question about judging

[shadow]

can a judge, judge their own girls at a meet? this past weekend, our girls were at a meet and a judge was judging the girls that went to the gym that she coaches at. The parents of our girls didn't seem to think that it was fair for her to do that. they asked me about it and im not sure on how the rules are for that situation so i thought i would ask. does anyone know anything about this?

 

[zona]

In Arizona many of the judges have an affiliation with one gym or another, so they often judge girls from their own gym.

 

[gym law mom]

can a judge, judge their own girls at a meet? this past weekend, our girls were at a meet and a judge was judging the girls that went to the gym that she coaches at. The parents of our girls didn't seem to think that it was fair for her to do that. they asked me about it and im not sure on how the rules are for that situation so i thought i would ask. does anyone know anything about this?

The answer is yes they can.

 

[shadow]

cool thanks. the parents were going crazy about it tonight and i didn't know what to tell them. thanks again!!

 

[gymdog]

Judging panels have two judges anyway that need to be in range of each other so personally I could care less about affiliations. I suppose if like, every judge at the meet was affiliated it would be issue but it's not going to happen. It's hard enough to fill judging slots as it is, I am grately anyone shows up to judge and puts their best effort forth hours after hours. Complaining about judging is in poor taste I feel and also an excuse, and I shut that down as best I can.

 

[gymnut1]

In the UK when you enter a meet you have to provide a judge too. So all the judges are usually parents or coaches from the clubs taking part. Judges aren't paid like they are in the USA. We usually have 4 judges to a piece. It works fine. I have a friend who judges her daughter. She says after a while you just see leotards and legs lol.

 

[shadow]

I have a friend who judges her daughter. She says after a while you just see leotards and legs lol.

ya i guess that would be true^^ we are currently on bad terms with this judge and when she judges our girls, we don't do so well score wise so the parents were overreacting. i just wanted to clear things up. honestly, i don't see anything wrong with it other than judging them differently than everyone else. but i wasn't at the meet so i really don't know what was going on.

 

[standsonherhands]

The judge who is affiliated with our gym can only judge our girls when the meet uses a judging panel (2 judges) which seems very fair to me.

 

[shadow]

yes, i know that there were two judges and she was the judge that gave the signal but they, as in the parents, didn't know if she was actually judging.

 

[gym monkeys mom]

A lot of judges in MN are also team coaches here of some sort.

Generally speaking they are usually tougher on their own gymnasts. They know where at what the gymnasts mistakes are from time spent in the gym. They also know the greatness their own gymnasts are capable of.

I always find it amazing all the things judges have to know and look for. We have held a few mock meets in the gym and it is impressive to watch and sit next to and listen to them.

All that being said I am sure human nature plays into judging just as it does in all aspect of life but, for the most part the do the best job they can. a judge told me once they are as nervous about scoring and meets as gymnasts sometimes. The bottom line is no one likes to be unfair and do a bad job.

Some gyms just naturally look better due to hours, coaching styles and where they pu their effort. We always tell our gymnasts to set goals based on something other than your score. We try n ot to place to mush on scores rather how you went out and competed. Did you do your best?? did you do better than last time at your skills.?? Things like that.

Best wishes to you and your gymnasts this season.

 

[IJustWriteChecks]

One of our coaches is also a judge, and trust me it is NOT beneficial to our team when she judges our girls. My dd's scores are always lower when she judges her. I assume this is because she sees her every day in the gym and knows what she is capable of.

 

[Blazing15]

Very good question as I just asked a judge at the state meet this question this past Sunday. She said yes a judge can judge their own child but you usually have a head judge and and assitant judge when their child is up they have to be the assistant judge if they are the main judge.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Our owner is a judge, & she's TOUGH on our girls. She knows where to look for their common errors, & when you see the best routine a kid has ever done ever, I'd imagine it's hard to not judge against that.

Realistically, there are going to be affiliated judges at most meets. It's hard to find judges as it is-it's love of the sport (and ability to watch the same routine a thousand times) that leads them to take the tests & get the background check and all, not the pay.

 

[cher062]

I don't think there is an official rule saying they cant but I know that in my area most judges would rather not judge their own gym. I've seen judges switch meets to avoid this. I think in all the years we have been involved it only happened once and that was because we had a snow storm and a judge couldn't get through. So instead of cancelling the meet they let the owner of the gym judge an event. (he also was a judge in general)

 

[shadow]

this is whats going on. i do not have a problem with judges judging their own gym and i understand that it is totally fair because they do know what their gym is capable of. Te judge that i am asking about did coach at our gym for a few years. the last year, she was horrible to our girls. She was putting them down constantly saying that our girls were not good enough to win and that her girls at her home gym were so much better than ours. we asked her to stop and she wouldn't so we told her to leave. ever since, our girls haven't been doing to well, score wise, when their routines are amazing. the girls are disappointed because they know whats going on and the parents are not happy. the parents wanted to know if a judge can do this because of this situation.

 

[emandelsmom]

Yes, they can. In my state, the head judge of all the meets is also the state chair and she owns a gym and she owns the scoring equipment. Her hand is deep in many pockets. She scores all her own girls.

 

[gymdog]

this is whats going on. i do not have a problem with judges judging their own gym and i understand that it is totally fair because they do know what their gym is capable of. Te judge that i am asking about did coach at our gym for a few years. the last year, she was horrible to our girls. She was putting them down constantly saying that our girls were not good enough to win and that her girls at her home gym were so much better than ours. we asked her to stop and she wouldn't so we told her to leave. ever since, our girls haven't been doing to well, score wise, when their routines are amazing. the girls are disappointed because they know whats going on and the parents are not happy. the parents wanted to know if a judge can do this because of this situation.

Well, that would suggest that the integrity of all the judges is compromised. I suppose it's possible, but it wouldn't be my first conclusion.

I'd say the best thing to do is get a judge to visit your gym for feedback on the routines. This is commonly done. If you feel a score is incorrect you could also file a score inquiry at the meet.

 

[emandelsmom]

You can go to a nearby state as well. We don't just compete in our home state where the same 8 judges judge it all, we got to other nearby states. That way the girls get to see how they do under different judges..

 

[gymgramma]

this happens all the time and it seems like they judge their own girls HARDER because they know what they can do