The solution is to judge certain skills displayed in riding a wave. There is nothing wrong with surfers competing to see who can do the most difficult maneuvers on a wave – just as there is nothing wrong with seeing who can pull off the most difficult dive from the ten-meter platform.
冲浪比赛需要设计一整套机制来对表现进行衡量。这需要判断冲浪时所表现出的特定技巧。冲浪者比赛谁能在浪尖做出最高难的动作没有任何错误——就好像看谁能从十米高台上以最高难的动作跳水一样。