WAG Coach-Judge overlap

[cbifoja]

Do most high level coaches spend some time of their career serving as judges for competitions?

If not, should they?

If so, do you think this is a vital skill for coaches to have as they coach girls at higher levels (I guess I mean L8 and up)?

Just curious from watching my daughter's coach judge the girls and give them unofficial scores. I don't know if she has judging credentials but from seeing her marks on paper, I do believe she speaks some strange language that is undecipherable by us mere mortals! LOL

 

[sglemon]

Regardless if a coach is a judge, if they have been coaching for any period of time, they will have a good feeling about what a gymnast would score. Heck, if a mom watches it long enough, she will have a good idea of a score. On the flip side, sometimes there are not very good judges out there. It is easy to get hung up on personal ideals. The most frustrating judges are the Elite level judges coming down to judge level 4 and 5.

I don't think it is necessary for a good coach to be a judge. If it is something they are interested in, then great, if not? so what. It is an extra committment and an additional part time job.

Why don't you ask her if she is a judge? It is kind of weird you don't know. Usually a gym would list that under their credentials. All of our coaches have been extremely open about the plight with judge testing. It has never been a secret. The wierd markings are probably judges short hand for skills.

 

[cbifoja]

I was sitting her on a Sunday morning, doing some reading and the thought popped into my head. I might ask Bella's coach if I remember sometime but it really doesn't make a difference to my life. Whether she's a judge or not, Bella loves her coach and an answer wouldn't affect that one bit. I know some of our coaches ARE judges, just don't know about Bella's.

My questions was a philosophical one rather than a practical one.

 

[chalkbowl]

I'm rated to judge level 5/6 and intend on taking my 7/8 test nest year. However, I have to admit I don't judge competitions at all. Between working all day Saturdays (8am-2pm) and competing most weekends from October-June...I like spending the few free Sundays I have at home.

 

[JBS]

No and no and no.

 

[iwannacoach]

Coaches are coaches, and judges are judges......with dual qualifications there's usually a strong inclination toward one discipline or the other.

Some people are destined to be coaches. They like to figure out how to make things happen..........And some people are destined to be judges. They like to tell you about the things that somebody made happen.

 

[Kiwi]

Over here many if not most coaches are judges, and most judges are coaches. I don't think we could keep them separate as we wouldn't have enough people to cover both. I do agree with iwannacoach about having more inclination toward one or the other - I much prefer coaching to judging.

 

[shelovestoflip]

In our Region, there is a very well known gym owner who is also a judge. Frankly, I feel it is a conflict of interest to see this person judging at a Level 9 meet where the girls from that gym clearly have a 'comfort level' on the event whereas the girls from the other gyms don't have that level of comfort.

My two cents, but I think there should be a rule that you can't judge the kids from your own gym at a meet. That being said, I guess it is hard to find Level 9 judges (not sure) but still, it bothered me at the last meet I saw this person judging at.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Most of the coaches in my discipline in my area are also judges...otherwise we don't have enough judges to afford to run a meet. I think our families were surprised to find out that some coaches *don't* know how to judge anything!

 

[Kiwi]

My two cents, but I think there should be a rule that you can't judge the kids from your own gym at a meet. That being said, I guess it is hard to find Level 9 judges (not sure) but still, it bothered me at the last meet I saw this person judging at.

The rules at our sanctioned competitions are that every club attending must contribute so many judges, and every judging panel must have judges from a mixture of clubs.

 

[shelovestoflip]

The rules at our sanctioned competitions are that every club attending must contribute so many judges, and every judging panel must have judges from a mixture of clubs.

I am fairly certain that is not how it works here. I think the judges are a separate entity from clubs. Someone else here may know for sure. But at the very least, I know no one at our gym currently judges, though at least one I know is certified.

 

[gymkat]

I am fairly certain that is not how it works here. I think the judges are a separate entity from clubs. Someone else here may know for sure. But at the very least, I know no one at our gym currently judges, though at least one I know is certified.

Judges are more like independent contractors. In the US, you can judge your own team, but the head judges cannot be affiliated at that meet.

I love judging, and I love coaching. Judging makes me a better coach and helps with routine construction; coaching makes me a better judge; having done gymnastics helps with both!

 

[marie83]

Over here each club has to provide at least 1 judge for every competition you enter - I don't like it. I am a judge - one of 5 Women's artistic judges from our club. I enjoy judging, but LOVE coaching. When I take my girls to a competition I want to coach them, but more often than not, I'm down to judge. I think it would be so much better if judges weren't associated with the competing clubs in any way, however that wouldn't work here as most judges are coaches or parents of gymnasts.

However, back to the original question - I think coaches need judging knowledge - but I don't think they need to be qualified judges.

 

[JBS]

One thing to remember is that coaches and judges operate off the same set of rules...there is no secret information. If a coach doesn't know the basic concept of where the score is coming from...then they simply don't know the rules.

Here is the US men's judging site:

National Gymnastics Judges Association

There are even some videos that you can practice judge with.

 

[wallinbl]

I don't know if it is different in other states/regions, but around here, parents can and do become judges. And, there's nothing preventing them from judging a meet with their own kid's team in it. Always fun to go to a meet and see a team get a +0.5 on all their scores on that event when you compare their scores against other meets you see them at (boy, that's weird, XYZ gym just took 1st through 3rd on bars in all age groups). Parents and coaches refer to it as the leotard bonus.

 

[cbifoja]

I can understand how the parent-judge or coach-judge would lead some to suspect bias. I can honestly say I have no idea if I have ever been at a meet where I have run into that. Most of our meets are won by the two "big" gyms in our state but I don't know if that's the "leotard bonus" wallinbi refers to (love that phrase, BTW) as much as they have big numbers, amazing facilities, etc.

I've found all of the different viewpoints very interesting. I know that Bella's coach doesn't CURRENTLY judge but I don't know if she has ever judged. But right now, the dear woman is far too busy to start wearing the judge hat too. It's interesting to see how differently things are handled across the world.

 

[Kiwi]

And, there's nothing preventing them from judging a meet with their own kid's team in it.

When I signed up to be a judge they told me I would not be judging my DD's level. For example, last year DD was in step 3 so I did not judge step 3. This year she was in step 4 so I did not judge step 4. I'm glad, I wouldn't want to be judging my own kid and her team.