After passing my written and practical judging exams, I attended a leadership course as part of my certification as a USA Brevet Category 1 gymnastics judge. The course leaders challenged us to think about a few key questions and challenges. Why do I want to be a Category 1 judge?  What was good about the new 4 category system? What would I like changed and how would I propose to change it?

Gymnastics Judging tests--every four years. They are a bit stressful and annoying but are they helpful?

A bit of history on practice tests I've written over the decades

A bit of a rant (after hours of studying and preparing) when my test results took too long

I break down the costs of re-certifying as gymnastics officials. I also take delight in creating an AI image.

Is it hard for gymnastics judges to be impartial?

On a hot August night in August 1984 the taxi drove from the airport through the empty, quiet streets of Lincoln, Nebraska. Because I was seven months pregnant, the taxi driver, the doorman at the hotel and the concierge wanted to carry my suitcase which would have slowed me down. “No thank you,” I said and hurried to my room. The reason for the empty streets was also the reason I wanted to turn on the TV—the USA men’s gymnastics team was competing for Olympic gold. Two of the gymnasts competed for the University of Nebraska—Scott Johnson and Jim Hartung; it seemed like all of Nebraska stayed home to watch TV and cheer them on.

I just got back from “cookie day” at my sister’s house—we created and baked cookies all afternoon.  It’s time for the holidays…followed by a full gymnastics season. Last weekend I judged our c…

I just got back from “cookie day” at my sister’s house—we created and baked cookies all afternoon. It’s time for the holidays…followed by a full gymnastics season. Last weekend I judged our compulsory and Xcel Bronze and Silver state meet. Well, I didn’t judge, I was the meet referee for one day of the meet which meant overseeing the judges and coaches, walking about the venue to assure all was well, and solving problems. It was a 14-hour day for me, but compliments to my fellow judges who were there for 3 days!

As I write this blog, with the hopes of turning these posts into a longer book one day, I’ve asked a number of people about what they would like to know about gymnastics judges.  My friend Jayne asked, “How many judges were not gymnasts themselves?” The short answer is not very many. In my state we have approximately 50 judges. Only one was never a gymnast; she started judging because her daughter was a gymnast. So that’s about 2 percent (1/50) of judges who were never gymnasts if my state has similar statistics to the rest of the United States.

Answering a question--Where things were, are and going in gymnastics and gymnastics judging

A 50th reunion for the Burnsville High School Class of 1975 will be held Sept. 20 from 6-11 p.m. at the Lost Spur Golf and Event Center 2750 Sibley Memorial

I suspect that judges have slightly different criteria for determining who is a good judge from what coaches may believe. However, the coaches select judges for state, regional and national assignments so a judge’s viewpoint probably holds little weight. My state USAG board ranks judges based on application of rules, consistency, professionalism, number of judging assignments and whether the judge gives the “benefit of the doubt” to a gymnast. Other states have different criteria. I’ve also observed, in different areas of the country, that coaches seem to choose judges who smile and who chat with coaches during competitions.

How many national-level 9-10 meets have I judged and is it fair to the many National level judges who want the same experience?