With surfing growing exponentially in SL, here are a few words about surfing etiquette.

~ The Line Up ~
As with all things in life, we will need to line up to catch a wave. If there is no line up then, the wave is all yours. However, if there are people waiting for a wave, please go to the back of the line. Jumping the queue is never a nice thing to do and will cause hurt feelings, bad vibes and frustrate others. As always, we get perfect waves in SL, so use your mini-map to check that someone else is not waiting for a wave on the other side of it before you hop on to it.

~ Paddling in ~
When you paddle out, use the channels on either side of the wave… meaning, don’t paddling out directly into the wave, ’cause most likely another surfer is going to be surfing towards you on the wave and you’ll bump into him/her. So, pick a side, any side, and paddle out to the wave avoiding the other surfers.

~ Catching Waves ~
When catching a wave, the surfer closest to the wave has the right of way. When in doubt ask the person if they are going to catch the wave. If you are the closest surfer to the wave and decide not to catch the wave, tell others ahead of time so they can enjoy the wave.

~ The Drop-In ~
The drop-in is the worst thing one surfer can do to another. If someone is already in a wave or paddle for a wave, don’t try to catch the same wave (the drop-in). This is not cool. Two people on the same wave is not fun when you are not playing bumper surfing.

~ Party Waves ~
If you are surfing with friends, then whatever, have a party. Party waves are for all to enjoy. 2+ people on a wave can be a very fun time for everyone, especially when you are playing bumper surfing. Just tell everyone the wave you are catching is a party wave or you may accidentially drop-in on another surfer.

Enjoy the waves and respect other’s enjoyment…. and have fun!

Here are some thoughts regarding some judging and scoring in a Second Life Contest.

1. Length of ride. This is easy. Take off when the wave starts to bubble and step off as the wave dissolves scores a 3. Anything less is, well, less.
2. Tricks. A 360 or a flip falls in this category. A good bottom turn and carve does too. Basically, mix up your attack and use what the wave throws at you.
3. Style. Tougher to quantify but here goes. If you did flips straight all the way to the beach and never did anything else, you flunk style even if you get some trick points. Like a wave as a canvas, you are painting a line across it, the style is portrayed by how you move across the wave. Generally, I like to start at one end of the wave, surf to the end, turn back, then traverse the other way as far as possible, which maximizes speed. Using the whole wave with a variety of smooth maneuvers is good style. Belly riding backwards is not.
4. Technical Execution. Ok, we all know the wave has a mind of its own. The ability to use that to your advantage goes a long way here. Flips cleanly landed and turns without breaking through the back of the wave are good. Try for a clean no-paddle take off, a variety of big moves and a stylish exit. All three will play a big part to score a 3 here.

As a rule, the first one up gets the wave. Taking off with another on the wave will be marked lower over all for it. Just don’t do it and everyone wins.

I tend to use the mini map at all times. You can see the rocks under the water and find the take off spot easily as well see if someone is already on the wave.

Good Luck!
Surferjoe Wind
Contest Judge for the Namiko Epic Surf Contest at TWC

The following are some suggestions to help you reduce lag with surfing during surf competitons:

1. Detach all items that use scripts (AO’s, jewelry with bling, wings, etc.). Spectators can do this too to help.
2. Turn off streaming audio and video if on.
3. Change your group title to none.
4. Change your preferences (you may not need to do all of these, just the ones you can live with):
   1. General tab
      1. Change ‘Show Names’ to ‘Never’ (you can turn this back on when you finish surfing)
      2. Select ‘Hide My Name On My Screen’
      3. Select ‘Hide My Group Title’
   2. Network tab
      1. Set your Disk Cache Size (MB) to less than 500 MB.
      2. Click ‘Clear Cache’ and relog.
   3. Graphics Detail tab
      1. Deselect ‘Enable Bumpmapping and Shiny’
      2. Deselect ‘Enable Ripple Water’
      3. Select ‘Normal’ for ‘Avatar Rendering’
      4. Select ‘Sun and moon only’
      5. Select ‘Low’ for ‘Terrain Detail’
      6. Move the slide bar for ‘Object Mesh’, ‘Flexible Mesh’, ‘Tree Mesh’, and ‘Avatar Mesh’ to the far left.
   4. Adv. Graphics tab
      1. Deselect ‘Anisotropic Filtering (slower when enabled)’
   5. Audio & Video tab (I don’t recommend doing this)
      1. Move all the slide bars to the far left. Remember to move these back after you surf.

– compiled for your surfing pleasure, by Malcolm, the King of Lag.

Hey guys. This Friday, February 2nd at 5 pm SLT… we’ll be getting together to surf the brand new pipe waves at Chi (122, 205, 22)… come watch, come surf, come with your friends…

Sally and Poid, the owners of the full surf sim at Chi have graciously allowed us to descend en masse and try out their newly landscaped beach and newly installed surf waves. Many of the Namiko Team Riders will be out in force goofing off in the waves and trying to keep from getting crunched into the sand. Come surf with us… or if you haven’t been initiated into the life that is surfing, IM Malcolm Sydney, Seano Osumi, or Caly Sleaford for a surf lesson!

Send an IM to any of Keala Mimistrobell, Caly Sleaford, Blue Alonzo, Inara Tokyo, Suzy Shenzhou, Malcolm Sydney, Surferjoe Wind or Moin Yost for a TP!!

See you on the waves at Chi this Friday :)