SC - Judging-OT

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/17/98 1:24:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
geneviamoas at juno.com writes:

<< How the $#@#@ do
 I get judges knowledgeable in a field to A) come to an event and B) to
 Judge a competition, C) How do I identify them other than word of mouth
 which is very subjective? Suggestions ?? >>

Depends on what you mean by "knowledgeable".  I know at least one person who
has a high order of merit in the field of cooking when, in fact, their over
all knowledge in that field is cursory at best.  So using the criteria of
"Laurel" or "Sycamore" or title/award as an indication of knowledge in a
person's field is somewhat shaky at best.

As an example, I'll use myself.  I have a Sycamore for combined costuming,
needlework and cookery.  I have been a judge at several A & S competitions.
Two times for costuming, once for needlework and twice for armor. :-0 My
personal opinion is that , I am well versed in cookery and mediocre at best in
the other areas.  However, I was asked because I had an "award" in the areas
they needed a judge for.  (I'm still trying to figure out the armor request
which I suppose could be costuming by a big stretch of the imagination. :-)).
I did the best job I could relying on gut instinct, cursory knowledge and the
WRITTEN guidelines provided to me by the person in charge of the competition.
I will never do it again unless the request is for judgment in cookery.

A good idea would be to keep your eyes and ears open and write down the names
of potential "experts" in their fields then draw on those when seeking judges
regardless of the scrolls, tin hats, or other accolades they may possess.
Believe me the criteria used for "official" recognition of a persons skills is
one of the most subjective processes the SCA has and receiving one is no
assurance that an "expert" has been recognized although this is not
necessarily true for all or even a majority of such august persons.

There are many fine Laurels who are expert in their fields, people like
Mistress Alys Katherine, Master Adamantius, Mistress Alicia, etc.  These are a
few I personally know but the list could go on and on.  If you feel that using
a Laurel as a judge lends some sort of "legitimacy" to your competition find
out what their expertise is and set them to judging those particular entries
while filling in with other knowledgeable people to cover other areas.  It is
patently unfair to expect a costuming Laurel to be an adequate judge of
cookery and vice versa so those situations should not be allowed to happen,
thus sparing embarrassment for all parties.

Good luck. ;-)

Ras
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