The following JUDGING SUMMARY was prepared by Ray Smith and Stu
Cooper
in 2006.
(1) A YELLOW PADDLE is a CAUTION, which is just that - an
advice to a competitor to be careful as he/she is in danger of
breaching the rules. This advice is given via a yellow paddle bearing
one of two symbols: a squiggle for loss of contact, or an arrowhead for
a bent knee. A competitor can receive YELLOW PADDLES from every judge
on the course, but no more than two (one for each offence) from the
same judge. If there were 9 judges on the course, a competitor could,
in an extreme case, receive 18 YELLOW PADDLES in a race and still be
entitled to finish.
The number of YELLOW PADDLES a competitor receives has NO bearing on
whether or not they have been reported to the Chief judge for actually
breaking the rules.
(2) A RED CARD is a silent
communication between the on-course judges and the Chief judge. A judge
issues a RED CARD if a competitor has actually infringed the contact or
bent knee rules. A competitor may be 'red carded' only twice and still
be allowed to compete - on notification of a third RED CARD the Chief
judge shall indicate to the competitor via a red paddle that they are
disqualified and must leave the course immediately.
Again, there is NO connection between the number of YELLOW PADDLES
(CAUTIONS) a competitor receives and the act of issuing RED CARDS
against him/her for actual rule infringement. A YELLOW PADDLE is there
to assist the walker; a RED CARD is to sanction them.
Note also that there is no such thing as a 'warning'. This term has not
been used for some time, yet it still causes confusion today when it is
used interchangeably (and inaccurately) with both CAUTION and RED CARD.
(3) The only way competitors (or spectators) can be made aware that
a RED CARD has been issued against any competitor is via the
Disqualification Board, which shall display the competitor's number
plus an image bearing one of the 'contact' or 'bent knee' symbols. A
competitor who sees their own number on this board plus one (or two) of
the symbols knows they have been reported at least once for rule
infraction. At NO TIME will an on-course judge communicate directly to
an athlete that a RED CARD has been issued against them.
It should also be noted that NO athlete should be made aware of their
current RED CARD situation by way of on-course commentary, radio or TV.
If any one athlete can be so informed, it follows that every other
competitor would expect the same privilege, which would have to be
guaranteed in the interest of fairness.
Chief Judge
3. (a) In competitions held under IAAF Rule 1(a), (b), (c), (d), the
Chief Judge has the power to disqualify an athlete inside the stadium
when the race finishes in the stadium or in the last 100m when the race
takes place solely on the track or on the road course, when his/her
mode of progression obviously fails to comply with the paragraph 1
above regardless of the number of previous Red Cards the Chief Judge
has received on that athlete. An athlete who is disqualified by the
Chief Judge under these circumstances shall be allowed to finish the
race.
(b) The Chief Judge shall act as the supervising official for the
competition, and act as a Judge only in the special situation noted in
paragraph (a) above in competitions under IAAF Rule 1(a), (b), (c) and
(d).
In competitions held under IAAF Rule 1(a), (b) and (c), a maximum of
two Chief Judge's Assistants shall be appointed. The Chief Judge's
Assistant(s) are to assist with the notification of disqualifications
only and shall not act as Race Walking Judges.
WALK JUDGES KITS
| CHIEF
JUDGE
|
RED
PADDLE (1) |
To be shown to competitor to advise disqualification when that competitor has 3 RED CARDS against his/her race number |
| PANEL
JUDGES
|
YELLOW
PADDLES
(2) |
To
be shown to competitor to indicate a caution - this is NOT an
infringement |
| RED CARDS | To be written up to signify infringements. Red cards are not shown to the competitor but are to be sent to the Chief Judge |
The IAAF Guide is the definitive document for all racewalk organizers
and judges. A copy of the 2010 edition is available here as a help
Race
Walking
- The IAAF guide to Judging
and Organising Race Walking Events (2010
Edition)
The following presentation, by former VRWC and international judge
Ray Smith, is dated now but does contain some useful information.
Ray
Smith:
Judging
-
how it works
I also recommend the USA Track and Field Officials Racewalk Resource
Page which has lots of goodies for judges
http://www.usatf.org/groups/officials/resources/race-walking/
Finally, here are som articles by Club Coach Mark Donahoo from his website http://www.racewalkingwithmark.com
The
Rule,
Contact
and
Bent Knees
Combined
Rule
and
Style
Details
I
have
received
a
caution or red card - why
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page.