Rules

 

Any contestant arriving late for their heat may compete in the remainder of their heat, if there is an

opening. If a contestant misses their 1st round heat, their name will be placed at the bottom of the alternate list for the 1st round. There will be no refunds of entry fees for missed heats. This includes any alternate who did not withdraw by 5 pm the day before the event, and obtained a slot at the beach during the alternate calling process. Any alternate who is not present when their name is called and receives a slot, shall forfeit their entry fee. It is the responsibility of all alternates and contestants, to advise the beach marshal or Contest Director of their intention to withdraw. An alternate list will be kept by the Contest Director/beach marshal and shall include the competitor’s name and  division. A paid alternate, must have checked in and on call at the beach marshal’s tent at the time his/hers division is called up.

 

EQUIPMENT (All boards are measured from end to end, (deck/top of the board) using a straight edge). If a measurement by the Contest Director/beach marshal is called for, such measurement shall be done in a private and secure area.

A. In Shortboard age division events, surfboards will not exceed 2 ft. longer than the competitor’s height.

B. Longboards must be a minimum of 9 ft. in length, in Junior, Men, Master, Women, Ladies and Legends divisions. Menehune division will be a minimum of 3 foot over their head.

C. Leashes must be used due to the beach laws and regulations.

D.  Helmets or hats may be used for protection.

 

JUDGING AND SCORING

A. The subjective judging system will be used (0-10 points using .1 {one-tenth} integrals) and there will be an active judging panel of one head judge and five scoring judges or a minimum of one head judge and three scoring judges.

B. When judging standup surfing, a ride will begin to be scored when a surfer’s hands leave the rails of their surfboard.

All rides must commence within the designated competition area in order to be scored. Competitors that continue a ride beyond the competition area risk that the balance of their ride might not be scored as it is the responsibility of the judges at all times to competitors in the designated competition area and competitors that leave the competition area on a scoreable ride risk not having their ride completely scored.

C. The first of the two sirens must blow immediately when the commentator reaches zero. The official end of the heat is when the siren is first audible to the Head Judge, who will indicate to the judges that no more rides are to be scored for that heat. The siren takes precedence over the flag changing or disc.

-Definition of Disc: 3 feet wide, with green on one side, and yellow on the other side.

-Definition of Flags: 3 flags, one green, one yellow and one red.

Use: Green: Heat is in progress. Yellow: Used to show 5 minutes remaining in a heat or heat is inside the 5-minute warning. Red (or “no-flag/disc”): heat has been stopped or end of heat.

D. The judging criteria shall be:

"A surfer must perform radical controlled maneuvers in the critical section of a wave with

speed, power and flow to maximize scoring potential. Innovative / progressive surfing as well

as variety of repertoire (maneuvers), will be taken into consideration when rewarding points

for waves ridden. The surfer who executes this criteria with the maximum degree of difficulty

and commitment on the waves shall be rewarded with the higher scores.".

E. The HEAD JUDGE shall be responsible for:

• Determining which riders and rides are to be scored

• Determining wave possession & priority

• Maintaining an accurate wave count

• Notifying judges of missed rides

• Assisting judges in making accurate scores for the missed rides.

The Head Judge cannot dictate scores but may give a range to his panel. The Head

Judge’s role is not to determine the scoring by judges, but rather to coach,

mentor, supervise, control and coordinate. The Head Judge is there to ensure the

smooth running of each heat.  The Head Judge cannot call interference or a paddling interference for a panel as a unit but can do so on his own wave count sheet.

The Head Judge can call for the panel:

a. up after the commencement of the next heat penalty

b. removal of jersey penalty

All missed rides should be indicated by the letter “M” in the appropriate box to be averaged by the Head Judge according to the individual’s scoring scale (interpolation). This should be done at or before the end of the heat, as time allows.

F. Wave counts to be used for tabulation of results will be the best 2 waves for preliminary and final heats.  The Contest Director after consultation with the head judge shall determine the number of high waves per heat to be tabulated and this shall be posted and announced prior to the start of the contest.

Note: It is recommended that 2 scoring waves be used for both preliminary and finals unless special

circumstances warrant a 3 wave-counting situation in a final.

Maximum waves that can be ridden are 10 in preliminary heats and 12 in a final.

a) It is a competitor’s responsibility to monitor the number of waves he has ridden. An attempt will be made to inform a competitor who has caught 9th/10th waves and 11th/12th waves (finals). However, the Contest Director nor beach marshal is not obligated to inform a competitor that they are nearing,reaching or exceeding their wave limit. Once the wave maximum has been reached, the

competitor must leave the water. In addition the surfer who remains in the water after catching the

wave maximum will be penalized for interference if:

i) He/she rides an extra wave that clearly deprives another competitor of an available ride

ii) He/she interferes with any other competitor by paddling, positioning or other inappropriate reason.  Protests about no announcement or inability to hear an announcement about the maximum wave call, WILL NOT be accepted. It is strictly the competitor’s responsibility to monitor their wave count.

Tabulation of Scores:

Upon receipt of the completed judges sheets,the tabulators will immediately check to see if:

1. All judges’ sheets have been turned in.

2. The correct number of waves has been scored on each sheet.

3. Identify interference or other penalty calls, if any.

If a ride has been missed, an attempt will be made to identify the missing rides by referring to the other judge’s sheets. If the ride is identified to the satisfaction of the head judge, a score will be given the missed ride by: AVERAGING THE MISSED WAVE ACCORDING TO THE SCORING LEVEL THAT THE JUDGE IN QUESTION USES (INTERPOLATION).

Upon completion of these formalities, the judge’s sheets may be totaled. The scoring waves shall be circled, totaled, and interference penalties deducted. The total shall be placed in the total column. The heat places are then calculated and entered on the judge’s sheet. The competitor with the highest score will receive one point, the second highest will receive two points and so on. If a judge ties two or more competitors, the points awarded to each of the tied competitors will be the average of the affected placing points added together. EXAMPLE: If 2nd, 3rd and 4th are tied, add 2, 3, and 4 together and divide by 3 = 3 points for each tied competitor.

 

PLEASE NOTE: The head judge, along with a majority will determine the “official” wave count.

When no further calculations are required on the judge’s sheets, the results are transcribed on the top tabulator tally sheet, which is completed in the following manner:

1. The competitor’s names are entered.

2. The judge’s names are completed

3. Places are copied in a row next to each judge.

4. The high and low scores are crossed out for each competitor for a 5 panel judge on the top tabulation sheet

5. Total the places that remain and enter.

6. The competitor who receives the lowest point total in the final point column places 1st and so on.

 

If, at this point, a tie situation occurs, the tabulator will proceed to break the tie as follows:

1. Compare the relative position of the tied competitor’s on the tabulator sheet using the plus/minus

system. If not broken, then see #2.

2. Tabulate the one highest wave on the TIED judge’s sheet ONLY.

3. Go to the third, fourth, etc. until all waves are exhausted

If the tie is not broken by these methods, go back to #2 and repeat for ALL judge’s sheets. Go to #3, #4, etc.

In the case of three or more athletes tied, repeat this procedure with the goal of deriving one individual who will be the highest placing tied athlete. Find the top two surfers and then top one of those. Once the ‘bottom’ individual has therefore been eliminated from the procedure, repeat the formulae for the remaining athletes until a clear order of finish for the heat is obtained.  If the tie is still not broken by these methods, there will be a ten-minute surf off (top 2 waves) if one or more of the competitors could advance.

 

G. JUDGES MAJORITY OVERRIDE: If a heat’s final point totals would result in the elimination of a

competitor favored by the majority of the judges in the heat, that competitor will advance in place of the competitor favored by the minority of the judges, regardless of point totals. The tabulator will indicate this situation by placing a circled M next to the point total column of the advancing competitor. NOTE: The competitor with the “largest” number of advancing scores from judges will advance over a surfer with “less” of a majority. For Example: If Surfer A has 3 judges advancing him but surfer B has 4 judges advancing then Surfer B will advance over Surfer A.

H. Competitors may check the results for errors for each heat up to thirty minutes after those results are made public. This applies to all heats, including finals. If a competitor in a final, suspects that a penalty call has been made and they are involved in same, then he/she may request the contest director review the results of the heat and take the appropriate action. If an error is found, the contest director should be notified to have the error corrected. Unless there is an unresolved protest, all results become final after the thirty-minute time period.

 

 WAVE POSSESSION AND INTERFERENCE

It is the intent of this rule to encourage all competitors to strive toward situations where there is only one competitor at a time in the wave shoulder. The judges will strictly enforce this rule. Competitors are hereby alerted to the severity of the penalty and the strictness with which it will be enforced.

 

A. WAVE POSSESSION - A competitor may gain wave possession in one of the following ways.

1. By catching a wave and completing a maneuver (turn in chosen direction) before the face of the

wave reaches another competitor.

2. If two or more competitors are paddling in the face of the same wave, in the same shoulder, the

competitor closest to the curl has possession upon catching the wave and completing a maneuver.

3. Two competitors may go in opposite directions on the same peak, providing they don’t cross paths

or hinder one another.

4. If two competitors, at opposite ends of the contest area, catch the same wave and ride toward each other, both gain wave possession. If they eventually meet, the competitor who gained wave possession first on their respective peak shall have the right of way.

 

B. INTERFERENCE - A competitor may be called for interference for any of the following reasons.

1. For catching the same wave in the shoulder as the competitor who gains wave possession in RULE

A1.

2. For occupying any part of the wave that could simultaneously or eventually be reached by any

possible maneuver of the competitor who gains wave possession as per RULE A2. For breaking

down the wave on the competitor with wave possession or infringing on the possible length of the

ride of the competitor with wave possession.

3. In the case of RULES A3 and A4, both competitors may be called for interference if no right of way

has been established in the opinion of the judges. Interference must be called on one or both

competitors for crossovers or collisions. If one competitor is clearly the aggressor in forcing the

crossover or collision, in the opinion of the judges, only he/she will be penalized. All crossovers

are discouraged in all situations.

4. THE HEAD JUDGE, along with the other judges, may rule interference on any competitor for:

a. Blatantly paddling for a wave in a manner so as to intimidate or hassle a competitor who is

in position to gain wave possession.

b. Grabbing or touching any part of another competitor or their equipment in a manner that

impairs their ability to surf.

c. Paddling out in such a manner as to interfere with the ride of the competitor with wave

possession, whether intentional or not.

d. Board caddying is not allowed. This includes losing one’s board and having someone

retrieve it for you for the specific reason of helping you in your heat. Saving boards from

damage is allowed so long as the board isn’t paddled, handed, carried or pushed to the

competitor. Penalty: DQ (automatic disqualification)

 

e. Snaking

The surfer who is furthest inside at the initial point of take-off and has established wave

possession is entitled to that wave for the duration of their ride, even though another surfer may subsequently take off in the white water behind them. The judges will not penalize the first surfer because they have right of way, even though they are in front. If the second surfer has not hindered the original surfer with right of way, then the judges may choose not to penalize them and will score both surfers’ rides a surfer may not take off on the opposite side of a broken wave peak to gain possession of the opposite wave face, when a surfer has already established possession on the inside of the peak. An interference will be called if the majority of the judges feel that the surfer surfing/riding from behind the broken peak has hindered the scoring potential of the surfer who has established possession of the inside of the broken peak.  If in the opinion of the judges, the second surfer has interfered with (snaked) the original surfer with right of way, by causing them to pull out or lose the wave, then interference may be called on the second surfer, even though they are behind the first when the penalty was called.

 

 PENALTIES

1. If a judge thinks interference has taken place, the judge shall triangle the ride of the offending

competitor and draw an arrow to the ride of the competitor who was interfered with. In the case of

a paddling interference, the triangle shall be placed on the line between the appropriate rides for

the offending competitor and filled with P. I. (no ride/no score) and the arrow still drawn.

2. Any four of six judges, including the head judge, or 3 of 5 scoring judges can rule interference. Under 2 best waves the interfering surfer will be penalized with a loss of 50% of his second best scoring ride. Under 3 best waves, the interfering surfers will be penalized with a loss of 50% of his 3rd best scoring ride. (Note: In almost all cases, the maximum number of scoring waves for heats and finals should be 2) If there is only 1 ride caught (2 best waves) then that wave shall lose 50% of it’s value. . IE: the lowest scoring wave will count in the final tally as a 50% score for the offending surfer. Further, the wave that the interference was called on by the majority of the judges will count in the final tally as a zero.  In addition, all penalties applicable (paddling interference, etc.) will now follow this rule. IE: loss of half of the lowest scoring wave.  If a surfer incurs another (2nd) interference penalty during the same heat his best wave score will be halved

also.  Where any surfer incurs two or more interference penalties they must immediately leave the competition area.

 

 HEAT PREPARATION AND STRUCTURE

A. All contestants must report to the ready area 15 minutes prior to the start of their heat to be checked in and receive their instructions. When possible, the competition area will be defined by the use of flags, barriers, points, piers, jetty’s and/or buoys. If, in the event a competitor does not check in by the 5-minute warning, they will be replaced by the next highest ranked alternate. The “late” surfer goes to the bottom of the alternate list.

B. All heats, except finals, will run 15 minutes. Finals will run 20 minutes except in 10 heat, man on man double elimination configuration where all 10 heats are finals and all are to be 15 minutes each.

Administration’s time clock will be deemed the “official time,” regardless. A ‘buffer’ delay between heats ending and heats starting of no more than 5 seconds is highly recommended. This helps alleviate the possibility of an ’up after’ penalty.

 

C. WATER STARTS (preferred)- All heats will begin with the blast of the horn and/or the raising of the green flag or change of color of the competition ‘disc or sign’ to green.. The raising of the yellow flag, or change to yellow on the disc/sign will indicate the five-minute warning and an announcement shall be made to the contest area. At the five-minute warning, the next heat of competitors may start paddling to the designated standby area, being careful not to interfere with the heat in progress. When the horn sounds ending the heat in progress, the standby heat may paddle into the take off zone, but not catch any waves until the horn sounds starting their heat.  During and at the end of any heat the surfer must be clearly in possession of the wave on the wave face,

making a movement to stand, his hands having left the rails (rail grabs excluded) for the wave to be scored.  Surfers up before or after the start of their heat or the next heat will be penalized.

 

BEACH STARTS - All competitors in the “on deck” heat will gather at the waters edge anytime between the five minute warning for the “heat in progress” (raising of the yellow flag/change to yellow on the disc) and the start of their heat. The “heat in progress” will end with one horn blast. The “on deck” heat will begin with one horn blast and/or the raising of the green flag/change to green on the disc.

 

BUOY START - In the instance of exceptionally large surf or an extremely long or difficult paddle to the line up, a buoy technique may be employed with the competitors “on deck” using a marker buoy, located some distance from the line up, instead of the water’s edge for a starting point for their heat. The flag, horn and timing system are the same used in other types of starts.  All heats require competitors to paddle, ride prone, or on their knees, (WITH NO MANEUVERS), to the beach when the signal is given that their heat has ended. All heats end with a blast from the horn and the change of the flag to red/no color or ‘no color’ (disc), or to green to start the next heat when heats are run

back to back with no interval between heats. In Regional, ESC, and major specialty events, the announcer shall give a countdown from 5 to zero to end the heat, and a countdown from 5 to zero to commence the next heat.

 

The foregoing procedure is also strongly recommended but it is not mandatory.

 

In the event of danger or a situation where the contest director/beachmarshal or head judge determines the event must be stopped immediately, there shall be a blast from the horn and/or the red flag (or change in disc to ‘no color’) will be raised. All competitors must leave the water immediately under this condition. If a competitor starts a scoreable ride after their heat ends, they must return to the non-scoreable position before the start of the next heat or risk being penalized.

If a heat is interrupted for any reason it will be stopped by the Head Judge and Contest Director. It will be resumed at the time it was stopped, and will run for its original period. The only exception will be if the Head Judge, in consultation with other qualified officials, feels that the entire heat should be rerun because no surfer had a clear advantage at the time of cancellation, or if altered conditions make it impossible for judges to keep to the same scale.

 

D.  Competitors must wear the competition jersey provided by the beach marshal from time of issue until returned to the beach marshal at the completion of the heat, and if appropriate, during the awards presentation, or a penalty may be imposed. Competition jerseys must be returned in a sportsmanlike manner to the beach marshal Failure to do so, may result in a penalty being assessed. . All jerseys must be worn with the imprint clearly showing. (must not be worn inside out) Any competitor, who removes their competition jersey while in the water or before returning to the beach marshal, may be subject to a penalty of loss of 50% of his/her lowest scoring wave.

E. The Contest Director, or their Acting Contest Director in their temporary absence, is the only person who can give an exact schedule of events. There will be no protest against incorrect information received from any other person at the contest. If however the Contest Director gives incorrect information and a surfer subsequently misses a heat then a re-surf of that heat may take place.

F.  Any competitor who starts surfing after the flag/disc is presented to start the following heat, will suffer an interference penalty on all judge’s sheets if a majority of the judges or the head judge individually calls it.

G.  Any competitor removing their competition jersey while still in the water may be subject to an interference penalty.

H.  Each wave surfed in a heat beyond the wave limit will suffer an interference penalty.

I.  A minimum of 50% of the surfers in a heat and round shall advance to the next round. In any “six man’ format, a minimum of 3 athletes shall advance in any heat that has at least 4 athletes in a heat. The exception to this would be a format where the final rounds are 4-man format.

J.  Any competitors practicing in the competition area or demonstrating unsportsmanlike conduct will be disqualified from the event, loss of points/standing in the event and a possible ‘set-down’ for the next ESA event.

 

SPORTSMANSHIP CLAUSE:

No official of an event, in any capacity, shall at any time be submitted to unsportsmanlike conduct in either word or deed. Any display of poor sportsmanship by either a competitor or, in the case of a minor, the competitor’s parent, shall be cause for automatic dismissal from the contest. This also applies to unsportsmanlike conduct directed to another competitor by any competitor.

 

Complaints and Protests:

Complaints and protests by competitors shall be in writing and handed to the beach marshall and/or

the Contest Director. as the case may be, before action can be taken. All written protests will be

handled by the Contest Director and/or beach marshall as the case may be and/or the HEAD JUDGE

AND THEIR DECISION WILL BE FINAL. No judges are to be approached over a call or results or a penalty may be imposed on the individual concerned. Further, videotape or other recording medium presented by a competitor, their parent, spouse or guardian or any other party, WILL NOT be reviewed or otherwise taken into consideration in connection with any protest. No heat that involves a competitor whose advancement is under protest will take place prior to the resolution of the protest.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS DURING COMPUTER SCORING

• During the heat the announcer should not announce the computer scores (if a computer system is being used) or standard of ride until all the judges’ scores are entered into the system.

• All announcements of interference must be conveyed to the announcer by the Head Judge or

Contest Director before they can be announced publicly

• In all heats and finals computer scores must be given throughout the whole heat

• If the commentator gives a score and it is wrong due to judges putting in the incorrect scores, the

commentator giving the wrong score, or for any other reason, then the surfers will have no form of

protest.

• The announcer may not make any announcement or call any wave conditions (i.e. approaching

outside sets, etc) that may benefit one contestant over another

• If any surfer requires information from the water during a heat they must use hand signals as

described below:

  - Time remaining is one hand touching another above the head

  - Wave count is one arm outwards horizontal to the water

  - Scores, last scores, total, needed to win, etc is both arms out horizontal to the water.

If contestants hear and understand the above they must acknowledge by waving one arm

If the computer system is used and breaks down, the Head Judge may choose to switch to the manual

tabulations described here. This will be adopted at the point designated by the Head Judge, Contest

Director and beach marshal.

 

Rules for the College Tag Team Event

 

Surfers in this event may ride any style of long-board or short-board. Once a surfer starts his/her heat, he/she may not switch style of board. College Teams are encouraged to bring a flag or banner to mark their team’s designated area. Each team’s designated area will be clearly marked in the sand and away from the immediate shore-line. Each team will be comprised of five people (one member must be female, and one member is encouraged to be a Faculty/Staff advisor/member). Each surfer on a team must catch three waves within a 60 minute heat. If the team has a Faculty/Staff advisor as a member, he/she is considered the Double Whammy. When the Double Whammy thinks he/she has surfed his/her best wave, he/she raises both hands to signify that he/she wishes that wave to be scored double. Only one surfer from each team is allowed out in the water at a time. When the surfer in the water returns from surfing to his/her team’s designated area he/she must tap the hand of the next competitor and remain in his/her team’s designated area for the remainder of the heat. No surfer or equipment may enter or exit the designated areas once competition has commenced unless that surfer has been tagged to enter the water. Penalties of -2.5 points will occur if each surfer does not surf three waves. If the Double Whammy forgets to raise his/her hands he/she will not receive double points for one of his/her rides. At the end of the 60 minutes, all surfers must have caught three waves and be seated in their designated area or they lose points. If a anyone enters, surfers leave, or surfer’s equipment crosses any line of the team’s designated area, the team will incur penalties; even a high-five to someone outside of the team’s designated area will be considered a penalties. If the team surfs out of the order given to the beach marshal. If the team goes over the # of waves allocated per surfer. A penalty of -3.5 points will be deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct, interfering with another team's surfer on land (i.e. trying to stop the surfer from getting to or from the team box). The top four placing teams on day one will compete on day two to determine first place, second place and third place.

Additional equipment, such as leashes MUST be used and helmets may be used

 

 

Surf Shop and Surfrider Chapter Event

 

Surfers in this event may ride any style of long-board or short-board. Once a surfer starts his/her heat, he/she may not switch style of board. Each team must have five members comprised of the age divisions as follows:
Grom: Under 18
Female: Any Age
Adult:  18-31
Master:  31 and older
Longboard:  Any Age

Each category division will be run as a separate event. As surfers compete in their heats, they will earn points towards their team’s total depending on how they place in their heat.

Points will be distributed as follows:

Heat Rank Points

First - 6

Second - 4

Third - 3

Fourth - 2

Fifth - 1

The top surfers from each heat will advance to the next round. The Team with the most points at the end of the event will take home the overall Team Title. There will be separate awards for both the Surf Shop Event and the Surfrider Chapter Event. All other Cape Fear Clean Water Classic Surf Festival event rules apply. Leashes must be worn and used, and helmets and/or hats may be used.

 

Highest Wave and Best Air are to be tabulated each day and keep on record until end of event for award ceremony.

 

No Leash Worn – Automatic Disqualification! – No Discussions on this Issue Due to Local Beach Regulations.

 

Enjoy yourself, respect the water and others around you.  When you leave, make the beach cleaner than how you found it.  Thank you.