Rules - what is a Chief Judge
Comments about this discussion:
Started
Why do we have an official rule called the chief judge?
I can't recall a comp where this was properly clarified and authorised.
Excerpt from the rulebook:
"
The Trials Director is the highest authority on everything to do
with the trials events, except for decisions on rules and results.
11C.1.2 Chief Judge
The Chief Judge is the head Trials official, whose primary job is to make sure the competitors follow the rules.
The Chief Judge makes all final decisions regarding rule infractions.
The Chief Judge is responsible for resolving protests.
"
I strongly believe that the Trials Director should be responsible for rules and results.
And I would like to add a sentence to the "Chief Judge" that this role can also be taken over by the trials director.
What do you think? As far as I remember, this is usually anyway the same person, so we should also align this in the rulebook.
Comment
I also can't recall any time when we had a Chief Judge besides the Trials Director. Also in Flatland and Street, at least the last 3 times the Chief Judge was one of the Event Directors.
I think the intention here was to have someone responsible for the course and competition itself (Trials Director) and another person being responsible for rules (Chief Judge). However years of experience shows that it is more practical if the Trials Director is responsible for rules too - or at least the opportunity is officially given.
Good point highlighting this.
Comment
> However years of experience shows that it is more practical if the Trials Director is responsible for rules too - or at least the opportunity is officially given.
I don't think there is anything in the rules that would prohibit the trial director and the chief judge from being the same person, is there?
In track racing, it is also very often the case that the race director and referee (equivalent to the Chief Judge) are the same person. In my opinion, however, it still makes sense to define the positions separately in the rulebook, as the two roles described have different areas of responsibility. Even if, in the end, both tasks are performed by the same person.