There’s been a lot of talk about judging criteria in surfing lately.
Particularly when it comes to the WSL’s Championship Tour, with the recent controversy at the Surf Ranch Pro, and the following drama from surfers and fans alike.
But over the weekend, one surf contest took a different, less serious approach to surfing’s inherently subjective judging dilemma.
The first-ever Switch surf contest, presented by queer surf organizations Benny’s Club and Queer Surf, went down on Saturday, International Surfing Day, at Linda Mar Beach in central California’s Pacifica.
And instead of speed, power, flow, the judges were looking for other things – like party waves, most flair, best style, “biggest bottom turn energy,” and “gayest takeoff.”
“We wanted to have a good time with this,” Nicci Brisebois, who cofounded Queer Surf in 2016, told the Half Moon Bay Review. “We want it to be joyful and sort of shift the values of surf culture, just open it up and expand it.”
Photos from the event, snapped by longtime surf photog Sachi Cunningham, showed all smiles, party waves, headstands, and more – pretty much the antithesis of a traditional surf contest. More of a celebration of surfing, and all types of surfers, one might say.
According to Joanie Capetta, cofounder of Benny’s Club, the contest had this alternative, more festive vision in mind for the event:
“So much of the way we define good surfing is a masculine approach to a wave. Ripping, shredding, hacking. There are so many more ways for surfing to be creative, expressive and joyful to watch.”
Hit the links to learn more about Benny’s Club and Queer Surf.
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