Judging Explained: Stab High Japan Presented By Monster Energy - Stab Mag

Watch Season 2, Episode 10 of How Surfers Get Paid — The Bounty Hunters

1416 Views
Chippa Wilson, Ian Crane, and Kaito Ohashi deliberating something important last month during a reconnaissance trip to PerfectSwell Shizunami last month.
[stab_like_button]

Judging Explained: Stab High Japan Presented By Monster Energy

Who will be judging and how will they judge? Allow us to explain.

features // Jun 10, 2024
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Watch Stab High Japan, presented by Monster Energy here.

How will the gavel fall from Stab High’s supreme court?

That’s up to our panel of wisemen — some of the most well-known and respected aerial tastemakers in our culture, including Nathan Fletcher, Eric Geiselman, Masatoshi Ohno, Lee Wilson, Kolohe Andino, and more.

Surfing is inherently subjective, and we intentionally selected a panel with different tastes to parse through the variety of air approaches. We want that to be reflected in the scores to ensure good surfing is rewarded in all its forms.

How will Stab High Japan be judged?

There will be five judges on the panel at any given time.

Each judge will score every wave out of 10 points — whole numbers only. Incomplete airs will receive a 0. Partially-complete airs will receive a partial score.

Airs will be judged relative to every other air completed in the same round, regardless of direction (hence the leaderboard format).

There’s no firm scoring criteria, but judges will take into account an air’s height, style, creativity, degree & angle of rotation, grabs, and landing when making their decision.

Once all five judges have scored an air, their numbers will be added up for a total wave score out of 50.

If a surfer performs a specific type of air to advance through one round (ex: slob grab air rev), and then they proceed to use that same air in a future round, it will be docked points. One trick ponies can head straight back to the farm.

What’s the prize Money for Stab High Japan?

Pros: $15,000 USD
Monster Air: $10,000 USD
Ladybirds: $5,000 USD
Bottle Rockets: $5,000 USD

For all the information on Stab High Japan (including the fine print), click here to be sent to the official landing page.

You’ll need a Stab Premium account to watch Stab High Presented by Monster Energy. It will be broadcast live on-site and on the Stab Premium app at 5 pm on June 21st and June 22nd (PDT). Sign up for Stab Premium here.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Are Glass-On Fins Back?

The ...Lost AI '97 Joyride, featuring a glass-on vs Futures fin comparison.

Jul 14, 2026

2026 Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico, Episode 04

A right, a left, and four very frustrating heats.

Jul 13, 2026

Is The Y2K Trend Dead? | StabMic Ep. 22

Dane, Dooma, and Sam discuss the state of surf cinema.

Jul 13, 2026

Op-Ed: How Australia Can Revolutionise Shark Attack Prevention Using Drones

And why New South Wales' $120 million shark mitigation program is only scratching the surface.

Jul 10, 2026

The Beautiful & The Damned: A 2026 Challenger Series Preview

Featuring 16 surfers who may just ascend to the 2027 CT.

Jul 9, 2026

Steel Vagina, Choc Tops + The Longest Handshake In Surfing

Tom Carroll on the Wherethefakawis, Bob Hawke and the absurdity of staying sponsored for 50…

Jul 9, 2026

The Best Surfing I’ve Ever Seen: Jason ‘Mini’ Blanchard

Dane Reynolds passes the torch to John Florence at an unbelievable Japanese river bar.

Jul 7, 2026

Infinite Chlorine, An Excess Of Death, El Niño & l’italiano

Surfing's 2026 Q2 report.

Jul 6, 2026

The Man In The Arena | StabMic Ep. 21

Why is Griffin Colapinto quoting Theodore Roosevelt?

Jul 6, 2026

The World Is Crumbling. How’s Your Subscription?

Take our Stab Premium survey, maybe win a free year’s subscription.

Jul 5, 2026

The Hughie Problem, The Dane Problem, The Bobby/Gabe Problem

What's in the Stab chamber currently?

Jul 3, 2026

We Tested North America’s Newest, Largest, And Most Powerful Wavegarden Pool

DSRT SURF is unlike anything we’ve surfed.

Jul 2, 2026

One Of The World’s Best Air Waves Just Joined The CT 

How to surf Cloud 9, according to 2018 QS winner Skip McCullough.

Jul 1, 2026

Victoria Vergara Leaves Rip Curl And Starts Her Own Swimwear Brand

The French surfer/model on building ViVi and partnering with a sporting goods giant.

Jul 1, 2026

Teahupo’o Has A Boat Problem

“Until it gets sorted, they’re just gonna close the lineup every time it gets over…

Jun 30, 2026

2026 Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico, Episode 03

Yet another test of temperament for our surfers.

Jun 29, 2026

The Spectacular Vindication Of Dan Mann | StabMic Ep. 20

"Shit talking is good for surfing. The industry needs it."

Jun 29, 2026

Bong Drops ‘Merge’, A Team Surf Film Shot In Very Good Waves

Starring EE, Lennix Smith, Creed, Glindo, Eithan, Willy D and Taylor Bartlett.

Jun 28, 2026
Advertisement