ASP Head Judge Perry Hatchett Axed

Wednesday, 03 February 2010 00:00

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“After consultation with key stakeholders, ASP International has made the decision not to renew the contract of Perry Hatchett as ASP World Tour Head Judge.”

This is the response ASL received from ASP’s head office after Perry Hatchett, the longest-serving head judge in ASP history, was sacked four weeks out from the start of the 2010 ASP World Tour.

Perry, originally from Perth and now resident in the Margarets area, is a super keen surfer who began judging at club and local amateur level in the early 1980s. He took over as ASP Head Judge in 1997 after former head judge Renato Hickel shifted to tour management.

Hatchett’s attention to detail and steady updating of the World Tour’s judging systems and criteria have earned him considerable respect from many top professional surfers.

But strains had been building between Hatchett and ASP HQ for some time, according to sources close to the organization.

Response to the sacking has largely been one of stunned confusion. “Well I thought we were trying to make things better but I guess not!!!!!” Sunny Garcia posted on his Facebook page. “Perry has been the best head judge that I’ve worked with and I know that the tour needs him!!!!”

With less than a month until the first World Tour event of 2010, the ASP has appointed Richie Porta as acting ASP World Tour Head Judge until a permanent replacement is decided on.

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more about the reasons for this surprise turn of events.

Comments (111)

Job well done. Consistent judging. Best surfer won in a vast majority of comps. We've heard it all before from those being disrespectful to Perrie, and dare I say it, we are now entering an age where the Brazillian window wiping surfing is to be rewarded (ie: complete lack of power, style and committment) This of course is exactly what the corporations want dont they?

The descision should have been left to the ASP SURFERS who do the hard work and benefit less than the big corporations and managment. The sport of Professional surfing should should ask the people, in this case, the surfers, who without them and their hard work, there would be no tour.

Aloha Les

I'll say it again- Perry's a King.

Final one decision professional . I'm a brazilian and I see so many wrong scores , now we can see oz's, american's , brazilian's , south african's , euro's guys in a professional ASP .Please stay retired Mr.Perry Hatchett mad man.

get out of the sandpit and act as professionals

Perry's a King !

Perry Hatchett is quite simply is the Kelly Slater of Judging. He made judging in our sport fair for those who perform elite manouvers. The whole surfing world owes him an imense amont of gratitude. Perry has A no holes barred way of telling you how it is, and some people dont like that. But having known him since he was a kid, when the chips are down he is the last man standing to support you. (even though you may get a ear full while he is doing it lol)

Surfing needed someone of his strength of conviction to make our sport fairer. ASP has again shown why they have not made our sport rise to the the levels it should. ASP Please take a look at your admin and take the knife to those who really need it.

Pez you once asked me how I smile while fools shaft me, my answer was simple- surfing is more important than my feelings. You have a great wife and family,
you are already rich. Smile and hold your head high.

TOM

I'm not sure how good you were at judging Perry but you've got a couple of great kids! K and K sounds like it's time to stand tall behind the old boy. You guys are up to it.

Perry I hear there's an opening for coach of the margaret river roo's under 11's, doesn't pay much but all the choc milk you can drink and the ladies at the canteen do a sausage in a bun to die for.

(Hey Tim Baker I'm not sure you're helping Perry by comparing him with Gough, he may have helped Vincent Linguari but he damn near sent us broke)

Hope nobody mistook the Craig H for me! I have worked with Perry at many events and while sometimes harsh, he has the best recall that I've seen in a head judge. I understand that things need to move forward and wish Perry and his family all the best in the future. It will be interesting to see what this next year brings in terms of the judging panel. 5, Red, Enter!

I feel Perrys wifes pain but sorry to say the guy rates as a alltime asshole period for all the good he did it was cancelled out by the bullshit only some of us know the truth but please lets can the abuse and get on with the real job

An English teacher required on tour, please. No-one in the circus can spell or punctuate. They have the literacy of a five-year-old. No wonder the whole shebang is falling apart.

For opinions from 2 pros and some other insiders not afraid to sign their names check InSurfNews.

http://insurfnews.com/?p=1436&cpage=1#comment-4993

Now Maybe Slater can get a fair shake.

No disrespect to Kelly, the man tears chronicly and i love watching him surf. But, I've noticed that occasionally in heats where the surf conditions are very poor, Kelly will surf good on a wave, and clearly deserve somewhere between a 6 & 8, but sometimes it will get overscored, the score will be in the excellent range, say between 8 and 10.
The problem with this is that altough the other competitor does not really have to surf in the excellent range to get the score he needs to beat kelly, the other competitor thinks he does (becasue often they do not see Kelly's wave). Thus, just simply by overscoring kelly in a heat put the other guy at a severe disadvantage. The other bloke thinks he's got to bust out crazy to get a 9.4 to win or whatever and he really only needs to do 3 turns to the beach.
My point, pro surfers, if your surfing against kelly and the surfs shithouse, have a mate on the beach signal you if kelly's wave was oversocred, that way you won't be tricked into making an error or panicking.
Thats my 2 cents

Perry has been an ambassador for the sport in general, and pro surfing in particular.
He is a true gentleman and waterman, and will be missed as a pillar of consistency in the ever evolving world of pro surfing.
Great job Perry, you should be proud of your achievements

If you have a look at the top 10 sufers since Perry took over he obviously hasn't been doing a bad job! The facts are obvious to any moron.

I do however embrace change and maybe it's good that some younger blood takes over.
My votes for Pritamo!

Firstly, I will say Mr Hatchett will be sadly miss here in France ! I had the privilege of standing right next to him during his overview of the judging panel and hear his comments on a few different occasions: it has been a real learning experience. Then we shared a few beers here and then, and again, hearing the stories of such a long career was truely interesting. I find it disturbing to read some many disrespectful comments on someone who brought some much to surfing over the years. Judging has never been an easy job in surfing, rugby or any sport that requires that human touch, it is way easier to surf a heat, if you fuck up not half of the surfing world will crucify you !
so Perry, please enjoy a well earn rest and if you come back to Hossegor, let's have a beer again !

@Clue Finder - ‘Perry’s wife’ was not speaking for Perry, she was obviously observing the demise of the sport's spirit and soul. Why would you bother talking to the surf media anyway? They’re basically owned by the Big Three, and rarely speak the behind-the-scenes truth. Try offering an editor some insightful piece of information, or a well-supported and proven story concerning the ASP or Surfing Australia’s political plundering and shameful greedy agendas, or corporate back room antics, and see how far you get. “Oh no, we can’t write that. Billabong would cut our advertising!”

insurfnews.com Freddy P's Blog site, Maccas input.. he seems to be right on the $$

Good news and Best of Timing, I waited along time for this day. Since the day you blatantly hit on my doll whilst my back was turned.

Bout time, stoked! Put Pritamo in there!!! Kid rips!

I think it is really sad that the surfing community feels the need to berate and place blame on one another. I am a family friend of the Hatchett's and think it is shame full for the ASP to post that Perry Hatchett has been fired on Surfline without reason (to him or the world). It was to create this negative dialogue about Perry and misdirect it from the ASP itself. As human beings we should understand that we all don't carry the same opinion on all issues. As head judge it was Perry's job to make the decisions that no one wanted to make. At contests there will only be one winner in a sea of runner-ups. Which,in turn, creates more enemies then friends. This smear campaign is not about the "job" that was lost, but the underhanded way it was done. Is the ASP the kind of representation wanted for a sport that prides itself on being soulful?

Good riddance, time for new blood - best decision ASP has ever made.

I really don't understand how people can assume that Perry should have had that job forever. It makes no sense. Perry should be protecting what he's built by ushering in the next guy for the role and retaining some dignity instead of blogging through his wife...poor form Perry and a sad ending to what could have been a good career.

The "Dream" tour only determines the best surfer in 2 foot surf. "Good" waves are only had at a handful of the events and it's almost always in Hawaii. The triple crown winner, the "search" winner and Fiji determine who the world champion is to me. The tour has gotten good waves in France but always miss Mundaka (I don't think it's ever seen "good" Mundaka). Australia has been hit or miss on a year by year basis.

It's not the judging that's pooched with the ASP, it's the format...and until the profoundly pooched issue is resolved, I'm going to have to determine my own world champion every year.

Yeah, why can't Perry give everyone the real story? If he has to communicate through his wife, then that's pretty fucking lame. Grow a pair and give us the story or stop your bitching. Personally, Perry had served long past his expiry date. Get some new blood in there.

To "Long Time Tour Pro",

1) I and the current board inherited ASP Europe's management, financial and personnel dysfunctions from the previous Board, and have been working hard to fix them for the last 3 years, while maintaining a human side to things (i.e. trying to make things work before sacking people).
2) Since you apparently have been to ASP Int. Board and Management meetings, feel free to explain to all how things work from the inside. Does Brodie really have all of the power in his hands, or is it the Surfers and Events who "own" the association and make the big calls?
3) If Brodie is blowing smoke up my ass, then he and I will discuss that in person the next time we are face to face. But, I highly doubt that he's blowing smoke.
4) As I said in my first comment below, SOMEONE needs to make some kind of official statement to explain what happened to stop all the conjecture here and elsewhere.

Sunny Garcia on here bitching and moaning about the injustice of Perry Hatchett's removal is tantamount Ron Jeremy promoting abstinence. Sunny, come on mate, you're just sore because you'll no longer get juiced scores and that pretty much torpedos you requalification campaign - shit bra, looks like we won't be seeing any of those awesome "Afflication" logos in WCT heats any time soon.

Fuckin' hell you people love a bit on digital jousting. Perry, thanks for a great ten years at the helm, and I'm a big supporter of you, but mate, you probably could have gone out the door a few years ago. The ASP Head Judge posy is one that needs constant enhancement and to accomplish this, they need a rotating system that's much more frequent that what you've supplied. Thanks though Pezz and good luck with your next endeavour.

Very spiritual and thoughtful words when you are encompassing our sport as a whole, but unfortunately RH you are as misguided with your point.
Your husband has used threats, stand over tactics and lies to cover his reputation to the surfers and the industry constantly through out his career.
Many times, the panel wore the brunt of his narcissistic attitude and the blame.
Most that have worked with him agree his experience is invaluable to the sport, how-ever he has always thought he is above the sport and his judging compatriots,this attitude, has held back the true development of our sport.
There are too many questions on his ability to manage the world wide judging panels and make crucial unbiased descisions.
Unfortunately Perry has lost the respect of most of his judges through out the world and this should be obvious with the lack of support coming from within Perry's elite circle. The boys have jumped ship and are now looking at the future.
This is not meant to be vicious or malicious in intent just the facts....

@Perry's Wife - thanks for the insight, but why can't Perry speak for himself? Is it because Mailman may actually have a morsel of truth and ASP offered Perry a transitioning position, but the bull-headed douche nozzel didn't take it? Answer: a probable yes.

Get a clue.

I sure don't understand all the personal attacks, etc. And I don't understand why "Perry's Wife" has to comment for "Perry". Surely he can give his own side of the story to the media.

As for the ASP, I suppose it's their decision to make, and frankly, I'm excited about getting some new blood in Head Judge position. 10 years is about 5 years too long for that post. If surfing is to remain dynamic and at the cutting edge of high performance, it cannot remain stagnant with aging members of the judging community.

Mr Mailman,
I don't recall you being present at ASP Board and management meetings. What are your sources of infomation. Is brodie blowing smoke up your arse.

As you stated if ASP Europe has not received the funds from events and surfers then it has a nonfunctional management,that don't abide by the ASP rule book. Do you need to resign?

AS you know so much what was the role that Brodie tried to find for Perry? Your statement implies that Brodie supported Perry, Then perhaps BRODIE might like to give Perry his support on this blog.

Criticism, hypocrisy, discrimination, cunning and conniving are shameful blemishes, dirty politics in a culture that deserves (and spiritually demands) better.

The TRUE players in this game will surface, and those will be the REAL winners!!!

Thank You to all of those REAL friends/family out there that have shown your Aloha!

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TRUE LOVE AND SUPPORT!

Shame on you guys with your negative comments! Your cynicism and criticism does not affect us, but reflects just how shallow and empty you all are. That is so sad. Maybe ALL of you should take the time to step back and look within! What has surfing's soul eroded to?
If you didn’t already know, surfing is so much more than a sport! It's an ancient & esteemed culture that was born in my homeland of Hawaii, the same place that the spirit of Aloha comes from. A true surfer knows that! Aloha, respect, dedication, passion, love & support, are ALL intrinsic to its development & its SURVIVALl. My husband embraces those qualities and that spirit!
By Perry's side, the tour has been a part of my life for over 15 years. Over those years, a small group of us have travelled the world: living, working, eating, socializing together, riding the highs and lows of an often enjoyable, but always challenging lifestyle together. We have laughed, yes, but we have cried as well. We have been family. I’ve been there through marriages, divorces, births, and sadly, deaths - but one thing that I pride myself in is the friendships that I have made, the brotherhood & sisterhood of those who are truly there in support of the culture, and therefore each other. If you are a surfer but don’t feel the love, well... I’m sorry. We have to remember one thing. Family means nobody gets left behind! Only a TRUE surfer knows that feeling.

Perry Hatchett mate back here in WA where it counts the original crew know what you have done for the sport of surfing and without your contribution ASP would have been gone years ago. Perry life moves on enjoy it with your family, you do not have to prove anything to anyone you can surf thats what matters. Corporate protection is people blurring true pictures to save their own necks.

To "I'm on the Tour", maybe you are, but if so, apparently you're not very involved or well informed on the issues. Every last thing you accuse Brodie of messing up, he fought hard to save, but various members of the Board (surfers and events) threw out the window. Not the opposite as you claim.
To "I spy insider", you are obviously not as inside things as you claim to be. The so-called "debt" you mention is quite simply money owed to ASP Europe by surfers and industry brands for entry fees that the aforementioned surfers and brands still refuse to pay in spite of ongoing efforts by ASP Europe management to collect those fees. Nonetheless, ASP Europe remains in the black, and not in the red as you claim.
Once again people, know your facts before you make unsubstantiated claims! AND USE YOUR REAL NAMES!!!

First of all, be it comments about Perry, Brodie or the ASP in general, everyone commenting here (especially industry insiders, current and ex-judges and pro surfers) should sack up and use their real names. What are you afraid of?
Love him or hate him, agree with his opinions and certain heat results or not, Perry has done a very good job, in a very difficult position, for over 10 years. He's done it not for the money, but for the love of the sport. He deserves all of our respect for that.
As for Brodie, he's been there for about half the time, and undeniably makes more money than the head judge, but his job is no easier than Perry's.
To anyone who thinks that either Perry or Brodie call all the shots, be it in the judging tower or at ASP HQ, you are sorely mistaken.
Many a time, Perry has disagreed with heat results, but has accepted the decisions of his judging panel, just as Brodie often disagrees with decisions taken by the Board or ASP "key stakeholders" to whom he answers and whose orders he must execute.
I know for a fact that Brodie is one of the very few people who made an effort to find Perry a new role within the organization instead of firing him outright. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that scenario didn't play out.

ive been lucky in my job filming the asp world tour for many years, and, im that proud to say perry is one of my good mates, and i love his family as much as my own.

you cant buy mate's and you cant buy experience that makes perry a very rich man.

im still in shock that im not gonna be hanging with him on the tour this year he was a truely is one of the good old boys (and let me tell you theres not many if any)

and as for all you kooks with a chip on you're shoulder who dont know perry get some viagra eyedrops into ya and have a good long hard fucking look at you're selfs!!!
- GORDO

I think all aussies and american/hawain head judges should be retired and then the comptetion will be more fare.

In response to Dave Mailman, if we are to wait until the ASL gets some information why have a BLOG?

Secondly, Brodie is not a pawn, he has made so many bad calls at ASP it is extremely difficult to understand how he has kept his job. Of late ASP Europe is debt for about 80,000 Euros. They are a licensed branch of ASP and should have detailed this situation in their reports to Brodie and the ASP board. Don't forget that he was living in France and yes his girl was the manager of the region.
His stats say he is a qualified accountant, I guess that if he cannot look at Europe (whilst resident there) what hope has ASP international got, especially as he is absent from HQ.

If you know Perry and his family personally, like many people do inside and outside this industry, you would not be making these negative comments.
Such a dedicated person to a sport that has definitely stabbed him in the back, he certainly wasn't doing it for the money. Judges are paid minimal amounts for the effort.

To not give somebody the chance to go out in style after so many years of dedication is absolutely disgusting. The ASP CEO should be the one clearly explaining his reasons for such a gutless firing. He is young and very very insecure.

I worked with Perry and had questions on many occasions during crucial heats.
None other then Kelly's win at Lowers over Taj.
Its time to move forward and bring a face to surfing, the updated format needs a new panel of athletes that know the critical array of maneuvers that todays athletes are performing.

finally rid of the aussie head judge, now maybe the safety surfers like parko and fanning wont get pushed through to the winners circle and progressive surfing will be rewarded.

Firstly, I am very good friends with both Perry Hatchett and Brodie Carr, and have been privy to much of what went on behind the scenes as this whole thing played out. There have been comments made here by people who are obviously closer to the source than others, and while everyone has a right to their opinion, informed opinions are better than uninformed ones. In this case, everybody would do better to sit back and let the ASL journos (Binnsy, Nick, Tim and/or Tim) do their jobs and interview the parties involved (Perry, Brodie, the Surfer Reps - Mick and Kieren and the Board Members representing the events, as well as some of the other international judges) before you all continue to comment without all of the "facts" about the situation. Perry and Brodie are simple pawns (or bishops or rooks at best) in the very complicated game of chess that is the ASP.
Having said all of that, I wish all the best to Perry and his family on whatever path this decision leads them on in their life post-ASP.

What is with the ASP? 10 years of loyalty and great service to the sport and you get axed. What a bunch of cowards, the ASP board have all been there for 10 years and that is what the problem is. The surfers rotate and they come in and out of the ratings but not the BOARD.

G STAPLEBURG should go, done his 10 years and was not a good judge. RANDY done his 30 years, good guy. GRELMAN done NOTHING but been a tool (ever seen him surf wanker)

They used RABBIT as last year’s scape goat, really did Rabbit retire? He has been on tour a lot this year. So PERRY is this years target, look out RENATO and AL HUNT you guys have done over 10 years service.

Any way what is with the CEO lives in France and the HQ is in Australia, doesn't make any sense, (Maybe Billabong could have Derrick live in France with their HQ in Australia???) The CEO should go the tool has done nothing since he joined except sack people, hang at the events and try to right Kelly off. Wanker look at the rule book page 71 you can have a $USD1, 000,000 event cat4.Bring Kelly's series into the ASP as Grand Slams with bonus points. Suck it and see.

It is not the staff that need to be axed lets start at the CEO for allowing such mismanagement of people to take place, shame, shame, shame hang you head low. Mr Carr.

Just like ASP management itself, in particular CEO (Chief Entrenched Obstacle) Brodie Carr, the statement released by the ASP head office regarding this debacle is deceptive, dishonest and manipulative.
“After consultation with key stakeholders, ASP International has made the decision not to renew the contract of Perry Hatchett as ASP World Tour Head Judge.”

In an effort to isolate Hatchett from support and any communication, Carr used typically underhand tactics in having both his ASP mobile and email services disconnected, without any notice.

It is Carr who should be shown the door! Appointed CEO in January 2005, he was handed a portfolio brimming with assets including a global sponsor, surfer’s agreements, event licences, a TV production series on the events, and a uniform secured I.T. web team and presentation. He has since lost the LOT, and brought absolutely nothing to the table. Get rid of him!

The tour surfers’ nickname for him is ‘Groupie’. Why pay a groupie USD$100K +, per year, to stuff up the sport?

About time...we needed a change,
He thought he was invinsible, his arrogance is the reason of his demise.
That arrogance showed in every aspect of his attitude, work ethic and people skills.

I just learnt, that the ASP injury wildcard spots is made up by a ruling made by the surfer's rep's,and some "officals".Now if you were a WCT surfer's rep, would you vote for a surfer that can beat you or are you gonna vote in one thats easier to beat?(which in turn could equal a longer surfing career)
This is more kerrupt than my government.......
and thats hard one to top.

Well said Mr Baker

Sunny's time has come and gone. He's useless and would be 8s for doing one turn at HB - it was a joke. Surfing has evolved and Sunny's upset that his boyfriend Perry Hatchett won't be there to juice his scores.

Just had a news flash,how bout we get Sunny Garcia as the new "Head Judge" ,it'll be the best move since Peter Garrett joined the labour party(which equalled one less greenie/rocker in the way and more votes from the kids to come my way). It'll be perfect for 5 good reasons. 1):He's an ex-World champ. 2):He's got the respect of the surfer's(can't see AI or Kelly sticking their fingers up at him,or rocks getting thrown at the booth by brazillians). 3):He's not sponsored by the big 3. 4):He's born in surfing's birth place. 5):He'll be the natural karma policeman for WCT surfers(greedy pro's steal general public's waves everyday,so when the tour stops at places like Bell's Sunny could burn them all as pay back for the general surfing public.Picture this :after burning kelly he could say"kelly outta my way i'm head judge I just wanta play ,you've had enough heats in the water today" ,or after fading Jordy"fucken, I was throwing more spray than that back in the '90's, bunch of fucken kooks"

@ Sunny. Sunny, my name is Michael Thomas - I don't have to hide behind a pseudonym because I have no problem with the opinion I'm about to express. I am a longtime fan of your surfing, and I respect you as a surfer. However, you have to agree that 10 years is far too long for someone to be in the Head Judge position. It stagnates the sport and hinders progression. Perry obviously did a service to the sport at the helm, but in reality, he should have been moved on five years ago. Hope you agree and good luck this season.

I think that the truth will soon come out about old Perry! The people that support him are pretty blind and they obviously live in a world of butterflys and rainbows! Cause he has ripped of to many great surfers, for what reason? Maybe we should have a look at his "other" bank account. Would we be surprised? Maybe not!
All competitive sufing will now benefit from this decision. Maybe we will now see some fare results.

Fair Dinkum Rubbish Removal,
Satisfaction Guaranteed,
or double your rubbish back!

@ sunny garcia - only an uneducated westside donkey can manage a giant paragraph with 2 sentences.

PLEASE just keep quiet and stick to surfing.

ps- your display against neco was an embarassment to the sport, and to all of humanity.

How much do the judges get paid? Why aren't any of the judges famous surfers? young and old alike?

Who fired Perry? Why did they fire him?

What brand of wetsuit does Perry use?
and what wetsuit does the ASP president use?
if the answer to both these questions is XCEL.
Well that explains why Bede Durbidge has been goin soo well of late.
but the kev man thinks there's alot more to it.......
Kevin in '07,Bede in '1o.

The ASP will eventually go down wether you post this or not.

Fuck all these old fart judges, I hope the whole ASP tour goes down and someone with some brains and a clean slate runs a new tour. We need bigger sponsors like the NBA and NFL fuck Quicksilver and there little kurrupt monoply with these old fart judges. When are the surfers other than slater gonna stand up and say lets start something better and make money! Hire some young judges that actually understand what surfing is and where its going FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

What about surfing having no head judges, just like all serious competitive sports... No credible sport has head judges... just increase the amount of judges to 8 or 10, and forget about head judges... if we have 8 or 10 really good judges, then why need somebody to "guide them", or "comment on the waves". No reputable sport has head judges, nor somebody telling judges what to score... 30/40 years ago surfing contest judges were a joke... then it got better, now it's time to move the ball forward, by removing the position of head judge, one that does not exist nor it's needed in other sports... And by the way, Terry should be given a chance to be one of those 8 or 10 judge panels, but just to judge and focus on his score... Justice will be better served without head judges...

Jeff Klugel should be allowed to step up into that spot after all the time he has as North American Head Judge and also understands / appreciates good surfing.
Man is it about time this place got a change?

Perry now has time to go "Window Shopping" with me,
just bring your own peanut butter. . .

I was a Pro and recon Perry had his favourites for sure but the judging criteria backed him up, its too wide open. To me Dave Shipley seems the most honest and the right guy to take the new job.

So many bad comments...
Your all a bunch of up tight kooks with a bad outlook on people that succeed in life.
You kooks that write off people without knowing them, need to take a long hard look at your own life and ask yourself "what the fuck have I done with my life" I betting zero..
Or better still get a life and stop being a Negative critic/hater and look at people and life in a positive way... Fuck why are there so many people ready to write someone off because they achieved in life... Yeah he got the sack.. That sucks for anyone but he can hold his head up high as someone that excelled in his feild and will be remembered for his contributions...
How about appauld Perry for his commitment to the ASP. Full stop.
I know why you kooks have nothing good to say... Because negative kooks have never done nothing in their own life to put themselves out there in case of critisim from other narrow minded laim kooks comments and blogs critism... Bunch of yellow chumps..
I don't write much on sites or comment but after reading all the kooks ranting I couldn't help sending a grow up message to all the haters...
Now what I wanted to really say was enjoy the next journey Perry and a credit to you for your time and commitment to the ASP and sport...

JJ you are a blind goose! Kelly Slater has intermittently denied world titles to almost two decades of pro surfers and wanna-be world champions because he was simply the best - by a country mile! He was unbeatable, and he still is on his day. If he was scored accurately on many of his waves over the past 19 years, compared to how his opposition was surfing, he would have been getting 12s or 15s - completely outside the score frame of 10 points - because he was just that much better. To suggest Perry Hatchett pushed his judging panel to the point of favouring Kelly is just pitiful. Kelly was in fact one of the people that complained more often than many.

So which rubber desk jonny are the ASP going to superglue in his place?

Either way Sunny and everyone else can guess that this year is going to be about leading by example and demonstrating the Zen.

After all it is two thousand and ZEN!

How would some of you critics out there go sitting, and needing to be totally attentive, in a contest tower for ten hours a day being paid pittance? The job of Head Judge is one that demands dedication, astute knowledge and passionate management. Perry Hatchett has admirably ruled a difficult domain for 10+ years. That he be treated like this, by the sports (mis)management, and by armchair experts, is very narrow minded and an indictment on the whole culture. May you all cop a ten wave set on the head (after breaking your leash)!

WHAT a pathetic way to start a new season. After being pushed to bring some long overdue changes to the sport by the rustlings of a ‘rebel’ tour, the ASP finally got off its fat lazy ass and, after working with Perry Hatchett and the technical committee, came up with a bunch of new programs for progression - then they chop the master surgeon! Idiots!

No one called me for my heat because if they did i would have been there but thats besides the point and why should i care i don't do the tour anymore but the surfers need someone who can stand up for whats right not just for the surfers but for all parties. Perry has had to make calls when the waves were bad to not go, and i'm sure that the events were not happy but then the surfers have been on the other side of that coin this is more about whats good for surfing and by firing the head judge and not talking to the surfers and getting there input i really think is shady but if thats what the surfers want then so be it but so far all the surfers that i talked to are just amazed that Perry got fired!

I'm with Baker - better the devil you know!

I think this press release is a media ploy, to redirect the attention from the ASP tour.
Perry has already started his new contract when he judged the Juniors contest a few weeks ago. The ASP stance seems to be political, and unsubstantial. This takes away from the credibility from the tour. Perry and all the surfers should leave the ASP tour and join the new ESPN tour.

steve has a good point will we really care about this in 2 months and what is the difference between this and an investment banker being sacked without notice - happens in every industry and sport around the world and sometimes change is the best thing!!!!!

Perry got the Hatchett!
Jokes aside, I think he did good but like anything in life, change must come and no person can be bigger than the sport (even KS). In 2 months from now, nobody will think twice about this.

Personally, I have seen many heats and scores that I could not for the life of me figure out how they could come up with it. However, in surfing we talk about RESPECT. Respect of the planet, the ocean, the country and people where ever you are surfing at the time and fellow surfers. If Perry has been axed without any discussion with him or those most affected (the surfers) that is ridiculous. ASP has done nothing to help in it's attempts to be ccepted as a main stream sport and attract major sponsors and interest from companies other than the big 3. Poor form!

about time.

Who cares about pro surfing apart from Billabong Quik Rip Curl, and 14 year old kids? Just a bunch of egomaniacs who think they are cool just because they surf a bit better than most others!

I agree with Jimmy James!
Kelly Slater has about 3-4 extra world titles thanks to Perry.

Pretty sad to read some of you commits but i guess thats what Kooks think but shame on you, Perry did a great job of representing surfing and deserves a lot more than what he is getting and sure he's my friend but i can tell you that we have had it out about judging and he is a man that stands up for what he believes in and that is hard to find these days so i wish him all the best in whatever he ends up doing so thanks Perry for all the Great work!!!!!!!!

Wow i won't hide behind some fake name but Perry did the best he could for a job that no one really care for, at the end of the day there can only be one winner and everyone is going to think that there boy won and like i said there can only be one winner, I've never always been happy with the judging and I've had my fair share of fights with Perry over heats but no one deserves to be fired without notice and without at least talking to the surfers before letting him go. Its sad to see all the nasty comments some of you left for a person the did his best to represent surfing in the best way possible and i hope you don't get treated that way in life so go have another beer and chke on it!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the thinking of all these haters - "head judge," that's a position of authority, right. that's bad. so him getting sacked must be good. Reminds me of being in primary school and hearing Gough Whitlmam got sacked as prime minister. We all cheered because someone in power went down. If only I'd known we were going to get Malcolm Fraser as PM. (I know this is ageing me a bit) Gough and Perry were good men doing a tough job with strong convictions and integrity. Perry had the support of many, maybe most, surfers and people in pro surfing and he'll be sorely missed.

If Perry did indeed ring Sunny regarding being late for his heat, that's extremely poor.

Given that a couple of people posting on this page APPEAR to be quite close to the world of ASP, would anyone like to comment on whether or not PH was the man being some questionable overscoring of one K Slater over the course of his career?

I'm not looking to bag Kelly, his ability is second to none. But in the past some of the scores he has received for average waves were ridiculously over the top. If PH was the man asking judges to up scores for Kelly because they are mates, then PH's axeing was about 10 years too late! Can someone comment on this?

JJ

good riddance to bad rubbish other than sunny not many people have good things to say about the guy and sunny only then because they have been friends for about 20years

Just a message to Ex-pro guy who wrote: "Jt and gra, being a good surfer doesn't make a good judge..." etc. Mate I was being a little sarcastic in my reply to poor JT about his comment, but I might have been a bit too subtle. All good.

Personalities apart, if the decision was made for the good of surfing, and if the surfers were consulted before the decison was made (it IS THEIR association after all) then it's a fair decision - Like most things, if it's prinicpals before personalities generlly things will work out for the best of all concerned. --- I am really interested to learn if the surfers gave their input on this decision, and I mean all of them, not just a handful of hopefuls. As for disputed calls of putting surfers into the water in poor conditions, that is as much the contest organisers/directors business as the head judges, more often than not in 2009, poor judgement was made, more than 50% of the heats in early rounds, the guys didn't get a decent second wave score - why? because there were no waves - and that my friends is Politics not Principals or personalities

To be honest, I don't think the judging was particularly bad.

fanfuckintastic!!!! bout time !!! bring on the new head judge!!

Good Riddance!! I never understood how the head judge walks around behind the 5 in the panel and tells them to adjust up or down depending on what he thinks! (or friends he has in the heat) Let the judges do there job and have the AVERAGE of the 5. Not the score of the head judge. And he was the WORST at it!!!!

Old Blood Out...New Blood In. Time to take surfing to where it rightfully should be, instead of the bastion of hypocrisy and cronyism that prevailed under PH.

I never liked the idea of one head judge. Too much power and it seemed like Perry abused that power at every opportunity. They should have like a three-man or five-man head judging council or something to that effect. Where the power and the responsibility is shared.

"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton

Over Pezza. He should have been executed years back. How can an organization move forward with such a tyrant in that position for so long? He stifled judging, he stifled surfing and he was abusive to nearly everyone he met.

Awesome. Perhaps now we'll have some proper judging.

Good riddance, maybe the next judge will take care of reoccurring issues such as dingo grabbing that guys leash in the pipe masters....

with ya dude. get ride of this old man and bring in some fresh boys!

About time. I see the rip offs all the time. thanks for making the change. no more pushing your friends in heats.

It is time for a change.

Of course Sunny says this. Why? Because Perry rang Sunny when he was late for his heat in Hawaii. This is blatant favouritism and no other surfer gets this special treatment. Time is up Perry and Sunny.

who gives a fuck, its only pro surfing - hope the"scandal" doesnt take up 10 pages in the mags that could have been dedicated to something like exotic locations, tgravel, etc etc

Jt and gra being a good surfer doesn't make a good judge. The majority of the panels around the world are only average surfers,a couple of exceptions being Davey and Pritamo.
Do you think that all judges of a boxing match get in the ring? don't see many pictures of that DO YOU.

ASP are joking

Thanks for the memories Pez and good luck in whatever role you choose to pursue.

No offense, but isn't Sunny defending Perry just one obsolete dinosaur defending another obsolete dinosaur? I mean, I like Sunny and his big hacks, but no way should he be back on tour - same as Perry shouldn't be head judge anymore. Good on the tour for moving forward.

bury the hatchett! yew!

DING DONG!!! THE DICK IS DEAD!!! FINALLY!!! THE ASP CAN MOVE FORWARD!!!! THE JUDGES CAN ACTUALLY JUDGE!!!! GOOD SURFING WILL PREVAIL!!!!!!!!!!

You're dead right JT. We need someone who gets lots of photos taken of them surfing. It's unquestionable proof of how 'keen' they are and thus qualifies them in all the complexities and challenges of the head judge role...

"a super keen surfer..."????

when the fuck have any of you seen a picture of perry hatchett surfing?

if so, when in the past five years?

ive seen the judges surf before and some of them rip - bout time they gave him the boot

Perry was okay, but 10 years for any head judge is way way way too long. The role needs to be filled by different judges that will progress that sport of surfing. He grew stagnant towards the end and it's well past the time to move on. Finally, the ASP has done something right.

benny lowe for the job... guy surfs better than a few of the ct'ers

wow... that feels like a big loss for the ASP I reckon. He seems so solid and consistent - a real leader.