In an ASP World Tour event, who has the right of way in a three man heat? Once again, I turn to my trusty ASP Rulebook. Though the man on man heats following Round 1 of a given World Tour competition have a completely different set of rules governing a surfer’s right to a wave, the rules for a three man heat are pretty straight forward. The rules of the three man heat pretty much follow the unwritten laws of the lineup, where the surfer on the inside position has the right of way, snaking is not allowed, and surfers may even split a peak, as long as there is no fading involved. Though the rules vary slightly from location to location, today we’ll review the rules as they pertain to the current Boost Mobile contest being held at Trestles where there is essentially one well defined peak that the surfers share (yes, I know there are many peaks at Trestles, but in the contest they stick to one), the rules are such:
117.0
Reef or Beach Break – One Peak Situation
If there is a single well defined peak with both a left and a right available, at the initial point of take-off and neither the right or left can be deemed superior then the right of way will go to the first surfer who makes a definite turn in their chosen direction (by making an obvious right or left turn).
A second surfer may go in the opposite direction on the same wave without incurring a penalty, providing they do not interfere with the first surfer who has established right of way (i.e. they may not cross the path of the first surfer in order to gain the opposite side of the peak unless, in the majority of judges opinion, they do so without possibly hindering the inside surfer).
Related posts:
