Surf competitions are rarely held without some form of controversy. With no start or finish line to measure performance by, the assessment of a surfers performance will always contain an element of subjectivity. Fact? SurfTalk spoke to ESF British Judge, Bob Freshwater to find out.
Would the real judge please stand-up? Bob goes for a different uniform on the beach.
Hi Bob, firstly tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi. Not sure how much you want to know...Rode my first wave at Perran Sands at the age of eight on a family holiday and the bug is still with me more than 40 years later. After graduating from London I worked as a PE teacher in Secondary Schools in Cardiff before switching to primary education in Devon. Spent 20 years as a headteacher before joining the NSPCC/ChildLine Counselling Service to work with young people. Enjoying life to the full.
And as a surfer, what board(s) do you ride? Where’s your local break?
I mainly longboard now although the shortboards are in the rack if I need them!
I have an interesting quiver ranging from a ‘60s Bilbo 9’6” through a 7”0” swallow tail shaped for me by Chops in the late 70s to 9’1” Beachbeat. My favourite board at the moment is the Donald Takayama Double Ender.
I live less than 5 minutes from Teignmouth in South Devon and can be seen out there most days when there’s any swell. I am secretary of the Hotdoggers Longboard Surf Club and enjoy the mellower Saunton experience.
What would you describe as your best/ultimate surfing experience?
Surfing clean waist high waves at home with my three sons and Immesouane, Morocco 2007 was pretty sick too!
Bob enjoying a peeling righthander in Morocco.
Which surfing federations are you a member of / do you judge on behalf of?
· I particularly enjoy working with the Welsh Surfing Federation at the Nationals and looking forward to Fresh West again this year. The atmosphere at the Welsh events is special.
· I have judged on the British Longboard Tour for a number of years under the watchful eye of ‘Minnow’ Green with our first event of the 2010 Tour, The Watering Hole-Bathsheba Classic at Perranporth on 24/25th April.
· The British Surfing Association contest season kicks off with the British Schools Championships at Woolacombe on 17th/18th April is my first event for the BSA this year. I been fortunate to judge with the association on the panel for the British Universities Championships, Quiksilver Skins, British Open, and the British Juniors.
· I joined the European Surfing Federation in 2007 and joined the judging panel for my first event of the European Longboard Tour at Lacanau, France. I have served as the British judge ever since and look forward to the 2010 Tour.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been involved in ‘judging’ in sport for many years and started with the floor and vault disciplines in gymnastics for both men and women which lasted for 10 years. I have been working at surf contests for 7 seasons.
Do you have a favourite event, if so, why?
Every event is special; the European Tour Panel get on really well, our ‘office’ visits some beautiful beaches. I enjoy the discipline of the computerised REFRESH system where information can be passed to surfers in the water and spectators alike. BLU events are great because it brings together longboarders from all over the UK for the ‘craic’. BSA events tend to work with a larger field of competitors and so careful timing and, often two panels working simultaneously, is essential to complete the event in the designated time. However, the British Universities, the largest surfing event in Europe, at Fistral is up there as one of the best just for the atmosphere. The ‘Buntabout’ a charity surfing event run annually at ‘Aggie’ by Steve Bunt is a classic get-together of the local surfing community. My own club, The Hotdoggers at Saunton run a league each year for Open, Masters, Juniors and Women. The standard is high at all levels and I enjoy working with our own judging panel and introducing new members and juniors to the art of judging. The Underdog Contests for our grass roots, non-sponsored competitors are cool too!
Hotdoggers Club Competitions are truly mobile events.
Is judging surf contests a bit like being a football referee? Are you and your colleagues the most disliked members of the contest caravan? Have you ever needed an escort to escape the beach in one piece?
Haha...interesting question! We do come up for some abuse sometimes; mumbling in the car park, comments behind the judging area. Our aim is to get the right result as we see it on the day. The Head Judge takes all the ****.
One thing I’ve always struggled with as a spectator is following the action when 2 (or more!) surfers are up and riding at the same time. How do you handle this / accurately score rides when this happens?
Picture this.....Sao Pedro, Estoril, Lisbon.... a point break, every wave identical as if made by a machine. The final ..... four surfers in the water..... all capable of scoring waves in the excellent range......with no priority!
The panel sat and studied for the 20 minute interval the wave pattern, the breaking sections, the whackable sections, the nose riding sections and the reform on the inside, and made mental notes about what could be achieved and where. With a spotter calling the colours and a bloody good head judge, the panel managed to focus on the ‘scoring’ sections of the ride and make judgement against the criteria. I would be lying if I said it was easy but I recall three rides at 8.0+ level in the final with Ben Skinner scoring a perfect 10 to win the event and the 2007 European Tour.
Are you able to see the scores for a ride logged by the other judges before you submit your own?
Some smaller events you could ‘rubber neck’ if you tried really hard and stood on one leg. At National and European Events you are divided by stalls with no lateral vision. At some venues we sit with full blinkers and other there’s an orange box with a rock in the bottom.
How do you ensure consistency of scoring across a panel of judges?
Here the head judge is key, particularly when the judges rotate. At European level there are 6 judges on the panel with 4 sitting at any one time. We meet with the head judge before the contest begins and again at the end of the day to discuss accuracy. Our computerised stats are printed out and feedback. We are scored for our own accuracy. There’s no hiding place!
To keep a clear head, each heat two judges rest but keep in contact with the panel and any changes to conditions. With 20 minute heats we judge for 40 minutes every hour.
If it becomes apparent during a heat that (perhaps an early) ride has been significantly over or under scored, is it possible / allowed / practical to reset the scoring “standard” for waves in the rest of the heat to ensure the “right result” overall?
This shouldn’t happen when using the five band scale but in the rare event that it does, it is the responsibility of the head judge and the panel to return the colours in the correct order 1-2-3-4 regardless of scores. Sometimes it is appropriate to make an adjustment for changes of surf conditions and categories. At computerised events the scores are processed and shared with competitors and spectators within 60 seconds.
Do you need to have surfed competitively yourself, in order to judge surf competitions? What is the “career path” / criteria to become a judge?
Personally, my own limited experience of surfing competitively at club and BLU level was beneficial but I have met some outstanding judges who have coaching experience but not contest surfing. The key is memory, assess against the criteria, give it a score and remember it. Most heats contain benchmark rides which can be useful to maintain consistency; remember them! Judging is complex and we owe it to the guys in the water to get it right. We need to be well prepared, focussed and open to feedback from the head judge at the end of the event.
How has (or has) the judging criteria altered for contests in 2010? For longboard contests? For Shortboard contests?
Perry Hatchett, ASP Head Judge announced some refinements to the judging criteria to take effect from the opening event of the ASP 2010 World Tour. However we still await further information and guidance from the ISA.
The criteria for shortboarding appears to me to be more focussed with five major concepts:
· Commitment and Degree of Difficulty
· Innovative and Progressive Manoeuvres
· Combination of Major manoeuvres
· Variety of Manoeuvres
· Speed, Power and Flow
The ‘weighting’ of these criterions is dependant on the location and the conditions on the day as well as changes to conditions.
For longboarding add one additional concept i.e. a combination of traditional and progressive manoeuvres and the ruling that surfers will only ever get a maximum of 75% (7.5pts) of the scale for surfing only one aspect of the modern or traditional, up to an additional 25% (2.5pts) can be added when two aspects are combined.
Share one piece of advice for competitive surfers?
Study the conditions before your heat for commitment and degree of difficulty potential because the judges are doing the same.
Do competitions stimulate or stifle a surfers creativity?
Good question, the contest arena can be a showcase of innovation and an inspiration for some of our groms to witness surfing at a higher level. In that context it is a stimulant. Expression sessions encourage surfers into new realms. However, surfing to contest criteria can be restrictive and encourage formulaic surfing but it’s all about balance.
Is there anything that could make your job easier?
Surf, Sunshine and light offshores.
Looks like Bob found surf,sunshine and light offshores, at Rest Bay, Porthcawl of all places!
A question some of our competitors are interested in - what is your favourite drink?
Real Ale for me: Red Rock, Skinners or Doom Bar.
Bob, thanks for your time!
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