diff --git a/register_judges.inc.php b/register_judges.inc.php
index c18abc6..b4a623b 100644
--- a/register_judges.inc.php
+++ b/register_judges.inc.php
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ function specialawardStatus()
 
 	$q = mysql_query("SELECT typepref FROM judges WHERE
 				id='{$_SESSION['judges_id']}'");
+	if(mysql_num_rows($q) != 1) return "incomplete";
 	$r = mysql_fetch_object($q);
-	if($r != 1) return "incomplete";
 
 	$qq = mysql_query("SELECT COUNT(id) AS num FROM judges_specialaward_sel 
 				WHERE judges_id='{$_SESSION['judges_id']}'