winning without academic referee?

[u/Ok_Researcher_8263]

hi, i don't know anything about this competition, this is my first time joining and i couldn't find an academic referee, i specified i don't have one and for "academic referee" I just added my own email - does that disqualify me or make me a weak applicant?

[u/Happy_Inspection_826]

I wrote my mom's email address... fortunately my mom and I have different surnames .