Czech Republic tests video judges at JOAWC qualification and plans to expand

The Czech Republic is working towards a pioneering role in the field of judge support. Similar to football, tennis or now even in Formula 1, judges should also have the possibility to get support by video replays and systems as it is in previously mentioned sports. The plan is to use them in important tournaments such as AWC, EO or JOAWC qualifiers and national championships. The first use of this video judge as support for the main judge was already at JOAWC qualification tournaments in the Czech Republic. One of the leading minds behind the project, Petr Pupik, introduced the system in a Facebook post.

According to him, the fact that this first test run was possible at all is mainly due to the strong cooperation between the judges and the Agility Commission in the Czech Republic. Despite all the technology, the system is not intended to replace the judge on the field. Only as a support for decisions. In the case of the tested method in the Czech Republic, it is up to the judge to claim the video help if he or she feels uncertain about a decision. The second way video assistance is used is when the head judge made an obvious mistake on the field and this was noticed by the video judge. Then he gives the judge a signal whether he wants to see the scene by himself or whether he accepts the decision of the video judge without viewing the material again.

During the first tests, the video judges team consisted of two people. One is the video judge, who can be every judge, and the other one is the video assistant. The latter is responsible for the entire technology and the operation of the systems. That means he has to provide the necessary scenes for replay within seconds and ensure the operation of the whole system. Petr Pupik, himself World Championship judge 2017 in Liberec, draws parallels to other sports in his Facebook post. But he also makes it clear that the technology is, of course, far from being comparable due to the financial possibilities. At the JOAWC qualification in the Czech Republic, two cameras were used. One of them filmed the contact zones and the second was aimed at the whole course. The same image was also used for the public livestream.

During the pilot test, it was agreed that refusals and contact between the dog and the handler should not be judged by the video judge and are the sole responsibility of the main judge on the field. Also, if a decision requested by the judge is not clearly visible on the video footage, the judge’s first decision stands. Participants have no right and no possibility to view the material and have it revised afterwards. Petr Pupik, who is satisfied after the first use by various judges, hopes that other countries will also be open to this technical aid and that the technology will be standard at major events in a few years.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/petr.pupik/posts/10223796819761448