Notes from 9/16/15 “Eastern’s Meeting”
Tim handed out the Easterns 48 page Heat Sheets. The Events Schedule. House
Information. (visit http://www.surfesa.org/competition/easterns/). The 2006 Judge’s
Course information which contains specific judging criteria which competitors may want
to look over. Lastly the 2015 ESA Rules of Competion. (visit
http://www.surfesa.org/membership/). Note we did not go over any in depth, just
touched on basics and asked/answered questions. (Tim just saved us a lot of ink
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Finish every wave clean and properly. Do NOT fall off the back, punch the
water, throw your board or look in anyway “mad at the wave”. The judges will
look upon this poorly as you are there because you love surfing and are so good,
you make it look easy! Tim suggest doing the “Hawaiian pullout” turning the
board around and laying back down. If you cannot do this, you can sit softly and
turn around, ride to the beach and walk off…smooth and clean.
Do what the wave dictates, not what you want. You are riding the wave, it’s not
riding you!
Do NOT experiment during your heat. Do maneuvers you are consistently
successful at.
Get your first 2 wave finish clean and complete then work on getting your best
waves, being choosier now looking for the best waves (see which maneuvers get
the most points on the judging criteria document).
To get the most from your fancy moves, do your best maneuvers on the most
critical part of the wave (not in the white water at the end).
The preliminary rounds (your first heat) will only allow 10 waves. Do not get
more than this as the judges will deduct ½ the points of your second best wave.
Later heats (semi-final) allow for only 12 waves. Kim R. suggested you put 10
little balls of wax on your board and flick off one for each wave you ride so you
know how many you have left.
The preliminary and semi heats are 15 minutes long. The finals are 20 minutes
long.
They are 4 person heats.
The heats are judged by 5 judges. The top and bottom score for each wave is
tossed out so only 3 scores count for each wave
Do NOT touch a competitor, his board, or his lease while in the heat or you could
be disqualified.
Do NOT spend your time watching your competition during the heat. They may
paddle one way to trick you. Keep your eyes on the waves.
However, no do make sure you do NOT drop in on anyone. If you are not sure
who has the peak (priority), don’t bother, wait for the next one (it will probably be
better).
Craig M. suggested, if you’re on a soft shoulder, do a roundhouse cutback.
Be courteous, shake your competitors hand and congratulate them even if you
don’t like them very much.
Do NOT do the “Florida Chop Hop”, judges don’t like this.
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An interference (that you caused) will mean that wave won’t count and your
second highest scoring wave (at the end of the heat) will be cut in half.
If you go left and your competitor goes right on the same wave, it’s like a game of
chicken, you should try to turn for the beach or ride higher/lower than them
(crossing each other). Try NOT to back off the wave as you will be scored as the
one interfering.
The water is warmer in NC so you do NOT need heavy wetsuits if any. Less bulk
= light feet.
The beach marshall gives you your heat jersey. Do NOT take it off when you exit
the water. Only take it off in front of the beach marshal. They can disqualify you
if you do not follow this rule.
There is no “check-in” as we do. (You just get your Jersey when they call you to
do so). Be at the beach at least ½ hour before your scheduled heat to check
out the break and best position.
Do NOT practice for hours the day of or before you compete. (You will want to
because it’s new and different and all your friends are there, but you can do this
when you are done competing!) If you do too much you will wear out whether
you know it or not. Practice to where you know the spot and feel comfortable.
You are not going to improve overnight and you may get hurt, so keep your
practice session short and sweet. You WILL do better with a good nights sleep,
lots of water and healthy eating
Mainly Long board info:
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You can lie down on the board, then get back up on the same wave and continue
riding (continuing the wave), this counts as 1 single ride/wave.
If you walk up to the nose (longboard) you must walk back or you do not get any
credit for it. If you hang 10 but don’t go back, you do not get credit for that
maneuver. So do look at the Judges Info (above). Tim pointed out that the Judges
Info shows a Cheetah 5 and a shuffle up the board to be a minor maneuver (low
scoring). So find the ones that you do well that are high scoring, but again do your
best if you can only do minor maneuvers well, just do them don’t attempt major
ones during the competition unless you’re really feeling 100% positive you’ll pull
it off!
Mr. Enjes suggested watching You Tube video on Longboarding called, You Be
the Judge, to test your scoring knowledge. A maneuver could be worth less than
you think.
Minion division, Long boards must be at least 3 feet longer than the minion. All
other LB’s must ride a 9’ or bigger board.