[Lifesaving] BULSCA 2013/14 season so far...
As of this morning it’s Christmas
break for the BULSCA lifesavers. In year’s gone by this would have marked the
halfway point in the season, but some calendar shuffling at the last AGM means
that we’re not quite there yet (this is a good thing, as it’s spread the events
out a little more than has traditionally been the case). It’s been my first
season as a judge rather than a competitor, and it’s been a slightly odd
experience to be honest. I missed one competition whilst at playing in a concert with my new orchestra, but
the rest have really opened my eyes to a completely different side of
lifesaving events.
I already knew how much work went
into competitions from an organiser’s point of view, but judging has shown me
that the judges too put in quite a lot of work to get the BULSCA competitions
running smoothly. It’s not just a case of turning up, being told who your
casualties are, and then sitting in a fully formed SERC marking the teams. You have to brief the casualties, adjust
the SERC to the reality and practical considerations of the space being used,
decide on your mark scheme, run a trial SERC to check everything works and the
casualties are doing what they’re supposed to, etc. But because you spend most
of the day with the same bunch of judges and casualties it’s fun, and you get a
good sense of camaraderie going. Plus you get to gossip about the teams after
they’ve been through! Seriously though, it’s been interesting to get a broader
overview of where the teams tend to go wrong, and which areas are consistently
poor. In terms of teaching lifesaving it’s been very instructive indeed.
Judging at Bristol University's competition. (Credit: Adam Martin)
Whilst the SERCs are fun,
judging the speed events is dull. But I suppose there has to be a downside
somewhere.
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