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<P>Jim - </P>
<P>I absolutely agree that feedback from judge to pilot is great - after the round. Im always willing to talk about a flight with a pilot after I judge his round. I often go so far as to make little memory jogger squiggles on my scratch pad so I'll remember who did what and why that maneuver was a '5'. (didn't do it at the Nats- FAI was a little too intense...) </P>
<P>I believe this feedback should be one on one, and a positive session (you know, no laughter or any of that - just an objective discussion of what the judge saw and how he scored it) </P>
<P>The pilot can get lots of feedback one on one after the round or contest, with an eye toward improving his flying. I keep all my tear sheets, and use them to focus subsequent practice sessions as outlined in one of my recent K Factor columns -- and it really seems to work. </P>
<P>And when I can ID the judge who scored me, I record his name in my spreadhsheet too, esp when the judge is a pilot I whose flying / coaching skills are excellent. Not for payback, but so that I can give extra attention to what he told me about my flight. </P>
<P>I *can* see merit in giving the raw scores given in a round back to the judges of that round. I've often sought them as a way to calibrate myself against the other judge(s) - again for self improvement. </P>
<P>I don't understand the point in someone (other than the pilots who flew the round?) reviewing a panel's performance, since it's an ad hoc group that will likely never be together again. So I guess that means we're back to comparing the judges against each other, which again implies that somewhere in there there is a 'correct' set of scores - which esp in a local 2 judge situation may or may not be true. </P>
<P>I think posting the raw scores for all rounds / classes is fine - but I'd wait until all flights are complete to do it, and wouldn't be too keen on ID'ing the judges by name. (If we assume the judge the learner here, and that he looks, he should be able to draw all kinds of information from this display. </P>
<P>Great conversation / discussion! </P>
<P>Thanks for listening! </P>
<P>Rick </P>
<P><BR>>From: Jim_Woodward@beaerospace.com<BR>>Reply-To: discussion@nsrca.org<BR>>To: discussion@nsrca.org<BR>>Subject: RE: Performance Judging? (back to original discussion)<BR>>Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 10:12:23 -0400<BR>><BR>>Hi Rick,<BR>><BR>>Thank you for posting some thoughts regarding my original post. The first<BR>>part of your post seems concerned with "... what will be done once the<BR>>scores are posted," and "... how can you compare judges' results."<BR>><BR>>My point is that "availability" of the information is important to the<BR>>contestant pool and will foster an open communicative environment. FAI<BR>>has already figured (after reading the last FAI rules notes posted by<BR>>T.N.) out that it is important for the contestants to see what is<BR>>happening across the judging panel. This is a
difference between<BR>>contestant and judge centered paradigms. In my opinion, focusing on<BR>>increasing the pilots view of a fair open system, will encourage higher<BR>>turnout and satisfaction at the end of the contest round. Please perceive<BR>>my ideas as a betterment of the pilots experience, and not "cornering" of<BR>>the judges.<BR>><BR>>Consider this: During each judging school, many note that it would be<BR>>"great" if there were demonstrational flights. However, each and every<BR>>contest round is in fact a demonstrational flight because people are<BR>>watching it. There would be no finer opportunity than to take the work<BR>>and effort that is already being done, and utilizing it within a few hours<BR>>(while fresh in the memory), for individuals to stop by the table and<BR>>review
if what they thought they saw was what was being scored by the<BR>>judges.<BR>><BR>>Because there is no current "open" or "organized" way to review a judging<BR>>panels work (.... or performance...). Any questions a pilot has have few<BR>>paths to resolution:<BR>>1. Question the CD regarding a score (pilot feels his score is very low<BR>>and was singled out): In this process, a pilot asks to talk to the CD off<BR>>line, where other pilots may see this conversation from afar and begin to<BR>>question the motive of this pilot. The CD then goes and attempts to<BR>>discretely ask the judge why they gave a score. Typically, the judge is<BR>>correct. Pilot is not happy and has no insight into the trend this judge<BR>>placed on the panel. Now, this judge goes and tells his friends
that a<BR>>particular pilot did not like the score. Note - this process does not<BR>>foster good will for anyone, and promotes a rumor-mill type of atmosphere.<BR>>2. At round posting, one pilot feels his position is very low: Because<BR>>there is no panel information, this pilot must now go and try to question<BR>>people who might have seen the round (not the judges because this would<BR>>indicate poor pilot etiquette). This turns into a complete frustration<BR>>for the pilot and yields only a mystery conclusion.<BR>><BR>>The flight takes place in an open forum for all to witness that are there,<BR>>everyone looks at the line and recognizes who is judging (as we do not<BR>>make judges where hoods, masks, robes, costumes :) ), many pilots are<BR>>already sharing information from tear or score sheets, we all
are privy to<BR>>the "outcome" of the round. The only missing link is posting of the<BR>>judges panel sheets at the conclusion of the round. Again, it is<BR>>important for the contestant to have insight into the panels scores as<BR>>recognized by FAI.<BR>><BR>>Again, because there is no organized way to see what a judging panel did<BR>>for a completed round, a pilot has only 'backdoor' options to get any<BR>>information - all of which will yield mysteries or distrust in the<BR>>"system." Result, pilot is not happy with system or individuals, gets<BR>>upset, and doesn't return. With a few small procedural changes, we can<BR>>increase the pilots enjoyment of the contest - name of the game.<BR>><BR>>Put your pilot on - does anyone feel that judges panel information is not<BR>>important to the pilots, or
should be kept secret given that all other<BR>>information is known?<BR>><BR>>Thanks,<BR>>Jim W.<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR></P></DIV></div></html>