Judge Registration

2023 California Invention Convention

April 2023

NOTE: If you are a registered judge and you are not able to fulfill your commitment, please notify us ASAP – contact us

Judge Schedule:

You will be assigned to a “judging circle” where you and other judges will be judging 8-12 inventions from students in the same grade band (Grades K-2, 3,4,5,6-8,9-12). This year the judging will be done via a 4-6 minute video for each invention, as well as PDF files containing the Invention Log and the Display Board/Presentation.

Judge Training:

We ask all judges to watch this 1 hour video which outlines everything a judge needs to know in order to successfully complete the online judging. There are some changes with the judging software since last year, so even if you have judged previously, it would help you to review the video. Judge Training Video.

April 10th – You will receive via email links to the videos and related project information for your judging circle, along with instructions for scoring and entering your scores online.

April 10th- April 20th: At your convenience, you will review the assigned videos and associated documents and then enter your scores, as well as feedback for each inventor. All inventions must be reviewed and scored by 8PM on April 20th, 2023

May 5th – Awards Ceremony – virtual. Details to come. Results will be posted online at California Invention Convention website following week

Requirements of being of judge:

You are 16 or older.
You must be registered through our registration system.
The main requirement is that you are interested in what these inventors have created and are willing to review the assigned invention, completing scoring by 8PM on April 20th, 2023
You have internet access – required to use the online judging system.

To Register as a Judge –
Register No Later than April 3 at 11PM

Go to ca.zfairs.com
Click on the Create Account tab and select Judge.
Follow the instructions. If you need detailed instructions, they are available here Judge Registration

Judge Registration – Detailed Instructions

VERY IMPORTANT!!! IF YOU HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED THIS YEAR AS A TEACHER, YOU HAVE TO MAKE A SMALL ADJUSTMENT WHEN REGISTERING AS A JUDGE. WHEN YOU ENTER YOUR USERNAME and NAME, THEY HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT THAN YOUR FIRST REGISTRATION. So if you registered as Username JSMITH and Name Judy Smith – you then register as a judge with a new Username and change your name to Judith or even add a digit such as Judy Smith1. The system will not allow you to register with the same Username and Name as you used for your teacher registration. You can use the same email.

Notes:

All judges to complete their registration before April 3 at 11PM, 2023.
When your registration is complete, you will receive an email indicating you have successfully completed it.
If you don’t complete the registration, we will send periodic email reminders. Registrations still incomplete on April 4, 2023 will be considered ineligible.

STEP 1 – CREATING YOUR ACCOUNT:

Go to ca.zfairs.com.
1. Select [Create Account] tab located in the upper left hand corner, then Select [JUDGE].
2. Create and enter your Username. Be sure to write this down as you will need it for online judging.
3. Enter your first and last name and email address. This will be the email address we will use if we need to contact you. Note, the Zfairs emails are being blocked by pacbell.net, sbcglobal.net and me.com. Please choose another email for your registration. If you have no other email, then start the registration and we will follow up with you.
4. Click [Save and Continue]

STEP 2 – VERIFYING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

The registration system will ask you to verify your email address
1. Go to your email system and find an email from noreply@zfairs.com Subject: Confirm Email
  1. Note: If you don’t find the email in your inbox, check your junk mail/spam.
2. Open this email and click on the link to verify your account:

Note: If you don’t find the email, check your junk mail/spam.

You will be taken to the Judge’s Profile page.

STEP 3 – JUDGE INFORMATION

Complete the personal information.
Password is minimum 6 characters, at least 1 uppercase letter and 1 lowercase.
If you are an educator, please enter your school or district under Employer.
Click [Save & Continue].

PLEASE WRITE DOWN YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD,

AS YOU WILL NEED THESE TO LOG INTO THE ONLINE JUDGING

Complete the 2^nd page and [Save & Continue]
Complete the 3^rd page and [Save & Continue].

STEP 4 – GUIDELINES AND PERMISSIONS

You will need to check each of the boxes regarding guidelines on this page.

You are over 16 years old.
You have access to your Username and Password.
You will need to have access to the internet to view videos and to post scores.
You will review the 8-12 videos and associated project documentation assigned to you by the deadline.
You will post on your scores online by 8PM April 20, 2023.

Select [Continue]

Step 5. Completion Page

You will receive an Completion email with all the pertinent information including your Username and Judging Schedule. Please read the completion page