Judging Guidelines

Bid Point System

Raas All-Stars Bid Points are awarded to the top raas/garba teams at Raas All-Stars XVI Bid Competitions. The nine Raas/Garba teams with the highest point totals at the end of the competitive season will qualify for Raas All-Stars XVI.

*NOTE: All Raas All-Stars XVI Bid Competitions must clearly state the above Bid Point System in ALL registration materials.

1. Bid Points will be allocated to competing raas/garba teams as described below:

1ST = 4 PTS, 2ND = 2 PTS, 3RD = 1 PT

2. Bid Points will be allocated to competitions as described below:

6 raas/garba teams compete the day of the competition: (6 points)
- 1ST = 4 PTS, 2ND = 2 PTS
7+ raas/garba teams compete the day of the competition: (7 points)
- 1ST = 4 PTS, 2ND = 2 PTS, 3RD = 1 PT

The following section reviews general judging rules, the judging selection process, deliberation, and the rubrics. Raas All-Stars will host mandatory training sessions to make sure all parties thoroughly understand all rules, so deliberations run fairly and smoothly.

*NOTE: No current dancers are allowed to carry out any judging responsibilities.*

There are to be no affiliations to any competing team in the deliberation room (this includes but is not limited to: Judges, Judging Chairs, Raas All-Star Judging Reps, Volunteers, etc). Failure to comply will result in an automatic loss of Bid Competition Status for the future season and potential disqualification of the affiliated team.

Qualifying Tie Breakers

In the event of a tie while determining the top eight qualifying raas/garba teams,

the following tiebreaker system will be used.

Ratio of number of placings to number of attended Bid Competitions.
Number of first places.
Number of second places.
Number of third places
Average of standardized* scores across all attended Bid Competitions and the respective judges.
Average of first place bonus points across all attended Bid Competitions and the respective judges.
Average of second place bonus points across all attended Bid Competitions and the respective judges.

*NOTE: Standardized scores refer to normalized, scaled scores prior to bonus point determination.

General Rules

The following rules are mandatory for ALL 2023-2024 Bid Competitions.

A competition judge CANNOT be (previously or currently) affiliated with a competing team in the competition lineup or be related to any performer on a competing team.
A competition judge may not be a roster member (dancer or manager) of a currently competing team.
1. The competition judge may not have been a roster member at any competition before the agreed competition of judgment.
2. The competition judge may not be a roster member at any competition after the agreed competition of judgment.
The competition must have a minimum of 6 judges (2 choreography, 2 execution, 2 artistic elements). At least 6 judges (2 per category) is required, with an ideal panel to include 9 judges (3 per category).
Applicants applying to be a choreo judge should have sufficient choreography experience and must be willing to speak based on their experiences.
A competition judging panel may have no more than 2 judges from the same school and there many only be one instance of this, unless approved by Raas All-Stars. These individuals can not be judging the same category.
A raas/garba judge may ONLY judge raas/garba teams at the competition. If a judge is scoring for a style other than raas/garba, he/she must ONLY judge that respective style and CANNOT judge raas/garba.
In order to avoid judging bias, applicants may only judge up to two bid competitions this season. If there is a necessity for judges at a competition, exceptions may be permitted.
The competition must comply with the Raas All-Stars Judging process as outlined below. The competition’s judging chair must meet with the Raas All-Stars XVI Judging Committee to better understand the judging process as well as any overall rules and regulations. Any board member who is also on a competitive raas/garba team during the 2023-2024 season or affiliated with a competing team at the respective competition may not be involved with judges’ deliberation.
Judges must abide by Raas All-Stars guidelines and attend ALL training sessions. Failure to do so will result in possible ineligibility to judge.

Judging Rubric

Raas All-Stars aims to standardize the quality of judging criteria and allow teams to prepare for a familiar rubric throughout the season. The Raas All-Stars Judging Rubric has been used for many years and has been constantly reviewed and meticulously edited to cover the essentials of raas/garba while leaving room for innovation and growth. Please find the Raas All-Stars Judging Rubric below.

Judges Training

All Judges for the Raas All-Stars Bid Competition Season will have to attend a training session(s) mandated by Raas All-Stars. These training(s) will be required and will be used to determine eligibility to Judge for the 2023-2024 season. During this training session, changes to the rubric, basic judging etiquette, deliberation process, and more information will be relayed to all Judges.

Prior to the show, the competition’s judging chair will conduct an in-person training session with the judges. In this training, the judges will review the Raas All-Stars Judging Process as well as better understand the competition’s rules and regulations. This session will give judges an opportunity to answer any questions they may have.

In addition to this, the Raas All-Stars Judging Committee will conduct a training session with all of the bid competition judging chairs prior to their competition. A Raas All-Stars representative will be present during this time for support and Q&A.

Show

During the show, the judges will sit separately to avoid any discussion of performances. This means that judges from the same category cannot sit next to each other. (For example, choreography and execution may be next to each other, but two choreography judges must be sitting separately.) The judges will also avoid any use of any cell phones and not be permitted to text/communicate through any platform with other people.

During competing performances, the judges will use their laptop to score teams. The judges will all be given their own personal individual Judges Rubric Google Spreadsheet provided by Raas All-Stars which will be used to enter scores. The judges may consider writing any qualitative notes. If they choose to write notes, they may do so either electronically or on paper (but not both). Judges can also review or alter any scores and/or qualitative notes throughout the show. Teams are NOT to relay any information or communicate with judges once the show begins. If there is a situation due to external factors that hinder the dancers from performing at their full potential, the competition’s Judging Chair will be allowed to notify judges before deliberation begins. (These situations may include, but are not limited to: incorrect lighting, track malfunction, misplaced props, etc.)

Judges Selection Process

1. All selected judges should have dancing experience (of any genre), preferably in a collegiate environment as well.

2. All interested judges will complete an application one time this season.

3. Applicants will submit an application showcasing their experience, preferences, and interests. They will also be asked to review one video (optional but preferred). Judges will then select the competitions they are interested in judging, and the competition will receive access to view their profile accordingly. These submissions will be visible to the competition judging chair and Raas All-Stars.

a. Exceptions on applying through our database may be made for judges who are not affiliated with the raas circuit (Choreographers, Dance Instructors, etc.)

4. Once chosen, the competition judging chair will submit their panel to Raas All-Stars for approval. (If the competition is finding it difficult to acquire judges or a judge is denied, Raas All-Stars will assist in providing a judge by the competition date).

5. Judges are required to make ALL training sessions: a deliberation review session by the competition judging chair, and one in person on the date of the competition are mandatory. The competition judging chair may choose to have more sessions if they deem necessary.

*NOTE: Raas All-Stars is not responsible for selecting judges for bid competitions. Apart from approval and trainings, only if the competition is finding it difficult to lock in judges will Raas All-Stars step in.

Judges Standardized Acceptance Release

Dec 19, 2023: Bid Competitions are informed of their approved Judging SAR panel

Dec 21, 2023 @ 11:59PM CST: Bid Competitions will provide RAS with a list of judges in their FIRST round of acceptances and a subsequent backup list.

Dec 22, 2023 @ 11:59PM CST: RAS will notify all judging candidates via email regarding their FIRST round acceptances

Dec 23-25, 2023 @ 11:59PM CST: Judging Candidates will have a 72-hour window to respond to bid competitions with their decision to accept or reject any first round offers.

Dec 26, 2023 @ 11:59PM CST: Bid Competitions will provide RAS with a list of SECOND round acceptances, and a new backup list if changes need to be made based on the candidates that accepted the first round.

Dec 27, 2023 @ 11:59PM CST: RAS will notify all judging candidates via email regarding their SECOND round acceptances

Dec 28-30, 2023 @ 11:59PM CST: Judging Candidates will have a 72-hour window to respond to bid competitions with their decision to accept or reject any second round offers.

Jan 1, 2024 @ 11:59PM CST: Bid Competitions will provide RAS with a list of THIRD round acceptances, and a new backup list if changes need to be made based on the candidates that accepted the first round.

Jan 2, 2024 @ 11:59PM CST: RAS will notify all judging candidates via email regarding their THIRD round acceptances

Jan 3-5, 2024 @ 11:59PM CST: Judging Candidates will have a 72-hour window to respond to bid competitions with their decision to accept or reject any third round offers.

Post Third Round; After Jan 6, 2024: After the third round of acceptances, RAS will work with bid competitions on a 1-on-1 basis to complete the rest of their judges lineup if necessary.

Deliberation

Total Time: 35 minutes

Overview:

Activity

Judges review and finalize rubrics

Judging chair will lock judges' rubrics. Judging chair will communicate the top 4 teams to judges in no particular order

Judges will meet with category counterpart(s)

Judges will individually present their thoughts on their category.

Judges will have a moment to review notes

Judges will deliberate on the top teams

Judges will score individual bonus points

Manual Override (if applicable)

Allocation

3 minutes

1.5 mins each (9 mins - 13.5 mins depending on # of judges)

1 minute

Maximum of 15 minutes

2 minutes

Additional 5-10 minutes

At the end of the competing acts, the judges will meet for a deliberation period. Deliberation shall consist of the Judges, designated Raas All-Stars Representative(s), and the competition Judging Chair.

Initially, the judges will have a chance to make any final adjustments to their individual Judges Rubric Google Spreadsheet on their laptop (3 minutes)

Judging chairs and RAS Judging representative will then lock all sheets and ask the judges to refresh their sheet so that their scores may no longer be updated. Judging chair + RAS Judging representative will ensure that the linkage between the individual Judges Rubric Google Spreadsheet and the competition’s master Google Spreadsheet provided by Raas All-Stars is working and verify everything is in order.

Board members and the RAS Judging representative will then notify all judges of the top 4 teams. (in no particular order, so as to avoid swaying the judges’ opinions based on numbers only)

Judges may still reference their original rubric during the process but their sheets will be locked such that no changes can be made. Any notes they may need to take can be written on their laptop or scratch sheet(s) but not both (i.e. what they used during the show).

The judges will meet with other judges in their specific category first (3 minutes) and then each judge will individually present the best teams in their specific category. (1.5 minutes each). Judges are recommended to focus their discussions on the top 4 teams during both the discussion with their co-judge in their respective category, and while presenting their thoughts on their individual category to the judging panel. Judges should only be focusing on their own individual category during this part of the deliberation process.

The judges will then deliberate regarding which teams they thought were the best. At this point judges may start discussion across all categories, take notes, and are recommended to ask any questions they may have about other categories to judges in that category. (15 minutes MAX)

Judges will award bonus points to the teams that they believe are fit for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place from the top 4 teams announced, respectively. (2 minutes)

1st place will receive 10% of their total score added to their rubric score.

2nd place will receive 7.5% of their total score added to their rubric score.

3rd place will receive 5% of their total score added to their rubric score.

The final placements will be based solely on the final total scores (including bonus points).

If the difference between any of the placings in the top 4 are within 6% of the scaled mean score and 80% or more of the Judges disagree with the existing placings, they are permitted to reorder the placings should they come to an 80% consensus. Teams will be notified at Captains-Judges Meeting that a ‘Manual Override’ did occur. (5-10 minutes)

A judges’ vote will break any ties, and the winners will be announced. At the discretion of the competition, the judges may meet with team captains to provide any critiques and comments.

Disclaimer: Raas All-Stars Tiebreaker Procedure will take effect when two or more teams have identical cumulative scores.

*NOTE: If need be, the Judging Chair may have no more than 1 additional board

member to help calculate scores. This must be cleared with Raas All-Stars up to two weeks before the competition date.

DISCLAIMER: Raas All-Stars has the right to take away Bid status from a competition if it

fails to meet the above guidelines. Raas All-Stars has the right to take away Bid Points from

a team if it fails to meet the above guidelines. Raas All-Stars reserves the right to remove a Judgues ability to participate in the season if they fail to abide by RAS guidelines i.e. show undue bias, fail to adhere to the standards of inclusivity and sexual assault prevention, etc.

Laptop Procedures

In the case of internet issues or a break in the linkage between the Raas All-Stars Judging Google Spreadsheet, the judging chair and the RAS Judging chair will manually input the scores and the judging process will halt until the issues are resolved. During that time, judges should not proceed with ANY part of the deliberations.

Rubric

Raas All-Stars aims to standardize the quality of judging criteria and allow teams to prepare for a familiar rubric throughout the season. The Raas All-Stars Judging Rubric has been used for many years and has been constantly reviewed and meticulously edited to cover the essentials of raas-garba while leaving room for innovation and growth. Please find the Raas All-Stars Judging Rubric attached below.

judging rubrics

Rubric
Changes

Choreography:

Overall Rubric is worth 100 points total

FORMATIONS (5) → FORMATIONS (10)
STRUCTURE/PACING (5) → STRUCTURE/PACING (10)
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS(10) → OVERALL IMPRESSIONS (20)
OPENING/CLOSING SEQUENCE (5) REWORD:
- OLD: Is it interesting and appropriate? Does it grab your attention? Is this something unique? Is it relevant to the rest of the performance?
- NEW: How do the opening/closing sequences contribute to setting up/ending of the dance? How impactful are they at grabbing your attention. Are they unique and relevant to the rest of the performance?
FORMATIONS (10) REWORD:
- OLD: Are formations unique, difficult and flow from one to the next? Are they innovative? Or reused from past years / previous and current performances?
- NEW: Do the formations enhance the overall performance and complement the choreography? Are formations unique, difficult and innovative? Do they seamlessly flow from one to the next? Was there effective use of stage sections and dimensions?
COMPLEXITY (10) REWORD:
- OLD: How complex are the overall moves? i.e. How well does the performance utilize half beat choreography? Does the team showcase choreography with a high level of difficulty throughout the performance?
- NEW: How complex are the overall moves? Were there challenging movements that enhance the performance? Does the team showcase choreography with a high level of difficulty throughout the performance?
TRANSITIONS (10) REWORD:
- OLD: How unique and creative are the entrance and exit transitions during the performance? How dynamic and intricate are transitions within the formations?
- NEW: Do transitions in between songs seamlessly flow? How unique and creative are the entrance and exit transitions during the performance? Do the transitions take away from the overall flow of the performance?

Execution: