Revised:
5/05
COMPETITION
RULES
UNITED
STATES SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS
I. USSC
The United States Surfing
Championships (USSC), formerly the United States Amateur Surfing Championships (USASC) is a surfing contest held once a year,
hosted by the United States Surfing Federation. Any US Citizen is eligible to compete.
Questions concerning USSF amateur eligibility are referred to the USSF Competition Director and/or the USSF Competition
Committee.
I.
EVENTS (Regional, and District Events)
A. Age division events (PROOF OF AGE REQUIRED) and the regional quotas for the
USSC will
include:
8
Menehunes (boys & girls under 12 years of age)
16
Boys (12-14 years of age)
16 Junior Men (15-17 years of age)
16 Men (18-24 years of age)
8
Masters (25-34 years of age)
8
Senior Men (35-44 years of age)
4
Grandmasters (45-54 years of age)
4
Legends (55 and older)
4
Girls (17 years and younger)
8
Junior Women (18-29 years of age)
4
Women (30 years and older)
4
Menehune Longboard (14 years and under M/F)
4
Junior Longboard (15-17 years of age)
8
Mens Longboard (18-29 years of age)
8
Masters Longboard (20-39 years of age)
4
Senior Longboard (40 years and older)
4
Junior Women Long board (17 and under)
4
Women Longboard (18 years of age and older)
8
Menehune Bodyboard (14 years and under M/F)
16 Junior Bodyboard (15-17 years of age)
8
Mens Bodyboard (18-29 years of age)
8
Senior Bodyboard (30 years and older)
4
Women Bodyboard (all ages)
4
Kneeboard (all ages)
8
Open Shortboard (all ages)
8
Open Longboard (all ages)
B. Specialty events and regional quotas shall include:
4
Kneeboard (open to all ages)
4
Drop Knee (open to all ages)
4
Launch (open to all ages)
4
Air (open to all ages)
1
Team Paddling (open to all ages)
Individual Paddling (open to all ages)
Optional Tag
Team
Open Pro Men
(any age)
Open Pro Junior
(19 & under)
Open Pro Longboard
(any age)
Open Pro Women (any age)
*Additional events may be proposed by the competition committee or competition director
C. All ages are determined as of January 1st
of the year of the USSC
D. The number of competitors will be limited to the division quotas per region (see USSC Rule II. A/B for regional quotas). Any contestant
arriving late for their heat may compete in the remainder of their
heat, if there is an opening. If a contestant misses their 1st round heat,
their name will be placed at the bottom of the alternate list. There will be
no refunds of entry fees for missed heats. An alternate list will be kept by the USSC Contest Director
and shall include the competitor’s name, division and rating. Alternates
are individuals who are available, but did not receive a slot in their division at the slot meeting or prior to the start
of the competition. Their refundable entry fee must be paid in full for their name to be placed
on the alternate list. Beach entries are discouraged. Alternates should be ranked largest region to smallest, as
well as, regional ranking on an individual basis.
E. USSF Competition Rules will be made available to all competitors by request.
III.
EQUIPMENT (All boards are measured from end to end, using a straight edge)
A. In age division events, surfboards will not exceed 2 ft. longer than the competitor’s
height, except LEGENDS, which has no limit as to equipment used.
B. Longboards must be a minimum of 9 ft. in length, in Junior, Men, Master, Women,
and Senior divisions. Menehune division
will be 3 ft. overhead.
C. Bodyboards shall not exceed 5 ft. in length.
D. Paddle boards are limited to surfboards only with a maximum length of 10 ft.
E. Additional equipment, such as leashes and helmets may be used.
F. Kneeboards are a maximum of 6 ft. in length and must be consistent with standard
acceptable equipment normally used.
IV.
JUDGING AND SCORING
A. The subjective judging system will be used (0-10 points using .1 integrals) and there
will
be an active judging panel of one head judge and five scoring judges. Each region is
entitled to provide personnel for the panel.
Active judging panels should attempt to represent all four USSF regions, whenever possible, or a wide variety of districts
or
sponsors, etc. However, it is up to the Contest Director to approve all Judges.
Judges shall have the opportunity for a break every five heats and it will be up
to each region to provide personnel for these changes. Judges may judge as much as they like (subject
to the contest directors approval) as long
as they are consistent. Judges may not judge
their own division, members of their family
or close personal friends. See judges
handbook and judges rotation.
B. When judging standup surfing, a ride will begin to be scored when a surfer’s
hands leave
the rails of their surfboard. When judging kneeboarding, judges will take into
account
that both knees must be on the board for the ride to qualify. When judging bodyboarding, there is no limitation as to body position on the board and
the ride will be scored
after the head judge designates bodyboarder has caught the wave and
executed a maneuver.
B.1 When scoring air competition,
competitors will be scored on completed AIRS only - (must
land and ride out for 3 seconds). If an AIR is 90% completed (landing and fumbling
recovery), the head judge may rule a score, but with a major deduction. The head
judge will make a final ruling on judgment calls. Competitors will be scored
on
their top one or two AIRS depending on conditions, competitors best AIR will be
scored double
the points. The competition director or contest director will determine
the number of AIR maneuvers to be scored before each event and this will
be posted at the marshal area. If conditions change during the event the contest
director in consultation with the head judge
may change the number of maneuvers to score, however, no change is to occur in the middle of a round.
C. The judging criteria
shall be:
THE CONTESTANT WHO EXECUTES
THE MOST RADICAL
MANEUVERS GENERATING POWER
AND SPEED THROUGH OUT IN A
FUNCTIONAL MANNER IN THE
MOST CRITICAL SECTIONS OF THE BIGGEST AND/OR BEST WAVE FOR THE LONGEST FUNCTIONAL
DISTANCE WILL RECEIVE THE HIGHEST SCORE.
Incomplete maneuvers will not be scored. The surfer must surf out of the
maneuver
for it to be deemed complete. The individual judge’s scores should
be consistent
with one another. If a judge is repeatedly inconsistent, he/she may be
replaced.
Please refer to USSF Judges Handbook for detailed
policy, instructions and
guidelines
for judging.
C.1 The judging criteria
for AIR Division shall be:
THE SUFER
WHO PERFORMS THE MOST COMMITTED RADICAL AIR IN
THE MOST CRITICAL
SECION OF A WAVE WITH HEIGHT, TECHNICAL
DIFFICULTY
AND CONTROL WILL MAXIMIZE THEIR SCORING
POTENTIAL.
NOTE: CRITERIA
RATING (SHALL BE BASED ON 2’ TO 3’ ABOVE THE LIP), ALL AIRS DEPEND ON HEIGHT, BIGGER THE AIR THE HIGHER THE SCORE,
POINT RATING BELOW MAY VARY DEPENDING ON HEIGHT, COMMITTMEN AND
CONTROL AS DETERMINED BY WAVE CONDITIONS.
C.2 FRONTSIDE AIRS
Type of Air
Description Rating
Standard Air
Ollie
2-5
Double Grab
Both hands
2-5
Slob Air
Back hand
grabbing toe-side Rail 5-7
Alley Oop
Off the lip
of the wave
5-7
Lean Air
Front hand
grabbing heel-side rail 6-8
Stale Fish
Back hand
grabbing heel-side rail 7-9
Air 360 Full rotation in the air 7-9
Inverted Air
8-10
Backside AIRS
Type of Air
Description Rating
Chop Hop
Below the
lip 1-2
Chop Hop
Above the
lip 2-4
Standard Air
Ollie
2-5
Double Grab
Both hands
2-5
Method
Front hand
grab toe-side rail 4-6
Indy Air
Back hand
grab toe-side rail 4-6
Mute Air
Front hand
grab toe-side rail 5-7
Various grabs
Front/Back
hand on toe-side rail 6-8
Air 360 Full rotation in the Air 7-9
Inverted Air/Rodeo
8-10
Note: All
Air variations will be a judged depending on degree of difficulty
D. The HEAD JUDGE shall
be responsible for:
•. Determining which riders
and rides are to be scored
•. Determining wave possession
•. Maintaining an accurate
wave count
•. Notifying judges of missed
rides
•. Assisting judges in making
accurate scores for the
missed rides.
All missed rides should be indicated by the letter “M” in the appropriate box to be determined by the head judge according to the
individual’s scoring scale
(interpolation). This should be done immediately or before the end of
the heat, as time
allows.
Judges, who are consistently missing rides, may be replaced. In the
absence of the Competition Director, one of the following will act in their
place:
1st
Designated Representative approved by the USSF
Competition Committee - Contest Director
2nd
A Regional Competition Director
3rd
A District Competition Director
4th
Any Regional Official
E. TABULATIONS
Wave counts to be used for tabulation of results are 2,3, or 4 highest waves per heat. The Contest Director after consulation
with the head judge shall determine the number of high waves per heat to be tabulated. This information is to
be posted prior to the first heat and will remain in effect for the duration of the event unlessl otherwise posted.
Specifications (scored waves, max waves, and length of time) for all heats including finals are to be posted at
the contest site.
Note: Contest Directors are encouraged to consider 2 waves for all heats except 3 waves for finals.
Upon receipt of the completed judges sheets at
the end of each heat, the tabulators will immediately
check to see if:
1. All judges sheets have been turned in.
2. The correct number of waves have been scored on
each sheet.
3. Identify interference calls, if any.
If a ride has been missed, an attempt will be made to identify the missing rides by referring
to the other judges sheets. If the ride is identified to the satisfaction of
the head judge, a score will be given the missed ride by: AVERAGING THE MISSED WAVE ACCORDING
TO THE SCORING LEVEL THAT THE JUDGE IN QUESTION USES (INTERPOLATION).
NOTE: The head judge, along with a majority will
determine the “official” wave count.
When the contest director is satisfied that the best attempt has been made to establish the
correct value of the missed wave, the contest director will ensure that
this value
be written on the judge’s sheet. Upon completion of these formalities,
the judge’s sheets may be totaled. The scoring waves shall be circled, totaled, and interference penalties deducted. The total shall
be placed in the total column. The heat places are then calculated and entered on
the judge’s sheet. The competitor
with the highest
score will receive one point, the second highest will receive two
points and so on.
If a judge ties two or more competitors, the points awarded to
each of the
tied competitors will be the average of the affected placing points added together.
EXAMPLE: If 2nd, 3rd
and 4th are Tied, add 2, 3, and 4 together and
divide by 3 = 3 points for each tied competitor.
E.1 Air Division
To decide a winner, the top two AIRS on each
judges sheet will be totaled
(highest score will be doubled).
