Judging Procedures
OSDTDA strives to provide the highest qualified judges for all of its competitions, and the Board is guided by the following judging procedures and philosophy.
JUDGING PANELS
Each competition has one or more panels of judges depending on the size of the competition. Each judging panel includes at least three substantive judges and one penalty panel judge. The OSDTDA substantive judges score the performance and content of routines based upon their experience and expertise. On the other hand, the OSDTDA Penalty Panel is made up of at least two penalty judges and the Head Penalty Judge. The penalty panel judge is responsible for observing adherence to the routine requirements and competition rules during performances. Any potential rule violations are flagged by the penalty panel judge for review by the Head Penalty Judge. The Head Penalty Judge reviews all possible penalties and determines whether any violation has occurred and whether a penalty should be assessed. OSDTDA Board Members are not involved in and do not participate in the adjudication or assessment of penalties.
Additionally, the Head Penalty Judge is responsible for the interpretation and implementation of competition rules both in the assessment of penalties at competitions and in answering coaches’ questions about the rules leading up to competitions. Prior to competitions, coaches have the ability to send questions and/or videos to the Head Penalty Judge for guidance or clarification on the rules or the legality of any choreography. The Head Penalty Judge, and not the OSDTDA Board, is responsible for reviewing, answering, and providing guidance to coaches who submit questions and/or videos to determine compliance with the rules. OSDTDA Board Members are prohibited from answering any questions regarding competition rules or the legality of choreography. This is to ensure that rules are enforced the same way for all teams and to ensure that no team receives preferential treatment.
JUDGING PHILOSOPHY
OSDTDA only utilizes the highest quality judges, and as a result, OSDTDA believes in allowing judges to maintain their own curve when judging. This means that a judge is required to track his/her scores throughout a category/division to ensure that he/she is staying consistent during scoring. That is to say, each judge should stay consistent with his/her scores throughout a competition. OSDTDA neither requires nor expects judges to score the same as one another. Forcing judges to score similarly to or the same as other judges on the panel removes individual judge perspective, feedback, and analysis of performances, as well as results in inconsistent scoring. Because of this, judges on the same panel may have scores that are very different from one another. This does not mean that any particular judge is unqualified or scoring inconsistently/wrongly. Instead, this is a sign that each judge is exercising their independent analysis and review of each performance. Judges are also discouraged from discussing or communicating about those routines they score. This serves to eliminate judging as a result of pressure or persuasion from other judges and to ensure each judge is relying on his/her independent and unique analysis when scoring routines.
In order to ensure that judges are providing consistent scores, OSDTDA tracks the scores of each judge at each competition. This is done in real time by those Board Members who are a part of the tabulation process (for more information on the tabulation process and the Board Members involved in the same, please see the Organizational Structure section). In addition, after the completion of the competition, the OSDTDA Judging Chair reviews the scoring for all judges after each competition as well. This process ensures that judges are consistent in their scoring throughout a competition and allows the OSDTDA Judging Chair to quickly identify and address any potential concerns.
SELECTION OF JUDGES
The OSDTDA Judging Chair is tasked with contacting, vetting, and organizing judges for all competitions. The process for obtaining judges begins with the Judging Chair contacting professional dance organizations (i.e., professional studios, professional teams and performance groups, etc.) across the country to obtain recommendations for potential judges. Once names of potential judges are received, the Judging Chair then contacts the potential judges to obtain a dance resume and have them complete a conflict check, which is used to identify possible connections with competing teams, dancers, studios, schools, and/or coaches that would render the judge unable to adjudicate a specific competition or category. In addition to the conflict check information provided by the potential judges, the Judging Chair also conducts an investigation of other resources to attempt to uncover any potential ties to dancers. Once potential judges pass the conflict check, the Judging Chair begins to organize potential judges based on their experience and expertise to build the judging panels for competitions. All State Championship judges are brought in from out-of-state, with the exception of penalty panel judges, who may live in Oklahoma as long as they pass the conflict check.
JUDGING CHAIR INFORMATION
The OSDTDA Judging Chair is prohibited from coaching or choreographing for any dancer/team that participates in OSDTDA’s competitions. Additionally, the Judging Chair cannot be related as an immediate family member to any dancer, coach or choreographer for a dance team or studio. The Judging Chair not only handles the selection process for judges, but he/she also coordinates all travel arrangements and accommodations for judges, as well as handles all communication with judges. Throughout the year, the Judging Chair is the liaison and contact person for the Head Penalty Judge, and during competitions, the OSDTDA Judging Chair is the liaison for all judges. This includes setting up judges’ transportation, food, water, supplies, and the like. Additional information regarding the OSDTDA Judging Chair position can be found in the Organizational Structure section of the website.
JUDGING PANELS
Each competition has one or more panels of judges depending on the size of the competition. Each judging panel includes at least three substantive judges and one penalty panel judge. The OSDTDA substantive judges score the performance and content of routines based upon their experience and expertise. On the other hand, the OSDTDA Penalty Panel is made up of at least two penalty judges and the Head Penalty Judge. The penalty panel judge is responsible for observing adherence to the routine requirements and competition rules during performances. Any potential rule violations are flagged by the penalty panel judge for review by the Head Penalty Judge. The Head Penalty Judge reviews all possible penalties and determines whether any violation has occurred and whether a penalty should be assessed. OSDTDA Board Members are not involved in and do not participate in the adjudication or assessment of penalties.
Additionally, the Head Penalty Judge is responsible for the interpretation and implementation of competition rules both in the assessment of penalties at competitions and in answering coaches’ questions about the rules leading up to competitions. Prior to competitions, coaches have the ability to send questions and/or videos to the Head Penalty Judge for guidance or clarification on the rules or the legality of any choreography. The Head Penalty Judge, and not the OSDTDA Board, is responsible for reviewing, answering, and providing guidance to coaches who submit questions and/or videos to determine compliance with the rules. OSDTDA Board Members are prohibited from answering any questions regarding competition rules or the legality of choreography. This is to ensure that rules are enforced the same way for all teams and to ensure that no team receives preferential treatment.
JUDGING PHILOSOPHY
OSDTDA only utilizes the highest quality judges, and as a result, OSDTDA believes in allowing judges to maintain their own curve when judging. This means that a judge is required to track his/her scores throughout a category/division to ensure that he/she is staying consistent during scoring. That is to say, each judge should stay consistent with his/her scores throughout a competition. OSDTDA neither requires nor expects judges to score the same as one another. Forcing judges to score similarly to or the same as other judges on the panel removes individual judge perspective, feedback, and analysis of performances, as well as results in inconsistent scoring. Because of this, judges on the same panel may have scores that are very different from one another. This does not mean that any particular judge is unqualified or scoring inconsistently/wrongly. Instead, this is a sign that each judge is exercising their independent analysis and review of each performance. Judges are also discouraged from discussing or communicating about those routines they score. This serves to eliminate judging as a result of pressure or persuasion from other judges and to ensure each judge is relying on his/her independent and unique analysis when scoring routines.
In order to ensure that judges are providing consistent scores, OSDTDA tracks the scores of each judge at each competition. This is done in real time by those Board Members who are a part of the tabulation process (for more information on the tabulation process and the Board Members involved in the same, please see the Organizational Structure section). In addition, after the completion of the competition, the OSDTDA Judging Chair reviews the scoring for all judges after each competition as well. This process ensures that judges are consistent in their scoring throughout a competition and allows the OSDTDA Judging Chair to quickly identify and address any potential concerns.
SELECTION OF JUDGES
The OSDTDA Judging Chair is tasked with contacting, vetting, and organizing judges for all competitions. The process for obtaining judges begins with the Judging Chair contacting professional dance organizations (i.e., professional studios, professional teams and performance groups, etc.) across the country to obtain recommendations for potential judges. Once names of potential judges are received, the Judging Chair then contacts the potential judges to obtain a dance resume and have them complete a conflict check, which is used to identify possible connections with competing teams, dancers, studios, schools, and/or coaches that would render the judge unable to adjudicate a specific competition or category. In addition to the conflict check information provided by the potential judges, the Judging Chair also conducts an investigation of other resources to attempt to uncover any potential ties to dancers. Once potential judges pass the conflict check, the Judging Chair begins to organize potential judges based on their experience and expertise to build the judging panels for competitions. All State Championship judges are brought in from out-of-state, with the exception of penalty panel judges, who may live in Oklahoma as long as they pass the conflict check.
JUDGING CHAIR INFORMATION
The OSDTDA Judging Chair is prohibited from coaching or choreographing for any dancer/team that participates in OSDTDA’s competitions. Additionally, the Judging Chair cannot be related as an immediate family member to any dancer, coach or choreographer for a dance team or studio. The Judging Chair not only handles the selection process for judges, but he/she also coordinates all travel arrangements and accommodations for judges, as well as handles all communication with judges. Throughout the year, the Judging Chair is the liaison and contact person for the Head Penalty Judge, and during competitions, the OSDTDA Judging Chair is the liaison for all judges. This includes setting up judges’ transportation, food, water, supplies, and the like. Additional information regarding the OSDTDA Judging Chair position can be found in the Organizational Structure section of the website.