Become a Shadow Judge. Learn how to judge. Join the new Shadow Judges' training program.
Get hands on with contest judging through our Shadow Judges training program. Watch the routines the way the official panel does, then see how your scores stack up.
Getting started
Sign into your My Account area.
When a contest is happening, hit the Shadow Judge menu and pick a division that's open for shadow judging. You'll get a built-in pair of clickers right on your screen. The green + button counts positive points, and the red − button counts negatives.
How to score a freestyle
- Tap +1 every time the player lands a trick cleanly.
- Tap +2 or +3 for tricks that are genuinely risky and really earn the extra credit.
- Tap −1 any time the player drops a string, misses a mount, or otherwise stumbles.
- When the routine ends, tap Next to move to the next player. Your scores save as you go, no math required. When you've scored everyone, tap Submit division to lock them in.
Get Feedback and Someday You Could Become a Judge
Clicking freestyles is a fun way to enjoy a yo-yo contest as a spectator, and it gives you a real feel for how the judging system works.
If you submit a full set of clicker scores for every player in a division, you'll get feedback after the contest comparing your scores to the official panel. It's a great way to see how close you got, and whether you ran high or low across the field.
Watch some example clicks
Short videos that show what +1, +2, +3, and the negative click look like in real freestyles. Use the playlist controls to move through them.