1st IWWF European Wakesurf Cup · Lake Orta, Italy (via Gozzano) · 25-27 September 2026
At the first European Cup in wakesurf, 74 riders from 10 nations competed in the sport's two disciplines, Surf and Skim. Alongside the official results, DE Factory brought the Smart Run Award to the competition: a recognition for the single run that, in its heat, in its conditions, at its moment, left the strongest mark. Same water, same judges: the official score is never altered, it is read in its context.
The sport
The rider starts on a tow rope, gets up on the board and, once balanced on the wave generated by the boat, lets go of the rope and rides it free. In competition every run is scored by a judging panel on four official criteria: Execution, Intensity, Difficulty and Variety. Riders compete by discipline and category (Open, Under 18, Grom, Masters, Amateur) through qualifying heats, last-chance heats and finals.
Two recognitions, two different questions
How it works
The award uses only the official scores already given by the judges and published in the IWWF results of the competition, and reads them in three steps. The Smart Run Award does not change marks, rankings or federation results.
Every heat has its own fingerprint: the level of the riders, the water and wind conditions, the moment in the competition. The median of the heat's scores captures that context. The median, not the mean: it is not pulled by the very extreme performance we are looking for.
The award's index: the official score of the run minus the median of its heat. How far the run stands out from its own context. The same score can be ordinary in one heat and exceptional in another: a high absolute score is not enough.
The SRA Index is broken down across the four official judging criteria (Execution, Intensity, Difficulty, Variety): not only how far the run stood out, but where. The run with the highest SRA Index of the whole competition wins, with a citation read out at the ceremony.
Same 80, different fingerprint
Two runs with the same absolute score. One stood out more from its own context: that is the difference the award measures and tells.
DE Factory analysis of official IWWF results. Example for illustration purposes.
The tool
The award is calculated by an application developed by DE Factory, which follows the event in three stages. It is a Smart Method at work: information comes in progressively, is enriched and becomes meaning.
Before
Competition structure and heats loaded into the system; athlete details and consents collected with a signed form; contact channels for the individual report; technical test of the model and of the screen graphics. A consistent visual identity across the competition area, the screen and the object presented to the winner.
During
At the close of each heat the official scores go into the app: immediate calculation of the median, the SRA Index and the deviations on the four criteria, a provisional Top 3 and a graphic of the leading run's fingerprint on the big screen. The picture sharpens heat after heat; an exceptional qualifier can stay in the lead until Sunday.
After
Presentation of the award with the citation read out; an individual card on their own run, sent by e-mail to the athletes who left their details; a race report of the event; an archive of the edition, which makes every future competition easier to read.
Three uses, one tool
An activation that runs all weekend with minimal effort for the organisers: all it needs is the official results at the end of each heat and a moment during the ceremony. DE Factory brings the method, the app, the live screen, the trophy and the materials.
A sponsorship that does not stop at the logo: it brings content (the award), an object (the trophy), a moment (the ceremony) and a screen that speaks throughout the weekend. It is the model DE Factory applies first to itself, as technical sponsor of the event and promoter of the Smart Run Award.
Understanding the competition beyond the podium: the provisional Top 3 that changes from one heat to the next, the fingerprint of the leading run, the four judging criteria made readable. For the athletes, recognition of the single performance and a personal report on their own run.
The debut
The first edition was awarded at the 1st IWWF European Wakesurf Cup, the first European Cup of the discipline, organised by WakeMore Club (Wake&More S.S.D.) in collaboration with the IWWF European Wakesurf Committee, on Lake Orta, Italy (via Gozzano), and presented at the ceremony on Sunday 27 September 2026. DE Factory was technical sponsor of the event and promoter of the Smart Run Award; a partner events agency supported organisation and hospitality.
Official event: 74 riders from 10 nations (FISSW figure). Official IWWF results (competition 26ITA019): 73 athletes in 88 category entries, 2 non-starters. Analysis dataset: 182 scored performances in 39 heats; 71 riders with at least one score, all included in the Smart Run standings.
Smart Run Award 2026
A score of 78.75 in a heat whose median was 34.17: an SRA Index of +44.59, the widest margin of the entire weekend. The most distinctive run of the competition did not come on the final stage: it came in a qualifier, and that is why the award exists.
| Edition | Event | Smart Run Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1st IWWF European Wakesurf Cup · Lake Orta, Italy (via Gozzano) | A. Mikhnevych (UKR) · SRA Index +44.59 |
The award was born at the European event and can accompany the stages of a circuit for an entire season, with a roll of honour of Smart Runs and an archive of the edition that grows with every competition.
Who brings it
DE Factory is a method factory: it turns experience and data into executable methods. Here it brings the method, the calculation app, the trophy and the materials. In wakesurf we read the score of a run within its heat. In the factory we read a report within the history of the product. The grammar is the same: data gains meaning in its own context.
Did you compete at the European Wakesurf Cup? Riders who left their details at the event receive their individual card by e-mail: official results for each run, SRA Index, the four criteria and the comparison with their heat. Didn't get yours? Request it here.
Bring the Smart Run Award to your stage or your circuit: method, app, live screen and trophy, with minimal effort for the organisers.
If you run a company and this way of reading data feels familiar, it is the same approach DE Factory applies to industrial processes. For manufacturers there is 4Vision; for everyone else, the Smart Methods.
Let's talk
For information, comments or to report any errors in the republication of competition data, write to us at info@defactorysrl.com.
Statistical analysis by DE Factory of official competition results, with the source cited: official IWWF results, competition 26ITA019. The Smart Run Award is an independent recognition and does not constitute an official ranking of the event. The official results are public and are reproduced with the source cited; the Smart Run standings are an analysis by DE Factory; individual cards remain private and are sent only to the athletes concerned, at the address they gave; contact details and images are processed as described in the legal notice.