Everything You Need To Know About Stab High Japan Presented By Monster Energy

You’ll need a Stab Premium account to watch Stab High Japan 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), or 10 am on June 22nd and 23rd (AEST). Sign up for Stab Premium here.

Research shows that within one hour, most learners forget 50% of the information they consume. After 24 hours, that number grows to 70%, and within a week, it goes up to 90%.

So, in an effort to maximize Stab High Japan Presented by Monster Energy’s retention in your cranium, we decided to lay out everything you need to know about our surf contest mostly in the air in one easy (to forget, then go back and find again) place.

We invite you to bookmark this tab, share it with friends, convert it to sonnet form and recite it in the mirror, etc. Let’s start with the basics:

What is Stab High Japan Presented by Monster Energy?

Stab High Japan presented by Monster Energy is a surf contest that celebrates the many different arts of flight. Rather than having competitors connect relatively similar directional changes for a score, the emphasis will be around single, explosive aerial maneuvers.

All of our competitors will have several chances to land their best airs on PerfectSwell Shizunami’s “High Ball” air section, which past Stab High winner Chippa Wilson has called, “probably the best one yet.” Surfers’ creativity will be expressed in the form of different grabs, rotations, altitudes and styles, so we’re bringing a wide range of judges with aerial expertise to sort through it all.

This year, with support from YETI, we’re excited to announce three divisions: Mens, Ladybirds (15-and-under girls), and Bottle Rockets (15-and-under boys). Additionally, the Monster Air Award will be won by the surfer who performs the most impactful air of the event, regardless of division.

Past winners include:
Waco, 2018: Noa Deane
Waco, 2019: Chippa Wilson and Sierra Kerr
Mentawais, 2020: Ian Crane and Caity Simmers
Central America, 2021: Matt Meola and Erin Brooks
Lakey Peak, 2022: Robbie McCormick and Sierra Kerr

Where is Stab High Japan taking place?

You guessed it, Japan. But more specifically, it’ll be at PerfectSwell Shizunami, which sits a block away from Makinohara Beach (which also has waves) on the backwater outskirts of the city of Makinohara — a city that’s defined by green tea production, commercial fishing, and a Suzuki Motors factory. The pool is roughly three hours from Tokyo by car or by train.

When can you watch Stab High Japan?

Stab High Japan will be broadcast live over two days on stabmag.com for all Stab Premium members. Because it’s live, you need to take into account your local time zone relative to Japan. Here’s the crux of the matter and where we want to avoid the most confusion:

The event runs from 9 AM – 2 PM local time (JST) on Saturday, June 22 – Sunday, June 23.

That’s 10 AM – 3 PM in Sydney (AEST) on Saturday, June 22 – Sunday, June 23.

And 5 PM – 10 PM in Los Angeles (PDT) on Friday, June 21 – Saturday, June 22.

Please account for a date change if you’re in the Americas.

How can you watch Stab High Japan?

1. Have a Stab Premium account. We’re broadcasting the live event exclusively there, at no additional charge to members. You can watch it on the website or on the app.
2. Join us in Japan! Tickets are currently on sale here, and it’s reasonable to believe you won’t have another opportunity to jump in on something like this. Remember: PerfectSwell Shizunami is a three-minute walk to the ocean — and it’d be rude not to book a few sessions before or after the event so that you can expose your own palate to the delights of PerfectSwell’s technology. 
3. Attend an official Stab High Watch Party if you live near one! Official watch parties can be joined at the following locations:
   
   SoCal:
   – Best Pizza Cardiff
   – Best Pizza Mira Mesa
   – Best Pizza Vista
   – Best Pizza Carmel Mountain
   – Best Pizza Oceanside
   – The Cup
   – Park 101
   – Shoots/Bottlecraft
   – Nautilus Tavern
   – Poseidon Project
   – Hamburger Hut
   – Corner Pizza Leucadia
   – Birdrock Surf Shop
   – Claremont Surf Shop
   – South Coast Surf Shop
   – Mitch’s Surf Shop
   – Atacama Surf Shop
   – Rip Curl Pacific Beach
   – Killer Dana Surf Shop
   – Laguna Surf and Sport
   
   NorCal:
   – SUDA
   – Pitts Pub
   – Sunset Cantina
   – Bearing West
   – Victory Hall
   – Underdogs Too
   – Lost Marbles Brew Pub
   – Palm House
   – The Junction
   – NorCal Surf Shop
   – Aqua Surf Shop
   – Proof Lab
   – O’Neill Surf Shop
   – Killer Dana Surf Shop
   – Laguna Surf and Sport

How not to watch?

• Don’t mix up days if you live in the United States and miss the first day of competition on the 21st.
• Don’t not find a watch party or get a Stab Premium account
• Don’t miss out on cash if you’re a betting person. And please, only bet your lunch money. You’ll be able to place bets at betonline.ag closer to the event.

Who’s surfing in Stab High Japan?

There will be 36 surfers in the Pro division, 10 Ladybirds, and 10 Bottle Rockets.  

Pro Division:
Chippa Wilson
Ian Crane
Harry Bryant
Noah Beschen
Julian Wilson
Matt Meola
Mikey Wright
Noa Deane
Robbie McCormick
Luke Swanson
Mason Ho
Kaito Ohashi
Julian Wilson
Oscar Berry
Micky Clarke
Shane Sykes
Ivan Florence
Shun Murakami
Eli Beukes
Levi Slawson
Dakoda Walters
Shaun Manners
Albee Layer
Hughie Vaughan
Joel Vaughan
Parker Coffin
Masatoshi Ohno
Jake Kelley
Sheldon Paishon
Letty Mortensen
And more…

Ladybirds presented by YETI:
Patti Zhou
Zoey Kaina
Kiara Goold
Tya Zebrowski
Maddie Stanton
Yuzuki Iha
Leihani Zoric
Kaydn Persidok
…and more

Bottle Rockets presented by YETI:
Cruz Dinofa
Arthur Vilar
Ryji Masuda
Loci Cullen
Jaggar Philips
Zacky Taylor
Caden Francis
Lucas Cassity
Ren Okano
Cruz Oros

What is the competition format?

The world’s best aerialists are split into three divisions:
– Pro (36 surfers)
– Ladybirds (10 girls, 15-and-under)
– Bottle Rockets (10 boys, 15-and-under)

Day 1: Pro Qualifier (36 surfers)
– Six, six-person heats with a “Leaderboard Format”*
– Every surfer gets two right and two lefts
– Every surfer’s top single air counts
– Top 10 surfers advance directly to Semifinals

* Leaderboard format: Surfers compete against the entire field, not just the surfers in their “heat”.

Day 1: Pro Sudden Death Round (26 surfers)
– All previous scores are wiped for the remaining surfers
– Every surfer gets one wave in their preferred direction
– Top two surfers from Sudden Death round advance to semis
– Bottom 24 surfers are eliminated

Day 2: Semifinals — Pro (12 surfers), Ladybirds (10 surfers), and Bottle Rockets (10 surfers)
– Leaderboard format as well
– Pro: Two, six-person heats
– Ladybirds: Two, five-person heats
– Bottle Rockets: Two, five-person heats
– Every surfer gets two rights and two lefts
– Every surfer’s top single air counts
– Top four surfers advance to final

Day 2: Final — Pro (4 surfers), Ladybirds (4 surfers), and Bottle Rockets (4 surfers)
– Every surfer gets three rights and three lefts
– Every surfer gets one bonus wave in their preferred direction
– Top right AND top left count toward a surfer’s total score
– Surfer with the best right and left total wins

Who is judging Stab High Japan?

This year’s panel of judges are 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.