Is this what our monitors are going to look like during a WSL livestream in the future? Heck, is this how judges will start judging?
Without a doubt, all surfing enthusiasts have benefited from the plethora of free surf flicks being created and shared via social media on what seems like an hourly basis. Let’s give modern technology credit where credit is due.
The same can be said for the live World Surf League webcasts streaming from all corners of the globe. The multiple camera angles from the tower, in the water and everywhere in between allows viewers, commentators and judges the ability to break down every detail of a ridden wave — umpteen times with all the replays. With that, you would think the judges would get the call right every time now. Wrong.
Imagine, if you will, riding along with John John Florence from multiple camera points of view and seeing real-time data flashing across the screen of how fast he’s traveling through the barrel, how far he’s gone down the line, how deep of a carve he’s just gashed and how much hang time he achieved on that end section. With newly released tech gadgets flooding the market such as the Trace Action Sports Tracker, the purpose of these types of tools reaches well beyond the function of merely feeding egos of X-Games junkies. Think of it as telemetry for surfers. With contest jerseys already resembling well-adorned NASCAR vehicles, why not go one step further and add the GPS beacons to their boards? Better on the boards than surgically implanting them into the competitors. But we’re not there – yet.
This high-tech topic evokes a memory of mine reading a magazine interview with Kalani Robb in 2012. I remember Robb lamenting the outcome of a closely fought heat where obstructed views for the judges likely cost him a sure-fire victory. According to Robb, that judging fail changed the course of what would be the remainder of his ‘CT career.
So, what if today’s technology was being used back then? Might Robb have gone on to stir things up on the Tour, maybe even altering ASP/WSL history? I guess we’ll never know. I do find it ironic that Robb is one of Trace’s product advocates.
If surfing is to be included in the 2020 Olympics as has been proposed, you can bet real-time stats and telemetry will be part of the scoring criteria. But let’s not put the judges out to pasture yet. There is one thing GPS data cannot account for: style. And that still counts for a lot.
