Nats Scoring

[Keith Hoard]

Gentlemen,

 

            Here's some observations from one of your junior (Intermediate
pilot) judges.  Judging, like anything else is a skill that a person needs
to learn over time.  That learning curve is steep, but it is much steeper
when you don't have any guidance from a more experienced person.  

            You are all correct that the Advanced class gets the short end
of the judging stick at contests, especially the Nats.  When I judged my
half-day at the Nats, I took my assignment very seriously and did the best I
could knowing the expense and months of preparation every pilot put in to
stand in front of me.  

            However, I feel that there is a serious hole in the way we train
and select judges in pattern.  Yes, I went to a judge's certification
seminar.  However, no matter how hard Lamar tried; the discussion kept
wandering back to the new T/O and landing sequence (My gosh guys, how simple
can it be!!!), spins, snaps, and how the rules used to be back in 1992.
That left him no time to discuss the basics of judging other than "read the
book".

            So, for my first judging assignment at the Nats, I "read, and
re-read the book".  During my judging assignment, the only feedback on how I
did was trying to cheat and take a look at the other judges score sheets
after the flight and before they gave them to Cathy.  I didn't change any
scores, but I wanted to know how I was doing - looking for big discrepancies
that I may have missed.  Other than that, my only feedback was rumors about
a grievance filed against one of the judges in Advanced and wondering if it
was me.  

            How comfortable would you be if I gave you just the ground
school for your Private Pilot license then threw you the keys to a Cessna
172 and your first flight was solo?  I think the NSRCA needs to develop a
simple program to "check out" our pilots as judges under the tutelage of a
senior judge - not just have the CD yell across the flight line "Hoard,
you're judging line 2!!!"  I'm telling you; just "reading the book" is not
good enough.

            Obviously, this is going to take some time away from the Masters
and FAI pilots during contests, since they have be the instructors for us
new judges.  However, I think I have an idea that will help everyone in the
long run.

            First, there needs to be some set criteria for a judge - just
because my son flies pattern, he's still 13 years old and I don't want him
judging.  This could be as simple as the CD and/or a couple Masters/FAI
pilots agreeing over a beer that someone is ready to judge.  Second, you
have to attend a judging seminar (duh).  Third, we have to have a "sign-off"
sheet; a list of topics that the instructor will cover one-on-one with the
new judge.  Fourth, you have to have the Instructor Judge observe and
critique the new guy for some minimum number of Advanced pilots before
signing him off to judge solo.  Why Advanced? - I feel that is the first
class where most of the guys flying are using the tricks of the trade.
Perhaps another sign-off to judge Masters would be appropriate also.

            This is how I envision the process: Some time before the
contest, the new judge meets with his instructor and they open up the rule
book.  The instructor (an experienced Masters or FAI pilot) covers each
topic, asks questions, and then initials the sign-off sheet when he feels
comfortable the student "gets it".  During the contest, the instructor sits
beside the student judge and scores the flight (independently) right along
with the student.  After each flight, while it is still fresh in both of
their minds, they discuss the scores for the flight.  The instructor then
has the authority to change (correct) all or none of the students scores
after the flight (but NOT the other judges!!) before turning in the score
sheet to the CD.  After the round is complete, the instructor judge then
either signs off the new judge, or recommends him for a couple more
supervised rounds.  Yes, this would stretch out the Advanced flight order,
so we would need some relief from the 3-minute rule when an instructor is
present.  However, I don't think the Advanced pilots would complain too
loudly since this program would be directly benefiting their flight scores.
After the contest, the CD sends in the new judge's completed sign-off sheet
to the NSRCA and your name gets published on the web site as a qualified
judge.

            I think this would help us all out a lot and pay dividends in
the future.  First of all, it would help the Advanced pilots get a fair
shake during their flights in front of a new judge.  Second, it would help
standardize a new crop of judges that will eventually climb the ranks.
Initially, the NSRCA would have to grandfather the initial cadre of
qualified judges and instructor judges.  After that, the program would
concentrate on qualifying and standardizing Intermediate pilots to judge
Advanced.

            Now, the hard part - how to motivate people to go thru all this
hassle.  Obviously, something needs to change other than the low-level
bee-atching I hear at contests all the time.  I have a couple suggestions in
that arena as well.  

             How do you motivate the Intermediate pilot to seek out an
instructor and go thru this?  Well, you don't let him move up to Advanced
until he is signed off as a judge.  Harsh?  Yes.  Fair to all of the upper
classes?  I'll let the masses decide.  As for motivating the Masters / FAI
guys to instruct, well I don't know what motivates those guys so someone
else can come up with a solution to that one so I guess I don't have more
than one suggestion.

            I don't know if this has been tried before since I've only been
in this game for a couple years.   Hopefully I have come up with something
new so I don't feel I've wasted a half hour typing this novel.
 

Keith L. Hoard
Cordova, TN
khoard at midsouth.rr.com




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