Grand Prix Atlanta 2017 - Welcome to the Fold

GP Atlanta brings us seven new judges to Welcome to the Fold.

Seth Aragon

Name: Seth Aragon
Level: Level 1
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Region: USA – Midatlantic
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: 09/09/96
L1 Certification Date: 3/31/2017
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Stratagy
Occupation: Amazon
Random fact about yourself: I have dyslexia, but still work hard to be the best judge i can be.
Why did you become a judge?: I enjoy it. I really wish i could do it all the time.
What excites you most about this event?: Learning and growing as a judge.
What worries you most about this event?: Performing poorly.
What are you hoping to learn at this event?: Anything i can.
Who is your mentor?: Tim Zimmerman
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Dyslexia
How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Studied harder asked questions to get better.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: The willingness to help each other out.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: At an afterparty i got to draft with Rob Alexander.

Ryan Clow

Name: Ryan Clow
Level: Level 1
Location: Hinesville, GA
Region: USA – Southeast

Russell Gray

Name: Russell Gray
Level: Level 1
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Region: USA – Midatlantic
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: Spring 2003
L1 Certification Date: 10/1/2015
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Its a place where everyone can be accepted
Occupation: Chauffer
Why did you become a judge?: I love magic, and want to help other people play it.
What excites you most about this event?: I’ve attended every grand prix in Atlanta on the last 10 years and finally I’m going to be on the other side of the table.
What worries you most about this event?: Arranging everything at home to work without me while I’m gone.
Who is your mentor?: I’ve got many, but have to give the most credit to Tim Zimmerman and Nathaniel Bass.
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: I still really struggle with finding the right balance between thorough investigation and keeping the tournament moving.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: Everyone here is like family. They really come together when a friend needs help.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: My first GP day 2

Angela Kraker

Name: Angela Kraker
Level: Level 1
Location: Sneads Ferry, NC
Region: USA – Midatlantic
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: 06/2014
L1 Certification Date: 5/7/2017
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: My favorite card is Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver. This was the first card I built a deck around and the card that made me love playing control. My favorite groups of people are new players. I love the excitement they have when they find their own Ashiok for themselves. Their enthusiasm is contagious.
Occupation: Research Assistant
Random fact about yourself: I make wedding cakes and extravagant birthday cakes. I have been making cakes for almost 16 years and I love bringing sweet art to people’s lives!
Why did you become a judge?: My reason is not as altruistic as most other judges I have met. Living in a military town with a very “”alpha male”” mentality often created situations during playing that resulted in me being disrespected or disregarded simply for being a female. Instead of sulking at home over the injustices I endured, I decided to be better and become someone in the community who was knowledgeable and respected.
‌
Despite my original selfish reasoning for becoming a judge, that is not what keeps me judging. I continue to judge and grow for all of the other women/girls in my area (and everywhere else) that love the game and want to play in a safe, friendly environment. I make it my personal mission to ensure that everyone is treated respectfully.
What excites you most about this event?: I am most excited to work with judges I have never worked with before. I feel that every time I meet a new judge I gain a new perspective and grow.
What worries you most about this event?: Getting a call wrong is always a worry in the back of my mind, but a specific worry for this event is that I will be overwhelmed by the volume of players.
What are you hoping to learn at this event?: I hope to learn how to better manage large groups of players. Gaining the players’ attention and ensuring that every player receives the best service despite the number in my event is a skill I would like to sharpen. I have worked sides at other SCG events (invitational, Open), but GP Atlanta will be the largest.
Who is your mentor?: CJ Crooks and Perry Kraker
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: I have a very busy personal life. I have a twelve year old son, work, and I am attending graduate school. Finding time for everything is a difficult task.
‌
In addition to these challenges, my local area often creates less than desirable interactions. The attitudes of the LGS’s towards female judges and women in general is negative.
How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Finding time for judging and improving my skills has been a test of my time management skills. I read articles and forums in my spare time. I watch coverage when available. One of the most fruitful ways I have found time is by making Magic a family hobby. My son, husband, and I attend events together and found Magic to be a great way to spend time together.
‌
In my local area, I am still trying to overcome the challenges. One way I have done this is by judging and playing more. I believe that by being involved in the community and proving that women belong is slowly making a difference. I am in the process of getting a Lady Planeswalker chapter in one of the LGS. I can see some change occurring. I used to be the only female to play in FNM at a variety of stores, but now 4-5 other females play regularly. Continuing to change the views of the players/TOs in the area is a slow process but an important one.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: While judging at the SCG Charlotte Open, I had a player play all weekend in side events, and I noticed his girlfriend was sitting beside him watching all weekend. I decided to speak with her and asked if she played and if she would like to join in for the next event. She explained that she did not play and was surprised that not only did I play but I judged, as well. She didn’t know of any other girls who played. I casually spoke with her all weekend and offered to teach her how to play. Although we did not sit down to play, she came up to me at the end of the day on Sunday to show me her new playmat and the cards her boyfriend bought her to make her own cat deck. I could tell that just by having a friendly female judge changed her perspective on the game. Now her and her boyfriend can share another aspect of their lives together.

Kaitlin McLachlan

Name: Kaitlin McLachlan
Level: Level 1
Location: Toronto
Region: Canada
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: December 2012
L1 Certification Date: 6/10/2017
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: The community!
Occupation: Car Sales
Random fact about yourself: Number 1 on my bucket list is diving with sharks (the best animal ever) in Australia.
Why did you become a judge?: I have a lot of love for my community and have ideas and passion for making it better. What better way to do that than by being a judge?
What excites you most about this event?: The opportunity to work with and learn from some amazing judges.
What worries you most about this event?: Logistics is something I struggle with so the ebb and flow of the event is something I’ll need to adapt to quickly!
Who is your mentor?: Graham Schofield / Meg Baum
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Being a woman in the community is not an easy thing, players and people in general can be pretty brutal. I’ve have some difficulty navigating that.
How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I have an amazing support team and group of mentors who’ve had similar experiences so they’ve been instrumental in guiding me through it.

Bryn Pitt

Name: Bryn Pitt
Level: Level 2
Location: Nashville, TN
Region: USA – Midatlantic
Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: December 1994
L1 Certification Date: 11/18/2016
Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Durdling with The Bogles
Occupation: Engineer
Random fact about yourself: I was an L2 judge in the mid 2000s, but I returned last year after a long hiatus.
Why did you become a judge?: Originally, I became a judge just to fill a need in my area, but I have grown to love the ways in which judging enables you to interact with other players. In particular, I enjoy the role I can serve as an educator and ambassador for the game by helping players, new and old, come to understand the strategic depth and complexity of Magic.
What excites you most about this event?: I most excited just to see how GPs have changed since I’ve been away. My last GP was almost a decade ago!
Who is your mentor?: This answer could be a list of all the judges in Tennessee (and some other regions, too), but to name only a few: Casey Brefka, Matt Karr, Robert Romine, and John Temple
What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: One surprisingly difficult aspect of judging is just keeping up with all the new rules, mechanics, and interactions that are introduced with each new set release. It can be quite a lot to stay on top of.
How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I just make sure to read all the release notes. I also read the Rule Manager’s articles for each update to the CR; and Toby Elliot‘s blog for updates to the MTR and the IPG. I’ll make notes of important updates in my judge notebook before big events and make sure I review them more than once. It’s basically the same technique I used to study for tests in college.
What is the best part about your local Magic community?: I enjoy the camaraderie that exists among the local competitive community. Even though they will be competing against each other at the local PPTQs, they all work together to make the community as a whole as competitive as possible. On the tournament floor, everyone is stone-faced and serious, but before and after events, they are a large group of friends trying to make each individual they best player he or she can be. That’s true competitive spirit.
What is your favorite Magic memory?: “”It’s LIGHTNING HELIX!!!! Ohhhhh my Gawd! Aaaaaahhhhh!!!”” — Randy Buehler (Craig Jones “”Top Deck of the Century”” at PT Honolulu 2006. Magic video coverage’s first viral moment.)

Corey Simmons

Name: Corey Simmons
Level: Level 1
Location: Hattieburg, MS
Region: USA – Southeast