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DID TAJ GET ROBBED?
ASP Head Judge Perry Hatchett explains controversial Kelly vs. Taj Final at Boost Mobile Pro
By:
Lewis Samuels
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September 16, 2008
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In the wake of September 11th's historic Trestles duel between Taj Burrow and Kelly Slater, many internet sites were a twitter with cries of "Taj got robbed!"
Of course, this isn't the first time one of Kelly's last-minute victories has been controversial: some pundits felt Kelly's crucial 2005 win over Andy Irons at J-Bay was questionable, in addition to Slater's 2005 clinch over Aussie Phil MacDonald at Trestles. (Kelly himself referred to this heat as "getting juiced by the judges and beating Phil Macca" in an interview with me last week.)
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SURFLINE: A common fan complaint regarding the judging in the final is "Taj got the best waves and did more turns on them, so he should have won." As I understand it, the judging criteria no longer explicitly states that number of manoeuvres or the size of the wave determines the points awarded. Is that correct? PERRY HATCHETT: Yes that is correct, at places around the world when the waves are in the two- to four-foot range, the size is not a factor. Length of ride and amount of turns went out eight years ago and the whole emphasis is on the big maneuvers, commitment and the degree of difficulty in the turns executed. Can you explain how the criteria of "Variety of Repertoire" may have played a role in the judges scoring during the final? For instance, how might variety have played a role in the scoring of Taj's 9.00 vs. Kelly's final 9.27? The variety played a major part in the outcome of the final. Where Taj was surfing with speed and lots of turns, Kelly was surfing on a wave that did not allow a lot to offer. He turned this wave into exceptional surfing with full rail carving turns in the critical sections with variety on each section of the wave. Over the years it has been the surfers themselves who have stated that ALL guys on tour can surf the perfect set waves but it takes real talent to take off on an average looking wave and destroy the thing for what it's worth. This was one area the judges who were working on the final felt strongly about when I spoke with them at the after-final meeting and wrap up. [Kelly] turned this wave into exceptional surfing with full rail carving turns in the critical sections with variety on each section of the wave.
--ASP Head Judge Perry Hatchett
The judging criteria also states that points are awarded based on "Degree of Difficulty and Commitment." Can you give some examples of maneuvers in the final that stuck out as being more committed or difficult than others? The difference you see in the maneuvers is one surfer surfing forward with speed and radical turns where the other was doing moves in the critical sections of the wave with the full commitment. Driving off the bottom into the section of a wave and then carving the board back around and dictating to the wave itself and taking each section as it comes to you is the difference. Finally, many fans wonder whether judges award scores based on whether they think a certain surfer deserves the win. So, for instance, when Kelly needed an 8.93 at the end of the final, do the judges see this displayed as they come up with their score? (Therefore knowing whether their score gives Kelly a win or not). Also, do the judges discuss a wave before giving it a score? There is no discussion amongst the judges during or after a ride at all. We have video replay to look at when we have difference of opinions. They gave Kelly an 8.37 earlier and then felt that wave was a lot stronger. On top of this 3 of the 5 judges felt the way Kelly surfed the last wave to the criteria was better than the 9 they had given Taj at the start of the final. Two judges went down for the 9.5 they had given Taj and the other went up which gave the average. The whole basis of scoring is a comparison of rides from the 1st wave of each heat they put down. From then on the judges determine whether a wave is better or worse from start to finish of the scores they have written down in front of them... After the final ALL the judges and myself had a good discussion about the whole final and they all felt strongly about their individual scoring. After watching all the waves again the next day with a total free space of mind and analyzing all waves we feel the outcome was well deserved. However, the final was that close that, I think which ever way it went, we were always going to get scrutinized." See the official ASP World Tour Judging Criteria for more info. MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |
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Comments: (121)
Surfline Ed 09/16/2008 10:57 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Nickname
Hey guys: thanks for all the healthy debate. Let's see what happens in France...
Nicholas Striebich 09/16/2008 10:47 PM
I must commend the judges for their decision. In the old days a contestant could win on just catching the biggest wave and riding it the longest. Glad to see thats no longer the case. Taj ripped but Kelly surfed with a little bit more commitment on his turns giving him the win.
matt 09/16/2008 10:46 PM
i think if taj had rode out the air reverse on his 9, it wouldve been scored higher. as soon as he turned his board around, he went down. that wave was underscored and the only thing i can see that made that wave a 9 and not a 9.5 was not "completing" that air reverse.
Dianna Stewart 09/16/2008 10:38 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name
Ask yourself this: have you ever seen anyone pull a turn resembling one of Taj's in person? Sure...it doesn't happen often, but every once in a while a local SoCal hotshot will do a hack just like Taj's at your local spot. They might not be able to link multiple hacks like Taj, but still. As for Kelly, I've never seen anyone other than Kelly do turns like him. That's how I explain the judging discrepancy.
macky gautchi 09/16/2008 10:37 PM
i just want to say that final was amazing.....slater won it fair and square, he surfed with commitment, power, style and ease. Even if the judges overscored him, it wouldn't of really made difference.
Kevin 09/16/2008 10:06 PM
Kelly gets overscored more than anybody on tour. He got discustingly overscored in the j-bay final, he got over scored at last years boost mobile and finally this year he got overscored with his early ninetys old guy style. The judges let the crowd call the score and becuase all you turkeys like this freak. He always gets the score. This guy has so much hype and so little style when it comes to the manuvers surfers these days pull off.May god have mercy on his soul.
Shawn Chadwick 09/16/2008 10:05 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name
Im a Slater fan, and I think Taj won that heat. His first 9 was the best surfed wave of the heat without a doubt. It would have been a 10 in any other heat. I was rooting for Slater in the heat, but would honestly say he lost to Taj without a doubt. Taj got robbed...
merman 09/16/2008 10:03 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Nickname
Look, nobody got robbed. They both got insanely high heat totals. They were the two in form surfers of the event, hands down. It was just about as close as it gets. Both surfers should be commended for putting on an unbelievable performance, one of the best finals of all time. Someone had to lose though. Kelly's turns were just a bit more radical. Only one man could have come back from combo land in that situation and the king did it...end of story.
Cameron 09/16/2008 09:59 PM
ian Ross: No need to be immature. Pay close attention to what Perry explained and closely watch the video. The rules changed 8+ years ago. Taj should have done deeper bottom turns and hit the lip vertical more in the critical section. He should have changed direction and tossed in more variety. Not doubt he looked good and ripped but this is very technical and very serious. We are talking about multi-million dollar athletes here. You have to break it down like an engineer. Slater won.
Patrick 09/16/2008 09:50 PM
When it is too close to call Kelly will get the scores. Surf contests are lame.
bina 09/16/2008 09:49 PM
kelly can beats all. he's the king of surfing. sorry taj but just face it.
Evan 09/16/2008 09:40 PM
I watched the heat live. Taj's 9.6 was overscored. Kelly probably got a boost on one of his waves also. Again, I feel to Taj, he did pretty much everything right and lost. Sucks.
marcelo mergulhao 09/16/2008 09:29 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name
Taj, next time you dont give Kelly a wave in the last minute. He will get the score because he is not the best surfer, but he is also the smarter.
Bryan 09/16/2008 09:01 PM
Kelly surfed better.
slim 09/16/2008 08:55 PM
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Comments are closed on this story.
the slater hater guy needs to go back to his bodyboard and zip it
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