NZsnowboard.com

6th October 2006

1. Whats your history in snowboarding?
Moved to QT and was introd to the scene the hard way in 98. Envision coronet night sliding. Top of the M1. Sub 1 degrees (coldest weather ever for an AK shorey that grew up on the beach!!!) Sleety as and no clue

2. How did you get into judging?
Literally the wrong place at the wrong time. Clich I know, but thats exactly how it happened. I injured myself in the prelims of one of Remarks first Slopestyles and I was too proud to blood bucket it down so sat on the bench to recover. They were short a scorer so, a fistful of NZSBA Clinics and a couple of exams later, here I am

3. What was the hardest thing to deal with when becoming a judge?
The hardest thing was learning to deal with bias, both positive and negative. Not because Im a female and/or a native nothing like that at all. It was dealing with the whos-killing-it-and-do-I-know-you and the you-can-ride-better-than-that-fool biases.
As a rider, I got so used to spending days with a tight crew who are constantly raising the bar, every run of every day. Id be accustomed to their style and Id know how they ride, so Id know when they were having an off day. Id find Id analyse riders outside that crew and Id begun to form bias opinions.

As a judge, I had to learn not to discriminate between good riders I knew and good riders I didnt. I had to learn not penalise riders I was close to, if I knew they could lay down a far better run than that. I also had to learn not to reward them, for sticking a trick I knew theyd been trying all week because they just brought it round
Bias was the one thing I was constantly pulling myself up for when I first started out. I can in all honesty say though that it wasnt an issue for long.


4. What event do you like judging the best and why?
Slopestyle without a doubt. Slopestyle is the one competition that can level the playing field across all freestyle snowboarding disciplines. Its an application of style, flow, and execution with technical finesse. Every competitor, regardless of their riding background is given the opportunity to show just that, their style. A well built slopestyle course will present riders with options thatll allow them to mix it up, to interpret the course the way they want to.

Its one of the more exhausting events for both riders and judges though. Riders have to contend with a number of fields, heats and approx 100 other competitors and as judges you dont get a lot of down time in any Slopestyle day, youve gotta stay warm and on form to the last run.


5. If you could change one thing about judging what would it be and why?
Ooooh gotta be careful what I say here! Might lose my job! Nah, hmm Update our scoring technology. My reasoning is super simple: If there are ever any podium ties we can re-send both riders for a final run. Right now we rarely get away with it, but depending on the format were running we may be afforded the luxury.

A certain Nationals Competition comes to mind that Im sure the entire industry remembers where first and second places were ridic tight
FIS breaks ties in Best of (two runs in this case) by comparing the tied riders scores for their other run. Now, on later footage review of the two runs in question, edited side by side for optimal comparability, second place was clearly jipped of the acclaimed title. Given the advantage of having the footage course side, the outcome may well have been different.
Because we dont have the benefit of Scoring Tablets that generate an immediate rider ranking eliminating the need for manual tabulation, we often dont have the luxury of re-sending the tied riders for a final breaking run which is what I see as the fairer option especially where podium placement is concerned.

This is one of the more major grey areas of judging as many would disagree with me, but the way I see it is you have X amount of riders paying X amount of cash to compete, aswell as the status creds, FIS or TTR points at stake, you wanna make sure the riders are sweet with the results. Unfortunately, you cant make everyone happy and theres always someone whos not too stoked on the outcome. Im usually always doing a runner at prize giving



6. What does the average day of judging go like?
The day varies loads depending on the discipline, the format and nature of the event (promo, chilled out, jams, or structured). The breakdown for an NZSBA Nationals Slopestyle, for example, usually looks something like this:

8-8.30am On Course, well
9-10am Riders Practice. Which were usually benched for some of the duration to establish our scoring scale, and get a good idea of the level of riding to expect for the day.
1030amish-Last Open Male Rider pm Judged runs. Depending on the Droplist, Heats and Final Cut format, we can judge approx 200-300 runs in a day. Gets fairly skitz! Its a pretty full on day from the moment the first rider drops and it can be pretty mentally draining.


7. Does doing the same run in competition affect your score?
If the event calls for a Combined Score format, for example a single feature event such as Big Air, then yes. Throwin down a couple backy threes wont get you far no matter how Marc Frank you get on that shit, as youre likely to score zero from the entire bench for your second hit.
However, the majority of events are scored Best of meaning you get one chance, maybe more depending on time constraints, to kill it and one chance to kook it. From a riders point of view, it ensures a fairer outcome. As that one run you didnt quite put together aswell as youd hoped isnt going to bring down your score for the run you laid down without a scratch. Its also easier for you to determine which run got you through. Or didnt


8. Does personal opinion come into play with judging? Eg. Liking back 7's with a melon or stale??
Definitely. This is why a bench ideally consists of 3+ scorers. As judges we are expected to adhere to rules sanctioned by whatever Associations were approved by, but when it comes to setting boundaries as to whats considered steez, tech or just dunga, this is where the ambiguity of Personal Preference can have a tendency to dominate.

It has a huge stake in the outcome. Often a rider will be pissed at their placing in the rankings, and it used to get pretty monotonous trying to voice to the rider that yeah, I may agree with them, but Im only one of generally 3 potentially 6 opinions. I learnt years ago just to let the rider vent and if I believe its a solid argument Ill go into bat. If I dont, I take it to the bench anyway because its not dependent on my opinion alone.
So its important that events employ judges that know their shit i.e. you dont want fruit booters judging skaters. No offence broyou know I got love!


9. What do riders not think about enough when competing?
There isnt much. Most riders that compete know whats up. Maybe variety. Have fun with it. Combo it up. Youd be amazed at how often we can call a run trick for trick before the riders even dropped Get your stock run locked and try something different. We like to be surprised. Although, having said that, were not too keen to see any huck to stack combinations. Its still a comp remember can definitely think of better ways to spend 40 bucks.


10. Have you ever heard of a bribe going down in a snowboarding comp? And what happened?
Not sure about other judges but yeah Ive had some funny as offers. Family show so I wont detail but yeah theyve been interesting. I gave one international a slap after his cheeky pitch last season

Were a reasonable bunch so were open to suggestion. Generally, bribes average out at 20 notes and a box of beer. Just jokes. Nothing like that goes down in NZ. That I know of


11. What's been the hardest call you've ever had to make judging?
Personally, I havent hit anything thats been too difficult to deal with or anything that cant be solved on the spot. Generally, decisions are fairly easy because you have a whole bench of support right next you. Even as a Head Judge for major international comps Ive had the luxury of not having to deal with anything more than bad weather calls


12. Do you think the same principals apply for judging in any sport and why?
Style, execution and technical difficulty are the fundamentals of judging any freestyle snowboarding event. For multi hit/ feature events, flow and consistency are also key. Taking an uneducated stab, I could see how the same factors would apply in other judged sports so yeah, maybe.


13. Where has judging taken you and where will you take it from here?
Ive been judging at National event level since I started in 01, which gave me a head start on the NZ circuit, as you need to attain certain levels before you qualify to bench certain events. Being based in Queenstown was an added advantage, as the Southern Lakes is home to some of NZs best riders and plays host to the majority of NZs freestyle snowboarding events aswell as some of the largest international events in the southern hemisphere. So Im super lucky in that Ive had quite the stomping ground with regards to my judging upbringing.
All up, I think Ive benched around 70+ events in NZ. Im not overly interested in judging on the international circuit but I have accreditation to do so and Ive attended benches in Canada, the U.S and a couple in Europe and invited to attend the bench of one of Japans most prestigious single feature events.

Oh and then theres the perks of judging: free passes, free food, free hot chocolates, free after parties with free bar tabs even the occasional free flights and free hotel rooms! So sick! Believe it or not, Ive tried to quit a couple times. This season especially, I even went back to Uni in Welly to prove it! Although I think Ive spent more time in the Lakes than I have at school this semester! Doh.

But Im in the loop and its one I dont really want to escape, I have so much love for riding, its such a sick vibe and I have a mass crew of the best mates I could ever ask for.
So if I get paid to be here, why not?


Final Words. Free Speech...
Massive thanks Steen Webster. Wouldnt be where I am today were it not for your
guidance, encouragement and wrist slaps. Know Im a handful!

Shout outs to my ohana at 42 always. Cher Steve n Dan for keeping my gears fresh and
Chey n Lou for making sure my wardrobes stocked! For some reason theyve kept
supporting me over the years and never expected anything in return. Im still
waiting for the cut. Its bound to hit soon. I just know it. Maybe theyll keep me
on coz theyre all ridic famous now. AROHA NUI HUFFER IOHA MAI!!!!
Everyone else thats always hooked it up whenever I need gears, passes or hugs
everyone@altaqt, everyone@questqt, everyone@cheapsk8swelly, sonnyandguy@higherground, marcus@asm, brad@substance, sammyandcrew@snowpark, brent@madwax, mike@ruapehu, hamish@nzski, dave@manny, spyandcrew@nzsba

thanks so much, appreciate you loads!

Much love to my best friend Levi and all my crew yous know who you are Arohas always.