Certified Judge Class Student Packet

Revised 6/19/2019

Certified Judge Training Goals

The AGS Judging Handbook offers clear procedures for observing crafted, artistic, and raw gourds with the intention of selecting award winning specimens—an aid for judges and applicants alike.  The Judging Handbook does not recommend categories, entry qualifications, applicant restrictions, award types, or entry fees. Those decisions are at the discretion of the individual organization. An organization which chooses to use the AGS Judging Handbook criteria should publish that they will abide by these guidelines prior to their event. Then it is recommended that an AGS Certified Judge be solicited as head judge. Organizations may contact the Judge Coordinator at www.AmericanGourdSociety@gmail.com for a list of contacts.
This class is intended to train you to be a more effective judge of gourds—decorated and raw (undecorated). It should reinforce and clarify the standardized procedures required of an AGS Certified Judge. When selected to judge, you will be expected to adhere to the criteria and procedures in the AGS Judging Handbook. We hope you, as a trained judge, will exercise flexibility, show no favoritism, encourage new artists, avoid negativity towards the artwork or exhibits, give educational and respectful comments, and exhibit willingness to learn more where your expertise is weak. When asked, you should translate the judging guidelines as stated, but you are discouraged from creating new rules to fit a situation. Let the event coordinators make those decisions outside of the range of the judging guidelines.
In this training, you will participate in several fun and educational activities:
1.	A Review of the Pre-Test and the guidelines in the Handbook
2.	A Review of the Judging by Category Guidelines
3.	A Hands-on Practice Judging Activity
4.	Presentation of credentials.
Upon the successful completion of the in-person training class, you will receive your Apprentice Judge name badge. As an AGS Apprentice Judge you have to complete the following requirements (in the 2-years following the in-person training session) to be recognized as an AGS Certified Judge: 
1.	Participate as a Clerk or Judge at 1 or more AGS-endorsed Gourd Competition 
2.	Participate in 1 or more Continuing education events 
3.	Upon completion of them you must complete the Apprentice Judge Activity Record form (available on the AGS website) and submit it to the AGS Judging Coordinator by email AmericanGourdSociety@gmail.com or by mail to AGS Membership, PO Box 2186, Kokomo, IN 46904
The AGS Judging Coordinators will order and send you your personalized name tag and a certification card stating that you are an official AGS Certified Judge. If you ever lose your name tag or card and would like to order another, contact the Judging Coordinator. 

AGS Membership Secretary will maintain an up-to-date list of credentialed AGS judges and the names will also be listed on the AGS website. Competition coordinators, either AGS or others, may contact you to ask you to be a judge or help find a certified judge for their gourd competition. We hope you will accept all or most invitations and feel pride in your contributions to improve the quality of judging in gourd competitions nationwide.

Thank you for participating!

Judging Guidelines Handbook Study Notes

Section 1: Introduction

•	Competitions may choose to follow or not to follow the AGS judging guidelines
•	Shows should publish which of the 3 scoring options which will be used for judging
•	AGS Judging Guidelines are published on the AGS website

Section 2: Judges

•	Judges must be impartial & consistent
•	Head Judge is appointed from available AGS certified judges
•	Clerks must be able to keep clear and accurate records

Section 3: Competition Facility

•	Categories in the competition will be clearly marked and divided so the judges and public can see what gourds are entered in the various categories
•	Competition area should be isolated during judging

Section 4: Judging Authority
•	The decision of awards by a judging team is final.
•	Once announced, awards and ribbons are final and will not be withdrawn.
•	In case of a clear error, duplicate awards (such as another first place ribbon) may be given at the discretion of the head judge in order to correct errors.
•	The head judge shall transmit the results of the judging to the chair of the show/event; the chair will accept the results without any modification or change.

Section 5: Prejudging Activities
•	The head judge will meet with the judges, clerks & show chair in a private area prior to any judging activities.
•	If Detailed Scoring is selected, judges will use the entire 1-5 scale.
•	It is very strongly suggested that there be several dry runs judging of gourds not in competition. Simulation of the real judging process, but then discuss and defend their individual scores to the others for the purpose of honing their own scoring and coordinating their scoring approach with the others.
•	Judges should be reasonably available during the show to explain judging procedures.

Section 6: Judging Procedure
•	Ideal judging team includes a minimum of 3 judges; several teams of judges will be used for competitions with many categories
•	Judging teams include a clerk to record decisions and discussion. Judges may discuss the class with each other on the team, with the head judge, or clerk…but no others.
•	Judges should excuse themselves from judging a class if they (or a family member or close friend) has an entry in that class.
•	Disqualifications must be discussed with head judge, and moving an entry to the proper class (by the head judge) is optional, but recommended.
•	Judging considerations
o	Open-minded to the unique, unusual, different; appealing?
o	View up-close and from a distance
o	Impact, originality, applicability to category, quality of execution
o	Contribution to natural beauty of the gourd
o	Be fair, consistent and careful
o	Be conscientious and honest

Scoring Options

•	Scoring Option A – Detailed Scoring (Sample of form in Appendix)
o	Clerks tally scoring sheets from the individual judges on the team and reports the results
o	Highest score wins 1st place, and so on
o	Raw & current season gourd category – max is 10 points including cultural perfection, quality, trueness of type & color
o	Crafted gourd categories – max is 25 points for originality, craftsmanship, creativity, color &/or finish, accessories, appropriateness for category
o	Growers division – dried raw gourds: how to evaluate specimens of a specific variety, gourd groupings and arrangements, and manipulated gourds

•	Scoring Option B – Simplified Scoring (Sample of form in Appendix)
o	Clerks tally scoring sheets from the individual judges on the team and reports the results
o	Lowest score wins 1st place, next lowest is 2nd place and so on
o	Judges rank order the entries, assigning “1” to their first choice entry, a “2” to their second choice, and so on
o	Raw & current season gourd category – 50% cultural perfection, quality; 50% trueness of type & color
o	Crafted gourd categories – 50% for originality (craftsmanship, accessories, artistic quality); 50% workmanship (neatness & quality, color/finish, balance/scale, overall appearance)

•	Scoring Option C – Verbal Consensus (Sample of form in Appendix)
o	Judges will discuss the entries based on the following guidelines and then based on consensus award the 1st, 2nd 3rd place winners.
o	Raw & current season gourd category –cultural perfection, quality, trueness of type & color
o	Crafted gourd categories –originality, craftsmanship, creativity, color &/or finish, accessories, appropriateness for category

Section 7: Awards
•	Show chair/committee determines & publishes individual categories and classes and maximum number of awards in each class or category
•	Clerks tally scores and informs judges of the rank order of the entries; judges will confer in case of tie scores and decide on a tiebreaker
•	Ribbons/awards are placed on or with the winning entries
•	Names of artists not revealed if there are further awards (Best of Division, Best of Show, etc) to be selected

Other points to consider
•	Show chair/committee may have established certain awards that are cross-category, such as Best of Show
•	Judges will consider all the first-place winners for any combined class awards, using same scoring scale
•	Once combined-class awards are decided, special awards are made. Best newcomer, best of show, President’s award, best related to show theme, etc. are examples of special awards.
•	Special awards are outside the authority of the head judge and judges. Show chair/committee may ask some or all of the judges to determine the winners of these special awards.
•	Entry rules are set by the show
•	Entry tags are to be folded so that the name of the submitter is not visible to the judges during the judging portion of the show
•	Late entries are not a reason to re-judge a class or category
•	A gourd may be entered into only one category or class per show
•	Show chair/committee are to establish the classes, categories & qualification guidelines for entries; who may enter the competition, acceptance time, place and procedures; award types and quantities; entry fees; requirements for vendors/other to enter competition
•	Show chair/committee are responsible for choosing winners of awards other than individual categories and best of category/class; establishing how and when entries are to be picked-up after the judging is complete
•	Gourds entered in competition are available for photography or sketching by anyone or any organization
•	Photographs of gourds in competition may not be used by anyone for any income or profit producing activity.
•	Fair use of photographs of gourds in competition includes newsletters & chapter websites.
•	Examples of natural materials: linen or cotton cord, pine needles, animal or plant parts, and flowers
•	Examples of non-natural materials: paints, dyes, glass, plastic, wire
•	Show chair/committee may state exceptions (such as a plastic stand, artificial sinew to bind pine needles)
•	If the category states “substantially” or “predominantly” natural materials, then the piece should be at least 90% natural materials. (The state organization can have other rules.)

Judging Considerations
The Gourd
•	Appropriateness for the project (thickness matters for some techniques)
•	Are the stem, body and blossom end clean?  
•	Inside clean and neat?
•	Does it sit steady?
Neatness
•	Holes (clay, pyrography, etc) neat & sharp or does it have ragged edges
•	Stitching is uniform (versus overlapping or has uneven gaps)
•	Finish is neat and has a smooth finish 
Presentation & Design
•	Proportional, perspective correct?
•	Complexity
•	Created with technical soundness?
•	Does the technique (per category) predominate?
Details Matter
•	Color done well (even or patchy?)
•	Does glue/adhesive show in the finished piece?
•	Finish compliments the design (no runs or fingerprints)?
Skill & Artistry
•	Degree of difficulty
•	Originality

Judging Behavior
•	Regardless of the venue of the competition, when selected to judge, you will be expected to adhere to the criteria and procedures in the AGS Judging Handbook. 
•	Show no favoritism and avoid negativity towards the artwork or exhibits
•	Encourage new artists, give educational and respectful comments, and exhibit willingness to continuously learn. 
•	Become familiar with the category rules for the venue where you are judging. Do not apply your own rules. If you are unable to apply that society's or venue's definitions or rules, excuse yourself and let another judge handle that category.
•	You should not be an advocate for a particular artist or specific technique. 
•	If you know the artist or the artist has explained their technique to you, you must not tell that privileged information to the other judges. Instead, you should excuse yourself in favor of another judge for that particular category.
•	If you observe copyright infringement, improper category placement, or an entry that is actually a classwork, quietly speak to the head judge and probably the competition chairperson for guidance.

Code of Conduct Summary:

Everyone eventually will encounter a difficult situation that could complicate the work of the judging team. When you get the impression of someone trying to influence the opinions of others, it will take courage to stick to your guns and verbalize the merits of your decision. The same goes for favoritism, being rushed, and sloppiness/unpreparedness. Consider notifying the head judge if the behavior is persistent or “over the top.”

Reminders:
•	Be open-minded to the unique, unusual, or different.  Ask yourself if it is appealing?
•	View each entry up-close and from a distance
•	Contemplate the impact, originality, applicability to category, along with the quality of execution
•	Always consider the contribution to natural beauty of the gourd
•	Be fair, consistent and careful
•	Be conscientious and honest
•	Give thoughtful feedback that recognizes what the artist did well and where there is room for improvement. 

Appendix: Judging Forms A, B & C