After a cool event in Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast, when for a brief moment we thought that some changes were about to take place, we soon recommence to visualize the good olds issues with ASP.
#1: UNFAIR JUDGING
#2: BIASED COMMENTATORS
#1: UNFAIR JUDGING? SAD AND EASY TO SHOW. Let´s see a few examples that happened only in round 3:
GABRIEL MEDINA x JOHN JOHN FLORENCE
Take one: JJF takes a righthander, puts a little cutback then race down the line and throws a nice air, but with controlling problems to stick the turn. But he completes. CRAZINESS!! Martin Potter and Joe Turpell (the commentators) gets crazy about how freakish is JJF, how he´s the best surfer, his recovering capabilities, etc etc.
SCORE: 8.5, for a cutback and an uncontroled air.
JJF one and a half turn: 8.50
Take two: few minutes after JJF´s 8.5, Medina gets a set wave. Two hacks off the top combo with lot of inversion, then throws a backside air reverse with perfect control and still gets a fourth turn to end the wave.
SCORE: 8.77. Only .27 better than JJF´s prior wave?? NO WAY. Medina´s wave had more variety and control. And lots of risk too. So, JJF´s wave could never be only .27 lower than Medina´s. And you could see how sad commentators was on the booth because their favourite boy was losing again to Medina.
Medina´s 4 turn wave: 8.77
JOEL PARKO x KOLOHE ANDINO
Parko is well known for been absolutely overscored by ASP judges. But sometimes Richie Porta´s criteria is over the top! In his heat against Kolohe Andino he gets an 8.50 and a 6.0 for waves with no consequence and risk. Unfair. Kolohe was in his traditional mood, and couldn´t win any heat in that day, but still, watching your opponent be overscored all heat long doesn´t help with anybody´s confidence.
Parko´s 8.5. Unfair to Kolohe and to the spectators on the beach and over the web. Sad.
JULIAN WILSON x FILIPE TOLEDO
The key factor is: When you compete with a surfer that is a media/judges darling, you really need to outsurf your oponent AND the judges pre adjusted will to give that guy better scores. That´s not fair. And a professional sport should be fair! Is not the best surfer in the judges pre-formed opinion that must win a heat. The winner must be the surfer who surfed the best in THAT heat, counting his two best waves!
#2: COMMENTATORS BIAS - EASY TO SHOW
Just take heat analyzer and rewatch a heat. Let´s talk about something that bothers me for a long time. This shit used to be very frequent in Kelly Slater´s heats, but nowadays is much more spread.
When guys like Kelly, JJF, Parko and Julian Wilson goes to a turn and that turn evetually loses some control (but is completed), what commentators says:
"What a HUGE turn from John John!! Is amazing his hability to recover from a difficult situation and complete the manouver!! He´s gonna get huge points for that!!"
If that same turn is done by a non biased/media darling surfer, what commentators says:
"Well, it was a nice turn form Freddy P, but he´s lost some control. This lack of control may affect his potencial on that wave!! He´s gonna lose points for that!!"
Alright: if is Kelly´s or JJF wave, they get compliments for losing and recovering control. If is a "normal" ASP surfer, they get a lower score.
Try to reflect on that. Commentators using different criterias to analyse professional surfers in their ASP world tour heats THAT´S UNFAIR.
I´m really pissed of with this non-changing aspects of ASP.
