http://www.surfingaustralia.com/asf/

www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au/accom_result1/country-energy-australian-surf-festival-saturday-15th-to-saturday-29th-august-2009/

Wrong side of the nullabor

firstpoint said...

hilly said...

http://www.surfingaustralia.com/asf/

www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au/accom_result1/country-energy-australian-surf-festival-saturday-15th-to-saturday-29th-august-2009/

Wrong side of the nullabor

you guys had enough time to get a state team together,it seems that only the wa sup didnt show,however next year,if everyone gets organised including your state co ordinator and surfing australia it should be all states in.

Well I asked the question fkn months back, but not response.

Anyway I'm sure the MR boys are just happy blowing up in the raw power of the waves down south.

I don't think any of us metro's would realistically get a look in to represent WA from what I've seen.

You would think the way SUP is growing we could push for a SUP national stand alone event. That way more prople could be involved.

Do we have any criterea? What criterea are clubs using to judge contests?

Hey Firstpoint,

The SUP Judges at the Vicco titles must have felt a little bit like test subjects in a Lab.

As this was the first SUP comp in Vicco at that level, I think it was really hard for the Judges to understand what to expect.

To the Vicco Judges and Max Wells credit they listened to the competitors feeback and the judging IMO was pretty close to the mark and was spot on in the final for sure.

The SUP division had 16 competitors the 2nd largest in the whole comp.

We just had way too many Matts or sons of Matts lol it got confusing

Oh and just as an aside Go Matt Lumey and Matt Tackle show them sun soakers what freezing your figs off adds to your determination.

Phill

Not that I'm an expert by any means, but have to agree with Goatman; " most critical manoeuvres close to the pocket for the longest length of time on the biggest waves - similar any surf comp. I'd imagine longboard criteria might be a bit different though."

At the comp at Longy I was judging on that criteria, but then a guy started walking up and back to the nose whilst surfing. Not my cup of tea personally, but I figured that it had some technical merit, just a different style of surfing. Suddenly I was unsure as to how I should have been scoring this compared to guys with a more short board orientated style.

the surfing part of it is exactly that,best maneuvers in the most critical section etc all of which is standard surfboard comp stuff but now we have to add the paddle and its proper use,pretty simple really but is that open to interpretation by the judge,this is where a judging course will come in handy, who is going to teach the way it should be.then there is the added bit about standing for the full heat,that is no kneeling or sitting while paddling or waiting for a wave

goatman said...

What has the paddling bit (when not surfing) got to do with a 'surfing' contest? Not having a go at you Firstpoint - I beleive that is part of the criteria. Seems pretty strange to me.

dont know for sure but the list i saw had no sitting or kneeling during heats and finals,i am not sure what they would do to a surfer who did.

From the ISA handbook:


a. Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) Surfing Event Rules:

i. Introduction: SUP surfing is unique and can be done many ways but for
competition it is important to set criteria's that set it apart from just long boarding.
The paddle is a tool and a big part of the sport therefore it is not just used to help
catch a wave, but is necessary as a tool [aid] for riding the waves [similar to a Ski
pole when skiing]. Too many times we see great longboarders just catching the
wave using the paddle, then ripping into their maneuvers without using the
paddle any further in any practical [beneficial to performance] way. Often it is just
“held”.

ii. Judging Criteria: A surfer must demonstrate board handling skills in the transition
phase [description below] and the surfing phase [description below] of their
performance, for it to be considered complete.
A surfer must perform radical controlled maneuvers, using the paddle as a key
tool, in the critical sections of a wave with speed, power and flow to maximize
scoring potential. Innovative / progressive surfing as well as variety of repertoire
[maneuvers], wave negotiation and use of the paddle to increase the intensity of
the maneuvers, will all be taken into account when awarding points for SUP
surfing.
The SUP surfer who executes these criteria with the maximum degree of
difficulty and commitment on the waves will be rewarded with the higher scores.

iii. SUP Scoring Considerations:
1. The judging scale will be 10 points with normal ISA contest rules
applying.
2. The aggregate of the best rides will decide the final score for each surfer
and interferences adjudicated according to the ISA Surfing Rulebook.
3. Good SUP transition time [end of one wave to paddle-in to next one]
should be spent standing and paddling with good technique and stable
wave negotiation. Kneeling, lying or sitting whilst paddling, unless
necessary for safety is regarded as bad SUP form. Note the critical
element: To the best of a rider’s ability he / she are expected to
stand up on the board at all times throughout the heat, unless the
situation of safety dictates otherwise.
4. Entry into the wave should be by paddling in the standing position to
enable the maximum score.
5. Surfing - average scores for all maneuvers will be allocated unless the
paddle is used as a pivot or tool in maneuvers, then power, radical
moves, critical sections and degree of difficulty are the deciding factors.

b. Competitors will start from the beach unless instructed otherwise by the Contest Director.

c. “Using the paddle”: The paddle is correctly used in SUP surfing to do three main things: it
is used in turns as a brace, a pivot, and a force multiplier. A surfer will be scored higher when he uses the paddle in some or all of these three ways to achieve sharper or more powerful turns.
ISA Rulebook 25
Tricks such as twirling or otherwise using the paddle in a non-functional
manner will earn little or no extra score for the surfer.

d. Traditional long board surfing compared to progressive SUP surfing techniques: Because the paddle allows large SUP boards to be turned with high rates of speed and power, stand-up paddle surfing is deemed to be, at the competition level, a performance centered branch of surfing, much like conventional shortboarding. Footwork, nose riding and style points will be scored, but this will be done in their relationship to the criteria of degree of difficulty and critical nature of wave positioning.

e. If a rider cannot sustain the standing position throughout the heat [in transition and surfing], this will be regarded in the same manner as improper use of the paddle and judges will only allocate average scores to his / her performances at best. This fact should be a mandatory part of the contestant’s pre-heat briefing.

f. Officials Responsibility: As SUP is a new discipline of surfing in terms of competition, it is the responsibility of every Contest Director and Judge to promote the above ideas and criteria, to ensure all competitors develop a standard approach and understanding of what is expected from an elite performer in SUP."

goatman said...

From the ISA handbook:



A surfer must perform radical controlled maneuvers, using the paddle as a key
tool, in the critical sections of a wave with speed, power and flow to maximize
scoring potential. Innovative / progressive surfing as well as variety of repertoire
[maneuvers], wave negotiation and use of the paddle to increase the intensity of
the maneuvers, will all be taken into account when awarding points for SUP
surfing.The SUP surfer who executes these criteria with the maximum degree of
difficulty and commitment on the waves will be rewarded with the higher scores.

That's the most pertinent section-that sets SUP surfing apart from longboarding or shortboarding.

Many times I've seen guys use the paddle to catch the wave and the paddle is then held and the wave surfed-they may as well just throw it away as they pick up the wave.

IMO use of the paddle is the essential element that makes it SUP surfing.

goatman said...

From the ISA handbook:.......

Tricks such as twirling or otherwise using the paddle in a non-functional
manner will earn little or no extra score for the surfer.

I love how they though it was necessary to make a point of this. Someone should let Jacko know.

good on you goatman,thats the one i saw,it does set us apart from long/short board judging,if we can just get some trained judges then the contests will be good vibe things,at the moment the malfunction is a bit different to noosa festival and i am sure different to snowy etc,i reckon that if you find out who is in the judges seat and then surf to what they want you should do ok.

jedijunglsno said...

Point "e", and the notes on the transition are interesting. I understand the theory of riding a SUP is stand up paddling, obviously, but how can they take paddling out through the break into account when scoring?

SUP or shortboard, boogie board even, if you get smashed on the head by the lip of a set wave, or get caught inside paddling out, obviously it's not pretty, obviously it's "bad form", but should that be considered when scoring one's performance on a wave?

Surely the penalty for "bad form'' when paddling out is the fact that it takes one longer to get out the back and subsequently they can't catch as many waves.

your right in that respect but i dont think you would be penalised for being nailed,some times you have to bail paddling out but i think the section is a generalisation of transition,hopefully most contests are on perfect points with an easy paddle out.

Sorry tux, I disagree. Balance while standing on the board is all part of it. this is where part e. comes in. Otherwise you could have guys paddling out on their knees or stomach, catching waves on their knees and stomach, standing up with the paddle and ripping on a tiny board.

I agree with all the comments about 'how can a judge possibly score a person down for how they get back out to the take off spot?' Who cares how they get out there, the scoring part of the competition is how well the competitor rides the waves. And how on earth are the judges going to remember who paddled back out in what position (standing, kneeling, prone) when there are six in a heat. Their eyes are on the next guy on a wave (as they should be), not on the competitors paddling back out. And if 'red' happened to paddle out on their knees and then absolutely shred their next wave, the judges are should forget about the transition bit and score the wave as it deserves.

I can see the point about making sure they are standing up when they start paddling for the wave and agree wholeheartedly that this must be the case. But if it is a close out beach break, then the competitors should be able to just get out the back the quickest and safest way possible. IMO sometimes it might be more considerate of fellow competitors to prone or knee paddle out rather than take the chance of getting caught on the way out and possibly interfering with some one elses ride.

The sport is stand up paddle 'surfing' and the system of judging is to score 'waves'. If someone is useless at getting through the transition, chances are they will be useless on the waves. If someone takes the approach of riding a toothpick in a SUP event and paddling it around in prone position, & just standing up for the waves as someone has suggested might happen, it is going to take them twice as long to get out the back anyway so they will only get half as many waves as the others!

I think if we start making the judging too complicated, like having to keep your eyes on every competitor for the whole heat to see that they stay standing up, (and then work out how you are going to incorporate their transition style into their wave scores) then it is going to become very difficult to attact judges to the sport and we will all be arguing about the scores.

I say get rid of point iii. 3. and point (e) completely!
Point 4 covers the issue of entry onto the wave in standing position and really, that's all that matters.

Sorry, what a rant eh!