Judo Kata Tournament Manager

Why it helps

How an event runs

One laptop, many browsers. Clerks, judge tablets, the announcer, and live results stay in sync on the local network. The in-app How to page walks through the same flow.

Config

Before anyone walks in, set the event name, location, dates, and logo. Choose how many judges sit a performance, schedule breaks, decide whether the judging team rotates, and tick the kata this event will run. You can also set an organiser PIN, create public links for tablets and displays, and choose how long each kata stays on a rotating results screen.

Event rules live here too. Pick EJU, kata-judge/BJA-style, or IJF scoring independently from the current or IJF competition formula. Nationality policy controls how the draw prefers judges from outside the pair's countries, while optional Senior and U23 registration rules turn on the corresponding age, grade, division, and entry checks.

Competitors

Register competitors through the web UI, CSV import, or from this year's IJF kata events on Judobase. The CSV header starts with "Country","Given Name","Surname" and can include "Birth Year","Grade". Judobase import adds people and skips anyone already in this event with the same name and country.

When Senior or U23 registration rules are switched on, birth year and grade become required and invalid entries are blocked before they reach the draw. Judobase cannot supply those two fields, so leave registration checks off for that import, or enter competitors manually or by CSV.

Senior requires both partners to be at least 16 and 1st Dan, with one Senior pair per person. U23 requires both to be 16–22 and at least 1st Kyu, allows Nage-no-Kata, Ju-no-Kata, or Katame-no-Kata, and permits up to two U23 pairs per person. Leave the setting off for ordinary club-event entry.

Pairs

Form tori and uke pairs for each kata. When registration checks are on, choose Senior or U23 for the pair; the application checks both partners' calendar-year age and grade, the permitted kata, and the entry limit for that division.

You can also give previous medallists an optional seed rank. In a two-group preliminary, the draw spreads those heads of series across the groups while keeping performance order within each group random.

Judges

Add judges per kata, or import them from CSV with "Country","Given Name","Surname","Kata" (use the kata code, for example nagenokata). You need at least the number of judges per performance selected in Config.

Draw

Run an automated draw for performance order and seated panels. You can keep the current formula — up to 6 pairs go straight to a final, 7–11 use one preliminary with the top 4 advancing, and 12 or more use two groups with the top 3 from each — or select the IJF formula: up to 6 direct, 7–9 with the top 6 advancing, and 10 or more in two groups with the top 3 from each.

Seed ranks are used only to spread heads of series across two preliminary groups; order within a group remains random. When judges are seated automatically, the configured nationality policy prefers officials who do not share tori or uke's IOC country. Running the draw again overwrites that kata's order, with an optional wipe when you also need to remove scores already entered.

Mats

Add a tatami, then assign performances in the order you want them to run — or assign several and randomize unfinished while the current pair stays put. The PIN-protected mat clerk acts as the event-day supervisor, showing who is scoring now, who is on deck and double deck, completed performances, judge seats, and links to edit scores.

If an official judge shares tori or uke's IOC country, the clerk sees a warning and can choose an eligible replacement for this performance only. A seat with submitted or saved scores must be unsubmitted first. Shadow seats remain available for judge development and do not count in either the total or the nationality rule.

Judge tablets

Each seat URL is one named judge. The tablet shows the seat, the judge’s name, the kata, and tori and uke. For every technique, tap small (S), medium (M), big (B), forgotten (F), and +/− correction. Each tap is saved immediately — overview progress, live results, and leaderboards update with provisional scores and an in-progress marker. Submit once the kata is finished — you will be asked to confirm — to lock that seat. After submit the seat waits until the other official seats submit, then the mat advances. The tablet updates in place when the mat changes. Tablets have dark/light and zoom controls, and they hide the clerk navigation so judges do not wander off.

Announcer

Open the announcer board on a hall screen. It shows the current tori and uke, the judging team, who is on deck with an estimated time, then the rest of the mat schedule. It updates in place. Same dark, zoom, and English/French flags as live results. No clerk menu.

Electronic scoresheets

If a phone fails, the clerk scoresheets write the same scores. Open scoresheets, then kata, pair, and judge. The pair page lists the judges seated for that performance. Use +/− on each mistake column. The page total is that judge’s kata score.

Printable PDF pack

Download a pack for one kata or the whole day. Choose blank, in progress, completed, or all sheets. Force blank layout if you need empty paper after scoring has started. Each pack includes a cover, a divider per kata, performance order, results, and a pair×judge scoresheet with a checkbox grid, totals, judge and data-entry signature blocks, and the event logo in the header.

Live results

Project the ranking on a hall screen — large type, no clerk menu. Scores update in place as judges tap, including provisional points while a pair is still being scored, with an in-progress marker and progress %. Open /results?rotate=1 to loop through kata; how long each stays on screen is set in Config. Switch language with ?lang=en or fr; use ?theme=dark and ?zoom= like the tablets.

Leaderboards and CSV

Leaderboards are the same ranking for the clerk, including provisional totals and the in-progress marker while a panel is still scoring. Download totals CSV (rank, country, pair, points) and techniques CSV (per judge, per technique).

Scoring audit

Under Admin, the scoring audit log records tablet taps, submits, and unsubmits. Filter by mat, performance, seat, action, judge, or time if you need to see what was marked and when.

Category progress

A summary view shows how far the category has progressed — useful for medals, announcements, and keeping the mat schedule moving.

Scoring you can trust

Scoring follows the ruleset you choose in Config, so the same tablet marks produce the expected event total without rebuilding a spreadsheet at the venue. EJU drops the highest and lowest judge totals when there are three or more official judges; a forgotten technique zeroes that technique and halves that judge's kata total once, rounded up.

kata-judge/BJA-style scoring discards per technique, keeps ordinary scores between 1 and 10, and halves without rounding up. IJF also discards per technique: five official judges drop high and low, four drop low, and three or fewer keep every mark. IJF uses the EJU technique range, including a possible 10.5 correction, and any official forgotten mark halves the pair total once. Shadow seats never count in any ruleset.

• Technique evaluation uses small, medium, and big mistakes, forgotten techniques, and optional correction values
• Tie-breaks use fewer big mistakes, then medium, then small, then average score

Supported kata

• Nage-no-Kata (including 1G, 2G, 3G, and 3-set)
• Katame-no-Kata (including 1G)
• Ju-no-Kata
• Kime-no-Kata
• Kodokan Goshin Jutsu
• Koshiki-no-Kata
• Itsutsu-no-Kata
• Kodomo-no-Kata 1–7

Runs where you need it

• Access everything through a web browser — no special client install for tableside users
• Run on a primary machine at the venue; use a local network when multiple devices need access
• Start with ./script/start so one worker keeps judge tablets, the announcer, and live results in sync. If a live connection drops, those pages also reload every five seconds
• Each event uses its own SQLite database file
• Optional Docker packaging for consistent deployment
• Organiser PIN protects clerk pages (competitors, judges, pairs, scoresheets, draw, config, mats clerk, leaderboards, scoring audit). Results, announcer, judge seats, and schedule stay reachable on the LAN
• A public token gives /p/… links for tablets, announcer, and results without the PIN
• Live screens support English and French
• Built with Perl, Mojolicious, SQLite, and AlmondCSS; licensed under the AGPL

On-site support at your event

Lance Wicks can travel to your competition and run the system on the day — in the UK or internationally. You get someone experienced at the laptop while judges and clerks focus on the mat.

• Run in parallel with your existing scoring process — a low-risk way to try the software at a real event
• Ideal for smaller events first, before scaling up to larger competitions
• Help plan the hardware you need, or simply bring kit and operate the software on site
• Flexible arrangements — get in touch and we can shape what fits

Typical fee: £100 per day (including travel days), plus accommodation, meals, travel costs, and any hardware agreed in advance.

Email lw@judocoach.com to discuss dates and what you need.

Further reading

• Kodokan kata pages — definitive documentation on judo kata
• IJF Kata Commission documents — International Judo Federation kata materials
• Kata Scoresheets (EJU) — Michel Kozlowski’s Excel-based scoring software