Tips for Judging a Contest

Whether you're judging a writing contest or a beauty contest, they always promise to be fun. In addition to enjoying your status as judge, however, you also have to be sure to follow the contest rules. Judging a contest means remaining completely impartial the entire time, with little margin for error. If you find that you are unable to maintain impartiality, the sponsors of the contest may decide to remove you from the panel, which wouldn't be any fun at all. Following are a few tips for judging a contest.

Study the Judging Handbook
Most contests have judging handbooks to hand out to all of the judges for reference. Before the contest begins, make sure to read through it carefully and pay special attention to the rules regarding making your decisions. For example, are you allowed to know what the other judges are saying or doing, or must each decision be made independently? They might also have advice for maintaining impartiality, which can be extremely helpful if you're new to judging.

Read the Contest Rules
The contestants aren't the only ones who need to be familiar with the contest rules. As a judge, it is your responsibility to make sure that each candidate has followed the rules, and to discard entries which don't meet the required criteria. Even the smallest of rules must be followed explicitly, and you can't let your empathy win out over logical judgment calls. If you don't understand any of the rules, be sure to ask one of the sponsors or contest representatives before the judging actually begins.

Get Enough Sleep
In many cases, contests can run for hours on end, sometimes for days at a time. This means that you need to be awake, refreshed and mentally aware to satisfy your duties. Make sure to go to sleep early the night before the contest and eat a healthy breakfast when you wake up. If you find that you are unable to stay alert as the hours wear on, ask if you can take a brief catnap to rejuvenate yourself. It isn't fair to anyone if you are making decisions without adequate sleep.