Hello everyone! First of all, thanks for the wonderful response for the new Judge of the Week site. I am overwhelmed by all the comments and nominations, and I am certain Javier loved the comments too! Anyway, let’s get right to it.

Today’s Judge of the Week is Ivan Petkovic. Ivan has been a judge for almost 10 years – first achieving L1 Judge status in 2003, and then leveling up in 2004. He has a pretty interesting story about why he became a judge:

“Back in 2002, I didn’t know rules that well, only knowing basic mechanics. At one of my first tournaments, I was pretty successful beating the best players. Before the finals, I had a match where an opponent convinced me in a ruling, which was incorrect, and led to me losing the match. There were no professional judges as there are today, only a TO who didn’t understand the rules that well. We didn’t have anyone to call for a ruling. After I found out that I was “intentionally misinformed” about the ruling, I wanted to stop playing. But the TO mentioned that there is something called a “judge” in Magic. I read a little bit about it and the rest is history. I didn’t want the same thing happening to someone else.”

What a scumbag opponent! However, sometimes something good comes out of these scumbag situations, like Ivan becoming a judge. Now, Ivan is regarded as a leader in the judge community in Croatia, so I think it worked out for the best. 🙂

Occupation: Internet Protocol Television Specialist

Favourite card: Nantuko Shade

Least favourite card: Karma

Favourite competitive format: Legacy/Vintage

Commander general: Savra, Queen of the Golgari

Favourite non-Magic game: Mass Effect series

Random fact about him: Always spells “that” as “taht” 🙂

Tell us your favourite judge story:
After I certified, my TO and I agreed that we want to get our local tournaments to higher standards. One of the “new things” we were introducing were penalties and I will never forget issuing my first penalty to soon-to-be national champion. He got a warning, and I remember him asking me what that was with a very confused expression on his face.

How has being a judge influenced your non-Magic life?
I wouldn’t been doing the job I am doing today if weren’t for Magic. I am a technical project manager for IPTV platform at Croatian Telecom which basically means working with people and organizing stuff. And this is what I have learned as a judge (and TO/Organized Play Manager).

What motivates you to continue being a judge?
I have been judging for a while now, and it is now a part of my life. When I think about all the friends I have met judging and who are part of my everyday life and who I can’t wait to meet at the next event, I have all the motivation I need. Also, I consider Magic and Organized Play in Croatia to be one of my life’s projects. This year was time to let [my job as Organized Play manager] go and concentrate on new projects. One of my projects is building up the judge community in Croatia and in neighboring countries (since being an OP Manager prioritized TOs over judges).

What is your favourite non-judging moment that happened with other judges?
There are many favorite moments, but one I hold very dear was at GP Turin 2006. I have met two wonderful people, Cari Foreman (who was a scorekeeper) and her husband Paul Morris (who was L3). We were hanging out during whole event but at the last night after the GP, Cari and Paul taught me a new format that was starting to get popular among judges called EDH. Together with Richard Drijvers we were playing EDH the whole night until Cari and Paul had to leave to catch the plane back to the States. We were so tired while playing that we couldn’t remember whose turn it was so we had Manny the Mammoth from Kinder Surprise* as a token to track of whose turn it was. In the end, Manny ended on my shelf and he is still there reminding me what fun we had. Also, I introduced EDH to Croatia. 🙂

If you could chat with someone, alive/dead/fictional, who would it be? Why?
Steve Jobs. I know it sounds cheesy, but I have been a big fan of his work and life for years. He was an excellent businessman with an excellent mind with a broad view on the world. There is a lot anyone can learn from him.

Thank you, Ivan, for all your hard work managing Organized Play in Croatia. Good luck in your endeavours to expand Croatia’s judge community!

Please leave questions/comments for Ivan below, and as always, nominate a judge today!

*For the US readers who don’t know what Kinder Surprise is, two words: Chocolate and toys. Look it up!