So as one of the runners of the Short Game Showcase I’m obviously biased here, but this was our rationale for starting it rather than trying to work within the IFComp framework. I like the Comp as it is, but it can’t be everything for everyone and I don’t think it should be either. I also think that adding more judging tasks within IFComp is going to be counter-productive since as mentioned in other threads the best way to deal with a lot of other potential issues is to simply get more people judging. The fiddlier the process is, the fewer people are going to engage with it.
This is the kind of thing I worry about when it comes to fiddliness that could turn away potential judges, especially if it’s just for one award. (Keep in mind that all the other awards leverage the current voting system!) That said, now that people have the ability to submit updates to the IFComp website I think any voting changes will be way more likely to be accepted if someone codes it up and submits it this way first. This didn’t exist last year (and I don’t have the technical skills to do it regardless) but you have a way stronger argument if the hard work’s already done!
This is currently one of the issues with the SGS that we’re looking to improve upon - having it at the end of the year means it’s pretty far away from IFComp so a lot of people won’t be looking at the forum when we announce it. (And we are both, frankly, awful at social media promotion.) I don’t want to derail this thread but if anyone has any kind of suggestions feel free to drop us a line elsewhere.