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New-style competition debut in Hawaii
by George Mojo
08/12/2007:// A new-style competition format is making its debut at the final World Championship Tour series event of the season in Hawaii.
The 'Dual Heat' format at the Billabong Pipeline Masters will feature two heats run concurrently to maximize conditions on offer for the surfers and action in the water.
Originally inspired by eight-times world champion Kelly Slater, who used a similar format for an invitational charity event he hosted in Tavarua, Fiji, the ASP and the Top 45 surfers have collectively fine-tuned the format which is now approved for use in all WCT events.
The basic premise of the format is that heats will overlap each other, allowing more heats to be run in less time without compromising the duration of the heats.
Once the first heat has hit the water, each subsequent heat will begin halfway through the heat that preceded it.
Priority allocation (the right of way given to a surfer on a wave) will come into play the second half of each heat and two separate judging panels, each presided over by a separate head judge, will be on-hand to judge their allotted heats respectively.
The format rules and details as set forth by the ASP Technical Committee are as follows:
'Dual Heat' Individual Priority Rules
* The first half of each heat is run without priority. Heat Priority begins exactly half way through the heat. If both surfers are sitting in the take-off zone, the ASP's standard heat priority rule applies and the heat will continue with no priority until the first wave has been ridden. From there, priority will automatically be given to the remaining surfer in the take off zone.
* If only one surfer is at the take-off zone at the halfway mark of the heat, that surfer will have first priority. If neither surfer is in the line up, the Head Judge will allocate priority to the surfer who reaches what is deemed the take-off zone first.
* If both surfers arrive in the take off zone at the same time and it is impossible for the Head Judge to determine who reached the take-off zone first, then the heat will continue with no priority until one of the surfers catches a wave.
'Dual Heat' Heat Priority Rules
* The heat allocated with priority will have unconditional right of way over the heat without priority during the allocated priority time period.
* If a surfer with priority paddles outside the primary take-off zone as determined by the Head Judge, he will lose priority, either first or second priority.
* If a surfer with first priority paddles outside the primary take-off zone he will lose first priority. He will only gain second priority when he returns to the take-off zone. This is to avoid surfers utilizing the priority rule to block competitors in different heats.
* A surfer with no priority can split the peak with a surfer with priority, providing he surfs in the opposite direction of the surfer with priority. The ASP Technical Committee also created newcompetition rash vests to facilitate priority allocation in the 'Dual Heat' format.
Competition Rash Vest Colors
* Surfers in each heat will be differentiated via red and blue competition rash vests; surfers competing against each other in a heat will both wear the same color rash vest.
* Surfers competing against each other within a heat will be differentiated from one another via white and black arm and neck panels on their respective rash vests.
* Competitors in the same heat will wear the same color vests, e.g.: red, but with different color arm and neck panels with the black and white allowing the surfers to identify who has priority. To address the colors in the water the Technical Committee also developed a specific set of priority discs for the 'Dual Heat' format. The rules that will regulate its usage are:
Priority Discs
* A set of two discs will be placed within view of the judges and surfers alike, one disc above the other, preferably in the same mounting frame.
* Top disc to have red and yellow colors. It will indicate which color heat has priority at the half way mark.
* Bottom disc to be black and white. It will indicate which color surfer has priority from the half way mark onwards.
Under the 'Dual Heat' format the Billabong Pipeline Masters will take roughly three and a half full days of competition to complete the 64 man draw.
The Pipeline Masters draw features an additional 16 'Pipeline Specialists' as recommended by ASP Hawaii and the Hawaiian Surfer's Union.
Those 16 specialists, along with three wildcards, and the Top 45 surfers in the world, compose the 64 main event surfers.
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