Please contact Dr. Maureen Johnson with any questions:
Mo Johnson, PhD, MS, OT/L, BCPR, C/NDT, CHSE
Assistant Professor
Occupational Therapy Program
Head of International Classification for Para Surfing
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences
Office: 760-410-5391 – ext. 2491
Email: MJohnson@usa.edu
List of Surf Classes and Descriptions
| Surf Class | Descriptions | Eligible Class Impairments |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Limb Standing (ULS) | Any Surfer who rides the wave standing with an upper limb amputation or deficiency, short stature | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Limb deficiency Hypertonia Short stature |
| Below the Knee Standing (BKS) | Any surfer that rides in a standing position with a below the knee amputation or limb deficiency | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Limb deficiency Leg length difference |
| Above the Knee Standing (AKS) | Any surfer that rides in a standing position with an above the knee amputation or equivalency | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Limb deficiency |
| Any Knee Kneeling (AKK) | Any surfer that rides in a kneeling position with an above the knee amputation or lower limb deficiency or impairment | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Limb deficiency |
| Unassisted Prone (UP) | Any surfer that rides in a prone position that does NOT require assistance paddling into a wave and getting back on the board safely | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Hypertonia Ataxia Athetosis |
| Prone Assist (PA) | Any surfer that rides the wave in a prone position that DOES require assistance paddling into waves and getting back onto the board safely | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Limb deficiency Ataxia Athetosis |
| Wave Ski | Any surfer that rides a board in a sitting position with lower extremity impairments or lower limb deficiency | Impaired PROM Impaired muscle power Limb deficiency |
| Blind/No Vision (BNV) | Any surfer that rides the wave in a standing position with a vision impairment of legal blindness | Vision Impairment Legal Blindness 20/200+ |
| Partial Vision Impairment (PVI) | Any surfer that rides the wave in a standing position with a vision impairment | Vision Impairment Partial Vision 20/70- 20/200 or 50% visual field loss |
AASP CLASSIFICATION
Any competitor that enters the AASP must have a diagnosed disability with at least one of the qualifying impairments for body structure.
*Protest and Appeal Process: If an athlete does not agree with their allocated surf class, two new classifiers will classify the athlete. Then, the four classifiers will compare classification and discuss the case to determine the appropriate surf class for the athlete. An in the water observation may be necessary.
Judging
Events are comprised of rounds and those rounds are made up of heats ranged from two-to-four surfers looking to lock in their two highest-scoring waves, both out of a possible 10 points for a possible 20-point heat total. There will be an active judging panel of three scoring judges, one rotating judge and one priority judge. A Head Judge will be used to oversee the judging panel. The two best scoring waves (each out of a possible 10) are added together to become a surfer’s heat total (out of a possible 20).
Surfers must perform to the ASP judging key elements to maximize their scoring potential. Judges analyze the following major elements when scoring a ride:
- Commitment and degree of difficulty
- Innovative and progressive maneuvers
- Combination of major maneuvers
- Variety of maneuvers
- Speed, power, flow and length of ride
The subjective judging system will be used (0-10 points using .1 integrals).
Judging scale:
[0.0 — 1.9: Poor]
[2.0 — 3.9: Fair]
[4.0 — 5.9: Average] [6.0 — 7.9: Good]
[8.0 — 10.0: Excellent]
Priority
No more than four-man heats. All heats will be twenty minutes, twenty-minute heats allow for a maximum of 12 waves to be ridden. All final heats will be 25 minutes with a maximum of 15 waves ridden.
No priority will be given at the beginning of any heat. The first surfer to catch a wave will be given last priority at the end of the ride, the next surfer to catch a wave will move into last priority and so on until all surfers have established the priority structure. Once priority is established there is no “paddle priority”, it is first to take off will be given last priority throughout the heat. This is to ensure every surfer gets the opportunity to catch a scoring wave.
The surfer with priority has the unconditional right of way to catch any wave they choose. Other surfers in the heat can paddle for, and catch, the same wave, but only if they do not hinder the scoring potential of a surfer with priority. A surfer loses priority once they catch a wave and/or a surfer paddles for but misses a wave.
AASP will be a double elimination round robin format giving each surfer a second chance to advance.
Interference
A surfer who hinders the scoring potential of a surfer with priority over them will be given an interference penalty. In most situations, this means that their heat score will be calculated using only their best scoring wave. Two or more surfers surfing the same wave in the same direction, the surfer closest to the curl during take-off, will have priority on that wave unless the surfer is not in priority.