Why Become a Judge

1. A great opportunity for service to your profession

2. A great learning experience as you evaluate a diverse cross-section of association content outside your industry

3. A networking opportunity

Who is Eligible

Editors, content managers, art directors, designers, production artists, communication directors/managers, printers. If you have questions on whether or not your eligible, please email awards@associationmediaandpublishing.org. 

Responsibilities and Commitment

1. Virtual and in-person judges can be expected to review up to 20 entries each (this number is subject to change depending on how many entries are submitted and how many judges sign up).

2. Virtual judges should plan to set aside 15 hours to judge entries, using the Excel Award judge portal. You are given nearly 4 weeks to complete your scoring. All scoring must be complete by Friday, April 17, 2020. 

3. In-person judges must be present for judging all-day (9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.) or whenever your scoring is complete. Judging takes place in Washington, D.C. You should expect to be out of office, and really commit the day to reviewing and scoring your assigned entries. 

4. Judges are urged to refer to the rules and category descriptions here.

5. Throughout the process we’re standing by to handle any questions and concerns that may arise. Contact awards@associationmediaandpublishing.org with any questions, issues, or comments. 

6. Recusals: If for any reason you feel you cannot judge an entry please contact awards@associationmediaandpublishing.org immediately so that we can reassign that entry to another judge. 

Signing Up

Before signing up to be a judge, please make sure you understand the judging process, which is described in more detail below, so you know what to expect and what your responsibilities will be.

We will try our best to assign you categories you most want to judge. I encourage you to list as many categories as you feel comfortable judging. You will need to register as a judge then complete the questionnaire.

Once you sign up and complete your registration, you will receive a confirmation email that we received your application. Judges are accepted as they sign up, unless you hear from us otherwise. You may sign up to be a digital and in-person judge if you have the proper time to commit.  

Entry Assignments

Entry assignments will be sent to virtual judges on March 25, 2020. In-person judges will receive their assignments on the day of in-person judging. Please review your entry assignments in the judge portal as soon as you receive them and let the Awards Manager know of any conflicts of interest, or if you can no longer participate as one of our judges.

Entry Evaluations

As a judge, you may be expected to evaluate up to 30 entries in various categories (this number is subject to change depending on how many entries are submitted and how many judges sign up). All scores are entered online within the judge portal. Entries are scored on various criteria using a 0-10 point scale. Please remember that you are comparing each entry to the criteria provided, and not against each other.