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Create your competition

Hosting is part of the Host and Program tiers

Creating a competition requires the Host tier ($199/yr) or the full Program tier. During the 2026 beta season, clicking any Create Competition button takes first-time hosts to an unlock page where hosting is free for the season with one click — no card required. If your band's booster organization is on the Program tier and linked to your band, its directors are covered automatically — the hosting benefit flows through the organization's band link.

Start a draft

  1. Go to My Competitions and click Create one if this is your first hosted event, or Create Competition if you already host one. You can also open Browse Competitions and click Host a Competition.
  2. If you've hosted before, a "Start from a previous competition?" card offers a Clone from dropdown. Cloning copies last year's classes, fees, divisions, scoring rubric, and awards — and can even auto-name the new event with the edition bumped ("36th Annual" → "37th Annual"). Strongly recommended for returning hosts.
  3. Otherwise just enter a Competition Name (e.g., "37th Annual Marching Festival") and the Date.
  4. Click Create Draft.

You now have a draft competition and land on its Manage page. A draft is invisible to directors — take your time.

Work through the Settings tab

The Settings tab is one long form saved by Save Changes at the bottom. The Setup Checklist at the top tracks the essentials (name, date, at least one class) and holds the button that eventually opens registration. Cards to fill in, top to bottom:

  • Event Details — name, date, First Performance time, venue, street address, city, state, and Venue Timezone; plus an optional Ticket Link and Weather / Refund Policy (Tickets & policies).
  • Registration Settings — the base Registration Fee, Max Total Bands, and the date Registration Closes.
  • Schedule Defaults — slot length, transition time, intermission, warm-up buffer, the Schedule Strategy, and the Performance Order Policy; plus an optional Dinner Break target time. These drive the auto-generated lineup later — decent guesses now are fine (details in Build the schedule).
  • Paid Shoutouts — enable fan shoutouts, set the Price per Shoutout, and optionally Require gate check-in (QR) so only people at the event can send them. The full fan-side setup is in Fan portal & QR posters.
  • Announcer Script — the Announce music selections toggle. When it's on, the announcer's script includes each band's repertoire as it takes the field ("featuring Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, ..."), pulled from the music selections directors keep on their season band profile. Bands that haven't entered selections are simply skipped; leave it off and the script reads exactly as it always has — and the check-in station stops asking volunteers to verify repertoire, since none of it would be read.
  • Fan Engagement — the audience-voted Fan Favorite award and the Drum Line Battle sub-event toggle (with an optional custom name, if your event calls it something else). See Fan portal & QR posters and Drum Line Battle.
  • Day-of Logistics & Contacts — coordinator and day-of phone numbers, plus check-in and parking instructions. Add one competition map by uploading a JPG, PNG, WebP, or PDF up to 10 MB, or keep using a public map URL; uploading a replacement removes the prior file. The venue address, parking details, and map appear on the public competition page. Contact names and phone numbers remain limited to host managers and directors whose attending band has been accepted. The same card has an Offer equipment shuttle service toggle — turn it on if you'll run small trailers and tow vehicles between parking or staging and the field, and set your shuttle fleet size (how many complete trailer-plus-tow-vehicle units you have available). Turning it on adds a "Host-provided equipment shuttle trailers needed" question to the registration form; leave it off and directors never see it.
  • Competition Format — Competitive (normal scoring and awards), Festival (written commentary only, no scores published), or Exhibition only.
  • Tournament Structure — Single round, or Prelims → Finals with a rule for how many advance.
  • Mailed-Check Payment — fill in Check payable to and the Mailing address for checks if you'll accept checks; directors see these instructions verbatim.
  • Edition & History — edition number and inaugural year, rendered as "36th Annual, since 1992" on your public pages.

Announce, then open

Two buttons on the Setup Checklist move you forward:

  • Pre-announce (optional) — makes the competition visible as Coming Soon. Directors can click Notify Me When Registration Opens, building you an audience before day one.
  • Open Registration — the big one. Directors can register immediately. The button stays disabled until the checklist is satisfied (at minimum, one class defined — see Classes, fees & scoring setup).

Changed your mind?

You can Close Registration any time, and the Danger Zone at the bottom of Settings can Send Back to Draft (bands are notified they'll need to re-register) or Cancel Competition (restorable). While a competition is still an untouched draft — say you double-clicked Create and have a duplicate — the Danger Zone also offers Delete Competition, which permanently removes the competition and its setup; the option disappears the moment you announce it or a band, fan, or vendor touches it. These are deliberately scary-looking — read the confirmation dialogs.