Feb 6, 2015

Grow Your Own Judges

Elevate your events by fostering a homegrown judge pool, with all levels of expertise. Here's how!

Feb 6, 2015

Grow Your Own Judges

Elevate your events by fostering a homegrown judge pool, with all levels of expertise. Here's how!

As your players ascend the judge program, the quality of your events ascends with them.

Here's how you can help your own players climb the ranks, and why you should.

Rules Advisor

Rules Advisors have proven game rules expertise without necessarily having expertise with tournament rules. To qualify, they'll pass the Rules Advisor exam at the Judge Center.

While a Rules Advisor takes care of debates about card interactions, you can focus on taking care of the player experience—like giving a player personal attention, or clearing up booster wrappers after a draft.

Scout interested players and point them toward the Judge Center to take the exam. Once they've passed, designate that player as the go-to for rules questions.

Level 1 (L1)

L1s have expertise with game rules and tournament rules. To certify, they'll interview with an L2, pass an exam, and judge at two sanctioned events.

An L1 will know tournament structure—how many Swiss rounds before top 8, what to do when a match goes to time—plus best practices to help ensure an event goes smoothly, from the sign ups to the finals.

Encourage or incentivize players to join the program, point them toward your local Regional Coordinator, and invite them to oversee your events.

Level 2 (L2)

L2s have game and tournament rules mastery, plus infraction procedure expertise. To certify, they'll judge three "high level" events, work with multiple stores, and meet a few other requirements.

Got volatile players? L2s got your back. They're adept at diffusing tense situations with their experience and expert judgment.

Invite L1s to shadow an L2 at your PPTQ and run "practice" events at competitive REL. Recommend them to another local store.

Whichever stage your potential judges are at, there's something you can be doing now to help. Help your players grow as judges, and watch the quality of your events grow along with them!

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