Score Sheets

NAILPRO Competitions Score SheetsWe get so many questions about the score sheets and how judges determine who receives one, so I decided to write this blog to shed some light on the subject. At a NAILPRO competition, competitors are only scored if they are among the top 10. The top 10 is determined during an elimination process completed by the judging panel. Models are seated, 10 at a time, with only their hands showing beneath the curtain. Judges scan the nails—without touching the models’ hands—and assess which sets should be kept for the second round of judging. Sometimes competitors will assume that the judges didn’t even look at their model’s hands because they haven’t picked them up. Only if it’s close will judges will pick up the hands during the elimination process.

Most experienced judges can tell the top three with nothing more than a glance. And of course, there are times when judges don’t need to take a closer look because the nails were presented unfinished (for example, only four nails were polished or they weren’t shiny). Likewise, it’s easy to spot a set of nails that are really good and definitely belong in the top 10.

After walking past all 10 sets of the nails, each of the three judges will place a vote for the sets they want to see again. The sets with the most votes become the top 10. Once the initial elimination process is over, then the judges take their time pouring over the nails and rate them on score sheets.

As a competitor, your score sheet is one of the most important resources for learning; you can use it to see where you need improvement. Seasoned competitors will most likely already know where they could improve, but it’s still good for them to look at their score sheets. You can always ask a judge why they gave you a certain score, and you may discover a different point of view that you hadn’t thought of before. You’re not always going to agree with the judges’ scores either, but it’s important to take the constructive criticism with grace. It’s part of being a professional competitor, after all. Whether you agree with our scores or not, there’s always something to learn. At the end of the day, it’s essential that you understand we are very diligent when choosing the top 10 and pride ourselves on our scoring; it’s very important to us that the person with the best overall set of nails wins.