Consistency, no less than credibility, is something all of us desire, and no one desires it more than Andy Foster?
There are changes afoot in California. The jet stream travels from west to east, as do the winds of change.
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. Jessie Vargas fight for the vacant WBO welterweight title at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Beginning this weekend, in addition to the three boxing judges sitting ringside, 10 idle CSAC judges will be scoring the fights from home and/or 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?one man?s meat is another?s poison and vice-versa?which contributes to the disparity we sometimes see on judges? scorecards. But consistency, no less than credibility, is something all of us desire, and no one desires it more than Andy Foster.
I spoke with Foster last week and asked about the new program the CSAC has instituted.
?The California State Athletic Commission takes very seriously the impact of officiating on our sports,? he 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.?
There are people out there who have given up on the sweet science. Erratic judging is one of the things that stick in their craw. They may be dyed-in-the-wool Luddites who are as wary of technology as they are of boxing moving into the 21st century.
But not everyone feels that way.
