Prepare the national final

Phase 1 — Feasibility and event structure

DRAFT FOR ORGANISER REVIEW · 6 September 2026 · No committee approval is implied.

Recommended model

Run the fixed four boys’ categories on Saturday and three girls’ categories on Sunday, 10:00–22:00. Use one main arena, one secondary team-quiz room, one Hadith room and one Bayan room. One principal livestream follows the main arena. The team tournament has only one active match at a time, matching the application’s actual architecture. Do not open a second concurrent team match on this server.

Working identity comes from the supplied project: Habibul Qur’aan Seerah Competition 2027, Bolton. The country, exact venue and January 2027 weekend are UNCONFIRMED. These are planning assumptions, not a booking or an approved change to the original brief. Salah blocks below must be repositioned around the venue’s confirmed timetable, with every room paused together.

Participants and capacity

Default: one individual category per student; team entrants do not also enter an individual final. A clash-free exception needs a written timetable and director approval before registration closes. Count each child once when calculating occupancy. A maktab reference is unique within that maktab, not nationally; confirm apparent clashes with the institutions.

Planning audience: two relatives per competitor gives 214 on Saturday and 86 on Sunday. Allow approximately 25/9 teachers and managers respectively, without counting a parent-manager twice. With recommended staffing of 101/87 and 150 additional community guests, estimated occupancy is 597 Saturday and 375 Sunday. Seek a venue approved for at least 600 total people on Saturday and cap tickets against the actual building and room limits. These are capacity estimates, not a fire-safety certification. Ticketing, rooms and accessibility require a venue walk-through.

Competition and qualification structure

Maktab registration → common local/city assessment → regional assessment → national final.

Ladder: 10 finalists → each has an independent 10-question ladder → every finalist completing level 10 can win the top prize. There is no artificial overall tie-break.

Team quiz: R16 (8 matches) → QF (4) → SF (2) → final (1). Seats are 7–9, 10–11, 12–13 and 14–15, with a directed question for every seat on both sides.

Junior/senior ladder divisions are preferred to a single age-adjusted ranking: they give visibly comparable competition within a division and preserve younger students’ access. Restricting the category to older pupils would exclude younger children unnecessarily. All ten still represent distinct cities; allocate city slots first, then the two age divisions, with reserves for each slot.

Qualification policy

• Maktabs register a named coordinator and verify identity, eligibility and parent contact privately. Publish one eligibility date before entries: proposed 1 January of the event year. It requires approval; exact birth dates stay outside the broadcast application.
• Give all approved maktabs the same syllabus, access arrangements, assessment window, marking instructions and appeal route. Offer printed material and a low-cost supervised route where internet is poor.
• Local assessments use centrally issued equivalent papers. Two adults supervise; scripts are identified by reference. Different sessions use alternate forms, not the same exposed paper.
• Regions use independent judges, common calibration, re-verification of identity and an ordered reserve list. Publish regional boundaries and allocations before recruitment.
• More than ten cities: reserve geographical representation under a published allocation, then fill remaining slots by the same regional standard. No unannounced invitation-only places. A second excellent pupil from an already represented city becomes that city’s reserve for the ladder or enters another category at the qualification stage, subject to eligibility.
• Fewer than ten cities: reopen recruitment and offer supported joint qualifiers. Do not silently fill the ladder with duplicate cities. A smaller final or changed representation rule requires a recorded, published committee decision.
• Small maktabs may share a supervised city qualifier. Large maktabs have the same per-city pathway, no purchased national places. A joint team must be allowed by the published entry rules and remain the same registered team through qualification.
• Home-educated pupils enter through an approved participating maktab or a designated assessment partner with equivalent supervision. Pupils attending several maktabs nominate one before the first qualifier.
• Equal qualification scores: apply published criterion totals, then a sealed equivalent tie-break; unresolved equality goes to an independent panel. Never use donations or registration speed.
• Withdrawals use the highest eligible reserve in the same slot, age band and city/region. Notify the replacement’s maktab, verify consent and record the old/new reference and reason. No informal substitution at the lectern.
• Proposed late-entry rule: no entry after secure papers are issued, except correction of an organiser’s administrative error approved in writing. Mergers do not create extra entries. Suspected false identity/age is referred privately; give the manager an opportunity to respond and appeal.

Room plan

Saturday run of show

All times are provisional scheduling blocks. Prayer names indicate required provision, NOT a claim about the time a prayer occurs. The prayer coordinator must move the blocks after the date and venue timetable are known; repeat the capacity calculation afterwards.

Main arena total: registration 40 + opening 20 + ladder 200 + shared breaks 200 + team SF/final 85 + recovery/activity 40 + results 30 + awards 55 + closing 20 + collection 30 = 720 minutes.

The team room needs 12 × 20 = 240 minutes before the semifinals. Its three 80-minute blocks provide exactly 240. This is the tightest constraint: early matches must finish within 20 minutes INCLUDING seating, instructions, adjudication and clearing the tables. Use the compact round plan in Phase 2 and rehearse it. If the measured average exceeds 20 minutes, this timetable fails; reduce early-round inventory before rules are issued, qualify R16 earlier, or approve and build genuine concurrent-match support. Do not promise a second quiz room as an unimplemented workaround.

Hadith maximum assessment time is 6×6 + 6×8 + 6×10 = 144 minutes, plus 18×3 = 54 for movement/marking: 198 minutes. The assigned 80 + 80 + 80 = 240 allows 42 minutes spare. Bayan maximum speech time is 5×4 + 5×5 + 5×6 = 75 minutes, plus 15×3 = 45: 120 minutes, with the second afternoon block available for factual referrals and deliberation.

Sunday run of show

Use the same registration, opening and prayer/food blocks, preserving families’ expectations. Ladder runs 11:00–12:20 (1–4), 13:10–14:30 (5–8), 15:00–15:40 (9–10) with a separate girls’ question bank. Hadith and Bayan use Saturday’s parallel-room allocations. There is no girls’ team quiz. Use 15:40–16:20 for optional audience activity; 17:00–17:50 for approved highlights and practical lessons, and 18:30–19:05 for approved guest contributions or buffer. Results review 19:45–20:15, awards 20:15–21:10, closing 21:10–21:30, collection by 22:00. Shorten optional programme if children are tired. Families may collect after their category and appoint someone to receive awards; no child must wait all day solely for a certificate.

Each stage slot requires the assigned operator, quizmaster, panel, scorekeeper/steward and chaperone; room operators remain with their own module. Shared breaks include movement. A stage manager alone cues movement and category change. Team and main-arena operators coordinate before taking the same team state to the semifinals.

Staffing and feasibility decision

Saturday minimum 83, recommended 101 distinct people; Sunday minimum 69, recommended 87 after removing the team-room and team-supervision requirement. Full breakdown is in Phase 6. Four panels operate simultaneously on Saturday, requiring 14 active judges (3 ladder, 3 team, 3 Hadith, 5 Bayan), plus three independent appeal/relief scholars. The broadcast minimum is six dedicated technical people. Do not count the same person simultaneously as an operator, judge, chaperone and camera operator.

Feasible conditionally: participant numbers can remain as requested, with short early team matches, parallel individual rooms and one livestream. A single-stage production of every assessment is not feasible in this schedule. Private Hadith assessment is the default; use selected consented Bayan highlights, not a promise to stream all rooms live.

Ten main risks and decisions

Completed: capacity model, pathway, rooms, two-day programme, staffing model and risks. Assumptions: location/year, occupancy, match duration, allocations and the six-month preparation horizon. Organiser decisions: confirm these in the decision register. Next phase input: approved date, venue, eligibility date, rule choices, source editions and named leads. Current approval status: NOT RECORDED.

Phase 2 — Draft rulebook, judging and question governance

DRAFT FOR ORGANISER AND SCHOLAR APPROVAL · These rules describe a proposed issue for managers, not an already published regulation. Operational defaults are distinguished from software limits. Read alongside config.json; do not change a published rule without recording the amendment, reason and notice to all affected entrants.

General eligibility and conduct

Ages 7–15 on the single published eligibility date. Register through an approved maktab, with guardian consent, child assent and private age verification. One individual final per child; no team/individual overlap by default. Reserves must match the vacated age/representation slot. A reserve does not inherit the withdrawn pupil’s marks or attempt. Requests for reasonable adjustments are considered before qualification; changes to time, format or access must preserve the assessed skill and be documented privately.

A candidate receives clear instructions, a practice example and the right to ask for the question to be read again unchanged before answering. No coaching, visible devices, audience signals or unpublished personal notes. Deal with adult interference through the responsible adult; support the child without public blame. Withdrawals and disqualifications require a reason, head-judge ruling and appeal route.

Who Wants to Be a Jannati?

Ten finalists per day from ten cities: five aged 7–10 and five aged 11–15. Every finalist has a fresh ten-level ladder with four options per question. Saturday and Sunday use separate banks. Difficulty increases by approved ladder position, not by surprise wording or obscure disputes.

Timing: the approved card carries the permitted response time; the shipped default for imports is 30 seconds. A proposed junior/senior adjustment must be approved and placed on every relevant question card before competition. Start the clock only after the quizmaster finishes reading the question and options and the operator shows them. Pause only on an authorised technical/safeguarding stop, recording the remaining time. The panel decides any restart after a misread question.

The operator selects the contestant’s clearly stated option. They may change it until they explicitly request lock or the authorised timeout procedure is invoked. The operator repeats the option and locks. No changes after lock. On timeout with no answer, the head judge records no answer/incorrect after checking that the full time was available; software must not invent an answer. The quizmaster awaits the head judge’s confirmation before announcing or revealing.

A correct answer advances after score verification. An incorrect answer ends the ladder after its result is verified. Proposed protected prize levels are 3, 7 and 10, matching the current configuration; the cash/value schedule is UNCONFIRMED. The funded maximum liability is ten top prizes per day, twenty across the weekend, because everyone may win. A withdrawal banks only the last verified protected level, subject to published terms. Never advertise a top prize before this liability is funded. Completion of level 10 wins the top prize independently; shared success is permitted.

Three lifelines, one use each:

Both age divisions use the same lifeline access. No nominated-supporter lifeline is added in this version. A failed technical poll before advice is received may be restored by the head judge with a recorded reason; if advice has been received it is spent. Record manual percentages; do not claim the app contains a live audience voting platform. Audience call-outs stop the question; the panel determines whether a sealed equivalent replacement is necessary. The contestant does not benefit from an exposed answer by simply restarting the same question.

Misread/invalid question: private blue signal → head-judge confirmation → original withdrawn → unused matching replacement → full neutral reread and reset clock. Use the same day, division, level and difficulty. Do not show the withdrawn question again. If there is no valid replacement, suspend the attempt and retain verified progress for a scheduled resumption. Do not improvise religious facts.

Team competition: fifteen matches

Sixteen teams, four registered seats: 7–9, 10–11, 12–13 and 14–15. No seat substitution during a match except a documented welfare withdrawal and equivalent pre-approved reserve. Teams sit in fixed A/B positions for the match; a private draw determines initial order. Alternate directed/team questions to equalise opportunity. The operator records the target side and seat before displaying the question.

Compact early-match format, to be timed in rehearsal:

The shipped rapid round handles one prompt per load, not an automatic stream of ten questions within a minute. This draft therefore calls it rapid response and allocates two prompts. A true multi-question rapid-fire round needs a separate published timing/marking definition and implementation before use.

A proposed early match fits about 17 minutes of play/administration plus 3 minutes movement/tie allowance; SF has 25 minutes, final 35. The timetable is conditional on a complete rehearsal achieving this. Every seat must answer a directed question before finishing; any welfare exception requires head-judge authorisation and a written reason. A level score cannot close a match.

First buzzer receipt at the server wins and locks the other team out. Device/network transit affects arrival time; timestamps are server-receipt order, not a physical scientific measurement. Use the same connection type for both teams. Check with simultaneous drills. An authorised manual override needs a reason; if the order cannot be established fairly, discard that question and use a sealed equivalent. Use paddles/bells and an independent steward as the manual fallback.

An answer may be self-corrected before lock and before time expires. No correction after lock. Questions are read in full; buzzing while the reader is still speaking is disabled operationally. The second team cannot receive a question after its answer has been publicly revealed. This rulebook uses no passing. The pass button has been removed, and the server refuses the former pass command. The application records score corrections separately and withholds new public points until the head judge verifies them.

Content variants such as identify the person/event, chronology, people/places, journey maps and practical application may use the directed, team or buzzer structure if the answer card makes the response objective. No map/media question enters a sealed pack before the asset licence, accessibility and answer boundaries are verified. Complete-the-Hadith prompts require exact approved source wording; they are not generated here.

Inventory for 15 matches: 120 directed, 60 team, 60 buzzer and 30 rapid = 270 primary prompts. Add 24/12/12/6 reserves (54) and 30 paired tie-break prompts plus 6 reserves: 360 total. Allocate reserves by seat, difficulty and match, not just a pooled grand total. Record a unique ID, allocation and reserve status for every slot before commissioning. Actual question content remains draft until human approval.

Forty Ahadith: all divisions, both days

Proposed preparation: ages 7–9 prepare the approved first 10 selections; 10–12 prepare 20; 13–15 prepare all 40. Selection numbers depend on the confirmed compilation, not an assumed ordering. The panel publishes the list, Arabic, accepted translation, narrator requirement and vocabulary. Younger division: Arabic plus age-appropriate meaning and one lesson. Middle: Arabic, translation, narrator where prescribed, two lessons. Senior: Arabic, translation, prescribed narrator, understanding and realistic application. Do not add chains of narration unless the syllabus explicitly requires them.

Each candidate is examined on three random eligible selections without replacement within the attempt. The operator/panel confirms the selected IDs privately; no selection or text reaches the public screen. Avoid systematic easier draws: use an approved balanced selection schedule or equivalent difficulty strata. The current app provides random selection, not a guaranteed stratified assessment; the panel must review equivalence before opening an attempt.

Time allowances: 6/8/10 minutes for younger/middle/senior. A warning precedes the end; give the same instructions to everyone. The head judge records approved extra time separately. Begin from the published start cue; a prompt is a supplied word or continuation after the standard pause. A successful self-correction before a supplied prompt is counted separately. The tally labels omitted, added, changed words, pronunciation, hesitation, prompts and self-correction identify the error; they do not automatically produce a final mark.

Suggested tally weights in software: prompt 3, omitted/added/changed word 2, pronunciation 1, hesitation 1, self-correction 0.5. They are calibration aids only. Avoid double-penalising a single error under several labels; the assigned examiner exercises judgement against the rubric. Accepted translation alternatives and pronunciation tolerances must be on the scholarly card. Meaning must be assessed at the child’s developmental level, not by requiring an adult essay.

All three seats submit independently. Head judge moderates only after all are in; adjustment limited to ±5 with a reason for non-zero changes. No result publication before moderation. Rankings break equal totals using Arabic, memorisation, translation, then meaning. If still equal, conduct the approved oral tie-break and record the resulting order and reason. Private criterion marks remain private; publish placings and participation by default.

Seerah Bayan

Five finalists in each 7–9, 10–12 and 13–15 division per day. The approved topic pool is published before qualification. Younger target 3 minutes (allowed 2–4), middle 4 (3–5), senior 5 (4–6); warning begins 30/30/45 seconds before target. The app counts overtime so the panel can assess actual duration.

One small outline card is proposed; reasonable adjustments may allow a script or alternative delivery. Publish the exact note rule before entries. Adult help may explain sources and rehearse clarity but the pupil must understand the content. AI assistance may help organise an outline only under teacher supervision; disclose it, verify every claim and quotation, and never pass off generated Arabic or invented references as evidence. Copied speeches are not original work. Address suspected copying privately and investigate before applying a sanction.

Five independent judges submit all criteria. Remove the highest and lowest total; average the other three. A factual religious concern is referred to the head scholar and blocks publication until a written ruling. Judges do not settle disputed religious claims by majority audience opinion. Arabic quotations need verified wording and appropriate attribution. Do not reward volume, accent, theatricality or family popularity over understanding.

Proposed timekeeping bands: full 4 within the allowed range, 2 up to 30 seconds outside, 0 beyond 30 seconds; no additional automatic deduction. Apply approved welfare adjustments first. The rubric entry remains the judge’s mark. A child who freezes may take a brief supported pause; the head judge decides whether to resume, restart under an equivalent condition, or withdraw without public criticism. No invented consolation facts or exaggerated praise in the script.

Tie order: Islamic accuracy, understanding, lessons, delivery, evidence; unresolved ties need a panel decision following the published additional assessment, recorded with reasons. Do not infer an order from participant IDs.

Judging, signals and appeals

Panels declare connections before allocating candidates; recuse teachers of the candidate and other material conflicts. An independent substitute completes the relevant marking. Calibration uses the same practice candidates, rubric and agreed error examples. Individual marks are entered before discussion; outliers prompt a private process check, not forced agreement. Score corrections identify original value, new value, reason, authority and affected placing. Never allow an OBS operator to adjudicate.

Quiz sequence: contestant answers → operator locks → panel verifies → head judge confirms green/red/blue (amber while reviewing) → quizmaster announces → graphics reveal → scorekeeper/operator applies → head judge verifies → public score updates. Amber is not permission to reveal. Blue means replacement, not incorrect.

Only the registered manager may lodge, directly or through the authorised desk. Proposed deadline: 30 minutes from the disputed result, with question/attempt ID, written ground and supporting source or procedural evidence. The existing software accepts a manager name but does not authenticate it against a separate manager register; the desk must verify identity. A procedure complaint must not be rejected merely because its evidence is an incident record rather than a book page. Late acceptance needs the head judge’s written reason.

An independent three-person panel hears it; the appellant cannot sit on it, and connected original judges recuse. Record evidence, ruling, corrective action, progression impact and notification. Affected placings stay on hold. If a correction changes a played bracket, freeze the downstream match, decide replay/adjustment consistently, and notify both managers before restart. The existing casebook records the decision; it does not automatically recalculate historical brackets. A written decision is provided privately; no arguing on stage. Unaffected awards may continue.

Governance and paper cards

Writer drafts and records exact source → first scholar → independent second scholar → age check → language edit → independent test-play → unique ID/version → digital entry → print/digital comparison → final approver → sealed pack. All seven recorded sign-offs are required; editing material wording invalidates them. Source, edition, chapter/section and page must be confirmed. No blank or placeholder reference can receive final approval. Signer names in the software record the authorised human action; the software is not a scholar.

Reader card: ID/version/day/division/match/seat, exact text/options, marks, time, conferring/passing, stop-reading point, timer/OBS cues; no answer. Head-judge card: confidential answer, alternatives, key words/pronunciation, explanation, full source, marking notes, replacement. Technical card: scene, timer, lock, head-judge confirmation, reveal, score and next cue. Use large high-contrast A5 landscape matt cards with written category labels, sequence and used/invalid/reserve boxes. The print builder separates boys’ and girls’ ladder packs and leaves confidential judge and technical cards unselected by default. Paper score sheets use the current configured Hadith/Bayan rubric and dedicated ladder/team recording layouts. Check the selected card types, cohort, rubric and page layout in print preview before sealing; use a two-person opening/return log, numbered seals and restricted collection. A reader packet is answer-free, but the print workstation itself uses privileged content access and must remain with the authorised pack preparer.

Completed: draft rules, rubrics, judging sequence, appeals process, governance and card requirements. Outstanding approvals: eligibility date, timings, prize funding, note/AI rules, deduction calibration, question counts, qualification boundaries and published appeal window. Risks: subjective-equivalence, late appeals, short matches, shared role PINs. Next phase: confirm room/screen routing and technical rehearsal owners. No rulebook issue or human sign-off has been fabricated.

Phase 3 — Screens, OBS and media production

DRAFT PRODUCTION PLAN · One public stream, four competition spaces, one authoritative server. Venue, stream platform, consent arrangements and available equipment remain unconfirmed.

Signal routing

Competition server → role-filtered event stream → venue/contestant/browser graphics. The application owns questions, timers, judging state, scores and bracket. OBS composites approved public graphics with cameras and audio; it never becomes the competition database.

A separate room URL pins the displayed category, not a second concurrent match. A monitor mirrored from the judge’s desktop is prohibited. Physically label cables and inputs: PUBLIC / CONTESTANT / JUDGES / CONTROL. Test a private-answer marker on every output before connecting the projector or going live. Do not use desktop/window capture of a machine that also opens confidential tabs.

The shared PIN scheme is suitable only for a supervised isolated venue network, not public internet hosting. Buzzer devices use only their assigned buzzer route. The server confines their event feed to team controls and refuses the private /api/ routes; the control-role ladder bank omits answers and confidential adjudication fields. Keep public and private workstations distinct. Answer access after an authorised public reveal is expected on public displays; sealed future answers and judge notes remain private.

Graphic direction and accessibility

Preserve the supplied identity: deep green, gold, cream and white, with calm typography and restrained geometric decoration. The existing local logo is reused unchanged; the supplied download had no logo assets. Do not claim it was newly drawn or made transparent. Keep titles, question options, timer and target team as distinct visual levels. Use large option text, generous line height and four stable option positions. Reserve a safe inner margin of approximately 5% for broadcast overscan/cropping; confirm on the actual screen.

Label every status in words as well as colour: Correct, Incorrect, Reviewing, Invalid. Never rely on red/green alone. Preserve right-to-left Arabic with an installed, licensed Arabic face; no external font request should be required. Test mixed Arabic/English punctuation and long passages on the actual Windows/macOS devices. Read the question from the rear row and check contrast under venue lighting. Use no flashing winner effect or pressure soundtrack. Consent warnings stay on private crew screens.

OBS scene collection

Generate with node tools/make-obs-scenes.js followed by the actual server URL. Import obs/habibul-2027-scenes.json into OBS. The collection supplies 21 scenes and 16 shared sources, including labelled camera placeholders. Replace each camera placeholder with the relevant capture device on the OBS machine. Named scenes are cue labels, not an automatic run-of-show engine. Scenes using /display or /overlay follow the application’s on-air category, so check that category before taking them. The bracket source is fixed to the team category. Starting, welcome, closing and break scenes have independent slate URLs over a solid background; they do not reuse the current question graphic. The solid-only emergency scene requires neither the browser nor the competition server. Import, audio routing and actual capture hardware still require an OBS rehearsal.

Use cuts for question/answer transitions and a short dissolve for ordinary camera changes; rehearse the actual collection. A camera placeholder must never be mistaken for a working camera. Check that names of generated scenes match the collection before assigning hardware buttons.

Broadcast workflow and privacy cutaway

Before each child: stage manager checks roster flags and paper permission, privately confirms assent, briefs camera/audio crew and chooses the permitted shot. Public stream, local recording, photography and name/maktab display are separate decisions. Recording-only permission does not authorise livestreaming. A child’s refusal overrides the planned shot; use an agreed neutral or audio-only alternative only if that use is authorised.

The generated scene 21 Emergency privacy cutaway contains only a solid colour source, with no camera, desktop capture, browser or scene-specific microphone source. Keep that scene independent when mapping devices in OBS and assign a dedicated tested key. Do not depend on the application’s holding command alone: a server or network failure could prevent it. Disable global microphone capture or verify an independent audio mute, because changing a scene may not mute globally configured audio. The technical director calls privacy cut; the OBS operator acts immediately, the audio engineer mutes, then the safeguarding lead decides recovery.

Rehearse consent withdrawal during a close-up and a private conversation during technical delay. Use rehearsal footage only with permission. A livestream delay may offer a response window but is not protection by itself; measure it and test how to stop a queued segment on the chosen platform. Platform and delay duration remain unconfirmed.

One main stream records a local master on the OBS machine plus an independent backup recording where equipment allows. Secondary rooms record locally only when approved and staffed; selected clips are reviewed for content and consent before highlights. No promise of simultaneous live coverage from every room without separate crews. If uplink fails, continue the local competition and local recording, show a connection notice where possible, and resume only after the uplink is stable. Do not restart or reset scoring because internet is down.

Audio plan

Provide an MC/quizmaster mic, contestant mic, two table mics or managed handhelds, a lectern mic for Bayan, and a separate approved examination arrangement for Hadith. Keep judges’ consultation off the public mix. Use close microphone placement and a soundcheck from the child’s actual position. Have a wired spare available and clearly label channels.

Separate the venue mix from the stream/record mix. Avoid feeding the stream return into the hall microphones; headphones monitor the stream. Ring out the PA at rehearsal, place speakers ahead of microphones and minimise open channels. Do not use an audience roaming mic near the loudspeaker. Record speech intelligibly, check peaks and leave headroom. The audio engineer alone changes gain during play. No unlicensed commercial music or unapproved sound cues.

Cameras and lighting

Essential two cameras: stable wide shot and presenter/contestant close-up, both on secure tripods. Recommended third operator for teams/roaming, with camera-free routes marked. A judge shot is optional and must exclude private screens/cards. Match white balance, exposure and chosen frame rate, then test lighting flicker in the actual venue. Rehearse focus and headroom for short and tall children. Secure capture devices/cables; keep tripods and cable runs outside emergency paths. A missing consent check means staying on the safe shot.

Equipment tiers

Do not purchase by generic list alone: validate connections, latency and venue power. Budget figures require actual quotes. A commercial buzzer is robust when supported locally; USB/HID avoids radio but needs tested key mapping; network buttons use existing devices but depend on fair connectivity; microcontrollers require engineering/support; manual paddles are the simplest fallback. The shipped implementation is network buttons plus authorised manual override, not drivers for every hardware brand.

Staffing and technical rehearsal

Minimum technical six: technical/OBS director, audio engineer, graphics operator, two camera operators and technical runner. Recommended nine separates director and OBS, adds backup/recording operator and another camera/runner. Competition operators and scorekeepers are separately budgeted. Stage manager cues every category, lights, microphones and movement. Stream moderator has a separate account and escalates abuse without discussing children publicly.

Check local-network routing, hidden-answer tests, Arabic, long names, 200% text zoom on judge devices, camera permissions, recorder playback, drive capacity, UPS, network loss, internet loss, projector loss, server recovery, both buzzers failing, invalid questions and emergency cutaway. Record what was tested, by whom, device/version and corrective action. Software tests do not sign off a physical rehearsal.

Completed: routing, graphic principles, 21-scene collection with independent break slates and a solid-only privacy cutaway, audio/camera plans, equipment tiers and roles. Outstanding: venue/network survey, consented capture plan, platform, licence register, actual device mapping, physical rehearsals and measured latency. Next phase: run the application’s acceptance checks and deployment/recovery procedures. No public stream or external deployment has been created.

Phase 4 — Application architecture, operating manual and recovery

IMPLEMENTATION RECORD · 7 September 2026 · Local rehearsal application. Do not confuse passing automated tests with approval to run the national final.

What exists

Node.js 18+ using only built-in modules. No install dependencies or build service is required. Browser pages use plain HTML/CSS/JavaScript. Live updates use Server-Sent Events and commands use HTTP POST. The actual storage is JSON files with append-only result/audit logs, not SQLite or WebSockets. This preserves the supplied application; it avoids inventing a migration which has not been performed.

An exclusive data/server.lock prevents a second live process from writing the same folder. It releases on normal exit and checks a previous process before removing a stale lock after a crash; an invalid or ambiguous lock needs technical review. Never delete a lock simply because a second launch was refused. This lock does not coordinate separate copied folders, so only one copy may be the authoritative venue server.

One process contains four independent category states: ladder, team, Hadith and Bayan. It supports those categories in parallel, but only one active team match, one Hadith candidate and one Bayan candidate at a time. The single-match timetable in Phase 1 respects that limitation.

Folders: modules/ contains four state machines; lib/ contains governance helpers, parsers, rosters, rankings, appeals, drills, readiness, storage and backups; public/ contains browser screens; data/ contains banks, rosters, records and backups; tools/ contains recovery and OBS generation; obs/ contains the generated scene collection; docs/ contains the project pack; test/ contains isolated checks and demo fixtures. original-claude-download.zip preserves the flattened download exactly.

Start and connect

1. Open a terminal in the project folder and run node server.js, or use Start competition.command on this Mac. For a preview restricted to the server laptop, run HOST=127.0.0.1 node server.js; use the configured venue address only when setting up the supervised event network.

2. Open http://localhost:4040 on the server laptop. Start at Readiness.

3. Other venue devices open the laptop’s printed LAN address. Reserve its address on the router. Wire server, OBS and displays; keep guests on a separate network.

4. Use the PIN for the assigned role, issued privately by the technical lead. The supplied default PINs remain rehearsal-only. Startup requires five distinct PINs of four to eight digits. Configure unique non-default PINs before live use; do not publish them in a handout for families.

5. Import confirmed rosters, record consent accurately, import approved-source content, complete human sign-offs, rehearse and resolve blockers. The admin alone switches to live; changing day or mode clears active category states and cannot be undone across that boundary.

Do not publish or port-forward this local PIN-protected system. HTTPS, individual accounts, credential/session management and infrastructure controls would be a separate deployment project. The saved configuration’s name/year/place are inherited working values and still need organiser confirmation.

Permissions and state

Current roles: operator/control, judge, head judge, buzzer and admin. Reader, graphics and scorekeeper are operational assignments using restricted views and procedures; the application does not yet have a separate named account and independent PIN for every staff member. Supporting judges cannot confirm/reveal or finalise results. Each judge must use only the assigned seat. Shared judge PINs mean the server does not prove the real-world identity of a person selecting a seat; named sign-offs, supervised allocation and conflict declarations remain essential.

Reader access: /scripts and /quizmaster provide spoken cues without a judge card. The control-role ladder bank returns an allowlist of question fields without the correct answer, alternatives, explanation or adjudication notes. Buzzer access is limited to the team event feed and table commands; it cannot read the private /api/ endpoints. Reader is still an operational assignment, not a separate role account. Preparing printed packs requires privileged content access; distribute only the selected answer-free reader pages.

Ladder flow: Prepared → Loaded → Live → Selected → Awaiting judgment after lock → Judgment confirmed → Revealed → Score applied → Score verified → Completed/next level. The server filters confidential payloads rather than hiding them with CSS. Ending an unasked question must not reveal its answer. An invalid question cannot be reshown. Explicit selection cannot bypass the day, division, level or used-question checks. Team questions stay used across matches; day-specific ladder material separates boys and girls.

Private judging: three-seat Hadith assessment, moderation then publication; five-seat Bayan assessment, highest/lowest removal, factual referrals resolved before publication. Placings publish separately and unresolved ties require a recorded decision. Raw marks stay private by default. Public points update only after score verification. Public room displays may pin a category using /display?room=team, /display?room=hadith or /display?room=bayan, while /display follows the main programme. /results publishes current-day Hadith/Bayan placings and completed ladder/team outcomes. /overlay/scoreboard and /overlay/bracket stay on team state; /overlay/lower-third omits the question/options area. Independent /slate holding screens contain neutral messages rather than live questions. All public views still honour the global holding state where applicable; a slate displays the public event message.

Content edits cannot change a currently loaded item. Material edits void approval; no item counts as approved with blank or unconfirmed reference fields. Live operation always enforces approval. The go-live transition evaluates live requirements and a manual edit of config.json cannot bypass startup readiness checks. Final sign-off remains an authorised human decision, not AI verification.

The launcher links to /handbook (also /operations), which renders the draft planning and operating documents. Rebuild it with npm run handbook after editing the source documents. /audit is restricted to the head judge/admin and displays the recent audit trail; full logs are included in complete backups. /head-judge and /scorekeeper are aliases for existing judging/control consoles, not additional permission roles.

Logical data and actual storage

Backups and disaster recovery

Back up at every break, before switching day/mode and after awards. The complete backup contains configuration, current state, all banks, rosters, approvals, casebook, drills, content history and FULL live and rehearsal logs. Per-file checksums detect accidental corruption; they are not a digital signature against malicious alteration. Complete downloads require the admin PIN because the backup includes access credentials and private records. Keep it off the control laptop on encrypted/removable storage with controlled custody. A backup on the same failed drive is not disaster recovery.

Recovery command, with the server application available:

node tools/restore-backup.js "path/to/backup.json" --to "path/to/new-recovery-folder"

The tool validates the format, required files, safe paths and checksums; refuses an existing destination; creates a new runnable copy; and pauses every timer. It preserves the saved day, mode and PINs. Stop the original server before starting the recovery copy on the venue address. Open the private console, compare question/attempt, verified score and last recorded action with the paper record, then resume only on the head judge’s authority. Retain both the original and recovery copy for reconciliation. Older Claude snapshots contain state only and cannot be treated as complete recovery packs.

State changes are written atomically before a successful command response. Running timers checkpoint approximately once per second and restart paused; up to one checkpoint interval may need reconciliation after abrupt power loss. Corrupt or incomplete category state refuses startup rather than silently replacing the scoreboard. Core timer, result-list and bracket shapes are checked; this is not a full schema migration system. A known state, content, roster, audit or result write failure holds the public screen and stops further commands. The failed command restores its previous in-memory competition state; an already-written side file must still be reconciled before recovery. Separate result/audit/bank/config files are not a single transactional database; hard failure during a multi-file change still requires paper/audit reconciliation. Never claim database-grade transactional recovery.

Operator action cards

• Ladder: call roster entry → load next correct bank question → read/show → start timer → select/repeat/lock → wait → reveal only after head judge confirms → apply → head judge verifies → next level or end. A withdrawal needs a reason; do not bypass pending judgment to announce a result.
• Team: choose unplayed match → select round/seat and target side → load unused question → read/show → enable buzzers after reading where applicable → capture/lock → judge confirmation → reveal/apply/verify → next. Passing is disabled, including the former direct command. Finish only with a non-tied verified score and every seat accounted for. Advance the bracket once. Team roster mutations are blocked after a match is loaded; complete roster corrections before starting the tournament. Buzzer overrides are limited to an active buzzer question before recording an answer.
• Hadith: call candidate → privately select three approved eligible IDs → start recitation → prompt/tally as directed → open marking → three assigned seats submit → head judge moderates once while marking is open → publish result → end candidate. Publish division placings only after checks and appeals.
• Bayan: call candidate/topic → start clock → warnings → stop/open marking → independent five-seat submissions → compute → resolve any factual referral → publish result → end candidate. Publish division placings after tie/appeal review.
• Emergency: OBS privacy cut and audio mute first if needed; operator holds screens and pauses timers; safeguard the child; head judge decides invalid/replacement/resumption; record incident; reconcile records before restart.

Release and network checklist

Confirm source editions and question allocations; remove rehearsal placeholders from the event pack; set all live PINs and enforceApproval=true; set ladder.reuseQuestions=false; verify separate boys/girls bank inventory; load actual rosters; check duplicate references and consent; print and seal packs; prepare spare server and off-machine backups; fix LAN address; label routes; check clock/Arabic/screens/OBS; run npm test; complete physical drills; issue signed rules and emergency contacts; take a pre-event backup. Never run a destructive test against the event server.

npm test creates a temporary local server and copies demo fixtures, runs the existing 305 acceptance assertions, then the additional reliability tests. It cleans the temporary copy afterwards. Direct node test.js is refused. Tests do not change the real configuration, bank approvals, roster or drill sign-offs. The current test report is in docs/REVIEW.md; rerun after source changes.

Scope limits requiring explicit treatment

No individual user accounts, real hardware buzzer drivers, simultaneous team matches, automatic appeal-induced bracket recalculation, a true timed multi-question rapid-fire engine or automatically authenticated manager registry are claimed. Do not silently use these absent features in the event plan. Source text, permissions, legal review, hardware rehearsals and a funded prize scheme are external readiness requirements. The local app must remain rehearsal-only while its readiness blockers stand.

Completed: restored runnable project; preserved original files; isolated acceptance runner; complete recovery tooling and exclusive process lock; corrected live gate, source validation, question reuse, score publication and invalid-question paths; restricted reader/buzzer data; dedicated room/results/broadcast pages; draft handbook and role-specific print layouts. Remaining engineering work must be prioritised from the final review rather than invented as already complete. Next phase: prepare reviewable syllabus/content slots without generating unverified religious wording.

Phase 5 — Syllabus, inventory and content commissioning

DRAFT — NOT FOR COMPETITION USE. No religious question, Arabic quotation, translation, historical detail, narrator, page reference or approval is invented in this pack. Human scholars must approve the exact editions and content. Source fields remain TO BE CONFIRMED until checked against the physical/digital publication used by the panel.

Source register

Assign one coordinator to obtain the exact books, check reproduction permission, scan/reference the relevant internal verification pages where permitted, and circulate a single authoritative edition register. Where sources differ, record the variants and agree fair wording; never turn a disputed detail into a trick question.

Seerah syllabus by level

The following are topic headings and intended learning tasks, not a set of verified historical assertions. Topic scope and chapter/page mappings must be completed by the panel.

Junior ladder ages 7–10 draws from the approved foundation/early-intermediate mapping; senior ages 11–15 draws from the published senior mapping. Do not assume the three Hadith/Bayan divisions are identical to the two ladder divisions. Directed team seats need four tailored difficulty bands. Use the same standard for boys and girls while keeping question wording/answers separate where exposure would confer advantage.

Hadith syllabus commissioning

Create a canonical source list of exactly forty approved selections, then assign age eligibility. Proposed younger list: 10; middle: 20; senior: 40. The current app stores age-specific entries; shared canonical text may therefore appear in several eligible groups, but must reference the same verified edition. No record is ready with empty Arabic or translation.

For each selection complete: canonical number, age eligibility, exact Arabic including the panel’s diacritic convention, accepted English translation, required narrator if prescribed, opening cue, agreed pronunciation/waqf guidance, explanation, one or more age-appropriate lessons, practical scenario, permitted alternatives, excluded/disputed claims, terminology, source edition/chapter/page and human sign-offs. Use complete selections; no arbitrary truncation that changes meaning.

Examiner prompt levels: foundation asks for simple meaning and one practical action; intermediate asks for explanation and a relevant situation; advanced asks for more developed application and limits. The panel calibrates equivalent difficulty and expected evidence. Do not require a seven-year-old to use an adult’s vocabulary. With 36 finalists across the weekend and three tested selections each, plan 108 primary examiner prompt slots plus at least 22 reserves: 130 slots. These are assessment slots, not 130 newly invented Ahadith.

National content inventory

Ladder primary packs: five junior and five senior per day. Each level/division/day needs five primaries and one unused equivalent replacement at minimum. Minimum reserves can be exhausted if several questions at one level are invalid: prefer more than the minimum where the panel can approve them. A consumed reserve must not be assigned again. Keep replacement chains free of loops and match cohort/division/level. Do not treat a single reserve at one level as cover for any other level.

Team primary prompts total 270, standard reserves 54 and tie-break bank 36: 360. Allocate directed reserves per seat (six per seat across the tournament). Reserve allocation by stage/difficulty must be reviewed, not inferred from the overall total. If the round format changes, regenerate inventory before writing questions. The configured targets now reflect this proposed allocation: 144 directed, 72 whole-team, 72 buzzer, 36 rapid response and 36 tie-break items. Ladder inventory counts five primary and one reserve separately per day/division/level; unassigned drafts do not count toward either day. Bayan targets are ten per age band, including two reserves. These targets are still subject to committee approval.

Qualifier and regional inventory formulas

Entry counts and the qualification format are unconfirmed, so do not invent a fixed national paper total. Proposed commissioning basis: each paper has 30 scored items plus 6 reserves; commission a separate secure form for each cohort, age band and non-overlapping testing window. For C city assessment forms the requirement is C×36 slots if each city needs unique material; if cities run simultaneously under one sealed form, count forms rather than copies. Printed copies equal registered eligible candidates plus an agreed spare percentage, not question count.

For R regional forms at 40 scored items plus 8 reserves, commission R×48 slots per independent cohort/division/form. A worked planning example of 20 unique city forms and 6 regional forms produces 720 + 288 = 1,008 slots before multiplying for additional cohorts/divisions/windows. This is an example only. Qualification questions, national questions and audience questions must be distinct banks. A centrally timed common form is cheaper to verify but needs stronger security and an alternate form for absences.

Bayan topic commissioning

Topic cards should invite understanding and practical lessons rather than an encyclopaedic recital. Draft headings include kindness at home, honesty at school, patience, forgiveness, care for neighbours, treatment of children, responsibility, cooperation, gratitude, everyday character and lessons from an approved Seerah episode. The panel chooses the final thirty, assigns age range, verifies any required evidence and publishes the topic list. No supporting quotation is supplied here without an approved source.

For each card record: ID/version, age band, topic title, age-appropriate scope, what a pupil may cover, what is outside scope, suggested source chapters, minimum/maximum speech time, evidence requirements, originality/assistance declaration and approval trail. Equivalent opportunity applies to both days. Sharing a published topic is allowed; sharing a memorised adult-written speech is not the same thing as independent understanding.

Reviewable batch workflow

Begin with a small pilot batch: two questions per division/level band, three Hadith examiner examples using approved text, and one Bayan card per age group. Writers and scholars should agree the standard before commissioning the rest. Every question contains ID, version, writer, bank/cohort/category, age, match/round/seat, difficulty, type, exact text, four options where applicable, correct answer, accepted/rejected alternatives, explanation, time, marks, source/edition/chapter/page, adjudication note, replacement ID and status.

A reviewer checks factual accuracy and whether the distractors are plausible, mutually exclusive and genuinely incorrect under the approved source. A language editor checks unambiguous reading and accessible British English. A teacher checks age suitability. A separate person test-plays from the reader card without the answer visible. Compare print and digital versions, record all seven sign-offs, then seal. A material edit restarts approval; it never inherits the previous wording’s signature.

Use the content editor for forms or the paste format described in PASTE-FORMAT.md. Ladder imports accept Cohort: boys or Cohort: girls. If omitted, the preview explicitly says which current day was assumed. Review that assumption before import. The editor exposes chapter/section as well as edition/page. A bare status=approved field is not approval.

Release checklist

All slots allocated; correct day and division on every card; zero national/audience/qualifier reuse; source editions confirmed; exact Arabic and translation loaded; alternatives/rulings checked; required signers independent; replacements tested; no missing assets; print compared; version/sequence/seal log complete; access restricted; spare packs held by head judge; public monitor privacy test passed. Scholarly approval and printing permission must be real, not AI-generated initials.

Completed: topic framework, age expectations, source-register template, inventory and commissioning method. Blocked content: exact editions, approved text, verified questions and signed review. Next phase: recruit named owners, prepare paperwork and schedule the physical rehearsals. No competition-ready religious bank is claimed.

Phase 6 — Operations, safeguarding and final preparation

DRAFT EVENT PACK · Intended for the organising committee to complete and approve. Dates, venue contacts, named leads, prices, source approvals and legal decisions remain unconfirmed. No child’s medical or guardian information belongs in a public screen or this draft handbook.

Ownership and staffing

Every position has a named primary person, deputy, shift, contact method, briefing record and escalation route. A person cannot cover simultaneous rooms. Minimum is a planning floor and does not replace the venue’s risk assessment or the competence of the people appointed.

Sunday planning minimum 69, recommended 87: remove one team panel (3), team operator (1), team scorekeeper (1), team-room presenter (1), and eight team-holding supervisors. Confirm the reduced rota against real group needs rather than simply deleting names. Volunteer breaks and relief are mandatory operational provisions. The proposed supervision planning assumptions are approximately one adult per eight younger children and per ten older children, with at least two adults in a room where practicable; these are provisional event ratios, not a statement of a universal legal standard. Additional needs, layout and bathroom movements may require more cover.

Safeguarding governance

Appoint the safeguarding lead and deputies before recruitment. Adopt a written concern-reporting process with local authority/police contacts, out-of-hours route and record custodian. Train every worker to recognise a concern, listen without conducting an investigation, record factual information and escalate promptly. For immediate danger, use emergency services and the venue’s emergency procedure. Protect the child first; completing the form is not the first response.

DBS eligibility depends on the actual role and activities; it is not correct to assume every volunteer needs the same check. The appointing organisation must assess each role under the applicable rules and complete suitable recruitment, references, supervision and training. Current official guidance: DBS eligibility and working with children in charities. These UK references apply to the provisional UK model; confirm jurisdiction before issuing policy.

Keep a named contact for boys’ and girls’ programmes, appropriate staff for private spaces, a code of conduct and a clear route for a child to ask for help. No private social-media contact or one-to-one messaging between volunteers and competitors. Communicate through registered guardians/maktabs using approved channels. Record and manage conflicts, bullying, discriminatory behaviour and boundary concerns without public confrontation.

Arrival, movement and collection

Registration checks identity against the maktab-held evidence, eligibility date, guardian permission, emergency contact, access needs and collection arrangement. The app stores only the reference and minimal public identity/consent fields. Assign a discreet competitor badge; do not mark medical conditions or media refusal visibly in ways that stigmatise a child.

Record each handover between registration, holding, room, stage and collection. Use headcounts before and after movement. Staff must know which children are temporarily with a guardian and which remain in event care. Only release to the authorised adult after checking the collection record/token; any disputed change goes to the safeguarding lead. Late collection has two staff present, repeated attempts to contact the registered adult, a documented escalation and no unauthorised transport arrangement.

For a missing child: report immediately to the lead/stage manager; confirm last known location and handover; follow the venue search/escalation plan; supervise the remaining children; control relevant exits without obstructing emergency evacuation; contact emergency services when the situation requires it. Do not announce identifying details or make livestream appeals without the lead’s direction. Record times and actions. Reunification is verified and documented.

Children may ask for a break or withdraw. Provide a quiet camera-free room, drinking water, accessible toilets and a way to contact their guardian. Do not leave a distressed child alone or compel a performance for the schedule. Toilet/changing arrangements require privacy, safe access, appropriate supervision and clear boundaries; prohibit cameras there. Staff do not administer medication except under the approved medical arrangements and the responsible qualified person’s direction. Keep medication, allergies and emergency plans with the first-aid team, not the graphics operator.

Media and information policy

Seek distinct decisions for participation, livestream, local recording, photography, public identity/maktab display and later promotional reuse. Consult the child in an age-appropriate way and reconfirm assent near the activity. Do not exclude a pupil from the competition because filming permission is withheld. Brief photographers before every stage list, mark camera-free areas and avoid close-ups of bystanders. Proposed policy follows the principles in NSPCC photographing and filming guidance; the actual event policy and crew training still need approval.

The information controller must record the applicable lawful basis and, for sensitive information such as medical records, the relevant additional condition, rather than assuming one consent checkbox settles every use. Give a clear privacy notice covering purposes, recipients, retention and rights. Identifiable photographs can be personal information. Current guidance: ICO children and UK GDPR and ICO photography advice. These sources guide the draft; they do not certify this event’s compliance.

Proposed access matrix: registration lead holds guardian/identity records; first-aid/safeguarding leads hold medical/concern records; question controller and scholars hold sealed content; judges hold raw marks; operators see consent flags; public receives first name/age division/city and approved results only. Full backups contain all app records plus PINs and need restricted custody. Paper and digital access lists must agree.

Retention is a decision register item. Proposed operational schedule: review unused registration/medical working copies within 30 days after the event; restrict unedited recording review to the minimum agreed period; keep verified results/appeal decisions only for the approved purpose and period; retain safeguarding records according to the organisation’s specialist policy. These are review triggers, not automatic deletion instructions or statutory periods. Do not delete evidence while a complaint, safeguarding concern or legal retention obligation is unresolved. Log authorisation and actual deletion on all copies, including backups and third-party platforms.

Withdrawal/removal requests go to the named information/media lead. Pause further intended publication, identify affected copies and contact platform custodians. Do not promise that a public livestream can be completely recalled from viewers’ devices. Disable or actively moderate public comments; never discuss a child’s case in them. Keep stream keys, moderator accounts and recording drives restricted. The emergency privacy cutaway must be demonstrated by both OBS and audio operators.

Venue, transport and catering

Complete a written site walk-through: accessible arrival, fire/assembly arrangements, room capacities, safe cable routes, power circuits, toilets, prayer separation, dining flow, first aid, safeguarding room, holding-room sightlines, quiet space and storage. The venue signs off its emergency arrangements. Local supervisors take the child list to the assembly point, account for every pupil and report to the lead. Do not re-enter or collect belongings until authorised.

Transport remains the registered guardian/maktab’s responsibility unless the organiser explicitly contracts a supervised transport service. Record arrival/departure contacts. Caterers receive dietary requirements through an appropriate restricted process, identify ingredients/allergens and prevent cross-contact under their own competent procedures. Do not promise a food is safe from a volunteer’s guess. Allow queue/time separation, accessible seating, water and provision for younger competitors. Cleaning stewards respond promptly to spills and keep exits clear.

Budget and funding

Use quantities × quoted unit price, record supplier, tax treatment, delivery, deposit, due date and owner. All amounts are TO BE QUOTED; no price estimates have been invented. Budget essential costs first and ring-fence maximum prize liability before publicity. The proposed contingency is 15% of the agreed non-prize operating subtotal, to be reviewed against risks, not automatically spent.

Maximum ladder prize cost = 20 × top-prize value across both days, unless the published funded prize model explicitly defines a different liability. Add team and six Hadith/six Bayan division awards, finalist recognition and reserves/replacements for printing errors. Track sponsorship separately; a sponsor must not influence qualification, content, rulings or the appearance of children.

Six-month and final preparation plan

If the actual January date leaves less than six months, use a recovery schedule and remove optional production scope. Do not compress scholar verification, safeguarding recruitment or the full rehearsal merely to preserve extra programme items. Publish deadlines as real dates only after the venue and qualification calendar are approved.

Final eight weeks: W8 lock qualifier standards and provisional finalists; W7 verify reserves/identity; W6 chase permissions and access needs; W5 finish bank review and pilot prints; W4 freeze draw and shortlist substitutions; W3 device/OBS/network drills; W2 full dress rehearsal and corrections; W1 signed issue/freeze/off-machine backup. Each week records done, owner, evidence and unresolved blockers.

Final 72 hours: confirm staffing/deputies and emergency contacts; check every finalist/seat; confirm prayer/food times; reconcile printed pack IDs with digital versions; seal and count materials; confirm source/permission status; test backup restoration on spare laptop; verify PIN custody and network address; check storage/power/cables/buzzers; prepare travel/accessibility and camera-free arrangements; print master run-of-show and contact sheet; keep change control active. Do not install untested system updates on event devices.

Event day: venue safety walk-through; crew brief; child counts/consent checks; judge conflict declarations; hardware/Arabic/private-answer test; readiness review; first backup; timed room handovers; all prayer breaks; backup and tally at each break; head judge approves awards list; collect children; reconcile sealed packs/drives; export and protect records; sign off final counts. Physical drills in /readiness are signed only by the people who actually ran them.

Rehearsal acceptance and post-event review

Use the twenty-five existing drills covering smooth operation and failures: judges/quizmaster/cards, buzzers/manual fallback, Arabic on four screen types, OBS/audio/cameras, network/internet, power/projector/computer, invalid question/appeal, paper completion and evacuation. Every entry records date, people, equipment, observed result, evidence, fault, owner and rerun. Failed drills remain failed until repeated successfully. Automated tests are supporting evidence, not a substitute for a child-safe venue rehearsal.

Afterwards reconcile digital results, judge sheets, appeals, prizes, returned packs and equipment. Invite confidential staff/parent feedback without publishing children’s raw marks. Record what exceeded the planned duration, failed technically, caused distress or created unequal opportunity. Assign actions and retention decisions; do not roll unreviewed incidents into a new event year.

Completed: staffing, operational safety framework, data/media policy draft, budget headings, timeline, final checks and review process. Unconfirmed: all named appointments, real dates/quotes, venue/insurance provision, legally reviewed wording and physical sign-offs. Supporting editable communications and forms are in ADMINISTRATION-TEMPLATES.md; the eight printable core forms already exist at /forms. Human approvals remain pending.

Editable administration templates

DRAFT — complete bracketed fields and obtain the appropriate organiser/scholarly/safeguarding approval before issue. Do not send these automatically. Do not place completed guardian/medical/incident records in the publicly served folder.

Maktab invitation

Dear [Headteacher / Maktab coordinator],

[Organisation] invites your maktab to take part in the National Seerah, Hadith and Bayan Competition, planned for [confirmed Saturday/Sunday dates] at [confirmed venue]. Saturday is the boys’ programme and Sunday is the girls’ programme, for eligible pupils aged 7–15. The categories are Who Wants to Be a Jannati?, Forty Ahadith and Seerah Bayan, with a boys’ National Team Seerah Quiz.

Qualification takes place through the published maktab, local/city and regional pathway. Every entrant receives the same syllabus and rules, with reasonable adjustments considered through [contact]. Media permission is separate from entry. Please nominate one coordinator and return the registration form by [deadline] to [approved channel]. The final source editions, eligibility date and qualification arrangements are attached as [version].

Yours sincerely, [name / role / contact].

Maktab registration supplement

Maktab name and reference: [ ]

City / region / address held privately: [ ]

Headteacher and coordinator: [ ]

Approved coordinator contact: [ ]

Categories/age divisions requested: [ ]

Estimated entrants by division: [ ]

Access or supervised assessment needs: [ ]

Rules/syllabus version received: [ ]

Declaration: We will verify eligibility, provide accurate references, use the approved qualification process, protect secure questions and hold required permissions. Signed/date: [ ].

Participant registration supplement

Private registration reference: [ ] · Maktab reference: [ ]

Full legal name and birth date: [held only by authorised registration team, not entered into the broadcast app]

Published first name / age division / city: [ ]

Category / cohort / qualification slot: [ ]

Eligibility checked by / date / evidence reference: [ ]

Manager / guardian contact held privately: [ ]

Permission form references and child assent recorded: [ ]

Collection arrangement / authorised adults: [private record]

Access needs referred to: [private first-aid/safeguarding route]

National roster checked by: [ ] · One-category check: [ ].

Team registration supplement

Team / city / maktab reference: [ ] · Manager and private contact: [ ]

Seat 1 (7–9): [first name / student reference / eligibility evidence reference]

Seat 2 (10–11): [ ] · Seat 3 (12–13): [ ] · Seat 4 (14–15): [ ]

Reserve by eligible seat, if allowed: [ ]

Media/participation forms checked for every member: [ ]

Manager confirms no unapproved individual overlap and accepts published substitution rules. Signed/date: [ ].

City / regional finalist nomination

City / region / category / cohort / age slot: [ ]

Candidate or team reference: [ ] · Maktab: [ ]

Qualifier date, form/version and score-sheet reference: [ ]

Panel names / conflicts cleared: [ ]

Eligibility and permissions verified by: [ ]

Ordered reserve(s): [ ]

Appeal window closed / unresolved case: [ ]

Coordinator signature/date: [ ] · National acceptance reference: [ ].

Withdrawal and replacement

Original entry reference / category / slot: [ ]

Withdrawal date, requesting manager and reason: [ ]

Reserve selected and position on reserve list: [ ]

Replacement eligibility, same slot and consent verified: [ ]

Draw/schedule/printed pack effects: [ ]

Old/new roster ID and update operator: [ ]

Head judge/director authorisation: [ ]

Managers notified by/date: [ ]. No marks or attempts are transferred.

Media permission supplement

Event/date/controller contact: [ ] · Child/reference: [ ]

Separate choices: participation [yes/no]; public livestream [yes/no]; local recording [yes/no]; event photography [yes/no]; approved later highlights [yes/no]; first name/city display [yes/no]; maktab display [yes/no].

Purposes, platforms, intended audience and retention/review period: [complete privacy notice]. Refusal of filming does not affect qualification or participation. We will agree a camera-free arrangement. Requests/withdrawal contact: [ ]. Public material may be copied by viewers; do not promise full recall.

Guardian name/relationship/signature/date: [ ]. Child’s age-appropriate decision recorded by/date: [ ]. Crew briefing reference: [ ]. If no choice is recorded, treat the relevant permission as withheld. The core /forms consent sheet currently has three summary options; retain this supplement if more granular permissions are needed, and map flags conservatively.

Medical and access handling supplement

Use the private medical form at /forms. Record only with the authorised team: emergency contacts, allergy/medical support plan, medication arrangements, dietary needs, mobility/communication/sensory adjustments, relevant professional instructions, responsible person and emergency escalation. Do not ask the graphics/operator team to interpret a medical plan. Information supplied by/signature/date: [ ]; accepted by first-aid/safeguarding lead: [ ]; storage/review/deletion authority: [ ].

Judge and volunteer appointment

Name / role / primary or relief / rooms/shifts: [ ]

Relevant competence and recruitment checks assessed by: [ ]

Declared connections to candidates/institutions: [ ]

Recusals and substitute arrangements: [ ]

Confidentiality, conduct and safeguarding briefing reference: [ ]

Device/role access issued and returned: [ ]

Emergency/escalation contact: [ ]

Signature/date: [ ]. Use the /forms judge declaration and volunteer agreement as the printed working copies.

Appeal and incident records

Use /forms for the paper originals and /casebook for the app record. Appeal includes manager verification, category/age/day, question/attempt ID, result announcement timestamp, deadline, grounds, evidence, independent panel, ruling, correction/replay implications and private notification. Incident includes time/location, factual observations, immediate action, named handler, escalation, safeguarding/medical restriction, follow-up and closure authority. Keep sensitive names/details out of public notices; the safeguarding lead decides the appropriate record location.

Certificate and award wording

National finalist: “Presented to [published name] in recognition of participation in the national final of [category], [age division/cohort], [event/date].”

Placing: “Awarded [first/second/third] place in [category], [age division/cohort], following the approved judging process at [event/date].”

Ladder completion: “Awarded for completing all ten questions in Who Wants to Be a Jannati?, [division/cohort], [event/date].” Use only for a verified completion. Multiple recipients are permitted.

Team champion: “National Team Seerah Quiz Champions — [registered team/city], [event/date].”

Final signatories: [chair] and [head scholar]. Certificates generated at /certificates must be checked against the published record before printing. Do not print a disputed placing.

Poster / masjid announcement / social copy

Poster: “[Organisation] presents the National Seerah, Hadith and Bayan Competition. [Confirmed dates and venue]. Boys: Saturday. Girls: Sunday. Ages 7–15 through participating maktabs. Categories: Who Wants to Be a Jannati?, Forty Ahadith and Seerah Bayan; boys’ National Team Seerah Quiz. Registration/qualification details: [approved link/contact]. Entry deadline: [date]. Family attendance: [ticket/access details].”

Masjid announcement: “Maktabs are invited to register for [event] through [contact]. Please read the published syllabus, age criteria and qualification rules. The event takes place on [confirmed dates] at [venue]. Separate media permission and arrangements for additional needs are available. Further details are on the official notice.”

Social copy: “Learn, prepare and represent your maktab at [event]. Registration opens [date]. Read the approved rules and qualification pathway at [link]. Questions and access requests: [contact].”

Do not announce unconfirmed guest speakers, scholars, prizes, venue capacity, streaming coverage or source approval. Use only licensed/authorised imagery and written permission for identifiable children.

Sponsorship prospectus

Purpose: support fair access, verified educational content, safe participation and a reliable national final.

Audience/scale: provisional 107 boys and 43 girls across four/three categories; final guest numbers depend on venue and ticketing.

Funding categories: essential operations, travel/access support, educational packs, trophies/certificates, or the fully costed prize fund.

Proposed recognition: approved logo in the programme and an acknowledgement, subject to licence and suitability. Amounts and packages: [treasurer-approved figures].

Independence: sponsorship buys no qualification slot, judging influence, question access or preferential filming. No child data is shared for sponsor marketing without a separately assessed and approved process. Funds, restrictions and expenditure are recorded transparently by [treasurer/contact].

Final private contact and handover sheet

Director/deputy: [ ] · Head scholar/deputy: [ ] · Safeguarding leads: [ ]

First aid: [ ] · Venue duty manager: [ ] · Stage manager: [ ]

Technical/OBS/audio: [ ] · Registration/collection: [ ]

Prayer coordinator: [ ] · Caterer/allergy lead: [ ] · Appeal chair: [ ]

Emergency assembly point/procedure: [ ] · Local emergency escalation: [ ]

Keys/seals/drives issued to: [ ] · Returned/count verified by: [ ].