Judge Licensing Information

Thank you for your interest in our Judge Licensing Program.  This program is designed to offer a path for interested parties to receive a license to judge American Country Dance Association competitions. 

Licensing Process
The process will begin with the submission of an application which is available on the ACDA website.  Please email completed application to SherryInAustin@gmail.com or fax to (512) 287 4392.  The next step is to prepare for and complete a written exam.  To assist you in preparing, we will offer judging seminars throughout the year.  Please contact Sherry Reynolds SherryInAustin@gmail.com) for the next seminar date.  Attending one or more of our judging seminars is not required but strongly encouraged as all test questions will be covered during this seminar.  Testing will be offered at all ACDA events but arrangements need to be made in advance by contacting Sherry.  The test will take approximately 2 hours to complete and the cost is $20.  The test will be graded either pass or fail by dance and specific feedback will be offered.  Additional training and retesting will be offered for any dances not receiving a passing grade.

In addition to completion of the licensing test, you will also need to complete our scoring seminar which will cover additional aspects of a judge’s responsibilities and other preparatory discussions for your first judging assignment.  The Scoring Seminars are open to the public as are the Judging Seminars.  Each seminar is described below.

Upon successful completion of the written exam and attendance at a Scoring Seminar, you will be asked to mock judge at least two sessions of each division, Pro Am Newcomer, Pro Am Novice, and Pro Am Intermediate/Advanced as well as two Couples sessions.  After completion of all mock judging sessions and a review of the ballots you will be asked to sign an ACDA Judges Agreement.  Your name will then be added to the list of Accredited Judges on the ACDA website.   Continuing education seminars will be required periodically to maintain your accreditation.  Successful completion of our licensing process does not constitute a guarantee of employment and all ACDA judges agree to have their names released along with their scores for all sessions they judge.  All judges’ scores are open to review by the event director, the contest coordinator for that event and members of the Judge Licensing Committee.  Additionally, all judges will receive a recap of their scores by email shortly after the event.  This will allow each judge to review their scores in comparison with the scores of other judges on that panel. 

Judging Seminars
In order to prepare for the ACDA Licensing Exam, Judging Seminars will be held periodically throughout the year.  Each seminar is open to the public and will cover the eight competitive dances and will be interactive with open discussions.  The seminar is designed to cover the “Visual Expectations” of that dance which will include an understanding of the following aspects of each dance:

Character & Signature Characteristics of the Dance
Footwork & Lower Body Use
Motion & Body Work
Posture & Partnership
Rhythm & Rhythmic Accent
Spatial Structure
Timing
Turns
Use of Arms & Head

Scoring Seminars
An additional seminar on scoring criteria will be held periodically and is also open to the public. You do not need to complete the test before attending this seminar.  Each seminar will discuss judging techniques and methodologies, including relative placement and scoring, ethics and conduct and other issues pertaining to the clerical aspects of judging including:

        ProAm and Couples Scoring Standards 
                       ACDA Ballots and Usage             
           ACDA Standards for each Level    
                         Expectations of Judges                   
             ACDA Rules          

Comments, suggestions and questions are welcomed. 

~Sherry Reynolds
  Judge Licensing Committee Chairperson

 

Judge Licensing Doc

Doc 1 ACDA Judge Licensing Process
Doc 2 ACDA Judge Licensing Application
Doc 3 ACDA Judging Standards
Doc 4 ACDA Current Judge License

 

 

 

2016 American Country Dance Association Complete Rules and Regulations (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

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