Each wave that a surfer rides is evaluated by a panel of five judges on a scale of 0.1 to 10.0. The highest and lowest of the five scores are discarded. The surfer’s score is the average of the three remaining marks. Each surfer’s two best scoring waves are added together to determine their heat total (out of a possible 20 points).
Tie Breaking: If two or more surfers are tied at the end of a heat, ties will be broken as follows:
- Highest single wave score during the heat
- Highest total of three wave scores during the heat (then four waves, five waves, etc.)
- The scores will be re-tabulated using all five judges’ scores (instead of just the middle three)
If a tie cannot be broken using the above criteria, a re-surf involving the tied surfers will be held.
