2023 - 2024 Updated Judges Prerequisites

IMPORTANT NOTICE

You must hold USASA and US Skiing & Snowboarding membership in order to be cleared on all compliance requirements, (SafeSport & Background Check) in order to sign up for a clinic or online recertification.  This process may take up to four weeks to complete in some cases. Go HERE to sign up.

SafeSport

Federal law now requires that adults who have frequent contact with or are in positions of authority over athletes must receive consistent education on prevention and reporting. While USASA has always required SafeSport we must now ensure compliance every year under these new guidelines. Each year will alternate between a long course and a shortened version. This process takes a few hours to complete and is valuable information. We want to be sure you give this education the time it deserves and plan accordingly when purchasing your membership. You will be prompted once you begin your registration process.

Background Check

As always USASA will continue to require background checks for all Coaches, Officials and Judges. We will now administer background checks every other year. Background checks can take a minimum of 4 business days or in some case four weeks to complete! Please sign up early to make sure the you leave time to be cleared well before the first USASA events. You will be prompted once you begin your registration process.

Overview

In person Judge Clinics will be available in December and held in person and virtually. Judges must be 18 years of age or older. You will find the sign up under the judge resources tab HERE.

Materials Covered

Judge education is driven from the FIS Judges handbook and manual and boiled down to present regional USASA judges with the first steps needed to become a judge. Once you attend the judge developer clinic and pass the exam you can judge at USASA events!

Ethics and Code of Conduct

• A judge shall score and rank each competitor fairly, without bias, without regard to past impressions and without regard to the competitor’s national affiliation, race, gender or sponsor.
• A qualified judge will never favor or discredit a competitor for his or her personal preferences or affiliations to the judge himself or other people/entities.
• Judges must always aim to give the fairest evaluation of each Competitor based on the same criteria and same scale equally to all competitors.
• A judge shall always conduct themselves in a professional manner at a competition.

Snowboard and Freeski Judges consider the following criteria when evaluating and comparing competition runs.

• Execution
• Difficulty
• Amplitude
• Variety
• Progression

Judge Levels begin at Level C and move to Level B, then Level A, upon successfully passing each Level clinic 

• Level B/C Judge Certification is valid for 2 years, then a new clinic must be attended.
• Level A Judge Certification is valid for 3 years, then a new clinic must be attended, or a higher level FIS clinic attended.