Prejudging Speed

[tiramisu]

How do the judges sort the competitors so darn fast?

I can mostly tell bad from good but when comparing 2 or 10 good to excellent bodybuilders it's almost always far less than obvious to me who is best.

[St]

How do the judges sort the competitors so darn fast?

I can mostly tell bad from good but when comparing 2 or 10 good to excellent bodybuilders it's almost always far less than obvious to me who is best.

As a judge you will have the guy's line up,and you can see the last place guy's,and the 2-3 top guy's.Then you will have your comparisons to place the guy's from about 4-8 place.

[Brandi]

Its really easy most of the time, it starts as they are walking out on stage. From there, BBing is most often judged from the legs up, because most people have competitive upper bodies, but the legs tell the story of the X taper and the level of conditioning of the athlete. So you scan legs first, then compare poses. bam pick out your top 5, then your bottom 5 and shuffle the rest in between. The whole process literally takes about 2 seconds per pose.

[steve_d]

And if its properly judged, and there may not be an obvious distinction between 5th and 6th, the 6th place will come into the first call out, or will later be placed in a callout with the determined 4th and 5th to the determined 6th or 7th place guys.

Most of it should be common sense, the only problem I've seen is that in figure, the top 5 callout may not be as clear cut, and if the head judge decides who is top 5, that may sway the other judges. I think the absolute best way to judge (and this would take longer) is that each judge would have a say of the top 5 initial call out, and the votes would be quickly tallied...that way there is a little less bias perhaps.

[leeannroyle]

it seems quick I guess, but it's not really.
the top 5 are sorted immediately, and sometimes there is a shift, depending on the posing and the ability of a competitor to showcase what they have. I've seen someone that I've had in the top 5 at first sight drop down to 8th or 9th because they can't pose to show what they've worked so hard for. I need to SEE what you've done... everyone puts in hard work, but "if I can't see it, I can't judge it"... Thanks, NM!