Articoli
Magic Judge Monthly - March 2012
Articolo del 11-4-2012Archives
Listen to the March 2012 Podcast
Table of Contents
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Documents and Web Contents
- March 20 IPG by Toby Elliott
- Judge Wiki Content Discussions – Summary by Michael Wiese
- IMJ – February – PT and GP staff lists (with photos) by Riccardo Tessitori
- Judge Article of the Year – Winner! by Christian Gawrilowicz
- Judge Articles March 2012 by Philip Schulz
- MTR now up to date on rules.wizards.com! by Charlotte Sable
- Judge Stream by Gareth Tanner
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Projects & Jobs
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Community and Program
- Happy Anniversary! March 2012 by Johanna K. Virtanen
- Judge Advancements – February 2012 Update by Carlos Ho
- Judge Advancements – March 2012 Update by Michael Wiese
- L3 applications and My Events by Jeff Morrow
- Team Leading at Grand Prix by Andy Heckt
- Recommendations for L1 Candidates by Brian D. Schenck
- My First L0 by Michael Swager
- Sharing Location info by Donato Del Giudice
- Submit questions to Judge Center or to Judge Booth by Pete Jahn
- Judge Center issue (reminder) by Brian Schenck
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Policy and Tournament Operations
- Sealed Deck GPT by Ivan Stefanov
- Drafting Double-Faced Cards – When Can Players Look? by Eric Shukan
- Misdirection and leading a player by Charlotte Sable
- Intervening in Competitive REL? by Zie Aun Tan
- Arena and Commiting to an Action by Alaric Stein
- Is this collusion? by Jason Wong
- Smartphone application in tournament by Camille Pouliquen
- Question about tardiness at Competitive REL play by Jeff Einwiller
- A few policy questions… by Michael Swager
- Drawing Extra Cards or not by Martin Köhler
- Simultaneous concessions at PTQ by Petr Hudecek
- Top 8 "courtesy" deck checks by Tom Williams
- When to call a judge at competitive and professional? by Chris Manrique
- Update on DQ Cases and some DQ Reporting Tips by Eric Shukan
- Hall of Fame gives players Club Level? by Even Lindell Heggø
- [DCI Knowledge Pool] Bronze Level Scenario-Potential Problems! by Ben McDole
- [DCI Knowledge Pool] Regular REL deck issue – BRONZE by David Zimet
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March Events
- GP LILLE 2012 – March 3-4
- GP SEATTLE 2012 – March 3-4
- GP INDIANAPOLIS 2012 – March 10-11
- GP NASHVILLE 2012 – March 17-18
- GP KUALA LUMPUR 2012 – March 24-25
- GP MEXICO CITY 2012 – March 24-25
- GP MELBOURNE 2012 – March 31 – April 1
- GP SALT LAKE CITY 2012 – March 31 – April 1
- GP TURIN 2012 – March 31 – April 1
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April Events
- GP MANCHESTER 2012 – April 21-22
Documents and Web Contents
March 20 IPG by Toby Elliott
With a little delay to avoid confusion during the end of March events, Toby has released the IPG, with an effective date of April 12.
Direct download link
Judge Wiki Content Discussions – Summary by Michael Wiese
In the last weeks, Michael asked you to submit content for various pages for the Judge Wiki. Now we were able to improve old and create new Wiki pages. Thanks to everybody who took part in this process, especially the judges who worked on those pages.
The first topic was Deck Checks. Thanks to your input and Derek Landini for the final editing.
The next topic was Judging at your First GP aka First Timer Guide. Thanks to Ryan Dobesh who created this page.
The last topic so far is Tournament Announcements. Thanks to Mackenzie Stratford for editing and merging the input from different pages.
Special thanks to Christian Gawrilowicz and Jurgen Baert for providing additional support.
IMJ – February – PT and GP staff lists (with photos) by Riccardo Tessitori
Welcome to the second episode of InternationalMagicJudges.net.
In January, we introduced the home page, which we would like to contain all the links to the 30 most useful websites for Magic Judges
This month we introduce the PT and GP staff lists.
Next month, we will introduce "Card of the Month", a learning tool for Magic rules.
You can check all the monthly updates here
Judge Article of the Year – Winner! by Christian Gawrilowicz
Out of the four contestants for the final voting Matteo Callegari won with his article Working together for a better community: the Italian Magic Judges website.
Congratulations to him and to the other finalists (David De La Iglesia, Fabian Peck, Justin Turner), to all other participants and thank you very much for everyone who voted!
Judge Articles March 2012 by Philip Schulz
- A Brief History of Certification – The First 10 Years – David Hibbs
- Running Deck Verification Procedures – Derek Landini
- GP Indianapolis, High Tide, Trinisphere and the Philosophy of Backups – Riccardo Tessitori
MTR now up to date on rules.wizards.com! by Charlotte Sable
The MTR is now available and up to date on rules.wizards.com. Feel free to use it for reference, study, etc. If you find any errors, please contact Charlotte Sable.
Judge Stream by Gareth Tanner
Paul Smith will be streaming every Tuesday (9:00pm GMT; 4:00pm EST;1:00pm PST). The stream (and recording for later watching) can be found here
All recordings of the previous weeks topics can also be found here (Warning: this channel also contatins some personal videos)
Projects & Jobs
Projects is a new section of the DCIJUDGE-L summary. All calls to action for projects can be found here. Full list of projects in the Judge Program
The following projects are looking for contributors:
The Knowledge Pool is looking for 2-3 L2+ judges fluent in English as contributors, who are able to participate replying to discussions over email (2-3 times per week). Interested? Contact David De La Iglesia
Creative Fun Ideas is slowly taking up more substance on the Judge Wiki (project description). If you are interested in contributing, please contact Richard Drijvers
The Flashcard project is looking for 1-2 more people short term to help with the finishing touches of the CR flashcards. Yes, for the first time there will be flashcards to study the Comprehensive Rules! Please contact Ryan Stapleton if you want to help.
Wiki Content for Tournament Operations
Jurgen Baert, Michael Wiese & team create and update articles about the various aspects of tournament operations.
They need your feedback:
- Was the created content useful to you? Did you learn anything?
- Did you pass these pages on to your local judge (candidates) to read?
- Did you like the discussion on the judge mailing list?
- What can we do to improve this project idea?
- What topics would you like to hear about in the future?
Community and Program
Happy Anniversary! March 2012 by Johanna K. Virtanen
Johanna Virtanen:"It's once again time for judge anniversaries. Here are the judges who have been with us for 10 or 5 years."
Featured veteran for the month is Daniel Ojcius.
This month, we have one Level 3 anniversary: Wearn Chong.
Judge Advancements – February 2012 Update by Carlos Ho
Carlos Ho: "I can happily announce that we have now 96 new L1 judges and 18 new L2 judges. Sweet! And also, a new L3 in Europe! If you're L2+ testing a new L1 at an event, try to take a picture of the candidate with a judge shirt on and upload it to the Judge Center while entering the review."
You can find the full list here.
Judge Advancements – March 2012 Update by Michael Wiese
Michael Wiese: "Hello Judges, I am happy to annouce for the first time the advancements for March. Thanks to Carlos Ho who did this until now.
But now I can annouce 103 new L1s for March, together with 25 new L2 and one new L3 this sums up to 129 advancements for March 2012. Beside the new L3 we have a first Judge on Cyprus, which is great."
You can find the full list here.
L3 applications and My Events by Jeff Morrow
Jeff Morrow: "The My Events functionality on the Wizards website has gone away again, and will likely be down for some time.
For those of you applying for L3 in the near term, if you are confident that you have met the event requirements, go ahead and apply as soon as you have the rest of your checklist completed. The checklist verification committee will request an event list from Wizards to confirm.
If you are not sure whether or not you have met the event requirements, please mailto:eric.sorensen@wizards.com contact Eric Sorensen and request an event list."
Team Leading at Grand Prix by Andy Heckt
Andy Heckt: "With the advent of the L3 checklist, many L2s are seeking to be a team leader. I have instructed GP HJs however to only use 1/2 of their slots (rounded up) for L2s on Sunday because I see a need for L3s to lead by example on Sunday. Because of this, the slots provided to L2s to team lead are being prioritized to those who are most completed on their L3 checklists while we get through the level redefinition transition and the greater desire for judges to become L3.
I hope this is clear and if you have questions, ask away!"
Recommendations for L1 Candidates by Brian D. Schenck
Monthly update from Brian Schenck, DCIX Manager, about the L1 test.
- The Policy for L1 includes the JAR and the MTR section 2, 10 and Appendix B.
- Triggered abilities are very popular lately and it is important to know how to handle them correctly.
- The combat phase appears to be difficult to many people.
- Deep knowledge of layers is not required, but it is important to be able to determine P/T.
- "You" refers to the controller and cards have to be read carefully.
My First L0 by Michael Swager
Mentorship is not required for a L1, but of course you are invited to help the growth of the local community. The L1 mentor is allowed to discuss the Practice Tests and should find the L0's weaknesses, making sure they are ready to take the exam and finding an L2 that could certificate the candidate.
Sharing Location info by Donato Del Giudice
From Dieter Schoeters, European Events Manager: "In general, when it's not on the website it means the location isn't public yet, although it might be communicated to judges. So it's better not to share it until the fact sheet is public."
Submit questions to Judge Center or to Judge Booth by Pete Jahn
If you make up questions for candidates, submitting them to the Judge Center (over the Judge Booth) has priority and is always appreciated, especially if they are about new keywords and cards. Ideal questions are usually direct and to the point, and as specific as possible.
Judge Center issue (reminder) by Brian Schenck
Reminder for the issues in the Judge Center you should share with your communities:
- A feedback needs to be submitted, with DCI number and ID of the Exam, in order to activate or renew the Rules Advisor Membership. Without RA Membership, you cannot create the Practice Exam.
- New Judge Levels pass through a weekly check by Eric Sorensen, so the update takes usually about two weeks.
- The year is stuck on 2010, so be sure to highlight "This is a 2012 …" in the ‘Strenghts' field.
Policy and Tournament Operations
Sealed Deck GPT by Ivan Stefanov
There has been some confusion for Limited GP Trials, and where and when there should be a cut to a Top 4 instead of a Top 8. The MTR allows a GP Trial to cut to Top 4 instead of Top 8, if an extra Swiss round is run. However, the advertising documents for events supersede this, and in this case in Limited a cut should be made to the Top 8. This lead to further discussion about drafts in an 8-man tournament. It is allowed to run the Top 8 with the Sealed decks used in the Swiss rounds.
Drafting Double-Faced Cards – When Can Players Look? by Eric Shukan
There is no official policy as to when players are allowed to look at double faced cards during drafting, however there have been a number of investigations recently with double faced cards involved, and it was worth discussing some ‘best case practices' with called drafts from Star City Games draft opens and Grand Prix events.
Some good ideas that came up:
- Instruct players at the start of the pack to reveal all double faced cards, and give them time to look at other cards.
- In a called draft, allow an additional 5 seconds before picking up the next pack to review double faced cards that have been passed/picked.
- Outside of allowed times, players are still required to focus solely on their own cards and to not look around.
Misdirection and leading a player by Charlotte Sable
The question was raised about ‘coaching' and the card Misdirection played incorrectly, changing a spell's target to itself. Originally, the ruling was made that the entire playing of the spell was incorrect due to illegal targets, and was therefore rewound. After discussion, it was determined that it was ‘ok' to talk a player through Misdirection, as the card is forced to retarget, and can only do so on resolution. This would lead to no ‘choices' really available to the player, and they have to make a correct choice.
Intervening in Competitive REL? by Zie Aun Tan
A player casts Intangible Virtue and immediately after declares two tokens as attackers. His opponent reacts by blocking with Fume Spitter rather than sacrificing it in response to kill one of the tokens. Is the quick pace of play of the attacking player cause for intervention at Competitive REL? No infraction has occurred and nothing illegal has happened, so unless there is potentially more to the situation, no intervention is called for. At Regular REL a judge could, after the match, talk to a newer player to explain options in situations like this (e.g. responding to spells).
Arena and Commiting to an Action by Alaric Stein
Two interesting discussion topics:
- When is a player committed to an action? Is a player held to a choice made at first touch, or can an opponent ‘take back' an action before it's fully resolved, such as in this case returning a creature to the battlefield that was ‘hovering' over the Graveyard? Generally, until an action is fully resolved, i.e. putting the creature into the graveyard, it's ok to back up and make another choice. The assumption is that a decision is not ‘final' until everything is resolved and guy is in yard.
- ‘I want my Knight to fight your Goyf'. An opponent used language that, while not using the technical term ‘target', still implied that this is what was occurring. As current policy reads, this is acceptable, although a review of this language may need to take place in the future.
Is this collusion? by Jason Wong
Player asks his opponent to concede to him, then offers a prize split, accepted, then asks again for a concession. Is this collusion/bribery? 5.4 Unsporting Conduct – Bribery and Wagering of the IPG includes example C: ‘A player asks for a concession in exchange for a prize split'. Player A should receive a DQ for offering, and Player B can potentially receive a DQ if he did not call a judge immediately.
A query was made about smartphone use in tournaments. With the MTR being updated by the time this is produced, no answer was given at the time. Information about the MTR updates can be found in the documents section.
Question about tardiness at Competitive REL play by Jeff Einwiller
Even if there are many players who are late at the beginning of a round of a competitive event (like a GPT), that does not mean that we should delay the tournament. They may have a perfectly good reason why they weren't there on time – but the bottom line remains that they should communicate to you that they need time and could be late.
A few policy questions… by Michael Swager
The first question concerns how far we should go to help and educate players at Regular REL: if a players ask us if having a second Thalia (which is legendary) on the battlefield will have an effect which will be added to the first one, should we tell him that the Thalias will be put in the graveyard because of the legend rule?
The MTR says "Judges are encouraged to help players in determining free information, but must avoid assisting players with derived information about the game state". Since all derived information is free at Regular REL, this sentence basically transforms into "Judges are encouraged to help players in determining non-private information".
That means that we should educate players and that can be done either by telling them outright that two Thalias cannot be on the battlefield at the same time, or by hinting at it, depending on what is your preferred educational approach.
The second question is a very tricky one, but also one that can happen quite often: if the players call us because there is a discrepancy about life totals, which originated many rounds before they noticed, how can we know which players is right? Of course there is no absolute answer, and we need to investigate and determine what you believe happened; if you simply can't find any reason to doubt either player, then perhaps it's important to note that players are expected to keep track of THEIR life total (but no such requirement exists for the opponent's life total).
One very important and helpful suggestion from Kaja Federowicz is well worth mentioning: "These discrepancies are among the toughest calls out there. Sometimes there's absolutely no way to determine which story is the more accurate one, yet players expect us to make a fair ruling. Whatever you decide, explain how hard it is for us, and remember: it's not about apologising. It's about making them understand our decision (and partially making them feel … responsible), so that they don't feel ‘cheated by the judge'."
Drawing Extra Cards or not by Martin Köhler
Martin Köhler lists some interesting situations that might help to understand when DEC is the right call for an infraction.
Simultaneous concessions at PTQ by Petr Hudecek
At a PTQ, two players reach the finals, none of them wants the travel award and invitation, but both want the second-prize cash award and/or product, both will try to concede. What should we do in this case?
First of all we need to remember that travel awards, byes and similar awards cannot be converted to cash and thus cannot be split.If you are in a situation where neither finalist wants the first-place prize, both preferring the second-place prize? Well, they can split second place, and no one gets first. Some judges suggest that the players can play the match with the winner getting the prize he wants. But the best suggestion is the one from uncle Scott: when there is a prize that can't be split, nor have a monetary value placed on it – i.e., the three byes for a GP Trial or the PT invite and airfare – then it is strongly suggested to award all other prizes based on standings after the Swiss. Then, those who don't want the "top" prize can drop before you perform the cut to Top 8 (or Top 4), and only those who want to win will be competing. It can be hard to convince some TOs to change, but this is the ideal, "everyone wins" system.
Top 8 "courtesy" deck checks by Tom Williams
"Courtesy" checks, performed before the Top 8 matches of competitive events like GPTs and PTQs, are different from regular deck checks because we do not wait for players to present their decks to their opponents before picking them up. The misconception is that you can't get a penalty from a "courtesy" check, while in fact, you can.
We should NOT penalize a "failure to de-sideboard" from a courtesy check. If you discover marked sleeves, just have the player change them before Top 8 starts. No penalty, unless there's reason to proceed to a serious investigation.
If you discover an illegal card for the format, or a mismatch between the deck and the list, apply the appropriate infraction, penalty and remedy. The game loss will apply to that player's quarterfinal match.
When to call a judge at competitive and professional? by Chris Manrique
What if a deck lends itself to the opponent making lots of GRVs? Does the player of such a deck have a responsibility to remind his opponent of effects like the one from Orim's Chant? There seems to be an agreement that it's not the player's responsibility, and that calling a judge for each of his opponent's mistakes is fine.
Update on DQ Cases and some DQ Reporting Tips by Eric Shukan
From Erik Shukan, leader of the investigation sphere writes: _"I'm happy to say that that we are now current through and including Dec 2011 – we are exactly back on schedule.
Here are a few DQ reporting tips to help the team be more efficient and make their best determination:
- Give the player the opportunity to write a statement. If he refuses, mention that in your report.
- Write your own statement before reading the player's statement to avoid basing it on what the player wrote. Your report should only reflect your own point of view."_
Hall of Fame gives players Club Level? by Even Lindell Heggø
From Scott Larabee, Organized Play Manager:
- For the 2012 Pro Club (the Levels 1-8 version), Hall of Fame members are at least level 5. These benefits last until the end of 2012.
- For the 2013-2013 Pro Club (the Silver, Gold, Platinum version), Hall of Fame members do not have inherently a Pro Club level. Hall of Fame members have their own benefits (which largely parallel Gold level). These benefits start after PT Avacyn Restored.
[DCI Knowledge Pool] Bronze Level Scenario-Potential Problems! by Ben McDole
Scenario
[DCI Knowledge Pool] Regular REL deck issue – BRONZE by David Zimet
Scenario
March Events
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Carlos Ho
I had a blast head judging GP Lille. It was the third French GP I head judged in a row, and after spending 6 months living in France just before this GP, I was a lot more confident about my French language skills, and I really enjoyed putting them to good use. And they were useful, even for asking random people on the street on Sunday evening for directions to bars or pubs that might still be open for a group of judges to go to. I also enjoyed working with judges from all over the globe, like Argentina, China and Costa Rica; these events are becoming more and more international, and I like that. I'd like to thank the whole team for making this event, the second largest GP of the year, so smooth. Merci beaucoup, mes amis!
Head Judge: Kevin Desprez
It's been a pleasure to get to see old friends again, not only from the GP staff but also from the city I've lived 7 years in. I'd strongly advise you to not HJ an evet when you have a flu-like illness, it makes things much more difficult and much less enjoyable…
In the end, I spent a great day, thanks to the great staff we had there.
I think the natural conclusion is that it was the sickest GP I've ever been at
Regional Coordinator: Alexis Rassel
GP Lille was my first French GP as an RC. It was very challenging to handle the staff selection, but with the help of the RC community and the HJs, everything went very well.
I really enjoyed working with Carlos, Kevin and Glen and of course all judges that were there. I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. I'm looking forward to see you in GP Lyon :-)
Globetrotters:
Alejandro Raggio, Argentina
Arick Dickerman, Costa Rica
Wang Fang, China
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Chris Richter
I was more than happy with how my first solo GP went. At GP Seattle / Tacoma we had 1156 player, 15 rounds and relatively few problems. Thanks to the tournament organizer (Tim Shields and Cascade Games) the staff and the players for such a successful event.
Regional Coordinator: Aaron Hamer
GP Seattle was fantastic – the hotel was great, the food was great, the judges were great, and there were even cupcakes! I can't say enough good things about the staff and how the event went down in the books – my only complaint is that I saw so many of you so briefly. Let's make this a regular thing, shall we?
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Riccardo Tessitori
GP Indy was a very nice experience; awesome Organizer, beautiful venue (we were in the Indianapolis Colts stadium!!), great company, interesting experience; the only thing I could ask in addition to this would be just a few days to visit the area and have fun with my friends…. soooo…. see you soon!!
Regional Coordinator: Dan Stephens
Grand Prix Indianapolis ended with many happy players and judges. There were lots of good stories shared, new friendships made, and great experiences for everyone. High tide decks couldn't stop GP Indy from being a fantastic success!
Globetrotters:
Arick Dickerman, Costa Rica
Kevin Desprez, France
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Jeff Morrow
GP Nashville turned out to be a very smooth event, and a very fun weekend! I'd like to thank TO Donnie Noland, RC Jared Sylva, and judge coordinator James Elliott for helping make the tournament a great success!
Regional Coordinator: Jared Sylva
Grand Prix: Nashville showcased one of the most striking venues of the Grand Prix circuit and also served as a showcase for a burgeoning Tennessee Judge Community. Jason Flatford was a wonderful local host and the whole Tennessee judge community displayed the great crop of homegrown talent that will be taking the excitement of GP: Nashville back home to their local game stores!
Globetrotters:
Jorge Antonio Penailillo Monckeberg, Chile
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: James Mackay
I couldn't let the two-headed-judge take over the whole event, there was discussion about tearing the two shirts in half and sewing together some sort of zombie-hybrid-blue-red shirt – seemed like a
violation of the Uniform Policy, so I had to step in and relieve Wearn of one of his shirts…
Great time was had by all, another super challenging learning experience under my belt – can't wait for the next one!
Head Judge and Regional Coordinator: Wearn Chong
And the answer is… I got to wear both! On Saturday I had the privilege of being in the maroon shirt supported by an awesome judge staff which includes James Mackay, and on Sunday James took over and I got to put on my blue shirt as Regional Coordinator for SE Asia. The weekend went smoothly, we certified 4 new L2 judges and players as well as judges had a great time. All in all, a great weekend for everyone!
Globetrotters:
Daniel Kitachewsky, France
Fabian Peck, Australia
Jonathon East, New Zealand
Kim Warren, Great Britain
Raymond Fong, Great Britain
Takeshi Miyasaka, Japan
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge and Regional Coordinator: Damian Hiller
GP Mexico is in the books and it was a blast! Werewolves, vampires, ghosts and so forth were no match for the well prepared gang of judges who showed up in Mexico city. When after a full weekend of Magic you ask a player "How did you do this weekend" and answers "I went 2-6" and the you continue with "Did you have fun?" and the answer is "Yes, this was fantastic!", you know you did a good work here. With the first of the three Latin American GP done, the whole community anxiously awaits for what's to come in Sao Paulo and then San José!
Head Judge: Hector Fuentes
Being the host of this wonderful event was one of the things that the mexican judge community was waiting, to show our friends all over the world the hospitality and friendship that makes this program the best. We had 4 days of good stories, old and new, good adventures and the chance to meet new people, who we expect to see infuture events!
Globetrotters:
Adrian Estoup, Argentina
Alejandro Raggio, Argentina
Alexei Gousev, USA
Andrés Abujatum, Chile
Cassidy Melczak, USA
David De La Iglesia, Spain
Federico Donner, Uruguay
John Alderfer, USA
Jorge Antonio Penailillo Monckeberg, Chile
Jose Nazareno, Argentina
Rodrigo Gimenez, Brazil
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Nathan Brewer
Heading up the biggest event in Australia (so far) was made easy by an amazing team of judges. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make my weekend great, from players to vendors to judges. I can;t wait to see you all again at the next one
Regional Coordinator: James Mackay
An amazing event in my home city – I feel like I've come full circle since my first GP here in ‘05. A great weekend for the community, with multiple L1 and L2 advancements – South East Asia is really hitting it's straps! Go Team!
Globetrotters:
Aaron Hamer, USA
Arthur Wu, Taiwan
Chin Kai Ong, Singapore
Hans Wang, Taiwan
Hosea Chong, Malaysia
Jason Lemahieu, USA
Rajesh Ganesan, Malaysia
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Chris Richter
Thanks for all staff or players that helped make the 2012 edition of Grand Prix Salt Lake City so successful. This was the first time that three different Grand Prix were run on the same weekend worldwide. Salt Lake City's was the last to start, and also ended up being the largest. Especial thanks to those seven judges that were originally intending to play in the event that were added on Saturday morning to help handle the much larger than expected crowd. The ‘boosted' judge staff was quite capable of handling the large event, and had to deal with moving some matches to a separate floor due to space issues for a few rounds. The turnout by players and judges to the event show that Magic is alive and well in the mountain region of the US. Hopefully it won't be another severn years until the next Grand Prix in Salt Lake City.
Regional Coordinator: Sean Catanese
Grand Prix Salt Lake City will be remembered not only for turnout nearly doubling expectations and a great conference streamed around the world, but also for the immense development the western United States (and elsewhere) has experienced because of it.
This GP set a record for new judges in the program, with 16 new L1s, including eight from Utah, two each from California and Wyoming (a state with just three judges prior to the GP), and one new L1 each in Arizona, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico. This GP class of L1s is also noteworthy for their high passing rate, with only one unsuccessful L1 exam on the weekend.
Four Level 2 candidates were also promoted at the GP, including:
- Kevin Long from Los Angeles, California (he also presented an investigations seminar at the conference!)
- Tj Morrison from Clovis, California (the first L2 in the state's vast Central Valley region!)
- Josue Rodriguez from Puerto Rico (cheered on at the event by the man who certified him for L1, Gustavo Otero de Leon!)
- Alex Jacques from Kansas City, Missouri (the state's second L2, and his brother also certified for L1 on the weekend at a different event!)
Globetrotters:
Federico Donner, Uruguay
Victor Lira De Vasconcelos, Brasil
GP coverage
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Jurgen Baert
GP Turin was a blast!
Thanks to Wouter Maenhaut and Danny Brosens for the great organization. Cristiana Dionisio, thank you for being a great RC! Kevin Desprez and David de la Iglesia: great job at Public Events, I knew I could trust you guys with this and you've proven great! Mirko Console and Matteo Callegari, thank you for making Friday a blast for everyone, either working the event or attending the conference! Very special thanks to Jeff Morrow (the one and only J-Mo) for making this my best GP so far, and for being a fantastic HJ. Also thanks for the evenings to you and Gijsbert Hoogendijk (to name just two), I had a great time! Oh, and Jeff: your discovery of Eataly … I'm speechless! Finally (last, but not least, as they say): I'd like to thank all the staff at this event; this was the most smooth GP I've ever been a HJ for and it's thanks to you guys! As soon as the show gets running, you're the ones making it or breaking it, and I can honestly say that you made it fantastic! Congratulations to each of you! On day 1, all-stars Riccardo Tessitori and Kim Warren deserve a special mention. For day 2 in particular: Fabio Ivona, Gianluca Bonacchi and Walter Zara — well done!
Head Judge: Jeff Morrow
I was honored to be asked to travel all the way to Europe to be one of the Head Judges for GP Turin. Thanks to the great staff, this was one of the fastest and smoothest GPs I've ever seen! In particular, I'd like to thank HJ Jurgen Baert, RC Cristiana Dionisio, TO Wouter Maenhaut, and XO Riccardo Tessitori. And I'd like to particularly congratulate our newest L3, Stefan Ladstätter!
Regional Coordinator: Cristiana Dionisio
GP Turin has been a beautiful tournament thank you to Jurgen Baert and Jeff Morrow and ALL the 70+ judges who made this event special.
Special thanks go to Wouter Maenhaut who provided space, televisions and food for the Judge Conference and he showed how much amazing a TO can be, Alessandra Farina whose pictures are simply amazing ("MaGiC CoVeRaGe ? by Alessandra Farina":http://www.facebook.com/#!/magiccoverage) and she enlights the venue with her professionality and skills, Philipp Daferner and Matteo Callegari who tested judges until the very end of the GP. Finally congratulations to Luca Romano, Antonio Jose Rodriguez Jimenez and William Tiddi who became L2s and Stefan Ladstätter to get to L3. I talked basically for 3 days without stopping and finally I lost my voice so I can't bother anybody for some time
April Events
GP information
Judge list with photos
Head Judge: Kevin Desprez
A new GP for Carlos and I tag team. We're getting used to HJ events together and now know what we should each be doing!
Next stop for us is Manchester, where I wonder how Carlos will succeed to introduce himself in the local language before switching to English
Head Judge: Carlos Ho
Back to back UK GP head judging after doing GP London last year? I'll take it! I can't wait to arrive in Manchester to search for some dim sum and enjoy a brazilian rodizio like we did in London. Too bad the match at Old Trafford will take place Sunday afternoon, otherwise I'd have likely tried to get tickets for that and visit the famous stadium with a few more judges, making it an even better weekend. Still, it looks like a pretty sweet one.
Regional Coordinator: Paul Smith
I'm thrilled to be the one to welcome the judge team to Manchester, where we will see how far the Dark has Ascended in Avacyn's absence.
Come prepared for a jolly good show of British hospitality, there may not be tea and scones but we hope that beer and curry will suffice instead – and, of course, for those brave enough to participate or spectate, there will be kareoke. Oh yes, there will be kareoke. See you there!
Globetrotters:
John Alderfer, USA
