Steps to Becoming a Womens Judge PDF format MS Word office 03
January 2010 - J.O. Clarifications
Clarifications for the Pre-meet (Timed) Warm-ups (page 42 of the R&P)
The judges and coaches have differing opinion on what skills
are allowed. We would like to be consistent with all meets.
Question: Are acrobatic elements allowed on the matted areas (ex:
round off back handsprings, etc.)?
A 15-30 minute general/open warm-up time is required. The Uneven Bars are
available to obtain settings only (Tap Swings). The apparatus is NOT available
for warm-up during the general warm-up time. Marking mount distances or practicing
run-up onto the board is allowed. The Floor Exercise mat and other matted
and open areas may by used for loco motor warm-up activities, such as running,
and for skill warm-up that can be performed in a confined space. Line drills
on Floor involving simple elements are allowed; however, tumbling on the diagonal
is not allowed.
Question: Are there loco motor warm-up activities are NOT allowed?
You are referring to the Open/general stretch (15-30 minutes. I find it strange
that judges have differing opinions on this because they are not usually involved
or even on the floor) during this timeframe. I can see if a coach has a problem
with another coach “hogging” the mat, but this would be a situation
handled by the Meet Director, not the judges. Usually during the stretch and
timed warm-ups, the judges are either in a meeting or having breaks/meals,
so they wouldn’t even be aware (or concerned) with this type of a problem.
Anyhow, Cheryl Hamilton, Tom Koll and I all agree that we cannot be any more
specific than what’s in the R & P, because line drills for level
5 would be different than line drills for level 10’s.
The underlying principle would be that there are X number of athletes in the
session that need to get their body temp up and prepare for warm-ups on their
first event. Considering the number of athletes in that session, they (and
their coaches) should be mindful that everyone has the right to some space
on the FX area and that each team should be considerate of the others who
are also trying to prepare. That means that anything that would endanger or
infringe on another team’s space should be avoided. I guess it all boils
down to RESPECTING one another.
As far as the loco motor activities go, these would be performed in a large
circle around the periphery, leaving space in the middle of the floor area
for others to continue stretching. We really don’t want to get into
a specific type of loco motor activity-running, hopping, chassés-that
type of team warm-up is certainly acceptable (as long as they are not “hogging”
the floor so that nobody else has any space to stretch).
- Connie Maloney