posted Jul 12th, 2011 - Judy Celaya, one of the most experienced judges in the sport, is the Chief Judge at this year's USPA Nationals at Skydive Arizona in Eloy. She has been advocating for a better application of available judging techniques for a while to improve the accuracy of the scores.

The current official FAI/IPC and USPA judging rules have not been using the technical features that new judging systems, such as CamScore, offer for the sport. The current FAI/IPC rules define the judging procedure as follows:

5.4.) The Judges will watch the video evidence of each jump to a maximum of three times at normal speed. If, after the viewings are completed, and within fifteen seconds of the knowledge of the result, the Chief Judge, Event Judge or any Judge on the panel considers that an absolutely incorrect assessment has occurred, the Chief Judge or Event Judge will direct that only that part(s) of the jump in question be reviewed. If the review results in a unanimous decision by the Judges on the part(s) of the performance in question, the score for the jump will be adjusted accordingly. Only one review is permitted for each jump. 5.5.) The Judges will use the electronic scoring system to record their evaluation of the performance. At the end of working time, freeze frame will be applied on each viewing, based on the timing taken from the first viewing only. The Judges may correct their evaluation record after the jump has been judged. Corrections to the evaluation record can only be made before the Chief Judge signs the score sheet. All individual Judge’s evaluation will be published.

USPA is currently defining the judging rules in the USPA Competition Manual very similarly:

The judges will use an electronic scoring system to record their evaluation of the performance. At the end of working time, freeze frame of the image will be applied to the first two viewings, and an optional third viewing will be at the discretion of the Event Judge. In the 4-, 8-, and 10-way events, the judges may view each jump a maximum of three times at normal speed. If, after the Principal Judges have confirmed the scores and have knowledge of the result, and prior to the Event Judge making the score official, the Chief Judge, Event Judge or any Judge on the panel considers that an absolutely incorrect assessment has occurred, the Chief Judge or Event Judge will direct that only that part(s) of the jump in question be reviewed. Only one review is permitted for each jump.

CamScore, the leading electronic judging system on the market, has been offering the application of reduced judging speed, slow motion, specific review options and several other technical features for a while. Other judging systems have been following the same idea of providing easier ways for the judges to come to quick and accurate results.

The Shamrock Showdown is one of the major events where the advantages of modern CamScore technology for judging have been demonstrated in the past two years. Judy Celaya had the opportunity once again at the Shamrock Showdown 2011, and the Shamrock management gave her the freedom to apply the rules that she would think were the best for the sport. She left the event with the same impressions and experiences: It is time for a change in the judging rules.

She continued to lobby for the necessary changes in her USPA environment and finally succeeded in convincing the Board of Directors to change the USPA Competition Manual accordingly. The minutes of the last meeting confirmed that USPA will apply new rules at this year's national championships:

"Judy Celaya made a presentation on how using the technology available can make judging faster and more accurate which resulted in the following motions: Move to waive SCM 5-1.11C, 9.1.11C & 4-1.14C at the 2011 Nationals to allow partial playback, slow motion, and multiple views to increase the quality and speed of judging. Chief Judge Judy Celaya will report back to the competition committee the results from Nationals.”

The motion was approved, and the teams at the USPA Nationals will most likely enjoy more accurate scores after speedy judging. Judy Celaya was excited and happy to get the results she has been lobbying for: "Woo Hoo!!! The USPA BOD approved the motion below for FS and CF as a trial at our Nationals!!!! This could be one of the best judged Nationals ever!"

Judy Celaya and the USPA Board of Directors did not even stop there. The BOD also approved a motion that will possibly initiate the same changes for the rest of the Formation Skydiving competition world. FAI/IPC officials, judges, coaches, teams and competitors have been discussing this topic at several occasions for a long time, and the cry for help and application of modern technology has been heard long enough. USPA's IPC Delegate will propose the same changes at the next meeting:

“Move to direct The IPC Delegate to put forward a proposal to amend the IPC judging for FS, CF & VFS to allow partial playback, slow motion, and multiple views to increase the quality and speed of judging. Delegate will present Chief Judge Judy Celaya’s results from using these changes at the 2011 US Nationals for reference.”