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How ties are broken under KCBS judging
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How To Break A Tie
By Stephanie Wilson
 

The following should explain how ties are broken in competition. 
To begin, you need the individual, team scores involved in the tie to be able to break it down.

HERE IS WHAT THE EXAMPLE CATEGORY SHEET LOOKS LIKE:
Team Pig 35 35 36 31 36 34 176.5714
Team Cow 35 31 35 36 36 35 176.5714
Team Duck 34 36 34 36 36 36 176.5714

When looking at the individual Team Scores, they appear in order from JUDGE 1 through JUDGE 6. The number are none-weighted, and appear in the following order: (left to right) APPEARANCE - TASTE - TENDERNESS

EXAMPLE: Team Scores
JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6
Team Pig 8 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Cow 8 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Duck 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8
The Weighting Factors: APPEARANCE=5714 - TASTE=2.2858 - TENDERNESS=1.1428

Let's take a closer look at the numbers for Team Pig and JUDGE 1 from the example above to explain The Weighting Factors.

  JUDGE 1
Team Pig 8 9 9

Take the first number (APPEARANCE) for Team Pig - under JUDGE 1 - and multiply it by .5714; its Weighting Factor. The second number (TASTE) is multiplied by its Weighting Factor: 2.2858. And the third number (TENDERNESS) is multiplied by its Weighting Factor: 1.1428

  JUDGE 1
Team Pig 8 9 9
Multiplied by Weighting Factor .5714 2.258 1.1428
Equals 4.5712 20.5722 10.2852

Then those numbers are totaled for each team.
Using the above example, Team Pig's total is now 35.4286
And this is done for each set of judges numbers for each team.

JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6
Team Pig 8 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
35.4286 35.4286 36.0000 31.4284 36.0000 33.7142
Team Cow 8 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
35.4286 30.8572 35.4286 36.0000 36.0000 33.7142
Team Duck 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8
33.7142 36.0000 33.7142 36.0000 36.0000 34.8572

Next...eliminate ("drop") the lowest score from each team. 
In our example; Team Pig "drops" JUDGE 4's scores -  Team Cow "drops" JUDGE 2's scores - Team Duck "drops" JUDGE 1's scores.
Keep the "dropped" scores handy! ...you may need them later!

  JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6
Team Pig 8 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
35.4286 35.4286 36.0000 31.4284 36.0000 33.7142
Team Cow 8 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
35.4286 30.8572 35.4286 36.0000 36.0000 33.7142
Team Duck 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8
33.7142 36.0000 33.7142 36.0000 36.0000 34.8572

THEN...add the remaining scores for each team.
All three teams appear to be tied.

  JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6 TOTALS
Team Pig
35.4286 35.4286 36.0000   36.0000 33.7142 176.5714
Team Cow
35.4286   35.4286 36.0000 36.0000 33.7142 176.5714
Team Duck
  36.0000 33.7142 36.0000 36.0000 34.8572 176.5714

IF there is a tie in one of the individual categories (as in our example), the computer will be broken by the computer. The five remaining judges' slips for each team will be compared for the cumulative scores in; first TASTE; then TENDERNESS; THEN APPEARANCE.

TASTE JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6
Team Pig 8 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Cow 8 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Duck 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8

As you can see from the example above; each team received four 9s and one 8 in TASTE. They are still tied.

Now, we compare TENDERNESS.

TENDERNESS JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6
Team Pig 8 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Cow 8 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Duck 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8

And we see that Team Pig and Team Cow both received five 9s, whereas, Team Duck received four 9s and one 8. Team Duck is now in third place with Team Pig and Team Cow still tied for first place. 

Since Team Pig and Team Cow are still tied, we will compare the scores in Appearance. As you see from the table to the below, Team Pig and Team Cow have three 9s and two 8s. They are still tied.

APPEARANCE JUDGE 1 JUDGE 2 JUDGE 3 JUDGE 4 JUDGE 5 JUDGE 6
Team Pig 8 9 9 8 9 9 9 9 9

"dropped"
LOWEST
31.4284

9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Cow 8 9 9

"dropped"
LOWEST
30.8572

8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9
Team Duck  THIRD PLACE WINNER - Determined in TENDERNESS comparison.

The low scores for both teams, which were previously thrown out ("dropped"), will now be compared, and the higher of the low scores will break the tie. In the rare case that the eliminated, lowest scores are equal...a computer-generated coin toss will determine the tie break.

It was close, Team Cow...oh-so-close!
Congratulations, Team Pig!

In the case above, the higher of the low scores belongs to Team Pig, which means Team Pig takes first-place in Appearance, and Team Cow takes second-place.

 

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