Scheduling an SV Judge for Your Trial

— Stephanie Dunion

It is always a pleasure to help all of you in scheduling your judges and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to be of assistance over the past years. Of course, there are a few glitches here and there, and in order to make things clear for all of you, I would like to present you with a check list that you can keep for future reference. We all lead complicated lives, so let me help you make yours a bit simpler when trying to secure a judge.

  1. Judge confirmed directly to club

    If you have secured a judge already then follow these guidelines …

    • Make sure your Regional Director (RD) is fully apprised
    • Submit a copy of the Event Authorization Form (EAF) to me
    • Submit your completed SV Judge’s Request Form to me. You can fax it or scan it over via e-mail.
    • Complete the form in its’ entirety – if you do not know the judge’s airport of departure, I will research.
    • Your address is important for US Customs as the judges need to complete an international form.
    • VERY IMPORTANT is the credit card information for the SV fee – €150 (Euros) - to process the Release. This fee is not only for doing the paperwork, but also for insurance coverage.
    • ONLY Master Card or VISA are acceptable – make sure your bank has been advised that this concerns a foreign transaction, as sometimes the card is blocked and the SV cannot use it.
    • Please include your e-mail contact information.

  2. If you need a judge

    In the event you did not contact a judge directly, then I can assist you. As I co-ordinate the entire country, I can network and often a judge is already scheduled for another club, who is willing to stay for another weekend or is willing to split a weekend share. Please follow these guidelines:

    • Let me know as soon as possible your requested dates as well as alternate ones.
    • Send the Judges completed Request Form with the tentative dates, so I have something on file to move the process forward. It will save time, if I have a form completed
    • Your address is important for US Customs as the judges need to complete an international form.
    • If you have preferences for a judge or judges, fill in the names, so I can meet your expectations.
    • It is important to let your Regional Director know your intentions, so that there will be no conflict with dates later. An EAF can be sent without a judge’s name, but you will have to advise your RD once a judge is secured.
    • As soon as I find a judge, I will advise accordingly.
    • Please include your e-mail contact information.

  3. Judge has accepted

    Once the judge has accepted, you are always welcome to take care of the bookings/flight ticket yourself. However, just so you are aware, USA has a special program under the United PerksPlus in tandem with Lufthansa that earns points for the organization every time I book and ticket a flight. This is definitely to the benefit of the organization, as points can be redeemed for a number of things, such as for upgrades or free tickets for Executive Board Members or VIPs. This will benefit the organization as a whole to keep costs down.

    It is important to note that I will need advance notice for not only scheduling a judge, but also to complete all of the correspondence with the judge and SV as well as process the cheapest possible fare. Deadlines need to be kept in check to maximize cost-saving for USA, the SV and, of course, for your club.

    Scheduling a judge should be done at least 6 months in advance with the minimum time-frame of not less than 3 months. Kindly bear in mind that the SV does close for major Holidays, so we need to work around these special times.

(updated 1/18/2009)