Affiliation of Judges
Affiliation of an official at a specific meet refers to:
- An immediate family member of a competing gymnast or of
the gymnast’s coach(s), or of the club owner whose team is
competing. An immediate family member is defined as a parent/step-parent, grandparent, sibling, or any member of the household. A judge who is an immediate family member of a competing gymnast, or of a coach or club owner of a competing team, is considered affiliated with that specific club team and may not be assigned as a Chief Judge at meets in which that club is competing.
- A person on the payroll of a competing Club.
- A team member or parent of a Women’s Artistic team member
of a club competing in a meet.
- A parent of a men’s or rhythmic team member of a competing
club is not considered affiliated.
- A parent of any child enrolled in a recreational class of
a competing club is not considered affiliated.
- A coach of a competing gymnast.
- A club owner of a competing club/gymnast.
- Any sports science professional paid for ongoing services for a competing athlete.
When may affiliated judges be assigned?
Affiliated judges may be assigned to meets with the following stipulations.
In USAG qualifying competitions with panels of 2 or 4 judges:
- An affiliated judge may be assigned as a Panel Judge or as the Meet Referee.
- No more than 1 judge with the same affiliation may be assigned per panel.
- An affiliated judge may not be assigned as a Chief Judge, regardless of certification.
In non-qualifying Open Invitationals with panels of 2 or 4 judges:
- Affiliated judges may be assigned as a Chief or Panel judge.
If any of the Chief Judges are affiliated, the Meet Director must list the judges (and their affiliation) on the pre-meet information.
Note: In Florida, it is rare that an invitational meet is not a qualifying meet so the latter two provisions are seldom, if ever, applicable to USAG competitions.
In meets using one-judge panels, an affiliated judge may be assigned only when there are not enough non-affiliated judges available and only with the approval of the RTC (contact the State Judging Director first).
If the club with which a judge is affiliated is not participating in the meet, the judge is not considered affiliated at that meet.
The regulations regarding affiliation are NOT meant to prevent officials from judging, but to prevent the perception of potentially unfair situations for gymnasts.
Guidelines for Affiliated Judges
If a judge has family members or a team competing in a meet, the judge has a responsibility to maintain a high standard of behavior that demonstrates fair and impartial activity. Affiliated judges may not acknowledge that they have a child or team in the meet. This should be clearly explained to the competitor prior to the meet. If the children are too young to understand the difference in roles between “Mom” and “Judge” or “Coach” and “Judge”, it may be wise for the judge to decline the meet assignment.
Parents of affiliated athletes competing in the meet should ask themselves a series of questions when deciding to accept a contract: Is it more important for me to watch the meet as a spectator and provide emotional and social support for my child or is it more important to judge the meet? Am I willing to forego the celebration of her successes during and after the meet when I am required to be in the Judges Room? If my child is injured in a meet while I am judging, will I be able to give judging my full attention? What would I do if my daughter needed to go to the hospital for treatment while the meet was still going on?
- When accepting a contract for a meet at which a judge will be affiliated, the affiliated judge must agree to act in such a way as to avoid the appearance of partiality by participants, coaches, parents, and spectators.
- While wearing the NAWGJ uniform, judges should not be seen showing partiality to athletes such as hugging athletes, arranging cards for the competition order, or attending to the personal needs of athletes such as attending to their hair, pinning on competition numbers.
- Remember that what is said on the competition floor or in the judging room should not be repeated to parents, gymnasts, or staff at your gym. Do not provide coaches or parents with information about the judging at a particular meet or event. The discussion that occurs during conferences should not be shared with others.
- Affiliated judges who coach athletes should not leave their judging station to talk to fellow coaches or their athletes during the competition.
- Affiliated judges who coach athletes should keep their eye contact on their event and should not try to watch the performance of their athletes.
- Affiliated judges should not ask to see the scores of their athletes while the competition is in progress.
- Parents or coaches who are affiliated judges should not ask other judges at the competition for feedback to improve their athlete’s routine. This information should be given to the coach of the athlete, not the parent.
- Affiliated judges should carefully review their scores after every meet to assure a lack of bias in scoring of their own athletes/child.
- Affiliated judges who coach athletes or who are parents should not attend the awards ceremony in their NAWGJ uniform and cheer for their athletes who receive awards.
- Affiliated judges should not use the Meet Director’s telephone to call home or the gym to inform others of the outcome of the athlete’s performance. Use a pay phone or cell phone to communicate with family members and gymnastics staff at a gym.
- Affiliated judges should not go out on the floor during warm-ups to coach or conduct related behaviors at an assigned meet even if they are not in their NAWGJ uniform.