Ties happen. So do disputes. Most clubs and organisations plan their presentation night down to the seating chart but never think about what to do when two players finish on equal points for Best and Fairest, or when a parent questions the judging panel's decision from across the room. Getting caught flat-footed in either situation turns an otherwise smooth event into an awkward one fast.
The fix isn't complicated, but it does require decisions made well before the night. Here's what to sort out in advance, and how to manage the moments when things don't go to plan.
Why ties are more common than you'd expect
Voting systems that use round numbers, small panels, or a limited scale produce ties regularly. A 5-person judging panel scoring out of 10 leaves plenty of room for two candidates to land on the same total. Club award ballots sent to all members are even more susceptible, especially in smaller clubs where the margin between top performers can be a single vote.
If your scoring system hasn't been designed with a tiebreaker in mind, you're relying on luck. Don't.
Set your tiebreaker rules before nominations close
The single most effective thing you can do is document your tiebreaker process before the award cycle starts. Write it into the award criteria, put it in any nomination or voting documentation, and make sure your committee knows it exists. Options worth considering include:
- A casting vote from the committee chairperson or club president
- A second-round vote among the judging panel, limited to tied candidates only
- A pre-agreed secondary metric (games played, games won, another score category)
- Shared recognition: both candidates receive the award
Shared recognition is underused and often the right call. Ordering two trophies costs less than the reputational damage of a contested decision, and most recipients genuinely don't mind sharing the honour. If you're reading this after nominations have already closed and you don't have a tiebreaker in place, the shared award is your safest path.
How to handle a tie on the night itself
If a tie reaches presentation night unresolved, the MC needs a script. Winging it in front of an audience rarely lands well. A short, confident announcement works far better than a hedged explanation. Something like: "This year's award produced a result we're proud of. Two exceptional members scored identically, so tonight we're honouring both."
Keep it brief. The audience doesn't need the scoring breakdown. What they need is to feel the moment is intentional, not accidental.
On the logistics side: if you suddenly need a second trophy or plaque that you didn't order, contact your trophy supplier as early as possible. Westlakes Trophies offers express turnaround on engraved awards, so a last-minute tie doesn't have to mean a bare-handed presentation. That said, planning for the possibility in advance is obviously preferable.
Disputes are different from ties
A dispute is when someone challenges the outcome, not just the arithmetic. This might come from a parent who believes their child deserved Best Player, a team captain who questions the judging criteria, or a member who suspects the process wasn't followed correctly.
Disputes feel personal, because they usually are. The person raising one typically cares a lot about the recipient being recognised, which means logic alone won't resolve it quickly. Your response needs two things: a clear process and a calm person to run it.
Designate one committee member as the point of contact for any concerns on the night. That person's job is to listen, acknowledge the concern, and explain the process without being defensive. "I understand you feel strongly about this. The award followed our documented criteria, and I'm happy to walk you through that process after tonight's formalities" is enough. Don't relitigate the decision in public. Don't invite the crowd to weigh in.
What a transparent judging process looks like
Most disputes stem from a process that wasn't visible enough. When recipients feel the decision came from a black box, they're more likely to question it. Transparency doesn't mean publishing every vote, but it does mean communicating the criteria clearly before the award cycle and being able to describe the process to anyone who asks.
A written criteria document, shared with members before voting opens, does most of this work. If the criteria are clear and the process followed them, a dispute becomes much easier to address. You're not defending a judgement call. You're pointing to a documented outcome.
Getting your award categories right from the start also reduces the chance of disputes. Categories that are too broad or too vaguely defined invite subjectivity, and subjectivity invites challenges. Specific, well-defined categories with clear eligibility rules make it harder for any single outcome to feel arbitrary.
Structuring the night to reduce tension
The order of awards matters. Save the most contested categories for later in the program, after the crowd has warmed up and the atmosphere is celebratory rather than anxious. Starting with junior awards or peer-voted categories tends to build goodwill early, which provides some buffer if a later announcement causes friction.
Pacing matters too. A long, slow night amplifies every awkward moment. A well-structured ceremony keeps energy up and gives disputes less room to fester. If you haven't already, read through our guide on how to structure a trophy presentation ceremony for a practical run-through of timing and sequencing.
After the night: follow up properly
If a dispute wasn't fully resolved on the night, follow up within 48 hours. A brief phone call or written response that acknowledges the concern and reiterates the process is usually enough. Don't leave it open-ended. An unresolved dispute festers between seasons and comes back louder.
Document any close calls or process gaps that emerged. If your tiebreaker rules proved unclear, update them before next year's award cycle opens. A short post-event debrief with your committee is worth 30 minutes of anyone's time if it closes three potential arguments next season.
Running awards well is mostly about removing surprises. Ties and disputes feel chaotic precisely because they weren't anticipated. Once you've built a process for both, they become manageable rather than memorable, and for all the right reasons.