Idaho
NAWGJ News
October 2005
New Things for a New Cycle
As most of you know, we’re in the midst of a cycle change in the judging community. Everything’s new. We have new routines, new rules, a new way of testing, and new ratings for many of us. Perhaps we’ll even have some new faces in our judging ranks! It’s always exciting with a cycle change and a bit nerve wracking as well. Below are a few of the new things in store for us.
New Routines
Most of you have purchased your new Compulsory books and are well into studying to pass your judges’ exam. The new books contain everything you need to know for Compulsory levels 1 through 6. Did you notice that level 7 isn’t there? Level 7 is no longer a compulsory level and is included in the optional materials. While many of the compulsory elements have stayed the same, the routines and music are certainly different! Won’t it be fun to have new songs to hum while we judge? Many thanks go out to Tom Koll, our very own Laurie Reid, and the rest of the JO Committee for their amazing work on these new compulsories. I urge each of you to make the time to get into some of our gymnastics clubs and familiarize yourself with the way these routines are performed.
New Rules
I’ll have to admit that my favorite new thing this cycle is the new JO Code of Points. Whoever decided to put the illustrations in the same book with all the rules was simply brilliant! The new book is a fantastic resource and a must have for all judges. It contains everything you need to know to judge levels 7 through 10. Read it cover to cover, mark it up, highlight the new stuff, and bring it with you wherever you judge. If in doubt about something you see while judging, look it up. We’re only as good as our ability to accurately apply the rules. Know the rules!
New way of Testing
With the New cycle comes many changes in judges’ accreditation. While the ratings have stayed the same, the governing body that grants those ratings is new. USA Gymnastics has taken the task of accrediting judges in-house. They have written all the exams, developed all the films, and run all the courses. They also handle all the registration for testing, grade all the exams, and issue all the ratings cards. Idaho has two Test Administrators, Wendy Smith and Marian DeWane. We’ll offer several tests this Fall to accommodate all of you who wish to test. Please visit the events page on our website (www.idnawgj.org) for test dates and information on how to register for exams.
New Active Status
Throw away those yellow cards and print yourself some new CPE cards! CPE stands for Continuing Professional Education. This takes the place of Active Status in the new cycle. CPE must be maintained to remain eligible to judge USAG competitions. Individual judges are now responsible for keeping track of their own CPE and turning in their annual CPE record form. Forms are available on-line at the USAG Women's Program web site. CPE credits are calculated in actual clock hours. Different ratings require a different minimum number of hours. The accreditation year runs from August 1 to July 31st. Trisha Hofmann is our designated CPE Coordinator in Idaho. She’ll need all your completed CPE reports by July 2006.
New Ratings
Many of you have tested already while others plan to test in the near future. A cycle change is a fantastic time to get into judging for the first time or for existing judges to test up a level. Anyone 16 years or older can test levels 5/6 and/or 7/8 with no prior experience. Those who have held a rating for a calendar year are eligible to test up to the next level. Plan to test for the highest rating you hope to achieve this year. There are some great practice tests available on the www.idnawgj.org website.
New Faces
With every cycle change comes change in our judging ranks. We gain a few new judges and say goodbye to some old friends. This year we say goodbye to Donna Penza, Brooke Webb and Marie Arrington. Donna’s retiring to enjoy that new grandbaby of hers, while Marie and Brooke embark on new adventures with their careers. At the same time, we’ve already gained some new judges. Extend a warm Idaho welcome to Barb Pierce and Deb Lawson from North Idaho and Erin Stone from Eastern Idaho.
New Uniforms
Wait! Are you sure you read that right? Actually, the navy blues stay the same, but we do have a new shirt option! Betty has approved a collared white polo with a single button in front and NAWGJ patch on the upper left. These are considered official uniform “blouses” and are for sale through NAWGJ. They’re 100% cotton and short sleeved. Polo shirts contain the official NAWGJ patch and cost around $30.
In addition, USAG is adding a pin to our uniforms. The pin is a 2” by 4” inch rectangle with the USAG logo and says “USA Gymnastics Official.” This pin needs to be worn on the uniform by all rated officials. The pin does not cover the NAWGJ patch, but it is in addition to it. There will be more information coming soon on how to purchase this pin.
New Compulsory Errata Sheets
Yep, you did indeed read that one right. Check the Compulsory Errata sheet you’re using. The newest sheet is dated August 8, 2005. It is now two full pages of errata and is posted on the USAG website. There are also several replacement pages for your compulsory book posted as well. Print them out and replace those pages in your book.
New Babies
Not for all of us, but certainly for Kelly and Daniel Riley! Kelly welcomed baby Kaylynn into the world last April. She joins big brother Eli.
Judges’ Base Score Meet
November 19th, 2005
Calling all judges! We need your help for our 4th annual judges’ fundraiser. This year’s Base Score Meet is Saturday, November 19th at the Wings Center. This is our primary fundraiser for the year. The funds raised go directly back into judges’ education in Idaho.
The Base Score Meet is doubly important this year. Our teams will compete with the new rules for the first time at this met and our looking for the valuable feedback we provide to prepare them for the upcoming season. We’ll need all hands on deck to make this run smoothly. Please plan to be there all day on the 19th.
We’re also looking for items for our raffle. The State Governing Board has asked each judge to bring 2 or more items for our raffle. Contact Kelly Riley as soon a possible to let her know what your raffle items will be.
The theme of this year’s meet centers around the colors Red, White and Blue.
JAS Ready for Input
Judges rated to officiate at NCAA competitions need to input their availability into the JAS system immediately. Collegiate assigning begins the first week of October. Judges need to view the Collegiate Illustrations DVD prior to inputting their availability. Both Wendy and Marian have a copy that can be checked out.
Please consider our local JO needs when inputting your collegiate availability. At this point in time we are running short on judges for the upcoming season. We’ll need everyone we have to cover our JO meets. Please take a look at the Idaho calendar on our website (www.idnawgj.org) and consider limiting your collegiate availability on those dates with big JO Invitationals or multiple meets on a weekend.
State Governing Board Updates
Trisha Hofmann is the newly elected member to our State Governing Board. She takes Donna’s place as our Secretary and has been appointed the USAG CPE Coordinator for Idaho. Trisha’s been put right to work, taking minutes at our September 24th SGB meting.
The bulk of our September meeting revolved around plans for our Base Score Meet in November. The Board voted to sponsor a Level 7 All Star Team to the National Judges’ Cup in Houston, Texas in January. We’ll select the members of our All Star Team at our Base Score Meet. Idaho NAWGJ will provide the team with a competition leotard and pay their team entry fee into the National Judges’ Cup. This is the 3rd year in a row we’ve sent an All Star Team. This is an awesome competition for our top Level 7 athletes. It gives them an opportunity to compete in a National level meet formatted like the Regional Championships and above. It also exposes them to a level of competition that we don’t often see within Idaho.
Regional Congress and Regional Camps
Region 2 Congress is the weekend of October 15th in Auburn, Washington. There are fabulous tracks offered for both judges and coaches. For more information or to register contact Dave Adlard at fungym@mindspring.com.
The Hi Tech Training Camp is the weekend of October 22nd in Beaverton, Oregon. All judges assigned to the Regional Championships (Levels 9 or 10) are required to attend in order to retain their assignment. This is an excellent learning opportunity for all judges. If you’re able to attend, please contact Marian DeWane at dewanem@meridianschools.org for additional information.
Calling All Judges!
We’re still in need of additional judges in Idaho. We especially need entry level judges at 5/6 and 7/8. Talk to those you know that may be interested in judging and send them our way! We have 2 more test opportunities before the season begins. Our next test will be on November 12th. If we have enough people needing to test, we’ll offer a last test on December 10th. But don’t wait! I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to offer the December test. All those considering judging in the new cycle should register to test on the November 12th test date.
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