The photo that started it all. Lowe’s scoring of Medina’s wave started a firestorm, even though he wasn’t the only judge to score it under a perfect 10. Photos: (L) Instagram, (R) ISA
There’s plenty to talk about after the completion of surfing’s second Olympic appearance. But perhaps the storyline that will have the most tangible, lasting impact on surfing is the debacle with the Australian judge Ben Lowe.
In case you missed it, Lowe was removed from the Paris 2024 judging panel for taking a photo with Olympic surfer Ethan Ewing and Australia team coach Bede Durbidge. He wasn’t expelled for his performance (my analysis of his scores at the event support this), but for the perceived bias that could stain the “integrity” and “fairness” of the event, as the International Surfing Association (ISA) put it in a press release. In the post-event press conference, ISA President Fernando Aguerre said, “Regardless of people not doing bad things, the perception is wrong. It’s a learning lesson for all parties involved.”
I have worked many surf events over the years and Lowe’s actions, in a general sense, are by no means unprecedented. It’s not unheard of for judges to socialize with members of competing delegations. After all, the judges march in the same parade as the athletes at the opening of ISA events.
The surfing world is relatively small, and the locations of many surfing events, like Teahupo’o or Fiji, are geographically tiny. It’s nearly impossible to avoid each other. Thus, the ISA’s ruling on this issue brewed some open-ended questions in my mind, such as: What precedent does this set? Do judges and athletes/coaches who have known each other for decades need to act like strangers? Can they say hello? Can they shake hands? When does the friendship embargo begin – from the moment they board the plane en route to the event?
It gets quickly complicated. When I directly asked Aguerre where the line is drawn, he didn’t provide a cut and dry answer. While I was at the Olympics, I also discussed this dilemma with various current and former stakeholders. I spoke to presidents of national federations, (non-Olympic) judges, and team managers to get a sense of how they are reacting to the fallout of Lowe’s expulsion. (Most respondents requested anonymity.)
In the short term, it’s clear that the judges and national federations will pay special attention to their behavior at events.
“I think (Lowe) was very unprofessional for (taking that photo),” said one team manager present at the Olympics. “The decision to fire that judge was difficult, but necessary. Athletes deserve a fair judging panel and should never have to question any aspect of favoritism. I think it’s going to create positive changes in the federations – at least in ours – as far as the athletes and judges displaying more professional behavior.”
A surf judge not on the Olympic panel said, “Surely things will be more strict now. Judges and athletes need completely different lodging and eating areas, which will help to avoid situations like (what happened in Tahiti).”
At Paris 2024, the judges did have separate lodging and eating arrangements, but this has not always been the case historically at ISA events.
A different judge, also not on the Olympic panel, agrees that avoiding the perceived bias of mingling with national delegations has not been consistent among all judges.
“For some judges there will be a new precedent to not (hang out with athletes), but for others, we’ve already been abiding by this rule,” they said. “The judges need to take care of themselves. It’s never been viewed well when a judge spends time with a team or an athlete. It has caused problems and questions about bias or scoring in panels. I think outside of competition, at the beach, there isn’t a problem – once you’ve already left the event.”
The judges and team manager agreed that the ISA made the right call removing Lowe. However, one national federation president who had athletes represented in the Olympics thinks it wasn’t necessary.
“That type of situation has occurred for a long time in the ISA and we have been critical about it,” said the federation president. “There are lots of judges – and I won’t mention countries – that have a very close relationship with the team managers. They are influenced for sure. But in this case, I think it was an unfortunate situation. (The ISA) tried to set an example and went too far.”
“At an event, (judges and athletes) shouldn’t (fraternize),” added the federation president. “That’s the ruling. But it’s almost impossible when they are working on the same beach.”
I also spoke with retired USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse. Cruse told me it was important to remove Lowe to squash out anything that even “sniffs of bias.” However, Cruse also had some interesting thoughts on how surf judging needs to adapt to the model of other similarly subjective sports on the Olympic program.
“If you look at any of the other sports where there’s some subjectivity, the amount of training the judges have to go through to advance to the Olympic level – gymnastics, figure skating, or diving – it’s like a lifelong career,” said Cruse. “In surfing, there’s such a small pool of judges and it’s been the same guys for years and years. It may not be intentional, but they limit the number of new judges coming up. It’s the way things are done and that bias is baked into surfing.”
“The other oddity is you have a head judge that wanders back and forth, trying to get people in line with the scale,” added Cruse. “It’s unique to surfing. The head judge is actually steering scores with the intention of getting it right. But again, there’s the potential for bias to impact the scoring. In my mind you need to get rid of the head judge. You need to do more training. You need to bring up more judges and have a more diverse panel.”
If anything, this incident highlights the new echelon that surfing entered since Olympic inclusion. Unfortunately for people like Lowe, there is a learning curve when getting everyone on the same page for where the new standard is set. Lowe’s mishap is not the first and probably won’t be the last. If they haven’t already, the ISA and WSL need to clearly define these rules for judges – exactly what is permitted and what isn’t.
I also think that Cruse makes a good point: Surfing’s Olympic status could lead to other changes among judging, perhaps taking inspiration from the other subjective individual sports in the Games. Some of these changes, like athlete and judge relationships, will be seen immediately. Others may take years to materialize.
