The Great Chinese Airshow Begins This Friday

Everything you need to know ahead of Stab High China, presented by Monster Energy.

news // Nov 10, 2026

Words by Stab

Reading Time: 5 minutes

It’s been nearly a decade since Stab High first took place in Waco, Texas.

Time, like our competitors, has a habit of flying. By the end of next week, we’ll be shepherding its 10th edition into the wonderful world of artificially generated waves.

URBNSURF, about a 30-minute drive from Stab’s first home on Bondi Road, was originally set to host the event. Unfortunately, our projected dates landed squarely in the middle of the pool’s maintenance window. We had little choice but to postpone.

The gap remained in our calendars, however, leading us to a frantic search for alternatives. Enter Surfway Hainan, an initially unlikely candidate, a stone’s throw from Riyue Bay, on the island of Hainan, People’s Republic of China.

The Ramp

Whereas Stab High Virginia Beach and Sydney ran on Wavegarden tech, pop the hood at Riyue Bay and you’ll find a shiny, well-oiled, less-than-a-year-old PerfectSwell engine. Coincidentally, it’s a modern descendant of one of the early versions we sampled in Waco eight years ago.

Allow Willy McFarland of American Wave Machines to introduce this weekend’s aerial section:

“It’s called the McFly. We debuted it in São Paulo, where you may have seen Pedro Barros do that huge backside air,” he says. “Essentially, what sets it apart is the verticality of the section. The launch point is higher relative to the rest of the wave. As a result, it really wants to push surfers upwards.”

“Every pool has its own intricacies and subtle differences,” he says. “São Paulo and China have our new, more powerful system. Riyue Bay, in particular, has a very powerful setup. I think it’s fair to say we’re getting a little more punch out of it. So yeah, it’s definitely the biggest section we’ve made.”

Upwards sounds great, and the logical direction for an event devoted to getting surfers as far above the water as humanly possible.

Ahead of the event, we sent a few people to China to put the ramp through its paces. In the absence of any complaints, the section was being described as the best in the world.

You might remember cross-discipline phenom Pedro Barros punting over the logo at the São Paulo pool when the McFly was introduced. The new setup is more powerful, packs more kilojoules, and, according to the likes of Matt Wilkinson, Parker Coffin, Joel Vaughan and Ryji Masuda, is rather like landing on a fluffy cloud, which should give our surfers a little more headspace to concentrate on the airspace.

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The Format

Surfers will be split into four divisions:

Pro Men: 36 surfers
Vans Pro Women: 6 surfers
Vans Ladybirds: 9 girls, aged 15 and under
YETI Bottle Rockets: 9 boys, aged 15 and under

Competition begins in China next Friday, November 13, with the Pro Men’s Qualifying Round. The 36 surfers will be divided into six heats, with their single best air counting. The winner of each heat advances, along with the four top surfers on the leaderboard.

The remaining 26 surfers get one wave each, in whichever direction they choose (left/right), during a Sudden Death Round. Their best air counts, with the top two on the leaderboard getting a spot in the final.

Only twelve men will make it through to finals day.

Who’s one-upping Hughie? Photo: Jimmicane

The Ladybirds and Bottle Rockets also surf their semifinals on Day 1. Nine surfers in each division will be spread across two heats, with their best airs scored and ranked on a leaderboard. Only the top four in each division advance.

On Saturday, November 14, the Pro Men’s division returns to the pool. Each surfer gets six waves (three lefts/three rights) across two six-man heats. The six highest-ranked on the leaderboard advance to the final.

Again, Ladybirds and Bottle Rockets are tested against the same format on the second day of competition and their respective finals. Four surfers get four waves each. Best air counts toward the leaderboard where the highest-scoring surfer wins.

Third *Stab High* appearance for Zoee Bradshaw. Expect damage. Photo: Jimmicane

The Pro Women head straight into their final. Six surfers get six waves each, with the highest-scoring air deciding who takes the W. The Pro Men follow suit.

In the judging booth presided by former Monster Air award winner, Nathan Fletcher, Lee Wilson, Chippa Wilson, Dion Agius, Josh Kerr, Balaram Stack and Mitch Coleborn will be tossing numbered pads into the air after dissecting each completed aerial manoeuvre. A panel that in our view possesses a reasonable collective understanding of what constitutes good aerial surfing.

How To Watch

Stab High China presented by Monster Energy will be streamed live from behind the Great Firewall. Premium Members can watch every minute of it right here on stabmag.com or via the Stab Premium app.

We will have live play-by-play editorial coverage on site — the best comment from the two days will win a free surfboard.

Not a member yet? There’s still time to get access to the webcast, along with our extensive archive of films, series, original editorial, special deals, giveaways and other distractions.

Believe it or not, we also cover surfing in the ocean. Noa Deane. Photo: Nate Lawrence

We’re offering 25% off an annual membership for anyone signing up ahead of the event. Just enter code STAB90DAYS at checkout.

You’re welcome.

Webcast Times

Both days will be streamed worldwide on stabmag.com and the Stab Premium App. Set your alarms, adjust your sleeping patterns and double check the local start times below.

Dates: Friday, November 13 & Saturday, November 14 — Hainan Island

Friday

Local: 7:30 AM – 4:00PM
Honolulu: 1:30 PM – 10:00PM (Thursday, November 12th)
Los Angeles: 3:30 PM – 12:00AM (Thursday, November 12th)
New York: 6:30 PM – 3:00AM ((Thursday, November 12th)
Paris: 12:30 AM – 9:00AM
Sydney: 10:30 AM – 7:00PM

Saturday

Local: 7:30 AM – 2:00PM
Honolulu: 1:30PM – 8:00PM (Friday, November 13th)
Los Angeles: 3:30 PM – 11:00PM (Friday, November 13th)
New York: 6:30 PM – 1:00 AM (Friday, November 13th)
Paris: 12:30 AM – 7:00AM
Sydney: 10:30AM – 5:00PM

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Finals Schedule

For the Ladybirds and Bottle Rockets finals, tune in from 10:30 AM Hainan time. The Pro Women’s and Pro Men’s finals are expected to get underway around 12:30 PM.

Ladybirds & Bottle Rockets — 10:30 AM Hainan (Saturday)