Rio calls for worlds youngest female sailing judge

As Olympic and Paraympic sailors around the world are campaigning for Rio 2016, there is a group of people that also have to sharpen their skills for the big calls ahead, the judges.

Just like the sailors, the race committee have to make the cut and be chosen to officiate at the Games, and one person that has got the good news and the confirmation she will be heading to Brazil is the worlds youngest female sailing judge, Danielle Watkins.

“As a professional in the disability industry the paralympics was my goal and I’m really proud to have made it,” said Watkins as she thinks of her best moment as a judge.

The 27-year-old Australian works as a speech pathologist at a school for children with physical and intellectual disabilities so targeted the Paralympics as a mix of her professional life and sporting life, and with her invitation to officiate at the Games, her target is one massive step closer.

Coming from a sailing family in which her father, Paul Pascoe, is also an International Judge, Watkins was always destined to be part of the sport in some way or another, but why not competing?

“I get this question a lot. I enjoy being at regattas, travelling, being part of the sailing community and giving back. Once I am on the water I am not all that competitive and I don’t have the time or the money to compete seriously.”

The sailing world is full of role models that are competitive and aim for regatta wins, but the world of officiating has far less, if any sometimes, so who does a young International Judge look up to, for Watkins its obvious with one so close to home, “My dad is an obvious role model as he started me on this path and has taught me more than anyone else.”

“But there have also been a lot of other judges along the way both local and international. I have tried to take pieces of advice from lots of people to create my own style of judging rather than modeling what I do on one or two people.”

As Watkins says, her father Paul started her on her path, but it wasn’t the smoothest as Danielle recalls, “The earliest memory I can think of is sailing my opti on a little lake in the New Forest (UK) and being terrified of the sharks at the bottom of the lake. I was so scared I made my Dad get in the boat with me. Of course with Dad in the boat I was scared it would sink!”

Thankfully Danielle didn’t sink (and research suggests there are no sharks in the New Forest lake), and she has moved through the ranks to become a judge on the world sailing scene. However, judges, referees, officials, umpires, whatever you want to call them in any sport aren’t always the first to get the plaudits, but Danielle feels that on the whole, being a young female judge doesn’t effect too many peoples attitude towards her, “Some people think its great, others think I’m crazy. Generally people are pretty positive and supportive.”

Despite the support, there will always be times when emotions run hot, after all it is a competitive sport, and during these times Danielle acknowledges there is frustration on everyones part, “I have had a few instances of competitors getting very angry and irate with the jury. It’s very frustrating as we are volunteers who give up our time to do this job and some people unfortunately let their frustration get the better of them.”

Even with the frustrations, anger and irritation Danielle wouldn’t change her decision to judge, “It’s great fun and a good opportunity to learn lots,” and she even has some advice for anyone thinking of following in her footsteps, “Don’t forget to keep sight of the big picture. It’s easy to get bogged down in the intricacies of the rules but we need to remember to keep the sailors best interests in mind for the fairest outcomes.”

Those words aren’t just for the potential judges out there, they could even be taken on board by some of the sailors that let the ‘frustration get the better of them’, it’s all in the interest of fairness after all.

Having talked about role models and anyone moving in to judging, does she have any words for young girls specifically who are thinking of getting in to judging, of course she does.

“Don’t let people tell you that you can’t or shouldn’t do things. Remember why you decided to judge in the first place. Make decisions about what advice to take on board and what to ignore. You will be offered lots of well meaning advice but you need to make your own decisions based on your own knowledge and opinions.”

Wise words Danielle, wise words.

Danielle will be part of the team officiating at the Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from 7-18 September. To see the full list of officials click here.

With International Women’s Day on the 8 March, World Sailing will be focussing on women in sailing with a group of features showcasing just a few of the achievements and personalities we have in our sport.