I think that judging is really an art form and a good judge can turn any tournament into a pleasant experience. With the better judges, it’s almost like their movements are choreographed and they have a rhythm and the tournament flows smoothly. On the other hand, there are the judges that stutter step throughout the entire tournament and never get into a rhythm, and this can make for a long tournament.
Pet Peeves
Before I talk about any pet peeves that I have I want to say that I respect all of our judges for the tough job that they have. I know that I could not do it and really would not want the job. I’ve attended well over a 100 tournament weekends over the last 7 years and have played under many judges from almost every area of the country. Here is a list of my pet peeves in no particular order please feel free to add your own:
- Not keeping track of the race - Some judges just stand there in the middle of the lanes and don’t keep track of what’s going on and need to ask the line judges what heat it is or how many wins or loses each team has. I know that it must get monotonous after a while and I can understand loosing track sometimes but when it becomes a habit…. The better judges tell you the standing of the race before each heat.
- Not telling everyone when the race if over - This kind of goes along with not keeping track of the race. I’ve been boxloading many time and when the race is over we (both boxloaders) are just standing there saying was that 5 (or however many heats we are running). The judge just walks over to the side and does not say anything while everyone is just standing there wondering, is it over. The better judges will tell everyone when the race is over and it help speed things along.
- Spending too much time with the table - Sometimes the judge will spend too much time at the table while both teams are just standing there waiting. The dogs are all pumped up after going in the ring and the judge is still at the table talking about the last race or goofing off with the table workers.
- Being over critical - Some judges take the training in the ring rule to the extreme. It seems like they will focus in on one handler at times and hound them about little things.
How Can they Improve
We all praise the judge(s) after the tournament in our post to the flyball list and other forums, but what if we could actually critique them after the tournament. I think that even the more experienced judges would benefit. They should be made to pass out a critique forms at the captains meeting to each of the teams. It would be up to the team whether they turned them or not but it would be a way to let the judges know how they are doing and what they could do to improve.
I have attended many technical training courses and almost every instructor passes out critique forms. In some instances, the forms are sealed by the students in an envelope and the instructor has to turn the envelope in to his or her employer. Honest and candied feedback can and would help improve all judges and the training of new judges.
Larry
