Event setup

Before you can run any competition, you need to create and configure the Event in Manager. This page guides you through setting up the foundational event details.

Important: Prerequisites

Before starting event setup, confirm:

✓ You have an Organizer account signed in to Vote4Dance
✓ You have Manager access (you can see the Manager link in the menu)
✓ Your organization is already created and approved (if required by your federation)
✓ Your federation has confirmed your event is permitted

If any of these is missing, see Organizer account creation first.

What this step is for

You’ll create the basic Event record that will hold all your competition data:

Event name, location, date
Visibility (public or private)
Basic event settings
Upload event branding (logo, images)

This is mostly one-time setup. After this, you’ll configure competitions, rounds, and judging.

Where to go

Sign in to Vote4Dance
Look for Manager in the navigation menu (top or sidebar)
Click Manager
You should see an Events page or a “Create Event” button

Step-by-step: Create your event

Step 1: Create a new event

If you’re starting from scratch:

In Manager, look for + Create Event button or New Event
Click it
You’ll see a form:

Field	Explanation	Example
Event Name	The competition name that appears to audiences	“Northeast Regional Championship 2026”
Event Code	Short identifier (auto-generated, can edit)	“NRC2026”
Organization	Which school/federation runs this (pre-filled)	“Northeast Dance Federation”
Start Date	First day of competition	“03/15/2026”
End Date	Last day of competition	“03/15/2026”
Location	City/venue	“Boston Convention Center, Boston MA”
Event Type	Solo, duet, team, group, etc.	“Solo, Duet, Trio, Group”

Fill in each field with your event details.

Step 2: Event status and visibility

After creating the event, you’ll see a Status section:

Status	What It Means	When to Use
Draft	Event exists but not public	Use this while you’re setting up
Accepting Registrations	Dancers and teams can register	Use when registration opens
Judging	Registrations closed, competition is running	Use when judging starts
Completed	Competition is over	Use after closing

How to change status:

In Manager, go to your Event
Look for Status dropdown (usually top of the page)
Select the next status
Click Save or Update

Timeline example:

Today (March 1):        Status = Draft (you're building)
March 5 (Registration):  Status = Accepting Registrations
March 14 (Judging day): Status = Judging
March 16 (Done):        Status = Completed

Visibility settings:

When you create an event, decide:

Public = Dancers can find it and register themselves (you publish a link)
Private = Only people you explicitly invite can see it
Federation Only = Only members of your federation can see it

(Location of visibility settings varies; look for “Visibility” or “Public/Private” toggle.)

Step 3: Event details page

You’ll see several sections on your Event page:

Overview

Event name, dates, location
Status and visibility
Edit button to change any of these

Classes (or Divisions)

Where you’ll define solo, duet, group, etc.
More details below in Competition Setup

Rounds

Where you schedule which classes judge in which time slots
More details below in Rounds section

Public Info

Short description visible to dance participants
Example: “Join us for the 8th annual Northeast Regional Championship. Ages 10-18 welcome.”
Edit this to make dancers interested in your event

Venue Details

Address, parking info, etc.
Dancers will see this if event is public

Step 4: Upload event branding (optional)

You can add a logo or banner image:

Look for Event Image or Logo Upload section
Click Upload Image or + Add Image
Select image from your computer (JPG or PNG)
Click Save
The image will appear on public event pages

What image to use:

Event logo or competition branding (300x300 pixels works well)
Tournament logo
Hosting organization logo

Common sections in Event Setup

Overview

What you set here:

Event name and code
Start/end dates
Location and venue details
Brief description
Public/private visibility

Example Overview:

Event Name: Northeast Regional Championship 2026
Event Code: NRC2026
Start: March 15, 2026
End: March 15, 2026
Location: Boston Convention Center, Boston, MA
Description: Regional championship for U10-U18 dancers.
Visibility: Public

Classes (or Divisions or Categories)

Different competition categories. Examples:

Solo (individual dancers)
Duet (2 dancers)
Trio (3 dancers)
Group (4+ dancers)

You’ll set up classes in Competition Setup.

Rounds and Judging Panels

On what days/times do specific classes judge?

Example:

Round 1: Saturday 9:00 AM - Group classes (Jazz, Contemporary)
Round 2: Saturday 2:00 PM - Solo classes (Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet)
Round 3: Sunday 9:00 AM - Finalistas

You’ll set up rounds in Manager Guide - Rounds or Competition Setup.

Registration & Payment Settings

If you want competitors to pay registration fees:

Look for Payment Settings or Registration Fees
Set the fee per dancer/team
Choose payment method (on-site, Stripe, etc.)
Dancers will see this during registration

What each button does

Button	What It Does	When to Use
Save	Saves all changes on current page	After any edit
Publish	Makes event publicly visible	When ready for dancers to register
Close Registration	Stops new registrations	When you have enough entries
Start Judging	Locks event, begins rounds	When first round is ready
Print/Export	Downloads participant list	For judges or staff

Verifying your event is set up correctly

After creating the event:

Event name visible
- Go to Manager → Events
- You should see your event listed
- Click it to see the full details page
Dates are correct
- Go to event details
- Confirm start date = March 15, end date = March 15 (or your dates)
Location shows up
- Confirmed on event details page
- Public attendees will see this
Status is Draft (if still building) or Accepting Registrations (if open)
- See Status dropdown at top of event page
No error messages
- If you see red errors, fix the offending fields before continuing

Next steps

After event setup:

Competition Setup — Define classes/divisions and scoring rules
Rounds — Schedule judging times and assign judges
Registration — Open registration for dancers
Live Judging — Run the competition

Troubleshooting

“I don’t see a Create Event button”

Verify you’re in Manager (click Manager link)
Look for Events page or section
Button might be labeled + New Event or Create Event
If still not visible, you might not have organizer permissions (see Organizer setup)

“I created the event but it’s not showing up”

Refresh the page (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R)
Go to Manager → Events → find your event in the list
If it’s not in the list, try creating it again (previous create might have had an error)

“I need to change the event name”

Go to the event in Manager
Look for Edit button next to the event name
Change the name
Click Save

“I set the wrong date”

Go to event details
Find Overview or Event Details section
Click Edit
Change the dates
Click Save

“Can I delete an event?”

It depends on your federation’s rules:

If no dancers have registered: Usually yes, click Delete (if shown)
If dancers have registered: Usually no — the event is locked. Contact federation admin if you really need to delete it.

When you’re ready

Your event is ready to move to Competition Setup when:

✓ Event name and dates are correct
✓ Location is set
✓ Status is Draft (if still building) or public visibility is confirmed
✓ No error messages

Next: Competition Setup — Define classes and divisions

Voting: enable/disable audience voting
Live: control public live/result visibility behavior
Sponsors: sponsor setup and sales if enabled for your environment. See Sponsors guide.

Event setup done checklist

Event image and status are correct
Competitions/floors/users are complete
Schedule pages are built and published state is intentional
Validator has no blocking errors
Public-facing modules are configured as intended