The Cry is Free. And the Cry was Loud. From all over the globe, really. Australia, Hawaii, USA, and surprisingly, Brazil. Everyone had some kind of complaint about the judging/scoring during the Ballito Pro.
Here are a few of my favorite comments:
“This is surfing, not ice skating, scores are not determined by how many pirouettes you do. Shoulda been a 10”
- raglansurfreport
“Good to see the psychoward air still top of the scale🔥🙌🙌”
- psycho_ward6.4
“THATS A TEN”
- riowaida_
“Style has left the chat😮”
- gregroebuckphoto
“If this is a 8.8 @jarvisearle got 3 9’s”
- kyechaplin
“Am I missing something? 1.5 turns and everyone’s freaking out?”
- lloydsurfboards
Do you know what would help clear up some of this online chatter? If the WSL would finally take the suggestion of some of the surfers on Tour, both past and present, and put a camera & microphone in the judges booth. For one, it gives everyone insight into what the judges are seeing, thinking, and looking for. Secondly, transparency. You can’t hide anything when the world is watching. Stab does a tremendous job of this at the events they run like Stab High and Surf 100. Which brings me to the third and final point – it makes for good content. Hearing certified and well respected surfers (that rip) talk about surfing and scoring waves is entertaining.
All of the judges should be confident in their scoring. That is what comes from hours and years of practice and experience, both scoring and surfing itself. If you are selected to be a judge at the Top Level like the WSL, you should probably have a decent level of talent in the water, so I feel. Some may disagree with that statement; they may argue that you can be a great judge while not being able to surf. I won’t argue with that, I have worked with many great judges who don’t surf (often enough). I will say, however, that I personally feel that you lose a bit of the relevancy, and maybe even a little respect, when you are out of the water.
Finally, judges should not get their feelings hurt when they are “wrong”. And I think this is why they don’t currently have cameras & microphones in the booth – the judges are self conscious. They don’t want their “dirty laundry” aired out, so to speak. If four of the five judges have a 3.5, and I have written down a 6, it might not be a great feeling. What I think the organization needs to establish is that there is a reason for each judge to be on the panel – we are dealing with a subjective sport; everyone is meant to have their own opinion. Maybe the other four judges got it wrong and you were right – that turn was in a much more critical section after we watched the replay. Maybe it’s not quite a 6, but they do need to bring their scores up. Or you know what, maybe you are wrong. Who fucking cares? Maybe that turn just wasn’t as sick as you thought it was, and you have to bring your score down a bit. So what? They hired you for a reason, and if you are a confident and capable surfer and judge yourself (as you should be), you can always explain your scores and why you liked or did not like that wave. It’s all up to opinion, and it’s all good. We, as a panel, are just looking to reward a different kind of surfing today. And this is how it should go. Some judges will argue until they are blue in the face that they are right, for whatever reason, and get upset that others don’t see the same thing they do. I’ve done it. Anyone who has judged knows the feeling. It’s a human factor that these guys and girls are going to have to get over. Strip the ego out of it.
Besides all of this though, I still can not get over the fact that the WSL allows the CT athletes to step down and surf in lower tiered events. If you don’t know what I am talking about, we just went over Cole Houshmand winning the first Challenger Series event of the year in Ballito, South Africa. Same goes for CS athletes surfing in the QS events. You are completely fucking the up-and-comers.
If a guy or gal falls off the CT, what happens? They are relegated to the Challenger Series. So why are they allowed to surf the Challenger Series now, when they have already qualified for the CT? It makes absolutely no sense, and the more I think about it, the more it grinds my gears.
Here is something else I could not help but to think about – 80 surfers are traveling the globe battling and grinding these Challenger Series events, competing for a $20K prize purse. Meanwhile, 8 surfers got invited to Stab 100 presented by Pacifico, and those lucky few are competing for a $100K prize. While all 8 of these selected are QS level surfers at the least, I don’t think it’s exactly their competitive surfing that got them selected, except for maybe Jackson Bunch. It’s their surfing out of the water, the edits and content they put out, their personalities – its more than about putting on a rashie and winning an event.
If you are still chasing the Dream Tour as your sole (or main) option to make it in Surfing, I think you are sorely mistaken. I understand the aspect of legacy and history and the respect that comes with the Title of World Champion, and if that is your goal, more power to you. With that said, I do not see the Tour (on its own) as a viable means of income nowadays, and I don’t see the Global Home Of Surfing doing too much to improve the situation. This could be changing in the near future though – I heard there’s a new WavePool Tour about to start up. We’ll get into that next.
Until then.
Cheers,
hwilsin
Drew Stanfield