Hi All,
At events I volunteer for, we often have volunteers that do not sign up for the whole day or so few volunteers that I must step in to support interviews. Some judges leave well before deliberations. I try my best to have one consistent judge throughout the day per pair, but it’s not always possible. My question is what do people recommend or do in this situation? I try to have running lists from each judge pair of award nominees as the day goes on. If volunteers disappear, I at least know what teams they thought met the award criterias and we review their notes. Of course this is not as good as a true deliberation. Any other recommendations? I also try to recruit more consistent volunteers, but that’s also an ongoing struggle. Thanks in advance.
I am in a small venue setting so I know your pains all too well. Most of our judges come from teams either local teams competing or people with potential conflicts. To date the judges have doen a fabulous job of not boosting their teams. Local industries have helped with some volunteers and some teachers. This is a never ending struggle. Our EP’s in the area have been good about recruiting as well. I personally have only had 2 judges leave early. I typically have the notebooks reviewed the night before. The judging starts immediately after inspection to try to keep things running. We provide lunch. Other than that I might just be getting lucky.
I know some companies in my area offer 8 hours or more for volunteering. Perhaps local companies will offer the same for your tournaments. It is not a true one to one trade off, but maybe it will help.
Nicole, your running nominee lists are a smart fix. A few things that have helped me:
Ask judges to write notes for someone else. If a pair has to leave, their notes should explain why a team is on the list without them in the room. The evidence carries the decision, not the person.
Hold a five-minute check-in with each pair before anyone leaves. They rank their top teams and say why. It’s not a full deliberation, but it’s a lot better than notes alone.
Be clear about the day when you recruit. Tell judges that deliberations are part of the job and give them a real end time. People leave early more often when they don’t know how long the day runs.
What’s working for others? Keeping judges through deliberations seems to be a problem at almost every event.
On this topic, I am not much use. I have only had 2 judges leave prior to deliberations. I will be following just in case. I do like the 5 minute talk and passing on the notes.
