Alpha Flight

Level 3 Judges

Jon Goud is Canada’s Regional Coordinator, an L3 from Halifax, and was once voted Canada’s most handsome judge by Canadian pro Daniel Fournier. Jon first got into judging mostly as a way to stay involved in the hobby in a more sustainable way and became addicted to the community and culture of self-development aspects. Jon also has a travel-bug bite so big it could be described as “systemic travel necrosis”!

Jon loves talking to other judges about what motivates them, and how to build self-sustaining, diverse, and vibrant communities.

 

• Favourite format: Tie between sealed and Magic 94
• Favourite Card: Fevered Visions
• Best Tournament finish: A couple of GPT/PPTQ top 8s
• Trivia: I was a full-time musician for almost 10 years. I’ve written music for TV and film and toured across Canada,  Europe, the US, and Africa. I’m primarily a bass and keyboard player, and I’m a huge sucker for 60s and 70s R&B and soul.

Contact: jonbgoud@gmail.com

Jason Wong is an L3 from Kingston, Ontario, who loves deeply the idea of ‘training ones successor.’ Who will ensure that a community/area/region will survive and grow after a leader moves on? (Or, more honestly, who can they train to do their job so they don’t have to do anything at all?) Right now, Jason’s main focus is on certifying L2 testers, mentoring other judges towards L3, and creating self-sufficient judge communities. That last point includes certifying judges of all levels and then relentlessly bugging them to get more involved in the judge program 😀

 

• Favourite format: Cube
• Favourite Card: Momentary Blink
• Best Tournament finish: Top 8’d Ontario provincials 2010
• Trivia: I take one of three different stuffed animals with me on any weekend-long Magic event

Contact: jasonwong9@gmail.com

Niko Skartvedt is an L3 from British Columbia who is widely recognized for his calm and collected demeanour, for his intelligence, and as our illustrious RC points out in Niko’s L3-versary post, his iconic fashion choices:

“Niko has been a force for mentorship on the west coast of Canada for years and he has put his time to very good use shaping the west coast community in his image. He runs the British Columbia judges mailing list for those that aren’t frequent Facebook users, a constant presence at conferences and judge meet-ups, and he has many dozens of advancement interviews under his (superhero seat-belt buckled) belt.

And he does it all, even after all these years, with compassion and focus. Take a moment to scan some of his recent exemplar nominations – what you will see is are judges commending his dedication to community, his intelligence, and his cool head.” (Excerpted from the Judge Anniversaries Blog)

• Favourite formats: Modern and Commander
• Favourite card: Stuffy Doll
• Best tournament finish: won an extended PTQ with favourite card
• Trivia: I teach high school math and science. I’ve caught 234 tiny rattatas.

Gavin Duggan was the Canadian regional coordinator for almost 5 years and led the region through a time of massive growth and development. Under his watch we saw the transition away from judge foils at GPs and the modern era of judging, PPTQs, and the “mega GP”.

Every current L3 in Canada right now got there on his watch.

Through all of these changes Gavin has provided wisdom and direction using his charisma, intellect, and impish grin … much of it at a distance and balancing the demands of a young family and a career “with a research company in the San Francisco Bay area” (as he would put it).

At 8pm on Friday he’ll invite you out for dinner and drinks, 3pm on Saturday help you out with a ruling and give you some incredible perspective on an area of policy, and by 10pm Sunday you can’t wait to stay up with him playing commander until you have to head to the airport.

(Excerpted from the Judge Anniversaries Blog)

L2 Testers

Darren Gamble, an L2 from Calgary, became a judge in October 30, 1997, primarily to become a rules authority.  Magic’s rules were unstructured and misunderstood by most players, and without accessible resources on the Internet, people looked to him for answers.

Things have changed a lot since then, for both Darren and the game!  If you have a good reason to become a judge, you should give it a go–selfish reasons definitely count, too!  What Darren enjoys most about the Judge Program is that it’s very open to advice, constantly tries new things to improve itself, and encourages its members (Darren included) to do the same.

Most importantly, he says “I play Magic to have fun, and to make sure the people playing with me are having fun too.”

• Favourite format: Commander
• Favourite Card: Verduran Enchantress
• Best Tournament finish: 1st place at my first GPT (33 people), or, 8-0-0 at the Alberta Darksteel Prerelease

Contact:DarrenLGamble@gmail.com

Robert Hinrichsen is an L2 Tester from Beaconsfield, Quebec. He’s been playing Magic since Odyssey block, and has always enjoyed the game for its complexity and strategic depth. After a few years playing, he eventually decided to learn the rules properly (by reading the CR all the way through), and in 2011, he walked in to GP Montreal and asked how to become a judge. Since then he’s steadily become more and more involved in the Montreal and Quebec judge community (“which I am happy to say is doing quite well”). Robert’s primary passion is for rules and policy knowledge, but believes he might not still be judging today if it were not for the opportunities to interact with other interesting and like-minded people from all walks of life on a regular basis.

• Favourite Format: Competititve Commander (cEDH), where I currently play Food Chain Prossh combo.
• Favourite Card: Balance
• Best Tournament Finish: Top 8 of a 50-player 2.5k Modern event (playing Lantern Control)
• Trivia: I can play the bagpipes, I was captain of my high school’s curling team, and I peel bananas from the other end (without the stem).

Contact e-mail: judge.robert.hinrichsen@gmail.com

Mike is an L2 from Chatham, Ontario, but currently resides in London. Mike became interested in the judge program during his time in the Toronto high school system, where he organized Magic clubs for students and spent time before and after school teaching kids the game. His passion for teaching, learning, and mentorship made the judge program a natural evolution and amalgamation of his two loves, Magic and teaching.

Judging helps Mike fulfill his mandate of life-long learning and one his major areas of focus in the judge program is building a contingent of excellent judges and Magic communities in the halo surrounding the GTA spotlight. He’s also the Head Judge of the Hype Team Canadian judge project and project manager for Judge Articles–so if you want to publish some writing in the judge program, Mike’s the guy to talk to!

• Favourite Format: Pauper. Not Close.
• Favourite Card: Mystical Teachings
• Best Tournament Finish: Won a PPTQ in Four-Colour Good Stuff Standard. Esper Dragons FTW.
• Trivia: I’m a big fan of beer-league sports. I’m a goaltender in a couple of hockey leagues, but I also play baseball and volleyball, and really anything that involves competition and hopps.

Contact e-mail: mikegyssels@gmail.com