Judging School
Item
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Title
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Judging School
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Date
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December 1938
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volume
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3
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issue
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9
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page start
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10
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page end
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10
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content
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en
JUDGING SCHOOL
Over 30 men and women, representing most of the active clubs in the metropolitan area, enthusiastically participated in the first session of the A. F. L. A. Judging School, held at the Fencers Club on Sunday afternoon, November 13th.
The School is being developed under the direction of a committee including President Harold Van Buskirk, Secretary John R. Huffman, Bout Committee Chairman Warren A. Dow, and several other prominent fencers and officials. The purpose of the School is to improve and standardize the quality of judging and directing in A. F. L. A. competitions through informal discussions and practical illustration of typical situations which confront the fencing official.
In the first session, Miguel de Capriles was the discussion leader, with the cooperation of Warren Dow for demonstration. The opening talk described the relative functions of judge and director. Then followed a practical demonstration, with the assistance of several members of the audience, of the proper location of the officials on the floor, the proper methods of starting and stopping the bout, and the proper methods by which a judge should call the director's attention to a touch.
The rest of the session was devoted to specific problems of judging foil bouts. Practical illustrations were presented of various types of touches, some valid and some invalid, and of certain elementary situations involving decisions as to "right of way." Throughout the session, the audience participated in lively discussion of the rules and theory of judging and direction.
A good deal of the material was first presented to interested fencers in the series of articles written especially for The Riposte by Miguel de Capriles.
Several additional sessions are contemplated during the current season. The next one, to be devoted largely to sabre and épée, will be held at the Fencers Club on Sunday, December 11, at 3 p.m.
