SPORTING CODE
Section 6
2. JUDGING RULES FOR WORLD AND CONTINENTAL AEROBATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
AND INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC COMPETITIONS
2.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
2.1.1 Board of Judges
Judging during World and Continental Aerobatic Championships
and international aerobatic competitions will be carried out by
an International Board of Judges in compliance with the following
rules.
2.1.2 Representation on the Board of Judges
At World and Continental Championships all participating national
aero clubs have, if they wish, the right to be represented on
the Board of Judges by an International Judge and his or her assistants,
subject to rule 2.1.2.1.
Also non-participating national aero clubs may be allowed to
employ International Judges. For international competitions,
International Judges will be invited by the organisers. It is,
however, recommended that the same principles are applied as are
used for World Championships.
2.1.2.1 a. All International Judges nominated by national aero clubs
or invited by the organisers of International Competitions must
have been approved by the International Aerobatics Commission
(CIVA) of FAI and listed in the FAI official document to that
effect.
b. To be `a current FAI judge' at FAI aerobatic championships,
an FAI International Judge must additionally fulfill the following
currency requirements:
In the year in which the championship is held or during the
previous calendar year, the judge must have either judged at a
national or international aerobatic championship at appropriate
class or flown in that level competition as a pilot, or served
as an official team trainer whose duties include critiquing appropriate
level team members.
Before the championship is held, the judge must also have satisfactorily
completed a study course on the current rules and regulations.
This study course will be composed and administered by CIVA.
It can either be completed in advance of the championship or
on the contest site. The study course will be available no later
than six months prior to the beginning of the championship.
In addition, prior to the championship, the Chief Judge shall
conduct an oral interview with each prospective International
Judge. This interview will determine the judge's basic competency
and knowledge of the rules. This examination shall include but
not be limited to: judging criteria, familiarity with the FAI
Aerobatic Catalogue, and the ability to immediately interpret
complex figures and sequences. The Chief Judge will also insure
that the judge is in possession of current regulations with appropriate
translation if necessary. The International Jury, in conjunction
with the Chief Judge, shall have the authority to disqualify any
International Judge from the championship if it determines that
the judge is continuously biased or not competent. This decision
will be final and cannot be protested or appealed.
c. If the minimum number of judges cannot be achieved by applying
clause (b) above, the next preference in choice of judges will
go to the FAI judge(s) whose currency most nearly matches those
requirements.
"G"
In order for a judge to have a "G" rating on the FAI International
Judges List, he or she must have been an assistant judge for an
entire FAI glider aerobatic championships. Judges must be rated
as "G" or "P & G" but not "P" only. However, a judge with a "P"
rating can be invited (at least two weeks prior to a championship)
with the agreement of the CIVA Glider Aerobatics Sub-Committee.
2.1.2.2 In the case that a member of the Board of Judges abandons his
or her function at an FAI championships, with the approval of
the International Jury, he or she may be replaced in the following
sequence:
1. By a current FAI judge of the same national aero club.
2. By a current FAI judge of a national aero club with competing
pilots.
3. By a current FAI judge of a national aero club without competing
pilots.
One national aero club may be represented by only one judge.
When more than one aerobatic box is in use, one national aero
club may be represented by only one judge per box.
2.1.2.3 If a substitute International Judge is appointed under 2.1.2.2
above, he shall only take his place on the Board of Judges at
the start of the subsequent programme, and the marks of the departed
judge for the programme he did not complete will be deleted.
2.1.3 The Chief Judge
2.1.3.1 For World Championships the Chief Judge will be selected and
appointed by CIVA; he/she may not be a citizen of the organiser's
country (exceptions to this must be accepted by CIVA).
2.1.3.2 For Continental Championships, the Chief Judge must be approved
by CIVA.
2.1.3.3 In any case, the Chief Judge must be an International Judge listed
in the FAI official record and must have previous experience of
serving as Chief Judge at a national or international aerobatic
championship (or a major national competition) run under FAI rules.
2.1.4 Composition of the Board of Judges
2.1.4.1 At World and Continental Championships and international competitions
the International Board of Judges will be composed of:
a. The Chief Judge;
b. A maximum of 10 International Judges and 20 assistants and
a minimum of 7 International Judges and 7 assistants for marking
the quality of aerobatic manoeuvres and positioning if the electronic
tracking instrument is not in operation;
c. Positioning judges for operating the electronic tracking instrument and for recording the violations of the prescribed performance zone, or 4 line judges for the conventional recording of infringements of the performance zone. Positioning or line judges, although recommended, are not mandatory for international competitions;
d. The administrative secretary, supervised by the Contest Director,
who will be in charge of the documentation of results and of the
evaluation office.
2.1.4.2 Should there be more than 10 suitably qualified International
Judges nominated by the National Aero Clubs for Championships
and approved by CIVA, the following procedure will be used for
the selection of the Board of Judges:
Programme Q
All judges who wish to be represented on the Board of Judges
will judge Programme Q with no limit on number, provided that
they have a qualified assistant as required in CIVA Regulations,
Part One (page 87 - The Judges - paragraph 1). JPF's derived
by the International Jury after Programme Q will be used to select
the panel of judges. The panel of judges will always be a minimum
of 7 judges and may exceed 10 judges, however only a maximum of
10 judges will be used at any one time. JPF's used will be those
which are derived before the scoring system deletes judges' scores
which are outside the TBLP window.
Programmes 1-4
In the event of the International Jury having selected a panel
of judges exceeding 10 in number, the top 10 judges will be used
for Programme 1. Subsequent programmes will utilise those judges
not used for Programme 1, having dropped from each subsequent
programme the required amount of judges on the basis of the JPF
ratings for each individual programme. An individual judge may
be dropped on more than one occasion.
Any judges not utilised in Programme 1 or subsequent programmes
on the basis of the above selection, will be required to carry
out other duties as required by the contest organisers or International
Jury, provided their expenses have been paid by the organisers
as an international judge.
At international competitions the same procedure will be used.
2.1.4.3 The positioning judges working at the electronic tracking instrument
may be nominated by the organisers. The positioning judges, whether
at championships or at international competitions, shall be supervised
by members of the International Jury or their delegates. If an
electronic tracking instrument is not operated, the work of the
positioning judges and their supervision is organised on the same
basis.
2.1.4.4 The administrative secretary of the Chief Judge will be nominated
by the organisers.
2.1.5 Timekeepers and Evaluators
The Chief Judge will be assisted by timekeepers (at least 3),
evaluators and other staff.
2.1.6 Position of Judges
The judges (under 2.1.4.1. b) will be posted by the Chief Judge
at positions appropriate for observing the competitors, the positions
of the judges being at least 15 m apart. The distance of the positions
of the judges from the end points of the x/y axes will be a minimum
of 150 m and a maximum of 250 m.
2.1.7 Role of Judges
The International Judges appointed for marking the quality of
the manoeuvres will mark the manoeuvres and infringements of the
lower and upper height limits in compliance with the judging rules.
2.1.8 Judges' Assistants
The assistant(s) has (have) the following tasks:
a. Telling the judge prior to the performance the sequence of
the figures, details of the various figures, and any other special
features.
b. Recording the mark given by the judge for each figure and
writing down into the marking sheet any remarks concerning the
rating. Any amendment of record must be signed by the judge.
c. Giving general assistance.
2.1.9 Control of Timing, Programme Interruption, Infringements of Height Limits and Wing-Dipping
"U" and "A"
Checking the duration of flight will be the duty of the timekeepers
(at least 3) assigned to the Chief Judge.
Recording programme interruptions, and giving penalty points
for such interruptions or for infringements of the lower and upper
height limits, and the infringement of penalty point rule 2.3.1.3
of CIVA Regulations concerning wing dipping three times in Programme
4 for the Unlimited category, will be carried out under the responsibility
and control of the Chief Judge. Further entries on the marking
sheet concerning positioning will be made on the basis of the
positioning sheets after evaluation in the evaluation office.
"G"
Checking the time of super slow rolls will be the duty of the
timekeepers (at least 2) assigned to the Chief Judge.
2.1.10 Electronic Tracking Instrument
If an electronic tracking instrument is operated, the position
of the aircraft will be indicated by the instrument and recorded
with indelible ink by one of the positioning judges (i.e. instrument
observers) on the positioning sheet, which will immediately be
signed by an International Judge appointed to this end by the
International Jury. The evaluation will be made in the evaluation
office using a special positioning table.
2.1.11 Line Judges
a. If an electronic tracking device is not operated and line judges are to be used, they shall be placed at each corner of the performance zone. Line judges should, if possible, be international. If they are operated by the organiser, a permanent supervision must be provided by the International Jury.
b. The control sheets from each judge shall record infringements
on two sides of the performance zone. The positioning sheets shall
be signed by the member or the representative of the International
Jury.
c. A penalty will only be applied to a competitor if two line
judges are unanimous.
2.1.12 Collection of Marking Sheets
"U" and "A"
Immediately after a competitor has completed a competition flight
and the judges have finished the marking, the marking sheets will
be collected by an assistant of the Chief Judge, together with
the reports on time checking, interruptions of the programme and
the positioning sheet. All marking sheets and reports will be
taken to the evaluation office.
In Programme 4, Judges will keep all the marking sheets until
all competitors have completed the programme. Should the completion
of all flights in Programme 4 be interrupted, all Judges' marking
sheets shall be collected and secured by the Chief Judge until
flying resumes.
"G"
Immediately after a competitor has completed a competition flight
and the judges have finished marking, the marking sheets will
be collected by an assistant of the Chief Judge and taken to the
evaluation office. The positioning sheets will be turned in at
the end of each programme.
2.1.13 Publication of Results
"U" and "A"
The total results for each competitor in each of the competition
flights shall be available to the competitors, in the agreed working
language(s), prior to the start of the subsequent programme. The
current results of each programme will be published on an information
board to indicate the placings of the competitors. The final evaluation
and placing will be found and announced after checking by the
International Jury, not later than the following day.
"G"
The total results for each competitor in each of the competition
flights shall be available to the competitors in the agreed working
language(s), prior to the start of the next programme but one.
The current results of each programme will be published on an
information board to indicate the placings of the competitors.
The final evaluation and placing will be found and announced
after checking by the International Jury, not later than the following
day.
2.1.14 Public Announcements
Prior to the take-off for and during the performance of a programme,
details concerning the competitor concerned may be published by
any means (radio commentary, etc.).
2.1.15 Protests, Decisions of International Jury, Confidentiality
All protests will be dealt with by the International Jury, in
cooperation with the Chief Judge if his assistance is required
and his duties permit. Decisions taken by the International Jury
are final and must not be changed later. The judges are advised
to keep activities of the Board of Judges and of the International
Jury strictly confidential.
2.1.16 Procedure for the Mark of "0"
If less then half of the International Judges give a "0" for
a figure, these judges' marks must be corrected upward to at least
that mark nearest zero given by any other judge, or the judge's
reserve mark.
If a mark of "0" was given by the majority of the judges, the
mark for this figure will be corrected to "0" by the rest of the
judges. In case of doubt the Chief Judge has the casting vote.
2.1.17 Reprimand and Disqualification of Judges
a. The reprimands and/or the disqualification of judges by the International Jury shall be administered in compliance with the annex to CIVA Regulations.
b. In case of a disqualification of a judge, the marking which was the reason for the disqualification will not be counted for the programme in question. CIVA will decide upon the further use of the disqualified judge on the recommendation of the International Jury.
c. On the basis of judging data, which have to be available promptly, it is a duty of the organisers to inform the International Jury about the performance of the judges.