Press Release 17/2000
Press Release 17/2000
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30.08.2000
"Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF), It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this important Adjudicator Congress here in Mannheim.
I am sure you know that the judging business is a very difficult matter. For the competitors, you play the most important role in the Competition, they watch and look at you and afterwards they discuss your decisions. The couples are always very friendly with you before the competition, but not always after the competition, which is normal and understandable.
It is a privilege for most of you to he invited as an international Judge, but to stand on the floor -on your own- and act as a Judge, is not so easy, it is a most responsible job and hard work. Therefore, you must have a certain knowledge and practical experience. But also important for a Judge is the Character- with a high degree of fairness, and observing ethic principles.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am not here today to give you a lesson... (...this is the job of Oliver Wessel-Therhorn today....).....but I want to mention two important points:
1. A Judge invited from .... 'Honoloulu' for instance..... is not invited so that he can give preference to his own couples from 'Honoloulu'! An Adjudicator should never abuse his national position to purposely prefer the couples from his own country. Neutrality + fairness must have first priority!
2. Another bad example is the practice, to mark the local couple into the final -even when it is clearly unjustified- just to please the local organiser or club.
Such behaviour will surely undermine the credibility of our Sport and in general of the Adjudicators, of yourself ! Please be aware, that sometimes millions of people can see this kind of practise on TV. All what we expect from a Judge is an equal and fair treatment of our Couples.
I have advised our Sports Director to notify the Presidium and to take actions against those Adjudicators who are obviously acting against the principle of neutrality. I am sure you understand that we must do our utmost to improve the quality of our IDSF Adjudicators, and to keep our credibility as an IOC-Recognised International Sports Federation.
At our last AGM in Munich, I proposed to establish a special Working Group, to prepare a framework for the entire Adjudicator business, including the
-selection of Judges.,
-accreditation.,
-code of behaviour,
-Adjudicators responsibilities,
-dress code for Judges,
-sanctions
and so on, the whole range of Adjudicator affairs. I hope that this new and important document will be ready by the next AGM.
Coming to the end, I would like to thank you for coming , showing your interest as an international Judge to improve the quality. I hope you will enjoy the lesson today, thanks for your attention."
