**I am writing this as an individual and not as a statement by any organization (noticing I have the Purdue wiki logo as my pfp lol)
Volunteer, great post. The RECF has an impossible job that is under appreciated, and isn’t comprehended by most (I still come into aww at some times). They have been working for almost 2 decades to design a process that can be repeated 1,000 times every week across 6 continents. The fact that these VF only have <50 complaint posts a year is impressive.
As someone who just finished their 10th year as a competitor in Vex Robotics, I have had my own struggles with the judging process. I, like many others, didn’t understand the process for years, even in a time when we would get graded rubrics back. But now the internet exists, and so does an archive of past knowledge on judging & a network of people that want students to succeed.
Students, go through the VF and find past notebooks from teams who killed it, go to youtube and watch explanation videos by incredible students who started where you are, and join communities of people who are looking for help just like yourself. Obligatory shameless plug for the wiki: Rubric Breakdowns | BLRS Wiki (purduesigbots.com)
Coaches/Mentors, listen to @lacsap and volunteer!!! Firstly, the events your students are going to likely need volunteers more than your students need you to watch. Secondly, as great as the g2j is, there is no replacement for experience. I started volunteering at IQ events when I was in high school which taught me what I needed to do to go on and win state excellence. In college, I started judging 10ish times per year (and now JAing), and have learned enough to win multiple judged awards at worlds (as part of a team), and give advice to teams that have won countless judged awards at SIG events & won worlds excellence (I am certainly not the main/majority factor in their successes).
The judging process takes time to understand. There are flaws with it, but RECF has done a lot to make it better over the years. I agree with everything Volunteer said.
If anyone from RECF reads this comment, please clarify or remove the following note from the g2j
Note: The World Championship judging process may differ from this guide due to the scale and complexity of that event.