_______________________________
 Judges are required to travel to meet sites that may be several hours away from their home. Meets frequently require overnight travel Friday through Sunday evenings. The following guidelines are used in making travel arrangements and compensating judges for required expenses.
A standard rate is negotiated between NAWGJ and USAG. The mileage fee is
paid to the driver. Currently, the rate is .50 per mile. No mileage is paid
for the first 30 miles except to those carpooling, wherein there is no deduction
of the 30 miles (see carpooling guidelines). Mileage charged should closely
approximate distance calculated via MapQuest. Rider fees are not paid.
The total mileage should not exceed the cost of an airline ticket to the same
location. If lodging is provided for a judge by the Meet Director when a competition spans two or more days,
and the judge chooses to return home and drive back the second (and successive) days, round-trip mileage
will be paid only once unless pre-arrangements have been made with the contracting official and the
Meet Director. No other expenses (such as baby-sitters, car repairs, car rental, reimbursement for
lost salary) will be paid.
Return to top
Judges with dietary restrictions should bring their own meals to meets. Meet
Directors are not required to provide meals for those with special dietary
needs. Alcoholic beverages are not reimbursed. Judges are encouraged
to charge only the actual expense for a meal rather than the maximum allowable.
Day/Local Meets
Per diem is not paid for competitions that require the judge to be at the meet site for less than 3 hours unless round trip mileage is 100 miles or more. These rates apply regardless of departure or arrival time to the judge’s home. Unless meals are provided at the meet, per diem compensation should be paid to the judge at a rate of:
- $15.00 diem - when on-site responsibilities are at least 3 hours but
less than 8 hours. (Time begins with report time and includes meetings and
competitions).
- $30.00 diem - When on-site responsibilities are 8 hours or more, $15.00 per meal (up to a maximum of $30.00 per day) is assessed for any meals not provided by the Meet Director. Reimbursement for breakfast is not considered for day meets which the judge travels to and from the meet site in one day.
- $15.00 per meal (up to maximum of $35.00 per day) is assessed for any meals not provided by the Meet Director. It is recommended that judges charge only the actual cost of the meal rather than claim the per diem rate.
Overnight Meets
All meals not provided by the Meet Director are compensated at a rate of $15.00 per meal to a maximum of $40.00 per day. It is recommended that judges charge only the actual cost of the meal rather than claim the per diem rate. Alcoholic beverages are not reimbursed. A Meet Director may supply meals in lieu of per diem.
Return to top
The assigner will provide hotel information for meets requiring overnight lodging. The assigner will try to obtain the hotel information and phone number and put it on your meet information, but sometimes this is not always available. Should this be the case, once you arrive at the meet site, the meet referee or meet director will be able to give you this information.
If you can reach the meet site by leaving your home at a reasonable time without lodging, you will not be assigned a hotel room. If you indicate that you need a room and do not cancel with the Meet Director in advance and the Director has to pay for your room, he/she has the right to deduct the cost of the hotel room from your check.
In a two-day or longer meet, you may be expected to stay at the hotel if it the Meet Director is obtaining a complimentary room. In this case, mileage would only be paid for one round trip even if you choose to go home each day. The Meet Director is not responsible for providing a hotel room for you just to avoid an early morning drive if you live within a reasonable travel time to the meet site.
If you anticipate that a meet is going to end late (past 9:00 p.m.) and require an overnight stay at the meet city, please let the Assigner and the Meet Director know so that arrangements can be made for a room on the last night of the meet. Because a number of factors must be considered in determining overnight stay following late-night meets, no set rule is in place; judges and Meet Directors are asked to use common sense. This is a safety issue for judges and Meet Directors; the decision must be made with the safety of the driver/carpool as the highest priority.
Return to top
If you want a family member or friend to travel with you to a meet or you wish to stay in a hotel room with a family member or friend on the way to or during a meet, the following procedures are REQUIRED. Please do not ask other judges, the assigner, or the SJD for an exception to these procedures.
- You cannot take ANY family member in a carpool being paid for by the Meet Director. Please don't ask the driver for an exception. If you want to travel with a family member or friend, you will have to drive to the meet site on your own and you will receive no reimbursement for mileage or gas. If you are the carpool driver and wish to take your family or friend, you must call the assigner and relinquish that position and receive no mileage or gas.
- Hotel rooms are not furnished for family members. If you have been assigned to a room and you bring your family along, you as a judge, can stay in the designated room but not your family. A judge may stay with her/his family member but the judge must assume responsibility for making hotel reservations and paying for them.
- Please do not take food from the judge’s table to feed your family members. If meals have been arranged by the meet director in an off-site facility (restaurant), family members are not to accompany judges.
- Family members are not permitted in the judge’s room. If you want to spend time with them during the breaks, you will need to meet with them outside of the judge’s room.
- Family members that wish to attend and watch the meet, must pay. They are not officials or participants; therefore, they must pay as a spectator. Do not ask for special privileges.
Return to top
 When assigned to a meet, you will probably be asked to carpool with other judges in your area. Carpools are recommended to help Meet Directors maintain reasonable costs for the meets. The assigner will note a carpool organizer. The carpool driver will be reimbursed at the current mileage following the reimbursement guidelines contracted by NAWGJ. The organizer is to contact all riders to let them know when to meet the carpool and where. If your organizer does not call you at least two days prior to meet, please initiate contact yourself to coordinate the arrangements.
- Judges are requested to carpool whenever possible. If a judge chooses not to carpool for any reason, mileage will not be paid to that judge unless prearranged with the contracting official and the Meet Director (USAG policy).
- The designated carpool coordinator is responsible for contacting others in the carpool to coordinate carpool arrangements no later than Wednesday of the week of the meet. Generally, the designated carpool coordinator will be the individual who drives; however this is not required. If the designated carpool driver does not wish to drive, she/he will identify an individual in the carpool who will be the driver. If a judge will not be riding in the carpool, the judge should contact the carpool driver to notify her/him of the change.
- If carpool participants change, the assigner should be notified to make sure no one is left without transportation.
- Only judges assigned to the meet may drive in the carpool (judges who will be practice judging may participate in the carpool upon request to the assigner; the practice judge must meet the carpool at the designated point of departure).
- The carpool driver must carry a cell phone that is fully charged and turned on or must ask another judge in the carpool to assume this responsibility. Cell phone numbers are listed in the address book distributed at Judges Cup (list will be updated periodically and mailed to judges electronically). All judges must notify the SJD if their cell phone number changes. Assigners will begin to list the cell phone numbers of the carpool driver on the assigning forms.
- Carpool drivers have the responsibility to follow the rules of the road and to engage in safe driving practices. Failure to do so will result in the judge not being assigned as a carpool driver.
- Cars used for carpooling should be clean and free from clutter so as not to crowd carpool participants.
- Judges who are worried about the driving practices of the carpool driver should notify the driver immediately and request a change in behavior. If the judge continues to drive in an unsafe manner, the concerned judge should notify the SJD. If complaints are received about driving practices a judge, that judge may not be assigned as a carpool driver in the future as a matter of safety for our judges.
- If you have a long drive and you help with some of the driving responsibilities (you drive the organizer’s car), they are under no obligation to split the mileage with you. Drivers’ cars should be clean and in good, safe running condition.
Return to top
- The departure time for the carpool should be established by calculating the travel time to the
meet site plus adding 20 to 30 minutes to allow time for car transfers. The carpool driver has the responsibility to select a departure time that will allow timely arrival at the meet site without having to drive too fast for the conditions.
- The departure time for the carpool should not be more than 30 minutes above the estimated travel time unless there is mutual agreement of all participants. The carpool driver may not set the time so early as to cause other carpool participants to have to back out of the carpool and drive alone.
- For carpools requiring an overnight stay the night before the meet, the carpool driver should establish the departure time so as to be at the hotel no later than 10:00 p.m.
- If ALL carpool participants agree that they want to leave earlier than the guidelines suggest (for personal reasons such as shopping, Busch Gardens, Disney side trips, etc.), they may only charge for meal expenses that fall within the time period of the carpool guidelines.
Return to top
-
If the carpool driver or participant in the carpool is delayed, the delayed judge must call the carpool driver or other carpool participant to notify them of the delay and give an estimated time of arrival. The carpool driver must make a decision at that time as to whether the carpool will leave without the delayed judge or wait until the judge arrives. Common sense will be the guiding rule for such decisions.
-
If the carpool judge is unable to make contact with the carpool by phone to inform them of the delay, the delayed judge should call the meet site and leave a message for the carpool driver. The carpool driver, in turn, should call the Meet Director to find out if a message has been received from the delayed judge before leaving the departure site. Assigners will attempt to list an emergency phone number at the meet site that will allow judges to contact the Meet Director or other designated on-site personnel directly, e.g., cell phone number, meet site office if open and staffed, a booster club member, etc. (there will be a delay in implementing this as most meet information has already been received from Meet Directors and we haven’t asked for an emergency number to date).
-
If a carpool participant is unable to join the carpool in a timely manner, the participant should continue to drive to the meet by herself. Mileage may not be claimed. The delayed judge will continue to try to make contact with the carpool/Meet Director to inform them of the status of her arrival.
- If a judge has not contacted the carpool and has not arrived at the departure site within 20 minutes of the designated departure time, the carpool should depart for the meet.
-
The carpool driver should contact the Meet Director, the assigner, or the SJD (whoever is available) to notify them of the problem with the carpool. These individuals can continue to attempt to make contact with the delayed judge to ensure her/his safety.
Return to top |