Hints to Judges

Suggestions for Judging Cycle Races

The most important thing is to know who does not qualify for the finish result.

Find out how many starters there are and the numbers of the pre-entered riders who have not signed on.
Keep a record of the numbers of those riders who do not finish and on which lap they pulled out.
Keep a note of all the lapped riders and on which lap that happened.
As the riders cross the line on the final lap, keep taking numbers until the last rider has finished. This means that if you are not sure who was in the front of the bunch, by a process of elimination you will know who was not there and they can be eliminated from the leading riders.
Always check with your fellow judges, concerning the number’s of any riders who pack or are lapped and always consult with all other judges when preparing the final result.
Post the result for the riders to see, before any prizes are awarded and deal with any queries as quickly as possible.
It is your duty as the Chief Finish Commissaire (Judge) to place all riders as accurately as possible in their finish order, once you have made your decision and dealt with any queries, the only person that can change that result is the Chief Commissaire, it can only changed due to disqualification or relegation.

There are several ways of recording a race. The following is the preferred one:

Have a lap scoring sheet and each time a rider crosses the line note their number on the sheet in the same order as they cross the line. If there is a large bunch count the number of riders in that bunch and make sure you get the numbers of any riders who drop off the back or are lapped. If a photo finish camera is being used, ask the operator to capture the riders in any large groups, it is your responsibility to know where each rider is on any lap. You will also need to record the numbers of any rider who takes a lap out on a circuit race, as they are only allowed 1 lap out in an event.

There are two types of lap scoring sheet, they are horizontal and vertical. The preferred one is the horizontal. One for Youth Riders is attached, but you can use an A4 lined page marked out with columns for: laps to go, a space for the numbers, lapped riders and did not finish. The rider’s numbers are entered horizontally in the space provided. Each time the leader crosses the line, you start a new lap, any riders from the previous lap that have not yet appeared are deemed to have been lapped and are entered in the lapped riders column, if they do not appear they must have abandoned, their number is crossed through in the lapped column and placed in the DNF column.

The vertical sheet is used for small fields and Cyclo-Cross, where there are large gaps between each rider. The sheet is marked out with enough columns for the number of laps to be covered, with the laps marked at the top of each column, the riders numbers are entered vertically in each column. Each time the leader crosses the line a new column is started and as in the horizontal method lapped riders are those whose number does not appear in the previous column.

In addition to lap scoring sheets it is useful to have a magnetic number board; this will give an overall picture of the race as it develops. If the numbers are moved around the board as the riders are dropped from the bunch or go off the front of the bunch, assuming that no one has abandoned out of your sight, you should know who is in which bunch of riders.

Youth Races

If all categories are on the circuit at the same time, it is important for the different age groups to have a different series of numbers, e.g. under 8’s 1 -10, under 10’s 11 – 20, under 12’s 21 – 40, under 14’s 41 – 60 & under 16’s 61 – 80. This gives instant recognition of which category a rider belongs. You as Chief Finish Commissaire (Judge) should be able to suggest this to the organiser. Riders should be lined up for the start with the oldest at the front and the youngest at the back. They all start at the same time and finish on the same lap, unless otherwise stated by the Organiser or Commissaire.

Suggestions for Judges Equipment

A bag or brief case, which should contain the following items:

A4 lined writing pad

BC Handbook

Dictaphone or Recording Device

Identification Badge

Magnetic Number Board

Magnetic Numbers 1 - 100

Pens and Pencils

Ruler

Stopwatch

Whistle