Tournament Expectations as a Judge

1. Judges should use a computer (not a mobile device) for the tournament. They will

need a lot of room. The tournament recommends opening one Chrome tab to

watch videos and another to fill out the eBallots. Please change your name to (JUDGE-SCHOOL NAME-YOUR NAME)

2. When postings are released, the tournament director will push ballots to judges. Please check your text, emails for the push notification. If not,

please refresh your homepage on tabroom.com (the page that opens once you log in). Most judges find it helpful to leave the ballot

visible on the screen while also looking at the virtual room. This allows the judge to

write comments on the eBallot while also being able to watch the speech.

3. If a competitor’s connection fails multiple times, she can use the dial-in service to

access the virtual room through an audio-only phone call. The phone number to

call is listed on the information icon at the lower right corner of the screen. When the competitor calls, the voice on the other end will ask

for a PIN that connects the competitor to the room. The PIN is unique to each

room, and is available by clicking on the information icon in the lower right corner of

the screen. Judges may need to copy and paste the PIN into the chat window for the

competitor to use.

4. Judges should stay in the virtual room until they finish filling out the eBallot and

submit them promptly. All tournaments depend on prompt responses from judges,

and these delays are what cause 95% of the delays at tournaments.

5. If judges have trouble with their eBallots, they can check in with tabroom. The

link will always be the same and can be found on the website for the tournament. Many times,

the problem is that judges are trying to use a browser other than Chrome.

6. For Final Rounds, judges should make sure they wait for all three judges before

starting the round. Since the room can be rather large with so many people, one

judge will be selected as the chair. The chair judge should be the one to call role

before the round begins to make sure all competitors are present. The chair should

also check that all three judges have finished writing their feedback before moving

on to the next speaker.

7. Final round judges are expected to rank their round independently from the other

judges in the room. Judges should never confer about their scoring of the round.