First time guide Welcome to the growing number of judges working a Grand Prix. With the exploding number of Grand Prix, many new judges are getting the opportunity to work Professional events for the first time. But you may have some questions on everything that is required of judges of larger events, so here are some tips to make your weekend as successful and enjoyable as possible. Contents [hide] 1 Preparing for the Event 1.1 Beforehand 1.2 The Day of the Tournament 1.3 When You Get to the Venue 2 How a Big Event Works 2.1 The Judges and Judging Staff 2.2 Public Events 3 Judging 4 After the Event 4.1 Reviews 4.2 Keeping in Touch 4.3 Doing it Again Preparing for the Event

Beforehand Review the Comp Rules, IPG, MTR, etc. Check the tournament information for the format and familiarize yourself with it. That means checking the B&R list, if appropriate, and rules on deck construction, draft timing, etc. It helps to read some web articles on playing the format, as well, to know what is being played and what interactions generate questions. Also check the judge format guide if available. Find out where the tournament is and when the judges are supposed to arrive. All big tournaments begin with a judge meeting day one. Plan on being there, on time. Figure out how to get to the site, and how long it will take, in advance. The Day of the Tournament Bathe or shower. We tell players that, and it goes doubly for judges. Eat breakfast. It will be a long day. Start it right. Dress appropriately: black pants, Magic Judge shirt (if you have one; light colored T-shirt without markings if you don't, to go under a borrowed shirt – preferably without showing through), black shoes, belt, socks, etc. If you have extra black shoes, bring them. Being able to change your shoes halfway through a long day walking on concrete can save your feet. Bring a pen. We also bring pennies to use as tokens, a PG card, a water bottle, etc. Bring a notebook. Take notes of interesting rulings. Evaluating your fellow judges is a huge part of working large events. Taking notes about your interactions and how other judges interact can be very helpful when writing evaluations after the tournament. Bring your enthusiasm. When You Get to the Venue Look around. Wizards of the Coast has spent some money to make the venue interesting. If you can, get there a bit early so you can see the sights. While looking around, note where the bathrooms are (you will get asked), food, the public events stage, and the main event stage. Then look for a bunch of judges sitting around waiting for the judge meeting. Head over there and join in.

How a Big Event Works

The Judges and Judging Staff Meet your Head Judge and Judge Manager at the events. Also meet your TO and scorekeeper and know who they are if you have any questions. At the main event, the judges will be divided into teams. Each team will have a team lead, and a number of judges assigned to the team. Large events generally have at least four teams. Paper: One team will handle pairings - posting pairings at various places around the venue, posting standings, and pulling them back down 10 minutes before the round ends. Deck Checks: This team is responsible for doing deck checks. In sealed events, the deck check team may collect the decklists when players build their decks. There is often more than one deck check team. Logistics: Logistics handles room set-up, table numbering, setting up land stations and so forth. Feature Events: judge the feature matches, post results, etc.

When judges are not performing their team functions, they will be doing just what everyone else does while judging: answering questions, watching for problems and mistakes, collecting match slips, pushing in chairs, and picking up trash. Public Events First off, public events are important. At Worlds, 2006, a couple hundred players participated in the main event, but THOUSANDS participated in public events. At most main events, all the judges, except for the main event head judge, generally work on public events for at least one day. Public events are busy. The public events judge lead will be juggling judges around all day. Sometimes you will start helping with one tournament, then shift to another as the number of players drops, then start a few boosters. You may often be the closest judge, and take judge calls from other events. Working public events is far busier than the main event, and you will get far more judge calls.

Judging

A few notes on judging: Don't Panic Yes, it is a big event. Yes, you may be called on to make decisions or judge calls in events with a lot on the line. Don't worry too much about it. You may find yourself walking slowly, so another judge gets to the call first, or being afraid to take a call. That's human, but if the more experienced judges didn't think you should be here, you wouldn't be here. Take the call. Do your job, think clearly, and If You are not Sure, Ask A big event has a lot of judges in attendance. If you are unsure of something, ask another judge. If you are not sure of a ruling, tell the players you want to check something, that they will get extra time, and then find another judge and talk it over with him or her. Along the same lines, if you see something in a game or match that does not look right, ask about it. Yes, you may be interrupting the players, but if something is wrong, you need to deal with it. If not, at least the players know the judges are watching. In the main event at all times, and whenever possible at publics, judges “shadow” each other. This means that when one judge arrives to take a question, another judge follows him or her, and listens in. Shadowing happens everywhere, with every judge – it's not just people checking on first time judges. Your shadow is a reference during the ruling, and a source of feedback afterwords. He or she is also a safety net if you start to head in the wrong direction, but that is not the main purpose. Making Mistakes It happens. Try not to. When it does, deal with it and move on. Fix it, if you can. It also helps to discuss mistakes – or what you thought might have been a mistake – with other judges. That's how you learn from them. Experienced judges got that way by making mistakes, and learning from them.

Being Professional Don't eat or drink on the floor. Don't use language or do anything you wouldn't want you mother to hear. Don't trade cards or play games wearing your judge shirt. In short, be on your best behavior. Don't disgrace the uniform.

Oracle Text At constructed events, players may be playing with old or foreign cards. Their opponents may want a current Oracle wording. The scorekeeper will have that on his/her computer and most judges will have oracle on their phones.

Match Slips If you have never filled out a match slip before, or need a refresh, read Result entry slips, penalties, and you. When a player hands a match slip to you, be sure to look at the slip and confirm the results with the player. If one of the players has marked that they are dropping, confirm that the correct person is marked as dropping. It is very easy for players to accidently drop the wrong person and this can be very problematic at large events. Return the slips to the scorekeeper.

Taking Care of Yourself Judging is hard work. You want to drink plenty of liquids during the day. Generally, you can't have liquids on the floor, but most venues have water coolers scattered around. Get a cup of water, drink it (and throw the cup away) when you need to. Take breaks when your team lead tells you to, and ask for one if and when you need it. When you do take a break, or when you get lunch, sit down. Judging is also hard mental work. Get plenty of sleep beforehand. More importantly, talk with other judges during the event. It makes a nice change of mental gears, and it helps. Just don't get so involved in a discussion that you are not watching the floor. Judges should remain spread out, discussions in twos and threes are fine, however.

The Non-Judging Judging Judging does not end when the event wraps up for the day, you go on break or your shift ends. The main reason Wizard brings judges from all over is to train them, and a huge part of that training is meeting and getting to know other judges. A big part of that meeting happens after the shifts end. At the end of the day, most of the judges are going to head out for dinner. Frequently, large groups of judges will head for a restaurant for a long meal and a lot of talk. In every case I have seen, anyone is welcome to attend. These dinners are often the best part of a big event. We only offer one caveat: some of the older judges – those with jobs / incomes – like to eat well. If your budget is tight, ask about the price range. Almost all judges are also Magic players. Judges often draft, especially if they get a box of product at the end of the event. At other times, drafts may spring up. Other judges play a format called Elder Dragon Highlander (Commander) – and many EDH players have extra decks they are willing to lend out.

After the Event

Reviews The DCI is all about judge growth. Quality judges provide an enjoyable and consistent tournament experience across the entire Magic-playing world. No judge can improve without feedback, however, so it is important to a) provide that feedback to others and b) accept the feedback that others give you. The review area of the judge center is the tool of choice for this purpose. It is recommended that you provide honest and useful reviews for at least two other judges after the event (more than two is also quite welcome). It is also recommended that you speak with the judges you intend to review in person before the event is over. An unexpected review (particularly a less-than-glowing one) can be a shocker. A review does not need to be long, but it should be useful. In general, a good review includes a couple of things that the reviewed judge did well, and one or two things that he or she could improve upon. Constructive criticism is welcome (emphasis intentional). You should also expect to get a couple of reviews from others. In fact, if there is a judge that you work with at the event who may not otherwise review you (because he/she isn't your team lead or head judge), it's entirely appropriate for you to specifically request observation and a review. When you get a review, don't just read it and forget it — use the information to continue to improve as a judge.

Keeping in Touch A side benefit of the judge center is the ability to contact other judges, even if you don't have their contact information. Just go to the “Find” page, where you can type in a judge's name and send that person an email. Remember, judges like to chat about judging, even if it's not in person. Another way to keep in touch is on the #mtgjudge channel on IRC (EFNet). This channel is always a strange and fascinating mix of guru-level rules discussion with random light chat about life in general.

Doing it Again Practice is the key to success, and this is just as true for judging high-level events as it is for anything else. If you enjoyed the experience, come back! If you were too nervous to enjoy the experience, come back! The more you participate, the easier it gets, the more relaxed you'll be, and the more you'll be able to focus on having a good time. “Judging – if you are not having fun, you are not doing it right.”- Sheldon Menery We hope this helps, and we hope to see you at the next big event.