator must line up with the factory timing mark on the cases. Collides with: stator vane, stator plate | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| stinger | The small-diameter rear section of an expansion chamber, at the end of the pipe. IJSBA Ski Lites, which keeps the exhaust stock, allows an insert that reduces its inside diameter and a cooling line on the insert or on the stinger, and IHRA Ski GP3 allows a reducer and water fitting on two-strokes; IJSBA Runabout Stock and IHRA Runabout GP3 keep the exhaust stock and allow the insert alone. Both books bar stinger sprayers on the Sea-Doo HX in Sport Spec. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 M.4.1 (a reducer in the stinger portion of the exhaust) and in IJSBA's 2024 Ski Lites document at SKL.3.6, the rule that keeps the Ski Lites exhaust stock apart from that insert and its cooling line. The description follows the glossary in a 2016 GreenHulk terminology thread and Group K's SXi Pro 750 page, both held. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said every stock-exhaust class allows both an insert and a cooling fitting, but Runabout Stock and Runabout GP3 allow only the insert and the Sea-Doo HX may not use stinger sprayers. | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Strake | A ridge or longitudinal step running along the bottom of a hull. The IJSBA Glossary of Terms in the 2010 to 2015 rule books calls it a well-defined step usually added to deep-V hulls for a softer ride at high speeds, while a riders' glossary posted in 2016 calls it a continuous ridge along much of the hull bottom that helps tracking, cornering and lift. IHRA's Runabout Endurance hull rules list strakes with the external shape, the running surface, the chines and the ride plate interface as hull form that internal reinforcement may not alter. The source moved from the IJSBA set to IHRA W.7.3.2, which prints strakes. The riders' glossary is the one pasted into a GreenHulk terminology thread in March 2016, held in the fetch cache. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning had IHRA covering repair as well as reinforcement on every hull, whereas W.7.3.2 speaks of reinforcement alone and sits in the Runabout Endurance rules, and the IJSBA step definition, which differs from the ridge, was added. | all, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| submarining formerly refused | Burying the bow under the water, as a riding term. PWC Offshore's 2008 Catalina ride page describes it as the nose going under the water, usually after the craft gets air and comes down nose first into the next wave. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the grade was likely on the strength of project research, but a held 2008 capture of PWC Offshore's Catalina training ride page prints the word, so it is now confirmed on that page. Cleared as a riding term for burying the bow; a race-specific use is still unshown. The freestyle trick called the submarine is a different thing. | en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Superman formerly refused | A named freestyle trick, listed in riders' trick lists without a description of the move. Resolved by a second sighting after the first pass had refused it. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said the name was borrowed from freestyle motocross, which was the researcher's own guess in the research note; no rider and no held text gives that origin, searched 2026-10-07. First found only in a stock-photo caption; a second sighting in 2013 credits the trick to a rider, who is not named here. A separate sit-down speed-run posture sense exists and must not be merged with it. | en | a forum thread, no member quoted | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Teardown | The post-race disassembly of a watercraft selected for technical inspection, carried out by the rider or the rider's mechanic as far as the Technical Director requires, so that any part can be checked against the class rules. IHRA typically selects the first three finishers in each class, names the number at the riders meeting, and a technical violation found then costs the rider the points for the whole event. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning had technical officials stripping the engine, while IHRA J.3.3 and IJSBA SCOR.18.4 both have the rider or mechanic do the teardown as directed, and the inspection may cover any part of the craft. | all, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Technical inspection | The officials' check that a craft and the rider's safety gear meet the class rules, held before racing and repeated on chosen craft afterwards. A craft that fails can be kept off the water or lose its result. | 2002-2026, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-29 |
| Total restart | A restart that may be used when a race is stopped with fewer than three laps completed. The laps already run do not count, riders assemble on the starting line in the order of the original start, and any rider penalised on that start restarts under the same penalty. Criterion from GEN.3.5 of the held IJSBA general rules, read 2026-10-02. Reworded 2026-10-04 to the wording GEN.3.5 itself chooses, a restart that may be used. | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Tow Strap | The strap at the bow of a craft, used to tow it if it breaks down or has to be taken off the course. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Trim Tab | A plate fitted at the transom, behind the planing surface, that changes how the hull sits under power. The IJSBA class rules count any extension mounted on the transom as one, cap it at the width of the planing surface, and Ski Lites refuses tabs while letting their mounting brackets stay (SKL.2.7). | all, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed |
| Two-stroke | An engine that draws its air and fuel mixture into the crankcase and passes it to the combustion chamber through transfer ports, which open on the piston's downward stroke after the exhaust port. Rulebooks set separate classes and capacity limits for two-strokes and four-strokes, so the stroke count often decides which class a machine can enter. The cycle description follows the glossary pasted into a 2016 GreenHulk terminology thread, held in the fetch cache. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said the engine fires once per crankshaft turn on oil burnt with the fuel, which no held text states (searched 2026-10-07), and now gives the cycle as that glossary describes it. | 1976-2018, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| waterbox | The final part of the exhaust system, after the expansion chamber, where water is mixed in to muffle the exhaust noise; four-strokes have one as well as two-strokes. Shop writing calls the stock waterbox of the Kawasaki SXi 750 its muffler, but the rulebooks list waterbox and muffler as separate parts. Some classes open it, some bar any change to it, and the hose after it is often free when the box is not. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 M.4.3, headed Waterbox, and L.2.5, which bars modifying the water box while freeing the hose after it; the book spells it both as one word and two. Its description draws on two held texts, the glossary posted to GreenHulk in 2016 and Group K's page on racing the SXi Pro 750. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called it the two-stroke's muffler outright, yet the books name waterbox and muffler separately and IHRA's Ski GP3 rules give four-strokes a waterbox. Collides with: water box | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Wear ring | The replaceable ring in the pump that the impeller's blades turn inside. A ring gouged by sand or gravel costs thrust. Even IHRA's Runabout Endurance, which keeps the pump stator, nozzle and impeller stock, allows a new ring within OEM internal diameter. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 J.18.3, Wear Ring, and W.5 for Runabout Endurance; IJSBA's Ski Lites document at SKL.6.1 and UIM 2026 at 501.01.06 name the ring in the same rule as the impeller. The lost thrust from a gouged ring is failure MX-08 in pitbox/failure-modes.csv, drawn from a Group K technical article. | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| wet pipe | An exhaust pipe that has cooling water injected into the interior of its expansion chamber, as many PWC exhausts do; a dry pipe has none unless water injection is added. IHRA's Ski GP3 model rules name it twice: the Kawasaki SXR800 may use an aftermarket wet pipe exhaust system, and a Yamaha SuperJet two-stroke fitted with the 701cc cylinder may use a wet pipe that was manufactured, designed and sold as one, which must function as a wet pipe; converting a dry pipe into one is not allowed. Sighted in IHRA V.20260603 M.6.1.4 (the SX-R 800 may use an aftermarket wet pipe) and M.6.2.1.2 (a wet pipe must function as one; converting a dry pipe is not allowed); the shop's Factory Pipe legality record turns on this word. The description of the cooling water follows Group K's explanation of the Factory Pipe Products Dry Pipe and a 2011 PWCToday thread on the difference between wet and dry pipes, both held. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning stated the two IHRA pipe rules as if they covered every class that permits an aftermarket pipe, when both sit in the Ski GP3 model rules, for the SXR800 and the SuperJet 701 option. Collides with: dry pipe | en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
Class names and rule prefixes (143)
What the classes have been called, by body and by era, and the prefixes the rulebooks use for them. What the tier words mean is on the classes page under Racing.
| Term | Meaning | Era and language | Sighted in | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100_expert_ski_limited | A label this project read in results filenames on the archived USWRA site, a site whose pages it does not hold. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: naming convention was cut, the era cleared and the grade set to likely, because a search made 2026-10-07 of pitbox, the mirror and the fetch cache for expert_ski found no copy of the filename, and the only USWRA file in the cache is the 2004 Triple Crown press release. | en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| 1100 Superstock | An IJSBA runabout class built around the 1100cc engines. Not a dead name: the held 2025 freestyle document gives “Runabout 1100 Superstock” as a worked example of a class whose displacement its own name states, and the 2017 World Finals results print a Pro Am Runabout 1100 SS race. A later check contradicted the earlier note on 1100 Superstock. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this row called the name dead and said no held rulebook text named it. The held IJSBA freestyle document names Runabout 1100 Superstock in a live rule, which is the fuller form of the same class. Also checked 2026-10-04: the held Hungarian translation of the 2006 IJSBA rule book lists an 1100 SS runabout class at novice and advanced level, so the class was listed then as well as cited now. The meaning had said the slalom titles filled the previous decade. The 2018 winner, and his earlier slalom titles, left the meaning on 2026-10-06: a person is named only where Key Figures has a page for them, with each title cited to the sheet that records it. CORRECTED 2026-10-06: the meaning put the class on the 2018 programme, a date resting on a magazine report the archive does not hold; a held 2017 sheet replaces it. | 1990s, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-06 |
| 2 Stroke Unlimited | IHRA drag sub-class DD.12. Two stroke runabout any manufacturer | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| 440 SS | IJSBA class named in an engine-shop advert of 6 March 1991 ("IJSBA 440 SS World Champion"). The September 2026 research found a single sighting, the engine-shop advert of 6 March 1991 named in the meaning, and nothing since contradicts it. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning also called it the 440cc Kawasaki JS440 stand-up class, which the advert does not say. Collides with: 440 SS as a Chevrolet and motorcycle designation | 1991, en | the press archive.org | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| 785 R/A Superstock | A 785cc runabout superstock class name read off a 1999 racer's resume, and the short form of Runabout 785 Superstock, which the Hungarian association's held records list among the IJSBA European Championship classes of 1997, 1998 and 1999. The held Hungarian translation of the 2006 IJSBA rule book glosses R/A as runabout. The meaning dropped the resume author's name, which the site does not print; the class fact is unchanged. Extended 2026-10-04, when this row and Expert Sport Lim. were found to share one meaning and one note between them. CORRECTED later on 2026-10-04: the extension said no held document names the class itself, and the held MJSZ records name it in full. The same records list a separate Runabout Pro 785 under the 1999 UIM European Championship, a different name under a different body. | 1996-1999, en | an archive archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| AMATEUR | IJSBA rank comprised of Novice- and Expert-level riders, for which IJSBA does not generally issue memberships Criterion from MEM.5. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| APBA PWC results code a form of APBA | By a 2020 read of a page the archive does not hold, PWC was a category code in APBA's results database beside I IE O PRO MOD SO OPC Drag U T J RC SE. Read on 2026-09-21, the old APBA personal watercraft category address redirects to the APBA home page, and the categories page there lists no personal watercraft category. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said the PWC category page could still be reached and had left the homepage tiles between October 2023 and 2026; the read of 2026-09-21 found the address redirecting to the home page, and no held capture, searched 2026-10-07, dates the change. | 2006-2026, en | an archive web.archive.org | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Australian Pursuit | Named IJSBA special-event format. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed |
| BEGINNER | The IJSBA entry class for new riders, open to Novice competitors with three or fewer races behind them. A rider racing a series may stay in Beginner for the whole series; otherwise they must enter as Novice from their fourth race. Beginner-class riders may race Stock or Limited craft. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning made the move to Novice at the fourth race absolute; MEM.2.1 lets a rider in a series finish the whole series in Beginner first. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Categoria 785 Limitada | Argentine AJS championship class 1994 per a CC BY-SA Wikimedia Commons scan CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the example was the bare Wikimedia Commons domain; it now names the file whose title carries the class name, as the project's source list records it. | 1994, es | an archive commons.wikimedia.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Classic Ski 2-Stroke LTD | Class name on IJSBA World Finals per-race results sheets; the revised 2015 results print it as Classic Ski 2 Stroke LTD. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the example pointed at a 2017 upload folder; it now points at the held capture of the revised 2015 World Finals results, which carries the class, and the grade is confirmed. The 2016 sheets the keyword bank also names are not among the held captures, searched 2026-10-07, so the 2016 end of the era rests on the bank's record alone. | 2015-2016, en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Closed Circuit | Not the UIM’s own wording: the first of the six aquabike sub-disciplines in the 2026 book is written Closed course (circuit), and its championships are called Circuit. The earlier wording of Closed Circuit was corrected on a re-read of the source. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this note said no held rulebook names the discipline or states a criterion for it. The held UIM 2026 book names it at 302 in that fuller form and runs a Circuit World Championship under 302.02.01. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| CLOSED-COURSE EVENT | An IJSBA event type. A contest of speed and riding ability with several competitors racing multiple laps of a course of left and right-hand turns, which may carry obstacles such as log jumps or ramps. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed |
| Displacement Guide | An IJSBA appendix setting engine size and related limits class by class, issued as its own document in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021. The example URL for Displacement Guide moved from the site's PDF media listing to the document itself. | 2016-2021, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| DRAG-RACING EVENT | An IJSBA event type. A timed single-elimination or bracket-elimination contest over a set distance. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed |
| Eligible Watercraft | The IJSBA rulebook’s phrase, in section 4.1 Homologation, for the models homologated and listed as eligible for competition. The 2002 and 2010 books both print it, and the 2010 book also calls the list the Model Homologation listing. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning ended on a stray Section 4 and said the 2002 book used the phrase for the Model Homologation listing, a name the 2002 book never prints (searched 2026-10-07); that name comes from the 2010 book. | 2002-2010, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| ENDURANCE EVENT | An IJSBA event type. A long-distance race of more than one lap, which may or may not include required turns. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said one lap or more, but MEM.15.1 says more than one lap; the same definition is printed in the 2002 IJSBA book, so the era now starts there. | 2002-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| EXPERT | The IJSBA rank above Novice, for riders whose skill has passed Novice level. A rider may ask to be moved up to Pro or back to Novice, and the association may move them either way on its own judgement. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed |
| Expert Sport Lim. | The Expert rank racing a Sport Limited class. Not a period-only name: the held 2025 IJSBA scoring document works through its points tiebreaker at SCOR.4.4 using “Expert Sport Limited Closed Course” as one of its examples, so the fuller form sits in a live rule twenty-six years after the resume this row was built on. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this row carried the same meaning and the same note as 785 R/A Superstock, both saying only that the name was in period use on a 1999 resume, and the glossary elided one of the pair. The rank is the one entered at Expert in this glossary. Searched on 2026-10-04: no held document abbreviates the class as Expert Sport Lim., which stays the spelling the resume used. | 1996-1999, en | an archive archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Fixed Steering Ski Stock | IJSBA class for skis the manufacturer builds with fixed steering rather than a handlepole, restricted to the 1500cc based Kawasaki. FSSK.1 prints the eligible model as KAWASAKI SX-X, and that line is the only place SX-X appears in any text this archive holds, checked 2026-10-02. The Ski Stock document uses the same sentence for the same machine and prints KAWASAKI SX-R, which is the model Kawasaki sells, so the book is read here as having mistyped it. That reading is still this site’s own; no document read for this row on 2026-10-02 says the X is an error. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Four Stroke Ski Lites | IJSBA class for OEM four-stroke skis of at most 1100cc. The class document says that as of its posting the only homologated craft was the Yamaha SuperJet of 2021 and after. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Freeride | Riding in surf, named beside Freestyle on IJSBA's own page as a PWC competition category. Distinct from Freestyle which is a solo timed routine CORRECTED 2026-10-07: head to head was cut because no held text describes a head-to-head format; the surf sense rests on a cached 2007 PWCToday thread (tools/cache(main)/pwctoday.com/forum_general-interest_freestyle-freeride_56080-freestyle-freeride-whats-the-difference.txt:37, :93), the Freestyle contrast on pitbox/ijsba-rulebooks/freestyle.txt:3, the IJSBA wording on tools/cache(main)/ijsba.com/freestyle-freeride.txt:13, and the era now begins with that 2007 thread. | 2007-2026, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Freestyle | An IJSBA discipline and class in which one rider at a time is judged on tricks rather than on speed, inside a two-minute time limit unless the IJSBA approves another length, and the crankcases decide which watercraft a machine counts as. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning gave two minutes as a fixed limit; FREST.10.1 lets other times be used once the IJSBA approves them and the riders meeting announces them. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Freestyle Amateur | UIM freestyle class. 800cc. International Ordinary Races only Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Freestyle Amateur, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the 2026 UIM category table carries Freestyle Amateur at 800cc, allowed only for International Ordinary Races, so the contested grade gives way to confirmed on that book. | 2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Freestyle Free | UIM freestyle class with no displacement printed, listed beside Freestyle Amateur at a maximum of 800cc. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Freestyle Free, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Freestyle Free or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition carries this class in its freestyle listing. Corrected 2026-10-04: the meaning called the displacement unrestricted where the 302.01 category table prints no figure at all, and this note had called that table the freestyle listing. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| FREST | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Freestyle class, judged displays capped at 900cc two-stroke for Amateur and 1200cc for Pro, or 1500cc naturally aspirated and 950cc forced-induction four-stroke Criterion from the Freestyle document's opening and displacement paragraphs. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| FSKL | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Four Stroke Ski Lites class, for OEM four-stroke skis of at most 1100cc Criterion from FSKL.1. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| FSSK | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Fixed Steering Ski Stock class, for skis that come from the manufacturer with fixed steering rather than a handlepole, restricted to the 1500cc based Kawasaki SX-X. Criterion from FSSK.1, which prints the eligible model as the 1500cc based Kawasaki SX-X. Until 2026-10-04 the meaning stopped one word short of the model name. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| GEN | IJSBA General Race Regulations rule prefix GEN is the general race regulations prefix, not a class; the held text states no class criterion. Checked. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| HOM | IJSBA Homologation rule prefix CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no homologation document is held as text and that the held class texts state no criterion for it. The IJSBA Homologation document has been held as text since 2026-10-02 and states the division displacement limits at HOM.1.3 to HOM.1.6. | 2023, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-02 |
| homologated prior to September 1 1998 | Legacy weight clause in the 2010 IJSBA book. A dating anchor for craft homologated before that date nzjetsport.org.nz did not resolve; the project's held copy of the 2010 book carries the clause. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the era closed at 2011, yet the IJSBA homologation document linked from the 2025 rule book page still prints the clause, so the era now runs to 2025. | 1998-2025, en | a sanctioning body's site nzjetsport.org.nz | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Hydro-Fly | A judged UIM event, the subject of chapter 900 of the 2026 book, in which a rider standing on a jet-fed support is connected to a PWC by a hose. It is not one of the six aquabike sub-disciplines. The earlier wording of Hydro-Fly was corrected on a re-read of the source. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Hydro-Fly or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition gives this discipline a section of its own, numbered 900, rather than a line in a table. Corrected 2026-10-04: the meaning called 900 a discipline number. It is the chapter number. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Jet Raid | UIM long-distance discipline run as several motos on different routes, each at least 110 km, the whole race 250 to 1,500 km, with start, refuelling and finish in different places Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Jet Raid, with a detail corrected or narrowed. Criterion from rule 317.01 of the UIM 2026 book. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Jr Ski Beginner | One of the two ability names C.2.2 gives as an alternative to age brackets such as Jr Ski 10-12. The junior ski division itself opens to riders who are 8 at the time of the event, and where no age subdivision is declared it runs up to 15. CORRECTED 2026-10-04, twice. The first claim was that C.2.2 gives a criterion for this tier, and it sets none. The first correction then said the promoter decides where a beginner stops and called this the lower tier, and C.2.2 says neither; where the rulebook does assign junior advancement, in C.2, it gives it to the Race Director and Race Committee. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Jr Ski Intermediate | The second of the two ability names C.2.2 gives in place of age brackets, with no test for it. The rulebook does describe progression: a junior who ages into a higher bracket mid-season may race in both for the rest of it, a junior may petition the Race Director and Race Committee to advance early to higher skill classes, and from 14 may be approved to leave the division. CORRECTED 2026-10-04, twice in one day. The note once said C.2.2 states a criterion for this tier, and it states none. The rewrite that replaced it said the only progression the rulebook describes is out of the division, which C.2 and C.2.2 both contradict. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Junior 10-12 year old Ski | An IJSBA junior ski class, and one of the two that MEM.1.2 excepts by name from the policy that riders be 16 or older. The age in the class name is not the floor that section sets: the same rule says IJSBA may allow competitors as young as 8 in 10-12, and sends a rider to their own affiliate for the limit that binds them. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: the meaning read "for riders aged 10 to 12", which MEM.1.2, the section this row cites, contradicts two sentences later by allowing riders as young as 8 in this class. The row had published the class name as though it were the rule. Found while clearing four pairs of duplicated meanings in this file, not by a check that looks for this. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Junior 13-15 year old Ski | The older of the two IJSBA junior ski classes MEM.1.2 names as exceptions to its 16-and-over policy, which also leaves room for other categories specifically mentioned for under-16s. The held 2025 text gives it no age range beyond the one in its name. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: the meaning gave 13 to 15 as the criterion and called this one of two exceptions. MEM.1.2 names two classes but excepts other under-16 categories as well, and the age range is the class name, not a rule. The 10-12 row was corrected the same day for the same reason. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Junior+ | IHRA label for a class a promoter designates as open to junior competitors, who otherwise may not enter non-Junior classes Criterion from C.2.2 for Junior+. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Legend Heat | JJSBA 2020 final exhibition class that ran JS550 and X-2 Partly settled: a second sighting exists, an official source does not. The sighting was moved from a sanctioning body's site to the press, because hwsm.jp is a magazine site rather than a sanctioning body's. No held rulebook text names Legend Heat or states a criterion for it, checked 2026-10-05 against pitbox and the mirror. | 2020, en | the press hwsm.jp | Contested, checked 2026-09-30 |
| MASTERS | IJSBA rank whose Ski, Sport and Runabout classes are open to riders 45 years of age or older; IHRA has no Masters class Criterion from MEM.9.1. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Masters Ski | IJSBA ski class open to riders who are 45 years of age or older The age criterion is MEM.9.1 of the IJSBA Competition Membership document (MEM.8.1 Veterans, MEM.9.1 Masters); the source moved from the general rules to that document and the meaning replaced a bare class string. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Masters Sport and Runabout | IJSBA sport and runabout classes open to riders 45 years of age or older Same note as Masters Ski. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| MEM | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Competition Membership document. It issues memberships at three classifications, Novice, Expert and Pro, builds the Beginner, Amateur and Pro-Am classes from riders holding them, and sets out the event types a membership covers. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning described a single ladder from Beginner through Amateur to Pro; MEM.1.1 issues only Novice, Expert and Pro, MEM.2.1 opens Beginner to Novice riders, and MEM.5.1 makes Amateur a mix of Novice and Expert riders. | unknown, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Mod Lites a form of Ski Mod Lites | Short form of Ski Mod Lites as the 2018 document writes it The live host jetski.cz refused; the project’s held copy of the 2018 change list carries the sentence. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this note also said no held text states a criterion for Mod Lites. The same held 2018 posting, of rule changes then awaiting ratification by the IJSBA board, gives Ski Mod Lites a section of its own: a 2018 pilot on aftermarket hulls, with a two-stroke engine from a homologated Superjet, Kawasaki 750 or SX-R ski, or a Sea-Doo 900 ACE or Yamaha TR1 1050 four-stroke, and generally replacing Ski Limited. | 2018-, en | a sanctioning body's site jetski.cz | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Model Homologation listing | Pages 10-11 of the 2010 IJSBA book. Roughly 150 models with displacements, including 25 Polaris entries from the Octane ski to the MSX 140 runabout. A search of the 2010 listing on 2026-10-07 found no Tigershark. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said the listing held the full Polaris range, a phrase the book does not use, and gave the Tigershark absence no date or scope; both now say what the 2010 pages print. | 2010, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| NOVICE | The IJSBA rank for riders with minimal racing experience, and where a first-time competitor starts if not in Beginner. Novices may not enter Open, Modified or GP classes that allow supercharged or turbocharged runabouts. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed |
| Novice Woman Ski | IJSBA women's ski class at Novice rank, whose rider may additionally compete in Novice Ski but not Expert Criterion from GEN.14.5 and MEM.10.1. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA General Rules | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Parallel Slalom | A UIM aquabike sub-discipline. Pole position is timed on a slalom course, with a test run and two timed attempts where the schedule allows, and the fastest four go through to the finals: semi-finals pair first with third and second with fourth, each pairing racing one round on each of two tracks with a third round if they are level, and the winners race for first and second. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Parallel Slalom, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Parallel Slalom or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition names this discipline and sets out a continental version of it with its own category list. Criterion from 313.01 and 313.02 of the held UIM 2026 book, read 2026-10-02. Reworded 2026-10-04: the meaning said the whole discipline runs on a slalom course rather than a circuit, where 313.02 puts only pole position on a slalom course and runs the elimination rounds one on each circuit. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Pro Runabout 1200 | An IJSBA runabout class named for the 1200cc engine class. The champions roll lists it from 1995 to 2016, and no Sea-Doo won it in the 1990s: those titles went to Yamaha, Polaris and Kawasaki. The 1999 World Finals results head the class Pro Runabout 1200 SS and place Chris MacClugage first. Contested or single-sourced for Pro Runabout 1200 in the September 2026 research. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: until then this note denied that any held rulebook names Pro Runabout 1200. The held 2002 IJSBA rule book lists it in four tiers, Pro Runabout 1200 Stock, Limited, Superstock and Modified, and sets a 216kg minimum dry weight for 1200cc runabout classes. A five-title count for one rider was removed on 2026-10-06, since the roll is a finding aid and a person’s titles need their own held result sheets. Restored 2026-10-06 against a held sheet: the 1999 result is cited to that year’s World Finals results and matches the rider’s Key Figures record, while the other titles the roll gives him have no held sheet and stay out. The word premier left the meaning the same day, as a superlative. | 1990s, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Pro Runabout 785 | An IJSBA runabout class of the 1990s and early 2000s, named for the 785cc engine class the machines were built around, and later succeeded by Pro-Am 800. The 1999 World Finals results head it Pro Runabout 785 SS. The champions roll lists it from 1993 to 2006, marks it Pro-Am 800 from 2003, and gives Sea-Doo as the winning make in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 and in every year from 2003. Sighted once more, on a forum; no member is quoted here. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this note said no held rulebook states a criterion. The held 2002 IJSBA rule book admits a craft to the 800cc class only if it is no more than 785cc as furnished, and sets a 168kg minimum dry weight for 785cc classes on craft homologated before September 1998, though it never prints the name Pro Runabout 785. The meaning had also ended the roll at 2003, a year early. Two winners were named here until 2026-10-06, read off the roll; under the rule that a title is cited to its own result sheet, they return only with a held sheet for each. CORRECTED 2026-10-06: the meaning counted six Sea-Doo titles from 1996 to 2004 as one class, where the roll renames it Pro-Am 800 in 2003. No winner is named here, since none has both a held sheet in this class and a Key Figures record. | 1990s, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Pro Ski Open | An IJSBA stand-up class with no displacement in its name. The 2008 World Finals results print it as Pro Ski Open, and the 2013 class list takes entries under it. The champions roll does not print the name: its nearest heading, Pro Ski, lists a winner each year from 1982 to 2016. A later check contradicted the earlier note on Pro Ski Open. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: the absence claim here, that no held rulebook names Pro Ski Open, was too wide. Held IJSBA rule books name Ski Open, the 2014 edition capping Ski Open, Ski Modified and Ski GP at 1200cc two-stroke or 1500cc four-stroke and the 2010 edition splitting every class by skill, Pro included; none prints Pro Ski Open as one name. The meaning had also tied his Kawasaki SX-R and X2 platforms to these two wins, which the research does not. One rider’s 1995 and 2013 wins were the substance of this meaning until 2026-10-06, and come back only when result sheets for both are held. CORRECTED 2026-10-06: the meaning put the class on the champions roll from 1995, but the roll never prints Pro Ski Open, and that year came from a research profile. Held result sheets do print the name; the earlier sentence about rule books stands. | 1990s, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Pro Ski Superstock | Class name on the 2002 IJSBA Region 3 standings sheet CORRECTED 2026-10-04: the claim that no held rulebook names Pro Ski Superstock fails on a 2002 document. The held 2002 IJSBA rule book, from the same year as the standings sheet, lists Pro Ski 800 Superstock, and the current IJSBA Ski Superstock document caps the class at 1500cc. The standings sheet itself is not held, so the meaning cannot be checked offline. | 2002, en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org ijsba.com/ijsba/results/2002/Standings_r3.pdf | Likely, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Pro Woman Runabout | Class name in the 1998 Sea-Doo Racing Handbook Searched 2026-10-06: no held rulebook prints Pro Woman Runabout. One held text does, a Personal Watercraft Illustrated online news item captured in June 2001, which uses the form once to describe a rider and calls the class she was to race Pro Women Runabout. The association’s 1999 World Finals results and its champions roll print the class as Pro-Am Women Runabout, and MEM.10.1 of the current IJSBA membership rules governs women’s classes at Pro level as at Novice and Expert. The 1998 handbook the meaning rests on is not held. | 1998, en | an archive archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-06 |
| PRO-AM | IJSBA rank whose class is comprised of Expert- and Pro-level riders Criterion from MEM.7.1. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Pro-Am Runabout 800 SS | The super stock tier of the IJSBA Pro-Am runabout class at 800cc. The 2004 World Finals results print it in full as Pro-Am Runabout 800 Superstock and list Chokuthit Molee first in its final, and the 2013 class list still took entries under Pro-Am Runabout 800 SS, although the 2010 IJSBA rule book already counted Runabout 800 Superstock among its former classes. A later check contradicted the earlier note on Pro-Am Runabout 800 SS. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this note said no held rulebook names the class or states a criterion. The held 2002 IJSBA rule book lists Runabout 800 Superstock at Novice, Expert and Pro and sets a 182kg minimum dry weight for 800cc runabouts, and the 2010 and 2012 books call it a former class; none prints the Pro-Am form. The 2011 winner’s name came off this row on 2026-10-06: a title is now cited to its own result sheet, and none is held for that race yet. CORRECTED 2026-10-06: the meaning put the class on the 2011 programme by the champions roll, which has no section for it; that date came from a results page the archive does not hold, and two held IJSBA sheets replace it. The 2004 winner, printed there as Molee, Chokuthit, was named on 2026-10-07 once his Key Figures record was added. | 1990s, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Pro-Am Women Ski | A class name on the IJSBA world champions roll, which lists Pro-Am Women Ski champions from 1982 to 2016, and on the 2004 World Finals results. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the row called this a dead class name used from 1982 to 2002, but the IJSBA champions page held in the mirror runs the class to 2016 and the 2004 World Finals sheet prints it. | 1982-2016, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| RAL | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Runabout Limited class, a stock-based class allowing a limited number of modifications Criterion from RAL.1. | 2022, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| RAS | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Runabout Stock class, whose stated goal is craft with nearly identical characteristics to those off the showroom floor, with a focus on provisions for safety and handling. Criterion from RAS.1, which gives that as the goal of Stock Class racing rather than as a rule: the same document goes on to let engines be bored at RAS.3.1. Reworded 2026-10-04 from “must stay” and “only”. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| RNA | IJSBA Runabout Naturally Aspirated rule prefix. Document is internally headed Runabout Stock Checked against a primary source and confirmed for RNA, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the grade was contested although the held 2025 file prints RNA as the prefix of every rule, and the Runabout Stock heading inside it is a slip within one document rather than two sources disagreeing, so the grade is now confirmed. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| ROP | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Runabout Open class, capped at 2000cc, whose section says its rules are also the ones used when a class is titled GP or Grand Prix. Criterion from ROP .1, which follows that sentence by warning that GP rules are not the same across watercraft and that Runabout GP rules differ greatly from Ski GP; the held set has separate Ski GP and Sport GP documents. Narrowed 2026-10-04 from “any class titled GP”, which the section’s own warning undercuts. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| RRL | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Runabout Rec Lites class, a stock class for entry-level runabouts with a naturally aspirated four-stroke engine and a base US retail price under 10,000 dollars Criterion from RRL.1. | 2022, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| RSS | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Runabout Superstock class, four-stroke only, with very high modification and an Expert or Pro licence required Criterion from RSS.1. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Runabout 1100 Stock | An IJSBA runabout class of 2018. Its 2018 rules, prefix R1S, make it a Stock Class for runabouts intended for the entry level recreation market, powered by a naturally aspirated four-stroke engine furnished by the manufacturer below 1100cc. The example URL for Runabout 1100 Stock moved from the site's PDF media listing to the document itself. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: stock 1100cc machines overstated the limit and the title was no longer the only evidence; the rules text is held at tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20201130180247id__https_www.ijsba.com_wp-content_uploads_2018_08_Runabout-1100-Stock-2018-Rules.pdf.txt (lines 8 and 18 to 20), whose eligibility sentence sets a displacement less than 1100cc and, as printed, names the Rec Lites division. | 2018, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Runabout Endurance | IHRA class section W. Pro Endurance and Amateur Endurance sub-classes | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Runabout GP1 | UIM top technical class 502.04 Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Runabout GP1, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Runabout GP1 or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition heads a section Runabout Category GP1 with its own main criteria, so the class is named and bounded in a document this archive holds. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Runabout GP2 | IHRA stock-based runabout class whose stated goal is craft as close as possible to their showroom counterparts, introduced as up to 1800cc while its Y.1 criteria cap four-strokes at 2000cc. Criterion from section Y and Y.1, which disagree on the cap (1800cc in the introduction, 2000cc in Y.1). Reworded 2026-10-04: the meaning said craft must resemble showroom models, which the section offers as a goal. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Runabout GP3 | IHRA stock-based runabout class up to 800cc two-stroke or 1100cc naturally aspirated four-stroke, aiming at craft as close as possible to showroom models. Z.1 prints no forced-induction figure, yet the section carries a Z.9 headed Turbocharger/Supercharger. Criterion from section Z and Z.1. Corrected 2026-10-04: the meaning dropped the words naturally aspirated and stated the showroom aim as a requirement. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Runabout Limited | IJSBA runabout class allowing a limited number of modifications over Stock, for competitors with a relatively modest investment Criterion from RAL.1. | 2022, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Runabout Lites | IHRA entry-level runabout class, section AA. It takes the Sea-Doo Spark of all years, the Yamaha EX of all years except the EXR, JetBlaster and 2025 JetBlaster Pro, and the Yamaha JetBlaster DLX and DLX 3-Up of 2025 and later. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning dropped the three Yamaha models that AA.1 excludes from the EX entry and could be read as limiting every model to 2025 and later, when only the JetBlaster DLX carries that limit. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Runabout Lites Class a form of Runabout Rec Lites | The name the IJSBA Runabout Rec Lites rules use once, in RRL.1, for the class when they list the two models eligible as of January 1, 2021. The IHRA rulebook has a separate Runabout Lites class in its section AA. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning pointed to the same rulebook paragraph without naming the rulebook or the IJSBA; the paragraph is RRL.1, and the IHRA class of a similar name is a different class with its own model list. | 2022, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Runabout Naturally Aspirated | IJSBA class. Combines four stroke Stock with two stroke Limited The held document is headed Runabout Stock (RNA.1); the name is the PDF title on the IJSBA rule book page. Grade moved from confirmed to contested. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Contested, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Runabout Open | IJSBA runabout class with a high degree of modification while keeping the branding and appearance of the OEM craft, capped at 2000cc. Its section says these are also the rules for a class titled GP, then warns that Runabout GP and Ski GP rules differ greatly. Criterion from ROP .1. Reworded twice on 2026-10-04: first from “any class titled GP”, then from a claim that ROP .1 confines the GP rule to runabouts, which the section implies through its warning but does not say. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Runabout Rec Lites | An IJSBA Stock Class for runabouts intended for the entry level recreation market, open to the Sea-Doo Spark and the Yamaha EX but not the EXR. The current class rules set a list-price ceiling of 10,000 US dollars and name those two models as eligible as of January 1, 2021; the 2018 class rules and the 2018 Displacement Guide set the ceiling at 8,500. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the 8,500 dollar figure had been credited to the 2021 Displacement Guide, which the cache does not hold; the held figures are 10,000 dollars in the current class rules (pitbox/ijsba-rulebooks/runabout-rec-lites.txt:11-12) and 8,500 dollars in the cached 2018 class rules (tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20201201010820id__https_www.ijsba.com_wp-content_uploads_2018_08_Runabout-Rec-Lites-2018-Rules.pdf.txt:20-21) and 2018 guide (tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20201130090700id__https_www.ijsba.com_wp-content_uploads_2018_08_2018-Displacement-Guide.pdf.txt:24-25), so the meaning now reads as a change between editions and the era starts in 2018. | 2018-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Runabout Stock | IJSBA stock runabout class aimed, in its own words, at craft as close as possible in character to the showroom watercraft, with a focus on provisions for safety and handling in competition. Criterion from RAS.1. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: the meaning turned that stated goal into a rule, saying craft must stay that way with provisions only for safety and handling, though the document allows custom paint at RAS.2.11 and boring at RAS.3.1. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Runabout Stock N/A | Estonian EJML class for naturally aspirated jets that meet the IJSBA Runabout Stock technical rules. Two-stroke to 1300cc, four-stroke to 1600cc. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning left out the word vabalthingavad, naturally aspirated, and the IJSBA Runabout Stock base that EJML rule 3.2.10 names, and the held 2016 EJML rules carry the class too. | 2012-2016, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Runabout Superstock | IJSBA four-stroke-only runabout class allowing very high modification while keeping many of the OEM features, for riders holding an Expert or Pro licence. Criterion from RSS.1. The two-stroke bar is in the RSS.1 text itself, while the same document still carries three sections headed for two-strokes, RSS.4, RSS.7 and RSS.9. Corrected 2026-10-04: this note had called RSS.1 the document header and named only RSS.4, and the meaning had dropped “many of”. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Sea-Doo Pro Stock | IHRA drag class for OEM Sea-Doo craft with a stock pump and drive shaft, no turbo beyond OEM and no nitrous Criterion from DD.2. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Sea-Doo Spec | IHRA drag class for OEM Sea-Doo craft allowing aftermarket pumps and nozzles on a stock drive shaft, no turbo beyond OEM and no nitrous Criterion from DD.4. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Seadoo Vs Seadoo | IHRA drag sub-class DD.11 as spelled in the rulebook. No hyphen | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Showroom Stock | The name the IJSBA Stock rules give as the example for a class offering with greater restrictions than the Stock provisions CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this note said the criterion came from RAS.1 and RRL.1. Both name Showroom Stock only as the example of what a more restricted class must be called to keep its rules distinct, and neither sets a test for it, so the meaning is the whole of what the held text supports. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| SKGP | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Ski Grand Prix class, the most elite ski class, capped at 1300cc two-stroke, 1500cc naturally aspirated four-stroke or 1100cc forced-induction four-stroke Criterion from SKGP.1. | 2024-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Ski 1100 Modified | IHRA modified ski class on aftermarket or approved hulls of at most 97 inches, capped at 1100cc. Its introduction allows any non-turbo OEM four-stroke, but R.1 names only OEM four-stroke 1050 engines for an aftermarket hull. Criterion from section R and R.1, which say different things about engines for an aftermarket hull. The meaning carried only the introduction until 2026-10-04. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Ski 1500 Modified | IHRA modified ski class on aftermarket or approved hulls of at most 97 inches, capped at 1500cc. The section disagrees with itself on engines: its introduction allows any non-turbo four-stroke from an OEM watercraft, while Q.1 allows an aftermarket hull only an OEM 1500 four-stroke. Criterion from section Q and Q.1. Corrected 2026-10-04: the meaning followed the introduction alone and left out the narrower list in Q.1. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Ski Division | The division for stand-up craft, ridden by one person standing and steered with a pivoting handle pole. IJSBA runs it beside its Sport and Runabout divisions and UIM beside its Runabout division, each division with its own classes, and IJSBA lets a rider hold a different skill level in Ski than in Runabout or Sport. | 2002-2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-29 |
| Ski Division GP4 | A UIM Ski Division category for stock aquabikes, meant to let riders compete with relatively modest investment and maintenance costs, open to atmospheric four-strokes of up to 1100cc. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski Division GP4, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called GP4 the entry class and GP1 the top tier, words the UIM rules do not use for the Ski Division, which keep entry-level for the Junior classes; the grade now rests on the 2026 UIM rules themselves. | 2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Future Electric | The UIM ski category for riders aged five to seven, carrying the prefix SFE. The held book lists it in the category table without a displacement, and states no criterion beyond the age. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski Future Electric, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Ski Future Electric or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition lists this class with the prefix SFE and an age range of five to seven years. Read from the category table at 302.01 of the held UIM 2026 book on 2026-10-02. What the class requires of a machine is not stated there. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Ski GP | IHRA's highest ski class, allowing extensive engine and hull modification on hulls of at most 97 inches, with an Expert or Pro licence mandatory Criterion from section K and K.1. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Ski GP1 | The top technical ski class in the UIM’s division, which caps an atmospheric two-stroke at 1300cc, an atmospheric four-stroke at 1630cc and a turbocharged four-stroke at 1000cc. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski GP1, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Ski GP1 or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition carries this class in the category table. Read there, the book disagrees with itself on the atmospheric four-stroke: the category table prints 1620cc where the body text prints 1630cc, and this row prints 1630. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Ski GP2 | The IHRA stand-up class written for the Kawasaki SX-R 1500, set out in section L of the IHRA rulebook. The section's own text calls it Ski Stock in one place. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski GP2, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the grade was contested while the note said confirmed; the one wrinkle is that L.1 says Ski Stock class inside the Ski GP2 section, a slip within the IHRA book that the meaning records, so the grade is now confirmed. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski GP3 | IHRA class section M. Kawasaki 750SX SXI SXI Pro and SXR800 and Yamaha SuperJet | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Ski Grand Prix | The most elite IJSBA ski class, allowing maximum modification on aftermarket hulls of at most 97 inches, capped at 1300cc two-stroke, 1500cc naturally aspirated four-stroke or 1100cc forced-induction four-stroke Criterion from SKGP.1, with the hull length in the same section. | 2024-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Ski Juniors GP3.2 | UIM classification. Removed from championship list from 1 Jan 2027 Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski Juniors GP3.2, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: a contested grade sat under a note that said confirmed; the 2026 UIM rules list Ski Juniors GP3.2 for riders aged 10 to 12 and drop it from the World and Continental Championship lists from 1 January 2027, so the grade is now confirmed on that book. | 2026, en | a rulebook UIM 2026 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Ladies GP1 | The UIM GP1 ski class for women riders, written Ladies in the 2026 book. The held 2016 book named the same slot Ski Women GP1, so Ladies is the current wording rather than settled UIM usage. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski Ladies GP1, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Ski Ladies GP1 or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition names this class and says it runs as a separate class once enough entries are declared. Narrowed 2026-10-04: the meaning said UIM writes Ladies, not Women’s, which holds for the 2026 edition only. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Ski Ladies Limited | An Estonian EJML class for skis that meet the IJSBA Ski Limited technical rules. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: this note said no held rulebook text names Ski Ladies Limited or states a criterion for it. The held EJML competition rules for 2012 and for 2015 both name it and define it in one line, as craft meeting IJSBA Ski Limited technical requirements, and the 2015 edition also admits the Benelli B3S. | 2012-2015, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Ski Limited | IJSBA class. NOT renamed in 2018. The pending 2018 change list says Ski Limited had no changes and would be kept as a class description in an addendum, but that in most cases, especially at World Finals, it would be replaced with the newly created Mod Lites. The 2025 scoring rules still use Novice Ski Limited Slalom and an Expert Ski Limited Closed-Course World Champion as examples. The live host jetski.cz refused; the project's held copy of the 2018 change list carries the sentence. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning said the class was superseded in practice; the held 2018 list was a set of pending changes awaiting board ratification, and the class name still appears in the 2025 scoring examples, so the era now runs to 2025. | 2002-2025, en | a sanctioning body's site jetski.cz | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Lite a form of Ski Lites | Estonian EJML class name against the IJSBA Ski Stock two-stroke spec. The name drops the final s that the IJSBA’s own Ski Lites class carries. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning ended on the fragment Single-word variant, and the era stopped at 2015 although the held 2016 EJML competition rules still list Ski Lite as class 3.2.5. | 2012-2016, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Lites | An IJSBA ski class meant to promote ski racing at a baseline level with modest investment and maintenance costs, open only to the Kawasaki SX-R and the Yamaha SuperJet with two-stroke engines, and capped at 850cc. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called this the class a newcomer meets first; SKL.1 says only that it serves ski racing at a baseline level, MEM.3.1 sends first-time competitors to Novice or Beginner, and FSKL.1 gives Four Stroke Ski Lites the same baseline wording. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Mod Lites | IJSBA class created 2018. Prefix SML. Rules at ModLites2018Rules.pdf on IJSBA's own server The example URL for Ski Mod Lites moved from the site's PDF media listing to the document itself. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the era now ends in 2023, the year IJSBA's own news page reported the class's passing and named Ski Modified 1100 as its successor (tools/cache(main)/ijsba.com/ijsba-mourns-the-loss-of-mod-lites.txt:14); its 2018 start is held in IJSBA's final 2018 rule changes, which call it newly created (tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20180301193707id__http_www.ijsba.com_80_ijsba-announces-final-rule-changes-for-2018-competition-season-planned-world.txt:73, :79). | 2018-2023, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Modified | IJSBA class. Naturally aspirated four stroke only. 0-1100cc and 1101-1500cc | 2023, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed |
| Ski Stock | An IJSBA ski class pitched at a baseline level, exclusively for the 1500cc-based Kawasaki SX-R, on which junior competitors must use an approved restrictor plate. Criterion from SSK.1. Reworded 2026-10-04 from “the IJSBA baseline ski class”: SSK.1 says “at a baseline level”, and the Fixed Steering Ski Stock document uses the same words, so the definite article claimed more than the text. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Ski Superstock | IJSBA class. Document text says Ski Modified inside the Ski Superstock file Contested in the September 2026 research: the held Ski Superstock file prints Ski Modified inside its own text, so two readings of the same document disagree. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the term itself stands in the held file's own displacement line and expert-licence note, so the grade is now confirmed; the stray Ski Modified in SKSS.1 is a slip inside one document, which the meaning already records. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Ski Veterans GP1 | The UIM ski category for riders of forty or more years. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Ski Veterans GP1, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held rulebook text named Ski Veterans GP1 or stated a criterion for it. The UIM Aquabike rulebook has been held as text since 2026-10-01, and its 2026 edition sets the criterion for this class in one clause: forty or more years old. The clause sits in the continental championship list at 302.01.05, not in the 302.01 category table, and the world championship list at 302.01.01 does not carry the class. Location corrected 2026-10-04. The same book also says, at 302.01.07, “Veterans: Riders over 40 years”, so it gives the age two ways. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Ski Vintage | IHRA vintage ski class at limited performance, primarily for the Kawasaki 550 Ski, capped at 600cc Criterion from section S and S.1. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| SKL | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Ski Lites class, exclusively for two-stroke Kawasaki SX-R and Yamaha SuperJet skis, capped at 850cc Criterion from SKL.1, with the 850cc cap in SKL.3. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| SKM | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Ski Modified class, for OEM homologated naturally aspirated four-stroke engines up to 1500cc in two ranges, 0 to 1100cc and 1101 to 1500cc Criterion from SKM.1 of the 2023 document. | 2023-2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| SKSS | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Ski Superstock class, which prohibits aftermarket hulls and caps displacement at 1500cc. Criterion from SKSS.1. CORRECTED 2026-10-04: the meaning also said the class was exclusively for the Kawasaki SX-R. The only sentence in SKSS.1 that restricts the model names “the Ski Modified Class” instead, so the held text does not say which machines Superstock admits, and the row has stopped saying it on its behalf. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| SLALOM EVENT | An IJSBA event type. A timed run in which one competitor negotiates zig-zag left and right-hand turns around stationary markers. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed |
| Slalom Runabout Open | An IJSBA runabout class whose name places it in slalom rather than closed-course racing, with no displacement in it. The champions roll lists it from 2005 to 2016 and gives Sea-Doo as the make in every year from 2007, and the association’s results, which head it Runabout Open Slalom, place Eric Lagopoulos first in 2008, printed there as Eric Lagpoulos, and Gyorgy Kasza first in 2015 and 2017. The September research looked for this class by name and did not find it where expected. Searched again 2026-10-04, including Runabout Open Slalom: no held rulebook names Slalom Runabout Open, and ROP.1 gives Runabout Open a 2000cc cap without mentioning slalom. Until then the row pointed at a project file that does not carry the class. Two riders and their title counts were named here until 2026-10-06; the roll alone no longer carries a person’s title on this site. Restored 2026-10-06 for one rider only, whose 2015 and 2017 wins have held result sheets and a Key Figures record; the 2008 winner on a held sheet followed on 2026-10-07, once his Key Figures record was added. The meaning had counted ten Sea-Doo titles from 2005, where the roll gives no make for 2005 or 2006. | 1990s, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-06 |
| SML | IJSBA Ski Mod Lites rule prefix. Found in the 2018 ModLites2018Rules.pdf on IJSBA's own server. The example URL for SML moved from the site's PDF media listing to the document itself. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the open-ended era now closes at 2023, when an IJSBA news item of 4 October announced that Ski Mod Lites had ended (tools/cache(main)/ijsba.com/ijsba-mourns-the-loss-of-mod-lites.txt:14); the SML prefix is held in the cached 2018 rules (tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20230128040924id__https_ijsba.com_wp-content_uploads_2018_09_ModLites2018Rules.pdf.txt:10) and in the 2021 class document. | 2018-2023, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| SPECIAL EVENT | An IJSBA event type covering any watercraft event that meets its technical requirements and is not hazardous, with obstacle races, relay races and Australian Pursuit given as examples. The promoter may determine such an event, but prior approval from the IJSBA is required. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning had the promoter proposing the event, where MEM.17.1 says the promoter may determine it subject to the IJSBA approving it first. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Special Production Homologation | IJSBA 2010 track allowing homologation down to 25 units for Special Production Stock and Modified/GP classes nzjetsport.org.nz did not resolve; the project's held copy of the 2010 book carries the Special Production appendix. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the era ended at 2011, but the same appendix is printed in the held 2012 and 2014 books and the 2015 draft, so it now runs to 2015. | 2010-2015, en | a sanctioning body's site nzjetsport.org.nz | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| SPGP | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Sport GP class, a highly modified traditional Sport class category not designed for entry-level competitors Criterion from SPGP.1. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Sport GP | IJSBA class preserving traditional Sport class competition with a high degree of modification, not designed for entry-level competitors Criterion from SPGP.1. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Sport Spec | IJSBA class. Per-model legality not per-class. Document is damaged and has no section numbering A primary document was found for it after the first pass. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the grade stayed contested after that find, but the held Sport Spec file carries the class name in its own opening line, so the grade is now confirmed. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| SSK | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Ski Stock class, which is exclusively for the 1500cc based Kawasaki SX-R Criterion from SSK.1. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Stand Up Unlimited | IHRA drag sub-class DD.10. Any manufacturer. Jet driven only | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed |
| Super Chicken a form of Superchicken | Two-word form. The VintageJetSki.com shop menu labelled the Kawasaki SC as SC (Super Chicken). A 2015 PWCToday post also expands SC as Super Chicken. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the era now runs 2020 to 2025, the span of the cached VintageJetSki.com captures carrying the label, and a grep of the cache that day found it in no capture before 2020-08-09, the 2019-07-20 home page included; the example moved to that earliest capture (tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20200809153345_https_www.vintagejetski.com_contact-us.txt:24), and the corroboration sentence, which leaned on the uncached ECW list, now names the cached PWCToday post (tools/cache(main)/pwctoday.com/forum_general-interest_general-pwc-stuff_259541-_page2.txt:81). | 2020-2025, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Super Stock | IHRA drag class for OEM-based craft allowing aftermarket pumps and drive shafts, carbon-fibre or lightened hulls and hull swaps between makes, no turbo beyond OEM and no nitrous Criterion from DD.5. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Superchicken | Rider name for the Kawasaki SC, the craft IJSBA's Vintage SC class is designed for, written as one word. A 2013 PWCToday signature lists a 1993 Superchicken among the poster's craft. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the East Coast Watercross class list is not held, so its wording, the 2026 era and the variant link to the Vintage SC class were cut and the grade set to likely; the example now points to a cached 2013 PWCToday thread (tools/cache(main)/pwctoday.com/forum_pwctoday-riding-groups_northeast_new-york_221813-.txt:35), a 2015 post in a cached PWCToday lingo thread glosses SC as Super Chicken (tools/cache(main)/pwctoday.com/forum_general-interest_general-pwc-stuff_259541-_page2.txt:81), and pitbox/ijsba-rulebooks/vintage-sc.txt:4 says the class is designed for the Kawasaki SC. | 2013, en | a forum thread, no member quoted pwctoday.com | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Superstock Addendum | A paragraph of the Open Class rules in the 2010 IJSBA book: a class designated Superstock runs under Open Class rules except 8.2.2 on aftermarket hulls and 8.3.5.a on aftermarket cylinders. Superstock was NOT introduced in 2018. The pending 2018 change list proposed that Runabout Open be replaced with Superstock, and the 2016 Displacement Guide had already printed the heading Runabout Open (Superstock). CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning stated as fact that Runabout Open was replaced in 2018, but the held 2018 list was a pending change awaiting ratification, and the meaning never said what the addendum provides; both are now set out from the held texts. | 2010-, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Superstock Kawasaki JS750SXi Pro | Phrase in the 2010 homologation notes CORRECTED 2026-10-02: this row said no held class text named Superstock Kawasaki JS750SXi Pro. The IJSBA Homologation document has been held as text since 2026-10-02 and names it. | 2010, en | an archive web.archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Turbo No Nitrous Drags | IHRA drag class for turbocharged craft with the turbo limited to a 68mm inducer, no superchargers, no nitrous and no lightened hulls Criterion from DD.7. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| VETERANS | IJSBA rank whose Ski, Sport and Runabout classes are open to riders 35 years of age or older Criterion from MEM.8.1. | 2022-2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Veterans Ski | IJSBA ski class open to riders who are 35 years of age or older The age criterion is MEM.8.1 of the IJSBA Competition Membership document (MEM.8.1 Veterans, MEM.9.1 Masters); the source moved from the general rules to that document and the meaning replaced a bare class string. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Veterans Sport and Runabout | IJSBA sport and runabout classes open to riders 35 years of age or older Same note as Veterans Ski. | 2024, en | a rulebook IJSBA Membership | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Vintage 550 | ECWX vintage class name No held rulebook text names Vintage 550 or states a criterion for it, checked 2026-10-05 against pitbox and the mirror. | 2026, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Vintage 650 | An organiser-added vintage Ski category. Both held rulebooks name it, IJSBA at VSK.1 and IHRA in section S, each as something an event organiser may create rather than a class either body defines, and the 2016 IJSBA Displacement Guide gives “Vintage Ski 650” as an example of restricting Vintage Ski by displacement. Great Lakes Watercross lists a paired “Vintage 650/750” on its own site, which the archive has from the club rather than as a held document. Written 2026-10-04, after the row was found to share its meaning word for word with Vintage 701. Searched again on 2026-10-04: outside the VSK.1 example list, IHRA section S and the 2016 Displacement Guide, no held document names a Vintage 650 class or event. CORRECTED the same day: the first search missed the Displacement Guide, which sits inside the held jetski.cz IJSBA rule-book file, and counted the Great Lakes Watercross list as held when it was read from the club’s site. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Vintage 701 | The second designation VSK.1 offers as an example, written “i.e. Vintage 650, Vintage 701, etc.”, so the list is open and not a two-class division. Neither held book gives it a figure: both cap Vintage Ski itself at 600cc, and both tie displacement to the class, IJSBA at VSK.3.1 to the class designation, which makes the name the ceiling, and IHRA at S.2.1 to the class limit. Written 2026-10-04, replacing a meaning identical to the one on Vintage 650, and corrected the same day: it had set the IJSBA designation rule against a flat IHRA 600cc, when the IJSBA document also caps Vintage Ski at 600cc and IHRA also ties displacement to the class limit. Searched on 2026-10-04: no held document records a Vintage 701 class being run. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-04 |
| Vintage SC | IJSBA vintage class for the Kawasaki SC, exclusively on the 1991 OEM SC hull, capped at 850cc Criterion from VSC.1. | 2022, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Vintage Ski | IJSBA class for the original Kawasaki 550 Ski. Max 600cc at World Finals | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed |
| Vintage Ski Limited | IJSBA vintage class capped at 558cc on original Kawasaki 550 engine cases, with 110mm rods and 60mm stroke only Criterion from VSKL.1, with the rod and stroke rule in the engine section. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Vintage Ski Open | A vintage class name ECWX and WWWX both list for 2026, by the project's source map, and one the 2013 IJSBA World Finals took entries under, as Vintage Ski Open on its class list. No held rulebook text names Vintage Ski Open or states a criterion for it, checked 2026-10-05 against pitbox and the mirror. Searched again 2026-10-06: the held 2013 World Finals class list, added that day, takes sixteen entries under the name, which makes it an IJSBA World Finals class as well as a regional one. It is a list of entries, not results, so it names no winner. | 2026, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Vintage X2 | IJSBA vintage class for the Kawasaki X2 sold 1986 through 1995, on the OEM X2 hull, capped at 850cc Criterion from VX2.1. | 2023, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| VSC | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Vintage SC class, for the Kawasaki SC on the 1991 OEM SC hull, capped at 850cc Criterion from VSC.1. | 2022, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| VSK | IJSBA Vintage Ski rule prefix. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed |
| VSKL | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Vintage Ski Limited class, capped at 558cc on original Kawasaki 550 engine cases Criterion from VSKL.1. | 2025, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| VX2 | The rule prefix of the IJSBA Vintage X2 class, for the Kawasaki X2 sold 1986 through 1995 on the OEM X2 hull, capped at 850cc Criterion from VX2.1. | 2023, en | a rulebook IJSBA 2025 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| X-2 class | Class name for the Kawasaki X-2. The X-2 launch created it and it became the sport class. The unhyphenated X2 is still a class name: the 2010 IJSBA book lists X2 among its alternative classes, the IJSBA’s 2025 rule book set carries Vintage X2 rules, and the 2026 IHRA rulebook has an X2 class in section T. Contested or single-sourced for X-2 class in the September 2026 research. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called this a dead class name, but IJSBA and IHRA rules both still name an X2 class; the hyphenated X-2 class appears in no rulebook, mirror text or cache capture the project holds (searched 2026-10-07), which is why the grade stays contested. | 1986-2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| X2 Ltd | An AJSA and WWWX vintage class for the Kawasaki X2, capped at 650cc by both, in the project's reading of their 2026 rulebooks. Partly settled: the AJSA and WWWX sightings are both the project’s own reading, and no official source is held. Searched 2026-10-04, including X2 Limited and X-2 Ltd: no held rulebook text names X2 Ltd or states a criterion for it. Until then the meaning ended on a bare 650cc that did not say what the figure was. | 2026, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-10-04 |
| X2 Open | An AJSA vintage class for the Kawasaki X2, capped at 810cc in the project's reading of the AJSA 2026 rulebook, beside an X2 Ltd at 650cc. CORRECTED 2026-10-04, the same day this row was moved to the refused list on the strength of an older note saying its cited source did not support it. The cited source does: the project build sheets print “AJSA X2 Open 810cc / Ltd 650cc”, and the project source map names the AJSA 2026 rulebook it was read from. That rulebook is not held, so the row rests on the project’s own research and is graded for that. | 2026, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-04 |
| X2 Vintage | IHRA vintage class for the Kawasaki X2 built 1986 to 1995, capped at 850cc Criterion from section T and T.1. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Yamaha Pro Stock | IHRA drag class for OEM Yamaha craft with a stock pump and drive shaft, no turbo beyond OEM and no nitrous Criterion from DD.1. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
| Yamaha Spec | IHRA drag class for OEM Yamaha craft allowing aftermarket pumps and nozzles on a stock drive shaft, no turbo beyond OEM and no nitrous Criterion from DD.3. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-09-30 |
Events, tours and venues (39)
Names of championships, tours, rounds and venues as documents print them, including sponsor names of their year.
| Term | Meaning | Era and language | Sighted in | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APBA Watercraft National Champion | Title listed for the 1991 season in an Arai helmet advert of 4 March 1992, beside the same riders' IJSBA JetSki National Champion titles; no earlier dated APBA watercraft title turned up in the mirror or the fetch cache, searched 2026-10-07. One sighting only, the same Arai advert of 4 March 1992 that carries the Havasu Weekend styling, which lists this title for the 1991 season, and nothing since contradicts it. | 1991-1992, en | the press archive.org | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Aquabike World Championship | UIM world championship for personal watercraft, which Wikipedia calls the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship. The held sources date its start differently: Wikipedia gives 1992 as the inaugural year and its Runabout GP1 and Freestyle results tables begin in 1996, the Hungarian federation's 2005 book lists a 1995 UIM Világbajnokság (world championship) result, and the UIM's own champions roll begins its Continental titles in 1996 and its World titles in 2001. Meaning rewritten. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the 1995 sanctioning date credited to aquabike.net was cut because that page is not held, and the contest is now the start date as the held sources give it, from Wikipedia (tools/cache(main)/en.wikipedia.org/wiki_Aquabike_World_Championship.txt:14, :210, :602), the MJSZ 2005 book (docs/vintage-archive/mirror/mjsz-2005-rulebook-part4-hungarian-national-jetskihu.txt:1312) and the UIM roll (tools/cache(main)/uim.sport/Champions.aspx__discipline_AQUABIKE-4.txt and -5.txt); the example moved to the cached Wikipedia article. | 1992-2026, en | an encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Belle River | CWA CanAm Tour venue 2013 | 2013, en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org canadianwatercraft.com/download/ | Likely |
| British Jet Sports Championship | Title of a British championship videotape on archive.org, known to this project from its own archive.org searches. The item's address names Round 1 at Kesh, Northern Ireland. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the year 1995, the Prime Network credit and the 16-minute length were cut, the era cleared and the grade set to likely, because a search of pitbox, the mirror and the fetch cache made 2026-10-07 for Kesh, Prime Network and British Jet Sports found only the mirror's mention of a British championship tape (docs/vintage-archive/mirror/ijsba-jet-skier-jet-sports-directory-evidence.txt:81). | en | an archive archive.org | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Bud Jet Sports Tour a form of IJSBA National Tour | A series name this project read in a 1996 PWI race report on the Wayback Machine, a report it does not hold. Held records name 1995 Bud Jet Sports Tour videotapes on archive.org. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: sponsor name was cut and the grade set to likely, since the cache holds no copy of the PWI report; a search of pitbox, the mirror and the fetch cache made 2026-10-07 for Bud Jet and Budweiser found the 1995 tapes (docs/vintage-archive/mirror/ijsba-jet-skier-jet-sports-directory-evidence.txt:81) and a 1993 Virginia Beach Sun snippet printing Budweiser Jet Sports Tour (tools/cache(main)/archive.org/services_search_beta_page_production___service_backend_fts_user_query_22Westcoast_20Performance_22_hits_per_page_50_page.txt:76), and the era now spans the 1995 tapes and the 1996 address of the report. | 1995-1996, en | an archive web.archive.org | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Campeonato Brasileiro | Brazilian national championship. This project's index of the BJSA site recorded Campeonato Brasileiro pages for 2000 to 2001. A Sao Paulo city government article of 7 May 2012 names the 25th Campeonato Brasileiro de Jet Ski, held on 5 and 6 May 2012 at the Guarapiranga reservoir with the BJSA as organiser. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the example moved from the uncached BJSA site to the Sao Paulo city article, which carries the term in its title and is held at tools/cache(main)/prefeitura.sp.gov.br/web_esportes_w_noticias_40839.txt, so the grade rose to confirmed; the era now runs to 2026 on the strength of the cached ARJS page titled Campeonato Brasileiro (tools/cache(main)/jetskirs.com/campeonatobrasileiro.txt), and the BJSA pages sentence now says it rests on the project's ledger (docs/vintage-archive/sources.csv:78). | 2000-2026, pt | a government record prefeitura.sp.gov.br | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Campeonato Paulista | A championship title on the BJSA site. This project's 2026-09-17 index of the site's Wayback captures recorded a Campeonato Paulista page by title, without its content. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the gloss Sao Paulo state championship and the 2000 to 2001 era were removed, because a search that day of pitbox, the mirror and the fetch cache for Paulista found no text at all; the row now rests only on the project's ledger entry for the BJSA site (docs/vintage-archive/sources.csv:78), which records page titles and no machine-readable body. | pt | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org bjsa.com.br/Bras/ | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| CanAm Tour | Canadian Watercraft Association series 2013 to 2015. Rounds at Oscoda and Belle River. The results PDFs were read in Wayback Machine captures of canadianwatercraft.com/download/. | 2013-2015, en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org canadianwatercraft.com/download/ | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Coors | Title sponsor of the 1983 national championship and 1984 World Finals per VHS rip titles Collides with: Coors beer generally | 1983-1984, en | an archive youtube.com | Confirmed |
| Coors / OP World Finals | Sponsor title of the 1984 World Finals. The cover of The Jet Skier, Vol. 2, No. 10, the official publication of the International Jet Ski Boating Association, prints COORS/OP WORLD JET SKI FINALS, and the seller lists the issue as its 1984 World Finals edition. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the example moved from a VHS rip on a YouTube playlist, which no held capture carries (searched 2026-10-07), to a held capture of a sale listing whose cover photo carries the title. | 1984, en | the press worthpoint.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Coors / Style Auto National Jet Ski Championships | 1983 Lake Havasu event on a full VHS rip. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: a claim that this is the earliest race footage located was cut, because it carried no date and no account of what had been searched. | 1983, en | an archive youtube.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Crazy Horse Campground | World Finals venue. Ten-year agreement through 2029 Contested or single-sourced for Crazy Horse Campground in the September 2026 research. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the grade moves to confirmed because IJSBA's own post of November 2024 places the 2025 World Finals at Crazy Horse Campground; the ten-year agreement rests on the cited history doc and on the address of a 2020 IJSBA post seen only in a Wayback listing. | 2019-2029, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Crystal Beach | A beach where personal watercraft riders met each year for a weekend of racing. A Galveston County Daily News article, reposted on PWCToday in March 2007, says the gathering had run for five years, and a 2008 PWCToday thread places the first R5WaterXRacing race of that season there. A second sighting on a forum; no member is quoted here. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the row named no place and cited a history doc that never mentions Crystal Beach, so the meaning and example now rest on the two PWCToday captures in the fetch cache. | 2000s, en | a forum thread, no member quoted pwctoday.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Havasu 300 | Endurance race at Lake Havasu | unknown, en | this project's research | Likely |
| Hood River | Venue. A 1993 archive tape is actually 1994 per a metadata correction Same note as Crystal Beach. | 1993-1994, en | this project's research | Contested, checked 2026-09-21 |
| IJSBA Bud Jet Sports Tour a form of IJSBA National Tour | The series name with the IJSBA prefix, as this project's source ledger titles the 1996 PWI round 5 report it read on the Wayback Machine but does not hold. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: Full was cut, since no held text shows which form was the complete name, and the grade fell to likely because the PWI report is not in the cache; the only record of this form is the ledger entry (docs/vintage-archive/sources.csv:75), and a check on 2026-10-07 of pitbox, the mirror and the fetch cache found no text carrying IJSBA Bud Jet Sports Tour. | 1996, en | an archive web.archive.org | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| IJSBA Desert Classic | IJSBA event at Lake Mead, Boulder City, Nevada, reported by Cycle News on 29 June 1988 with a Novice Slalom class The September 2026 research found a single sighting, the Cycle News report of 29 June 1988 named in the meaning, and nothing since contradicts it. Printed as International Jet Ski Boating Association Desert Classic; noted. Collides with: Desert Classic as a name for motorcycle and car events | 1988, en | the press archive.org | Contested, checked 2026-09-30 |
| IJSBA Havasu Weekend a form of IJSBA World Finals | Name under which an Arai advert of 4 March 1992 styles the IJSBA World Championship at Lake Havasu for 1991 (Men's Pro and Women's Pro World Championship) One sighting only as of 2026-10-07, the Arai advert of 4 March 1992, which is where this styling of the Lake Havasu championship comes from. A PWCToday search for the phrase, read 2026-09-21, found it used only for a private riding trip, and no held text contradicts the advert (searched 2026-10-07). | 1991-1992, en | the press archive.org | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| IJSBA Indoor Jet Ski Championships | Indoor event at the Columbus, Ohio, Fairgrounds Coliseum advertised in Cycle News on 21 November 1990 The September 2026 research found a single sighting, the Cycle News advert named in the meaning, and nothing since contradicts it. | 1990, en | the press archive.org | Contested, checked 2026-09-21 |
| IJSBA National Jet Ski Tour a form of IJSBA National Tour | Period name of the IJSBA National Tour in a Cycle News news item of 19 June 1991 (San Diego round, 9 June 1991) The archive.org full-text search captured on 2026-09-22 also finds the tour in a Virginia Beach newspaper of July 1990, as the International Jet Ski Boating Association's National Jet Ski Tour, and in a 1992 San Diego sports guide as the Budweiser National Jet Ski Tour, so the Cycle News item is not its only sighting. | 1991, en | the press archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| JetJam | Anaheim event hosting an IJSBA Expert qualifier in August 1996 per a Los Angeles Times photo | 1996, en | an archive gettyimages.com | Confirmed |
| King's Cup | Pattaya, Thailand. The 2010 IJSBA rulebook advertises the World King’s Cup there for 1 to 5 December 2010. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called this one of the largest PWC events on earth, a ranking no held text gives, so that sentence is cut. | unknown, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Lake Havasu City | The town in Arizona where the IJSBA World Finals are held. Meaning corrected. An earlier wording added a judgement of the town that no source here makes. | 1982-2020, en | this project's research | Likely |
| Lake Tapps | Washington State venue. 1991 Budweiser series programme held | 1991, en | this project's research | Likely |
| LB2CAT | Long Beach to Catalina and Back. 57 miles round trip, from Long Beach to Avalon and back. Cancelled indefinitely after 2019. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning gave 57 miles with no direction, which read as a one-way distance; the held 2019 page prints 57 Miles Round Trip to Avalon and Back. | pre-2019, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Long Beach to Catalina a form of LB2CAT | A shortened form of the LB2CAT race name. The promoter’s 2019 race page prints the full name as The Long Beach to Catalina and Back JetSki Race. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: this row called the term the full name of LB2CAT, but the held 2019 race page adds and Back, so the term is a shortening of that name. | pre-2019, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Mark Hahn Memorial 300 | First run in 2005, by the count of its own numbered editions. Le Mans start. Promoted by DSM Events and RPM Racing. An event named after a person; the name is the event's, as its promoters print it. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning gave 2004 as the founding year, which is the year Mark Hahn died; the held 2009 announcement calls that running the fifth annual race and the 2017 rules call theirs the 13th, and both counts start in 2005. | 2005-2026, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Oscoda | CWA CanAm Tour venue June 2013 | 2013, en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org canadianwatercraft.com/download/ | Likely |
| Pro Watercraft Racing a form of IHRA | The name IHRA gives its PWC rulebook, the IHRA Pro Watercraft Racing Competition Rulebook. The word Series left the term. Searched on 2026-10-04: the held book prints IHRA Pro Watercraft Racing Competition Rulebook 94 times, never with Series after the name. CORRECTED 2026-10-06: this note said no held line printed Series after the name, and that the Series form was only in a launch announcement the archive did not hold. Two texts of IHRA’s December 2025 release are now held, SPEED SPORT of 23 December and The Watercraft Journal of 24 December, and both print IHRA Pro Watercraft Racing Series; a Watercraft Journal report of May 2026 shortens it to IHRA Pro Watercraft Series. The term stays without Series because it names the rulebook. Narrowed on 2026-10-04 from rulebook and program: where the book names its programme it says Professional Watercraft Racing. | 2026, en | a rulebook IHRA V.20260603 | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-06 |
| Region 11 | IJSBA region covering Alaska per a 2002 Wasilla Lake race photo | 2002, en | an archive gettyimages.com | Confirmed |
| Region 3 | IJSBA region designation. Appears in a 1999 racer resume | 1996-1999, en | this project's research | Likely |
| Region 8 | IJSBA formal region run by East Coast Watercross. Its thirteen states are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Region 8, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning added Ohio and Pennsylvania to thirteen other states, but East Coast Watercross lists thirteen states in all with those two among them; the grade is now confirmed on that page. | 2020s, en | a sanctioning body's site eastcoastwatercross.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Skat-Trak World Championships | 2000 IJSBA event, run 8 to 15 October 2000. A 48-minute VHS rip of it is on archive.org. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning read as if the VHS rip had been held on 8 to 15 October 2000; the project's archive catalogue gives those dates for the event on the tape. | 2000, en | an archive archive.org | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Style Auto | Co-sponsor of the 1983 Lake Havasu national championship per a VHS rip title The keyword bank records that a PWCToday search for Style Auto on 2026-09-21 returned no results, and that GreenHulk and X-H2O were not searched for it. | 1983, en | an archive youtube.com | Contested, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Triple Crown Watercross Challenge Series a form of USWRA | USWRA 2004 series name from its own press release | 2004, en | a sanctioning body's site web.archive.org | Confirmed |
| USWRA Joins Forces with APBA | Title of IJSBA's own article of 23 Jul 2005 recording an agreement between APBA and the USWRA to create one sanctioning body in the United States, and APBA adopting the 2005 IJSBA rulebook from 1 Aug 2005 The example URL moved from the site root to the article's own page. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: absorption was this project's word, not the article's; the Wayback copy in tools/cache(main)/web.archive.org/web_20200918175132_https_www.ijsba.com_uswra-joins-forces-with-apba.txt (lines 11, 13 and 19) reports an agreement to create one sanctioning body, and the project's own ledger (docs/vintage-archive/sources.csv:110) records that neither the IJSBA nor the APBA notice uses the word absorbed. | 2005, en | a sanctioning body's site ijsba.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| Waterjet Asian Championships | Japan and Thailand legs of the WaterJet World GP double as this Checked against a primary source and confirmed for Waterjet Asian Championships, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the WGP#1 pages for the 2025 Osaka round and the Pattaya final both print the Waterjet Asian Championships name, which ends the mismatch between a contested grade and a note reading confirmed; the grade is now confirmed. | 2025, en | a sanctioning body's site wgp1.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| WaterJet World Grand Prix | The name WGP#1 prints on its pages, over a World Cup, a World Series and the Waterjet Asian Championships. The 2025 World Series ran rounds in Osaka, Japan, at Eau d'Heure, Belgium, and at Pattaya, Thailand. Checked against a primary source and confirmed for WaterJet World Grand Prix, with a detail corrected or narrowed. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called the series Japan-anchored, which neither the cited history doc, which says Kawasaki-anchored, nor any held WGP#1 page says, so the phrase is cut and the grade rests on the organiser's own history page. | 2025, en | a sanctioning body's site wgp1.com | Confirmed, checked 2026-10-07 |
| World Finals | The IJSBA’s annual championship, run at Lake Havasu City. CORRECTED 2026-10-07: the meaning called the event season-ending, which no held text says; Watercraft Journal's 2020 report counts that year's meeting as the 39th annual Finals, and the era now runs to the 2025 edition that IJSBA's own posts announce. | 1982-2025, en | this project's research | Likely, checked 2026-10-07 |
The tier words (Stock, Limited, GP) are not defined here or anywhere on this site, because no rulebook glossary defines them; what they mean in practice is set out at Classes in plain words. The bodies whose initials the class rows use, AJSA, WWWX, ECW, EJML, USWRA and JJSBA among them, are not terms either: who they are is at the sanctioning bodies, which expands each one. Magazine and newsletter titles are not terms and are listed on the media page. Words the research could not find in use are on the refused list with the reason. And the people of the sport are not glossary entries: nobody is named on these pages without a recorded basis, and none has been recorded yet.
The grades on this page are one of several on the site. What every one of them means, and how a row moves up, is set out once at how we know.
271 terms · 214 confirmed · 30 contested · 3 languages