How to Build a Public Score Archive for Musabaqah (مسابِقہ)

A Musabaqah (مسابِقہ) is a Qur’an recitation competition that takes place across various Muslim communities and organisations globally. These events are essential for encouraging memorisation, refining recitation (tajwīd), and promoting excellence in the Qur’anic sciences. One crucial aspect of a modern Musabaqah is transparency and performance tracking — both of which are served well by a public score archive.

This article outlines how to build a structured, accessible, and reliable public score archive for Musabaqah events, focusing on both technical and procedural aspects. The goal is to help organisers design a system that provides long-term value for competitors, judges, educators, and audiences.

Why a Public Score Archive Matters

Maintaining a public score archive brings several benefits:

  • Transparency: Enables participants and observers to view scoring objectively, reducing disputes and ambiguity.
  • Historical Access: Offers long-term references for institutions and individuals analysing trends over time.
  • Recognition: Showcases high performers over the years, motivating new competitors.
  • Data-Driven Improvements: Enables organisers and trainers to assess patterns and refine judging criteria or teaching methods.

Components of an Effective Score Archive

Before deciding on a platform or implementation method, it’s important to define what the archive should include. A comprehensive Musabaqah score archive should consist of the following components:

  • Event Details: Name, date, location, organiser, and category structure.
  • Participant Information: Names (or participant IDs for privacy), age group, institution affiliation, and Qur’anic section (e.g., Juz’ or Surah).
  • Judges’ Scores: Individual scoring across judging categories such as memorisation accuracy, tajwīd, voice, rhythm, fluency, and overall impression.
  • Total and Normalised Scores: Final results computed from detailed scores, optionally normalised by category or judging method.
  • Final Rankings: Awards, positions, or qualification status.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building the Archive

1. Define Archive Scope and Access

Determine whether the archive will contain scores from one-time events, annual competitions, or multiple organisers. Also clarify the visibility rules:

  • Should all scores be viewable publicly?
  • Will names be anonymised for child participants?
  • Will judges be named or hidden?

A policy document addressing these points ensures consistency and protects participant privacy.

2. Design the Data Structure

A well-planned data model will make storage, retrieval, and analysis more efficient. Consider the following relational structure:

  • Events Table (event name, date, location)
  • Categories Table (event_id, age group, level)
  • Participants Table (participant_id, name, institution, category_id)
  • Judges Table (judge_id, name, role)
  • Scores Table (participant_id, judge_id, category_id, score_type, score_value)

For smaller events, this can be built initially in a spreadsheet tool like Google Sheets or Excel. For larger events, a relational database such as MySQL or PostgreSQL offers greater flexibility.

3. Choose a Platform

Depending on your organisational capacity, technical expertise, and budget, the archive can be implemented using several platforms:

  • Spreadsheets: Google Sheets can publish live documents with read-only permissions. Simple filtering and sorting provide basic user interaction.
  • Static Website: Tools like Jekyll or Hugo can generate read-only HTML pages from structured data files (e.g., CSV or JSON).
  • Custom Web App: A dynamic archive built using frameworks like Laravel (PHP), Django (Python), or Node.js provides user authentication, filtering, search, and aggregation tools.

Whichever platform is chosen, ensure the design is mobile-responsive and accessible to people with visual impairments.

4. Implement Data Entry Processes

Accurate and consistent data entry is essential. Establish protocols for:

  • Judge Inputs: Judges should enter raw scores, preferably through a centralised interface. Alternatively, score sheets can be transcribed by staff.
  • Validation: Scoring sheets should undergo a double-check routine to prevent entry errors.
  • Formatting: Standardise date formats, names (first name and surname), decimal precision (e.g., 0.5 increments), and score categories.

Automated data import tools can be built using scripting languages like Python to validate and insert CSV data into a database.

5. Publish the Archive

Once the data is confirmed accurate, make the archive available on the event’s official site or platform. Consider the following elements:

  • Clear Filters: Users should be able to browse by event year, category, and institution.
  • Search Function: Enable name or participant number search for fast lookup.
  • Security Considerations: Avoid exposing administrative panels or raw judge comments publicly. Use read-only interfaces.
  • Print and Export: Add download buttons for PDF or CSV formats for institutions and researchers.

Example Score Archive Layout

Here is a conceptual layout for a score archive web page for a particular year:

  • Header: “Quran Recitation Musabaqah – 2024 Results”
  • Subsections:
    • Category A – Under-13 Hifz
    • Category B – Girls Under-16
    • Category C – Open Age Adults
  • Result Table: Each participant row displaying:
    • Name or ID
    • Institution
    • Memorisation Score
    • Tajwīd Score
    • Voice and Fluency Score
    • Total Score
    • Position (1st, 2nd, etc.)

Sometimes this can be accompanied by brief judge remarks (if approved) or certificates in PDF format linked directly from the result page.

Handling Privacy and Data Protection

In regions governed by privacy frameworks like GDPR (Europe) or similar local laws, organisers must obtain explicit consent before publishing names or schools of participants. Best practices include:

  • Allowing participants to opt to use only their initials or participant numbers in public datasets.
  • Avoiding publishing dates of birth, full addresses, or contact information.
  • Setting retention policies: for example, scores may be visible for five years, after which names are anonymised.

Include a privacy notice both on score sheets and the results web page, detailing the purpose of data collection and duration of storage.

Maintaining and Updating the Archive

Once established, the score archive must be kept up-to-date. Consider assigning roles such as:

  • Data Officer: Responsible for entering and verifying results post-event.
  • Web Editor: Responsible for publishing and formatting the data online.
  • Archivist: Manages backups and ensures the archive is preserved annually.

Digitally signing score summaries (e.g., PDF exports) with a timestamp or archive seal can help confirm authenticity in future years.

Integration with Other Tools and Platforms

For institutions with multiple events per year or branches across regions, a centralised platform can streamline updates. Consider integration with:

  • Registration Systems: Automatically link participant data with score records.
  • Judge Apps: Connect native or web-based judging tools to automatically submit scores to the archive.
  • Analytics Dashboards: Visualise trends in scoring distribution, institutional performance, and growth in competitor enrolment over time.

Conclusion

A public score archive is not only a record of competition outcomes but also a tool for community education and institutional accountability. By collecting structured data, ensuring policy adherence, and providing accessible publication means, organisers can build a valuable asset that supports the long-term development of Qur’an recitation initiatives.

If you need help with your Quran competition platform or marking tools, email info@qurancompetitions.tech.

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