What do you think about some of the competitions (especially ones giving out bids to Worlds) using video judging? Cheersport has a bit of information on how it works. I'd like to hear from coaches on this subject and of course anyone else.
I find the concept rather interesting. I like the idea of the judges seeing the routines again, there's so much going on I think it's very easy to miss mistakes, and accomplishments. When we look at the videotape from a competition, I'm always amazed at what we missed the first time 'round! Not sure on the other stuff mentioned (the voting on what is expected versus what is delivered). I found that part a little confusing.
I think it should only be used for legality and tie purposes, but not as a sense of placement. Whats the point of initial judging if your going to have to see the same routines 3 times. Seriously, a video cannot replace energy and a stellar performance. You can see Top Gun large coed on tape 50 times but there is nothing like seeing them 1 time in real life. The vibe, overall impression, and impact is a whole new ball game. Its not like football where you just have a play going on. Its a enertainment driven sport that requires athletic skill. I think the video should be used for legality issues, but not as a general use of placement.
i think they should have to perform on a competition floor in front of the crowd. who knows, with video judging, they could cheat and bring other people in, especially out of age. also, they can record their routine 100 times and pick the best one. or even edit the routine. what we want to see goign to worlds is strong teams who can hit their routine every time, even with the pressures of competition and the crowd.
The video judging we are discussing is when a team goes to a competition and the judges see a live performance. After all the teams perform the judges view all the performances on video and re-evaluate their scoring. If you want a bit more info you can go to the following website:
http://151.213.101.231/cheersport/videojudge.asp
There are instances where teams submit a video of their performance to qualify for a nationals competition instead of attending a regional for qualification. In the end, these teams will be judged via live performances. I believe bids to USASF Worlds are only given to teams that compete in a USASF Nationals events. The exception might be the international division.
Opinion, I think you may be confused on the original post. It was about judging from a videotape that was taped the day of the competition, of the performances on stage that day (not about using an earlier videotape to qualify, etc...). You need to read the site the original post referred to, it describes the rules and how this will be used.
But I do agree with you regarding folks who submit videotapes to qualify for Nationals, etc... -- they certainly could keep taping until they get it right, or insert folks in there who aren't on the team. A tape of a competition (on stage) might be okay though, huh?
Cheer fan, I see your point, but I think a lot of mistakes and lack of skills are not caught or are hidden, so I think from a technical point of view, it makes more sense to see it a second time on tape. However having said that, there are no other sports I can think of that do this, including the Olympics (ice skating and gymnastics come to mind -- they are judged immediately by their performance). The only time they look at a tape is when results are challenged. So if we are pushing for cheerleading to someday make its way into the Olympics, why treat it differently?
I like it as a means of review - when a team believes placements are drastically off, or that their score was drastically off, that sort of thing. American Championships does it this way - coaches can request video review if they think their technical merit was lower than it should have been.
Using it to go back and rank, I'm not sure. On one hand, it solves the typical problem (in any subjectively judged sport) of escalating scores throughout the day, but on the other hand, I don't think going back and picking out mistakes, etc, that weren't visible to the naked eye the first time is really appropriate either.
I was at the American Grand in Las Vegas. One official came and got 3 video tapes of the Small Sr. Adv. division on day one. I saw him take Cheer Athletics and California Allstars and he already had one tape in his hand. This was before placements. On day two, he took CA, Cali and 2 others for review. We were all gathered at the video table waiting our turn to look at the videos right after the division competed. So, I don't think that they were reviewing them due to a coaches request. The coaches didn't have their scores before the official took the tapes and to my knowledge, they still don't have the scores for the 2nd day. I can only assume that they were being reviewed for someother reason.
The American Grand viewed alot of other divisions as well. We had two of our teams tapes that went under review.....sadly enough they went the wrong direction for us and we ended up in second. So i could say that I don't care for it, but in reality it is something that the American Championships makes you aware of prior to the comp. Hope everyone else's experience with the video judging fares better for them. Happy Holidays!
The review was for the second day.....we were in first after saturday and I guess the scores reflected something different on the second day......I think they watched them to ensure that they all agreed on the placement....West Coast Mavericks had a great routine and they came out on top for the final rankings.
