Your Judges Sub-Committee is always looking for ways to encourage good practice by judges and a deeper understanding by others of what to expect from judges. It seems to us that we might be able to use the pages of "Northern Focus" to a) get our message across and b) to encourage feedback from which we can profit.
Judging pictures is not a science as we all know, and it is not possible to make rules. Most of us, however, have attended competitions when a good judge has made it a pleasant and constructive event, even for those who did not eventually feature in the honours. Conversely, some of us may have been to an event where we did really well, but did not enjoy the event. All Federations rely heavily on a relatively small number of judges who give up their time to be of service to fellow members, but any club discussions and controversy frequently revolve around judges and competitions.
Any list of Federation judges includes several who have been around for many years, and hopefully a number who are just beginning their judging career. No judge ever sets out with the intention of upsetting the audience, and it is really important that clubs do realise the enormous input of time and effort involved. In many areas judging is done at the event only, -there is no careful consideration at home, and we are lucky in the NCPF that we have judges who are willing to make the investment in time and effort for us.
The judges committee hold regular seminars for both new and experienced judges, and also to encourage prospective judges to take the plunge! New guidelines will soon be available for judging, but it must be remembered that clubs requiring the services of a judge, have a responsibility also. There seems to be an increasing tendency to reduce the amount of time between delivering the pictures and the event. On one occasion the judge was left with only 2 days to deal with a large competition. Two or three weeks between receiving pictures and the event, and a pleasant letter of thanks afterwards may incline a judge to cheerfully accept future bookings!
To mark or not to mark is a frequent topic of conversation, and how a competition is run is a subject for agreement between the competition secretary, on behalf of the members, and the judge when the arrangement is made.
Conversations with several federation members indicate that constructive advice is very much appreciated, and welcomed by the majority who find an unbiased opinion on the relative strengths and weaknesses of an image extremely helpful. If you have any points you think should be discussed, please send your comments to Chairman of the Judges Sub-Committee, Dave Coates.
Anne Swearman, (for and on behalf of the Judges Sub-Committee)