Weighted rubrics
Define the criteria and their weights once; every judge scores every team against the same rubric, so "innovation" and "feasibility" count the same for everyone.
Judging & scoring
Hackathon judging & scoring software
Judging is where a hackathon's credibility is won or lost. Hackathon by Slingshot replaces the shared spreadsheet with weighted rubrics, score normalization across judges, and conflict flags — so results are fair, consistent, and defensible.
The scoring spreadsheet is where fairness breaks
By the final round, most hackathons are tallying scores in a shared sheet — where a strict judge quietly outweighs a generous one, a judge scores a team they mentored, and nobody can explain the final ranking.
- A tough judge and an easy judge distort the leaderboard
- Judges end up scoring teams they're connected to
- The final ranking is a formula nobody can defend
Structured judging, built for fairness
Every part of scoring is designed so the result holds up.
Score normalization across judges
Scores are normalized so a consistently strict judge and a consistently generous one end up comparable — the leaderboard reflects the teams, not the luck of the panel draw.
Conflict-of-interest flags
Flag a judge’s connection to a team and their score is excluded from it automatically, keeping mentors from scoring their own teams.
Raw and normalized results side by side
Organizers see both the raw scores and the normalized ranking, so you can explain exactly how a winner was decided.
Multiple rounds, any device
Run screening, semis, and finals as separate rounds; judges score from any browser, onsite or remote.
Frequently asked questions
How does score normalization actually work?
Normalization adjusts for how strict or generous each judge is across everything they scored, so two teams judged by different panels are compared on a level field rather than on who happened to judge them.
What happens with a conflict of interest?
When a judge is flagged as connected to a team — a mentor, a colleague, an advisor — their score for that team is excluded automatically, and the team is judged on the rest of the panel.
Can we run more than one judging round?
Yes. Set up separate rounds — screening, semifinal, final — each with its own rubric and panel, and carry the shortlist forward between them.
Can judges score remotely?
Yes. Judging works from any browser, so a remote judge and an onsite judge use the exact same rubric and flow.
Related use cases
Make your judging fair enough to defend
Set up weighted rubrics and normalized scoring for your next event. Talk to us for a plan that fits.
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