If you've just been handed the Competition Secretary role — first, welcome. Second, don't panic. It's a bigger job than "record the scores" but a smaller one than it feels in month one. Here's the field manual we wish someone had given us.
What does a Competition Secretary actually do?
Three things, in rough order of time: organise entries before judging night, record scores during, and publish results after. Everything else — chasing themes, briefing judges, printing certificates — is a variation on those.
How do I organise entries before judging night?
Two weeks out, remind members to submit. One week out, close entries. On the night, have a locked running order printed and ready. In Camera Club Score, this is one click: Add all photographers to a competition, review, then hit Lock order.
How do I record image titles?
The old way: type them into a spreadsheet the moment they arrive in your inbox. The new way: get members to submit through a form (CSV import, or a shared spreadsheet you import). Never rely on typing titles live during judging — you'll misspell every third one.
How do I record photographers' names?
Every photographer gets a short unique code (e.g. JS01, MR03). Codes never change; they follow the member season to season. This is what judges see; the code maps to a full name on your records.
What's the easiest way to manage competition entries?
The most common workflows in order of pain:
- Paper slips — reliable but the running-order transcription is agony.
- Email + spreadsheet — works, but breaks the moment your treasurer retires.
- Shared Google Sheet — better; still fragile at judging time.
- Purpose-built app — one place, everyone sees the same view, exports on demand.
How do I produce a judging score sheet?
If you're doing this in Word, stop. Every competition tool worth the name will generate a printable sheet with the running order, codes, image titles and columns for the judge's marks — in one click. Camera Club Score ships this as standard on the Results page.
How do I create a running league table?
Add up the season's scores per photographer, weighted by your club's scoring mode (all scores, best-N, PoY points). The trick is doing this in a way that doesn't force you to rebuild the spreadsheet every year. See the pillar on season league tables and Photographer of the Year.
How do I record first, second and third place?
Once the judge picks their placements, enter them in the placement column alongside the score. If two images tie on score but only one gets a placement, the placement is the tiebreak — record it faithfully.
How do I manage several competition classes?
Create separate competitions for each class (e.g. "Nature — Beginner" and "Nature — Advanced"). Each has its own scoring, its own placement, its own league. Same judge can score both in one sitting.
How do I record highly commended images?
Use the placement field with values like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, HC1, HC2 — or however your club prints its certificates. Camera Club Score exports these to the Certificates CSV at season end so mail-merge just works.
How do I keep records from previous seasons?
Seasons in Camera Club Score never delete. Any admin can browse a five-year-old season, export it to CSV, or print a PDF report. Members love this — their whole photographic journey is one click away.