Judge Coordinator – Roles and Responsibilities
The OGS is in search of a new Coordinator for the competitive judging at the annual Ohio Gourd Show.
The Coordinator does not have to be a certified judge, but is someone who coordinates all activities surrounding the judging at the annual Show. The Coordinator must be good at communication and organization, who can order and deliver ribbons/awards, who can tally points for the various awards, and announce the winners at the Gourd Show. Currently the job at the Show is primarily a Saturday job (after all the communication work and purchasing is finished).
The Coordinator does need to be familiar with the Show Book and the various awards. Past Judge Coordinators and other OGS Board Members will be available to assist you along the way!
The Coordinator also prepares judging cards for each class to be used by the judging teams. OGS has been very fortunate to have the judge teams assembled and assigned classes to evaluate before the show begins each year. This makes a tremendous difference on Saturday when the judges meet and final instructions are given by the Coordinator and/or head judge.
Specific Duties are outlined below follows:
- Spring – contact the President or person composing the Show Book to verify awards and any changes to the language in the Book. Work with the OGS volunteer coordinator for new volunteers to be judges /clerks.
- Summer – Assemble a judge/clerk contact list and contact potential judges (July/August) asking for a commitment to participate and to specify areas in which she or he would prefer to judge. The contact list from the previous year is a starting point. Often judges try to avoid classes in which they have entries – in some cases they may simply step back and not participate in the judging of a class in which they have an interest. Assign volunteers to judging teams (recommend three judges and a clerk) along with the classes they will evaluate. Send the assignments to each judge/clerk and remind them of the coordinating meeting on Saturday morning (generally 11:00 am at the Show).
- At the Show – Welcome the judges on Saturday morning, answer questions, verify assignments and give the head judge a few moments for last-minute instructions. Be prepared for last-minute substitutions. Following judging, count points for the various awards, and at the end of the day, tally responses for the judges’ choice award and the people’s choice award. (one note for information – there have been a limited number of questions about allowing the People’s choice award to include Sunday.) Present awards. Following the Gourd Show, collect all ribbons that were not awarded so that they can become part of the next year’s awards. Currently, the year is not printed on ribbons. Although the number of classes is known, there is no
way to know the exact number of entries in each class. In general, third and forth place ribbons are always “over ordered.”