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A JUDGE’S PERSPECTIVE Volume 2, Issue 5 20 June, 2008 By Adreinne Lim It looks easy to be a judge from the sidelines:- just stand there and see if the dogs do a refusal , rush past the jumps or do their business on the course etc. However when you are actually judging an agility trial yourself then you realize that it’s not so easy after all. What is required is a keen eye, the ability to make quick decisions, sound knowledge of the rules and the ability to plot interesting and challenging courses depending on the level of competition. Another requirement is the ability to stick to decisions and not be swayed by dissenters. It must be noted however that the judge is only human and that is why it is essential to have the steward and timers assist the judge for sometimes faults can be completed in the blink of an eye and may be missed. One of the most important part of building a course is to understand the level of difficulty required and to make it smooth yet challenges the team while running the course. Judges want clean runs but not so many that everyone gets it every time or else it defeats the purpose of having agility trials. It is important that a judge should have experience as a competitor so that they can bring it into calculation when they build a course. That way one can anticipate how much control and communication is needed to get the dog to go in the direction that the handler wants. This brings me to one of the most important tools when running a course:-. Voice Control. All too often we have seen a dog go astray or off course because the handler thinks that the dog will know what he/she wants but the dog sometimes thinks another way. That is why it is important to not just think of how you would run it but how your dog may see the course. The handler should know the dog’s habits and behaviour and so should be able to anticipate when a voice command is needed to bring the dog before he goes the wrong way and ends up in elimination. I have said it many times but the voice control part by handlers is still lacking. It should be a firm and audible command like “over, tunnel, jump” etc. Keep it simple, you don’t have to shout or scream but your tone of voice must mean business otherwise the dog will just ignore the handler and go on its merry way. Maybe sometimes the handlers themselves are too puffed out from running around especially when they have a fast dog but I cannot stress the importance of this invaluable tool enough. In international competitions I have seen handlers use hand signals to also aid their voice commands and it is sheer joy to see them effortlessly understand each other and score a clean run. However not all of us are blessed with a dog that watches our every moves and understands what we want even before we ask for it, so we have to work on this aspect of the training. Judges need to understand what it is from the perspective of the competitor, the steward and even the timers. It is a team effort by all parties which make the sport so much fun. It is not just a job where you stand still and arbitrarily make decisions. You must be able to move with the team to see if they have touched the contact points, run past the jumps or have done their business in the tunnels (something which seems to happen very often). The decision where to stand in the ring is also important because if you have a lot of competitors, you will be worn out if you ran after every single competitor. Judging is rewarding especially when you see a team working well and managing all the challenges and obstacles that you have put up for them. At present PAA has a mentoring system to help the trainee judges as they learn the ropes of being a judge. The trainees will start with judging the basic jumpers class and then slowly progress up the different levels. This way judging will be consistent and sound and prepare them for the challenge in 2009 when we will undergo the training and certification to enable us to judge in international competitions. |
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Notes to potential judges- Please express your interest if you wish to be included in the Judge's Certification Examination by Agility Dog Association of Australia Pte Ltd. in early 2009.Open to members and non-members. Non-members fee will not be subsidized by PAAPP. Contact paapp@agility-penang.com |
