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Hackathon Technical Implementation - WordPress with Elementor

This document covers implementing the entire hackathon judging system within WordPress using Elementor.

Architecture Overview

Elementor Form → Custom Post Type → WP REST API → AI Processing → Judge Scoring
                                          ↓               ↓
                                  Discord Webhook    Admin Dashboard

1. WordPress Plugin Structure

clank-tank-hackathon/
├── clank-tank-hackathon.php      # Main plugin file
├── includes/
│   ├── post-types.php            # Custom post type registration
│   ├── api-endpoints.php         # REST API routes
│   ├── ai-integration.php        # OpenRouter/AI calls
│   ├── discord-integration.php   # Discord webhook handler
│   ├── scoring-system.php        # Judge scoring logic
│   ├── admin-panel.php           # Admin UI components
│   ├── elementor-widgets.php     # Custom Elementor widgets
│   └── acf-fields.php            # ACF field definitions (if using ACF)
├── assets/
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
└── templates/
    └── elementor/
        ├── submission-form.php
        └── leaderboard-widget.php

Plugin Header

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: Clank Tank Hackathon
 * Description: AI-powered hackathon judging system for WordPress
 * Version: 1.0.0
 * Author: Clank Tank Team
 * Text Domain: clank-tank-hackathon
 * Requires at least: 6.0
 * Requires PHP: 7.4
 * Elementor tested up to: 3.20.0
 * Elementor Pro tested up to: 3.20.0
 */

// Check for required plugins
add_action('admin_notices', function() {
    if (!class_exists('Elementor\Plugin')) {
        echo '<div class="notice notice-error"><p>Clank Tank Hackathon requires Elementor to be installed and activated.</p></div>';
    }
});

2. Elementor Form Integration

// includes/elementor-widgets.php
use Elementor\Widget_Base;
use Elementor\Controls_Manager;

class Hackathon_Submission_Form extends Widget_Base {
    public function get_name() {
        return 'hackathon_submission';
    }

    public function get_title() {
        return 'Hackathon Submission Form';
    }

    protected function register_controls() {
        // Form field controls for Elementor editor
    }
}

// Hook into Elementor form submission
add_action('elementor_pro/forms/new_record', function($record, $handler) {
    $form_name = $record->get_form_settings('form_name');

    if ('Hackathon Submission' !== $form_name) {
        return;
    }

    $raw_fields = $record->get('fields');
    $fields = [];
    foreach ($raw_fields as $id => $field) {
        $fields[$id] = $field['value'];
    }

    // Create custom post
    $post_data = [
        'post_title' => $fields['project_name'],
        'post_content' => $fields['description'],
        'post_type' => 'hackathon_project',
        'post_status' => 'pending'
    ];

    $post_id = wp_insert_post($post_data);

    // Save all meta fields
    update_post_meta($post_id, '_team_info', [
        'name' => $fields['team_name'],
        'email' => $fields['email'],
        'discord' => $fields['discord'],
        'twitter' => $fields['twitter']
    ]);

    update_post_meta($post_id, '_project_urls', [
        'github' => $fields['github_url'],
        'demo_video' => $fields['demo_video_url'],
        'live_demo' => $fields['live_demo_url']
    ]);

    update_post_meta($post_id, '_category', $fields['category']);
    update_post_meta($post_id, '_status', 'submitted');

}, 10, 2);

3. Custom Post Type & Meta Fields

// includes/post-types.php
function register_hackathon_submission() {
    register_post_type('hackathon_project', [
        'labels' => [
            'name' => 'Hackathon Projects',
            'singular_name' => 'Project'
        ],
        'public' => true,
        'has_archive' => true,
        'supports' => ['title', 'editor', 'custom-fields', 'elementor'],
        'show_in_rest' => true,
        'menu_icon' => 'dashicons-awards',
        'rest_base' => 'hackathon-projects',
        'rest_controller_class' => 'WP_REST_Posts_Controller'
    ]);
}

// Store all judge scores for same criteria
function save_judge_scores($post_id, $judge_name, $round, $scores) {
    $all_scores = get_post_meta($post_id, '_judge_scores', true) ?: [];

    // All judges score the same criteria
    $criteria = ['innovation', 'technical_execution', 'market_potential', 'user_experience'];

    $all_scores[$round][$judge_name] = array_combine($criteria, $scores);

    update_post_meta($post_id, '_judge_scores', $all_scores);
}

Database Schema

-- WordPress custom tables for hackathon data (optional, can use post meta instead)
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS {$wpdb->prefix}hackathon_scores (
    id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
    post_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL,
    judge_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    round INT NOT NULL,
    innovation DECIMAL(3,1),
    technical_execution DECIMAL(3,1),
    market_potential DECIMAL(3,1),
    user_experience DECIMAL(3,1),
    weighted_total DECIMAL(4,1),
    created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    PRIMARY KEY (id),
    KEY post_id (post_id),
    KEY judge_round (judge_name, round),
    FOREIGN KEY (post_id) REFERENCES {$wpdb->prefix}posts(ID) ON DELETE CASCADE
) {$wpdb->get_charset_collate()};

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS {$wpdb->prefix}hackathon_community_votes (
    id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
    post_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL,
    discord_user_id VARCHAR(100),
    reaction_type VARCHAR(20),
    created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    PRIMARY KEY (id),
    KEY post_reaction (post_id, reaction_type),
    UNIQUE KEY unique_vote (post_id, discord_user_id, reaction_type),
    FOREIGN KEY (post_id) REFERENCES {$wpdb->prefix}posts(ID) ON DELETE CASCADE
) {$wpdb->get_charset_collate()};

Meta Field Schema

// Register meta fields for REST API
function register_hackathon_meta_fields() {
    $meta_args = [
        'type' => 'object',
        'single' => true,
        'show_in_rest' => [
            'schema' => [
                'type' => 'object',
                'properties' => [
                    'name' => ['type' => 'string'],
                    'email' => ['type' => 'string', 'format' => 'email'],
                    'discord' => ['type' => 'string'],
                    'twitter' => ['type' => 'string']
                ]
            ]
        ]
    ];

    register_post_meta('hackathon_project', '_team_info', $meta_args);

    register_post_meta('hackathon_project', '_project_urls', [
        'type' => 'object',
        'single' => true,
        'show_in_rest' => [
            'schema' => [
                'type' => 'object',
                'properties' => [
                    'github' => ['type' => 'string', 'format' => 'uri'],
                    'demo_video' => ['type' => 'string', 'format' => 'uri'],
                    'live_demo' => ['type' => 'string', 'format' => 'uri']
                ]
            ]
        ]
    ]);

    register_post_meta('hackathon_project', '_category', [
        'type' => 'string',
        'single' => true,
        'show_in_rest' => true
    ]);

    register_post_meta('hackathon_project', '_status', [
        'type' => 'string',
        'single' => true,
        'show_in_rest' => true
    ]);
}
add_action('init', 'register_hackathon_meta_fields');

Alternative: Using ACF (Advanced Custom Fields)

Since your site has ACF installed, you might prefer using it for field management:

// includes/acf-fields.php
if (function_exists('acf_add_local_field_group')) {
    acf_add_local_field_group([
        'key' => 'group_hackathon_project',
        'title' => 'Hackathon Project Details',
        'fields' => [
            [
                'key' => 'field_team_info',
                'label' => 'Team Information',
                'name' => 'team_info',
                'type' => 'group',
                'sub_fields' => [
                    ['key' => 'field_team_name', 'label' => 'Team Name', 'name' => 'name', 'type' => 'text'],
                    ['key' => 'field_team_email', 'label' => 'Email', 'name' => 'email', 'type' => 'email'],
                    ['key' => 'field_team_discord', 'label' => 'Discord', 'name' => 'discord', 'type' => 'text'],
                    ['key' => 'field_team_twitter', 'label' => 'Twitter', 'name' => 'twitter', 'type' => 'text']
                ]
            ],
            [
                'key' => 'field_project_urls',
                'label' => 'Project URLs',
                'name' => 'project_urls',
                'type' => 'group',
                'sub_fields' => [
                    ['key' => 'field_github_url', 'label' => 'GitHub URL', 'name' => 'github', 'type' => 'url'],
                    ['key' => 'field_demo_video', 'label' => 'Demo Video', 'name' => 'demo_video', 'type' => 'url'],
                    ['key' => 'field_live_demo', 'label' => 'Live Demo', 'name' => 'live_demo', 'type' => 'url']
                ]
            ],
            [
                'key' => 'field_category',
                'label' => 'Category',
                'name' => 'category',
                'type' => 'select',
                'choices' => [
                    'defi' => 'DeFi',
                    'gaming' => 'Gaming',
                    'ai_agents' => 'AI/Agents',
                    'infrastructure' => 'Infrastructure',
                    'social' => 'Social',
                    'other' => 'Other'
                ]
            ]
        ],
        'location' => [
            [
                [
                    'param' => 'post_type',
                    'operator' => '==',
                    'value' => 'hackathon_project'
                ]
            ]
        ],
        'show_in_rest' => true
    ]);
}

4. AI Research Integration

// includes/ai-integration.php
class HackathonAIResearch {
    private $api_key;
    private $endpoint = 'https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions';

    public function research_project($post_id) {
        $project = get_post($post_id);
        $meta = get_post_meta($post_id);

        $prompt = $this->build_research_prompt($project, $meta);

        $response = wp_remote_post($this->endpoint, [
            'headers' => [
                'Authorization' => 'Bearer ' . $this->api_key,
                'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
            ],
            'body' => json_encode([
                'model' => 'perplexity/sonar-small-online',
                'messages' => [['role' => 'user', 'content' => $prompt]]
            ])
        ]);

        $research = json_decode(wp_remote_retrieve_body($response), true);
        update_post_meta($post_id, '_ai_research', $research);

        return $research;
    }
}

5. Judge Scoring System

// includes/scoring-system.php
class JudgeScoring {
    // All judges use same criteria but with different weights
    private $judge_weights = [
        'aimarc' => [
            'innovation' => 1.2,
            'technical_execution' => 0.8,
            'market_potential' => 1.5,
            'user_experience' => 1.0
        ],
        'aishaw' => [
            'innovation' => 1.0,
            'technical_execution' => 1.5,
            'market_potential' => 0.8,
            'user_experience' => 1.2
        ],
        'spartan' => [
            'innovation' => 0.7,
            'technical_execution' => 0.8,
            'market_potential' => 1.3,
            'user_experience' => 1.3
        ],
        'peepo' => [
            'innovation' => 1.3,
            'technical_execution' => 0.7,
            'market_potential' => 1.0,
            'user_experience' => 1.2
        ]
    ];

    public function calculate_weighted_score($post_id) {
        $scores = get_post_meta($post_id, '_judge_scores', true);
        $weighted_totals = [];

        foreach ($scores as $round => $round_scores) {
            foreach ($round_scores as $judge => $criteria_scores) {
                $weights = $this->judge_weights[$judge];
                $weighted_total = 0;

                foreach ($criteria_scores as $criterion => $score) {
                    $weighted_total += $score * $weights[$criterion];
                }

                $weighted_totals[$round][$judge] = $weighted_total;
            }
        }

        return $weighted_totals;
    }
}

6. Elementor Leaderboard Widget

// Custom Elementor widget for displaying leaderboard
class Hackathon_Leaderboard_Widget extends Widget_Base {

    public function get_name() {
        return 'hackathon_leaderboard';
    }

    public function get_title() {
        return 'Hackathon Leaderboard';
    }

    protected function render() {
        $settings = $this->get_settings_for_display();

        $projects = get_posts([
            'post_type' => 'hackathon_project',
            'posts_per_page' => -1,
            'meta_key' => '_total_score',
            'orderby' => 'meta_value_num',
            'order' => 'DESC'
        ]);
        ?>
        <div class="hackathon-leaderboard-widget">
            <table class="elementor-table">
                <thead>
                    <tr>
                        <th>Rank</th>
                        <th>Project</th>
                        <th>Team</th>
                        <th>Category</th>
                        <th>Score</th>
                        <th>Actions</th>
                    </tr>
                </thead>
                <tbody>
                    <?php foreach ($projects as $index => $project): 
                        $team_info = get_post_meta($project->ID, '_team_info', true);
                        $urls = get_post_meta($project->ID, '_project_urls', true);
                    ?>
                    <tr>
                        <td class="rank-<?php echo $index + 1; ?>"><?php echo $index + 1; ?></td>
                        <td>
                            <a href="<?php echo get_permalink($project); ?>">
                                <?php echo get_the_title($project); ?>
                            </a>
                        </td>
                        <td><?php echo esc_html($team_info['name']); ?></td>
                        <td><?php echo get_post_meta($project->ID, '_category', true); ?></td>
                        <td><?php echo get_post_meta($project->ID, '_total_score', true); ?></td>
                        <td>
                            <a href="<?php echo esc_url($urls['demo_video']); ?>" class="elementor-button elementor-size-sm">
                                Watch Demo
                            </a>
                        </td>
                    </tr>
                    <?php endforeach; ?>
                </tbody>
            </table>
        </div>
        <?php
    }
}

7. Discord Integration

// includes/discord-integration.php
add_action('rest_api_init', function() {
    register_rest_route('hackathon/v1', '/discord-webhook', [
        'methods' => 'POST',
        'callback' => 'handle_discord_webhook',
        'permission_callback' => '__return_true',
        'args' => [
            'type' => [
                'required' => true,
                'type' => 'string',
                'enum' => ['reaction', 'comment', 'vote']
            ],
            'project_id' => [
                'required' => true,
                'type' => 'integer',
                'validate_callback' => function($param) {
                    return get_post($param) !== null;
                }
            ],
            'reaction' => [
                'type' => 'string',
                'enum' => ['check', 'hundred', 'moneybag', 'fire']
            ],
            'user_id' => [
                'required' => true,
                'type' => 'string'
            ]
        ]
    ]);
});

function handle_discord_webhook($request) {
    $data = $request->get_json_params();

    // Process Discord reactions/votes
    if ($data['type'] === 'reaction') {
        $project_id = $data['project_id'];
        $reaction = $data['reaction'];
        $user_id = $data['user_id'];

        // Update community feedback
        $feedback = get_post_meta($project_id, '_community_feedback', true) ?: [];
        $feedback['reactions'][$reaction][] = $user_id;

        update_post_meta($project_id, '_community_feedback', $feedback);
    }

    return new WP_REST_Response(['status' => 'success'], 200);
}

Discord Webhook Schema

// Expected webhook payload from Discord bot
{
    "type": "reaction",
    "project_id": 123,
    "reaction": "fire", 
    "user_id": "discord_user_123456",
    "username": "hackathon_participant",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z"
}

// Community feedback meta structure
{
    "reactions": {
        "check": ["user_id_1", "user_id_2"],        // ✅ General approval
        "hundred": ["user_id_3"],                   // 💯 Technical excellence
        "moneybag": ["user_id_4", "user_id_5"],    // 🤑 Economic potential
        "fire": ["user_id_6", "user_id_7"]         // 🔥 Community vibes
    },
    "total_reactions": 7,
    "sentiment_score": 1.75  // Max 2.0 bonus points
}

8. Admin Dashboard

// includes/admin-panel.php
class HackathonAdminPanel {
    public function __construct() {
        add_action('admin_menu', [$this, 'add_menu_pages']);
    }

    public function add_menu_pages() {
        add_menu_page(
            'Hackathon Dashboard',
            'Hackathon',
            'manage_options',
            'hackathon-dashboard',
            [$this, 'render_dashboard'],
            'dashicons-awards',
            30
        );

        add_submenu_page(
            'hackathon-dashboard',
            'Judge Scoring',
            'Scoring',
            'manage_options',
            'hackathon-scoring',
            [$this, 'render_scoring_page']
        );
    }

    public function render_dashboard() {
        // Dashboard with project stats, status overview
        ?>
        <div class="wrap">
            <h1>Hackathon Dashboard</h1>

            <!-- Status Cards -->
            <div class="hackathon-stats" style="display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr); gap: 20px; margin: 20px 0;">
                <div class="stat-card" style="background: #fff; padding: 20px; border-radius: 8px; box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);">
                    <h3>Total Submissions</h3>
                    <p style="font-size: 2em; margin: 0;"><?php echo $this->get_submission_count(); ?></p>
                </div>
                <div class="stat-card" style="background: #fff; padding: 20px; border-radius: 8px; box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);">
                    <h3>Pending Review</h3>
                    <p style="font-size: 2em; margin: 0;"><?php echo $this->get_pending_count(); ?></p>
                </div>
                <div class="stat-card" style="background: #fff; padding: 20px; border-radius: 8px; box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);">
                    <h3>Round 1 Complete</h3>
                    <p style="font-size: 2em; margin: 0;"><?php echo $this->get_round1_count(); ?></p>
                </div>
                <div class="stat-card" style="background: #fff; padding: 20px; border-radius: 8px; box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);">
                    <h3>Final Scores</h3>
                    <p style="font-size: 2em; margin: 0;"><?php echo $this->get_completed_count(); ?></p>
                </div>
            </div>

            <div class="recent-submissions">
                <?php $this->display_recent_submissions(); ?>
            </div>
        </div>
        <?php
    }
}

9. Automated Processing

// WP-Cron for automated judging
add_action('init', function() {
    if (!wp_next_scheduled('process_hackathon_submissions')) {
        wp_schedule_event(time(), 'hourly', 'process_hackathon_submissions');
    }
});

add_action('process_hackathon_submissions', function() {
    // Get pending submissions
    $args = [
        'post_type' => 'hackathon_project',
        'meta_key' => '_status',
        'meta_value' => 'submitted',
        'posts_per_page' => 5 // Process 5 at a time
    ];

    $query = new WP_Query($args);

    while ($query->have_posts()) {
        $query->the_post();
        $post_id = get_the_ID();

        // Run AI research
        $ai = new HackathonAIResearch();
        $ai->research_project($post_id);

        // Update status
        update_post_meta($post_id, '_status', 'researched');
    }

    wp_reset_postdata();
});

10. Elementor Page Templates

// Create Elementor template for project display
add_filter('single_template', function($template) {
    global $post;

    if ($post->post_type === 'hackathon_project') {
        // Check if Elementor template exists
        $elementor_template = locate_template('single-hackathon_project.php');
        if ($elementor_template) {
            return $elementor_template;
        }
    }

    return $template;
});

// Dynamic tags for Elementor
add_action('elementor/dynamic_tags/register', function($dynamic_tags_manager) {
    $dynamic_tags_manager->register(new \Hackathon_Score_Tag());
    $dynamic_tags_manager->register(new \Hackathon_Judge_Comments_Tag());
    $dynamic_tags_manager->register(new \Hackathon_Community_Reactions_Tag());
});

11. Episode Generation

// Generate episode data for recording
function generate_episode_data($post_id, $round) {
    $project = get_post($post_id);
    $scores = get_post_meta($post_id, '_judge_scores', true);
    $research = get_post_meta($post_id, '_ai_research', true);
    $community = get_post_meta($post_id, '_community_feedback', true);

    $episode = [
        'show_id' => 'clank_tank_hackathon',
        'episode_id' => 'HTH_R' . $round . '_' . $post_id,
        'title' => get_the_title($post_id),
        'scenes' => generate_judging_scenes($project, $scores, $research, $community, $round)
    ];

    // Save for external recording system
    update_post_meta($post_id, '_episode_data_round_' . $round, $episode);

    // Or export to JSON file
    $upload_dir = wp_upload_dir();
    $file_path = $upload_dir['basedir'] . '/hackathon-episodes/round' . $round . '/' . $post_id . '.json';
    wp_mkdir_p(dirname($file_path));
    file_put_contents($file_path, json_encode($episode, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT));

    return $episode;
}

12. REST API Endpoints & Schemas

Available Endpoints

GET  /wp-json/wp/v2/hackathon-projects         - List all projects
GET  /wp-json/wp/v2/hackathon-projects/{id}    - Get single project
POST /wp-json/hackathon/v1/submit              - Submit new project
POST /wp-json/hackathon/v1/discord-webhook     - Discord reactions
GET  /wp-json/hackathon/v1/scores/{id}         - Get project scores
POST /wp-json/hackathon/v1/judge/{id}          - Trigger AI judging
GET  /wp-json/hackathon/v1/leaderboard         - Get ranked projects

REST API Response Schemas

// GET /wp-json/wp/v2/hackathon-projects/{id}
{
    "id": 123,
    "date": "2024-01-15T12:00:00",
    "date_gmt": "2024-01-15T12:00:00",
    "guid": {
        "rendered": "https://m3org.com/tv/?post_type=hackathon_project&p=123"
    },
    "modified": "2024-01-16T14:30:00",
    "modified_gmt": "2024-01-16T14:30:00",
    "slug": "defi-lending-protocol",
    "status": "publish",
    "type": "hackathon_project",
    "link": "https://m3org.com/tv/hackathon/defi-lending-protocol/",
    "title": {
        "rendered": "DeFi Lending Protocol"
    },
    "content": {
        "rendered": "<p>Project description...</p>",
        "protected": false
    },
    "excerpt": {
        "rendered": "<p>A decentralized lending platform...</p>",
        "protected": false
    },
    "author": 1,
    "featured_media": 456,
    "template": "",
    "meta": {
        "_team_info": {
            "name": "Team Alpha",
            "email": "team@example.com",
            "discord": "TeamAlpha#1234",
            "twitter": "@teamalpha"
        },
        "_project_urls": {
            "github": "https://github.com/team/project",
            "demo_video": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=...",
            "live_demo": "https://demo.example.com"
        },
        "_category": "DeFi",
        "_status": "round1_complete",
        "_total_score": 38.5
    },
    "acf": {
        "team_info": {
            "name": "Team Alpha",
            "email": "team@example.com",
            "discord": "TeamAlpha#1234",
            "twitter": "@teamalpha"
        },
        "project_urls": {
            "github": "https://github.com/team/project",
            "demo_video": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=...",
            "live_demo": "https://demo.example.com"
        },
        "category": "defi"
    },
    "_links": {
        "self": [
            {
                "href": "https://m3org.com/tv/wp-json/wp/v2/hackathon-projects/123",
                "targetHints": {
                    "allow": ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE"]
                }
            }
        ],
        "collection": [
            {
                "href": "https://m3org.com/tv/wp-json/wp/v2/hackathon-projects"
            }
        ],
        "about": [
            {
                "href": "https://m3org.com/tv/wp-json/wp/v2/types/hackathon_project"
            }
        ],
        "author": [
            {
                "embeddable": true,
                "href": "https://m3org.com/tv/wp-json/wp/v2/users/1"
            }
        ],
        "wp:featuredmedia": [
            {
                "embeddable": true,
                "href": "https://m3org.com/tv/wp-json/wp/v2/media/456"
            }
        ],
        "wp:attachment": [
            {
                "href": "https://m3org.com/tv/wp-json/wp/v2/media?parent=123"
            }
        ],
        "curies": [
            {
                "name": "wp",
                "href": "https://api.w.org/{rel}",
                "templated": true
            }
        ]
    }
}

// GET /wp-json/hackathon/v1/scores/{id}
{
    "project_id": 123,
    "project_name": "DeFi Lending Protocol",
    "rounds": {
        "1": {
            "judges": {
                "aimarc": {
                    "raw_scores": {
                        "innovation": 8,
                        "technical_execution": 7,
                        "market_potential": 9,
                        "user_experience": 7
                    },
                    "weighted_total": 33.5
                },
                "aishaw": {
                    "raw_scores": {
                        "innovation": 7,
                        "technical_execution": 9,
                        "market_potential": 6,
                        "user_experience": 8
                    },
                    "weighted_total": 34.2
                }
                // ... other judges
            },
            "round_total": 135.7
        },
        "2": {
            // Round 2 scores with community feedback incorporated
        }
    },
    "community_bonus": 1.5,
    "final_score": 38.5
}

// GET /wp-json/hackathon/v1/leaderboard
{
    "projects": [
        {
            "rank": 1,
            "id": 123,
            "name": "DeFi Lending Protocol",
            "team": "Team Alpha",
            "category": "DeFi",
            "score": 38.5,
            "rounds_complete": 2
        },
        // ... more projects
    ],
    "total_projects": 25,
    "last_updated": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z"
}

Form Submission Schema

// POST /wp-json/hackathon/v1/submit
{
    "project_name": "DeFi Lending Protocol",
    "description": "A decentralized lending platform...",
    "category": "DeFi",
    "team_name": "Team Alpha",
    "email": "team@example.com",
    "discord": "TeamAlpha#1234",
    "twitter": "@teamalpha",
    "github_url": "https://github.com/team/project",
    "demo_video_url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=...",
    "live_demo_url": "https://demo.example.com",
    "how_it_works": "Our platform uses smart contracts...",
    "problem_solved": "Traditional lending is slow and expensive...",
    "technical_highlights": "We implemented a novel liquidation mechanism...",
    "whats_next": "We plan to add cross-chain support..."
}

Benefits of WordPress + Elementor Approach

  1. Visual Form Builder: Use Elementor's form widget with custom actions
  2. Drag-and-Drop Pages: Create submission pages and leaderboards visually
  3. Dynamic Content: Use Elementor's dynamic tags for project data
  4. Responsive Design: Built-in mobile optimization
  5. User-Friendly: Non-developers can modify layouts and content
  6. Template System: Create reusable templates for project displays
  7. Popup Integration: Use Elementor popups for voting/feedback
  8. Performance: Elementor's optimization features for fast loading

WordPress Environment Notes

Based on your m3org.com/tv setup:

  1. Existing Infrastructure:
  2. WordPress with standard REST API structure
  3. Elementor Pro installed (confirmed by elementor_library post type)
  4. ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) available for field management

  5. Standard post types only (no custom hackathon types yet)

  6. Implementation Recommendations:

  7. Use ACF for managing hackathon fields (cleaner UI than raw meta)
  8. Leverage Elementor Pro's form actions for submission handling
  9. Build on existing REST API patterns from your site

  10. Consider using existing post categories vs custom post type for simpler setup

  11. Quick Start Path:

  12. Create ACF field group for hackathon submissions
  13. Use Elementor form with custom webhook action
  14. Store in regular posts with specific category
  15. Add custom REST endpoints only where needed