“You guys have the toughest job on the market” – Khan Porter
The Affiliation of Health Judges (AFJ) held its first Seminar in Miami Seaside, FL, simply earlier than the 2025 TYR Wodapalooza Miami.
The AFJ was based slightly over a 12 months in the past, simply earlier than the 2024 CrossFit season started. Its mission is to advertise the skilled improvement and development of officers (i.e. “judges”) within the sport of useful health.
Based on its website, the AFJ splits its method into three targets:
- Judges Listing: Develop a vetted database of judges, noting the prior judging expertise in an effort to assist join judges to competitions, coaching camps, and particular person athletes for in-person and distant competitions transferring into the 2025 season and past.
- Competitors: Develop a technique of giving suggestions to judges and a mentorship system to allow judges to higher enhance their craft, permitting them to be simpler to learn each the athlete and the competitors as an entire. The AFJ appears to be like to help in staffing competitions of all sizes who would love help in recruiting skilled judges for his or her competitions.
- Schooling: Develop a collection of paperwork, movies and seminars akin to:
- What to Count on at a Competitors – seeing athletes performing actions at competitors velocity and from non-ideal angles, staging, scorecard etiquette, athlete relations etiquette, and hand indicators.
- On-line Video Judging – how one can set your athlete up for a profitable digital competitors.
With these three targets in thoughts, the AFJ introduced collectively leaders together with top-level Video games athletes for a day-long seminar for novice and immediate-level judges trying to enhance their abilities.
- I acquired to sit down in to study extra concerning the group, its targets, and the way it seeks to perform them this season.
The Particulars
Through the morning session, the judges met the lead instructors for the day:
- Ed Blanch, AFJ President
- Jules Seroskie, AFJ Vice President
- Amy Stone, AFJ Treasurer
Don’t let their AFJ titles idiot you — these are a few of the greatest and most seasoned veterans within the health judging house.
Blanch is an affiliate proprietor and Degree 3 CrossFit coach, and each Seroskie and Stone maintain Degree 2 CrossFit teaching certifications.
- They might additionally look acquainted to followers of the game, as they’ve judged at elite health competitions, together with the CrossFit Video games, Rogue Invitational, TYR Wodapalooza, regionals, and sanctionals, in addition to aiding with on-line judging.
After introductions, the 18 judges there to take the course went by way of coaching on the usual working procedures of a health competitors, what the decide’s position is throughout a contest, the do’s and don’ts of scorecards, hand indicators, and the circulate of warmth throughout a contest.
Then, the group put what they discovered into observe, first specializing in on-line video evaluation.
- Through the video evaluation portion, the judges watched an athletes’ video submission and graded it a scale of “good to go,” “wants evaluation,” and “invalid.”
I arrived simply earlier than the afternoon session kicked off.
Fingers-On Coaching
Through the afternoon portion the judges broke into three teams and labored on judging athletes performing completely different actions.
The athletes available have been three-time Video games athlete Alex Gazan, eight-time Video games athlete Khan Porter in addition to Steven Fry and Kali Butler from the Skilled Health Athletes’ Affiliation and CrossFit Vernon.
- Butler gained the intermediate division on the 2023 TYR Wodapalooza in Miami and would return in 2025 to the group division later that week.
The teams cycled between three stations:
- Blanch labored with Kali Butler and Steven Fry on coaching the judges to officiate gymnastics actions: toes-to-bar, chest-to-bar pull-ups and bar muscle ups.
- Seroskie’s group labored with Alex Gazan on wall balls, dumbbell snatches, and satan’s press.
- Stone’s station with Khan Porter centered on burpees over the bar, thrusters, and overhead squats.
The instructors supplied a exercise for the athlete that the seminar participant officiated whereas the remainder of the group famous what they noticed.
In every group, the athlete carried out the exercise at competitors velocity, in some circumstances shortening reps on objective, to see if the decide would discover and name a “no rep.”
Between rounds, the instructors requested for suggestions on what the decide and the others noticed, in addition to suggestions from the athlete. The athlete’s perspective on this setting was particularly necessary from a coaching perspective for the judges.
- Normally, it’s the opposite manner round. The decide is administering what the athlete ought to do, on this case the athletes had the flexibility to provide suggestions and weigh in.
For instance, throughout one break-out dialogue, each the trainer and Gazan famous the significance of cuing the athlete on “no reps.”
Athletes wish to know why they acquired a no rep, to allow them to keep away from extra penalties. In actual time, this may be tough, particularly at competitors velocity.
Additional, judges aren’t there to educate.
- When debriefing the final session, Gazan recommended, “A warning first is all the time good,” serving to the decide to notice if one thing is on the road and to provide context to what the decide is seeing. “Decrease” throughout a wall ball or “lock out” throughout a dumbbell snatch have been two recommendations she made.
Seroskie added that whereas judges want to remain in their very own lane (each bodily and mentally) the athlete might not, “athletes discover their opponents getting away with shortening vary too, if an athlete believes their neighbor is getting away with it they might ease up on kind as effectively.”
The second half of the afternoon session centered on soar rope variations, handstand push-up variations, after which judging groups with 3 stations of actions, together with synchronized actions and motion variations with the worm.
Making the Grade
All 18 judges that took the seminar additionally judged at TYR Wodapalooza Miami that very same weekend.
A seminar the place the instructors and members of the category can instantly put what they discovered into use is a good combo for studying. Blanch and Stone shadowed every of the judges all through the four-day competitors and graded them on how they did throughout dwell competitors.
- A passing grade meant incomes the designation of “AFJ licensed decide.”
For the primary seminar, the move score of these evaluated was 65%. If the decide acquired a “fail” score, they’ll request to be evaluated once more inside one 12 months at an occasion the AFJ may have an analysis group current. In the event that they fail the second analysis, they’ll attend a future seminar with a diminished charge.
- The AFJ has plans for 3 extra seminars in 2025, together with one within the days earlier than TYR Wodapalooza SoCal this Fall. The ultimate one will happen in Europe, however the date and placement are but to be introduced.
Be taught extra concerning the Affiliation of Health Judges here, and comply with them on Instagram. And, verify just lately retired CrossFit legend, and PFAA president Brent Fikowski throwing his hat within the ring as a decide at TYR WZA after being challenged on the Wex Appeal Podcast.
Extra CrossFit Tales
Featured Picture: Scott Freymond