Q1. Should big waves score higher than small waves?

A. Last night I watched video of Kelly Slater's win at a Billabong contest in J-Bay South Africa. The waves were great and his rides were awesome. A couple of things came to my mind as I watched. First, the person in each heat who got the best set waves almost always won their heat. This is because everyone is so good that the difference between surfers is in wave selection. Second, I believe that to be true in our world level contests as well. At the top level of surf kayaking competition, you don't see many people taking a big wave and riding it straight. We are all trying to rip turns on big waves as well as small waves. Thus, bigger waves should count more because moves are tougher to make on bigger waves. I think our philosophy says it well:

"A surfer must execute the most radical controlled maneuvers in the critical section of a wave with speed and power throughout. The surfer who executes such maneuvers on the biggest and or best waves for the longest functional distance shall be deemed the winner."

Our rules say that you get rewarded for trying radical maneuvers on bigger waves or in a more critical section of the wave. Just the same that it is worth more to snap a quick cutback in the pocket as it is to turn in the green, it is worth more to do a roundhouse cutback on a 2 m wave than it is to do so on a 1 m high wave. We are acknowledging that it takes more skill and commitment to rip a bigger wave than a smaller wave.

Saying that, I think it is possible to score higher on a small wave than on a big wave. The way some of the surfboard judging is done, the set waves in a heat are worth a maximum of 10 points. The rider gets a score based on "radical controlled maneuvers in the critical section of the wave." Waves in the heat that aren't set waves are worth a maximum of 7 points and are judged the same. So one person who took a small wave that was perfectly formed and ripped it to shreds could get a score of 7 and get a higher score than a person who took a big wave that was poorly formed and couldn't do anything with it (earning a score of 5 for example). Given that most kayak surfers at the world level can rip turns, what our judges should be looking for is good wave selection - meaning larger or better shaped waves - and moves as tight to the pocket as possible. I think that what it boils down to is that a larger, better shaped wave will usually result in higher points. However, in poor surf conditions, I think a smaller, better formed wave should always win out over a big closeout drop. (Rick Starr)