Clean Run - October 2020 - 14

COURSE DESIGN
& JUDGING:
Social Media
& Conflict
By Lee Gibson

"If my hero or idol behaves like that and openly criticises courses and slams judges, well then it's
okay for me to do it"
The last time I spoke to you I was off for a judging assignment in Italy. How times have changed.
All our plans and all our dreams this summer I've been put on hold due to the COVID-19
pandemic. I hope this finds you well and safe.

Quite rightly countries and cities have been locked down
for weeks or even months people have lost loved ones,
their jobs and many of their freedoms.
The last few months have certainly been a test for society
in the world as a whole. Although we are far from over the
crisis, we can hope for a more positive 2021. My original
article on social media didn't seem appropriate to focus
solely on the dos and don'ts of online discussion, so I rewritten this article somewhat to try and balance out things
to be wary of alongside the amazing good that social media
can bring to us as an agility community.
With obviously all the agility shows being cancelled in most
countries along with the world Championships the world
agility open, the European open and many other huge iconic events, we've not been able to meet up with her agility
friends from different parts of the country or world.
In some ways this social media article comes at a very poignant time. Many of us have been using social media much
more than ever before to be able to communicate and
keep in contact with love ones, friends and family, as well as
remote training sessions and even home competitions. So,
it seems appropriate that we can delve slightly deeper into
some of the challenges of being an agility judge competitor or event organizer that come with such high levels of
social media use.
14

During our GJP seminars, Greg and myself try to stress the
responsibilities of judges and to consider their content on
social media. One of the most important points to illustrate is actually how our social media proﬁles can become
a reflection of us depending on the role in which we are
participating. One week I am a competitor, posting runs
of my dog at the trial. The next week I am a judge posting
course maps, the weekend after I'm organising an event
working with sponsors and venues, and the week after that
I'm presenting a seminar, being tagged by all the students.
Many of us have such varied roles and frequently change.
The person you're stood next to in the que today will next
week possibly be judging you.
Our "friends" from social media become ofﬁcials overnight
and then back again. So these blurred boundaries are often
the root cause of some of the conflicts and issues that we
see in social media when it comes to opinions on rules,
judging decisions or courses.
One thing I will stress is that GJP would never have had
the outreach and ability to communicate and bring judges
together from all round the world without social media
and the various platforms it offers. There are fantastic tools
and social media is something we try to utilise. As agility
judges is a great way to network to receive new judging
appointments and to learn from others.

Clean Run | October 20

Clean Run - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - October 2020