Spin That Wheel!
This year the ASP altered it's judging criteria to reward new and innovative surfing. The changes came amid much fanfare and delighted fans of hi-fi surfing - they would get to see more of the surfing they like. The organisers of the upcoming Boost Mobile SurfSho have taken this criteria and turned it on it's head, spun it right around and boldly stamped their own name on it.
The SurfSho, which runs from the 12th to 14th March at Bondi Beach, is an ASP-sanctioned event but it's like no other event on the tour.
The Sho begins on the Friday with 60 of Australia's best junior surfers competing for a wildcard into the main event. The juniors compete using a traditional airshow format - the best aerial manouvre wins. On Saturday 100 open age air specialists will then battle it out for two wildcards also using an airshow format.
On Sunday the SurfSho comes into it's own however. The three wildcards will meet fifteen of the world's best surfers - including Kelly Slater, Jordy Smith,Taj Burrow and Owen Wright - in a format that is unique to Boost and designed for maximum entertainment.
Central to the format is a huge wheel - not unlike that used in television game shows - that organisers spin before each heat. Rather than cash or prizes the wheel is marked with various aerial manouvres, and whatever move gets spun that's what the surfers must attempt!
Surfers are rewarded for each succesful attempt of the chosen manouvre by having a letter from the word BOOST stamped on their arm. At the end of the heats the surfers with the most letters go into the final.
There are two advantages to this format. The first being that beachside punters, irrespective of their level of understanding, know exactly what is happening in the water. The second is that fans of hi-fi surfing are assured of seeing just that - progressive and innovative surfing all done above the lip.
The Boost Mobile SurfSho runs from the 12th to the 14th March at Bondi Beach
