Blurring the Lines
This is an extension of the article "Another Judging Fiasco by Coaches" also on this web site. Any information discussed here is not solely indicative of a particular coach, school, Conference or Sectional. A variety of coaches will bend the judging scales a bit to give their diver(s) an unfair advantage. What will be discussed is beyond just a simple break in position, which adds to the problem of just being able to follow the rules.
Coaches should understand the guidelines for judging better than any one else. There are certain techniques for performing dives that are better than others. There are also a couple of acceptable ways to do some dives. It is here that some coaches begin to blur the lines between good dives and not so good dives. It is also the place where they reward the not so good diver which in essence is a penalty for the good diver and keeps the scores closer than they should be.
Examples:
These are but a few ways coaches act while on a judging panel. They don’t appear to be concerned about "fairness to all the competitors". They seem more concerned about how their own diver finishes. That attitude should disqualify them from any judging panel. Many of our coaches are employed as teachers and a question arises, "What exactly are they teaching kids? The example being set here says that they are teaching kids to bend, ignore or definitely break the rules to gain an advantage over others. Kids do follow the examples set by adults. Coaches should serve as a better role model for their athletes than this.
If one utilized "comparative judging", the outcome would be better than what’s occurring now. Comparative judging compares the same dive performed by different divers. A judge would decide that this dive was better than the last one and give it a higher score. Unfortunately this is not a good way to judge because memories are short lived during contests. Some judges can’t even remember the score they just gave when the announcer asks to have them repeated.
Coaches have stated that they have to be on a panel "to protect their kids". That statement is at the core the whole problem. Who or what do they need to protect their kids from? Why this need for protection? How are they being protected? In order to understand this mentality, one must understand the significance of Sectional Contest. The winner is the only automatic qualifier. The next 32 highest scoring divers qualify at large. Every coach in every Sectional wants his or her diver(s) to get to the State Meet. The problem is these coaches don’t trust each other to follow the rules of judging. That’s how they justify inflating scores. The claim becomes one Sectional always scores high and we must compensate for that by raising the scores to keep pace. By keeping pace the rules are generally ignored.
At this point the questions posed earlier can be answered. The who and what question refer to the crooks in the other sectional(s) and their inflated scores. How are their diver(s) being protected is easily answered. These coaches also become crooks and inflate their scores proportionately. They are now guilty of doing the same thing they originally complained about. The primary injustice is that the rules for fair play are bent, twisted or totally ignored. The secondary injustice occurs to those Sectionals that play by the rules. A better diver may not get to the State Meet because of the effect inflated scores have on every sectional competitor.
You decide.
Divers scores do not radically change from week to week unless they completely miss their dives. At most the swing would be 30 points, which is 15 points higher than their average or 15 points lower. To see scores over 100 points higher one week and lower the next is simply ridiculous. Will the State Champ score 504 points? Where in the finishing order will 357 points finish this year? 357 points was the score of the last place qualifier to make it to the State Meet.