>>8645616I'm not a judge but I've been a helper so I assume it'd be more like judge in the room till you're through with everyone (a generous 10min per entry instead of the usual 5min x 30 = 5 hrs plus a 30min break, starting at 10.30 would take you to 4pm), then you have all evening to make your choices and write certificates, and the whole of Monday free to enjoy apart from the stage presentation.
Much better than:
>rushing through all the contestants which makes them feel like you didn't even look at them properly (common complaint though untrue)>trying to decide who to award quickly because you have little time but you still need to be thorough because you don't want to miss someone (there are several times where people have been added as the room has been packed up to go to the stage!)>then trying to research to make sure they haven't won with that costume before at another con (necessary in some cases)>write the certificates and thank you notes>track down the prizes to be awarded>finish getting your own costume on/makeup done because being in costume yourself gives you credibility with the audience but that's a long time to be uncomfortable for when you're trying to work and you need free movement to examine people's costumes properly > brief in the tech desk at the main stage so they don't fuck up the skits All by 4pm because then you need to start wrangling contestants for the stage presentation.
There's a lot of work that goes into it that you don't seem to realise anon, it's not just looking at some costumes and deciding which ones deserve which award (which is also very challenging!) - the actual choosing is usually one of the most stressful parts because you need to get it right but you also have to get all this other shit done in the space of about 3 hours (and that's again with no break). Do you not remember all the times the stage preso started late? This is why, and is why this new system is at least worth trying.