What the...?
Judges of the world.... don't worry - I am not trying to tell you
how to do your job, just how to leave proper evidence of it. As
professional judges, your recorded opinions are valuable to me,
and to the whole bull riding industry, really, once they are part
of Probullstats. However, sometimes your opinions can cause certain
bulls to be treated unfairly. I try to catch these mistakes, but
I don't always.
Over the years that I have been processing stats, I have seen about
every possible judging situation come to pass, and there are only
a few that cause me to have bad stats. Here they are:
RERIDES...
While there are many reasons why a RR may be granted, as far as
good stats are concerned, there are only two kinds of RRs. A bad
out that was the bull's fault, and a bad out that wasn't. In a nutshell,
I would rather you did NOT mark a RR out that is NOT the bull's
fault. This is more commonly seen in the PBR, where even a RR for
no nod sometimes get the bull some kind of marking. Not necessary,
and could unfairly affect a bull's record. Here's what you should
do with regard to marking RR's
| RR reason |
Bull's Fault? |
What you should do |
| RR: bull didn't buck |
YES |
Mark bull appropriately |
| RR: bull stopped |
YES |
Mark bull appropriately |
| RR: fall |
NO |
Don't mark the bull, just note reason for RR. |
| RR: foul |
NO |
Don't mark the bull, just note reason for RR. |
| RR: ANY OTHER REASON |
NO |
Don't mark the bull, just note reason for RR. |
There is one special case that I watch for, and that is a RR due
to the flank coming off that is declined. A poor marking must be
given, but it is unfair to the bull. So, when career stats are calculated,
those instances (which are rare) are filtered out of a bull's record.
Please, always make the reason for RR option clear on the sheets,
as well as whether the option was taken or not.
FLIPPANCY...
Dictionary says: unbecoming levity or pertness especially in
respect to grave or sacred matters
Translation: You just wrote down a number - don't do it. It goes
on the bull's record, so keep it real.
SHORT TRIPS
I have heard it tossed around that judges sometimes mark a bull
less if they don't get to see very much of him. Don't do it. Some
types of bulls will produce many short trips - especially world
class rank suckers. NEVER dock a bull because the
trip was short. Either mark it or don't.
JUDGING OFF THE SCALE, OR IN LOCAL SCOPE:
In order to judge correctly, it is necessary to compare each bull
to every other bull only within the scope of the event you are
judging. However, your markings will end up being used in
the scope of every event that has ever been judged. Keep this
in mind.
For example, you could theoretically judge an event correctly and
fairly and mark the best bull 25 every single time, regardless of
whether he was better or worse than the 25 point bull at the last
event you judged. You could still get it right in the local scope.
However, presumably you are a judge because you have seen a lot
of bull riding, and the proper thing to do is mark
bulls within the scope of your lifetime experience (i.e. 25 = the
best bull you have ever seen in your life).
GOOD TIMING
Simple - just write down the buckoff time!
Slade Long - Probullstats.com - July , 2009
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