[NSRCA-discussion] D3 Championship - proposals

Wed Oct 17 18:23:22 AKDT 2007

[NSRCA-discussion] D3 ChampionshipWe've talked about other ideas to improve the education and consistency in the past.  It wouldn't be a bad start for FAI to start following the existing rules and to post the raw scores for each round.  Here's a new idea that seems to combine several below and from past conversations:

Designate the last flight of the first round in FAI as a training session. All the judges for the upcoming rounds would silently judge that round for the class.  The regular judge scores would be used for the contest of course, but immediately following the flight the group would have a team review of the manuvers/downgrades.  Some would learn from others (eg "Oh yeah, I forgot to watch the exit line") and others might learn from the group as when someone applies a harsh downgrade but then changes his/her mind when the group discusses the infraction and penalty and all agrees on a smaller downgrade.  

Since usually Masters judge FAI this team review would not affect the start of the next round.  Also, if raw scores are posted as the rules state, the group concensus can be compared to the actual scores.  This is not to promote that all judges should strive for the concensus, but remember even the TBL scoring system is based on deviation from the concensus.  Our biggest TBL complaint is that it may penalize the one judge that "saw the zero" but this would not be the problem with my proposal because all the "judges in training" would be free and encouraged to discuss what they saw and botched manuvers would be weeded out.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to do this in other classes, but it would take agreement to post raw scores and might impact the pace of the contest.

--Lance

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: McLaughlin, Ryan (FRS.JAX) 
  To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 12:18 PM
  Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] D3 Championship

  This is my first post to the NSRCA list as I am a bit 'internet shy', but I thought I might be able to add some value to the FAI judging discussion Jim W started.  Although I tend to err on the side of diplomacy : ), I believe the feelings Jim expressed are legitimate and shared by many FAI competitors throughout the country.  As a long time participant, I realize that bias is not a new problem but I do not think we should accept this is as a "fact of life" and move on.  I think we have an excellent opportunity here and we should make the most of it.

  The primary issue to address in my opinion is not disparity in judging standards between judges, though as Earl points out, this is important.  Rather, it is the different standard applied to pilots within one score set--i.e.. scoring a pilot lower or higher based on who he is.  Our penchant for creating "superstars" is the most discouraging aspect of FAI competition.  To remedy this, we must all make a conscious decision to change a long established tradition in our sport.  Are we ready to take this on?

  Complaining isn't the answer and neither is staying quiet, a mistake that has made the FAI competitors as responsible as anyone else for the situation.  To this end, I submit for your review the following ideas to specifically target the FAI bias issue:

  1. Sacrifice one FAI round per contest to serve as an "open" round for all contestants expected to judge FAI during the event.  Allow everyone to compare notes and use this as a coaching opportunity.

  2.  Drop one FAI pilot to Masters at each contest to serve as a judge for all rounds and use volunteers from other classes to serve as the others.  This would have to be an agreement made among FAI pilots.

  3.  Extend the pilots meeting to go over specific issues, maybe a new one or two every meet rather than just pointing out the landing zone, etc.  Make a "mini" judging seminar mandatory each contest.

  4.  Certify judges for FAI on a volunteer basis and only use "certified" judges in the contest. 

  5.  Utilize peer judging, in other words, have FAI pilots judge themselves.  If a pilot is not flying, he is judging his fellow competitors.

  Some of this may seem radical, but I believe there is room for a bit of this.  Pattern belongs to us right?  I welcome any ideas or critique anyone can offer.  I will clarify any of the above upon request.

  Thank you for your consideration. 

  Ryan McLaughlin 
  Eustis, Florida 

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