USSA Judging Code Of Conduct and Judging Certification Program Terms of Use

USSA Judging Code Of Conduct and Judging Certification Program Terms of Use

Version Draft 1.0, to be made effective

Judging Code of Conduct

By participating in the U.S. Steinholding Association Judging Certification and serving as a USSA-certified Steinholding Judge, I attest that I have reviewed the U.S. Steinholding Association Judging Manual and that I understand the content of the U.S. Steinholding Association official rules. When judging any Steinholding competition, I will faithfully and fairly judge all competitors to the same standard, and in accordance with the current version of the official U.S. Steinholding Association rules. If I have any questions about how to interpret the official rules, I will contact USSA to discuss.

I acknowledge that I am required to recuse myself from judging any competitions in which I have a vested personal or professional interest. To maintain the integrity of the sport, it is essential to avoid even the appearance of potential favoritism, therefore all possible steps must be taken to avoid conflicts of interest. This includes removing myself from the judging team of any officially sanctioned competition in which a close friend, family member, or business associate is participating. If I have any questions about how to handle a potential conflict of interest, I will contact USSA to discuss.

Suspension / Revocation of Judging Certification

Status as a certified judge may be temporarily suspended or permanently revoked at any time at the sole discretion of U.S. Steinholding Association (for example, if a judge is found to have violated this code of conduct or fails to perform duties as a judge with an acceptable degree of accuracy). USSA will notify a judge of their suspended or revoked status and provide instructions for obtaining recertification, when applicable.

Certification Initiation and Completion Timeline Requirements

Prospective judges must initiate certification activities within 90 days of registering/purchasing a certification entry by launching the Code of Conduct review and Judging Exams. Registrants must complete the program within 6 months of registration/purchase of a certification entry. After 6 months from the date of purchase, if the certification has not been completed, the registration expires and will be considered abandoned. No refunds will be provided for abandoned registrations.

Certification Renewal / Periodic Updates

Certification is valid for 2 calendar years following completion of certification, with certified status beginning on the date of confirmation of satisfactory completion of the program requirements. Upon confirming that all required steps have been completed, USSA personnel will provide confirmation of certification completion via email to the email address provided by the registrant at the time of registration. An electronic copy of a certificate of completion will be provided to the registrant. At the expiry of your certification, you will be required to recertify based on the requirements that are in place at that time.

If significant changes are made to USSA official rules or to the certification materials/exams, an updated judging certification will be issued to all currently active certified judges to confirm acknowledgement and understanding of the update. There will be a 60 day grace period for recertification based on the new rules and/or updated certification requirements. After this 60 day grace period, certification will be suspended pending requalification.

Public Judging Directory

As part of our mission to expand the sport of Steinholding to a larger audience, we have built a publicly-available directory of certified USSA Steinholding Judges that we publish on our website here. The goal of the directory is to make it easier to connect prospective competition venues with experienced judges, and all judges who complete the USSA judging certification have the option to be included in this directory. If you choose to opt in and be a part of the directory, we will display your name, the preferred contact email and town/metropolitan area that you provide to us. If you change your mind, you can opt out at any time by contacting us to request removal of your information from the directory and we will remove your information within 7 business days. Creating and maintaining the directory is a service provided by USSA to help support the Steinholding community, and USSA is not responsible for, and does not specifically endorse, any communications, activities, or relationships between certified judges and other persons who may contact them as a result of their participation in the directory.

Contact

If you have any questions about the Code of Conduct or Certification Program terms of use, please contact us at jbanko@ussteinholding.com.

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