Head Judge Duties and Responsibilities

The Head Judge shall act as liaison between the judges’ panel and the Competition Director and personnel and shall act as the representative of the judges’ panel.  The Head Judge shall communicate any messages or instructions from the Competition Director or competition personnel before, during and after the competition.

This CBTF Policy regarding Head Judge Roles & Responsibilities was updated at the 2013 CBTF Fall Conference.

Please refer to the policy regarding Head Judge Selection Criteria for additional information.


The Head Judge shall act as liaison between the judges’ panel and the Competition Director and personnel and shall act as the representative of the judges’ panel.  The Head Judge shall communicate any messages or instructions from the Competition Director or competition personnel before, during and after the competition.

 

Head Judge Responsibilities and Duties

  1. Conduct all Judges’ Focus Meetings and ensure the following:
    1. All score sheets, masters, time sheets, etc are current and distributed to all judges prior to the start of the competition with a copy of the set system.   Allow sufficient time during the meeting for the judges to sign their score sheets & masters.                   
    2. If any conflicts of interest are discovered by any judge upon arrival at the competition (eg: judge is assigned to judge his/her athlete or relative, judge is not certified for an event, etc), confirm that these last minute revisions have been made to the set system by competition officials.
    3. Review any new or revised CBTF rules or procedures carefully with the panel.
    4. Provide answers to any questions with regards to CBTF rules, regulations and/or procedures including the pay rate, perdiem and travel rate the judges will be receiving for that particular event.
    5. Have available the CBTF and WBTF Role Model DVDs for all the events that may be offered at that specific competition:
      1. Pre-Competitive Events
      2. Groups
      3. Individual/Duet Competitive Events
      4. WBTF Events
        Judges are responsible to review these role models prior to arriving at the competition; however, if time permits, the Head Judge may wish to play the DVD in order to focus on one or more events.
    6. Relay any messages from competition personnel with regards to transportation (eg: to and from hotel/airport), scheduling, meal information, etc.
    7. Stress the necessity for all judges to maintain utmost professionalism throughout the competition.
    8. Confidentially and in private, point out any infraction of the CBTF Judges’ Code of Conduct/Ethics or Dress Code to any judge who does not meet the standards.
      Note:  Any action taken in these regards – even warnings – must be recorded and forwarded, in writing, to the CBTF Judges’ Rep immediately following the competition.
  2. Consult with the Competition Director to ensure that, if required. the following will be available at the competition:
    1. A dedicated amount of time shall be allotted for a minimum of a half hour for a judges’ Focus Meeting.
    2. A room that is within close proximity of the main gymnasium with table and appropriate number of chairs for the judges
    3. DVD player and monitor/projector for viewing
    4. Official CBTF & WBTF Role Model DVDs
  3. It is advisable that the Head Judge be able to access the CBTF Motion Handbook or Technical Rule Book in case verification is required on any rule or procedure.
  4. Be prepared to arbitrate any judging related concerns.
  5. Hold joint responsibility with the Competition Director to stop the competition proceedings should a risk factor related to safety occur.  (See CBTF Risk Management Policy).
  6. Read the CBTF Judges’ Creed during the opening ceremonies.  If another judge on the panel is bilingual, assign him/her to read the Creed in French.
  7. At the end of the competition, be responsible to check the judges’ Time Sheets for correctness of number of hours, accurate recording of break times, correct judging fees and calculations, etc.  Collect Time Sheets from all the judges to hand into the Competition Director or treasurer for payment.

 

Additional Duties & Responsibilities at a Provincial or National Team Trial Event

  1. During Compulsory Competition, the Head Judge shall indicate to the Compulsory Caller when to announce the next compulsory (usually the Caller sits next to the Head Judge).
  2. The Head Judge shall meet with the Range Find Person prior to the freestyle/pair/team competition to ensure he/she is aware of the duties and procedures pertaining to the averaging of the Overall Degree of Excellence Scores.  Establish the area in which the Range Find Person shall be seated.
  3. The Head Judge shall be seated in the immediate judging area for each category of the Team Trial competition even when not scheduled to judge.
  4. The Head Judge shall conduct any Critiques that may be scheduled.
  5. The Head Judge shall conduct the Judges’ Review Meeting which is held at the conclusion of the National Team Trials and before the Critiques. (Review Meetings may also be held at Provincial Team Trials).

 

 

Special Note re: Judges' Update Meetings

CBTF requires that all registered M2 and M3 judges are required to update their certification in these Modules within a four (4) year period in any one of the following ways:

  • by auditing the particular course (M2 or M3)
  • by judging at a Provincial or Canadian Winner/Championship
  • by attending a Judges’ Update Meeting (if approved as an Update by the National Judges Rep)
  • by attending a Judges’ Update Meeting held in conjunction with a Provincial or Canadian Winner/Championships (if approved as an Update by the National Judges Rep)

In order for a Judges Update Meeting to qualify under this certification update requirement:

  • The Head Judge must submit the agenda of the Update Meeting to the CBTF Judges’ Rep well in advance of the meeting for approval. Update Meetings are approved at the sole discretion of the National Judges Rep.
  • After an Update Meeting is held, the Head Judge must submit a list of the attendees at the Update Meeting to the National Judges Rep.