Thursday, November 08, 2007
Speed Judging
I think it's great if a judge has an organized mind, knows what he or she is looking for, and stays on task for the most part, taking breaks only between breeds and not just very few minutes to chat instead of judge. But I'm seeing a trend of speed judging that troubles me. Yes, I know that time is important. It is a problem if a show isn't over until 9:30 p.m. or 3:30 a.m., in the case of night shows. But is speed judging the answer?
I think that speed judging is a problem because too many big DQs are missed (I'm not for digging for every possible judgment call), and too many nice rabbits get passed over. Consistently suffers tremendously. Sure, the winner is usually pretty nice and should be proud of the placement, but what about very nice rabbits that are skipped altogether? I think that's a problem.
In my opinion, speed judging takes place because exhibitors complain about needing to go home. That causes clubs to hire speed judges. That causes judges to hone their speed skills - maybe over other skills that I - and probably you - would value more.
So it really does start with exhibitors. We started it, we can change it.
So what can we do about it? First, we can be ready to go to the table. We can get our judged rabbits off of the table. If you have more than one breed, please secure someone to help you. Judges often complain that they can't get rabbits to the table all day long and then are criticized for being slow. Let's give the judges more time to judge by eliminating most of the down time in between.
Second, if we really need to get home early, then we should consider only entering the A show. Or, pick a time that you need to leave and scratch your remaining entries and leave peaceably.
Third, and I'm really guilty here, make sure your tattoos are legible so the judging doesn't come to a halt every few seconds. I hate tattooing, so it will take a lot of effort on my part to improve in this area. But I'll try.
I'm sure there are people who just want their rabbits judged, quickly if not accurately . In breeds where there is a dominant breeder or single breeder who is going to win anyway, they may not care which they pick as long as they pick one so they can go home. But for the sake of breeds with lots of competition and where the differences can be subtle, we need to slow down a bit. It takes more time to sort through 23 solid senior bucks or to measure English Lop ears or to run certain breeds.
I'd love to see us all work together to give the judges the time they need to make the fine distinctions and really put the rabbits in their best order. I'd like to see time as only one consideration in a rabbit show and not THE consideration. I think that by making time the most important issue, we do ourselves a disservice and we cheat deserving bunnies of their due credit.
Laurie ¶ 11:39 AM
I think that speed judging is a problem because too many big DQs are missed (I'm not for digging for every possible judgment call), and too many nice rabbits get passed over. Consistently suffers tremendously. Sure, the winner is usually pretty nice and should be proud of the placement, but what about very nice rabbits that are skipped altogether? I think that's a problem.
In my opinion, speed judging takes place because exhibitors complain about needing to go home. That causes clubs to hire speed judges. That causes judges to hone their speed skills - maybe over other skills that I - and probably you - would value more.
So it really does start with exhibitors. We started it, we can change it.
So what can we do about it? First, we can be ready to go to the table. We can get our judged rabbits off of the table. If you have more than one breed, please secure someone to help you. Judges often complain that they can't get rabbits to the table all day long and then are criticized for being slow. Let's give the judges more time to judge by eliminating most of the down time in between.
Second, if we really need to get home early, then we should consider only entering the A show. Or, pick a time that you need to leave and scratch your remaining entries and leave peaceably.
Third, and I'm really guilty here, make sure your tattoos are legible so the judging doesn't come to a halt every few seconds. I hate tattooing, so it will take a lot of effort on my part to improve in this area. But I'll try.
I'm sure there are people who just want their rabbits judged, quickly if not accurately . In breeds where there is a dominant breeder or single breeder who is going to win anyway, they may not care which they pick as long as they pick one so they can go home. But for the sake of breeds with lots of competition and where the differences can be subtle, we need to slow down a bit. It takes more time to sort through 23 solid senior bucks or to measure English Lop ears or to run certain breeds.
I'd love to see us all work together to give the judges the time they need to make the fine distinctions and really put the rabbits in their best order. I'd like to see time as only one consideration in a rabbit show and not THE consideration. I think that by making time the most important issue, we do ourselves a disservice and we cheat deserving bunnies of their due credit.
Laurie ¶ 11:39 AM
