Joe Klopchic – Candidate for Board of Directors 2024

Note: This is a candidate page for a Judge Foundry Election. Information on this page is provided by the candidate, and does not represent the opinions or positions of the Elections Committee or of Judge Foundry. For more information about this election, see the schedule and index for the 2024 Regional Advocate Election.

Nomination Statement

It has been my honor over the last year to be a member of the Board of Directors for Judge Foundry. When it became clear that North America needed the support of a formal judge organization, my fellow board members and I used our combined decades of program leadership to create an organization that we believe in. Supporting this community that has given me so much for over a decade of my life is work that is meaningful to me and that I am excited to continue for the next year. For that reason, today I am nominating myself for a second term as board member. 

My time as a board member of Judge Foundry has been focused on three pillars that I look forward to continuing to strengthen over the next year.

Our biggest work effort came in the creation of the new level system. We built a system that served judges better than in years past and provides a stable, clear path for the aspirations of Judges in North America. 

We created a robust suite of certification exams that upholds the standard for excellence in Magic judging. Ensuring that our membership meets a high quality bar is one of the core goals of Judge Foundry, and our certification’s value depends upon a strong foundational knowledge of the rules. 

Finally, we put into place the beginnings of a sustainable future for Judge Foundry which include stable funding via merchandising as well as ongoing educational efforts through conferences and certification maintenance. Our work here is not done, and this is the place where I intend to focus much of my efforts in my second term. 

My track record as board member thus far is characterized by transparency, tireless effort, and care for our community. I want to continue to do this work for you, and I look forward to earning your vote alongside my future fellow board members to keep supporting our community in keeping it fair and fun for Magic players everywhere. 

Endorsements

I’m proud to be endorsed by these prominent members of the Judge Foundry community.

John Alderfer, L5 from PA

I’m happy to support Joe as a candidate for the board. As one of the founding members, not only does he have an understanding of the amount of work that it takes but has already demonstrated that he is willing and able to undertake that burden.

Bryan Prillaman, L5 from FL and Regional Coordinator

I will be voting for Joe for the JF Board.  I feel Joe understands the meta-problems with running an organization that is fundamentally different from the legacy program, and he has an established history of seeking input, incorporating what makes sense and delivering results.

Dave Unni, L3 from NJ and RA of USA – Northeast

I endorse Joe Klopchic for the position of Judge Foundry Board member. I strongly believe in the need to improve accessibility for those seeking to advance in the program, especially those looking to become a level 1 and join our judge community. I also believe in the need to add educational content and regional activities to add further value to the organization. After speaking and working with Joe, I believe that Joe believes this as well and will work with me and those that share this vision to improve the program for everyone. I also believe Joe will be able to assist the next board in adapting to their new role, which will allow them to move faster to implement the necessary changes for the better of the program and its participants.

Q1: Specializations / Focus Areas

Question: Board Members work on a wide variety of tasks and projects. What would your “specialty” or main focus area be as a Board Member?

My current specialty is levels and testing. In 2023 I drove the vision for the new level system, was the primary author on the new levels text, and iterated on the new levels, automatic promotions, expedited promotions and lapsed judges programs. My intention is to stay on board with those roles, on the board or not. 

Q2: Certifications

Question: Many questions related to the value of Judge Foundry membership. First, regarding certifications: How would you ensure that Judge Foundry Certifications have value in the eyes of TOs and other stakeholders?

I think Judge Foundry members themselves show the value of JF certifications by appearing as Head Judges, leadership, floor judges and staff at events of all sizes.

Maintaining that value means keeping judges on board, doing maintenance, and recruiting new judges. Doing so will increase the visibility of JF judges and levels. 

Keeping that value also means keeping up with the times. Considering changes to the organized play landscape in the US and Canada, particularly including multiplayer, and competitive multiplayer play, will need to be a focus in the next year. 

Q3: Member Benefits

Question: Second, outside of certifications, how do you think Judge Foundry should best use its limited resources to benefit the members? 

In terms of current programs, I think that conferences are underserved, and that defining and growing their presence is important.

There are plenty of new programs that we could engage with. There is high demand for learning material, but building that material is difficult, and often expensive. It’s also very difficult to maintain. 

I think in the next year we should ask “how can Judge Foundry use its limited resources to increase engagement with the judge community?” I’m not sure the answer to that question, but it’s a direction I would like to explore. 

Q4: Legal Commitments

Question: Judge Foundry as an organization and Member Directors individually are bound by several Non-Disclosure Agreements, prohibiting disclosure of information gained as part of their duties as a Member Director, including in some cases disclosure of the existence of an NDA with a particular organization. Violating these agreements may have consequences for the individual and for the organization. As a Director, will you abide by any agreements that Judge Foundry has signed, and will you personally sign NDAs with other organizations as needed in order to pursue and maintain partnerships with other organizations?

As a current board member I’m aware of the agreements required as a director, and will continue to follow them during a second term.

Q5: RCQ Judge Demand

Question: In the post Covid era of Magic, the amount of qualified L2 judges seems to have declined, but demand for judges at competitive REL events has grown with the advent of RCQs. Is there a solution you would pursue to prepare enough judges for Comp REL demand?

The core answer here is that Judge Foundry should adapt its levels to meet the contemporary needs of Magic Organized Play. The question supposes that there are far more RCQs being run than there are L2s to run them, so how do we make more L2s? 

A year ago when I was asked a similar question, my answer was that once we have more L3s, advancing to L2 will be far easier. In the past year, 32 judges have advanced from Level Two to Level Three or Four, enabling them to test L2s. This has made it a lot easier to find a tester for the level, but we still aren’t seeing a huge volume of judges advancing to L2. 

Judges who attend large events certainly have more opportunities to do so. Many large events have multiple testers on staff who are willing to do an interview and proctor a test. This doesn’t exist for the L1 who wants to be L2 but only does local events. They need to find a tester, local or not, agree on a time to meet up, be observed, interview, and test. It’s a longer, more complicated process, mainly because it can’t all be done in the same weekend like for a candidate testing at a large event. 

So what do we do? We keep making L3s, we give resources and direction to RAs, and then if RAs continue to identify underserved L1s who should be L2, then we find ways to connect them with testers, and use remote interviewing and testing accommodations. That’s my plan as I continue leading the levels project, and I’ll push for it if I’m elected as a board member.

Q6: Judge Work Opportunities

Question: What efforts, if any, would you support in order to increase work opportunities for judges?

Question 5 talked about opportunities to judge and advance for already highly engaged judges, but this question asks about the opposite: how do we get existing judges judging if there aren’t tournaments? 

We need to measure the success of our pilot program in Canada with judge resources and JF merch in RCQ kits. I believe that’s a good program, getting resources into the hands of local game stores that direct them to Judge Foundry judges, and teach them about the benefits of a judge at their RCQ is a great way to start. Extending that program to the US is a good goal for the next board.

We also need to get judges involved locally and with their regional leadership’s communication. Judges who don’t see a lot of opportunity for work are often simply not exposed to all of what’s available, and as soon as they have a local group of judges who are working with multiple stores and organizers, the work gets spread out and more judges are available. 

 We should invest more time and thought into educating stores, getting Judge Foundry and JF judges into organizers thought processes and planning for events. 

Q7: Judge Foundry Areas for Improvement

Question: Pick one area you strongly feel Judge Foundry needs to improve and tell us your idea for doing so. Is it feasible? Is it achievable? How will you make it happen?

The number one area for improvement I see is broad engagement among judges who aren’t judging large events. 

I want to get judges into regional communications channels, and get L1s talking in their community. I want judges involved in local group chats that talk about rules and relevant policy. 

How do we get there? I want to direct RAs to build those robust communities, and learn from each other how to make them better. I want to devote resources to making those gatherings and social opportunities more engaging and more fun. 

I also want to hear more from our L1s and L2s that are less engaged. We need to learn what they want, what they see as upside in the program, and begin to build that.