Judging Controversy - Any Solutions?

I will be the first to say that other than umpiring a few little league games, I have never been a referee, umpire or judge. In all seriousness, I don't think you have to have been a judge in order to see that there is a current problem in the PBR and judging. As I stated in a previous blog, judging has to be credible and is critical to any sport. There have been a number of judging issues that have come up over the last year or so and this year it has resulted in five judges getting suspended.


The PBR has made an announcement of their intentions in making some changes, but no specifics. So, as a fan of many sports I think it's good to talk about some solutions that may help the sport. Did I come up with all these by myself? No. I have some, but will "borrow" some from others. Am I saying that the PBR should do any or all of the suggestions? No. What I am trying to do is simply open the dialogue for the fans to give their view of what they think, from their knowledge and their view as a fan, anything that they may be able to add to the discussion.


1) Training - This seems to be lacking in the PBR and has for many years. I know from a previous PBR judge that I talked to, the judges had to be former riders and had to go through training and continue that training with special seminars. I don't think the PBR currently has special training on an ongoing basis.

In a press release the PBR stated “We’re going to explore ways to improve our judging process, including the implementation of a new training program for all judges,”.

My question would be - Why hasn't this been done already? With the number of questionable scoring, missed calls and re-rides given that shouldn't have, the additional training should have already been put into place. How about every week, after an event, someone in the PBR office is assigned to look at the tape of the rides and grade each judge on their scoring? If there seems to be a judge that is consistently out of line with the other judges, the judge should be brought in and shown the tapes and discuss what the rational for the scores are.


2) Number of judges - Some have suggested that you increase the number of judges from four to six. When the scores come in, you would throw out the highest score and the lowest score. I think this is a good idea overall, but where are you going to place all the judges?

What about the idea of having the four judges, but have two that are giving a score and two that are looking for any slaps or other fouls and infractions. To me, the main problem is the chute judge is the best judge to see a foul coming out of the gate. But, if he is the only one calling the infractions, he may miss a slap in the arena because he has a bad angle when the rider is moving away from him.

There was a suggestion recently about having judges from all the different countries. I think this is a great idea for two reasons. The riders are from different countries and the judges would bring a new perspective. However, the main problems would be the cost of training, finding enough qualified judges and the time that it would take to implement. However, I think it would be great for a long term solution.

The replay judge should be looking at the monitor in front of him at all times during a ride. During the short go, and short go only, if a rider comes off between 7.7 to 8.0, the ride should be reviewed, without cost to the rider. We know that the arena clock may not always be right so if the idea is to get it right, then why have the rider take the chance of having to pay $500? Also, if a rider comes off right at the 8.0 or just after, have the replay judge review the ride. There have been two riders in the last three events that got scores when their hand clearly came out at 7.8. This process will only take about 1-3 minutes per review and will only apply to a few rides at an event, if that many. When you are in the short go, the calls become even more critical. In the NFL coaches can challenge a call. However, in the final two minutes of the game the only calls that can be reviewed are called by the replay booth upstairs. This process in the short go would be similar.


3) Giving judges the same respect as other sports - The judges/ref/umpires in most of the major sports are known to the fans. They are not part of some secret society club. In the PBR the judges are kept under wraps for the most part and many fans don't know who these guys are. So much so that on a recent telecast, four judges' names were put on the screen and Justin McKee almost lost it when he started laughing and mentioned about the judges names being on the screen. Bring the judges out of hiding. Yes, they will catch some flack, but the PBR should make some changes and give the judges some respect. First, when a ride is being reviewed by a replay judge, the rider should not be standing by the replay judge, looking at the screen. There is no other sport that would allow this. The rider may be curious, trying to intimidate, or trying to hold the judge accountable, but none of these three are the responsibility of the rider.

Second, the rider should be able to plead his case by talking to the judge, but not argue with them. If you disagree with the call, go push the challenge button.

Third, at a recent event, Cody Lambert was arguing with some of the judges about some of the calls that they made. I know this was being done because this was the first event after the four other judges were suspended. With that said, it sure doesn't help the PBR's cause seeing the guy in charge of the bulls and keeping the event moving, arguing with the judges. If Cody Lambert is scolding the judges in front of the crowd, how is that going to give the fans confidence that the judges know what they are doing and trust that they are making the right calls?


4) The challenge button - Overall, I think the challenge button is a good idea. There are plays reviewed in almost any sport. The main thing is to get the call right. Judges are not perfect and the rider should have the right to say I want it reviewed. Many people were upset at Renato for pushing the button on Ryan. However, the call was reviewed and changed, which is what it's all about, getting the call right. I know some said this broke the "cowboy code", but if the judging problem gets fixed and the number of bad calls goes down, I don't think you will see any rider push the button on another rider. If those two things happen, then Renato pushing the button was the best thing in the long run for the sport.


5) Explain judging to the fans - On a Versus telecast or JW and Justin's show on RFD-TV have a judge come on the shows and explain what they are looking for/at in a ride. Explain how a ride is scored. Show a couple of rides and the score that came out of that ride. Was the rider spurring, if so, how do they score that? Was the rider moving with the bull or just holding on and how do you score that? What are you looking for when a bull bucks and how is that scored? If you combined better judging with more knowledge from the fans about judging, to me, that's a win win situation.

Well, there you have it. I will state again - I am not a judge. However, as a dedicated fan I hate to see the sport get questioned because of bad calls. The PBR says they are going to make improvements, and because of the past problems, I believe they have to. Do you have any suggestions that you would like to throw out there?