competitive stand up surfing tips

[1tuberider]

What are your tips for winning?

Last weekend while competing in a local contest my step son said to me

"Stay in front of the judges".  He is not a surfer but he is a champion wrestler. I believe his tip brought me into second place. 

Simple enough to do,  I thought they could see me surfing where my last ride ended.  Barely squeaked thru the various heats and then I did what he said and I had a higher score with better competitors.

What other tips might you have to help some of our competitors? 

[SoCalSupper]

surf better than your competition-you win...

[1tuberider]

SoCal  didn't your son just miss advancing a heat in the hb pro?

There is strategy that a lesser surfer can use to their advantage to help.  Many times the difference between advancing a heat and being taken out of the contest is less than a point. I am not suggesting your son is a lesser surfer.  But for him it might be important to become a better competitor.

All sorts of things come to mind about the heat in the heat.

Do you hassle for your wave?  Are you uptight? Do you warm up before the heat? Do you go for the best waves? Did you get your quota? Do you ride all the way in? Were the judges properly supplied with beer from their new best friend?  Are you accumulating points on a good ride and then go for a difficult move and fall off?  Kelly did a 360 inside that he did not make and his score was cut in half on a ride that had a great score already.  This was in the Trestles contest.  He still won but a lesser surfer would have been in trouble.

Whats with air guitar while riding a wave during a heat?  How is that going to score higher than a solid ride? 

I would like to think that suggestions from zoners may make a difference for a zoner. And sometimes its the little things that can take you over the top.
 
 

[kneecap]

Everything else being equal, the surfer that does the more critical maneuvers in the most critical parts of the largest waves of the heat will advance. That's why someone can come out and throw a single ridiculous air (KS in NYC over Taj) can get a better score than a guy who did like six great turns on a single wave.

[finsider]

I know a few pro athletes, no surfers, but they all said one big thing most people don't realize is their connection with the referees, umpires, etc. Get your judges to recognize your name, know who you are before the start, and you would be surprised. Its mostly just psychology. I know pro baseball players that get their home umpires some sweet tee-off times at their favorite golf course for a better strike zone