Short answer: one competition cycle has six steps, and each passes data to the next. A good system is one where nothing is retyped between steps.
1. Registration and payment
Entrants choose a category, fill in details, attach documents and pay — all in one record staff can review.
2. Document checks
Staff approve or request changes; entrants see their status without asking in chat.
3. Scoring
Several judges, languages and categories, scoring without seeing entrant names, with totals computed by the organiser’s rules.
4. On-site check-in
One QR per person; a scan shows who has arrived, which category, which station.
5. Results
Results are locked before release and shown on screen the moment the organiser releases them.
6. Certificates
Issued automatically from locked results, with a public verification page for recipients.
What organisers forget
Judge and entrant accounts must be issued and tested before the day. A system never rehearsed with real data tends to break on competition morning.