Best Practices and Policies

August 16, 2026

Presented By:

email: secretary@nawgjngb.com

Julie Andrews - Region 1 RJD

April Brandon - NAWGJ Secretary

email: rjdr1@nawgjngb.com

Agenda

Creating Best Practices and Policies for Assigning

How to Start

Implementing and Communicating the Plan

Assigning Protocol

• Have a written plan for your state
• Membership knows the policies
• Detailed information for the assigner/committee
• Clubs/Meet Directors know the policies
• PowerPoint / Google Drive / Dropbox (storage)

Where to Start an Assigning Best Practices and Policies

Association Requirements

What are requirements for the association you are assigning for? (NAWGJ)

Organizational Policies

Look at the policies of the organization for which you are assigning. (USAG, NGA, USAIGC, YMCA, etc.)

Current Procedures

What are your current procedures?

Supporting Good Decisions

How could you help your assigners make good decisions for your members?

Why have an Assigning Best Practices and Policies?

Allows for Transparency

• Protects Assigner
• Protects State Committee
• Protects SJD
• Gives the Assigner a job description and guidelines to follow

Put your Assigning Plan in Motion

Keep Steps Clean, Clear & Concise

Address Situations as They Arise

Be prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

Update the Document Yearly

Review and refresh before each assigning season.

Follow the Protocols

Once assigning starts, stick to the plan.

In Addition…

State Assigning Coordinator Required

It is required that your State has an Assigning Coordinator / Assigner and they must be an elected board member. Appointed members may be part of an assigning committee/support the assigner..

SJD Role Clarified

The SJD should have working knowledge of assignments, but they are not the Assigning Coordinator / Assigner.

Confidentiality is Essential

Sensitive information may be discussed from time to time. This is private and privileged information that should not be discussed outside of the assigning committee.

All States Assigning Policies Include These Requirements:

Up-to-Date Rating, CPE, Certifications & Memberships

Judges must be up-to-date with their rating and all certifications/educational/membership requirements for the applicable organization.

Judges Must Be in Good Standing

Judges must be in good standing with NAWGJ to be considered for assignment.

Clear Deadlines for Availability/Assigning/Contracts

Publish a deadline for when availability is due and a date when assigning will occur. Have a contract signing deadline.

Kentucky & Illinois - Examples of Assigning Best Practices and Policies

Minnesota - Examples of Assigning Best Practices and Policies

Michigan - Examples of Assigning Best Practices and Policies

SoCal & NorCal - Examples of Assigning Best Practices and Policies

HOW TO ASSIGN JUDGES

Implementing the Plan

Assigning System

Use Your Preferred Assigning System

Choose and use the assigning system that works best for you. (Gymjas, etc)

Have a Good Working Knowledge of the System

Understand the system thoroughly to assign judges effectively.

Ask for Help When Needed

Don't hesitate to reach out if you need guidance or support.

Keep Everything Confidential

Ensure all assigning information is handled with discretion.

Timeline

Allow Enough Time

Allow enough time to work through any issues.

Reach Out to Meet Director Right Away

Contact the meet director as soon as possible.

Troubleshoot Difficult Weekends

Troubleshoot for potential weekends that may be difficult to assign.

Contact Judges Without Availability

Contact judges who have not put in availability.

Reach Out to Surrounding States/SJDs

Expand outreach to surrounding states and SJDs as needed.

Order of Priority for Assignments

States may consider additional factors when assigning, but plans should include the following:

#1

Honor Meet Director requests, if the judges are available. Also honor requests not to use a judge.

#2

Use local judges whenever possible.

#3

Check to ensure that you have enough experienced judges to balance panels and at least 1/2 of the judges are not affiliated. (If required for the organization)

#4

Be mindful and consider all membership when assigning. Try to balance experience levels and distribute meets across membership.

Requests vs. Wish List

REQUESTS

• Meet Directors may request judges.
• Judges may make comments that are requests.
• Not to judge certain meets.
• Wants to judge 1 day but doesn't care which day.

WISH LIST

• Judges can indicate preference for a meet.
• Just a wish, not a requirement to fulfill.
• DO NOT start assigning those preferences first.

Filling Open Spots

Assign from Availability List

Rearrange Judges from Other Meets

Consider rearranging judges from other meets to open up new possibilities (with Judges consent).

Contact Judges Directly

Contact judges who may be able to become available if needed (phone call/text/email).

Send a "Blast" Email

Send out a "Blast" email begging for help! (use this on limited basis only when absolutely necessary.

​

Reassigning Judges

• If a judge needs to be reassigned to a different meet, you must first get their approval for the change.

​

• Judges can not just be moved around, especially, if a contract has been created.

Assigning Across States:

Communication is the Key

Assigning Across States

No Specific Judge Requests, Need Judges from Another State:

Assigner should send an email directly to the assigner of the states that they are seeking judges from with a cc to the SJD. This keeps the SJD informed, while avoiding or minimizing the potential for miscommunication.

If Meet Director Requests Specific Judges:

The assigner should send an email to the assigner of the requested judge’s home state. The following individuals should be copied on that email: SJD of the requested judge’s home state, judge that was specifically requested and the meet director.

There is a meet in Idaho that uses judges from 5 states (including Idaho). The meet director requests specific judges. Idaho Assigner should then send separate emails to the assigners of those states and copy the SJDs and individual judges requested.

Example:

Other Considerations - Assigning Events

Assign a Combination of Events

Assign a combination of long (BB/FX) and short (VT/UB) events when possible.

Rotate Events

Rotate event assignment throughout the competition (when possible) and throughout the season.

Track & Share Assignments

Keep track of each individual's assignments and post assignments, so that all who make event assignments have access.

Rotate Events

Etiquette for a 2-day meet:

• Assign a faster event (Vault or Bars) on one day.
• Assign a slower event (Beam or Floor) on the other day.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 1

Day 2

Day 1

Day 2

Day 1

Day 2

CJ

Vault

Floor

Bars

Beam

Beam

Vault

Floor

Bars

PJ

Vault

Beam

Bars

Floor

Beam

Bars

Floor

Vault

Try to switch up judging partners.

Record Events in System

Track Event Assignments for the Season

Visible to All Assigners

Rotating Events & Partners

Check to make sure judges are rotating to different events and judging partners.

Track Events for State / Regional Assignments

What is Required?

JUDGING PANELS

Judging Panels

Chief Judges

• Affiliated judges may not be Chief Judge. (may not apply to all organizations)
• Higher rated may not be the best for the situation.
• Consider experience.
• Should know how to communicate appropriately.

Panel Judges

• Assign appropriately for the competition.
• For lower level meets/sessions, try to provide opportunities for new judges, paired with a more experienced judge.

Assigning Panels - Special Situations

​

• Some Levels may have 1-Judge Panels, if requested:
• Refer to your State and specific organization guidelines.
• May require different start times for judge.
• Experienced judges should be assigned, if possible.

​

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• Level 10 competition
• May use a Level 9 rated judge on Vault with special permission from RTCC (for USAG) if a level 10 or higher rated judge is unavailable.
• Check individual organization requirements

Meet Director

Meet Referee

Judges

COMMUNICATION WITH…

Communications

Be Polite and Professional

Sign Off with "Kind Regards" or "Best Regards"

Include Your Phone Number

Include Your NAWGJ Title

Be Consistent in Communications

Have an Email Template

Communication Channels

All Pieces of the Puzzle

Meet Director

1. Communicates meet information to assigner
2. Requests judges, including "out of state" judges

State Judging Director

1. Helps resolve any conflicts
2. Works with Assigner / Membership to make the process smoother

Assigners

1. Communicates with Meet Director regarding process
2. Communicates with judges
3. Communicates with "out of state" Assigners regarding need
4. Communicates with "out of state" Assigners for request of judges

Judges

1. Enter dates of Availability by announced deadline
2. Notifies their State Assigner about "out of state" contracts
3. Sign contracts by announced deadline

Examples of Assigner Responsibilities

Liaison between Judges and Meet Director

• Requests any special needs, such as lodging
• Asks for meet information to convey to the judges

Assign judges appropriately to each meet

• Meet host requests
• Preference given to local judges
• Balanced panels

Assign Events

• Rotating events and keeping records (event assignments may also be done by Meet Referee)

​

Communication & Paperwork

• Meet information sent to judges 2 weeks in advance

Communicating the Details

Documents

Convert All Documents to PDF

All documents should be converted to PDF before distributing.

Combine Into a Single File

If you know how to combine documents into a single file, do so.

Keep Things Uniform

Keeping things uniform makes the process easy to understand.

Have a Timeline for Information

Plan and communicate information according to a clear schedule.

Communications: Meet Director

Communications with Meet Director is Key!

01

Introduction Letter

Send as soon as possible to reassure the host that someone is working on their meet.

02

Follow-Up, About 4 Weeks Before Meet

Make sure you have all the information you need to finish your assignments. Ask for times, sessions, levels and any special instructions for the judges. If any of the judges need lodging, communicate with the Meet Director.

03

Finalize, 1–2 Weeks Before Meet

Copy the Meet Director on the Meet Information sent to the judges.

Travel Arrangements

Hotel (Who and When)

Airfare vs. Mileage

Different Organizations Have Different Requirements Regarding Travel

Educate Membership

Hotels…check individual organization requirements.

• Individual states may also have their own policies set within these organizations.
• These details should be listed in the contract for judges.

Educate Membership

Policy example - USAG Rules and Policies

Policy example - NGA Rules and Regulations

Communications: Judges

What Judges Need

• Contract related emails
• Follow up emails to update judges on any meet information received
• Examples: one of the days cancelled; host is still accepting entries and schedule is not final yet

Final Meet Information (2 Weeks Before Meet)

• Meet information document
• Other information: hotels, parking, etc.

Example of meet information document

Type your Assigner Info here and save

Communications: Meet Referee

Meet Referee should have all needed information/documents for the meet:

Judge's Report Sheet for Each Day

Judge's Expense Chart

Meet Referee Meeting Agenda

Aware of Last-Minute Changes

Judges' Report

Fill In the Information

Meet host, Levels Competing, Date

Fill In the Report Time

30 minutes prior to scheduled March-in.

Enter the Judges for Each Event

See Next Slide for an Example

Example on next slide of a Judges' Report

Judges' Report:

example of form (and electronic expense tracker) can be found here: https://nawgj.org/judging-aids/administrative-forms/

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