1. Acquisition and Training of
L1 Judges
Judge Conference GP Milano 2011
Ludwig Lenzen

2. Structure
● Motivation
● Channels for Acquisition
● Candidate Profiles
● Candidate Criteria
● Measuring Progress
● Training
● Testing for L1
● Further Development

3. Motivation
● Judges constantly leave the programm
● Recruitment is key to development
● Acquisition expands the reach of the programm
● Acquisition is not just testing
● Actively seeking out candidates

4. Channels for Acquisition
● Acquisition is Community based
● Expanding reach into and tap potential
● Communities:
● PTQ Level
● Regional Tournaments
● Store Communities
● Unaffiliated Tournaments
● Message Boards
● Chats

5. Candidate Profile – Shop Employee
Opportunities Challenges
● Community integration ● Study time is usually
limited
● Experience with events
● Actual presence in event
● Motivated to develop
could become an issue
community

6. Candidate Profile – Unaffiliated TO
Opportunities Challenges
● Some experience with ● Motivation to judge and
events organize connected
● High motivation to
develop larger
community

7. Candidate Profile – Eternal Player
Opportunities Challenges
● Familiar with wide range ● Less familiar with non
of card interactions eternal formats
● Familiar with tournament ● Playing and judging
structures Eternal events may clash
● Playing and judging do
not usually clash

8. Candidate Profile – PTQ/NQ Player
Opportunities Challenges
● Good knowledge of ● Playing und judging may
Premiere Event formats conflict frequently
● Experience with ● Integration in store level
tournament structures communities can be an
issue

9. Candidate Profile – Rules Person
Opportunities Challenges
● Familiarity with rules ● May not be familiar with
will usually be at or tournament structures or
exceeding L1 actual formats
expectations ● Integration in store level
community can be an
issue

10. Candidate Criteria
● Most skills can be taught, but a few things are
less easy to teach but fundamental
● Motivation: The candidate needs to be willing to
pursue judging of his or her own choice
● Social Skills: The candidate should sufficiently
diplomatic and mature to not become a liability
to his or her events

11. Measuring Progress
● In the beginning: Introductions
● Discussions about anything Magic
● Interview the candidate
● Set up and discuss exams with the candidate
● Shadow the candidate during an event
● Review the candidate
● Get feedback from others

12. Training - General
● Discussions should always include solutions to
any problems posed
● If the candidate makes a mistake, always
explain how to improve
● With hard rules explain the interaction or
philosophy step by step through an example
● Once you have explained a concept, give the
candidate some time, then try a different
perspective on the same issue

13. Training – Rules Knowledge
● Never underestimate the basic rulebook
● Rules questions on boards are good training for
judge calls
● Judge classes and articles can quickly improve
weak areas
● Walk the candidate through important topics
● The candidate should be able to use the
Comprehensive Rules

14. Training – Policy
● The candidate must become familiar with JAR
● After reading, examples are most important
● Discussions during a tournament are even
better
● Explore alternatives with the candidate

15. Training – Running Events
● If the candidate is unfamiliar with a tournament,
arrange for him to play in as many as possible
● Simulate judge calls by posing problems
● Try to make the candidate aware of the players,
the TOs and the judges perspective
● If the candidate is somewhat comfortable with
tournament put him/her on staff in a Regular
REL event

16. Testing for L1
● Before you test the candidate, make sure
he/she has a good chance
● Test dates with an appropriate tournament
should usually be agreed on in advance
● Make certain you have enough time to test
● If you have not worked with the candidate, you
should consider not testing him an option – be
clear about this from the beginning

17. Testing for L1 – Tips for Big Events
● If you have not worked with the candidate
before,training and evaluation will coincide
● Try to evaluate the candidate in an early
interview
● If you believe he/she can be brought to L1
Level during the event, set up training
opportunities
● If not you should advise the candidate on
options for improvement and alternatives for
testing

18. Testing for L1 – Tips for Big Events
● Make sure, whether successful or not, the candidate
comes in contact with his/her community and
especially a local mentor or at least RC
● Remind the candidate of the Judge List and other
online ressources
● Stay in e-mail contact for some weeks or month to
ensure the candidate can link up to the local and
global community – this is especially important for
isolated areas

19. Further Development
● Start with the debriefing after the test to identify
remaining areas for improvement
● The next step is often the first GPT for a judge,
a starting point for work with the IPG – this may
lead to PTQs and greater challenges
● Most important is helping a candidate find his or
her place in the programm