The World Championship Tour, along with hundreds of lesser surf tours and events, have made the standard 1-to-10 subjective scoring system appear to be nearly organically attached to competitive surfing. But the sport's history is filled with alternative methods for separating winners from losers. Here are a few.


Two champions swam out to sea on boards, and the first one arriving [back] on shore wins. Riders sometimes also raced [from the beach] to the starting place [in the lineup]. Standing on the boards as they shot in was by no means uncommon. [

Betting was made an accompaniment thereof, both by the chiefs and the common people. Canoes, nets, fishing lines, swine, poultry and all other property was staked, and in some instances, life itself was put as a wager. [

 slide, on the shore, was a grass house, a sort of a public place. The people would gather there to witness the strange contest of a surfrider against the 

 rider. To start the race a man flashed a white 

 flag from the building at the foot of the slide. At this signal, high on the mountainside, a young chief took a short swift run to gain momentum, and headed down the smooth grassy course on his sled, while out at sea, at the proper place, another chief caught a big comber on his surfboard and headed for shore, both contestants racing, the first one to reach the grass house being declared the winner. No doubt the performance was started and the flag flashed when a good set of swells were rolling in, or possibly after the surfrider had caught a wave or reached a certain spot. The whole race could not have lasted over a minute. [


The first surf board meet ever held will take place in front of the north Mission Beach bathhouse Monday at 12:30 in the afternoon. The winner will receive a gold miniature surf board. Silver and bronze surf boards will also be awarded. Contestants will ride the surf in 10 different manners, one point to be given for each that is executed correctly. The various forms are: standing up, turning around, riding backwards for four seconds, standing on head, sitting down, riding double down, double up, riding on shoulders, three on a board. [


The summer of 1935 will mark the revival of the once popular surfriding contest under the ancient rules, to decide the champion of the Hawaiian Islands. Duke Kahanamoku has put up a cup, a genuine Hawaiian koa calabash, as a perpetual trophy, emblematic of the surfriding championship of the Islands to be contested for each year in first break surf at Waikiki beach. A simple point system of scoring will be used to decide the championship. It will [eliminate] the paddling element. The main object is to hold the race when First Break is running. The rules will be as follows: Contestants gather outside of the buoy at First Break. As a good set of waves appear, the starter fires a gun and the race begins. Surf-riders then must ride (at least halfway standing) to a second buoy inside Canoe Surf. The first contestant to the buoy will be credited with 10 points, the second with 9 points, the third with 8 points and so on until the tenth one in gets 1 point. Contestants then leisurely paddle out to the starting buoy and the same performance is repeated until five rides over the course have been made. The contestant who has the highest number of points wins. Judging a riding contest any other way, such as points on form, paddling, catching the wave, etc., is confusing and out of the question. [

MAKAHA INTERNATIONAL SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP, 1954


Points to be watched by judges for surfboard riding. 1) Distance traveled across the wave. 2) Ability to maneuver and control the board. 3) Size of wave, and judgment used in picking a wave. 4) Number of waves caught. [Makaha International contest program]


You are now witnessing the world’s first professional surfing contest. Judging is based on time rather than form or style. The contestants compete in sequence against the clock. Three judging teams use binoculars and stopwatches in order to accurately record nose-riding time. Official rules:

1) Each contestant will be given 21 ride opportunities during the two-day competition. If, however, the surf conditions are such that a change in this number is necessary to improve the accuracy of the contest, the change will be made by the judges.

2) These ride opportunities will occur in groups of three. Two contestants will alternate rides until each has had three opportunities.

3) The total scorable nose riding time accumulated during the best two of these three opportunities will be credited toward an overall win.

4) The longest individual nose ride scored during the three opportunities will be counted toward the Harold Walker and Home Show Awards.

5) After being notified to ride, the contestant must begin his ride within one and one-half minutes. If he does not catch a wave during that time he will receive either a pass or forfeit from the judges. It then becomes the next contestant's turn to ride. Passes will be made up later in the contest.

6) The rider is considered as having caught the wave if it is the opinion of the judges that he has stood.

7) Scorable nose riding time consists of all time the rider spends with both feet completely forward of the competition stripe. At least one foot must be on the board.

8) Scorable nose riding time will temporarily cease when: Any part of the rider's body except his feet touches any part of the board; any part of the rider's feet extend onto or behind or touch the competition stripe; the rider's forward motion stops; both feet completely leave the board.

9) Scorable nose riding time will resume when the rider returns to a valid nose riding position.

10) Contestants may conduct their rides in any portion of the assigned competition area.

11) "Proning", "rail-grabbing", etc. are allowed in the event, but by virtue of Rule 8, they naturally interrupt scorable nose riding time.

12) If after the first round the judges deem necessary an elimination of false trimming and/or manual timing error, nose riding times under two seconds will be considered as non-scorable.

13) The contestant with the most total nose riding time for fourteen waves ridden during 21 of his ride opportunities is the winner.

14) The Harold Walker Award and the Home Show Award will be presented to the contestants scoring the longest individual nose rides on standard and special boards. [Tom Morey Invitational contest program]

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: SURF COMPETITION FORMATS OF YORE

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