Judging
by jennrock
(from the former rant section of the site)

Judging. A hard job for those judging, an easy job to those watching.

Recently back from the all female Qween B 2003 in San Diego, shebang! left extremely frustrated. Our disappointment was with some of the b-girls who moved on passed the showcase round, to only throw down footwork. As maehem pointed out, this would not be acceptable in a b-boy battle.

This could involve some sour grapes, as we weren't moved on for the second year in a row. We might not be one of the top 8 b-girl crews – yet some of the "best" b-girls weren't givin' it. Nice footwork, but where's the creativity and, it's a battle, blow-ups?

As a minority in the scene (a crew of b-girls) judging is usually tricky for us. Are we being moved on because of gender novelty, or held back for the same reason? Add in local scene favourites or general politics – and who knows what to think.

At every event, for b-boys and b-girls, there is usually a battle that there seems to be a mistake. When it was announced that Blazin' and Ms. Mighty weren't moving on at Rocksteady Anniversary this year, the crowd booed. Crazy Legs himself later e-mailed us to say we should have moved on (very cool). Let the tape speak for itself some might say. How about if there isn't a tape? How about if you want to WIN a battle? How about if this always seems to happen?

As a crew who hosts jams, we know what the word is on judging. We do our best to always share with the breakers and the audience what the judges are looking for, and how it's broken down. At many events, this important info is left unsaid. We also make sure our judges our experienced, fair, and represent different crews. We have meetings about judging. Yet still, we have b-boys in the messages boards talkin' trash about who won, and more importantly - who didn't.

Ms. Mighty and I were trying to figure out a system that would guarantee fairness. One idea I came up with was the breakers in the audience judging using those game-boy things on Funniest Home Videos. I mean the crowd usually knows who took it! But as Sara pointed out, this problem isn't limited to breakin'. Look at figure skating.

I remind myself to watch battles closely. Scene favourites don't win all the battles, and even rock stars get robbed. No one wants to be a sore loser, or really – a loser. That's why the true winners just keep on' dancin'.

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