PH 2026 DUO's Edition — Points System, Leaderboard Rules & Audience Rubric

Welcome to PH DUO's 2026! This page covers everything you need to know about how points are earned, how the leaderboard works, and how showcases are scored.

1. Participation Model

There are 8 teams competing. Points are awarded based on when your team signs up for a presentation slot:

Team Order	Points
Team 1 (first to sign up)	300 pts
Team 2	200 pts
Team 3	100 pts
Teams 4–8	50 pts each

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2. Points System

2.1 Weekly Activities

Cloudy Updates — +30 pts per team per week

Must meet minimum criteria:

• Clear update
• Artifact OR learning included
• Submitted by deadline (12 noon on non-final Showcase Fridays)

2.2 Showcase Activities

Final Presentation in 3-Week Showcase:

• Points = Rounded (Audience Score Average × 2) × 100
• Audience score average = mean of the 5 rubric categories (see Showcase Scoring Rubric)
• Example: If team's final audience average is 20.2 → earns 40.4 → rounded to 40 → × 100 = 4000 points

Bonuses (Awarded by Arbiters):

Bonus	Points
Progress session	+100 pts
On-schedule showcase	+50 pts

2.3 Content Creation

Activity	Points
Blog Post (approved & posted)	250 pts
Supporting artifact (repo, tutorial, prompt, demo video)	100 pts

2.4 Culture & Engagement Points

Commenting on Blog Posts / Asking Questions During Showcases:

• +10 pts per meaningful question or comment (scored by Arbiters)
• Max 50 pts per week per team

Team Branding (One-off):

• Submit your duo name + banner image: +100 pts

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3. Leaderboard Mechanics

3.1 Leaderboard Structure

Three tracked category values:

• Participation Points — Position, Team Name & Banner image
• Content Points — Showcase (Progress Update, Showcase score, On-schedule), Blog/Artifacts, Cloudy
• Engagement Points — Questions/Comments

The leaderboard displays:

Pos.	Team	Participation	Showcase	Blog/Artifacts	Cloudy	Q/Cs	Total

Updated weekly by Arbiters.

3.2 Tiebreakers

If two teams are tied on total points:

1. Higher number of Cloudy contributions wins
2. If still tied, higher number of Blog post Questions/Comments wins

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4. Final Showcase Scoring Rubric

Scored by Audience

Category	Description	What Audience Scores
Clarity	Was the presentation understandable & well-structured?	How well the story flowed
Impact	Did the work have measurable or visible value?	Value to team / department / company
Collaboration	Did the duo show combined effort?	Evidence of joint ownership
Learning Shared	Did we learn something?	Technical or non-technical insights
Engagement	Did the presenters keep attention appropriately? (Non-performance based, no style points)	Pace, visuals, and relevance

Final Score = Average audience score, rounded to the nearest whole number, then multiplied by 100

Max possible Showcase points = 25 × 2 × 100 = 5000 points

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5. Award Structures

There will be two categories

5.1 Points-Based Awards

These come directly from the leaderboard. Example:

• Overall Winner (or Top 3)

5.2 Vote-Based Cultural Awards

Simple anonymous poll — these do not affect leaderboard points. Example:

• Crowd Favourite Showcase

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6. Governance & Fairness

6.1 Independent Arbiters

(QA/ non-participants) are responsible for:

• Validating Cloudy contributions
• Ensuring showcase timing (10/10/50 mins format - Intro, Progress, Final)
• Scoring engagement comments
• Publishing the weekly leaderboard

Nothing subjective; only rule enforcement.

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6.2 Validation Rules

Side quests follow one of two validation processes:

Arbiter-Validated Activities

Some activities require an Arbiter (Point Arbiter) to review and approve your submission before points are awarded. You'll see a Pending status until an Arbiter reviews your evidence.

• Submit your evidence (link, description, etc.)
• An Arbiter reviews your submission
• If approved, points are awarded to your team
• If rejected, you'll see the reason and can resubmit

6.3 Auto-Approved Activities

Other activities are automatically approved upon submission. Points are awarded immediately when you submit your evidence. These are clearly marked on the Side Quests page.

Tip: All submissions require evidence, even auto-approved ones. This ensures a complete audit trail for the competition.