Pattern Fun / scribe / Judging

[Del Rykert]

Matt..   
    Not looking to stir a hornets nest but I'm not clear on your comment on the pilot needing to land the plane per FAI rules, after his mistake. I thought a judge was to zero that maneuver and every other one that is being performed out of sequence? What am I missing? 
    Yes judging is a thankless task and I consider far harder than attempting to fly masters or FAI. Judges need all the assistance they can to do their job well IMHO. 
 
     Del K. Rykert
     AMA - 8928 
     NSRCA - 473
     Kb2joi - General 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rcmaster199 at aol.com 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 3:31 PM
  Subject: Re: Pattern Fun / scribe / Judging


  All,

  This happened to us at this year's Nats: 

  I, along with two others, judged F3A on site 3, the last day of preliminary flying. Things were moving right along, callers calling and pilots flying, and we simply judged as best we could. Some distance down the order, a very capable competitor, (all F3A competitors that I saw on that line were very capable), was given a maneuver out of sequence to perform, which he did. 

  I felt something was off immediately, placed a dot at that maneuver, and continued scoring on my pad (RVP's idea and I like it). I was familiar with the PO3 sequence since I call it for my friend back home, but was not certain of what exactly the deviation was,  since the caller had called it that way. He got it wrong and the pilot flew it wrong. 

  A considerable amount of my concentration as a judge was blown when I noticed the problem. I am fairly certain the competitor knew his flight was burned as well. Without full concentration, he stopped flying to his ability and I stopped judging to mine. In truth he needed to land the plane per F3A rules, but since I wasn't sure what he had done, I allowed him to finish the flight

  My point is, judging is difficult to do well; it is a chore to be sure, but it is also the most important chore in a contest. Familiarity alone is not enough if we sit the chair. Having the caller call the maneuvers out loud is obviously not foolproof. This was not the first time this has happened and will not be the last. 

  My answer to this is, PREPARE TO SIT THE CHAIR; one cannot simply be "familiar with the sequence" as the Certification class teaches. One must have a working knowledge of the sequence. It is our responsibility and duty to do the best possible job judging the people who have worked so hard to get themselves ready. Anything less and we are derelict in our duty. 

  Respectfully submitted,

  Matt Kebabjian


  In a message dated 9/23/2002 10:28:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time, tomanekw at saic-abingdon.com writes:



    Subj:RE: Pattern Fun / scribe / Judging 
    Date:9/23/2002 10:28:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time
    From:tomanekw at saic-abingdon.com
    Reply-to:discussion at nsrca.org
    To:discussion at nsrca.org
    Sent from the Internet 



    Ok, we spend hours and hours building the planes (or work a lot at regular
    jobs and pay for someone to build the plane), setting the planes, trimming,
    and then practicing, and learning our sequences.  We also need to find time
    to learn the other sequences.  If there are no opportunities at local field,
    pay attention to the sequences in the early rounds of a contest and maybe
    that will be enough to be able to judge the last round, or at the next
    contest. Use the contests to learn and not just hang out with friend.
    Scribing is a good way to learn too.

    As a judge one has the responsibility to the pilot being judged and others
    in the contest to not only be familiar but know the sequence very well and
    easily identify small but crucial errors (say in the FAI  snap followed by
    point rolls in the OPPOSITE direction - wrong direction will earn you zero).
    Reading the sequence is not enough, seeing it flown numerous times correctly
    is a must in my book.  Eric is correct that some of the maneuver
    descriptions are too long to be announced just before the maneuver without
    interfering with the judging and the pilot's concentration.  My call sheet
    has certain words bolded in the description and I always ask the caller to
    only read the bolded stuff, so I only have to be reminded of what is coming
    up but not the entire maneuver description, for instance: 
          "triangle" means "triangle with two out of four point rolls"          
          "square" means "square form the top with half rolls in first and third
    leg"
    But that is certainly not enough for the unfamiliar judge.

    The bottom line is that it is the judges responsibility to KNOW the sequence
    he/she is judging.  If you are asked to judge and you are not familiar with
    the sequence - tell the CD that you are not comfortable judging this class,
    he will find someone else.  In the past I have declined to judge FAI when I
    was not familiar with the sequence.  If I cannot judge to the best of my
    abilities because I do not know the sequence I do not want to judge and
    should not be allowed either - there are no excuses on this issue. 

    Wojtek



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