The question I get from a lot of competition riders is ” What are the judges looking for? How do they judge you? What tricks are they looking for?
Pan Am Games
Well the WWA has released the format for this 2010 season and if your not on their list well then I have obliged by publishing it.
Its important to know these things as you are progressing your riding because every year or so the judging seems to change. The sport is moving quickly and the judging has to keep up with the riding, so as a competitive rider so do you! THIS DOES NOT MEAN…RIDE ONLY TO PLEASE THE JUDGES!!!! It simply means ride with passion, flowing with your style of riding…be creative and innovative!
With an open format your position in a heat can help you determine what you need to do in your passes. If your first or last in a heat you’ll have the advantage of setting the pace if your first, if your last then you will have seen everyones runs to know what you need to add or decide to take it easier to save your energy for the next round ; )
If your somewhere in between you’ll have to do what you can do…at the end of the day if you accomplished that with stand up passes you cant get pissed at yourself…because you did all what you could! Get stoked on yourself! Then get focused..if you didn’t make it thru, have a look at the winners of all the heats to see what types of categories/tricks you need to focus on…
Ok ok ok !!! Blah blah blah Ill post the criteria ENJOY!!
2010 Pro Men’s and Pro Women’s Judging and Scoring Criteria
All Pro Men and Pro Women will be judged using the DRIVE system. The major change for 2010 is that judges will not be scoring riders on individual categories. Judges will now be using an Overall Impression system to evaluate/ analyze the rider’s runs.
The King of Wake has used a 5 category system for the past two years. The five category system as well as the composition system used the previous years is all based off of the DRIVE criteria. Judges will continue to look for the most versatile rider by breaking it down into difficulty, risk, intensity, variety and execution.
Scoring:
There will be three judges. Each judge’s score will be worth 33.3 percent of the overall score. The judge will give each rider a score from 1 to 10. The three judges scores will be averaged together to come up with an overall score out of 100. There will be no predetermined values for placing. Each judge will analyze the rider’s runs based off of the DRIVE criteria and score them appropriately. Judges will be able to reward as well as penalize riders according to the performance of their runs.
D difficulty
R risk in the run
I intensity
V variety
E execution
Difficulty:
Trick difficulty (Technical Difficulty) – This is simply defined as how difficult each trick is based on a number of variables. Spins, slides, rolls or flips including spins, grabbing your board, handle passes and the way a rider lands all subjectively define how difficult certain tricks are in comparison to others.
Number of rotations
Combos (combining tricks, adding spins, grabs etc)
The direction a rider spins in relation to the trick. Frontside or backside (blind)
Switch vs. regular stance
Handle pass vs. landing wrapped
Grabbed or not
Risk:
Linking difficult tricks
Trick difficulty in relation to the course.
Risk – A rider opening their run with a technically difficult trick would be considered high risk. Risk is also demonstrated by how a rider performs their tricks and whether or not they display a sense of “putting it all on the line” in order to better their opponents.
Intensity:
Here judges look for how big or high the rider is taking each of their tricks. This is typically noted on the judges sheet by a plus sign, “+”. If the trick was incredibly high, and the judge will place 2 plus signs next to it on the judges sheet, “+ +”. The same goes for tricks done small may have a minus “-“ sign.
· Wake to wake vs. out in the flats
· 270 transfer vs. boardslide
Variety:
A variety of tricks performed in a pass is what judges are looking for in order to determine the most versatile rider. Wakeboarding has categories of tricks such as: straight airs/glides, spins, inverts/flips and rails/obstacles. A good wakeboard pass should have tricks from each of these categories and be well rounded. This shows a rider is skilled at all types of maneuvers and therefore showing variety in their riding.
Were the tricks all based on the same trick? (roll, roll 2 rev, roll 2 blind, kgb = similar)
Were the grabs different?
Did the rider spin both directions?
Were the rails slid differently? (boardslide v lipslide, heelside v toeside)
Execution:
Completion of the Trick – This is essentially how the trick was performed in the air or on the rail and that the rider is in control. Control and poise during the middle of a trick shows the rider is confident in that trick and thus it is well executed. Control and completion of a trick also means that the rider is performing a trick he/she set out to complete. Example: If a rider attempts to do a 360 and bobbles halfway through the trick and only performs a 180, it shows they are not in control.
The Landing – This is simply how clean the landing was of the trick. If the rider butt checks, falls of the rail, bonks the rail, drags a hand, switches 180 to avoid falling, or looks out of control after they have landed this can negatively affect the execution category.
Perfection – Judges are looking for how “clean” or how perfect EACH trick was performed in the passes. Judges look at the approach, the body position, rotation of the trick, the axis of the body, head position, handle position, clean grabs not slaps, speed to which the trick was performed. A rider completing their routine without falling also demonstrates perfection.
FLOW: Flow is when a wakeboarder can execute their tricks together to make them look like they connect smoothly from one to another. For instance, when a rider lands a trick switch and then cuts into the wake to do the next trick in the same switch position. A rider that does not flow well would do things like constantly hopping from switch to regular or vice versa in their transition between tricks, starting the pass late, or finishing a pass early. Dead water is not showing flow or composition.
Did the rider customize or adapt tricks…make them their own?
General:
Creativity of course management and time is crucial in achieving a smooth, fluid, flowing run. Riders that take the time to plan out their run, plan the path they are going to take in and around the obstacles/rails will be rewarded in this area. Riders that can link creative tricks/maneuvers between obstacles will also be rewarded. Judges will be looking for riders that use up the full time, and length of the course. Wasted water will reflect negatively towards the rider’s score.
Judges will only score tricks successfully landed. Falls are simply a missed trick and course time is lost. You will not be judged down for falls, but this can take away from the overall look and flow of a riders run. Riders are allowed 2 falls. The run ends on 3rd fall.
The Kicker will only count for the best trick contest off the apparatus. Riders are encouraged to hit the kicker. The kicker will be placed out of the way of the actual run, but in a prime location for the crowd to view.
Scoring:
Ties will be broken by placements. The first tie breaker will go to the rider with most first places. Second tie breaker will go to the rider with most second places and so on until the tie is broken.
WHOA! That was a lot of info! There is alot more to becoming a Pro Wakeboarder than partying, dudes/chicks, traveling the world, getting insane opportunities, getting to spend all your days out on the lake ; )
Getting into the Judges head is a tiny part of the big picture BUT at the end of the day…they are the ones deciding who is going home with the ca$h, so its good for you to know on the up and up of what the trend is…
; Late y’all
Cathy
