Battle Voting for Judges

Battle sections use a different judging format. Instead of scoring criteria numerically, you vote for which dancers advance through elimination rounds.

How Battles Work

1. All participants start in Round 1
2. Judges vote for which dancers should advance to the next round
3. Dancers with the most votes advance: those with fewer votes are eliminated
4. Rounds repeat until one dancer remains. That dancer wins 1st place
5. Placements are assigned based on elimination order (eliminated later = higher placement)

Unique Placements (Top 4 Rule)

When 4 or fewer dancers remain, the system switches to one elimination per round to guarantee unique placements (no ties for 3rd place):

For larger battles (8 or more dancers), earlier rounds eliminate half the field at a time. Once the field narrows to 4, the one-at-a-time elimination begins.

The Voting Interface

When a battle section opens, you see:

• A grid of dancer numbers: each number corresponds to the dancer's entry number from the competition schedule
• A round indicator showing which round you're in (e.g., "Round 1 of 3")
• A minimum selections counter: you must select at least half of the remaining dancers (rounded up)
• A Submit Votes button

How to Vote

1. Tap dancer numbers to select who should advance. Selected numbers are highlighted
2. You must select the required number of dancers to advance (shown on screen)
3. You cannot select all dancers: at least one must be eliminated each round
4. When 4 or fewer remain, you eliminate one dancer per round (select all but one)
5. In the final round (2 dancers remaining), you select just 1 dancer, the winner
6. When ready, tap Submit Votes
7. Wait for other judges: the system shows how many judges have submitted (e.g., "2 of 3 judges submitted")
8. Once all judges submit, votes are tallied automatically and the round is processed

Vote Tallying and Advancement

After all judges submit their votes for a round:

• Votes per dancer are counted
• Dancers are sorted by vote count (most votes first)
• In early rounds (5 or more dancers), the top half advance
• When 4 or fewer remain, all but the lowest-voted dancer advance (one elimination per round)
• Tie-breaker rule: If dancers are tied at the cutoff point, all tied dancers advance (nobody is unfairly eliminated on a tie). If this means nobody is eliminated, the round repeats

How Placements Are Determined

Placements follow an elimination-order system with unique top-4 placements:

Because the system eliminates one dancer at a time once 4 or fewer remain, the top 4 placements are always unique. There are never ties for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place.

Vote-Count Differentiation

When multiple dancers are eliminated in the same round (early rounds with 5 or more dancers), they no longer share a single placement. Instead, eliminated dancers are ranked by their vote count: the dancer with more votes receives the higher placement. For example, if three dancers are eliminated in the same round and would have shared 5th place, the one with the most votes gets 5th, the next gets 6th, and the last gets 7th.

During the Battle

• The system polls every few seconds to check if other judges have submitted
• You can see a live progress indicator: "X of Y judges submitted"
• Do not close the page while waiting for other judges. Your vote could be lost
• Once votes are tallied, the next round loads automatically if the battle continues
• When only one dancer remains, the battle is complete and scores are recorded

Battle Scores and the Schedule

After a battle completes:

• Score records are created for all participants and all judges. This ensures the schedule advancement system recognises the section as fully scored
• The section is marked as completed
• The live schedule advances to the next item

Offline During a Battle

If you lose internet connection during a battle round:

• Your votes are saved locally in an offline queue
• When you reconnect, queued votes are automatically submitted
• If the round has already moved on while you were offline, stale votes are discarded safely

Tips for Battle Voting

• Numbers match entry numbers: the numbers on the voting grid are the same entry numbers shown on the schedule and entries list, so you can easily identify each dancer
• Watch each dancer carefully during their turn
• Be decisive: tap your selections confidently
• Check the selection count: the required number of selections is shown on screen (all-but-one when 4 or fewer remain)
• Don't wait too long: other judges and the schedule are waiting for your votes
• Top 4 rounds matter most: each vote directly determines a unique placement (4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st)