Pro Surfing and Contests
Mine! — World Tour priority rules, part two
Mine! – World Tour priority rules, part two - the man on man edition
The man on man heat makes up the large majority of heats on the ASP World Tour. Round 1 in a given contest begins with a three man heat, winners move directly to the man on man heats of Round 3 and losers go to Round 2, where they must compete with their fellow losers in man on man heats, and the rest of the heats of the contest are held in the man on man format. Two surfers… one peak… seems pretty straight forward, right? Wrong. Buoys, colored discs, paddle battles… lots of rules for less guys or gals in the water. Once again, we turn to my beloved ASP Rulebook for the answer to how priority shakes out in a man on man heat. Try to condense these to a one-liner. You asked, I posted, but the big question is, have all the guys on tour really read through these rules?
I heard the Fronchies refused to read them in English.
(I was just kidding!)
(Or, maybe I wasn’t.)
Ok, read on and enjoy the rules of man on man action:
Article 118: Right of way in priority One-on-one situations
118.01 In a one-on-one heat the priority disc system will determine wave possession. The surfer with priority has unconditional right of way for both directions on the wave selected. The second surfer cannot take-off on the same wave as the priority surfer, regardless of direction or the distance between them, unless the second surfer does not hinder the scoring potential of the surfer with priority, in which case the second surfer will score a zero (0).
118.02 As soon as the priority surfer begins to stand on their chosen wave the second surfer must stop paddling at that point and give way. If the second surfer continues to paddle for or Ride the same wave as a priority surfer, they will be called priority interference, unless the second surfer does not hinder the scoring potential of the surfer with priority.
118.03 If they incur an interference penalty they will also lose priority.
Article 119: The Right of Way Criteria.
The choice of right-of-way criteria for each of the above possible situations is the responsibility of the ASP Head Judge or the senior available touring ASP judge in that order.
Article 120: Priority Rules
120.01 Priority rules are mandatory in all one-on-one heats.
120.02 The Head Judge will make any Priority decisions using coloured discs corresponding to the surfer’s competition vest colours in the water to indicate priority and may consult the judging panel for close calls.
120.03 Priority discs must be located on one end of the judging booths.
120.04 A buoy, where applicable (as decided by the Contest Director, ASP Head Judge and Surfer Representative), will be placed just outside the surfing break, which surfers use by paddling around to gain priority.
120.05 Wave priority is lost as soon as surfer Rides a wave, or paddles for a wave and misses the wave.
120.06 At the start of a heat once the first wave has been ridden, the second surfer gets automatic priority for any other wave they choose, unless the surfer Rides the wave before the heat starts. If this happens then that wave will not count and the remaining surfer will get automatic first priority. The Head Judge will indicate wave priority by displaying a coloured disc, which corresponds to the surfer’s competition vest. If no surfer has wave priority, no discs are shown and the normal interference rule will determine right of way.
120.07 A surfer cannot lose second priority by paddling for, and missing a wave but if the surfer catches the wave and their hands leave the rails, as they attempt to stand, they lose second priority.
120.08 If a surfer inside has second priority and their opponent paddles for, but misses a wave, the inside surfer automatically assumes first priority. Therefore, if they also paddle for, but miss the wave, then they have also lost priority. That is, both surfers have then lost priority even though only one wave has passed and there was not sufficient time to change the priority disc.
120.09 The surfer who has priority will also not be allowed to paddle in front of the other surfer to deliberately impede them from catching a wave or they will lose priority. The surfer will also lose priority if in the opinion of the Head Judge they place themselves in the take off zone to prEvent the other surfer from catching that wave.
120.10 Priority interference may be called individually by the Head Judge only if the majority (3 of 5) of the judging panel do not see the incident.
120.11 Allocation is based on who the Head Judge believes has reached the primary take off zone first. In cases where both surfers appear to reach the line-up at the same time, priority will go to the surfer who did not have the last priority. Under priority allocation it is the surfers responsibility to continually check the priority disc for verification. Under no circumstances must the priority rule be suspended in one-on-one heats.
120.12 If it is impossible to establish who has priority, no priority will be given unless the surfers in the heat, when asked agree that only one has priority. If neither agrees, then no priority will be given and once the first wave from then on has been ridden, the second surfer will get automatic priority for any other wave they choose.
120.13 When there is no priority the interference rule shall determine wave possession. Both surfers may Ride the wave in opposite directions provided they do not interfere with each other.
120.14 In all cases where a dispute results from a malfunction of the priority system, the ASP Head Judge, Contest Director and Surfer’s Rep will arbitrate.
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Check the Kai Otten v Freddy P heat for a test of WCT priority rules. No call, but Freddy should have been given an interference.