Caption and Subcaption Tie Detection

The Caption & Subcaption Ties feature helps you identify when multiple groups have received the same score from a judge. This is important for maintaining scoring integrity and addressing potential tiebreaker scenarios before releasing scores.

Understanding Scoring Ties

In competitive scoring, ties at the caption (main category) or subcaption (detailed scoring area) level may indicate:

Judges intentionally scoring groups equally
Potential errors that need review
Situations requiring tiebreaker procedures

While overall ties are handled by your scoring system's tiebreaker rules, ties within individual judge scores may warrant review.

Accessing Tie Detection

Navigate to Score Preview in your competition
Click Caption & Subcaption Ties in the top-left area

A modal window opens showing all detected ties organized by division, round, and judge.

Understanding the Tie Report

Report Structure

The tie report is organized hierarchically:

Division - Top level grouping
Round - Shown if the division has multiple rounds
Judge - Each judge with ties is listed
Caption/Subcaption - The specific scoring area where ties occur

Tie Details

For each tie, you'll see:

Element	Description
Score	The tied score value
Groups	List of groups that received this score

Groups are listed alphabetically within each tied score.

Caption vs. Subcaption Ties

Caption Ties

Caption ties appear directly under the judge's name. These represent ties in the main category score (e.g., two groups both receiving 82.5 in Visual).

Subcaption Ties

Subcaption ties appear indented below captions, shown in italics. These represent ties in more detailed scoring areas (e.g., two groups both receiving 8.5 in Movement within the Visual caption).

Reviewing and Addressing Ties

When Ties Are Normal

Ties are often legitimate and require no action:

Groups genuinely performed at the same level
Scoring scale naturally produces ties (e.g., whole number scales)
Limited number of score options available

When to Investigate

Consider reviewing ties when:

The same groups are tied across multiple judges
Ties appear at unusual score values
The number of ties seems excessive for the group count

Taking Action

If you need to address a tie:

Review the original judge scores on the Scoring page
Consult with the chief judge or adjudication coordinator
Make any necessary adjustments using the Modify Score feature
Return to the tie report to verify the tie is resolved

Refreshing the Report

Click Refresh in the modal header to reload the tie data. This is useful after making score corrections to verify ties have been resolved.

Example Tie Report

Scholastic Open
  Sarah Johnson
    8.5
      Central High School
      Westview Academy

    Musical Performance
      9.0
        Central High School
        Northside Prep

In this example:

Judge Sarah Johnson has caption-level ties at 8.5 between two groups
The same judge also has subcaption-level ties at 9.0 in "Musical Performance" between two groups

Division Summary Tie Indicators

Ties are also highlighted in the Division Summary view:

A yellow warning banner appears when ties exist
Tied performances are highlighted in yellow
This helps you quickly spot ranking ties without opening the full tie report