....taking it all further..... it seems to me that not only does the judging criteria have to change, but also the competition format. At the moment it is all about risk - about clocking up points to get through to the next round to get through to the final where you really go for it.
And BIG radical moves (air-three-O's etc) are risky - and if you don't make it then you pay the price - low score. Even if you get one wave and land one, it's likely that unless you back it up someone can claw you back with more lower scoring waves. So who is the better surfer? What are competitions for? To reward the surfer who can do the best / biggest move? Or to reward the best "surfer" (defined here as someone who can read the waves, demonstrate their water knowledge, be in the right plece for the best waves and surf them, at a minimum, really really well)? Preferably contests should do both.... but are those guys who make the BIGGEST moves the best "surfers", and are the best "surfers" the guys who do the biggest moves?
Previously contests had awards for the biggest re-entry, the best tube, the heaviest wipeout, the most impressive surfer, the most promising junior. They were there as recognition that the competition format did not necessarily recognise or reward those things. And those awards were often more coveted than a first place.
That's not to say we shouldn't keep evolving and searching for a better format - we should, because it helps the sport.
....as for style.....gee, I just don't think you can make broad-brush statements about style - what is good, what is not. I mean, EVERYONE has "a style" (ie how they approach a wave, their decisions on what to do, and how they link up their moves, is a lip there to launch off? or is it there to slot cleanly under and get barrelled?) which allows them to do their moves. Now, BIG moves (as discussed) are pretty obvious and a judging criteria can be set to level the playing field to ensure that moves are compared and scored in a fair and reasonable manner.
Style, though, is another matter. What one person sees as linking and smooth, others see as predictable and boring - and what one person sees as disjointed and uneven, others see as unpredictable and entertaining. (I mean, I've sat at contests and listened to guys actually calling the move the surfer was about to make because their style was so predictable - which doesn't depreciate from the quality of their moves) Therefore it is entirely up to the individual to decide on whether a "style" is good or not....and just because it is popular or unpopular doesn't make it "good" or "bad" (just look at some of the politicians that get elected these days
) So I cannot see how in the world you can objectively put "style" into a competitive equation and get ANYTHING that is fair and offers a flat-playing field from which everyone can rise from to score according to their merits.
One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name - so stay tubed!
