Splitting hairs. Photo: Screenshot
The World Surf League has had wave after wave of criticism thrown its way for its judging lately. Athletes have made their gripes with the organization public, with Gabriel Medina calling it “the worst judging” he had ever seen earlier this year. Fans have thrown digs at the league for what they see as major shortcomings. All of this can be expected to some degree when a sport is officiated in a completely subjective manner. No fan should expect perfection. But one aspect fueling the hate flame has unquestionably been the WSL’s response (or lack thereof) to all the criticism. On Wednesday, the league acknowledged a judging error at the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro and walked back its original score in what many are chalking up to a “move in the right direction.”
The wave in question came with about 90 seconds left in heat three during the Round of 32. Former CT vet Nat Young needed a 7.21 to advance and was given a 4.03. League procedure when athletes wish to dispute a score calls for a heat review and then the athletes “receive a more detailed explanation of how they were scored with the judges.” In Young’s case it seems the WSL went through that process and decided he was, in fact, underscored. The move didn’t change the outcome of the heat but fans and athletes alike took note of the acknowledgement right away.
“The Head Judge and Nat met for a heat review and watched all of the waves from Nat, Mikey and Charly,” they wrote. “It was recognized and acknowledged that Nat’s 4.03 was in fact underscored and the wave should have been in the 5 or 6-point-range. Even though it was not the 7.21 that Nat needed to get into an advancing position, we still wanted to acknowledge the error.”
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Gabriel Medina, Kelly Slater, former Challenger Series competitor Kei Kobayashi, Brett Simpson, and Barron Mamiya were just a handful of names around the sport who chimed in.
“Seems like judging has really gone down the ‘size of wave’ direction instead of a focus on the best actual surfing,” Kelly Slater pointed out. “I do like it being acknowledged and addressed here. Should be no defensiveness in these calls as we are all human.”
