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Episode 11 (english) - Euro Rapid Surf: Inside the new judging system with Head Judge Eric Zbären

Episode 11 (english) - Euro Rapid Surf: Inside the new judging system with Head Judge Eric Zbären

RAPID&BEYOND vor 3 Tagen

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1:03:29

The first ever official European Championship in Rapid Surfing is
about to go down - the Euro Rapid Surf 2026.

Not only is the event itself a significant step for this young
and still niche sport, but also the development of the underlying
judging system. Just like in Ocean Surfing, behind every score
there is a complex process of evaluating a surfers performance.
However, rapid waves provide a different and more stable
environment. Therefore, the judging has been adapted to that over
the past years.

In this episode, I sit down with Eric Zbären, head judge of Swiss
Surfing and the upcoming Euro Rapid Surf, to take a closer look
behind the scenes. In addition to his several years of experience
as a judge, Eric was a key contributor to the development and
implementation of the new Euro Rapid Surf judging format - the
CVE.

We talk about how judging actually works, how the new European
judging system was developed and the function of its main
components: Commitment, Variety and Execution (yep that’s what
CVE stands for).

We also discuss judging benchmarks, the judge selection process
for the Euros, the balance between experienced and new judges,
and one of the more controversial topics, like the 25-second rule
and how to balance risk and progression with consistency and
fairness.

All of this makes Episode 11 a behind the scenes look at how
Rapid Surf judging has evolved, where it stands today, and what
it might need in the future to fairly represent the sport.

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Ondrej Kolacek