ya saw that thats a cool site. I don't think it acutally said how they score. Like during a contest how do they score you?
Judging factors The main issue with either surfing or bodyboarding is that it is primarily a subjective process and depending upon who the judges are and what their level of experience and expertise is, certain things might be judged more critically than others. That being said, surfing and bodyboarding are close to the same when it comes to wave selection, position, board control, etc. http://surfing.about.com/cs/surfinstruction/a/010404judge.htm lists some of the basics but if you have a chance to talk to Dave Dalkewicz at Ocean Atlantic surf shop in OC, he's done training for a number of the delmarva esa judges. For one, I place a high priority on wave selection and positioning. Depending upon the wave and the conditions, the most critical part of the wave is tight in the curl (tube) and your ability to maneuver in and around that area with skill, control and finesse. Needless to say, lacking control like falling off or getting hammered will rarely win you the highest point values, but pulling off an especially appropriate maneuver at just the right position and moment in the wave can get you very high points. The main difference with bodyboarding is the type of "stunts" or "moves" if you prefer. Surfers don't do "stunts" unless you're into big air- and those only count if you can pull it off with a solid landing. Again, there's a lot of subjectivity, but the best thing for you to do is to watch someone who is generally considered a VERY good bodyboarder and study his or her techniques and wave positioning. On my judging card, excellent control and critical positioning at critical moments in the wave always trump a cheap stunt- especially if you don't pull it off. As an afterthought- connect with a professional bodyboarder like Jay Reale and get his opinion on it. I'm sure he'd be willing to share his experience with you, and he has considerable experience between he and his pro bodyboarding wife Vicki. http://www.ebodyboarding.com
The only thing that kind of sucks about the judging for bodyboarding is its done by surfing judges so some times they don't know a lot about different tricks. I came to realize this after talk to one after a contest and he was talking about "spinners"(what he called them) and saying how a regular forward 360 is the same a reverse. But one thing I learned from talking to him was that if you do a barrel roll or 360 no matter how it really looks if you lose the wave your going to get a lower score. He said no matter what after you do a trick just keep kicking to at least make it look like your still going with the wave. my 2cents
Grovel! Surfing and Bodyboarding should not be judged. It is an art. Actually, surfing/boogying competively is so fun when it is huge because you know everyone is whatching and you go bigger. The only problem is, it brings out the absolute worst in us. That is when I called it quits! When you start fighting over the criteria, you have to reevaluate why you are doing it. Ancient Polynesians created the act of riding waves for relaxation and leisure. But the white man took it to the next level and started shredding? Anyways, no one will ever fix the problems in judging and there is no fair way of judging the way someone looks at a wave. RCBB was created to try and fix the judging problems in the boogy, but it is hard. It attracted more people into condensed lineups and made for bigger crowds, more heats...more problems! Go surf!
