Hi everyone!

Just like we did for the last Exemplar Wave, we once again would like to put the spotlights on some very deserving Recognitions, and dig just that little bit deeper in the how and why of the actions that led to them. We’ve chosen four Recognitions from Wave 8 that we would like to share with you, and will give the nominees the chance to elaborate on them.

Without further ado, let’s move on to the first Recognition, which is one that was given to Area Captain Thibaut Clause, coming from our very own Regional Coordinator, Richard Drijvers:

“Hello Thibaut,

The Review you submitted for the L2 maintenance requirements really surprised me in a good way. Firstly, it was a review for someone who you had just tested for L1 successfully. Secondly, there were several well thought out strengths in the review. Thirdly, you didn’t emphasize on the new judge’s Areas for Improvement, which is made perfect by your comments in the Comments box. Which brings me to, finally, an outstanding guide for the new judge to get through the wilderness that is the official documents, forums, etc. Well done!!”

We asked Thibaut for his take on this recognition, and he had the following to add:

“Whenever I write a review I try to focus on both the good and bad habits of the judge. I comment on the preparation, the way they help new players, how they pay attention to the matches, …
Then when I get the strengths and the areas for improvement I explain why it’s something great or I give them insights on how to improve.
Moreover, when I write a review for a new judge or a candidate I tell them what is happening for them next and give them the necessary links (apps.magicjudges.org for new judges, the link to the judge classes for the ones who missed their test, …) so they know what to do next!”

We chose this recognition because improving is one of the greatest advantages that can be gained through the Judge Program, and in order to improve, knowing where to put your focus is an extremely important part!
To stay in theme, our next choice is a recognition that was written by the very same Thibaut Clause, this time for Laurent Jaminet:

“During the Aether Revolt Pre-Releases, you were an active participant in the certification of new judges. You moved outside of your community and you were very well prepared to help me out during the interviews. You already knew which questions to ask, you made a plan for the interview, and you had inquired about the candidate in order to be able to be as efficient as possible. Thanks, and continue your great work!”

In order to get more information about this recognition, we talked to Laurent, who had this to say:

“Having been judging for about a year now, I wanted to get to know the different Magic communities in Belgium, and especially in Wallonia. For that reason, Thibaut Clause let me know that he was planning to go to Liège in order to interview some new Judge Candidates.
Step by step, I try to get closer to Level 2, and accompanying Thibaut was an excellent opportunity to learn more. I came prepared with notes amongst which were some examples of card interactions. My goal was to keep the candidate at ease, and not to overwhelm them with my questions.
It turned out to be a very good experience, and it showed me the advantages of becoming a Level 2 Judge and aiding other future candidates.”

There are many ways to get out of the comfortable bubble of your Local Community. This example really highlights a way to do so, while in the meantime also being a great helping hand in improving our Judge Community!

Which brings us to the third Recognition of this article. One of our other Area Captains, Toby Hazes, recognized the efforts of Mark Dragstra:

“Thank you for the “peripherals” you bring to events! This includes the schedule handouts you make for the DOS events (which has gotten to a point where the head judges are tacitly counting on you to do that!) and the judge call bingo cards you make for events, that provide a fun competition between judges throughout the day to see who got the most stereotypical calls. Thanks for making the days easier and funnier! [≡]٩(･ิᴗ･ิ๑)۶”

This sounded like a very intriguing Recognition, so obviously we went looking for more information from Mark himself:

“On a regular basis, we hold the Dutch Open Series in the Netherlands, which is a weekend full of tournaments, drawing between 150 and 200 players each day. This calls for a big judge team (between 5 and 7 judges) with a very complicated schedule. There are multiple tournaments, roles and breaks to be handled. This leads to a different allocation of roles every round. Because I find this impossible to remember, I always make a personalized A6 sheet for every judge. This sheet shows the schedule, their additional assignments, and useful information (side events, price payout, etc.). I probably look at that sheet three times every round.

Once, I made a Quest on the backside of the sheet. It was comprised of nine common calls a judge can encounter during an event. For example calls about Blood Moon or Spellskite. If a judge would get a call that matched a quest, he or she would cross it off and write down the time. At the end of the day, the judge with the most calls crossed off would win a foil Quest for Ancient Secrets, using the time as a tiebreaker. The judge with the least crossed of quests won a foil Unquestioned Authority. The goal of the game was to make judges more engaged in the tournament and in each other. It was the perfect opening to start a conversation.”

Judging can be a chore, for some it can even be a job, but efforts like these, where the tasks become easier, either by giving them more order, or by adding that extra fun-factor to them, can only be deserving of some extra spotlight!
And so we reach our last spotlight recognition of this post, and it is one from (once again) an Area Captain, this time Luxembourg’s Steve Hatto, who had this to say to Artur Queiroz:

“A year ago I was applauding your efforts regarding the casual community in Luxembourg. By now we have seen your project step out of the shadow of the more competitive formats and establish itself in our community. Players that barely showed up for pre-releases join for your regular commander events. You basically took one of our community’s greatest weaknesses and turned it into an asset. Thank you!”

Artur was kind enough to give us some extra insight in the recognition:

“Though I started playing in 1997, I have been a regular on the Luxembourgish scene since 2011, when I moved to the country. During several years I played semi-competitively, often helping less experienced players, which got noticed by our L2 Judge: Steve Hatto. He encouraged me to become L1, and to get a bit more involved in the community, and the non-profit association that was organizing the events: “Les Trolls du Gasperich”.

Being a fan of casual formats myself I quickly realized that the offer in Luxembourg was scarce, too focused on Standard and Limited. With Steve’s (and a few other judges) backup I took on the organization of Commander and other casual limited like Chaos or Conspiracy Drafts. While the first events were a bit ad-hoc, with limited participation (6 to 8 players), they showed there was an interest from the community.

In order to leverage the momentum, I proposed a few measures to increase the participation in the casual events, and in the Luxembourgish player community in general, namely:
– create a website to centralize the static information and to increase visibility
– create a Facebook page to spread information more quickly
– create a Commander League, covering both Multiplayer and Duels

These measures quickly brought results. In terms of Commander crowd, the league was of utmost importance, since it brought better prizes, structure and competitiveness to the format. Players from Luxembourg and the greater region attend regularly, and for some events we reached 15 players, which represents almost 30% of our active community as a whole. Each league ends with a grand finale, where a champion is crowned. We are already in the 3rd edition!

The lesson learned is that when things are done methodically and professionally, people appreciate it and react!”

We chose this one because it shows the importance of building communities. There are many players out there that share the same passion in playing games, but in order to get those people together and playing the game we all love so much, it takes effort from community builders, and many of those can be found right within our very own Judge Community!
With that said, we’ve reached the end of this post, but don’t despair. A new wave of Exemplar Recognitions is coming up soon! We’re already looking forward to read about all your exemplary behaviours and to highlight some of our favourites.

See you soon,
The BeNeLux Blog Team