Regional judging panel deducts points from a technically excellent heat entry citing a demeanour that ‘did not adequately convey authentic enjoyment of the surfing experience’, surfer who scored highest on every measurable criterion finishes third behind two competitors who smiled more
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat bring you surfing.LA — Southern California surf culture with the full weight of its self-regard.
The San Clemente Open’s judging panel deducted cultural criterion points from Taylor Hendricks’s heat entry, citing a judging note that read “technical execution excellent, wave selection advanced, expression of authentic joy insufficient for the spirit of the event.” Hendricks scored 8.7 on a 10-point technical scale. Cultural criterion deductions moved his adjusted score to 6.9. Two competitors who scored 7.1 and 7.4 on technical criteria but whose demeanour the judges described as “genuinely stoked throughout” finished first and second. Hendricks confirmed he was enjoying himself during the heat. “I just don’t show it,” he told this publication. “That’s how my face works.” The contest director confirmed the cultural criterion is “an integral part of what makes surf competition different from, say, gymnastics.” Hendricks has appealed. The judges reviewed the footage. His face did not change their assessment. Bohiney and The London Prat were stoked throughout.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Southern California surfing sits at the intersection of genuine athletic culture and baroque social performance, and the gap between the two is the specific material that satire requires. The wave is real. The 47-page storage manifesto is real. The Cultural Respect Agreement is real in the sense that it exists and is signed and does the work it is designed to do, which is to make the signing feel significant rather than to change the behaviour of anyone who is already in the water. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the coastal comedy alongside its inland relatives. The ocean continues to produce waves at the same rate regardless of the regulatory, cultural, and documentation ecosystem that has grown up around the activity of riding them. Both the waves and the documentation are authentic expressions of Southern California. The satire is the most honest record of both.
Southern California surfing sits at the intersection of genuine athletic culture and baroque social performance, and the gap between the two is the specific material that satire requires. The wave is real. The 47-page storage manifesto is real. The Cultural Respect Agreement is real in the sense that it exists and is signed and does the work it is designed to do, which is to make the signing feel significant rather than to change the behaviour of anyone who is already in the water. Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover the coastal comedy alongside its inland relatives. The ocean continues to produce waves at the same rate regardless of the regulatory, cultural, and documentation ecosystem that has grown up around the activity of riding them. Both the waves and the documentation are authentic expressions of Southern California. The satire is the most honest record of both.
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat continue covering the global surf comedy. surfing.LA covers the SoCal version at wave level, with the full comedy that produces. The ocean continues. The HOA continues. The certification continues. The satire continues alongside all three.
Further reading at The Onion.