Judge’s General Reference

GENERAL REFERENCE

1. All contestants must be judged. Do not let someone else judge for you.

2. Consult studentconventions.sotafe@gmail.com or info.sotafe@gmail.com if you have any conflicts or questions.

3. Keep contestant scores confidential. Please do not discuss contestant performance in the presence of other people, contestants, or sponsors and do not reveal the scores to anyone. Judge’s forms are to remain secret and confidential. They are not to be copied or shared with anybody. 4. When judging virtually, stay in an isolated area with your screen out of view from any passers-by. 5. Please be cautious. Make sure that you DO NOT share any of the videos or files. (ministries might be put in danger with the spreading of their videos/files)

6. Do not to allow biased sponsors or friends of contestants to attempt to influence your decision regarding the entries. 7. All items must be judged on merits of compliance with the Student Convention Guidelines. Check the Contestant Guidelines for qualifying specifications.

8. Do not assume fraud just because a work is good. Give the contestant the benefit of the doubt unless there is a general consensus among the judges that the student’s sponsor should be consulted for further inquiry. Do not base a decision on rumors. Check it out. 9. Judges should not collaborate during scoring. We will call for a conference only in cases of breaking ties. A majority vote of judges is necessary to break a tie. No judge’s forms are to be altered by anyone other than the judge who filled out the form, except in cases of mathematical errors in tabulating scores, in which case the chief judge or Master Control will correct computation errors. 10. IMPARTIALITY. A challenge for judges is the desire to give extra points to their own students (or to give them less points, in some cases). Your job as a judge is to compare each entry with the judging criteria as objectively and completely as possible. That is one of the reasons that the judging team represents several different schools in each category. If you feel that you cannot be objective with a particular entry, speak to the chief judge immediately.