Vague Criteria for Judging Items

Te Ao Hou, December 1965, Page 45

Vague Criteria for Judging Items Bad organisation is often the cause of unsatisfactory judging. The writer judged at a competition recently where he and his fellow judges were expected to judge all items—from whaikorero through poi, choir, action song and haka taparahi—against the same set of headings. These headings were ‘appearance’, ‘suitability of item’, ‘performance’, ‘leadership’, ‘communication’ (whatever that might be) and ‘overall impression’. Not only were these headings vague, but how could the same marking criteria be used for oratory as for poi? Each aspect of Maori culture has its own set of criteria. It is up to the judges and organisers to thrash these out beforehand and then to let the competitors know what they want. This is particularly necessary for the less-experienced groups.