Foil comp surfing, Part 1
Foil surf comp ideas!! PART 1
With the popularity of foiling exploding around the world, taking the next step and looking at what kind of comps could and should be run. What kind of events are going to really appeal to foiling and can we take parts of already existing sports like surfing and cross it over into the foiling?
Already looking at what is happening around the world we can see some foil events popping up, look at what is going on and see if it can be done better and really look outside the box. We really don’t want it to be just an extension of surfing as this is a great way to always just be in the shadows, if foiling is going to grow and run its own path it really needs new ideas and concepts.
We have to tell ourselves we aren’t surfing and we need our OWN identity as we move forward and want to grow.
In this blog we will run over two ideas that are pretty different to what is on offer now and work on ways to showcase the areas of foiling that make it different to other sports.
COMP 1:
- Heats of 3 to 4 riders
- 15 min heats (can vary depending on conditions)
Scoring-
- Power, flow, style and progression are the main elements very similar to a normal surfing event.
- Pumping, now while pumping itself is not scored it is a big part of foiling so has to be rewarded in some way.
In this whole comp idea this is the area that is really going to set it apart from anything else. In most normal surf comps you can only ever get scored on one wave at a time as it’s pretty much impossible to transition to another like we can on the foil. Also on that one wave if you do your major turn as your first turn and show power, flow and progression then this is how you get high scores and the scores usually get lower the further down the wave you perform the big manunovers. For example if rider A did a huge air as the first turn and then did some smaller turns down the line this would score higher than rider B who did the smaller turns and then one big turn at the end as rider B was playing it safe for most of the wave. Now if we take this same concept and use it for foiling we can come up with a system that is completely new and totally unique for our sport.
Here is the example- Rider A catches a wave and does 3 big flowing turns on the first wave (this will be the highest part of rider A score counting for about a 5.5) he then pumps off the wave and links on to the wave behind and continues to do 3 more big turns (these 3 will score lower these 3 count for a 2.5) he then pumps out the back and gets one more wave where he do one more good turn (lowest part of the score a .5) all up rider A whole first wavescores a 8.5
Ride B takes a wave his first wave he does a huge turn full tips out with great power and then flows into another turn and then comes down this scores 6
Rider C takes a wave and first wave goes straight so scores for first wave is a 1.5 he then pumps out the back and onto a second wave where he does 3 big turns and this scores 3.5 he then pumps on to another wave where he also does 3 big turns and scores 2 he goes for a forth and does three more big turns for a fourth wave score of 1 for a whole first wave score of 8
Priority rules -
1 - Inside has a right of way.
2 - If someone is on a wave you can not turn on to the same wave in any way that causes them any interference.
3 - If someone is paddling for a wave you can not pump directly around them to snake the wave.
So overall the first wave the foiler gets is the best chance to score high points the more waves you can link the more you can add to your score but the scores taper down for each wave you link. Max would be 5 waves for any one score.
With this system it showcases the areas of foiling that set it apart from other sports, it shows different skills and rewards all areas of the sport.
Like comp idea 1? Want to hear comp 2? Let us know and if you have any thoughts that might add to this please feel free to let us know as now is the time to get it right before things get set and maybe we head down the wrong path!!