How old must judges be?
All scoring judges must be at least 18 years of age.
How much time will judging take?
Judging a tournament is an all-day event. Judges will be expected to arrive approximately one hour before the first team’s performance and stay until approximately an hour after the last team competes. Judges training is conducted on a separate day and requires approximately 3-4 hours. Please check our event schedule for exact dates and times.
Do I have to attend judges training?
Yes. Each year the problems change and the judging team needs to be consistent. Even if you’ve judged before, attendance at judges training is mandatory to ensure all judges are on the same page and fully understand the problem. If the scheduled judges training date(s) do not work into your schedule, we will allow judges to be trained by other State/Regional associations provided this is arranged in advance and the Association providing training reports that you were successfully trained.
As a judge, will I be able to see my child perform?
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a judge will be able to see their child perform. In order to keep on schedule, judges will need to be at their specific judging site the vast majority of the day. While it is possible that a scheduled judging break may fortuitously align with the performance time for a judges child, it is quite unlikely and judges will still need to be back on site before the next scheduled performance time.
What happens if a judge leaves early?
We do hope this doesn’t happen! In the case of a true emergency requiring a judge to leave, all of the scores that judge has entered for a given problem/division will be cancelled. This is to maintain scoring consistency and fairness for all teams. If you have time constraints that may prevent you from being present at the competition all day, please inform your Problem Captain and/or Association Director as soon as possible so alternate arrangements can be made.