What is a wildcard in a surfing competition

[reef]

just wondering what one is exactly and also, is the maximum score on a wave 10 in a compertition?. just been watching the quicksilver pro in the south of france. there vcombination totals looked like thy had been taken from 2-3 waves? is it just the 2-3 best waves that count etc

just wondering, thanx in advance

ste

[surf patrol]

Wildcards are last chance invites to a competition. There are places for who genuinely qualify for the competition due to current rankings and then there are a few other places. A wild card can go to someone who perhaps deserves to be in the comp but was not a main qualifier for some reason (eg recovering from injury)
The max score for a wave in competition is 10 and the total heat score is taken from a combination of waves. The number of waves that score varies from competition to competition.

[reef]

thanks, that explains it much better.

ste.