Open Questions — X-Hack Planning

The current plan caps judge slots at 3, with one slot each for Platinum and Gold sponsors. But this creates a dependency: we need exactly 3 qualifying sponsors to fill all 3 judge seats. Two problems arise:

Problem 1 — Not enough sponsors for 3 judges (equal voting risk):

• If we only secure 1 Platinum and 1 Gold sponsor, we only have 2 judge slots filled — and 2 judges creates an equal voting / tie problem with no tiebreaker.
• 3 judges is the minimum for a clean odd-number vote. If a sponsor slot is unfilled, we must have a fallback judge ready (independent, academic, or Coding Club faculty) to keep the panel at an odd number.
• Do we invite an independent/academic judge? A Coding Club faculty advisor? A Silver sponsor?

Problem 2 — A separate "D-Day Attendance" sponsorship benefit:

• There may be sponsors who don't qualify for a full Platinum/Gold tier but still want to attend D-Day as an observer or "guest judge" — perhaps a smaller company that can contribute less but wants access to the finalist showcase.
• Should we create a separate, lower-cost negotiable add-on (e.g. "Finalist Day Observer Pass") that doesn't include judging rights but gives the sponsor a seat in the room, logo on materials, and networking access?
• What is the minimum contribution for this kind of access? What exactly do they get?

Action needed:

1. Decide the fixed number of judges for D-Day (confirm: 3?).
2. Define the fallback plan if fewer than 3 judge slots are filled by sponsors.
3. Decide whether a "Finalist Day Observer / Attendance" sponsorship add-on makes sense, and if so, set the minimum contribution and list of benefits.

Mentors during the online preliminary round (D1–D10) are meant to guide participant teams. But the current plan has no clear structure for how this works in practice.

Problem 1 — Booking system:

• Participants should be able to book a session with a mentor (not just "mentor is available"). What platform or process do they use to book? (Discord scheduling, Google Form, Calendly?)
• How long is each session? Is it 1-on-1 or open group Q&A?

Problem 2 — Who are the mentors?

• Are mentors employees sent by the sponsor company, or can they be anyone the sponsor nominates?
• What qualifications or background do we expect from a mentor?
• Do we need to vet them, or do we trust the sponsor to send appropriate people?

Problem 3 — How many mentor slots total?

• Current consideration: total of 5 mentor slots across all sponsors. How are these distributed across tiers?
• Proposed distribution (to discuss): Platinum: 3 slots | Gold: 2 slots | Silver: 1 slot — but this exceeds 5 if all tiers are filled. Need to confirm the cap and how overflow is handled.

Problem 4 — Should Bronze tier get a mentor slot?

• ✅ Decided (2026-06-05): Bronze gets 1 mentor slot.
• Current distribution: Platinum 3 | Gold 2 | Silver 1 | Bronze 1 = 7 total.
• ⚠ Conflict: This exceeds the earlier proposed cap of 5. Either raise the cap to 7, or reduce slots for one or more tiers.

Action needed:

1. Resolve the cap: accept 7 total mentor slots, or reduce counts for certain tiers.
2. Define what a "mentor session" looks like (booking process, duration, format).
3. Clarify who qualifies as a mentor and whether vetting is needed.