Because we think all athletes should judge at least once in their life

Did you know that in 2011 Noah Ohlsen worked at a Regional as a staff and, when he met Dave Castro, did he introduce himself and tell him that the following year he would participate in the competition as an athlete?

Already! And the result of this promise we already know: a constant athlete of the Games and always among the best.

What only those who have known him personally or worked with him in an event know is that he is very respectful towards any staff member of an event, perhaps precisely because he was on the other side.

He is never rude, he does not swear words, he does not get pissed off with no reps and he does not hesitate to take a picture with anyone. Much of this can come from one's education, but we believe that having lived the “other side” of the race also helped.

The difficulty of being a judge

When an athlete understands the difficulty of focusing on a fast count Double under, to keep count despite the crowd that counts incorrectly and stronger than him, to move in the arena without tripping over materials or entering the falling line of a bar, to remember the variations and repetitions of each movement, to watching the triple extension, balance and alignment of the feet at the same time, having the reflex to give the no rep and return to the count as the athlete yells at you, to count the last 5 progressive reps on the toes so that the announcers, heads and fans can pinpoint the athlete's position in training, watch the clock when two athletes finish training together and be correct if the athlete finished before or during the final sound…. . … UFF!

Only then will an athlete be able to judge the ability of a judge.

Did you realize that just reading how many features there are makes you feel desperate? This is how judges feel throughout the entire race weekend.

Oops! No… it's not just about counting!

In fact, if we take into account the TRIO (competitor, judge and head judge), we can also add other skills to a judge's resume:

• CHECKING THE REGULATION: knowing the athlete's vision, who tends to gain every little second or an extra rep within the workout, it is possible to predict the variables that can have a double interpretation. Therefore, the athlete must always be reminded of the rules.
• ANTICIPATION OF THE NO REP: knowing that at the time of the workout the athlete has a thousand things on his mind such as: desire to win, pay attention to the coach, keep an eye on the competitor next to you, breathing, technique and so on, the details that limit a rep and a no rep they will be forgotten.
  To avoid big discussions, it is important to say the "no rep" out loud so that the athlete does not forget to perform it.
• BEWARE OF BURGLARS: Whether intentionally or not, the athlete will try to optimize movement by limiting amplitude, speeding up completion or simulating physical limitations. These experiences prepare judges and sharpen their skills.
• FLOW SIGNALING: with all the factors mentioned above, the athlete tends to forget the sequence of training movements. A clear indication and close accompaniment of the judge are essential so that the athlete does not find him guilty of a poor performance.
• LOCATION OF THE HEAD JUDGE: automatically, when you are a head judge, you look for a different position on the floor, where you can see the whole movement better, being able to control more than one athlete at a time and what the judge is doing.

Therefore, the athlete who will propose to try life from judge at least once in his life, he will think twice before blaming a judge for his mistakes or crucifying him for human error.

May there be more Noah Ohlsen in our sport!