Judges

Judges are volunteers who give their time to help highlight the exceptional projects and participants. They are central to the whole process and vital to the success of every contest. Whether you are a judge yourself, or a different type of user that wants to learn more about the judge role in zFairs, you've come to the right place.

Judging Overview

Here's a quick overview of what you can expect as a judge during registration and on the day of the event.

Registration

1. Navigate to the zFairs site for your event (Example: demo.zfairs.com).
2. On the home page, click "Register" or "Create an Account", select "Judge".
3. Fill in your username, full name, and email.
4. Check your email to confirm (don't forget to check the spam folder); click on the link to continue registration.
5. Fill out the required fields.

• Make sure you read all the information provided so that you know how to proceed as a competition judge.
• You will be sent a confirmation email after you have finished registration.

Day of the Event

1. The event coordinator should have sent you all the information about the day of the fair. If you have not received any information, make sure to reach out to the coordinator before the day of the event.
2. Determine if you are judging virtually or in person.
3. Log into your zFairs account.
4. Click on the "Go to online Judging" tab at the top of the home page.
5. Here you will see the participants who have been assigned to you; click on the project name to see the rubric, scoring sheet, any project information the participant has uploaded, and the virtual interview room.
6. Follow the procedures given to you by the event coordinator on how to proceed with judging.

If doing virtual judging:

1. Click on "Go to online Judging".
2. Click on the projects assigned to you.

• If holding virtual interviews, at the predetermined time, click on "Enter Judging Room". This will start your camera and microphone. You will still be able to see and score on the rubric.

To talk to other judges:

1. Click on the "Virtual Contest" tab at the top.
2. Select your assigned room to speak with other judges about the projects.

Scoring

Scoring is done right on the rubric. Click on the number that indicates the score you determine is right for that section.

After you are done scoring, and leaving feedback, click on "Submit Score and Close". Scored projects will be grayed out and sent to the bottom of your list.

You can go back in and change scores until the judging time has been closed. Scores will be added up automatically by zFairs.

Feedback vs Judge Notes

At the end of each rubric is space to provide feedback for the participant and space to keep judge notes.

Feedback are comments that judges can share with participants about their projects. Great feedback contains both tips that help participants improve and complements areas they excelled on. Feedback is reviewed by the event coordinator and may be shared with the participant.

Judge notes are where judges can keep notes about the projects during interviews. These notes can be saved and used to help determine scores after leaving the participant/project. These notes can be seen by event admins, but are not shared with the participants.