Comments | pinkleader: Assuming the worst?

pinkleader

Assuming the worst?

Oct 26, 2010 00:44

I tagged along with Alan and Giacomo to Chalice of the Sun God on Saturday. Aside from set-up, watching part of Rochelle's prize and a long talk with Argh's daughter Sera, I spent most of my time in the hall judging the A&S entries. I looked at 5 of the 7 entries, and since there were small numbers of entries we could take the time to really read ( Read more... )

a&s, events, pictures, communication

Comments 19

Judging evavano October 26 2010, 11:53:57 UTC

Great comments. I am ashamed to admit I've never e-mailed a judge to thank them before, but I intend to next time. I started judging A&S myself a couple years ago, and it's harder than doing the documentation for the entry :-)
I think there would be less room for complaint amongst the judged if they were to contact the judges and ask for clarification on some of the comments. I've never had anything but helpful criticisms, but maybe I'm just less sensitive.
And judging entries DOES make me more understanding and compassionate toward those who judge my entries.
Thanks for the thoughtful post!

Re: Judging pinkleader October 27 2010, 01:31:59 UTC

No reason to be ashamed, just something to think on going forward. Especially having been a judge, don't you wish someone would have contacted you to either ask for clarification or express appreciation? As much as the artisans might improve with the commentary given, it would be nice to know how the commentary was received to know how to go forward as judges.

historicfashion October 26 2010, 12:06:21 UTC

I am not in SCA. But I wish all judges would be so polite and helpful. I have seen malicious judges before but maybe they're not in your society? To have humility to accept constructive critisicm is important I think. And to email and thank the good judges for constructive thoughts and questions, this is a very good idea. Helpful for all and courtesy is always good. Thankyou for the idea.

pinkleader October 27 2010, 01:41:50 UTC

I'm sure there are malicious judges in every organization. I've certainly heard horror stories from CostumeCon, so I don't think any group is immune. But the point is that they really are fewer than the stories would have it seem. Some just might be easily influenced by other judges in the group, or over their head and unprepared for the competition or entries.

Competitors need to remember that entering means their work will be judged, not just praised. And Judges need to remember that a person will be reading the comments and only carefully worded commentary will actually help. If you don't aim to help the artisans you are just wasting everyone's time.

gianetta October 26 2010, 12:46:34 UTC

You're a brave woman to judge A&S competitions. It's hard to communicate constructive criticism to someone in writing without hurt feelings. I've avoided entering and judging competitions for a variety of reasons, but this is one of the major ones. I wonder if there is another model that is less prone to this type of miscommunication.

pinkleader October 27 2010, 01:45:11 UTC

There have been some competitions where the judging was face to face. It made it harder to be mean, and conversation could take place beyond just what was written in the documentation, which I think was helpful. But it is tough to get judges for those types and it requires the artist to be there vs. working or playing elsewhere on-site, or folks bringing entries for friends who can't attend.

snarlingbadger October 26 2010, 13:20:38 UTC

Thank you for judging! I'm Bevin, who recently replaced Bel as Ponte Alto's MoAS. I was in the hall, but I'm not sure if we were introduced - since Bel had A&S pretty well handled, I helped with decorating & such at various times.

pinkleader October 27 2010, 01:49:00 UTC

You are welcome! Staff are generally always appreciative of other staff. ;) I think I saw you there, but was focused on the entries the entire time.

Some random thoughts on the subject.... dragonazure October 26 2010, 13:22:54 UTC

Mean judges? I've only had one incident--and it was a Laurel who did it. She is now on our Never Ask To Judge Ever Again List ( ... )

Re: Some random thoughts on the subject.... pinkleader October 27 2010, 02:01:08 UTC

we need to remember the real goal is to aid each other along
THIS.

Entrants need to realize that judging happens in competitions. If you don't want to improve, don't plan on doing another one, and are really sensitive, enter a display instead.

When I was KMOAS I ended up judging a whole bunch, despite that I was still pretty new and certainly less adept at the arts. It really shows how key documentation can be. There are some bad judges out there, but they are fewer than the stories would have us believe.