September 2016 Anniversaries

Here are the September 2016 judge anniversaries!

15 years

from Lyon, France
from Washington Terrace, United States
from Camarillo, United States
from San Diego, United States
from Grand Junction, United States
from Fairbanks, United States

10 years

from Clermont Ferrand, France
from Rapid City, United States
from Santiago, Chile
from Santiago, Chile
from Krakow, Poland
from elche, Spain
from madison, United States
from , France

5 years

from Xalapa, Mexico
from Johannesburg, South Africa
from Rosario, Argentina
from Dosson, Italy
from Amherst, United States
from San Marzano di San Giuseppe, Italy
from Crescent City, United States
from Little Falls, United States
from Zapopan, Mexico
from Pittsburgh, United States
from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
from Hengelo, Netherlands
from Katsushika-ku, Japan
from Montevideo, Uruguay
from Stockbridge, United States
from East Lansing, United States
from Mount Pearl, Canada
from Tianjin, China
from Mingorria (avila), Spain
from Maranello, Italy
from Calamba City, Philippines
from South charleston, United States
from H?nefoss, Norway
from Kochi-shi, Japan
from Manchester, England
from Cascavel, Brazil
from Santiago, Chile
from Cleveland, United States
from Liverpool, England
from Quezon City, Philippines
from Toronto, Canada
from Shikokutyuou-shi, Japan
from Estado de Mexico, Mexico
from B’Kara, Malta
from Palo Alto, United States
from Changsha, China
from Setagaya-ku, Japan
from brea, United States
from Melbourne, United States
from Birmingham, United States
from kaohsiung, Taiwan, Province of China
from Tainan, Taiwan, Province of China
from Santa Monica, United States
from Chiba-shi, Japan
from Kyoto-shi, Japan
from Beaconsfield, Canada
from Bellville, South Africa
from Okazaki-shi, Japan
from Isle of Wight, England
from Puerto de Burriana, Spain
from Wuxi, China
from San Diego, United States
from San Diego, United States
from Jackson, United States
from Oshawa, Canada
from South Bloomfield, United States
from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Province of China
from Mont Saint Aignan, France
from Durham, United States
from Klaaswaal, Netherlands
from Nantes, France
from CONWAY, United States
from gosselies (Belgium), Belgium
from Renens, Switzerland
from Little Falls, United States
from Rock Hill, United States
from Salem, United States
from Santiago, Chile
from Surrey, England

Congratulations, and thank you for all your hard work!

This month, we have so many L3 anniversaries that you have to visit this page to see all 6 of them! You can see that post here. For the regularly scheduled anniversaries, we are featuring 3 judges this month: Kaja Pękala, Aaron LaCluyze and Maria Zuyeva.

Small but strong

First, we have Kaja Pękala. Fellow Polish judge had this to say about her:

“Upon meeting Kaja, my first instinct was to ask “Are you lost, child?”. I was quickly briefed by Marcel (Poland’s OP Manager) that she single-handedly started to bring order to the tournament scene in Southern Poland, which at that time was a cesspool putting Mos Eisely to shame. This really impressed me and I have never stopped being impressed by Kaja.

That she challenges herself should be apparent to anyone looking at her judging career – starting out in an empty region and quickly climbing through the levels. That she challenges (constructively) others is something you learn when working with her – at a tournament or on a project. Kaja is well-known for her extensive reviews and the ever-growing list of languages she speaks. But personally, I know her as a dear friend.

Happy anniversary – judge long and prosper!”

And now from her husband and RC, Sebastian Pękala:

“Kaja has always been a great mentor and role model for other judges. From the very start, when she was a Level 1 judge, she paid a lot of attention to candidates and other L1 judges, helping them grow. Then, after testing for L2 she inspired a group of new L2s in Poland (myself included), and never stopped working on herself and others. Later on she developed unique skills for providing very detailed feedback, with lots of observations she’s able to gather at events and put into writing, to form some of the best reviews I’ve seen in the judge program. In recent years, as Level 3, she got involved in testing new L3s – by participating in PEI process, and working with aspiring judges, helping them prepare for their exam and develop necessary skills and knowledge.

I’ve been extremely lucky to get to work and develop my skills with her, and I’m proud and honoured to be calling her my beloved wife. I hope she will never change in striving to become better judge, friend, and person in general – and that’s something we could all learn from her.

Happy anniversary!”

The doctor will see you now

Next, RC talks about Aaron LaCluyze:

Aaron LaCluyze, known to many as Cluze or Dr Science, is one of the most passionate members of the Judge community. In his time in the program, he has established himself as a solid tournament judge that works with great enthusiasm, dedication, and professionalism. While making his home in Michigan and working in North Carolina, Aaron continued to judge events in both areas ensuring that both areas benefited from his work. He is one of the most visible judges in the player community through his podcast Random Discard and his Guest Co-Host Role on Monday Night Magic. His skills in the podcast arena have also benefited judge community through his creation of an audiobook version of the IPG.

Russia’s ambassador to the world

Last (but certainly not least), we’re featuring Maria Zuyeva. One of her many ex-RCs, , wanted to say this:

“Maria briefly joined my region on her seemingly never-ending tour of the world. While she was here she brought energy, positivity, and fun to the area, and was impressively keen to get involved and learn the UKISA community better. We always knew she’d be moving on again eventually, but we all miss her and her contributions to the region. Maria is a great asset to whatever area she is in, and a credit to the judge program.”

Her current RC, Eugene Bazhenov, also had these words:

“I’ve recently herd the following about Maria from a judge that I respect a lot: “Was she really a new L2 that recently? Wow!”

Indeed, Maria has progressed in the judge program very quickly, always leaving a bunch of excited “wows” after herself. The first time I’ve heard of her was a promise from Jared Sylva: “Hey, Eugene, we’ve just certified you a new L1 at the Pro Tour. You know, you’re definitely going to hear a lot more about her”. And so I did.

In these five years she’s been travelling a whole lot and managed to reside in different regions though she never lost her connection to the Russian –speaking judge community.

Maria is a Voice of Reason, a valued partner and opponent in policy discussions and a great friend to many of us here including myself. 🙂

Happy judge anniversary!”

Happy anniversary to all of you! We look forward to many more years of judging from you all.

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