Judging Landing & takoffs. (was Re: Spoilers for Pattern Planes?????)

[EHaury at aol.com]

Ladies and Gentlemen

Our game requires competitors and judges. The competitors apply the 
requirements of the game (maneuvers - rules) and the judges score the quality of 
performance. Without both, there is no game. Some are better than others, both as 
competitors and judges. We generally don't demean the less skilled flyer but try 
to help him / her improve. A judge should receive the same.

I recall (us old guys get to do this) a time when judges and the 
interpretation of the rules were unique to each contest. A CD would fill chairs anyway 
possible with both skilled and unskilled judges. This was true even at the Nats, 
soliciting the spectators at the last minute for anyone willing to take a stab 
at judging. Often scores were higher for familiar pilots, as they had "paid 
their dues."

A few dedicated and skilled folks set about to fix that. The USPJA was formed 
and provided a pool of folks from which to draw for major meets. The pilots 
enjoyed meets where the judges were experienced and "usually" there were plenty 
of judges. While there were judges meetings to review the rules at major 
meets, the interpretation sometimes varied and the pilots could be unaware of 
expectations. Of course both used the same rulebook, but we all know how 
interpretation can vary. We criticized the folks that were willing to of take their 
time to judge our game until they were / are no more. We would have been better 
served to help them.

The NSRCA Judge Certification program came into being. It was, and still is, 
the best thing ever done to improve pattern competition. (With the possible 
exception of the equal exposure to judges rule.) Of course a pilot would be 
foolish to compete without knowing the rules and is therefore an excellent 
candidate for judging. For a while we enjoyed a good mix of both flying and 
non-flying judges. Then the latter began to diminish, could it be that they simply got 
tired of working for the pattern competitor and getting griped at in return? 

So we're now using pilot / judges for the most part. Guess what, we're still 
griping about scores and working harder! I've judged numerous meets over the 
years and within the various systems. I've not known one judge who I regarded 
as dishonest. Some are more skilled than others, some are more informed of the 
rules, and some didn't have clue. It really doesn't matter if they fly or not. 
Fortunately the cert program has minimized the clueless.

No individual, no matter their experience, falls into the hallowed few 
category. Just what is the correct score for a given maneuver? I may observe 
downgrades that someone else doesn't and vice versa. It's interesting to line up a 
group of judges and score a maneuver (not a whole flight) and then discuss the 
individual scores and why. This exercise demonstrates why there needs to be as 
many judges on a line as possible. 

We have a tendency to assign our view of a persons judging capability to the 
class they fly. Why is this? Is the FAI or Masters pilot smarter or better 
educated or more familiar with the rules than the Intermediate or Advanced pilot? 
I don't think so! Neither is the non-flying judge less qualified because they 
don't fly. The class a person flies only demonstrates their skill level as a 
pilot. I suspect there are folks who would excel at judging and might like to 
give it a shot if ask.

This is getting too long, but I will state that I have worked with a good 
number of different pilot / judges at the Nats and elsewhere and find them, while 
not always enthused about having to judge, dedicated and competent in 
performing the job. (The only exception I may find in this is when I review my own 
flight scores :>)). Judging will always be a work in progress and let me assure 
you that it's significantly better than it once was. We all must work within 
the rules to ensure consistent interpretation and accept that we will not 
always agree.

Earl
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