Photos and captions by Bud Stratford
"2011 Judging Guideline Discussion":
I think it's safe to say that the world of Freestyle skateboarding is alive and growing, thanks to the efforts of the dedicated organizers and participants of the form over the years. The 2009 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan showed what it could be like... with crowds of 10,000+, and a fully industry-backed event.
While the 2010 Philadelphia World Championships brought it back to US soil in a very real way by having the most diverse, competitive, and sizable group of skaters in a Freestyle contest perhaps ever... as well as full support from the legendary Powell-Peralta brand (Thank you!)... things are looking up, and starting to move in the world of freestyle.
So going forward, it is our responsibility as practitioners of this art to continue to improve and proliferate what we all love to do...!
After the Worlds in Philadelphia (aside from being exhausted and elated at the same time), I took a look at all the aspects that made that event, and what needed to change to fully make freestyle a viable, modern form once again. Of course, there were aspects that could have made the event better. Besides practical budget-constraints that prevented high-level marketing (tv/radio/billboards), and the lack of advertising in turn affected overall spectator turnout (although grassroots efforts yielded about 1000 for the weekend)... the one item that needs the most attention moving forward, is the judging of freestyle contests.
Judging is often a thankless job that requires skill, objectiveness, and experience to be proficient... as well as a thick skin, because inevitably someone (or, a few people) will not agree with the end results. The reason for this disparity is that there isn't always an up-front and easily explainable format for skaters to understand what is expected of them, and what they should in turn expect from the judging panel.
The judging panel at The Worlds in Philly, having a quick mid-contest powwow with AJ (the guy in the white tee on the right). I'll tell you one thing right now... and, please keep in mind that this is coming from an outsiders' perspective: I'm so glad I wasn't one of these dudes. Because, I woulda been pulling my last few strands of hair trying to judge this event.
I thought they did a remarkable job, given the practical impossibilities of judging what amounts to the highest "art" in skateboarding.
Chain smoking and Coke-drinking is hell of a lot easier, so that's what I did all weekend...!
After the Philadelphia event, there was several complaints and questions regarding why certain people came in whichever place they were awarded. After looking at the video and some of the scores, there seemed to be some discrepancies... and good reason for discontent.
So in the interest of moving forward, let’s see what we can collectively come up with to improve this dilemma.
The bigger problem is that there are so many styles ("traditional", "street", "all-around", etc.) and approaches to freestyle these days. Which is great for the audience, and for the movement. But, it also makes things somewhere between "much harder" and "almost impossible" for a judging panel to judge. Especially when the field was as talented as the group that we had on site for the Philadelphia World Championships.
To give you an example of the challenges at hand: The difference between 1st place, and 23rd place in the Pro Division was a measly 10 points, utilizing 5 elements (points of judging) on a 100-point scale. That’s nothing when compared to other forms (such as street contest) where the difference between 1st and 2nd place could be much bigger than 10 points.
The question becomes a problem of, "Which should be judged higher?!" The machine-like precision of Gunter Mokulys...? The impeccable showmanship and crowd-appeal of Kilian Martin? Or, the buttery-smooth execution of Kevin Harris...? My opinion: They're all champs. But, as a judge? Your job is to make fine distinctions.
That's why I'm a reporter. My job is to sit on my ass, shut up, take notes, and pretty much take it easy. This is Kevin Harris, doing a stylish one-wheeled manual in front of the judges' stand in Philly.
So as you can see, it's a tough job. But, not impossible! The key is thorough and concise communication of what is being judged, and how that affects the overall scores... so that a particular outcome can be shown how it came to be, and the skater can understand what they need to improve upon in the future.
Individuality is what makes Freestyle so great. However: Having basic guidelines that underline every style in regards to a competition will help make an "even playing field", so that all styles are represented and judged fairly.
So let’s open it up to discussion with a few basic points, based on conversations that I had with various people about judging (post-contest), as well as the system as it stands today:
1) 5 Element judging: What should be the elements? Should there be 5 elements? Should there be more elements added, or should some elements be eliminated...?
2) Number of judges/background of judges: Does this matter, and why? What should the requirements be...?
3) What is the most important aspect of freestyle to be considered by a judge?
4) Rating scale: Should the scale be 1-100, 1-20, 1-10, or something else entirely...?
5) How to rate tricks? Should judges consider such "non-traditional" tricks, such as switchstance tricks, nollies, ollies, "traditional" flips (kick, heel, varial, tre, etc), pressure flips, truckstands, spins, handstands, footwork, double-board tricks, etc...?
6) Should "pushing" count as a step-off...?
Notes for the readers: Please add any point you wish to bring up for the next version of this discussion...!
Please email your answers and thoughts to oneskateboardco@gmail.com, and let's see what we can get going!
Thanks for participating in making freestyle even better, for the people by the people. United, we are strong. Viva La Revolution!
