[usa2003ardf] International Juror Training

[Kuon & Dale Hunt]

Ken wrote:
>     I notice on the schedule that 3PM to 5PM Friday is "International
>Juror Training."  My wife and I have been slowly accumulating transmitters
>and controller and whatnot with the intention of eventually putting on
>our own ARDF events in central Texas - would sitting in on this be of use
>to us?  What is going to be covered?


  Ken -

    I'm probably a good one to answer this, since I'm going to
  be doing the training.

    Most major international competitions have a formal Jury
  that supervises the course and handles complaints of
  unsportsmanship conduct, improper procedures, etc.  We haven't
  needed to be that formal (or gotten that contentious) in our
  events so far, and besides, anyone who knows about ARDF wants
  to run the course instead of being a Juror.

    But as the sport grows we will need to be a bit more formal,
  and at least knowing what the role of Juror entails in the
  rest of the world will provide a good starting point.  Also,
  Region 2 will generally be asked to send a Juror to serve at
  the World Championships every two years, and these people need
  to be trained in the roles required for international
  competitions.

     There actually are 2 distinct phases of the Juror training:
  the roles during a competition, and course setting.  The roles
  are set out in the Region 1 ARDF rules, though there are some
  practical aspects to consider (what sorts of things to watch
  out for, how to organize things so they work well, and what
  to expect as a Juror - such as receptions with the Mayor.)
  Much of this is common sense, or at least isn't hard to pick
  up, especially if you have attended such an event.

     Course setting is one of the most challenging aspects.  The
  goal is to set up a "fair and challenging" course: this is
  more difficult when you may have 12 people in 9 categories
  starting at the same time and you want to spread them out
  in the field so they aren't all running as a group.  But it
  tends to be more about situations to avoid rather than how
  to use terrain features to emphasize orienteering skill
  instead of straight-line speed.  (Maybe I can talk Sam into
  saying a few words about that...)


    So the main purpose of the course is to provide an official
  training for those who are interested in serving as a Juror
  in international events.  But I want it to include some
  background about WHY things have evolved this way, what
  sorts of situations the rules are intended to prevent,
  and perhaps some discussion about how this might apply
  to our events.  The course setting portion may give you
  some ideas to think about when laying out a course, but
  you can hide transmitters without it and still have a
  good course.


     And, at some point, I hope that Region 2 will be ready
  to host a World Championship.  At that point we will need
  to measure up to what the rest of the world expects for
  an ARDF course (including the Jury).  In the meantime it
  is useful to know how it is done in the rest of the world,
  even if we conciously decide that we don't need that
  level of formality.  If you are thinking of hosting a
  National Championship, this may be useful.


     If you have further questions, feel free to ask, or
  catch me in Cincinnati and we can talk further.

         - Dale WB6BYU


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