Open Prelims

Rules & FAQ

The short version: send in a mix, our judges score it blind (60%), the crowd votes blind (40%), top 8 combined get in. Real talent, tested — not a popularity contest. Here's everything else, if you want the details.

§01 — Entering

Entering

Who can enter?
Any DJ, solo or as a B2B team of two — but you've got to register first. Only 20 candidates, first come first served. One entry per act.
Do I have to register before I submit a mix?
Yep. Registering is the whole first step — there's nothing separate to do. It's free, takes a minute, and you don't need a finished mix yet — you're just claiming one of 20 candidate spots. Once mix submissions open, only DJs who registered can submit, using the same email they registered with. Miss registration and that's it for this season, so don't sleep on it. Register here.
Why only 20 spots?
So every entry gets a proper listen. Each mix is 25 minutes and every judge scores every act, so a capped field is what makes full, fair judging possible. Spots are first come, first served, and registration also closes on its own date — whichever comes first.
What do I submit?
A link to your 25-minute mix — SoundCloud, Mixcloud or YouTube all work. Just make sure it's public; we can't check a private or unlisted link.
What genre does my mix need to be?
Strictly house, start to finish. Any house subgenre is fair game — deep house, tech house, progressive house, afro house, tropical house, future house, bass house, electro house, funky/soulful house, disco house, melodic house, UK/bassline house, acid house, gospel house. If it's not house, it's not eligible.
Do I need to upload a file here?
No — just the link. Host the mix wherever you already post your work.
Is there a deadline?
Yes — mix submissions have a hard close date, shown on the Submit page. Nothing gets in after that, so don't leave it to the last minute.
§02 — Scoring

Scoring

How is the final result decided?
Two parts, blended into one final score per act: our judges score every entry (60%), and the public vote counts for the other 40%. The top 8 by that combined score win a season pool spot.
Who are the judges?
A small panel picked by the Atherly's After Dark team. Judge scores are entered privately and stay hidden until results are revealed — they're not something you can lobby.
Do judges and fans know whose mix they're hearing?
No — every entry is judged and voted on anonymously. Once your mix is approved, it shows up on the Vote and Judge pages under a random label like "Entry 7," never your act name. Judges see the same anonymous label fans do. Real talent gets tested here, not who's already got a following — it's not a popularity contest. Identities are revealed once the top 8 pool is set.
What are they actually scoring?
  1. Track selection
  2. Mixing skill
  3. Energy and flow
  4. Originality
  5. Performance readiness
  6. Sound quality
Same six things, every time — see the full breakdown on the Criteria page. It's the same rubric all season, for prelims and every live Roar-Off.
Why judges AND a crowd vote?
The crowd keeps every stage honest to the fans who are actually watching, and it's genuinely fun to be part of live. The judges keep it from coming down purely to who has the biggest group chat. It's the same 60/40 method start to finish — the Open Prelims decide it online, and every live Roar-Off after that decides it the same way in the room.
§03 — Voting

Voting

How many votes do I get?
One. Pick your single favourite act — you can't spread votes across several.
Why do you need my email to vote?
It's what stops the same person voting twice — one vote per email address. You'll also get a quick receipt confirming your pick. Your email is never shown publicly.
I voted but don't see it on the leaderboard yet
Your vote counts the instant you cast it — the leaderboard just refreshes every 15 seconds, so give it a moment and it'll show up.
Can I change my vote?
No — it locks in the moment you cast it. Vote when you're sure.
Is the leaderboard I see while voting the real result?
No — what you see live is the crowd vote only (40% of the final score), so you can watch it move in real time. Judge scores stay private, and the actual combined top 8 is revealed after voting closes.
Can DJs campaign for votes?
Absolutely — post your link, ask people to listen and vote. That's expected, and it's free promotion for the season. What isn't allowed is trying to submit multiple votes yourself (see below).
What stops someone voting twice?
The same email address can only vote once — try again and it just gets rejected. It isn't bulletproof against someone determined to juggle five different email addresses — nothing on the open web fully is — but it stops casual re-voting and scripted abuse cold. We're guarding against the obvious stuff, not chasing some unhackable perfect system.
§04 — Winning

Winning

Who gets in?
The top 8 acts by combined score — judges (60%) plus crowd vote (40%) — once both close. That's your season pool.
What happens after that?
Season Draft Day — an online random draw (no in-person event, no travel) that places all 8 pool DJs one at a time: each one revealed live, then dropped into a leg and a semi-final slot, until the whole bracket is set. Nobody knows their leg or their opponent until the draw actually happens.
What do the DJs in the pool actually win?
A place in Atherly's After Dark IV: The Coronation, with prizes at every stage:
  1. Each leg crowns its own champion: TT$2,000 cash, a crown, and a victory set.
  2. Both leg champions earn a seat at The Coronation.
  3. The Coronation winner takes the season's biggest prize and the crown itself.
I didn't make the top 8 — is that it?
For this season's pool, yes — but keep the mix up and keep an ear out. The prelims run again ahead of next season.
§05 — Predictions

Predictions

What can I predict?
Three separate TT$500 giveaways on the Predict page:
  1. Predict Leg 1 Champion. TT$500, from the full pool of 8, once the pool is set.
  2. Predict Leg 2 Champion. TT$500, same idea.
  3. Predict The Coronation. TT$500, guess the season's overall winner.
How does a TT$500 round actually get decided?
Once that event's real champion is known, everyone who guessed them correctly goes into a live wheel spin on stage — the same style of fair, random draw as Season Draft Day, just done live on stage instead of online — and whoever it lands on takes the TT$500. That's because more than one person usually calls the favorite; the wheel is what keeps it fair between all of them.
What if nobody guesses right?
No draw that night — nobody called it, so that round's prize just sits out.
Can I enter more than one round?
Yes — Leg 1, Leg 2, and The Coronation are completely independent. Enter any or all of them. One confirmed pick per email per round though — try to sneak in a second for the same round and it won't go through.
When do predictions close?
All three rounds open together the moment the 8-DJ pool is revealed, and lock together the instant Season Draft Day sets the pairings — well before Leg One even happens. That's deliberate: once you know who's paired with whom, guessing stops being a real bet.
§06 — Privacy

Privacy Notice

What do you collect, and why?
  1. If you register as a DJ: your act name, act type, your partner's name if you're a duo, email, phone, and Instagram handle if you give it, plus a record that you agreed to the terms — used to hold your candidate spot and to tell you when mix submissions open.
  2. If you submit a mix: just your email and mix link — we look up your act name, type, phone and Instagram from your registration automatically, so you don't give them twice. Used to review your entry and contact you if you make the pool.
  3. If you vote: just your email, used solely to stop the same person voting twice and to send a receipt confirming your pick.
  4. If you enter a prediction: a display name and your email — used to send the link that confirms your entry, to contact you if you're drawn for a prize, and shown on stage as the display name only when the draw is run.
  5. If you're on the judging panel: nothing you type in — your personal access code is all that's needed, and the server looks your name up from that alone to attribute your scores. There's no name field to fill in.
Who sees it?
Only the Atherly's After Dark team. It's stored in a private Google Sheet, never sold, and never shared with anyone outside the team running this event.
Does anyone else ever touch this data?
Google does, as the infrastructure this site runs on — entries are stored in a private Google Sheet and processed by Google Apps Script, the same way any Google Form or Sheet-based tool works. This site also loads two other outside services in your browser: Google Fonts (for the text on this page) and, only if you tap the Music button, a YouTube playlist in privacy-enhanced mode. Nobody else — no ad networks, no analytics companies, no data brokers.
Is my email or phone ever shown publicly?
No. The public Vote page only ever shows act names, vote counts and mix links — never anyone's contact details.
Do you use cookies or tracking?
No ad trackers or analytics of any kind. The only thing saved on your device is a small local flag noting you've voted, purely so the page can show you a friendly message — it never leaves your browser and isn't used to identify you. The optional background-music button loads YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode, which only starts behaving like a normal YouTube visit once you actually press play — untouched, it stays cookie-free.
How long is my data kept, and can I ask you to delete it?
For as long as it's useful for running this season's prelims. Email jarrydiatherly@gmail.com anytime to ask what we have on you or to have it removed.