FREEWAVE MAINLAND USA
OFFICIAL RULES
FREEWAVE MAINLAND
OFFICIAL RULES
Download Official Rules here - PDF Format
1) SUMMARY:
The FREEWAVE CHALLENGE Mainland event will showcase the greatest free-surfing performances captured on video during the Summer surf season, displaying clips of the rides on the FreewaveChallenge.com website for analysis and evaluation.
The event will consist of FIVE categories:
A) THE MONSTER MANEUVER AWARD for the most spectacular maneuver or series of maneuvers executed on a single wave;
B) The SMALL FRIES AWARD for the best performance on a single wave by a surfer age 16 or under at the time of the ride
c)The BEST BARREL AWARD for the longest, deepest and most challenging tube ride;
D) The HEARTBREAKER PERFORMANCE AWARD for the best performance on a single wave by a female surfer; and
E) The LONGEST RIDE AWARD for the longest elapsed time spent riding a single wave.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the top surfers and videographers in each division.
2) EVENT PERIOD:
The contest begins at first light on June 20, 2008 and ends at dusk on September 22, 2008 (The last day of summer). Awards will be presented at a ceremony in mid-October 2008.
3) PARTICIPANTS:
The FREEWAVE CHALLENGE Mainland event is open to all surfers, regardless of competitive affiliations. Contestant surfers must complete an entry form/release acknowledging that video of their rides will be used in the promotion of the event. Minors must have signed permission of their parents or guardians and surfers in the Small Fries division must be able to verify their age as being 16 years of age or less at the time of the ride. Team managers may verify participation of their sponsored surfers in bulk. Videographers must register and be approved by event directors to upload clips to the event site. Anyone may view clips; users must register and log in to rate or comment on clips.
4) LOCATION:
To be accepted for the FREEWAVE CHALLENGE Mainland, all submitted waves must be along the Mainland USA, including the Pacific, Gulf and Atlantic coasts and offshore islands. Hawaii and Alaska are excluded this time, as are American protectorates such as Puerto Rico. Mexico is not eligible.
5) EQUIPMENT & CONDUCT:
Waves must be ridden in a standing position and must be caught using human power only. (No tow-in assists.) Any length or type of surfboard may be used. Standard rules of surfing etiquette must be observed ? grossly inappropriate drop-ins may result in disqualification. Waves ridden during a heat of a traditional surf contest while wearing a competition jersey are not eligible for entry. There are no maximum or minimum wave height considerations.
In the longest wave category, the wave must be caught by arm power (no Stand Up Paddle) and the start of the ride will be considered the moment the hands leave the rail and the surfer stands on both feet. The end of the ride will be at the conclusion of shoreward motion. Only ocean waves are eligible; no ship wakes, etc.
6) QUALITY AND CAPACITY:
In order to maintain a reasonable standard of excellence and not overload system capacity, event organizers reserve the right to limit acceptance of clips of rides that do not legitimately compare to the standards set by the bulk of the performances. The cut-off point may adjust over the course of the event and organizers will consider such circumstances as popularity, redundancy, overall entertainment value and general kook factor. Once deleted, a clip cannot be recovered.
7) SURFER ENTRIES:
There is no entry fee, but surfers must sign or electronically submit a release acknowledging their involvement in the event prior to any clips being displayed. The form may be requested from the Event Director. Surfers under 18 years of age must have the written permission of parent or guardian to participate. Per standard surf industry practice, recognized team managers for contracted sponsors of a surfer will be assumed to have proxy power to submit entries or otherwise allow distribution of their images for publicity and/or competitive purposes. Surfers are allowed one sponsor logo on all entry clips and it is their responsibility to determine which single sponsor logo they wish to have depicted. Unless specified otherwise, it will be assumed that a surfer's primary apparel sponsor is to be represented. Each surfer participating will be allotted a spot in the "Meet the Surfers" section of the website, and other sponsors may be listed there with links to the sponsor sites.
There is no limit to how many clips a surfer may enter, and there is no limit to how many times a single surfer may be nominated as a finalist based on different waves.
8) VIDEO ENTRIES:
Videographers must first register with the event and receive their upload information and password. Once a ride has been captured on video, it must be edited to the described format and uploaded to the FreewaveChallenge.com site within 7 days to assure timely verification. The deadline may be extended by the Event Director in special cases based on unusual circumstances.
a) FORMAT FOR EDITING ENTRY CLIPS
Video clips may be edited in any popular application, but should be prepared for submission using the following order of presentation:
1) Freewave Challenge opener and category animated logo. (Six seconds.) Note that there are five "bumper" clips available for the five categories of the Freewave event including Monster Maneuver, Small Fries, Best Barrel, Heartbreaker and Longest Ride.
2) MAIN SLATE: Surfer name/Location and date of ride. (Three seconds.) Any legible font or animation is OK.
3) The entered ride at regular speed. (As long as it lasts.) No edits, only one camera angle per entry. If content was originally shot on high-speed slow motion film, frame rate of video playback should be adjusted to approximate real time.
4) Slow motion replay of ride's critical moment. For better download player speeds, keep replay portion of clips as tight as possible, with total duration of any entry clip remaining under 60 seconds total run time, including opening and closing graphics. Longest ride entries should not require a replay.
5) Surfer sponsor logo billboard. (Two seconds.) A SINGLE sponsor billboard may be displayed for up to two seconds.
6) Videographer credit. (Three seconds.) May include reference to any upcoming projects as per example.
7) Freewave Challenge closer logo. (Two seconds.)
Registered filmers will be given access to a videographer materials section of the website where they may view mocked up examples of an edited entry and download animated logo intro bumpers, fonts and an assortment of surfer sponsor billboard clips to assist in the preparation of clips.
Clips should NOT be edited to music, even if rights are cleared. Leave ambient sound where possible during regular-motion playback. However, editors are asked to remove or cover excited/offensive language picked up on audio which may be inappropriate on an all-ages website.
Filmers should retain a full-quality Quicktime (.MOV or .DV) file of the clip, as it will be needed for final production if the ride is selected as a finalist in the event.
Clips will ONLY be played on the website in the standard format WITH credits to the videographer and surfer displayed and will NOT be edited to remove this information.
b) UPLOADING EDITED CLIPS TO FREEWAVE VIDEOHUB
Video can be edited in any application and then uploaded in most common compression formats. Click on UPLOAD and follow directions. For best results, prepare clips at a 640x480 resolution at 29.97 frames per second and compress using the Quicktime H.264 codec. (If the file is in excess of 100MB, reduce resolution to 480x360). All clips will be automatically reformatted to the standard size of the Freewave player. The only words entered as "Tags" describing the video should be the name of the surfer, the name of the videographer and the name of the spot. The use of other terms can lessen the chances of the system recommending the clip to viewers of similar clips and thus reduce its overall popularity. Before uploading, check off the appropriate category for the clip, which should match the opening bumper -- either Monster Maneuver, Small Fries, Best Barrel, Heartbreaker or Longest Ride.
c) UPLOADING - TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By uploading clips to the Freewave site, users certify:
1) they are the copyright owner of all submitted content.
2) the clip adheres to all event rules, including being shot within event boundaries and date guidelines.
3) they have verified the surfer has completed entry requirements for the event.
4) all information in clip slates is accurate, including the identity of the surfer. No clips of unidentified surfers will be accepted.
5) they agree to the public display of the clip throughout the duration of the event on the Freewave site, partner sites and TV programs and on any sites linking to the embedded clips without further compensation. All clips displayed will be presented in full form, with surfer, videographer and sponsor credits intact.
6) they agree that if any of their clips are selected as finalists they will accept the offered prize money and submit a Full-Quality version of the ride, allowing the use of the clip for any and all purposes related to the promotion of the FREEWAVE CHALLENGE.
d) MULTIPLE VIDEO ANGLES
If a particular ride is captured from more than one angle by more than one videographer, all versions may be entered and displayed during the public evaluation phase. However, in the eventual narrowing down to the finalist rides, only one version of each ride will be eligible. If there are multiple versions of one ride all with relatively high ratings, it will be up to the surfer to determine which one best depicts the ride.
e) VIDEOGRAPHER ACCEPTANCE AND REGISTRATION:
To maintain a high level of content quality and close communication among those involved, videographers should have existing familiarity with competitor surfers, possess professional grade equipment and be independently capable of editing and uploading clips as described. Videographers wishing to participate may contact the Event Director to request permission to upload. Clips may be shot and submitted by Freewave Challenge event organizers, although those individuals are not eligible to win videographer prizes.
9) JUDGING:
As video clips are posted on the www.FreewaveChallenge.com site, registered users may view and rate videos. The overall relative popularity (number of views overall vs. total days = average per day) and rating level will be tracked. Following the conclusion of the event period on September 22, this public input will be used to determine two or four popular finalist rides in each category plus a wildcard as selected by members of the media. The finalists in each category will be announced the first week of on or about September 25, 2008 following completion of the event window.
The Longest Ride Award will be determined by objective analysis (counting total seconds/frames of video) of the ride by the Event Staff.
The finalist rides in the Monster Maneuver, Small Fries, Best Tube and The Heartbreaker Female Performance Award categories will be evaluated by the "Surfing Academy," which will include the entered surfers and videographers themselves, along with select members of the surfing media worldwide. The final judging criteria is meant to be very subjective, but the following general outlines are provided:
The Monster Maneuver Award: "The surfer executing the most spectacular and progressive maneuver or series of maneuvers on a single wave shall be the winner."
The Small Fries Award: "The surfer age 16 or under who demonstrates the highest level of performance on a single wave shall be the winner."
The Best Tube Award: "The surfer executing the most skillful demonstration of the art of surfing in the barrel shall be the winner. Length, depth and overall degree of difficulty will all be considered."
The Heartbreaker Female Performance Award: ?The female surfer who demonstrates the highest level of performance on a single wave shall be the winner.?
Judging Points System: After becoming familiar with the five finalist rides in each category, each judge will be asked to consider the judging guidance and rank the five finalist rides in the order they feel appropriate from first place to fifth place. Judges will then submit their ballot by email to the Event Director. The following point values will be assigned to the ranking on each ballot and an overall total will be calculated from all ballots submitted.
1st = 100 points, 2nd = 75 points, 3rd = 55 points, 4th = 40 points, 5th = 30 points
In case of a judge assigning a tie to two or more rides on a ballot, the averaged score of the tied waves on that ballot will be tallied. For example, a tie between 4th and 5th would each receive 35 points, etc.
An appropriate deadline will be set for receipt of all ballots. Any ballots submitted after the deadline will not be counted. Individual ballots will remain secret to ensure candid input, but the final relative scores in aggregate will be made public. The decisions of the judging panel shall be final.
The rankings in each category will be announced and the cash prizes distributed in a series of announcements every two to three days beginning on or about October 15.
10) FRAUD:
The integrity of the FREEWAVE CHALLENGE depends on adherence to the rules, especially in the requirements that images be unaltered and that any entered rides took place within the event boundaries and within the eligible dates and that ages (and genders!) are registered honestly. In case of doubt, videographers must submit full original videotapes on demand for analysis. Any surfers and/or videographers determined to have conspired to submit entries in violation of the rules or contrary to the spirit of the event will be severely sanctioned. Sanctions may include a lifetime ban from the FREEWAVE CHALLENGE and related events.
Likewise, event organizers will be alert to attempts to unfairly manipulate the rating or popularity of a clip. Placing external links to drive traffic to a clip is not only acceptable, but also encouraged to expand the reach of the event to legitimate new viewers. However, if extraordinary patterns develop regarding the number of views or votes or members joining from a single IP address or other irregularity occur, they will be investigated and acted on if they violate the spirit of the event.
It's simple ? win fairly, don't be a cheat.
11) Progression:
The Freewave Challenge is a new and experimental project meant to further progression in the sport of surfing. As with any new endeavor, it may require a degree of gentle refinement and tweaking as the concept morphs into reality. While staying true to the spirit of the event, the organizers reserve the right to adjust the format, rules, website and other components as needed to accommodate actual developments and technological realities.
For additional information regarding the format or rules of the Freewave Challenge, contact the Event Director at:
SurfNewsEd@aol.com
949-548-6740
Event concept and rules © 2007 Sharp Media, Inc.