Head Judge Selection Criteria

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 Selection Criteria was updated at the 2013 CBTF Fall Conference.

Please refer to the policy regarding Head Judge Duties and Responsibilities for additional information.


A Head Judge must be selected for every CBTF-sanctioned competition.

1. HEAD JUDGE SELECTION CRITERIA

(Note: To simplify this process for Competition Directors, CBTF Judges that are qualified and eligible to serve as a Head Judge are identified on the CBTF-Certified Judges listing. Competition Directors are expected to use that list when choosing judges for their competitions and when choosing their Head Judge)

  1. Must be a CBTF member in good standing, hold a current CBTF membership and be registered as a judge in the CBTF Technical Association.
  2. Must be certified in all modules for all the events that are offered at the specific competition.
  3. Must be well-informed on any new techniques and evaluation methods and be willing to share that information with the judges’ panel.
  4. Must have participated in recent judging updates/webinars/judges’ focus meetings - this information can be obtained from the CBTF website.
  5. Must have a minimum of three years recent active judging experience (consider number of years, past head judging positions, judges’ course conductor, experience at all levels of competition) – this information can be obtained from the CBTF website.
  6. Must have the ability and confidence to communicate well with other judges and competition officials and, should any concerns related to judging arise, with coaches, athletes and, if necessary, parents.
  7. Must be responsible, capable, honest, unbiased and portray a professional image on and off the competition floor. A Head Judge shall act as a “role model” for the other judges on the panel by strictly adhering to the CBTF Rules and Regulations, CBTF Judges’ Creed, Judges’ Code of Ethics, Judges’ Dress Code and Judges’ Contract.

SPECIAL NOTE: It is advisable that at least one experienced judge be hired for every CBTF competition to act as Head Judge. However, should a competition committee choose to hire only new judges (eg: Pre-Events competition) where the judges’ have limited or no head judge experience, it is recommended that the Competition Director consult with the provincial judges’ rep, the CBTF judges’ rep, the provincial technical chair and/or the CBTF Technical Chair for assistance in selecting a Head Judge.

2. HIRING A HEAD JUDGE FOR:

  • OPEN COMPETITIONS
  • PROVINCIAL WINNER/CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS
  • PROVINCIAL TEAM TRIALS

The Head Judges for these competitions are selected by the Competition Director well in advance of the competition date. Provincial Technical Chairs and Provincial Judges Reps or the CBTF Judges Rep and CBTF Technical Chair can provide guidance and assistance.

3. HIRING A HEAD JUDGE FOR:

  • INTERNATIONAL CUP QUALIFIER
  • CANADIAN WINNER/CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS
  • CANADIAN TEAM TRIALS

The Head Judge at all of these events shall be the CBTF Judges’ Representative. Should CBTF decide to offer Event Focus Sessions during the Judges’ Meeting, other judges on the panel may be invited by the CBTF Judges’ Rep to organize & run a specific session (eg: Medley, Compulsories). In those cases, the invited judge must meet the Head Judge Selection Criteria as shown above.

SPECIAL NOTE RE: TEAM TRIAL PANELS

Should there be two judging panels at a team trials competition, the Head Judge shall designate one judge on the other panel as a second Head Judge who shall assume the following duties as they pertain to his/her panel during the competition:

  • Watch for risk management concerns and stop the competition as required.
  • Indicate to the announcer that the panel is ready to proceed.
  • Be seated next to the Compulsory Caller and advise the Caller when the next compulsory is to be called.
  • Monitor that the judges behave in a correct manner and report any concerns to the Head Judge.