Report on 2011 DCE Judges College

The 2011 DCE Judges College was held last weekend in London, with about 30 judges and trainees in attendance. A report about the college by DCE Adjudication Manager Douglas Caldwell.

The college commenced on Friday 20th May at a hotel in Dartford, UK where we were staying for the weekend. Unfortunately, due to space and noise in the bar area, it was not possible to complete all the intended activities for Friday.

The Re-certification Tests however were undertaken. These tests are an important aspect of the judges ongoing development and a judge is required to take it every three years to remain certified as a DCE judge.  Fifteen judges took the test which lasted about an hour and required answering 29 questions on ethos and Philosophy of Judging, the Accountabilities of Judging, Principles of Scoring and use of Criteria Reference System. These subjects are the foundations on the judging approach.

Early Saturday morning, the judges travelled to Bromley, home of The Pacemakers Drum & Bugle Corps, who were hosting us over the weekend. The facilities were fine and the food excellent. I would like to thank Ray Westbrook for all their assistance. The Pacemakers have hosted the Judges College for the past three years.

In the morning Education Director Bob Thomas covered the changes to the DCE Manual - these had previously been communicated to corps instructors at the London Symposium. Amendments to the DCE Judges Handbook were also discussed. The rest of the morning was split between existing judges and trainees. Douglas Caldwell spent a few hours covering Accountabilities, Numbers Management, Derived Achievement for the trainees.

At the same time, Bob Thomas refreshed the existing judges with this subject and then concentrated on the 'Judging Philosophy and Process' and how each individual needs to know their own trigger points, styles of learning and how to consider if their approach needs changing. There was detailed discussion about the judging process, factors that affect the process and how to improve that process. What was good about this material and approach is that it can be adopted for your business life as well.

The afternoon session commenced with Marco Harder (Caption Head Music) and Bob Kanne doing a presentation on music composition. This covered elements of scoring, considering the vertical and horizontal orchestration of a music score. Different examples were provided.

The main aim was to discuss 'Content' and not 'Achievement'. The Visual judges were keenly looking forward to their session on 'Body and Equipment'. A performer from Black Knights was scheduled to assist, but unfortunately failed to arrive. "Many thanks to Jim Lauver" (Caption Head -Visual), said Bob Thomas, "for taking over the demonstration of body and equipment". This session allowed visual judges to understand the french 'body terns' and what muscle groups are used. The visual judges were eager to learn and the session was a huge success!

The last session in the afternoon covered the Criteria Reference System and aligning commentary/viewing to ratings. We concentrated on two aspects: a) which 'box' and b) which third of the 'box'. "This was very important session" commented Marco Harder "as it provides a consistency in our approach, understanding and rating of corps". It is important that every judge understand the paradigm for each box and how to apply the criteria reference scale. This is an important step to gain more consistency between all judges.

In the evening, the  trainees undertook the General Certification Test.  Results from all tests were to be communicated by Education Director following college. Any new trainee must pass a General Knowledge written exam before they are allowed to continue their caption specific training. The process to become a DCE judge may take up to a year to complete.

The session on Sunday had two subjects. Self Evaluation and the need for judges to continually re-asses their skills and outputs. Completion of the Self Evaluation Form is done after judging a contest, monthly and outputs are agreed with Caption Head/Education Director. This process is to ensure that each judge is applying the philosophy correctly and consistently.

The last subject of the day covered Effect and more specifically 'Content'.  All judges were provided with details of the 'content' attributes and then watched a two minute excerpt from a James Bond movie. "The discussions and levels of thought really surprised me and at times were amusing" commented Douglas, who was facilitating this last session. "It shows that you can practise your skills on any medium and not just a drum corps."

A very successful weekend and now the even harder part comes with putting into practise our skills. Bob Thomas, Director of Education was extremely pleased with the level of detail and content of the materials cover. He stated "We have come a long way in the training process for judges. It is very exciting to see and hear the level of enthusiasm and understanding of the system from all judges. It was the best judges college ever and the judges are ready to have an even better experience this season. It takes a lot of effort and dedication to become a DCE judge. I am very proud of where we are at this point and know we will do a great job for every corps.  Each year the corps put out a better product and the judges must be up to the challenge."

The DCE Judges would like to wish ALL corps good luck this season and hope you find DCE a rewarding experience for both the staff and performers.
If you are interested in DCE Judging, why not contact the Adjudication Manager at douglas@drumcorpseurope.org.