Contaste is a platform and field team for running dance and artistic competitions - registration, judging, results and on-site operations in one place.
Below is every task of running a competition, in the order it happens - who is responsible (you, Contaste or a specialist partner), how essential it is, and why.
✓ handled or included by that side. $ available from Contaste as a paid add-on.
| Stage / task | You | Contaste | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|
1. Idea, money & venueMonths ahead - the strategic decisions only you can make. | |||
| Define the concept, categories & rulesEssentialThe concept, categories and rules define what your event is and who it is for. Everything downstream - schedule, judging, pricing - is shaped by these choices, so they stay yours and cannot be delegated. | ✓ | ||
| Plan the budget & cash flowEssentialYou set the budget and carry the financial risk - venue, prizes, crew, equipment. Contaste helps collect entry fees online, but the numbers and the responsibility stay with you. | ✓ | ||
| Find sponsors & partnersOptionalSponsorship is optional but powerful: it offsets your costs and raises the event's profile. Sponsor logos can sit on your public pages, but finding and signing partners runs on your relationships. | ✓ | ||
| Pick the date (avoid clashes with other events)EssentialOnly you know your community's calendar, school terms and the competing events nearby. A good date avoids clashes and protects your turnout. | ✓ | ||
| Find & book the venue / hallEssentialThe hall is your contract, your budget and your local knowledge - capacity, floor, parking, access. Choose it early; almost everything else depends on the room. | ✓ | ||
| Permits, insurance, safety & first aidEssentialPermits, insurance, safety and first aid are the legal responsibility of the event owner. They rarely touch the show directly, but skipping them puts the whole event at risk. | ✓ | ||
2. Going public & registrationWeeks ahead - opening the event to the world. | |||
| Event landing pageRecommendedA single public page gathers dates, rules, schedule and registration in every language your audience needs. Contaste builds it on the platform, and the design - colours and branding - can carry over from your previous event in the series. | ✓ | ||
| Promote the event & invite participantsEssentialNo promotion means no entries and no audience - and your own network reaches people best. Contaste can also take promotion on for an extra fee, directly or through specialist partners. | ✓ | $ | |
| Online registrationRecommendedOnline registration keeps entries structured and clean, and you choose what to ask - passport, birth date, photo, federation number - and when the window opens and closes. Late and on-site entries go through the same form, so the data never splits into side lists. | ✓ | ||
| Online payment collectionOptionalOnline payment is convenient and reconciles itself against each entry, with flexible rules - per-category prices, discounts for multiple entries and a cap on the total. It can run through your own payment provider, so the money lands straight in your account; cash or bank transfer still work too. | ✓ | ||
| Audience / spectator ticketsOptionalOptional - relevant only if you sell seats to spectators. You set the pricing; Contaste sells the tickets through a specialist subcontractor. | ✓ | ||
| Collect competitors' music tracksEssentialFor a dance event the music is as essential as the entries. It is uploaded with each registration and reaches the floor desk ready to play, in the right order. | ✓ | ||
3. Production planningWeeks to days ahead - assembling everyone and everything. | |||
| Build the running order / scheduleEssentialYou provide the framework and the rules; Contaste turns your entries into a workable running order - the backbone of the day. | ✓ | ||
| Recruit & confirm the judging panelEssentialChoosing the panel is your decision - it sets the tone and credibility of the event. Contaste runs the process around them: invitations, marking, recalls and tie-breaks by your federation's rules. | ✓ | ||
| Travel & accommodation for judges and crewEssentialYou host and arrange travel for your judges; Contaste organises travel and stay for its own field crew. Booking early keeps the cost down for both. | ✓ | ||
| Sound system & sound engineerEssentialWithout clear, reliable sound there is no competition - the music cues the floor and carries the show. A vetted audio partner brings the system and an engineer, managed by us. | ✓ | ||
| Stage lightingRecommendedLifts the room and the experience, and scales to your budget - from a basic wash to a full show; delivered by a specialist partner. | ✓ | ||
| Hall decorationOptionalHall decoration is cosmetic - it improves the look and the photos, but a clean, well-lit room works on its own. Safe to scale back on a tight budget. | ✓ | ||
| DJOptionalA live DJ adds energy between rounds and during breaks. At smaller events a prepared playlist run from the sound desk can replace one entirely. | ✓ | ||
| Host / MCRecommendedAn MC keeps the audience oriented and the show moving - announcing rounds, heats and winners. The partner host works from our live data, so names and numbers are always current. | ✓ | ||
| Photo & video shootingRecommendedPhoto and video are a keepsake for participants and your best marketing for next year. Not strictly required to run the event, but impossible to recreate afterwards. | ✓ | ||
| Live online streamingOptionalStreaming reaches families, coaches and fans who could not travel, and extends your reach beyond the room. Optional, delivered by a streaming partner. | ✓ | ||
| Awards, medals & trophiesRecommendedRecognition is what most participants come for - scale it from simple medals to engraved trophies. You choose and buy what fits the event and the budget. | ✓ | ||
| Diploma printingOptionalOptional. You can print diplomas on site - or skip print entirely: publish results online and let each participant open their own result page and print their own. That saves paper, time, on-site effort and a few trees. Your volunteers can run a printer for free; doing it on our equipment is a paid add-on. | ✓ | $ | |
| Catering & hospitalityOptionalOptional - hospitality reflects your budget and local norms, from a water station to full catering for judges and guests. | ✓ | ||
4. Setup on event dayOn site, before the doors open. | |||
| On-site floor teamEssentialOn the day, our trained crew runs the equipment, the desks and the flow of data. Your floor managers - who know the format, the performers and the language - run the floor itself, calling heats and lining up dancers. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Competitor check-inEssentialSomeone must verify arrivals, hand out numbers and seat dancers - it has to happen, but not necessarily by us. Your volunteers can run the desk for free; our staff can do it as a paid add-on. | ✓ | $ | |
| Print competitor numbersRecommendedNumbers let judges and the audience identify each dancer on the floor. Generated by the system and printed on our equipment; printing them in advance speeds up arrival. | ✓ | ||
| Start lists & heat listsRecommendedStart lists and heat lists tell everyone who dances when, in which heat and on which floor. They show online, on the schedule screens, on the backstage screens and in the app, so nothing needs printing. | ✓ | ||
| Judge tablets & equipment setupEssentialThe judging system runs on our prepared, tested hardware - tablets for the judges, laptops and a local network. Set up and checked before the first heat so nothing fails live. | ✓ | ||
| Live schedule screensRecommendedLive schedule screens keep dancers, coaches and staff on the same timing, updated straight from the system without anyone editing a slide. They cut the endless 'when are we on?' questions. | ✓ | ||
5. Running the competitionThe live show - many tracks running in parallel. | |||
| Run the judging / scrutineeringEssentialLicensed scrutineering in our system is the core of a fair, accepted result - the reason the numbers can be trusted. Recalls, tie-breaks and rotation follow your federation's rules automatically. | ✓ | ||
| Collect scores from the tabletsEssentialJudges' marks flow straight from the tablets into the system - no paper to gather, no marks to re-type. Mistakes from manual transfer simply cannot happen. | ✓ | ||
| Calculate results in real timeEssentialResults are computed instantly the moment marking closes, without spreadsheets or hand-counting. The next round can be called while the last one is still on screen. | ✓ | ||
| Music & floor playbackEssentialThe floor runs on music, cued to the live schedule so each heat starts on time with the right track. Handled at the sound desk by the DJ or operator. | ✓ | ||
| Announce rounds & resultsRecommendedAn MC guides competitors and audience through rounds and results, working from our live data. It keeps a long day legible and the room engaged. | ✓ | ||
| Big screenRecommendedA big screen shows heats, recalls and results to the whole hall in real time. The screen and projector are set up by an AV partner; Contaste drives what they show, straight from the system. | ✓ | ✓ | |
6. After the eventWrapping up and following through. | |||
| Publish results onlineRecommendedFinal results go online the moment they are ready - the same data that powers self-print diplomas. Medal and history records also carry into your next event in the series. | ✓ | ||
| Deliver photos & videosOptionalPhotos and video are edited and delivered after the event by the shooting partner. Plan the handover - galleries, downloads or a highlights reel - in advance. | ✓ | ||
| Awards ceremonyRecommendedYou run the awards ceremony - the emotional peak of the day. Contaste supplies the final results, the data and the screens so the right names go up without delay. | ✓ | ||
| Collect feedback & wrap-up reportOptionalOptional, but closing the loop pays off: a short survey and a wrap-up report turn this year's event into a better one next year. | ✓ | ||
Want Contaste to handle the platform, the field team and the specialist partners, leaving you only what is truly yours? See what we offer, meet the field team or learn about Contaste.
