9 Jun 2025
Fireside Chat on Judging – Thursday 5th June 2025
On Thursday 5th June, we hosted a Fireside Chat focused on Judging, with 11 members in attendance. The session lasted for approximately one hour and forty minutes and facilitated a constructive discussion on current developments and future plans.
Key Discussion Points:
Judge Development and Training:
National Development Manager, Jonny Roy, and Events and Competitions Coordinator, Fiona Hirst, provided updates on recent discussions with Archery GB. Plans are underway to host a National Judge Training session in Scotland in October 2025 (details to be confirmed). Training topics, which are being developed by our Judges, will be circulated by Jonny to allow Judges to contribute additional suggestions.
Field Captains and Scottish Ranking Events:
Currently, 41 Field Captains have been trained, and Fiona is maintaining contact with them to encourage their involvement in Scottish Ranking Events. It was noted that Field Captains may oversee these events at club level, reducing the demand on Judges. There is also potential for Field Captains to gain experience by shadowing Judges at events.
Judging Exams
The group discussed the possibility of holding written paper exams for Judges in Scotland, thereby reducing the need to travel to Lilleshall. Jonny and Fiona will explore this option further with Archery GB.
Competition and Judge Request Form:
Jonny, Fiona, and Curtis will meet to discuss potential improvements to the current Competition and Judge Request form.
Support for Candidate Judges:
The importance of providing support for candidate Judges was highlighted, with discussions focusing on how Clubs and Areas could play a more active role in their development. This topic will be discussed further at the next National Areas Subgroup meeting.
Event Prioritisation and Judge Allocation:
In instances where a Scottish Record Status (SRS) event clashes with a World Record Status (WRS) or UK Record Status (UKRS) event, it was agreed that priority would be given to WRS and UKRS events for Judge allocation. However, the use of a qualified Judge supported by Field Captains was suggested as a workable solution for SRS events.
Planning:
We will work with AGB to discuss a plan focused on the recruitment and development of Judges in Scotland.
Judge Liaison Officer:
The position of Judge Liaison Officer will be put forward for election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
We would like to thank everyone who joined us for their participation and contributions. Further updates will be shared in due course as developments progress.