Director's Guide ✦ Scoring Integrity
Every score, on the record.
When a parent asks for a recheck, you shouldn't have to rely on anyone's memory. This page explains how Bombyhead logs every score, flags every change, and gives you an
independent audit trail — so your crowning stands on evidence, not trust.
The problem this solves
In a hand-tallied pageant, a score lives on paper and in someone's head. If a number changes between the judge's table and the final ranking — a transposed digit, a "small
favor," an honest mistake — there is no way to prove what happened. That uncertainty is what turns a disappointed parent into an accusation.
On Bombyhead, no person sits between the judge's entry and the result. Scores are computed, not copied. And everything is logged.
How a score lives, from entry to scoresheet
The judge
1. Enters the score on their own device. The moment it lands, it is written to an append-only log with a timestamp. Log entries are never edited and never
deleted — a corrected score is a new entry that supersedes the old one. The full history survives.
The system
2. Watches for changes. If a score is rewritten with a different value, the change is flagged automatically by how long after the original it happened:
- Within a minute — a quick correction. Judges fix typos constantly; this is normal and marked green.
- Up to an hour — a delayed change, marked amber. Worth a look.
- More than an hour — a red flag. It may be legitimate, but it deserves an explanation.
The judge → the tabulator
3. Explains the revision. Judges are told on their scoring page that late changes are flagged, and to tell the tabulator when they revise a score. The tabulator records a
note against the flagged change, in the moment: "Judge 2 told me she scored №7's gown before the walk finished and revised it herself." Notes are
timestamped, permanent, and can't be edited — only added to.
The auditor
4. Reviews and rules. Your auditor — an independent person with their own read-only login — sees every flagged change with the tabulator's notes beside it, and
records a finding: Explained — no issue, Needs follow-up, or Concern. Only the auditor can mark a change explained. The tabulator cannot
clear their own flags — that separation is the whole point.
You
5. Quotes one number. The audit view keeps an Unresolved count: flagged changes that don't yet have an "explained" finding. On crowning night, the number
you want to be able to say out loud is zero.
The contestant
6. Gets the full scoresheet. Every contestant is emailed her individual scoresheet — scores, category breakdown, judges' written feedback. Transparency isn't something a
contestant has to request.
Who can do what
| Role | Can see | Can write | Cannot |
|---|
| Judge |
Their own scoring page |
Their own scores (all entries logged) |
See other judges' scores; erase history |
| Tabulator |
Live tabulation + the Score Change Log, including the auditor's findings |
Notes on flagged changes ("what the judge told me") |
Change any score; mark a change explained; edit or delete notes |
| Auditor |
Everything: all scores, every change, every tabulator note |
Findings with a status (explained / follow-up / concern) |
Change any score; edit or delete history |
| Director |
Scoring setup, all login links, scoresheets |
Scoring configuration (all edits versioned & logged) |
Silently alter a recorded score — there is no interface for it |
Setting it up
- Open your pageant's Scoring setup from the dashboard. You'll find four login links: judges (one each), tabulator, emcee, and auditor.
-
Give the auditor link to someone independent — a CPA, a banker, a teacher, anyone whose reputation matters more to them than your pageant's outcome. If your pageant is small
and you have no separate auditor, keep the link yourself: the two-layer record is still worth having.
- Tell your judges what their scoring page already tells them: fixing a typo right away is fine; a later revision should come with a quick word to the tabulator.
- Before crowning, glance at the audit view. Unresolved: 0 is the goal — and the sentence you get to say if anyone ever asks.
When someone demands a recheck, you don't re-add numbers in front of an angry room. You open the audit: every score, every change, who explained it, and who signed off. The
numbers were never in anyone's hands.
Questions? Write us at support@bombyhead.com — we'll help you set up your audit before your next
pageant.