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Race
walkers have a very distinctive gait and race walking has two core
rules:
1 The Contact Rule:
Each walker must have at least one foot in contact with the ground
at all times.
2. The Knees Rule:
The leading leg
must be straight at the knee when the foot touches the ground and
remain straight until the leg is vertical.
If this sounds complicated, just think of the old phrase
‘heel and toe walking’.
Land on your heel (not a judging
requirement but good practice) and turn up the toe; you will find
your leading leg is straight.
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The method of judging
Race walking is classified as a "technical sport" which
means that it is a judged sport and in order to enforce the rules,
judges are positioned around a course and to ensure that
competitors comply with the rules.
The
duty of a Chief Walking Judge is to organise the team of judges
allocated to walks, whether on the track
or on the road.
Second, the duty of each individual walking judge is to apply the
rules of walking and method of judging to the walkers taking part.
No electronic aids are used in
judging competitions, because the rules stipulate any breach of
the regulations must be visible to the naked eye.
So, when a judge sees a walker in danger of breaking one of the
rules, he or she may caution the walker once. That usually is done
by displaying a yellow baton
with the offence identified by a symbol on each side.:
>
for knees or
~
for contact.
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The judge then notifies the chief judge:
If the walker is breaking a rule, the
judge fills in a disqualification card with the walker’s number
and fault, and the time, and signs it. There should be at lease
one Judges’ Runner to convey the card to the Chief Judge or the
Chief Judge’s Recorder (the official who checks the paper-work of
the individual judges); when the card has been checked for
completeness, the Chief Judge or Recorder puts the walker’s number
on the penalty board, normally near the finish of a lap, with a
red cross or red magnetic blob next to it.
This means that the walker can see that he or she has lost a
‘life’. If a walker gets three disqualification cards each from a
different judge, the Chief Judge shows the walker a red baton,
which is the disqualification sign. The walker then leaves the
track or road and removes his or her numbers. This can happen
after the end of a race, if the third card comes in late in the
event.
If there are sufficient judges, the Chief Judge does not do any
judging : the duties are then to see the
judges are equipped with blank disqualification cards and slips on
which cautions and disqualifications can be recorded, distribute
the judges round the track or road so that they are fairly equally
spaced and place the penalty board so that the walkers can see it
but the judges cannot. All judges work independently and it must
be ensured that they cannot be influenced by the actions of other
judges.
At the end of a race, any disqualified walker can ask the Chief
Judge the reasons for the disqualification cards.
The Chief Judge collects the slips from the judges and fills in
the master sheet showing all cautions and disqualifications. At
major walks, the master sheet is circulated to all judges so that
they can compare their judgements. Judging consistency is a good
thing; on the other hand, a walker may be perfectly safe going
uphill but technically bad going downhill or vice versa.
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