Signing Up to Judge a Contest

Volunteers ask to judge a contest; they aren't seated automatically. Every request is reviewed before it becomes a real place on a contest.

Making the request

Go to My Volunteer Profile (/volunteer/mine).
Under Role interests, tick Judge or Contest Chief Judge, then select Save. The contest list only appears once one of those is saved.
Find the contest you want in the list that appears.
Select Volunteer as Judge or Volunteer as Contest Chief Judge.

Only contests that are currently Active and in your district are listed.

Who decides

A Contest Judge (CJ) request is decided by the District Chief Judge, or by that contest's own seated Contest Chief Judge.
A Contest Chief Judge (CCJ) request is decided by the District Chief Judge only.

You're emailed when the decision is made, approval or decline. An approval seats you on the contest straight away.

What the reviewer checks

Before approving, the reviewer is shown whether the district's member directory indicates any of:

a membership that lapsed before the contest date,
less time as a member than the district's judge tenure requirement,
an education level below the district's judge Pathways requirement.

Any of these blocks a straightforward approval. The reviewer can still go ahead, but only by recording a written reason, which is kept with the decision.

These checks read the district's member directory, so if your details there are out of date, that is what to correct.

You also can't be approved to judge a contest you're competing in.

Changing your mind

Select Withdraw next to the contest on My Volunteer Profile.

While the request is still Pending, withdrawing simply takes it back, and you're free to volunteer again later.
Once it has been Approved, withdrawing gives up your place and cancels any outstanding invitation tied to it. That one is permanent — you won't be able to volunteer for the same contest and role again — so you'll be asked to confirm first.