Champions are authors and editors of proposals. The champion is responsible for the evolution of the proposal from Phase 0 through Phase 5; at Phase 4 maintenance transfers to the WebAssembly Working Group (WG). Champions have admin permissions in the proposal repository. Periodically, champions may bring their proposal to the Community Group (CG) meetings to ask for consensus on phase advancement.
When asking for advancement, the champion is expected to make the whole proposal accessible for review by the CG, by explaining its contents, providing supporting documentation, etc. Material changes should be presented explicitly.
It is often beneficial for champions to keep the CG updated with periodic status updates outlining major changes in the regular CG meetings. While minor changes can be made through discussions within the repository or the relevant subgroup, substantial design changes may require a vote from the CG so that the CG has a chance to review the proposal and possibly re-evaluate if the proposal is in the appropriate stage. Examples include a change to the fundamental assumptions or structure of a proposal, a decision that has a substantial impact on the future direction, or a resolution to a contentious issue that is hard to resolve.
It is not necessary that champions are knowledgeable about every component of the spec or its implementation, but they are responsible for the general management of the proposal repository, which includes:
- Keeping track of issues in the proposal repository and mediating them when necessary. When discussions are contentious and hard to resolve, champions are expected to wrap them up and suggest the next steps.
- Responding to issues or PRs in the repository, or letting other people with expertise take care of them, ensuring that all important issues are appropriately addressed. These responsibilities may be shared with subgroup chairs in cases where there is a relevant subgroup.
Note: First two paragraphs are adapted from the “Scope of Responsibility for Champions” section in https://tc39.es/process-document/.