Well, you know what, WE would like you to be a judge. Here are a few of my thoughts, many shared by others on what the pluses and minuses might be in judging.

The positives include:

• Learning a huge amount about the hobby, scale modeling in particular.
• Learning “the ropes” if you ever plan to compete. Knowing what it takes to build a better than average model and to fly it well
• Having the satisfaction of making other modelers better builders and flyers as you give the fair but objective scores for both their static competition and their flying.
• You meet a great group of other judges and share these experiences with them.

The negatives include:

There are only two negatives I can think of, neither will cause the earth to stop rotating.

• You may have to sit out in the sun part of a day, or maybe all day. Good headgear, maybe an umbrella, and supply of cool water minimizes this concern.
• Rarely, very rarely, you may be taken to task by a competitor over what he/she feels is an inappropriate score. Generally, there is good reason for that score and once explained, everyone goes away happy.

Judges are vital to competition. Fairness and consistency are the keys. By having you go through the certification process and occasional refresher clinics, we strive to achieve that fairness and consistency. The saving grace, in any case, is the fact there are 2 judges per competitor with a score averaging formula, which creates a pretty level playing field for the all competitors.

In short, judging is a fascinating and rewarding experience where you can motivate your fellow modelers to greater achievements in building and flying.

Everybody benefits….it’s a true win-win experience.

The certification process follows. It’s quite easy and we are here to help.

Best regards,

Doug MacMillan
NWSAM Judging Administrator
aeronut@telus.net

Please direct any questions or concerns about the judges program to the Judges Training Program Coordinator.