ASP is a Joke!

i thought it could have went either way. it was pretty damn close. ill have to go back and watch it again. but i do agree, that they do have their "favorites" and i think some guys do get scored higher than others because of who they are. i think jon jon definitely gets the nudge, as well as quite a few others. kelly is the king of the nudge from the judges.

 

Welcome to any surf contest anywhere, east coast, west coast, gulf coast, ASP. Its all political and a total popularity contest. In real waves, places like Hawaii, Fiji, Chopes there is a clear winner and loser but if the waves drop below double overhead its just style/popularity, wave choice and dumb luck. In the judges defense it becomes much more difficult to determine a winner as the waves get smaller and smaller. IMO i think that Julian could have got the edge because the entire contest they were scoring barrels over turns but who knows. PS people hate brazilian surfers because they are pricks to surf around. Is not a mystery...

 

http://surfinglife.com.au/news/asl-news/7217-julian-wilson-and-the-latest-asp-crisis

Busy at the moment, but this is a good article I saw posted on Fantasy Surfer. I'll be back later to give my $.02

 

Yea they totally gave that one to JW. Medina had a highly technical wave and a pretty long barrel. I don't see how either of Julian's waves scored above Medina's. Oh well though, Medina is a far better surfer and his consistency speaks volumes. He'll be a champ before JW.

 

Humans gonna human. It happens whether we call them umps, referees, or judges. If you watch those waves on their own in a vacuum, it seems like Medina is the clear winner, but in the context of the event Wilson benefited from grabbing a last second wave (after Medina gave up priority) which probably bumped him up a solid point for the "drama" factor. Is it right? Probably not, but it's just sort of how things go in almost all sports.

 

For each contests the judges judge upon the spot that is being surfed. In the case Supertubos it is pretty obvious that barrels will be scored higher than airs or maneuvers. Sure, Medina did a crazy technical air that was awesome but he didnt hunt deep barrels like Julian did. Obviously on a comp screen things look different but you must realize that supertubos is a heavy wave. Julians barrels were much deeper and he managed to squeeze out of both his top two waves right through thick walls and on his buzzer beater he linked with a few nice turns as well. Gabe's barrels were smaller and not as deep. Although I think Julians last wave was overscored, I think it was definitely above a 7.6 which was what he needed to win. In the end I think the right man won. I don't really buy all the anti brasilian talk that goes on. I spent a lot of time in Brasil and know what the surfers are like. They are definitely assholes but they are a product of the super crowded beachbreaks they come from. They can be sore losers but so can other guys on tour its because they want to win BADLY. Brasilians are always out to prove themselves among the worlds elite hence the excessive claiming. I think Medina and Wilson will become a great rivalry in the future.

 

Don't know if he actually did or not but it looked like Medina cried when Julians score dropped in some pictures I saw. I'd be pissed too about losing, but if you're 18 and finishing 2nd in ASP events I don't think you have much to get pissed about. Also, did Medina even stay up on the podium with Julian? Someone said he wouldn't stay up there with him and just left or something. I didn't catch the interviews and stuff after the final.

 

i actually also went to go check out what all the fuss was about, i usually try and watch every single contest i can online. I missed this one and didnt know how big a deal the problem was with the judges scoring julian higher than medina which helped claimed julian win. Medina definitely blew Julian away with his airs and barrels so he was clearly the winner. Julians claim was a joke compaired to medinas waves.

I have seen multiple occasions that the judges clearly play favorites, especially with kelly slater. Dont understand me wrong here. Kelly is the best, but in multiple situations he's been overscored simply before hes kelly. If the asp tour wants a good insight for their future they should definitely fix their judging criteria.

 

& this mindset is what separates those who will succeed at a given endeavor & those that won't...say what you will about sharing the line up w/ brazzos & medina's style (personally, i hate it...ugliest thing in surfing & i think medina's a one-trick pony), but they have a passion & drive to succeed that puts them head & shoulders above the coddled, spoiled young american pros who get everything handed to them from the moment they can link 2 turns together. outside of john john florence, there is not a single young pro on the tour capable of winning the title in the 10-15 years. not one. the brazzos, on the other hand...they are hungry as hell & the up & comers have to fight their way to the top. medina's just the tip of the iceburg. to paraphrase matt biolos, the young american pros need to put down the iphones, quit posting on the blog, & start entering contests.
now, does that make the way medina behaved, crying, ripping his sponsor's hat off his head, stomping off the podium, etc...acceptable? not at all...the height of unsportsmanlike conduct. but, as i noted, he's passionate, driven, & was bitterly disappointed. anyone remember when kolohe andino literally punched the nose off his board at the trestles contest? or how about slater's board punching days? medina'll learn. & when he does...watch out. i may not like his style, but he's going to win a title or 2 & soon.

 

exactly, sure you need a drive to win but he's so young and has so much time to win a contest I don't think that was all called for really. on a side note, I too hate medina and his style with a passion haha

 

wilson and medina were ranked pretty close before going into that comp. If medina wanted it that bad, he coulda tried harder. You can't have such a close heat and leave it in the hands of the judges....it can go either way.

Don't know why the dude was crying...save it for when you win your 10th world title. Kinda gives the vibe of a spoiled little rich brat.

 

asp, figure skating and gymnastics. who cares, really?

 

Throaty pretty much nailed my disposition on this subject. I want to add that the camera views you see on the webcast ARE NOT what the judges see. The beach-front direct angle is the closest to what the judges are seeing--if you compare Gabby and Jules' barrels from this angle you can clearly see that Gabby was not as deep on either and his waves are smaller. If you watch enough contests you will come to realize judges make the biggest distinctions in scoring based on wave size (remember the Bells contest resulting in Fanning's win), plus this is even more apparent at locations that are more barrel driven events like Tavarua, Fiji, Snapper, etc. Look back at this year's Snapper event and compare the waves that included barrels and a few solid turns vs. the ones that only included turns, albeit 8 or 9 on one wave.
Long story short, you get a larger set wave that will give you a combo of barrel and open face for turns/airs you will always get a score in the excellent range. These days you almost have to do a gigantic flip reverse if you want to get more than an 8 for an air.

Cresto: To each his own, but I say the same thing about a bunch of grabass loving NFL fans whining about some stupid ref contract debacle, anyone completely wrapped up in watching people loping around indoors tossing a ball through a hoop or fanatical about the finer politics in sports that involve swinging sticks at balls.

 

i wouldn't lump contest surfing with figure skating. there are 2 or more individuals on the playing field at the same time. Like Boxing or MMA. Those sports have judges too but you would rather knock the opponent out then leave it to the judges. you almost have too when facing a champ. Maybe the same goes for pro surfing. you want to ensure your win you shouldn't let your guard down (give up priority) at the end of the last round and allow your opponent ( who only scored a couple of 2's prior right?) to deliver a last minute haymaker.

 

I think it's the nature of sports competition that are "judged", sometimes mistakes are made. Not so much because of bias, but because of what judges see and like. Judges aren't perfect but sometimes we need them to have the competitons. As sportsmen, we understand this and learn to accept it. GM is an exeptional surfer and has a good future. Professional ?... I don't know, maybe that will come with experience and maturity.

 

I must add that I think Rip should cut Gabby's bonus for walking off the stage right as Jules was being announced. At least Jules called him out in his victory speech.

And for the record, I don't like either one of them although Gabby Megina is on my Fantasy Surfer team.

 

you still don't get ignorant and stomp off like that.