Virtual Judging
Learn all about volunteering as a Virtual Judge this year in our 2021 Judging Brochure!
Thank you for serving as a volunteer Judge for the Chicago Metro History Fair Regional Contest for 2021! The CMHF regional contests have now concluded and the Illinois History Day state contest is ongoing!
Registering to Judge
The state contest needs additional judges! The state contest will take place in zFairs and uses the exact same rules and evaluation forms as CMHF. Judging takes place similar to an “Offline” format from Saturday, April 24 through Tuesday April 27. You may also choose to judge for Finals selections (April 28-May 1). To register, follow the instructions below.
If you are already registered as a judge in zFairs for CMHF, you may use the same account for State:
- Go to the CMHF zFairs page
- Log into your zFairs judging account
- Select Judging > External Portal from the main menu in zFairs. This will bring you to a new screen called “Multi-Contest Judge Access”
- Select the green “Add” button and scroll down to find “Illinois History Day” on the list of contests
- Click the green “request access to judge” button next to Illinois History Day
If this is your first time judging this year or you would prefer to simply make a new account:
- Go to the IHD zFairs page
- Select Create Account > Judge from the main menu in zFairs
- Answer the required questions and finish creating your account
Virtual Judge FAQs
What is zFairs?
New for 2021, all CMHF judging will take place through the zFairs Contest Management System. Once you create your Judge account in the system, zFairs provides one site where you can view your assigned projects, evaluate them online, confer with your judging team, and submit your evaluations all in one convenient site. Using zFairs will also greatly reduce the number of steps required for students who advance to State and National competition.
What about State and Nationals?
If you would like to participate as a judge at the State or National contest levels, zFairs makes it easy to do so! Instructions to register as a state or national judge will be available closer to the contest dates.
How will I evaluate projects in zFairs?
Much more information on this is coming, including tutorial guides and video walkthroughs! A full orientation will also be included as a part of each judging session, and CMHF staff are always available to help.
Click here to visit our zFairs contest page and begin the judge registration process!