Ordering prizes is a guess most organisers make with a spreadsheet the week before the event, and getting it wrong is expensive in both directions: too few and you are short on the day, too many and you have paid for stock you will never use.
The Prize Calculator counts it for you. It reads your actual sections and entries and tells you how many physical prizes to order, broken down by section and by place.
This counts items to order, not prize money. It is about the trophy supplier's invoice, not the cash you are awarding.
Where to find it
Event Dashboard, then Prize Calculator in the sidebar under Event Tools.
It works from live entry data, so the numbers change as studios enter. Run it again shortly before you place your order.
The three settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| How many places get prizes? | 1 to 10. Most events use 3. A section with fewer entries than this only gets as many places as it has entries. |
| Min entries | Sections below this entry count are flagged, so you can decide whether a section with 2 entries should really award 3 places. |
| Include 0-entry sections | Off by default. Turn it on to see sections that exist but have no entries yet. |
Group routines: the part that catches people out
For a solo section, "3 places" means 3 prizes. For a group section it usually does not, because every dancer in the winning group expects something.
The calculator handles this automatically:
- It detects group types by name (group, team, duo, trio, quartet, production).
- For those, it multiplies each place by the largest group in that section. Ordering for the largest group is the safe direction: you cannot hand out a trophy you did not order.
- The explanation column shows its working, for example "8 entries, up to 12 dancers/group, 12 prizes per place".
Shared group prizes overrides this. Tick a performance type there and it gets one prize per place even for groups. Use it for a floating trophy or a single shield that goes to the studio rather than to each dancer.
Reading the results
- Per section: the places awarded, how many items each place needs, and a plain-English explanation of how that number was reached.
- By performance type: totals grouped by type, which is usually how a supplier quotes.
- Grand total: the number to put on the order.
Getting it to your supplier
- Download CSV gives you the full breakdown to attach to an email or open in a spreadsheet.
- Print produces a clean printable version headed with your event name.
Common questions
The totals changed since last week. Expected. It reads live entries, and entries move. Re-run it just before ordering and use that number.
A section shows fewer places than I set. A section cannot award more places than it has entries. A section with 2 entries awards 2 places, not 3.
Battle sections look different. Battles are not multiplied by group size, because a battle places individual competitors.
Should I order extras? The calculator uses the largest group in each section, which already builds in headroom. Beyond that it is your call: many organisers add a small buffer for breakages and engraving errors.