Who be the Judge?

Ever wonder who decides the score at a Slope Style event? FMBA Tour judge, Chris Lawrence, take us through what it takes to be able to hand out the scores after each run.
After every judged event, one can always find on-line comments stating; "Pilgrim killed it, he should have won!" or "How did Gee beat the Claw, he did zero tricks and only one big air at the end of his run…???" but these sentiments are not just from your know-it-all, 14 year old bloggers, GLC deck partyers and disappointed athlete's girlfriends, but sometimes the competitors themselves.

The reality is no matter how you slice it, judged events will always have a hint of discrepancy and there will always be some who thought the judges got it wrong and some that thought they nailed it. How often and to what degree the disparity effects the outcome is always the question on every judge, rider and event organizer's minds. If the guy that might have been 16th ends up 12th who cares? However if Zink wins Rampage and steals the overall from Semenuk on the last event of the world tour, well damn, you better make sure you got it right. As of last season the standard of judges and how many of each level at which events is now controlled at all FMBA World Tour stops. Depending on the level of the event it is mandatory to have certified A and B level judges as well as a Head Judge who oversees, but does not actually judge the individual runs. It's through these new standards, rules and certifications that the FMBA hopes to elevate the tour and its legitimacy to governing bodies like the UCI or IOC. The question is; will it diminish the amount of inconsistency voiced by the spectators and fans and more importantly will it strike its chord amongst the athletes competing on the tour…


In the early summer of 2001 I was contacted to judge the first ever freeride mountain bike comp, the Red Bull Rampage. It has always been a bit of a mystery to me the term "Freeride comp," it's really an oxymoron. In those days Freeriders were people that shunned competition for the thrill of riding without the pressure to perform. Although even under the moniker of "Freeriders" there was still plenty of pressure to nail that killer line for your movie segment or score a magazine cover shot in order to lengthen your sponsorship contract and collect on the publication bonus. Nonetheless as with every new direction in a sport there is always a need to verify its mettle amongst its peers and so the Rampage did just that. Virtually unknown riders like 16 year old Robbie Bourdon were squaring off against World DH Champs like Myles Rockwell in the remote and exotic location of Virgin, Utah. But who was to decide the winners? Retired or past champions are usually a good bet, but in a sport that is just starting out there are no legends…yet, so who do you call on? Head judge for the inaugural event was Jim Conway, a cross over from skiing, who brought his knowledge of big mountain ski comps and the formula which was used at the first 4 Rampage events.

4 categories worth 25 points each;

1) Line difficulty
2) Amplitude
3) Air
4) Fluidity

These categories have been adjusted to fit a more technical and stylized event and set the standards for the freeride comps to come. Rampage was held for the next 3 years in Virgin until its hiatus in 2005, but then along came slopestyle and dirt jump comps to fill the void. Most notably were 26 Trix, Addidas Slopestyle at Saalbach, the Qashqai series and of course the Crankworx Slopestyle in Whistler consequently renamed, Red Bull Joyride. Now the FMBA has over 30 stops of varying degrees all over the world. Each rated, Bronze through to Diamond for the their level in which points can be earned towards the overall for that year.

Today the score for all FMBA tour events is determined by Overall Impression, a catch phrase that encompasses the following factors; risk taking, amplitude, variety, difficulty, use of course, progression and execution. Risk taking can be determined by where the placement of more difficult tricks are situated within a run, Messere's front flip at Crankworx off the first drop would be a good example of risk taking. Amplitude is the height or distance of a performed trick, obviously the higher or farther the better. Variety refers to a mix of standard tricks (no foot can can, tuck no hander, etc.) combined with rotation tricks (back flip, 360, tail whip, etc.). Difficulty refers not only to the tricks performed (ie. front flip or 360 tail whip) but the placement of tricks within the run and on which feature. At the Bearclaw Invitaional while some guys were trying to tame the opening skinny drop the Claw was able to 360 off it, a good example of difficulty. Use of course can refer to the fluidity, but also to the amount of features used, some guys can gain more points because they hit more features and perform more tricks.

Progression is awarded to riders that are doing just that, performing tricks that few others are able to and thus progressing the sport. Execution refers to the control, fluidity and stability to which moves are performed. The execution portion is regarded as the most important criteria for the consideration of the judges. One rider may perform a sketchy looking back flip and another a pristine one. A single score out of 100 is awarded for each completed run. Each judge details his or her observations as the run unfolds with a series of steno notes, short hand notations to record the tricks and how they were executed. A bar spin could be noted as “bs” and a tuck no handed back flip as “tnh bf.” The execution is noted with plus or negative marks as well. A large, well executed 360 might be noted as “3 ++” where as a poorly executed tail whip might be “tw -.“ At the end of the run the stenos are reviewed and a score is determined. Stenos are the judge's best friend as they can be used as back up when there's a protest or if a disgruntled athlete asks; "We did the same run.. how did he get 5 more points than me?" The more accurate a judge can be with the stenos the more information he has to determine the score, although I have seen some judges, in the early days before the stenos were a part of judging, who have photographic type memories that can detail line choice, tricks and execution of runs that happened hours previous with uncanny accuracy. The real trick is to be able to steno with minimal time looking away from the rider on course, if any.


Certified judges, steno notes, standard categories, it all sounds pretty straight forward until you add in the ”X” factor. Live judging. In this scenario the scores need to be determined within 30 to 45 seconds after the completion of each run so they can be sent electronically to the announcers, event big screens and the internet. Each judge uses an iPod Touch programmed with a scoring system that once you push "send" your score is definitive. Although the Head Judge gives the scores one last check before they go live there is not much time to review your stenos, figure out your score, double check that the score puts the rider in his appropriate spot and leaves room in your score ranking for additional riders to fit either above or below his score and the ones in between. When you're trying to get it right and you know the outcome of the whole FMBA tour is depending on these scores the last thing you need is someone telling you to hurry up. Sure this is great for the spectators, but who pays the ultimate price if a rushed score is delivered inaccurately? Not the guy spilling beer on his buddy in the beer tent, but the guy putting life and limb on the line as he throws back flips off 30 ft. drops. When the event is not live judged there is time to confer with the other judges about the execution of the tricks, refer to stenos of similar runs by previous riders, there’s even an opportunity to adjust placement of finishers in order to make sure the results are accurate and give piece of mind to the judges and the riders.

Live judging at Red Bull Joyride 2011
Even with all of the transparency of the judge criteria and the calculation of the results, as I mentioned earlier, there will always be a dash of conflict with every judged event. It happens at the local dog show, it happens at the Olympics and I’m sure it will happen somewhere on the FMBA tour. The real measure of success of the system can only come from the riders. As it has been the case in other progressive trick fuelled sports, some of the top athletes just decide they don’t need to be judged by anyone other than themselves. They choose to compete in one or two “chill” comps where the athletes judge themselves via video as they hang out in the lodge after the day’s bro down shred session. Right now the FMBA has retained the interest of pretty much all of the top riders in the sport and it would be a shame to lose the level of talent we are enjoying at this stage in the game. My advice is that riders need to make it their prerogative to let the FMBA know what is working and what needs to change. If there is a build up of resentment towards judges and the system, we’ll all be losers in the end.


Think you have what it takes to become a FMBA certified judge? Check the FMBA website for a judging clinic coming to an event near you.