Creating a Scoring System

A scoring system defines how scores are structured and calculated for your event. You can create custom systems tailored to your competition format or use one of the built-in standard systems.

Viewing Scoring Systems

The scoring systems page lists all available systems. Use the filter tabs at the top to switch between:

All Scoring Systems - Shows both custom and standard systems.
My Scoring Systems - Shows only custom systems you've created.
Standard Scoring Systems - Shows built-in systems provided by Marching Maestro.

Each system card displays the system name, description, type (Custom or Standard), and when it was created. You can search across systems by name or description using the search bar.

Creating a New System

Click Create New Scoring System.
Enter a Name for the system (for example, "State Judging System").
Optionally click Add an optional description to add a description (up to 150 characters).
Build your scoring structure using the editor described below.
Click Create to save.

Importing a Scoring System

If you have a previously exported scoring system file, you can import it instead of building from scratch.

On the new scoring system page, click Import.
Select a .scoringsystem file from your computer.
The imported system's structure will be loaded into the editor. You can make changes before saving.

Building the Scoring Structure

The scoring system editor has two tabs:

Primary scores - Caption groups and their captions that count towards the total score.
Individual captions - Standalone captions that do not count towards the total score and appear at the end of recaps.

Adding Caption Groups

Click Add First Caption Group (or the + button in the editor) to add a caption group. Each caption group has:

Name - The caption group name (for example, "General Effect").
Multiplier - A number the caption group score is multiplied by (default: 1).
Divisor - A number the caption group score is divided by (default: 1).
Decimal Places - How many decimal places to show in the score (default: 2).
Drop High - If enabled, the highest caption score in the group is dropped from the total.
Drop Low - If enabled, the lowest caption score in the group is dropped from the total.
Penalty - If enabled, this caption group is treated as a penalty deduction rather than adding to the total.
Performance Ratings (optional) - Qualitative labels for score ranges at the caption group level.

Tip: Drop High and Drop Low are useful when multiple judges score the same caption group and you want to exclude outlier scores.

Adding Captions

Within each caption group, click the + button to add a caption. Each caption has:

Name - The caption name (for example, "GE Music").
Multiplier and Divisor - Control how the caption score is weighted within its group.
Decimal Places - How many decimal places to display.
Performance Ratings (optional) - Qualitative labels for score ranges at the caption level.
Judging Sheet (optional) - Upload a PDF file (up to 20MB) with judging criteria details. Judges can view this document in the Marching Maestro app.

Adding Sub-captions

Within each caption, click the + button to add a sub-caption. Sub-captions are the individual score fields that judges fill in. Each sub-caption has:

Name - The sub-caption name (for example, "Tone Quality & Intonation").
Abbreviation - A short label (up to 4 characters) used in scoring recaps. If not provided, the full name is shown.
Multiplier and Divisor - Control how this sub-caption's score is weighted within its caption.
Precision - The scoring increment (for example, 0.1 means judges score in tenths).
Max - The maximum score value for this sub-caption.

Adding Individual Captions

Switch to the Individual captions tab to add captions that don't count towards the total score. These work the same as captions within a caption group but appear separately at the end of recaps.

Total Score Settings

Click the pencil icon next to Total in the editor to configure total score settings:

Decimal Places - How many decimal places to show for the total score.
Advanced Settings (in accordion):
Multiplier - The total score is multiplied by this value.
Divisor - The total score is divided by this value.
Addend - This value is added to the total score after multiplication and division.
Performance Ratings (optional) - Labels for overall score ranges (for example, Superior for 90+).

Reordering

Caption groups, captions, and sub-captions can be reordered using the arrow buttons that appear on each item.

Previewing the Recap

After building your scoring structure, click View Example Recap to see how the recap will look with your current configuration. This preview shows the column layout, totals, and how scores will be calculated.

Editing a Scoring System

From the scoring systems list, click the pencil icon on any custom system to edit it. Standard systems cannot be edited but can be previewed and exported.

Changes to a scoring system are saved using the save bar that appears at the bottom of the page when you make edits. Click Cancel to discard changes.

Exporting and Deleting

Export - Click the export icon on any system card to download it as a .scoringsystem file. This works for both custom and standard systems.
Delete - Click the trash icon on a custom system card to delete it. Standard systems cannot be deleted.