9When Something Goes Wrong
The handful of things that actually go sideways on event day, and the calm fix for each.
QA contestant disputes their score.
You have a clean, consistent record and a rubric to point to — far more defensible than paper. Walk them through the criteria calmly. Because scoring is even-handed across judges, disputes are rarer than with paper judging in the first place.
Most event-day problems are small and quick to solve. Here are the ones hosts hit most — knowing the fix in advance is the difference between a shrug and a scramble.
QA judge dropped offline in the middle of the event.
Every entry they've already committed is stored and safe. Get them onto a stronger signal or your backup hotspot so they can commit the entry they're on — since scores save only on commit, the whole goal is to have connection back before they finish that scoresheet. Meanwhile, the other judges keep going, so the event never stalls.
TipKeep a hotspot within reach of the judges' table so a fix is a ten-second walk, not a scramble.
QA contestant is a no-show.
It doesn't block anyone else — leave them unscored or withdraw them from the class and the event carries on. You can remove a contestant from a class from the contestant screen in the admin area (desktop). Decide your policy in advance so it's not a live decision (some events hold the slot briefly, others move straight on).
QA judge entered the wrong score or has a serious change of heart
In the Scoring Admin section of the desktop/tablet admin, you can change any value of any score of any contestant from any judge.
TipKeep this to a few rare exceptions to maintain the integrity of your event.
QIt's event day and I am stuck! Who do I contact?
To avoid issues on event day, run a test event a week or so before the actual event. Nothing really changes from test day to event day (unless you change things). If the entire system is down, we will know it before you and our AWS redundant servers will handle the issue automatically. If you have a configuration issue, access https://help.livejudge.com OR use the AI agent at the bottom right in your admin area. In worst case scenarios, you can send a text message to 720.838.0700 with your event name and a concise description of your issue. Reserve the text for truly urgent issues.
TipPreparation will almost always avoid this.
Before event day
- You know how to reach support, and their hours during your event.
- You've decided your no-show policy in advance.
- Judges know to flag a problem to you early, not silently push through.