Judge Interface Setup

Last updated October 2026  ·  5 min read

The judge page (/judge) is a phone-first screen for referees and judges. It shows each judge their assignments, lets them take a chair on a tatami, and, when the table turns it on, lets them vote from the phone. When a judge is seated, the operator's board shows their name on that chair.

Getting judges connected

• 1
  The judge signs in on their phone Judges open the judge page from the link you send them, or from their staff page or account, and sign in with their own Taikai App account. No account yet? The sign-in screen lets them create one and brings them back.
• 2
  They open your tournament The link already names the tournament. Otherwise they paste the tournament ID on the picker screen.
• 3
  Their assignments appear Each card shows the mat, the chair, the day on multi-day events and the time window (or All day). No assignments yet? The screen says so and points them to the director.

If the judge hasn't checked in yet, the page reminds them to show their badge QR at the judges' table.

Assigning judges

In the Officials section, Mat Assignments puts judges on mats, chairs and time windows. On multi-day tournaments you pick the day, and every mat of the event is listed. To add someone who already has a Taikai App account, use Assign a user as judge and search by name or email; they are added as an approved judge and notified.

Assigning judges is its own permission, assign judges, so a co-director or head table official can seat judges without full access. Judges themselves can't manage the tournament. See Available permissions explained.

Taking a seat

• I'm seated: when the judge sits down in the chair on their assignment, they tap I'm seated. The board shows their name on that chair.
• Seated somewhere else? If they sit in a chair the schedule didn't give them, they pick the tatami and the chair (J1 to J5) and tap I'm seated. Whoever sat there before is relieved, and the judge leaves their previous chair.
• Stand Up: leaves the chair. A judge who is replaced sees that they've been relieved.

The panel on each mat

Panel judges opens the panel editor for a mat. It is on each mat in Live Control, on each Mat Assignments card and on the kata flags boards. It lists who sits in each chair right now. Change a name and the previous judge is relieved. You can also set the panel to 3 or 5 judges for the kata flags division on that mat.

Who sits "now" comes from the assignments: a judge who tapped I'm seated wins, otherwise today's assignment whose time window covers the current time at the venue. Staff with view-only access can see the panel but not change it.

Voting from the phone

Phone voting is off by default and is turned on per tatami by the table. When it is on, a seated judge's phone switches to a full-screen voting view with large AKA and AO buttons, or a score pad for kata points. See Judges voting from their phones.

Director setup checklist

• Get judges into the tournament ahead of time: invite them or approve their applications (see Creating and assigning staff roles).
• Assign each judge to a mat, chair and time before their division starts.
• Have judges sign in and tap I'm seated during the officials' briefing, not when the first match is already waiting.
• Phones need venue Wi-Fi or mobile data. The judge page is a web page; there is nothing to install.