Andy Cotgreave—Tableau’s technical evangelist—was back to host his fifth Iron Viz competition. He brought along a new co-host and partner in crime, Tableau Community Marketing Manager Danika Harrod. Their excitement was infectious as they introduced this year's data rockstars, CJ Mayes, Kimly Scott, and Will Sutton, who earned their place by rising to the top from hundreds of amazing Visualizing the Arts entries. The stakes were high as the three finalists prepared to click, drag, and drop their viz-loving hearts out to be named the champion and win thousands of dollars in prize money for themselves and the charity of their choice.

This year’s data set centered around the global impact of education on a given region’s demographics. It was composed of educational statistics and figures by country and year from multiple data sources. Working alongside each contestant was their study buddy, trusted advisor, and fiercest cheerleader, their Sous Vizzer. Each Sous Vizzer brought much-needed product expertise and moral support to our finalists throughout the competition.

The formidable contenders needed to impress a world-class panel of data experts, composed of last year’s Iron Viz Champion Lisa Trescott, Tableau VP of Research and Design Dr. Jock Mackinlay, and Tableau Public Director Taha Ebrahimi. The judges evaluated the vizzes based on three criteria: design, analysis, and storytelling. The judges' score made up 90% of each contestant's total score, while the audience weighed in with the remaining 10% of the votes via text.

[source: Iron Viz 2022 Championship finalists demonstrate best-in-class mastery of data skills (tableau.com)]