posted Sep 21st, 2004 - The coverage of the whole Block 12 affair is almost complete. The facts of the story are known, the French view was explained by Jerome David, while Shannon Pilcher gave insights from the Majik position. The US team clarified the situation yesterday with a strong statement in round seven when the DeLand team increased the lead over France from two to six points. The penalty situation of round five is not in Majik's way to the gold medal. However, the NSL News planned a comprehensive coverage of the Block 12 affair, and the view of the judges was still missing. Chief Judge Klaus Wellens took the time for an interview this morning.

NSL News: Klaus, how emotional is a judge allowed to be while doing his/her job?

Klaus Wellens: A judge has to ignore his/her emotions and the nationality for the time of the work in the judging room.

NSL News: The Majik prorest after round five was based on emotions in the judging room. Were there any?

Klaus Wellens: No. There surely were some troubles after the jump of the French team. However, the concentration is back as soon as the judging panels have to be ready for the next jump. The working conditions and the environment are sometimes difficult and challenging, but the judges are trained to deal with distractions. The working conditions in Rijeka are good, and they were fine throughout the whole round five.

NSL News: Comments by individual judges right after the judging of round five and comments on the Omniskore website indicated that there were emotions in the judging room. It sounded as if the judges felt offended by the performance of some of the top teams.

Klaus Wellens: Judges should not comment the actual competition and certain incidents, which are related to the judging. However, we cannot tell the judges to be quiet all the time.

NSL News: What were the troubles in the judging room after the French jump?

Klaus Wellens: The judges are much aware of the vertical block techniques and how they work. We know that you can play with the video angle to get closer to the center point. The French jump was presented in a way that we got the impression as if the videographer filmed it on purpose from that angle. It did not look like it was simply a mistake. Thus, we did not know whether it was the French team's presentation of their Block 12 technique or a mistake.

NSL News: The French team did not argue the judging calls on their Block 12's, it was too obvious. What do you think if you watch the Majik jumps after everything has been said and done? Are you still confident that there were centerpoint violations?

Klaus Wellens: I cannot make any comments on that while the competition is still running. I will contact Majik directly after the conclusion of the competition.

NSL News: You were interviewed by the jury that decided over Majik's protest, which was based on the emotional atmosphere in the judging room during the jump evaluation. The protest was denied. What was the reasoning of the jury?

Klaus Wellens: I can also not comment the content of a jury session.

NSL News: Shannon Pilcher mentioned yesterday that Block 12 is quite popular within the team community, while French coach Jerome David suggests to dump it or change it. What is the future of Block 12 from the judges point of view?

Klaus Wellens: The problems with Block 12 began last year. We discussed it and thought that teams and coaches agreed with us and would train in a way that would present Block 12 to the judges without problems. We had similar problems with Block 17 (Danish T - Murphy) years ago, which got busted left and right, as well. We discussed it with teams and coaches, and it was fixed. We are now able to see the single flyer easily. I thought that we could also fix the current Block 12 technique together. However, this technique caused problems at the Malevsky Cup, and there was trouble here and now again. Changes seem to be necessary.

NSL News: Thanks for the interview, Klaus.