Hackathon sponsors and judging: staying neutral when a sponsor's tech is on the table
At an Integral Startup Foundation hackathon Originally published at https://pranjulrathour.scult.in/blog/sponsor-relations-for-hackathon-judges-staying-neutral . That copy is the canonical version and gets updates first. A sponsor-funded prize track ('best use of X API') puts a judge in a position where the sponsor has a stake in the outcome — sometimes the sponsor's own representative is on the judging panel. Keeping this fair takes explicit structure, not just good intentions. How to keep it clean Separate sponsor-track judging from the main prize judging entirely, with different judges where possible. If a sponsor representative judges their own track, pair them with at least one independent judge who has no stake in the outcome. Publish the sponsor-track criteria (genuine, meaningful use of the technology, not just any usage) so entrants know what's actually being scored. Why this matters for the event's credibility A hackathon where sponsor tracks fee...