Judging FAQs - What are the questions you ask or hear in every judges meeting?

[mafzal]

What are the Top 5 judging-related questions you always ask, or hear being asked, before a competition? I'm thinking about the pre-competition captain's meeting with judges, but these could be questions asked at any time.

My goal with this is to help get these FAQs answered before they're even asked (#efficiency) or at least get judges and organizers thinking about them in advance, especially new ones. Let's not discuss the answers to these questions since they'll be different at every competition, but just get a list going

Ex:

• "Which is more important, creativity or execution?"
• "Will teams be deducted for using stage markers?"-
• "Where will judges be seated?"
• "What are the stage dimensions?"

 

[faizan]

I would ask questions that lock judges into a judging style or approach so that they can't contradict themselves...


Which team's style do you prefer, name the names of the teams in the competition.


Ask them about their history, the types of teams they have danced for.


Ask judges which they would take more points off for, messiness or a lack of creativity.


Ask them what their favorite sets were last year...

 

[Guppi]

I would ask questions that lock judges into a judging style or approach so that they can't contradict themselves...


Which team's style do you prefer, name the names of the teams in the competition.


Ask them about their history, the types of teams they have danced for.


Ask judges which they would take more points off for, messiness or a lack of creativity.


Ask them what their favorite sets were last year...

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!! I think this is honestly one of the best things teams could ask the judges to get a feel of what they expect. One question that I have gotten often as a judge and judges need to discuss this one in advance is what do judges award more....Being simple and executing well? or going with a more complex routine and being messy?

 

[sumeetj]

I would ask questions that lock judges into a judging style or approach so that they can't contradict themselves...


Which team's style do you prefer, name the names of the teams in the competition.


Ask them about their history, the types of teams they have danced for.


Ask judges which they would take more points off for, messiness or a lack of creativity.


Ask them what their favorite sets were last year...

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!! I think this is honestly one of the best things teams could ask the judges to get a feel of what they expect. One question that I have gotten often as a judge and judges need to discuss this one in advance is what do judges award more....Being simple and executing well? or going with a more complex routine and being messy?

echo this - if judges could honestly answer 3-4 past performances theyve seen that they would place at that competition based on this rubric, i think it would help teams know what direction to move in

 

[siddyp]

This isn't a question, but a demand that all teams should demand of all judges: Judge to the rubric.

The best story I heard was that Waleed once declined judging a competition and said "With the way that I think about bhangra, that rubric just doesn't fit me. I shouldn't be judging that rubric. I don't agree with it. And it wouldn't be fair to the teams or to the competition if I judged to it."

The rubric is the playing field of the competition. It doesn't matter what a judge feels is the "best version of bhangra." Teams prepare for a rubric(the level playing field) not 3-7 different bias(un even playing field).

If a judge is not willing to judge according to an organizers vision for what they want the competition to be, the teams/organizers should be able to sniff that out via the questions they ask and how they are answered. Committees should take a hard line with their judges to ensure this. Tell judges to use their bhangra experience and knowledge (NOT BIAS) and apply it to your vision for what you want your competition to be. And if they're not down, for all the teams who are practicing/preparing/spending all that money to come and compete, remove those judges.

 

[arnab]

A few I hear often:

Q: How do you feel about girls doing thappi-like actions, or more masculine actions
A: Doesn't bother me in the slightest. Girl dancers are performing Bhangra, and these actions are Bhangra actions...so they have the right to perform them.

Q: What do you think about markers in terms of use and quantity
A: I generally defer to the committee here, since I think it's an issue that should be defined when the team is choosing to apply to the competition. By the time teams are speaking to judges they've already been using a practice system for a long time.

Q: Will you deduct for chaadre tied too high?
A: Yes. Tying a proper chaadra and knowing how to dance in a chaadra are basic Bhangra skills. It's also awkward for the audience to see boxers/shorts.

Q: How do you feel about gimmicks?
A: Personally, I do not award points for simply including a gimmick in the set- unless it's specifically stated in the rubric. If it's tastefully integrated in the set and "fits" with the rest of the dancing, then it can help in the creativity/artistic elements section. I will say, I find myself deducting points when dancers take long breaks during gimmicks (anything over 10ish seconds).

 

[Howie Magz]

People need to stop asking if points are deducted for markers (especially the night before the competition). I doubt your team will go on stage without markers if they have been practicing with them all this time. I think by this point the question regarding if markers will lead to point deductions should just be included in the competition rubric.

 

[KushK]

Legs showing= Automatic Deduction

Makers/Girls Doing Thapis- Knock Yourself Out, its 2016!

Gimmicks- Judges need to go by the rubric and the comp. Bruin wants gimmicks. MCB does not. I think comps that are very much established make it very clear what they are looking for. New comps need to make it very clear to their teams and judges wether they want gimmicks or not. Makes life a lot easier.

 

[scaplash]

Love a lot of the suggestions regarding what to ask judges, but I think one of the big problems with some of these questions is that judges will often avoid giving a concrete answer as it paints them into a corner. Ex. clean vs. creativity? Questions like that are so dependent on the actual set and on top of that, giving concrete answers to some of these questions makes the judge liable for not necessarily placing a clean set (even through a 100 other things might have been wrong) etc.
Strong judging comes from a strong rubric and an experienced judge that can execute that rubric. Ideally there shouldn't need to be a lot of questions to pin down the subjectivity of certain areas-the rubric should have that clarified and the judge should execute that rubric properly.
-Sonny

 

[Archana]

Legs showing= Automatic Deduction

Makers/Girls Doing Thapis- Knock Yourself Out, its 2016!

Gimmicks- Judges need to go by the rubric and the comp. Bruin wants gimmicks. MCB does not. I think comps that are very much established make it very clear what they are looking for. New comps need to make it very clear to their teams and judges wether they want gimmicks or not. Makes life a lot easier.

Could not agree with this more! Competition's need to clarify what they want in the rubric. I have seen a few comps have a very mixed rubric which we ended up clarifying and getting it in the direction they wanted. However, don't just throw a competition to throw one, know what exactly you want as an end result. Competitions like Bruin and MCB clearly state what they expect.