Report: DCE Judges College 2016

Publish Date: 27 May 2016 - 3196 views

The 15th DCE Judges college 2016 took place in Newcastle under Lyme, UK, on 14th and 15th May. College is an intensive program over two days, a full day session on the Saturday, with a half day Sunday morning, allowing Judges time to travel home in the afternoon.

A report fy Field Visual Judge Brendan Hoye.

It's also the only time of year all 30 or so Judges get together, welcome the trainees, review progress on the previous year and set expectations, paradigms and process for the coming season.

I missed last year’s college due to a family commitment, and I noticed quite a difference in the way college has evolved. Much less time is now spent on setting paradigms, with caption heads each having prepared their respective categories for the year ahead. Instead more time was given to much deeper technical discussions than previously possible, which in itself is an indication of the growing maturity of the college. As a Field Judge I was surprised how much I learned from the Visual Effect discussion and how ‘effect’ was ‘affecting’ my Judging Process.

This year’s theme was 'Recognising & Valuing Content'. DCE judges are already good at identifying any issues with achievement, so the focus for judges in 2016 will be developing their ability to reward technical and creative brilliance. Additionally in our feedback, we have been encouraged not to just state the What & How, Content & Achievement, but the "Why". By focusing on causes rather than issues, Judges can add value to their critique and help the Corps’ development.

On Sunday we visited Kidsgrove Scouts during a training session. There was a very beneficial Q&A with the corps staff before moving onto the field , with judges splitting up to sample Percussion, Brass and guard individually before sampling combined rehearsal. This brief time is incredibly valuable to judges, providing Judging captions our only opportunity to discuss aspects of performance together in real time, which is not possible at competitions.

Thanks to Director of Education Bob Thomas and new Music Liaison Dave Cooksey for leading the program, DCE Adjudication Manager Mark Bassett and Judges’ Administrator Ann Legon for organising the logistics, and Kidsgrove Scouts for allowing us access to their rehearsals and facilities.

Roll on Roosendaal!