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Aloha Classic 2026Köster is heading to Maui after all – World Championship showdown with Paré continues

Julian Wiemar

 · 20.10.2026

The opening ceremony on Ho'okipa Beach.
Photo: Fish Bowl Diaries
A surprising turn of events ahead of the Aloha Classic: Philip Köster has changed his plans and, following the Tiree Wave Classic, has apparently flown to Maui after all. This means the close title battle with world champion Marc Paré will continue straight away at Ho’okipa from 19 to 30 October.

​Philip Köster had actually intended to skip the Aloha Classic and focus on his title bid at the season’s grand finale in Chile. However, following his fifth-place finish on Tiree, the five-time world champion has changed his plans: Köster, Marc Paré and Marino Gil have travelled directly from Scotland to Maui.

This adds an extra element of excitement to the penultimate five-star World Cup of the season. Paré finished third on Tiree, whilst Köster was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Marino Gil and came fifth. The gap at the top remains unchanged for now: Paré leads with 24,500 points, ahead of Köster on 23,300 points. Just 1,200 points separate the reigning world champion from the German. In the rankings published so far, only the three best results have been taken into account, as only three 5-star events have taken place. For the final standings of the season, each rider’s four best results will count.

Maui won’t be a walk in the park for either of them. Defending champion Morgan Noireaux and Maui Pro winner Bernd Roediger know every rock on the Ho’okipa reef. Marcilio Browne, Antoine Martin, Kai Lenny and Levi Siver are also among the top favourites when conditions are right.

​German duo lead the women’s field

​In the women’s competition, Lina Erpenstein and Maria Behrens remain the world number one and two respectively. Erpenstein leads with 21.755 points, followed by Behrens with 20.320 points – though France’s Marine Hunter is just 80 points behind her. Sol Degrieck is lying in wait in fourth place.

Both German surfers have already shown this spring that they have Ho’okipa under their belt: Behrens finished second at the Maui Pro, whilst Erpenstein narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth by just 0.06 points. With Sarah-Quita Offringa out due to a foot injury, the path to a first-ever wave world title is more wide open than ever before for Erpenstein or Behrens.

​Crucial points – the best conditions for the weekend?

The Aloha Classic runs until 30 October. The world championship titles will then be decided at the Grand Final in Chile from 14 to 29 November. However, Maui is likely to be decisive in determining who heads into the season finale in the strongest position.

​Conditions may require a bit of patience at first this week: although the trade winds are still blowing strongly at the moment, unfortunately there is no north swell. The wind is expected to ease off significantly from Wednesday. A small new north-westerly swell could liven things up a little on Maui’s North Shore on Thursday and Friday, before a larger north-north-westerly swell with a longer period is expected over the weekend. As the trade winds could also pick up slightly again by then, the weekend looks set to offer the most promising window for solid competition conditions.

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Julian Wiemar

Julian Wiemar

Editor surf

Born in Cologne in 1996, Julian grew up on the western banks of the Father Rhine, where he still pushes himself to new tricks almost every day as one of Germany's best freestyle windsurfers. He discovered his passion for water sports at the young age of five. 15 years and countless hours on the surfboard later, Julian traveled the world from Cologne after graduating from high school. With a German championship title in his pocket, he spent several years traveling to the best windsurfing spots on the planet in order to gain a foothold in the World Cup. With the aim of making windsurfing the focus of his life in the long term, the then 24-year-old globetrotter found his way to the surf magazine through his love of writing travel and spot reports.

There, as a trainee, he immersed himself in all the other areas of responsibility of a surf editor and was able to expand his expertise on a daily basis. With dedication and extraordinary enthusiasm for the sport, he is motivated to share his experiences, adventures and knowledge with readers in the world of windsurfing.

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