How Many Judges Is Too Many?
Judging panels play a crucial role in ensuring the fairness, accuracy, and credibility of assessments across many fields, including academic evaluations, competitive arts, sporting events, and religious competitions such as Quran recitation contests. However, one recurring question arises in the planning stages of many such events: how many judges is the ideal number — and when does it become too many?
In this article, we will explore the considerations, implications, and practical observations related to the number of judges used in a competition or evaluation setting. Our focus will be on achieving a balanced panel that supports fairness and efficiency while avoiding unnecessary complexity or diminishing returns.
Understanding the Role of Judges
Before evaluating how many judges are optimal, it’s important to understand what judges are expected to bring to the evaluation process. The role of a judge includes:
- Ensuring objectivity: Minimising personal bias and maintaining neutrality.
- Verifying quality: Applying specific criteria and ensuring they are met consistently.
- Standardising outcomes: Ensuring consistency across evaluations, especially in large competitions.
- Providing feedback: Offering constructive or formative feedback based on the performance observed.
The structure and number of judges influence how effectively these responsibilities are fulfilled.
Factors Influencing the Ideal Number of Judges
There is no universal number that defines the “correct” number of judges for every context. Instead, the ideal number depends on several key factors:
1. Complexity of Criteria
Different judging scenarios involve differing levels of complexity. For example, spelling competitions generally need only one or two judges because the answers are usually binary (correct or incorrect). By contrast, Quran recitation involves multiple assessment areas such as tajwid (rules of pronunciation), fluency, melody (in certain styles), and overall presentation. Separate judges may be needed for each category to ensure specialised assessment.
- A simple performance may be adequately judged by 1–3 judges.
- A multi-criteria performance might require 4–6 judges who are each experts on a specific component.
2. Size of the Competition
Large competitions with numerous participants spanning multiple age groups or regions often require a proportionally larger judging team. This helps manage workloads, maintain accuracy across many assessments, and ensure that the competition can proceed efficiently without unnecessary delays.
- Small competitions (10–20 participants) can typically manage with 2–3 judges.
- Medium to large competitions (50+ participants or regional stages) may need 5–7 judges, often assigned in panels.
3. Available Time and Schedule
Time constraints can greatly influence the number of judges. With limited time to evaluate numerous performances, event organisers may opt to use more judges working in parallel to maintain a tight schedule. This is particularly common where each scoring session consumes considerable time due to detailed analysis or commentary.
4. Scoring System Design
The design of the scoring or marking scheme has a direct impact on how many judges are required. Some systems are intentionally simplified and require unified scoring, while others use separate, weighted score categories that need independent evaluators.
- Unified scorecards (e.g., 1–10 overall performance) can be managed with fewer judges.
- Detailed scorecards (e.g., 5–10 categories with independent scoring) benefit from multiple judges, each focused on their area of expertise.
5. Budget and Logistical Constraints
Adding more judges increases expenses — from judge fees or honoraria to travel, accommodation, and meals. Depending on the competition’s scope and sponsor commitments, organisers may limit judge numbers for financial reasons or due to space limitations at the venue.
Benefits of a Larger Judging Panel
There are valid reasons to increase the number of judges in a competition:
- Redundancy: In case of absence or technical error, an extra judge ensures continuity.
- Bias balancing: Larger panels dilute individual bias, leading to more balanced results.
- Specialisation: Judges can each focus on different components such as memorisation versus voice control.
- Consensus validation: A broader panel may better identify consensus outliers or scoring anomalies.
These advantages are particularly relevant for competitions with high stakes, such as regional, national, or international events. They also offer reputational benefits for organisers, as large, well-structured judging panels are often perceived as more credible.
When Is the Number of Judges Too Many?
While increasing the number of judges can offer benefits, there are clear drawbacks to excessive numbers that can reduce efficiency and introduce unnecessary complications:
1. Increased Complexity
Large panels need a system to coordinate scoring, recording, and reconciling results across all judges. This increases the risk of errors in tallying scores or inconsistent interpretation of scoring criteria. It also slows down the post-assessment processing.
2. Longer Deliberation Times
With more judges, discussions during scoring moderation sessions (especially in subjective assessments) can become prolonged. Arriving at a consensus or resolving discrepancies may take significantly more time.
3. Score Normalisation Challenges
More judges may introduce wider variance in scoring. Without proper statistical techniques (e.g., removing highest and lowest scores or applying z-score standardisation), comparisons can become skewed or inconsistent.
4. Increased Cost and Complexity in Logistics
Catering, accommodation, transportation planning, and overall coordination requirements increase disproportionately with each additional judge. Furthermore, informing and training all judges in the competition’s evaluation standards becomes more complex.
What Do Experts and Past Events Suggest?
Studies and observations from various competitions (including academic and religious events) offer some insights into feasible judge numbers:
- Three to five judges is often seen as the optimal range for balancing diverse opinions with manageable complexity.
- Some events use panels of two or three judges per discipline, especially if the scoring system divides assessment by focus areas (e.g., replay accuracy, fluency, and artistry in musical or Quranic recitation).
- International juries may include reserves or scoring assistants to verify data, not directly counting in the judging total.
One commonly adopted method is to remove the highest and lowest scores and average the remaining ones. This allows variations among 5 to 7 judges while reducing the outlier influence.
For smaller local competitions, however, many organisers note improved efficiency when working with 2–3 qualified judges who deeply understand the topic under review and are well-versed in the scoring rubric.
Best Practices for Selecting the Right Number
Competition organisers seeking to determine the ideal number of judges for their event may find the following steps helpful:
- Define assessment categories early and determine whether each requires a separate judge or can be combined.
- Estimate the number of participants and length of each evaluation to assess total judging time.
- Balance specialisation and simplicity — avoid duplicating roles without necessity.
- Decide the scoring method (e.g., average, trimmed average, ranking) and align it with judge numbers.
- Allow for one or two reserve judges but avoid involving all in final tallying to reduce noise.
Conclusion
Deciding how many judges is too many depends on the nature, scope, and structure of a competition. While larger panels can enhance credibility and reduce bias, they can also introduce logistical complications and affect consistency. In small to medium events, 2 to 5 judges usually suffice, especially with clearly defined scoring procedures. For large-scale competitions, segmenting judging responsibilities and using 5 to 7 well-trained judges often provides a balanced solution.
The key lies in finding a number that supports accurate and fair evaluation without overstretching resources or complicating the scoring process. By carefully considering judging criteria, logistics, and participant numbers, organisers can tailor their judging panels to suit the needs of the competition effectively.
If you need help with your Quran competition platform or marking tools, email info@qurancompetitions.tech.