Recruiting Judges
Envirothon competitions that include an oral presentation require a panel of judges to evaluate each team's performance. State/Provincial Envirothon judging panels are generally comprised of:
- Natural resource professionals recruited from state and federal resource agencies/departments. With their field expertise, these judges will evaluate each team's knowledge and understanding of the posed oral presentation scenario.
- At least one individual with expertise in the field of communications (e.g., language, speech, debate, media, etc.). This judge will evaluate presentation organization, style, and execution.
Members of the State/Provincial Envirothon Committee can often recommend ideal candidates to serve as judges for the State/Provincial Envirothon. Securing a candidate may be as easy as a telephone call with an invitation to participate; however, mail and personal communication are also viable options for recruitment. No matter what method of communication is used, all participating judges should receive an informational letter.
Recommended Information for Judges
Prior to your state/provincial Envirothon competition, the following information should be forwarded to all judges evaluating oral presentations:
- Letter of invitation with a competition schedule and directions to the facility where the competition will be conducted
- An overview of the state/provincial Envirothon program
- A copy of the oral presentation scenario
- Presentation information
- An overview of the Canon Envirothon current environmental issue
Recommended Duties & Expectations for Judges
The Head Judge:
- Will arrange a meeting of all judges sometime prior to the competition to scout testing sites, review scoring procedures, etc.
- Will be responsible for all judges and fill in where necessary.
- Will assist grievance committee adjudicate with any complaint(s) put forward by the participants.
- Will ensure judges arrive on time, know the location of their assigned station, and have the appropriate scoring sheets required for judging.
- Will review the duties of each judge.
All Judges:
- Will attend the meeting of judges to scout testing station sites, review scoring procedures, etc.
- Will arrive one hour prior to judging event.
- Will judge all teams without partiality or favor.
- Will confer with the Head Judge if he/she has any questions.
- Will be familiar with the topic he/she is judging prior to the event day.
- Will confer and prepare comments and constructive criticism for the participants following each event.
- Will abide by the time frames outlined for each event and judge accordingly.
- Will abide by the rule, which PROHIBITS all tobacco, drugs and alcohol on site.
- Will complete an evaluation sheet prior to leaving the competition.