Module #4: Callback Scoring System

1. WSDC contests must use the Callback System for preliminary competitions and Relative Placement scoring systems for finals.
2. The Callback System for preliminary competitions has been standardized.
3. The following point values must be assigned to judges callbacks: 
   1. Yes = 10
   2. Alt 1 = 4.5
   3. Alt 2 = 4.3
   4. Alt 3 = 4.2
   5. No = 0
4. The outcome for callbacks must be determined by the sum of the values.
   1. Scoring systems should not use more than three (3) levels of Alternates (e.g., no Alternate 4)
   2. At their discretion, the Chief Judge may ask judges to use only Alt 1s, Alt 1s & Alt2s; or Alt 1, Alt 2 & Alt 3, for any specific contest.
   3. In larger contests, to minimize the potential for ties, the Chief Judge may ask for two or more Alt 1s; Alt 1 & Alt 2s; or Alt 1, Alt 2, & Alt 3s.
   4. During prelims, if you have two different Tier sizes for Leaders and Followers, the Chief Judge can request a different number of callbacks for the two tiers. (See Uneven Callback Explanation in Module 3).
   5. In the event of a tie, the Chief Judge breaks the tie.
      1. The Chief Judge must assign numeric raw scores to all competitors in preliminary rounds.
      2. If necessary, the Chief Judge may numerically raw score one role and assign a Raw Score Judge to numerically raw score the other role (e.g. Chief Judge scores Leaders, Raw Score Judge scores Followers).

Module #4: Relative Placement Scoring System (RPSS)

1. The first concept utilized in the Relative Placement Scoring System (RPSS) is the idea of EQUALITY.
   1. The Judge’s raw scores are converted to a ranking (each couple’s placement relative to the number of contestants).
   2. The Judge’s highest score is “1,” their next highest score is “2,” and so on.
   3. Each judge’s highest score is “1m” whether that highest score is a 9.8 or 8.8; and each judge’s first place couple is equal to any other judge’s first place couple.
   4. The conversion of the raw scores to the ranking (ordinal) creates an equal spacing from 1st to 2nd to 3rd (versus a raw score of 95, 9.2, 9.1).
2. The second concept utilized in Relative Placement scoring is UNIQUENESS.
   1. Each couple is assigned a single score, unique to them.
   2. A judge cannot assign the same score to multiple couples; there are no ties.
   3. Each judge must have 1st place, 2nd place, and so on.
3. The third concept, very important and sometimes misunderstood, is the concept of MAJORITY.
   1. Decisions are made once most judges agree on a couple’s placement.
   2. Like most voting situations, once 50+% of the judges agree, a decision is derived.
   3. Once a decision is made (a couple placed), the process continues.
      1. The higher the number of judges on a judging panel, the more it takes to reach a majority, and thus, the more credible the results, and the less impact (good or bad) any individual judge has on the outcome.
      2. The concept of majority (50%+) works best with an odd number of judges.
         1. Five (5) judges are the minimum number of judges allowed (but since three is a majority, ties can occur).
         2. Seven (7) judges are the most common number of judges (i.e., it requires four to reach a majority); 
         3. Nine (9) judges are preferable for the number of judges (but usually limited by the events’ financial concerns).