Create a brand-new contest so you have a home for applications, people, scoring, and results. You can refine almost everything later - you do not need a perfect plan on the first pass.
- Log in as a producer.
- Open My Contests and confirm you see New Contest.
- Decide a clear contest name that'll differentiate it from others.
- Optional: have a square-ish logo image ready (PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP).
- Optional: know whether you want Olympic scoring, averaging, producer score adjustments, automatic tiebreak, and a minimum overall % to place. Carefully read thru Designing your contest structure & scoring at least once, and refer back to it as needed.
Note
Pacing dates and Enable Chaos Ops appear when you edit an existing contest, not on the brand-new create form. Create first, then edit if you need those.
- In the sidebar, click My Contests.
- Click New Contest (usually top right).
- Enter the Contest Name (required). This shows up in titles, emails, and exports - make it human-friendly.
- Optionally fill in Description. A short blurb is enough, like dates and location; long novels belong in Contest Details later.
- Optionally upload a Contest Logo:
- Choose an image file.
- Use the cropper controls (Zoom, Horizontal, Vertical) if they appear.
- Click Preview Crop when you're happy.
- Leave the file blank if you don't want a logo yet.
- Review the scoring and behavior checkboxes (details in the next section):
- Enable Olympic Scoring
- Enable Averaging
- Contest Active (on by default for new contests)
- Enable Producer Score Adjustment
- Enable Automatic Tiebreak
- Results Exports Show Judge Name (instead of Judge #)
- Set Minimum Overall % to Place if you want a floor (for example
80). Use 0 if everyone who finishes can place.
- Click Create Contest.
- If you change your mind before saving, click Cancel to return without creating.
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of New contest form
When on, for each section the lowest and highest judge totals are shown but excluded from the result (you want at least three regular judges). Handy when accounting for any outliers when scoring.
When on, section totals are averaged across the judge scores used. If Olympic Scoring is also on, averaging happens after Olympic scoring.
When Active, assigned judges and tallymasters can select and work this contest.
When inactive, this contest is not selectable for judges and tallymasters (they can't open it to score). Site-wide login may still work if they have another active contest membership or producer access. Scoring on an inactive contest is locked. Use inactive for drafts or closed archives - not for "we're on a coffee break."
Allows a producer or tallymaster to enter a whole-number (integer) adjustment per contestant that is added directly to their overall total. Leave off unless you know you'll need it (including as a last-resort tiebreak - see Results).
When on, if contestants tie under contest-default scoring, only those tied contestants are re-ranked in place (without Olympic first, then without averaging if still tied). Off by default. Details: Results & tiebreakers and Designing your contest.
When on, exports show judge names. When off, exports prefer judge numbers where available. Choose based on how public your score packets should feel.
Contestants below this percentage of max possible points are shown without a placement rank. Set thoughtfully; 0 means no percentage gate.
After create succeeds:
- The contest appears on My Contests.
- Open it and visit Manage to add sections, people, and forms.
- Open Edit / settings when you need pacing dates or Chaos Ops.
- Optionally clone an old contest next year instead of rebuilding from scratch - but for your first one, create is perfect.
// Chris - To Do: Screenshot of My Contests after creating
- Open the new contest from My Contests.
- Visit Manage and confirm you see people/sections.
- Edit settings to add pacing dates if you know them.
- Decide whether Chaos Ops belongs in your life this year.
- Build at least one scoring section before inviting judges.
- Create now; polish later.
- Keep the name unique across years ("Title 2026") so exports and emails don't confuse folks.
- Turn Contest Active off only when you intentionally want judges/tallymasters locked out.
- Logo crop is optional. A missing logo is fine, too.
- If you're unsure about Olympic vs Averaging, talk to other producers. Make sure you clearly outline in your contest rules what you end up using before the contest.
- Write the description for humans ("Regional title weekend in June"- good), not for a database ("contest_v3_final_FINAL"- not so good).
- Leaving the name as "Test" forever and emailing applicants from "Test."
- Turning Contest Active off while judges still need to score.
- Enabling score adjustments "just in case" without agreeing on a plan for how to use them.
- Expecting Chaos Ops on the create screen - enable it from edit settings after create.
- Uploading a huge or panorama logo and wondering why the crop looks weird - use a nearer-to-square image.
Can I change these options later?
Yes. See Contest settings.
Can I copy last year's contest instead?
Yes - Clone & delete. Cloning is great for structure; still update dates and people.
Do I need a logo to create?
No. Skip it and add one later.
Will creating a contest email anyone?
No. Emails go out when you invite, approve, or otherwise trigger those flows.
Who can create contests?
Producers. If you don't see New Contest, ask a site admin for producer access.