CSAC Launches Judge Training Program
According to Andy Foster, Executive Director of the California State Athletic Commission, the CSAC is launching a new judge training program on June 27 during the Timothy Bradley vs. Jesse Vargas fight for the vacant WBO welterweight title at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Beginning next weekend, in addition to the three boxing judges sitting ringside, 10 idle CSAC judges will be scoring the fights from home and near ringside, using new software created by the Pod Index, LLC. These 10 judges will score the fights in real-time after each round, and the commission will access the results in real-time.
Each judge will be required to score a certain number of rounds as a “trail” judge and as a “TV” judge each year as a part of ongoing training and evaluation.
Boxing may be the most subjective of all sports, which contributes to the disparity on judges’ scorecards. But consistency, no less than credibility, is something all of us desire, and no one desires it more than Andy Foster.
“The California State Athletic Commission takes very seriously the impact of officiating on our sports,” Foster said. “Part of the Training Subcommittee’s strategic plan, developed by Chairman Carvelli and Commissioner Shen-Urquidez, is requiring ongoing live and TV shadow judging which meets a minimum level of competency throughout each year from all of our officials, boxing and mixed martial arts alike. The Pod Index electronic judging system is one tool we are excited about because it potentially allows all of our non-assigned officials to shadow judge any one event or all events in real time, whether at the venue or at home from their smart phones or computers.”
