I didn’t care much for Yamato Murata’s. I know it was good and deserving of second place, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the other guy’s.
Also, anyone else think Harrison Lee deserved better than last?
I do think he should have gotten a little higher. However, I am not a judge!
If you think “string hits” win contests then you are missing some information on how the judging system works. I’d recommend reading through all of this, and then spending some time talking with an actual current judge so they can answer your questions.
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theres a whole lot of info in there to digest… it looks like clickers account for 60% of the score no?
great job with the contest by the way man, I had a great time!
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Clickers are about much more than string hits though. The Technical Execution score is about judges evaluating all the individual trick elements in a freestyle based on their difficulty, risk, and variation. A freestyle that is packed full of easy string hits without much variety will get a really low T.Ex. score.
A simple string hit might not get clicked for any points at all, especially if it’s repeating something you’ve already done earlier in the freestyle, whereas a difficult suicide that doesn’t really have any string hits or a long whip/laceration combo that might have only one string hit can get clicked for several points. Judges are still evaluating how to score each element based on their own judgment; using clickers just makes it possible for judges to evaluate each individual element over an entire freestyle without losing track because it lets them record the scores they give instantly. Clickers are there to make sure every element the judge evaluates gets counted in the final score, and not just the ones that stick out in the judge’s memory at the end of the performance.
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I read through, and now see how much goes into that 60%. Thanks to Yossarian for helping simplify.
On a side note, thanks for organizing the contest Steve, it far exceeded my expectations!
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Thanks for this explanation. It answers some questions I’ve had from reading the IYYF site.
BUT, is there a general rule on how many points to count? You mention that a some combos “that might have only one string hit can get clicked for several points.” Could a judge decide ‘I liked that, I’m going to click 10 positive points for that.’ Or is it limited to points in the T.Ex category? I see on the IYYF site T.Ex makes up a maximum of 60pts. You mention a judges judgement, are there requirements for judges so that they are all on, generally, the same page?
I come from a competitive basketball background, I know that while there is room for a Ref to use their own judgement on calls, things are pretty regulated on what to call and when to call it. Have there been standards setup for judging contests? Or a certification to become a judge? Or have these been considered?
Just questions and thoughts I’ve had or been curious about in the past.
The amount a judge gives specific elements is unique to each judge. The scoring system allows for this, and as long as a judge is consistent with their own scoring over time and multiple contestants, it works out. Judge discrepancies are looked for in every post-contest shakedown, plus the spreadsheet for larger events like Worlds throws out the highest and lowest scores before normalization happens to further eliminate any single person’s ability to cause an undue impact on final scores.
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After reading more, and with Steve & Yossarian’s replies, I feel I need to rescind my above comment. I’ve always been interested in judging contests, but was always under the impression that it was a “string hits” thing, as many of us may have it seems.
All good…you aren’t the only one! It’s a catchy-sounding explanation that caught on in the early 2000s and people still use it (a lot), without checking to see if it’s true. Since the scoring system is fairly complicated, but “string hits” is really easy to understand, people tend to lean towards it as a handy explanation. And while those two things do line up on occasion, one definitely does not equal the other.
Last contest I was in we had a list of tricks, if you hit the tricks you passed ;D Want to say it was a ProYo contest in the mid 90’s, no clickers there haha
Oh my gosh, Darren… 
Yamato’s freestyle was incredible. I was also betting on him to be world champ; it’s strange how Shion managed to score higher than him with a recycled, and frankly, worse routine.
Does anyone have a link to a watchable version of Yamatos freestyle?
This is the kind of poor, unstructured, and needlessly cruel criticism that turns people away from this community. Instead of giving actual facts that support your idea that Yamato should have won, you insult Shion and display a total ignorance of how contests are scored.
Since everyone on that judging panel knows more about this than you do, this should be your cue to notice that maybe you don’t understand how contests are scored, and then seek to gain that knowledge instead of wrapping yourself in your lack of it and attacking someone who just rose to the absolute top of our field with a brilliant and well-executed freestyle.
There was a 0.7 point difference between the two routines. This was very clearly an “anyone’s game” kind of day. Shion came out ahead, based on the learned and professional opinion of some of the best judges in our industry. Have some respect for the hard work of people who have put a lot more into this than you have. And if you really feel there is a problem here, then learn to judge and show up to help next time. We need more judges. Do something constructive with your time. We need your help, not your complaints.
Thanks. See you in Iceland? At the judges table, I hope.
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That was the biggest thing I saw, top 5 (maybe 6) in 1A were so close in their scores. It could’ve been any of those guys taking first. One extra trick, not missing a trick, hitting a music cue cleaner, etc could’ve changed everything.
I thought it was a great finals. And from seeing some guys in the finals this year, next years finals should be crazy! Looking forward to it!
I was simply voicing my opinion. I’m not saying Shion’s freestyle was bad, it’s just that I think Yamato’s was better and more original.
You see if you ended your post at the semi-colon you’d essentially be saying the same thing as Steve. It’s the rest of your post he was responding to.
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Let’s try this a different way:
Why do you need to insult Shion in order to praise Yamato?
Spoiler alert: You don’t. You can praise Yamato all you want and say plainly that you thought his routine would win without even mentioning Shion or his performance at. all.
Instead, you chose to insult Shion. It’s bad form, and it’s exactly the sort of thing that pushes people away from this community. So knock it off, please. There is absolutely no need for it.
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