TIME LIMITS: 10 minutes, with a 30-second grace period. No time signals are necessary, but may be given upon
request.
AIDS: The interpretation must be delivered from memory. No notes, prompting, or scripts are permitted. No costumes
or props (the use of something extraneous to the body) shall be permitted in interpretation; with the exception of
program oral interpretation which requires the student to hold a manuscript.
- Make sure you have the Detail Sheet for the tournament that is available on your Dashboard / tabroom. It will contain, at a minimum:
- the address and driving directions for the tournament site,
- the schedule of rounds,
- The Coach of the Day (chaperone)’s name and cell phone number, and
- The list of students and list of judges with their assignments (event, school you are judging for) etc.
- Wear comfortable shoes
- Bring a pad of paper on which to take notes, at least two pens or pencils . You will also need a device (laptops are best) to enter your ballot online.
- Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before your first assigned round.
- Follow the signs in the parking lot directing you to the “Judges Room”. Check in with the tournament staff to see if you need to register (nowadays, since we give names in advance and things are computerized), you may not need to do anything except wait for the opening welcome and announcements.
- Your name will be called when you have been assigned to a round.
- If you are using Tabroom and online balloting, you will receive a message that you have been assigned a round. Go immediately to your assigned room to judge your round.
- In the case of Tabroom online balloting, click “Start the Round” then walk to the room. This indicates to the folks running the tournament that you are aware you were assigned a ballot, and they are aware that you won’t be starting the round, really, for a few minutes.)
- Immediately after each round, return your completed ballot (online, be sure to submit the decision) and comment sheets to the Judges Room. Late ballots are one of the prime reasons tournaments run behind
- For online balloting, you can submit the decision, and the tournament officials can begin pairing the next round, while you can take your time making comments to the competitors.
- League tournaments provide snacks and meal for judges. At Invitationals you are usually on your own for meals.
- Checking out:
- Your child should attend the Awards Ceremony.
- Please do not leave without checking with the Coach of the Day if you are judging at an “elimination” tournament. We are required to keep our judges for one round past elimination – this does NOT mean the elimination of your child only (your judging covers several student entries); it’s based on a calculation. If you child has been eliminated, it’s a great learning opportunity for him/her to watch a round while you are judging – students understand this is the expectation.
- In the rare case of judging for only a partial day, please check out with the tournament’s registration desk when you leave (sometimes they will be aware, sometimes not so it’s best to reconfirm with them).
- If an emergency happens and you must leave, please notify the team’s chaperone and the tournament’s registration desk, and check back in again if you return later. Unless you have volunteered to drive students home, you are free to leave when you have met your judging commitment for the day.
Thank you for judging!