State O'Rama Consumer Judging

At the 4-H State O'Rama, which is usually held in the last full week of July (this year it's the 23-26) you are allowed to participate in one or more activities. This year for my main activity I chose Fashion Revue: Constructed. (Meaning that I'm modeling a dress that I made myself.) When I say main activity that means that I worked for my spot in the competition at State.

I competed at the County level, and placed first, which earned me a spot at District. At District I also placed first, but at District if you place in the top five (this varies depending on the activity) and you are a senior in 4-H (14-19) then you are permitted to go to State in that category. Now, you can also select a secondary activity to participate it at State. (We're up there for the better part of a week, you honestly think that they're going to let us run free for a large amount of time?) My secondary activity this year will be to participate in the Howard Co. Consumer Judging Team.

What is Consumer Judging you may ask? I have absolutely no idea. So I looked up the definition (I'm seriously addicted to search engines), and according to www.buisnessdictionary.com consumer judging is:

Process by which (1) consumers identify their needs, (2) collect information, (3) evaluate alternatives, and (4) make the purchase decision. These actions are determined by psychological and economical factors, and are influenced by environmental factors such as cultural, group, and social values.

In the judging classes I am taking I'm learning to organize my thoughts, defend my decisions with oral reasons, and the principles and standards I should have in order to evaluate consumer products. As a judge, you should always be objective, never subjective. Don't make your decisions based on what you personally believe is the best choice (or what you would pick for yourself), but make your decisions based on the situation and what best fits it. And always make sure you can defend your choices with logic and facts. Saying "I picked it because I thought it was the best one," is clearly unacceptable.
In the actual competition you have several stations with four products at each station. You are not allowed at any given time to converse with your team members, to do so results in immediate disqualification. Each individual will rank the products on his or her scorecard, with the first number being what he or she considers the best buy, and the last number being the worst. (Ex, 4 2 1 3, with 4 being the best and 3 the worst.) They have five minutes at each station. After turning in their scorecards, a member of the team is selected to give oral reasons for the team. He or she explains exactly why the rankings, in order, were chosen.  Points are given based on how the products were ranked on the scorecards, and how the oral reasons are presented.

Here's hoping the Howard County Consumer Judging Team does well this year. I'll update this post after State O'Rama to inform you of our placing.