The WRS

Tags: am, comps, contests, kato, pro, world rolling series, wrs

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We'll be putting up the official WRS In The Know shortly, but the WRS organization wanted to also provide some additional context on the thought process around the WRS. Check it! And if you have additional questions for the WRS, join in on that discussion over on our msgboard... -B

by KATO

We'll be posting the official WRS In The Know shortly, but Kato wanted to also provide some additional context on the thought process behind the WRS as it moves into its second year. So, read on! And if you have additional questions for the WRS, join in on that discussion over on our msgboard... -B

Before we get to the specific questions, I want to outline a few of the basic ideas behind the WRS. One of the original goals was to make every Pro contest as big as the Winterclash or Bittercold Showdown. In order to make this happen we had to get the main skate companies involved to make sure that they sent all or most of their riders to these contests. These are the ones who pay for the bulk part of travel. The thinking is that if they agree and have equal voting rights than they will most likely back the series and follow through.

Another goal was to allow top skaters such as Haffey, Aragon, Broskow, Shima, etc. to move straight to semi-finals so that they don't have to go through the qualifiers. The challenge was where to draw the line and we came up with the following solution of who can move straight to the semi finals:

QUALIFICATIONS / WORLD RANKING LIST (WRL): We came up with the following rules of who will be exempt from having to go through the qualifiers at 5 Star events (this does not apply at 1-4star events):
- The top 25 of the World Ranking List
- Wild card holders. These are issued by the local event organizers (in limited quantity) and given out to top local riders who have a fair shot of winning.
- Top 5 skaters from the qualifier
- Pro riders from established skate manufacturers (must be listed on the main page of the company's team page)

WORLD RANKING LIST: The competitors will earn points at any WRS contest based on the ranking as below:
1.) 1000 points, 2.) 900 points, 3.) 800, 4.) 700,... 10.) 100 points. (For detailed rules you can check out the WRS web site www.worldrollingseries.com).

CONTEST STAR SYSTEM: Each contest is assigned stars (between 1 and 5 stars) based on certain criteria such as level of skating, attendance of pro riders and prize money. The amount of points is multiplied with the numbers of stars of the contests. For example the winner of a 5-star contest will earn 5 x 1,000 = 5,000 points and the winner of a 2-star contest will earn 2 x 1,000 = 2,000 points. Only the top 4 contest results are counted towards the total ranking per rider within the last 12 months. Older results automatically expire.

The contest stars are determined by a committee consisting of skaters, team managers and industry representatives that are familiar with most contests around the world. We created a yardstick with Winterclash and BCSD as 5 stars, local contests as 1 star and the NL a 3 star. We then rated all other contests according to this benchmark.

WRS WORLD FINALS: We are still in the process of determining the final qualification rules for the 2010 WRS World Finals. We qualified the WRL Top 20 at the 2009 finals, but as we've added many more events to the WRS calendar we might qualify the top 50 or even the top 100 in 2010 and we also may include the top of the World Ranking List, the top finalist of the AIL Finals, and Pro riders from established skate manufacturers.

JUDGING: Judging is still a work in progress. In 2009 we favored peer judging. We kind of turned away from it as skaters complained that they want to focus on their next run in between runs and do not want to judge other skaters, and that makes sense. We are leaning towards a system to have representatives of each skate company judge the pro contests. It has worked well in the past and creates a relatively level playing field.

We like the idea of having accredited WRS judges and sending them to all the contests but we simply don’t have the funds to do that. For now we leave the judging format for all contests except the WRS 5 Star Pro contests to the event organizers. In the event we would hear of abuses we can always exclude a contest from the WRS and world ranking system.

One thing however is important: We are asking all event organizers to define what the focus of their judging is (i.e. - best trick, overall skill) and require that this has to be announced before the contest starts. Skaters want to know if it’s a best trick contest or if the overall impression (lines, difficulty, style, etc.) matters.

FORMAT & CONTEST REQUIREMENTS: We are currently favoring the following format: 5 riders per group, 10 minute sessions, with an initial introduction run by each skater. Riders take turns in predetermined order.

One thing is important: We do not want open ended sessions where either a skater kills himself or lands the trick. While this is surely attractive for the audience (think gladiator fights in old Rome) it’s not what professional skaters want. While an Am might be willing to take the risk of getting hurt for 15 minutes of fame, a Pro skater cannot afford to get hurt and be out for several months because of an injury. Our sport is dangerous enough as it is.

Posted by Ben Murphy, BE-MAG Online Editor-In-Chief