OmniSkore! Coverage of the 2008 US Nationals.
Judges

Every competition needs fair and equitable judges. Events judged by video live by the rule "If it's not shown on video, then it did not happen." This simple requirement has lead to a lot of disappointed teams. Edge-on views of the exit have created lost points for teams that had all the grips. In the new vRW event, this is an even more critical job for the photographer. Judges judge what is on the video, not what a coach or team member 'knows' about the grips that were completed for the exit or any other point.

Judges are people too and may or may not see something. That is why there is a panel of judges for each event. A consensus of the judges' opinion is required to make a point a point or make a bust a bust. Judges also show up a day or two early to practice judging dives from previous events. They train too.

The judges work long hours, showing up at the DZ at the crack of dawn and then working past the last jump landed to provide the evaluation of the jumps that happened that day. The next time you pass a judge on the DZ, thank them for their efforts. Without the tireless work and fair calls of the judges, competitions would not be what they are today.

Judges play several roles. There is a Chief Judge for each discipline that is in charge of recruiting the judges and assigning an Event Judge(s). Event judges work with the judges that are evaluating the jumps to make a judge team that provides a uniform concensus about the performance of a team or individual competitor.