It'll depend on how you want the reward sent out. Do you want to get a reward for a group winning craftsmanship, or going mano a mano no holds bars against each other, and just walk-on together? The second option means, I believe, you'd schedule different time to be judged and would have to have material for both of yourselves.
If you're judged as a group: 1, you go on stage together, 2 the reward is shared, 3 you are judged together, 4 if one of you is better at craftsmanship than the other, you will be put into the highest tier applicable.
So if you're middle-level and your friend is beginner level, your friend will be judged as if they're middle-level.
Majin can clarify for certain if it's changed this year, but that's been the general understanding of the rules in the past few years.