Question: Should a guard judge evaluate the guard on the work that they perform or the work that they “think” a group could perform?
Answer: Judges should always evaluate what is presented. It can become confusing, however, when listening to the Guard or even the Visual Effect judge as they sometimes seem to be “asking” for something different. On both of those sheets are sub-captions covering visual musicality as well as variety. A very repetitive routine that doesn’t seem to “fit” the music can be performed flawlessly, but it sometimes may not stack up to routines that contain a much wider variety and provide visual enhancement of the musical soundtrack. It’s a balance that the guard judge should always profile accordingly on the scoresheet.
– Mark Culp