Preliminary Judging

There are five judges and two tally masters. Tally masters are shared with the IML contest.

If a judge notifies IMBB leadership at least five (5) days prior to the start of the contest that they will not be attending, every effort will be made to fill the spot and the new judge will be announced as soon as possible, not less than two (2) days prior to the start of the contest.

In the event that a judge is not able to attend the contest at all with less than five (5) days’ notice, scoring for the IMBB contest will revert to straight scoring, with all four remaining judges’ scores counting toward the final score.

In the event that a judge arrives late or has to leave early due to an emergency and misses a single scored element of the competition, that judge’s score will be dropped as the high score, the lowest score will also be dropped, and three judges’ scores will remain. If the judge misses more than one scored element of competition, they will be dismissed from their judging duties.

Bootblack Skill

40% of final score

One score (0 to 200 - whole numbers only) given from each judge to each contestant. The score sheets are collected at the end of stand time on Saturday afternoon. Scores are tallied as follows:

1. Drop High and Low score for each contestant.

2. Add remaining 3 scores to result in Skill Score. (0 to 600)

3. Review for accuracy.

4. Retain Final Skill Score for later use.

Personal Interview

20% of final score

One score (0 to 100 - whole numbers only) given from each judge to each contestant. The score sheets are collected after each contestant. Scores are tallied as follows:

1. Drop High and Low score for each contestant.

2. Add remaining 3 scores to result in Interview Score. (0 to 300)

3. Review for accuracy.

4. Retain Final Interview Score for later use.

Educational Presentation

15% of final score

One score (0 to 75 - whole numbers only) given from each judge to each contestant. The score sheets are collected after each contestant. Scores are tallied as follows:

1. Drop High and Low score for each contestant.

2. Add remaining 3 scores to result in Education Score. (0 to 225)

3. Review for accuracy.

4. Retain Final Education Score for later use.

Personal Image

10% of final score

One score (0 to 50 - whole numbers only) given from each judge to each contestant. The score sheets are collected on Saturday at the end of stand time. Scores are tallied as follows:

1. Drop High and Low score for each contestant.

2. Add remaining 3 scores to result in Image Score. (0 to 225)

3. Review for accuracy.

4. Retain Final Image Score for later use.

   
   

Computation and Determination of Top 5 Finalists

1. Combine the final Bootblack Skill, Personal Interview, Educational Presentation, and Personal Image scores (0 to 1350).

2. Review for accuracy.

3. The 5 highest Final Preliminary Judging contestant scores will be announced as finalists at the Sunday contest event.

In the event of a tie for 5th place refer to Procedure for the Elimination of Ties - IMBB Preliminary Judging.