Ava Menno
ELA
Ms Hart
February 23, 2023
Biased Judging in Sports Sports that are scored by judges can often show mixed results from different judges. Sports like gymnastics, cheerleading, figure skating, dance, etc. involve competitions where their scores and results come solely from a panel of judges selected for the particular competition. Judges have been found to have a “natural bias” towards a certain athlete or group based on nationalities, reputations, and expectations. “Natural bias happens subconsciously in all of us, when we automatically categorize people into groups based on characteristics such as age, gender and race”(Macfail). Judges tend to favor athletes from their own country if they’re competing globally or from their own
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A background check should be done by the people running competitions to find out if the judge has a personal connection to any athletes in the competition. For example, judges probably shouldn’t be considered qualified if one of the teams they are judging is the high school they graduated from. Another example is that they shouldn’t be allowed to judge competitions with family members or friends competing. This will limit judges having biased opinions based on personal relationships with athletes …show more content…
This will improve the consistency in judging scores and improve the accuracy of the scores. Every sports judge should be qualified to make competitions fair for everyone. Judging qualifications shouldn’t be overlooked, because in a lot of cases, there may be personal connections between judges and teams from past interactions. Choosing judges should be taken seriously in order to ensure a fair chance for every athlete and team competing.
World Cited
Macphail, Naomi. “Natural Bias: If We're Hard-Wired to Stereotype, How Can Brands Become Inclusive?” The Drum, The Drum, 6 Dec. 2021, https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2021/12/06/natural-bias-if-we-re-hard-wired-stereotype-how-can-brands-become-inclusive#:~:text=Natural%20bias%20happens%20subconsciously%20in,us%20navigate%20the%20social%20world. Accessed 22 Feb. 2023.
Thu. “Natural Bias, the Hidden Controversy in Judging Sports.” Eurodressage, https://www.eurodressage.com/2010/11/04/natural-bias-hidden-controversy-judging-sports. Accessed 22 Feb.