At the last county meeting it was announced that the county is facing a shortage of judges within the next 18 months. Pete Mallard will be judging for one more year and Sylvia Underlin is also talking about retiring.
Along with Val Ewart (who has been recommended for regional judge after her sterling work at the recent Thoresby Tournament), Pete and Sylvia have judged many AoR touranaments over the years, for which the club as a whole and me personally are very grateful.
As a result, Northants County (NCAS) are now calling out for some people who are willing to train as judges. At the previous county meeting Val gave a brief insight as to what is required – a candidate judge would have a mentor judge who would take them to as many shoots as possible, giving them practical experience of running part of the shoot. They will need to have a basic knowledge of FITA and GNAS rules and complete a written paper assessment. They will need to be able to run a non-record status shoot and assist a regional judge at a record status shoot. If anyone wants any more details please contact me and I’ll put you in contact with Val or Pete who will be happy to help.
NCAS run six record status shoots each year, clubs hold their own record status shoots and judges will have to be brought in from other counties if NCAS can’t provide their own judges for these tournaments. It therefore follows that county and club tournaments needing judges will undoubtably be more expensive in the long run and this additional cost will be bourne by all of us.
Clubs holding non-record status shoots can have their field captain as judge. However, record status shoots require (must have) a regional judge who could then have the assistance of a non-shooting field captain.
Please contact Chris Mason (County Chairman), Val or Pete if you are interested in considering becoming a county recognised judge. I will also be happy to put you in touch with Pete or Val as required.