MagicFest Washington DC 2019

| Io Hughto

This weekend in Washington DC, we have 2 new judges to Welcome to the fold!

Findlay Matheson

  • Name: Findlay Matheson
  • Pronouns He/him/his
  • Level: Level 2
  • Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Region: United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: 2001
  • L1 Certification Date: April 8, 2017
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: Torpor Orb
  • Occupation: Architectural Energy Efficiency Consultant and University Student
  • Random fact about yourself: Favourite number is 82 (and not just because it is a happy number).
  • Why did you become a judge?: I want to help grow and support my local community both on a player base and judge base level. The game has filled a very significant and meaningful part in my life and I’ve wanted to help nurture and encourage as welcoming and safe a space within the South African community as possible.
  • What excites you most about this event?: The scale of the event. Seeing how an event of this magnitude functions and runs and hopefully be able to learn and bring back some of this knowledge benefiting events back home.
  • What worries you most about this event?: The scale of the event. An event of this scale feels rather daunting as it is easily in the magnitude of 10x to 15x greater than anything I have attended or judged at before.
  • What are you hoping to learn at this event?: How the functioning of multiple teams within a broader team of judges works to run a smooth event. Additionally get experience and knowledge in on-demand and turbo town styled events with a view to be able to implement something similar at events in South Africa.
  • Who are your mentors?: Anastacia Tomson and Savvas Themistocleous
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: Without large scale events of the magnitude of a Magicfest in South Africa getting experience on this scale has been difficult. Additionally, with the disappearance of Nationals and PPTQs with nothing official to replace them, getting regular Comp REL experience is tough for myself let alone helping the L1 judge base get the much needed experience necessary to grow.
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: Attending this MagicFest is one way I am looking to gain experience and grow as a judge bringing back knowledge and skills to further the community in South Africa. Between myself and Bradley de Freitas we have both been helping get large events running to fill the void of PPTQs and Nationals and to get L1s onto these judge teams to get them the experience needed to grow our judge community.

Benjamin Sanders

  • Name: Benjamin Sanders
  • Pronouns He/him/his
  • Level: Level 1
  • Location: Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
  • Region: USA – Midatlantic
  • Approximate date/month/year you started playing Magic: October 2012
  • L1 Certification Date: September 24, 2018
  • Favorite thing (e.g., card, deck, group of people) about Magic: My favorite thing about Magic is the interactions I can have with so many people at these events.
  • Occupation: Freelance Graphic Designer
  • Random fact about yourself: I have played violin since 6th grade, and have played music that the National Symphony has played.
  • Why did you become a judge?: I became a judge so I can start to assist my community and the surrounding area with running and working events.
  • What excites you most about this event?: I am so excited for this event because it is such a massive occassion that so many people are going to be at. It is going to be the largest event I have judged at, and I love the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people.
  • What worries you most about this event?: My biggest worry about this event is, like what excites me, the size of it. It is the largest event I have been a part of the judge staff for, so I am slightly worried about being overwhelmed.
  • Who are your mentors?: I would consider my mentor to be Hank Weist. He was there for my initial L1 test, and I go to him for any questions that I am unsure of.
  • What challenges have you faced or are you facing to become a better judge?: My challenges in general that I have faced is that I stumble through my words as I take calls sometimes.
  • How have you worked to overcome those challenges?: I have worked to overcome these challenges by making sure I ask as many questions as I can to get a clear view of what has happened, and then I talk slower so I do not start tripping over my words.
  • What is your favorite Magic memory?: My favorite Magic memory is waking up really early in college to play Magic with my friend, Dave, as he was teaching me how to play. 6AM Return to Ravnica drafts can be really interesting!