The IAC Judges Program
The Judges Program is chartered in the IAC Policy & Procedures Manual Section 214. The Judges Program provides training for new candidate Judges and Judges refreshing their knowledge to maintain their skills.
IAC members interested in becoming a Judge will begin with the online or classroom training Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language. Following that training, the next classroom session is Practical Aerobatic Judging, a one day session. Classroom training is hosted by IAC chapters, usually in the months before the competition year starts.
IAC Judges who do not meet minimum activity requirements will refresh their knowledge by attending a Practical Aerobatic Judging session.
The online and classroom training is described below.
INTRODUCTION TO IAC AND THE ARESTI LANGUAGE
The training for Candidate Regional Judges begins with the Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language training. This training is available as a classroom presentation by IAC Judge Instructors or may be accomplished online through the links below and on YouTube. The online course is broken down into segments, listed below. Each segment is a video that presents PowerPoint slides. Some slides contain video illustrating a topic. The classroom course is part of the Introduction to Aerobatic Judging Weekend Seminar described below.
For each video segment, there is a quiz on the IAC web site that may be accessed through the Judges Exams page.
After viewing the presentations please pass all of the Knowlege Quizzes for the training on the Judges Exams web page if you desire to recieve the credit required to enter directly into the Practical Aerobatic Judging classroom-based training session/school. Every Candidate Judge must complete first the Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language training followed by the Practical Aerobatic Judging classroom-based training.
Click on one of the links below to view the training.
Intro to IAC Contest and Contest Rules Training
Intro To The Aresti Aerocryptographic System
PRACTICAL AEROBATIC JUDGING SEMINAR
This one-day seminar covers contest flight program rules, checking Free Programs, and goes into detail on the criteria for evaluating and scoring the aerobatic figures flown in competition. This training is for new Candidiate Regional Judges who have completed the "Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language" training (required), and for previously certified Judges who are due for recurrency training or who simply wish to refresh and improve their knowledge and understanding of judging aerobatic flying.
INTRODUCTION TO AEROBATIC JUDGING WEEKEND SEMINAR
This course presents the basic concepts of aerobatic judging. This is a 2-day class. This seminar presents the "Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language" session on day 1 and the "Practical Aerobatic Judging" session on day 2.
Day One - Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language:
- Review of Requirements for becoming an IAC Judge
- Overview of the Competition Arena
- Introduction to the Aresti Aerobatic Catalogue
- Learning the Aresti Language
- Constructing Aerobatic Figures
- Review of Catalogue Families
Day Two - Practical Aerobatic Judging (Recurrency Session):
- Contest Flight Program Rules
- Checking a Freestyle Sequence
- Detailed Judging Criteria
Upon completion of this course new Candidate Regional Judges will be qualified to volunteer as an Assistant Judge at any IAC competition, and will have completed one requirement towards becoming an IAC Regional Judge. For previously certified Judges, attendance at the Practical Aerobatic Judging session of this traing will fulfill recurrency requirements for attending a Judges Seminar as defined in IAC Rule 2.6.3.
Materials Provided in this course:
- Course notes
- Regional Judge Exam (only for those seeking initial certification as a regional Judge; this exam is also available here).
- An IAC Judge/Assistant Log. Note: Contests record Assistant Judge work that is uploaded and tracked on the IAC web site. But it is reccommended that each individual log their experience towards their certification to back up the online record.
Who should attend this seminar:
- IAC members who would like to become certified as an IAC Regional Judge (see IAC Rule 2.6.1)
- Companions/spouse of competition pilots who would like to learn to critique
- Newcomers to aerobatics who would like to learn the basic rules for judging
- Competition pilots seeking a better understanding of judging criteria
- Previously certified Regional or National Judges who need to attend Practical Aerobatic Judging training to satisfy the recurrency requirements defined in IAC Rule 2.6.3
- Current Judges who would like to brush up their knowledge of judging criteria (only need to attend the Practical session).
Course Registration Fee:
- IAC does not charge for this course. The chapter hosting the course may charge a fee to cover costs of facility rental, refreshments, instructors' travel, etc.
ADVANCED JUDGING CRITERIA SEMINAR
This one-day seminar is a more in depth session than what is covered in the Practical Aerobatic Judging training. It is aimed at previously certified judges who wish to improve their knowledge and understanding of judging aerobatic flying. The curriculum is less formal than that of the intro training, in order to encourage open discussion of the more subtle and less explicit judging criteria. For certified judges, attendance at this seminar will fulfill recurrency requirements for attending a judges’ school as defined in IAC Rule 2.6.3.
Prerequisite: Attendees must have previously completed the Introduction to IAC and the Aresti Language and Practial Aerobatic Judging trainings.
Who should attend this seminar:
- Previously certified IAC Regional Judges seeking to become certified as an IAC National Judge (see IAC Rule 2.6.2)
- Companions/spouse of competition pilots who would like to learn to more advanced concepts of judging to improve their critique skills
- Competition pilots seeking a more in depth understanding of judging criteria
- Previously certified Regional or National Judges who need to attend Judges training to satisfy the recurrency requirements defined in IAC Rule 2.6.3
- Certified National Judges who need to attend Judges training to retain their National Judge privileges (see IAC Rule 2.6.3)
- Current Judges who would like to deepen their knowledge of judging criteria.
Course Registration Fee:
- IAC does not charge for this course. The chapter hosting the course may charge a fee to cover costs of facility rental, refreshments, instructors' travel, etc.
Materials Provided in this course:
- Course notes
- National Judge Exam (only for those seeking National Judge certification; this exam is also available elsewhere on the IAC website.)
- An IAC Judge/Assistant Log
Attention Judges Seeking Recurrency: Annual currency requirements, including passing the annual Revalidation and Currency (R&C) Exam are defined in the IAC Policy & Procedures 214.
Continuing Education
To continue updating your knowledge of figure grading prinicples and staying sharp in between contests, the IAC's YouTube channel presents a number of videos titled "How Did The Judges Miss That?!"
These videos present figures that were flown at a National Aerobatic Championships with the grades awared. Each video points out flaws in the competitor's execution of the figure and the variations in the grades awarded by different Judges.
