When is a surfing heat stopped or surfed again?
A · Advanced · Ties and procedures · 4 of 4A heat is stopped for danger, such as lightning or a shark. It normally resumes with the time that was left. It may be restarted if nobody has ridden a wave in the first 10 or 15 minutes. A re-surf is for a clear technical error by the officials that changed who advanced. A disputed score is not a reason.
How it works
- Danger: the head judge stops the heat, with "continuous horn blasts" and the timing disc turned to neutral.
- Resuming: it restarts "with the time left from when the heat was stopped", unless conditions have changed or fairness would be compromised.
- A surfer who feels in danger: may leave the water, and the head judge may stop the heat to warn the others.
- No waves: if no surfer has ridden after 10 minutes in a heat of 30 minutes or less, the head judge may continue, restart or postpone.
- Longer heats: the same after 15 minutes in a heat of 35 minutes or more.
- Under review: a heat that may be re-surfed is announced as "under review", and the surfers concerned are told at once.
- The ground for a re-surf: "a clear technical error which created a non-subjective incorrect result between advancing and losing surfers".
- Only those affected: surfers whose places were not changed by the error do not take part.
- A simple fix first: if correcting the call, such as removing a wrong interference, puts things right, there is no re-surf.
- From where it went wrong: a re-surf starts from the time of the error, with earlier scores kept and the correct priority set.
- Wrong information: a surfer who missed a heat because the contest director gave wrong information may be given a re-surf.
- Results replaced: the re-surf's results stand in place of the original heat's.
The glossary has the re-surf entry, the heat, the head judge, the priority entry, the interference entry and the score.
Tricky cases
A shark is sighted eight minutes into a 20-minute heat. What happens to the scores so far?
They stand, and the heat normally resumes with the 12 minutes that were left. The head judge may restart it in full if conditions have changed.
A surfer thinks the judges underscored their best wave. Can they get a re-surf?
No. A re-surf needs a clear technical error that produced an incorrect, non-subjective result.
The priority judge showed the wrong colour and a surfer was penalised for interference because of it. What is the remedy?
If removing the interference call corrects the result, that is done and there is no re-surf.
Nobody catches a wave for the first 12 minutes of a 25-minute heat. Must it be restarted?
No. The head judge may continue, restart or postpone it.
Why the rule exists
Surfing happens in the sea, where lightning, animals and flat spells are real, so the rules need a way to pause without rewarding whoever was ahead. The re-surf is kept narrow on purpose. If judged scores could be re-run, every close heat would be protested.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Danger | Stopped, then resumed with the time left | ISA, Heat Interruption and Suspension a |
| Review of an incident | Suspended by a single horn blast | ISA, Heat Interruption and Suspension e |
| No rides in 10 or 15 minutes | Continue, restart or postpone | ISA, Timing & Wavecounts q; r |
| Technical error affecting the result | Re-surf from the time of the error | ISA, Resurfing Heats 2 |
From the rule book
International Surfing Association, Rulebook and Contest Administration Manual (30 July 2026), Heat Interruption and Suspension, Timing & Wavecounts and Resurfing Heats. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: ISA Rule Book, July 2026 (PDF).