Free Skateboarding Competition Software in 2026
Which options are genuinely free — and which only look it
Only two options run a real skateboarding contest at $0: JudgeMate (free for organizers at any size, with a live leaderboard and the Olympic 300-point street format built in) and a spreadsheet (no licence cost, but no live scoring and a manual trimmed mean that breaks at scale). LiveHeats has a trial then charges per event; RawMotion and The Boardr Live are quote-only.
What "free" actually means here
"Free" splits three ways: genuinely free for a real contest, free in licence but breaking at scale, and free trial then paid. LiveHeats publishes per-event pricing (read May 2026, USD); RawMotion and The Boardr quote per project, so their rates are described qualitatively rather than invented.
| Platform | Focus | Pricing Model | Known Rate | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JudgeMate | Multi-sport, Olympic skate format native | Free for organizers | $0 | Genuinely free — no entry caps, live scoring included |
| Spreadsheets / Google Forms | Grassroots jams, manual scoring | Free software, manual labor | $0 in licence | Free but no live leaderboard and breaks at scale |
| LiveHeats | World Skate partner, federation championships | Free trial, then per-event credits | Public USD tiers — up to 50 entries $132, up to 250 $396 (read May 2026) | Trial only — paid for real events |
| RawMotion | Judging-desk hardware + software | Quote per project | On quote — not published | No |
| The Boardr Live | US contest ecosystem (Tampa Am) | Quote / contact-based | On quote — not published | No |
Our methodology and a transparency note
We built this comparison from public product pages, World Skate's partnership disclosures, and pricing read in May 2026. Where a vendor publishes rates we cite them with the date we checked; where pricing is quote-only we say so instead of guessing. Scoring facts (5 judges, 0–100, drop high and low, average the middle three, street best run + top 2 tricks for a 300-point max, park best of 3 for 100) follow the World Skate rulebook and match our skateboarding scoring guide.
Transparency note: JudgeMate is our product. We put it through the same free-or-not test as every other platform and kept a dedicated section on what JudgeMate does not do — no World Skate ranking ingestion, no payment processing, a newer brand in the skate scene. If you find an inaccuracy in our coverage of a competing platform, tell us and we will correct it.
JudgeMate (us)
JudgeMate is free for organizers at every event size and across 36 sports, skateboarding included. "Free" here means a working contest, not a trial: a live leaderboard, automatic trimmed mean (5 judges, drop high and low, average the middle three), the Olympic 300-point street format (best run + top 2 of 5 tricks) and best-of-3 park (max 100), heat and round management, audience polls, and PDF/CSV export — all at zero cost with no entry caps.
Strengths: genuinely free with no caps and no per-event charge; the Olympic format is built in with no setup; full Polish UI; multi-sport from one account; published skateboarding scoring guides for organic discovery.
Weaknesses: no World Skate ranking ingestion — LiveHeats is the official partner, so sanctioned results that must count toward the ranking belong there; no built-in payment processing for entry fees; a newer brand in the skate scene than The Boardr or LiveHeats.
Best for: any organizer who wants a free working contest — skatepark jams, regional leagues, school and club events, multi-sport venues, and Polish-market organizers.
Spreadsheets / Google Forms
A Google Form for registration and a shared spreadsheet for scores is free and the real default at local jams. It is genuinely free in licence — the cost is hidden in time and risk.
Strengths: zero licence cost, no onboarding, total column control, works offline once exported.
Weaknesses: no live leaderboard for riders or spectators, no trimmed-mean automation — you average five judges by hand and a typo silently moves a podium. Two people editing one sheet during finals loses a run. Best run + top 2 tricks across 5 attempts is calculated manually every heat. Free until the event grows, then it breaks at the worst moment. See replace the skateboarding spreadsheet.
Best for: a one-off jam with a handful of riders where nobody watches standings live and the head judge does the math by hand.
LiveHeats
LiveHeats is World Skate's official partner and the federation default for sanctioned national championships, with Street 2/5/3 and 2/5/4 templates, a 0–100 park template, automated heat draws, and rankings. On the free question specifically: there is a free trial, but real events are paid.
Strengths: the federation path with a direct pipeline into the World Skate Ranking, transparent published pricing, multi-currency billing.
Weaknesses: the free tier is a trial only — running an actual contest costs per event. Public USD tiers run from $132 for up to 50 entries to $396 for up to 250 (read May 2026), and credits are not refunded if an event is cancelled. There is no genuinely free path for a real event.
Best for: federations and sanctioned championships with a budget — not organizers who need a free working contest. See our LiveHeats alternative comparison for depth.
RawMotion
RawMotion builds judging-desk hardware and software for action sports — iJudge devices, a Head Judge Client, automated judge flow by start list and format, instant tabulation, and custom formats. On the free question: there is no free tier and no public price.
Strengths: a strong purpose-built judging desk with a head-judge transparency layer, custom formats for produced events.
Weaknesses: quote-only with no free tier and no published rate, so it is neither free nor priced transparently. Built for produced events with a judging desk rather than a free self-run jam.
Best for: produced events with a per-project budget — not a free-path requirement. See our RawMotion alternative comparison for depth.
The Boardr Live
The Boardr Live powers the US contest ecosystem (Tampa Am, The Boardr Am, Grind for Life) with pre-registration, entry-fee collection, instant scoring, automatic tabulation, and broadcast integration. On the free question: quote/contact-based, no public rate, no free tier.
Strengths: contest-tested instant scoring, end-to-end from registration through on-site screens.
Weaknesses: quote-only with no free tier — not a free path. US-centric, with no Polish or other European-language UI.
Best for: US organizers with a budget for a quote-based platform — not a free working contest. See our The Boardr alternative comparison for depth.
Decision tree
Pick by what "free" has to mean for your event:
| If You Run | Pick |
|---|---|
| A free working contest with a live leaderboard and Olympic scoring | JudgeMate |
| A tiny one-off jam where the head judge does the math by hand | Spreadsheets / Google Forms |
| A sanctioned championship with a budget (trial, then paid) | LiveHeats |
| A produced event with a judging desk and per-project budget | RawMotion |
| A recurring US contest series on a paid quote-based platform | The Boardr Live |
Try JudgeMate on your next event
A skateboarding event takes about 10 minutes to configure. No athlete limits, no commission on registrations. See skateboarding features · Skateboarding glossary
See also
Skateboarding competition software compared 2026
Five-tool survey: LiveHeats, RawMotion, The Boardr Live, spreadsheets/Google Forms, JudgeMate. Pick by federation tie, US-scene fit, or budget.
LiveHeats alternative
World Skate ranking integration, per-event credit pricing on quote. Best fit for sanctioned national championships feeding the official World Skateboarding Ranking.
RawMotion alternative
Production-grade action sports: bespoke formats, dedicated judging hardware, broadcast feed on quote. Best fit for broadcast events that need a tailored build.
The Boardr alternative
US skate scene, plugged into The Boardr ecosystem (Am, Grind for Life). Entry-fee collection, check-in, broadcast via The Boardr Live. Best fit for US events already inside that ecosystem.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- LiveHeats skateboard scoring — LiveHeats
- RawMotion — judging software for skateboard contests — RawMotion
- The Boardr Live scoring — The Boardr
- World Skate — skateboarding regulations — World Skate
- Olympic Games — Skateboarding format and scoring — International Olympic Committee