Gold Coast Pro 2024
In a post on Instagram, WSL recognizes an error in North American Nat Young’s note. Athlete, however, disagrees with the new note. Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and Kelly Slater also comment.
Per Waves Editorial
05/02/2024
Gold Coast Pro 2024, Snapper Rocks, Australia
Another trial controversy arises. The last time was in heat 3 of round 32 of the Gold Coast Pro 2024, in Snapper Rocks, Australia, between Nat Young (USA), Charly Quivront (FRA), Marco Mignot (FRA) and Mikey McDonagh (AUS).
North American Nat Young needed 7.21 points to advance to the round of 16 of the event. With just over a minute left until the end of the heat, Nat caught a good wave, performed strong maneuvers and received a score of 4.03. This score, however, was not enough for his classification.
Then, in a rare moment, the WSL acknowledged that there had been an error in Nat’s rating. In an Instagram post, the organization stated: “The Head Judge and Nat met for an evaluation and watched all of Nat’s waves, Mikey and Charlie. The Head Judge recognized that Nat’s 4.03 score was, in fact, underestimated and that the wave should have received between 5 and 6 points. Although this review was not enough to qualify Nat for the round of 16, the WSL was keen to recognize the error made.”
Then, Nat Young commented on the post, disagreeing with the assessment that his wave should have received 5 or 6 points. “From what I understand, the wave was considered lost, which resulted in a score of 4.03. I never agreed that it was a 5 or a 6”, he says.
The incident generated a huge repercussion on social media, with several comments from other professional athletes, including world champions Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and Kelly Slater. Gabriel Medina commented ironically: “I’m here to see the comments”. Filipe Toledo followed the same line, saying “I don’t know what to say”.
Kelly Slater, in turn, went deeper into the debate. “It seems like the judging system has placed too much emphasis on ‘wave size’ rather than focusing on the quality of the surf. It is positive that this is being recognized and discussed openly. There should be no room for defenses in these assessments, as we are all human”, says the legendary surfer.
Tatiana Weston-Webb also spoke out and questioned why grade reviews were not carried out at CT. “Why isn’t this done at the CT level?” she asks.
