Random fact about yourself?<\/strong> I’m an aspiring writer…as my Google drive with half-finished stories and outlines will attest.<\/span><\/p>\n More on your occupation- What does it entail? How long have you been doing it?<\/strong> How would you compare\/contrast your full-time job with judging?<\/strong> How did you decide to become a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>?<\/strong> How long have you been playing Magic in general?<\/strong> What do you like most about <\/strong>the<\/strong> game in general?<\/strong> If there were one thing you could change about <\/strong>the<\/strong> game, what would it be?<\/strong> What do you like most about judging?<\/strong> If you could meet with one person — real or fictional — involved with Magic, who would it be?<\/strong> What do you think are your biggest strengths as a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>? How did you develop them? <\/strong><\/span> What do you think are <\/strong>the<\/strong> areas you most would like to see you improve as a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>? What sorts <\/strong>of<\/strong> things are you doing to work on them? <\/strong><\/span> What’s your take on how <\/strong>the<\/strong> judge<\/strong> program has changed in <\/strong>the<\/strong> time you’ve been involved with it? <\/strong><\/span> What sorts <\/strong>of<\/strong> changes would you like to see in <\/strong>the<\/strong>\u00a0J<\/strong>udge<\/strong>\u00a0Program going forward, if any? <\/strong><\/span> What advice do you have for L1 <\/strong>judges<\/strong>? L2 <\/strong>judges<\/strong>? L3+ <\/strong>judges<\/strong>?<\/strong> For L2 Judges, I would say don\u2019t forget about your roots. I see lots of L2s that get there and are so excited to do GPs and SCG Opens that they forget about the local area they came from. Your local area helped get you to where you are and be sure to let them benefit from your experience and knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n For L3+ Judges, I would say always be pulling people up. I know that in my development just a few words from an L3 here and there have been a huge impact on how I approach judging and made me a better judge. It may seem like a trivial conversation to you, but it may spark an idea for improvement in the judge you are talking to.<\/span><\/p>\n What projects are you involved with? <\/strong><\/span> What was your proudest moment as a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>? <\/strong><\/span> How much of your time, as a TO\/Judge is actually running tournaments versus having policy discussions versus maintaining correspondence versus traveling? <\/strong><\/span> What is your favorite moment with other <\/strong>judges<\/strong> outside <\/strong>the<\/strong> context <\/strong>of<\/strong> running a given tournament? <\/strong><\/span> What do you think were <\/strong>the<\/strong> toughest obstacles you have had to try to overcome as a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>?<\/strong> What method(s) do you find best to sharpen your skills?<\/strong> Who are some <\/strong>of<\/strong> the<\/strong> judges<\/strong> you think are unsung heroes <\/strong>of<\/strong> the<\/strong> program?<\/strong> How would you describe your local <\/strong>judge<\/strong> community? How about your local player community? <\/strong><\/span> How do you keep your energy up during events?<\/strong> What was <\/strong>the<\/strong> most surprising thing you’ve experienced as a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>?<\/strong> If you could make your own Magic card, what would it be?<\/strong> What’s your favorite color in Magic and why?<\/strong> Who do you consider your role models in <\/strong>the<\/strong> program?![\"jarrodwilliams\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2015\/02\/jarrodwilliams.jpg\")
<\/a>Location: <\/strong>Columbus, Ohio
\nJudge start date: <\/span><\/strong>September 2011
\nOccupation:<\/strong><\/strong> Computer Programmer<\/span>
\nFavourite card (and why?):<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Epic Experiment<\/a> because I love casting that spell and getting to cast more spells for free.
\nLeast favourite card (and why?):<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Opalescence<\/a> because when I get asked a question about it I know it’s a corner case “gotcha” scenario.
\nFavourite Format:<\/span><\/strong> Commander or Legacy
\nFavourite flavor text:<\/span><\/strong> <\/p>
\nStep 1: Find your cousin.
\nStep 2: Get your cousin in the cannon.
\nStep 3: Find another cousin.
\n<\/span><\/em>Favourite Commander:<\/strong>\u00a0Melek, Izzet Paragon<\/a> and Animar, Soul of Elements<\/a> because whether it’s with spells or creatures, getting free spells are my favorite.
\nFavourite non-Magic Games:<\/span><\/strong> Boss Monster, Ascension
\nBest Tournament result:<\/span><\/strong> 5-4 at Ohio States
\nWhat creature type would you be?<\/span><\/strong> Adviser<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I’m a PeopleSoft developer at The Ohio State University Hospital. I work on the system that is responsible for ordering and paying for supplies aka. Logistics. I’ve worked where I am for 3 years.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>It’s helped me because I see lots of moving pieces and schedules which made managing a judge staff or scheduling tasks for an event much easier.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I wasn’t very good at playing competitive tournament Magic (see best result above),but I loved tournaments and wanted to help make sure the\u00a0tournaments that I enjoyed were around for others to enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I’ve been playing Magic<\/strong> on and off since Planeshift.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I like the deck building aspect of the game. There are so many cards and when new sets come out, it doesn\u2019t take away from the game, but adds so much depth to it. I enjoy just finding a card that does exactly what I need it to do and putting into play in a deck.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I would make every card cost 1 less and draw a card ;).<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I enjoy the people the most. I’ve met most of my good friends through judging and love to go to an event to see the people that I haven’t seen in a while. There is something about this community of people coming together to serve the larger Magic<\/strong> community that really creates bonds. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Mark Rosewater. He\u2019s just such a fountain of creative energy and it\u2019s impressive because he\u2019s kept it going for so long. I\u2019m a big fan of hearing about creative process for any creative endeavor and hearing the details behind the inspiration and work. He\u2019s done so much to open the window into that process with his weekly column, but he\u2019s still the person I\u2019d like to meet.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Jarrod](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2015\/01\/Jarrod-1-224x300.jpg\")
<\/a>What sorts <\/strong>of<\/strong> things do you do on a typical <\/strong>week<\/strong> in so far as judging? <\/strong><\/span>
\nI typically spend a couple of hours a week networking and having discussions with other judges. This is such key time for me as I am\u00a0the state (area) captain for a state where I don\u2019t live as I need to keep tabs on the judging community in Kentucky. I\u2019m also a TO working for Griffon Events\/Comic Town so I\u2019ll spend a few hours each week scheduling and planning those future events. I also spend time reviewing rules and policy. If I have an event that weekend then you add that time as well. Most of my time related to judging for an average week doesn\u2019t involve actually judging at all.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI think my biggest strengths as a judge have to do with my soft skills. Community Organization and process creation come naturally to me. I don\u2019t just want to do something I want to create a process and empower people to make improvements to it. This way the results are repeatable and there is something objective to make an improvement to and not just tell someone to try harder. I feel that Leadership has become a strength as well, but it took asking for feedback and help from people like Steven Briggs<\/a><\/span><\/span>, Dan Stephens<\/a>
<\/span><\/span>, Rob McKenzie<\/a>
<\/span><\/span>, Riki Hayashi<\/a>
<\/span><\/span>, Rick Salamin<\/a>
<\/span><\/span> to help me improve. I also got a lot of opportunities in leadership roles as a HJ and nothing teaches the skills like being thrown into the fire.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI have a couple of areas I\u2019m really working on to improve. One is giving feedback to candidates for leadership development that have very specific examples and ways to improve. I\u2019m making it a point to write reviews for people that want to develop leadership at my events and ensuring that I\u2019m giving them concrete examples and things to do to improve on. Another area I want to improve on is to finish articles to submit. I often work on articles, but haven\u2019t submitted any. I would like to as a method of improvement finish and submit them. I\u2019ve improved\u00a0on this by working with other judges on ideas for articles and committing to them to finish.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIt’s just gotten so big. When I started judging there were something like 2500 judges and now we are getting close to 6000. I think that growth represents some of the growth we’ve seen in the player base, so I feel that it’s a good thing that the program is growing enough to help the player base.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nMore organization and educational outreach at the local level. We are at a point where the program is just too big for some of the methods of\u00a0managing it that we have used in the past. I think the Regional Coordinator program is a really good model for what we should do organizationally, but we need to push that down a level. In the same vein, conferences are great and wonderful ways for judge program immersion and some higher level education, but the bigger the crowd the more that breaks down. I think the challenge for the program going forward is to operate at a level that educates and engages the local store level judges while maintaining the large structure required to run events at the GP level. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>For L1 Judges, I would say take pride in what you do. You are the face of the program for a majority of the player base. I don\u2019t think we say thank you enough to the local store judges. When L1s are working at the local stores, they can create great play atmospheres that encourage the growth of the\u00a0game. Players, that play at stores with great L1s, are better prepared for the environment at competitive events. This is a credit to all you do as an L1 creating a great gateway to Organized Play.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m currently involved with the Judge Candidate Textbook project. I wrote the sections about the Combat Phase. I\u2019m also an Regional (State) Captain for the State of Kentucky in the Midwest region.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"jarrod](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2015\/01\/jarrod-2-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>What was your biggest mistake as a <\/strong>judge<\/strong>, and how did you bounce back from it? <\/strong><\/span>
\nI messed up a call that cost a player a shot at Top 8 of a Legacy Open. He pulled me aside from the table and asked about the Emrakul, Oblivion Ring, Show and Tell interaction. I punted and told him incorrectly how it worked. He then went back to this table played a Show and Tell and promptly was told by the next judge and head judge that I had told him incorrectly. I apologized to the player and he was understandably upset. I was just sick with having made that mistake even though I knew how the interaction worked. Dan Stephens<\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00a0was my team lead and he sent me away for a half-round break. It was the space I needed to collect my thoughts and get refocused to finish the event strongly.\u00a0 The Ice Cream from the food court didn\u2019t hurt either.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI think my proudest moments are when people I\u2019ve mentored level up. I worked with Mark Wanich<\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00a0and Johnpaul Adams<\/a>
<\/span><\/span> to get them ready to take their L2 test and I was pumped when they got their certification. I\u2019m really excited when I get to help people accomplish their goals and those were some instances where I was very proud of what those two great judges had accomplished.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI spend several hours a week networking and communicating with judges in my area and in the state I’m Captain for. I can’t manage the area I’m in without that time. It allows me to know what’s going on and get a pulse for where a lot of the judges in my area and where they want to go. It also helps maximize my impact as I don’t have to go to all those stores to see those judges. If I have an event that weekend, I do spend more time at the event, but if I don’t have an event that weekend I would say my ratio is almost 2 or 3 to 1 of hours spent on judging but not at a tournament and hours spent judging at a tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI would say dinner after the tournament. In Columbus, OH, we have a great restaurant called Barley\u2019s across the street from the venue. It\u2019s a great spot for Judge Dinner and we\u2019ve been there till closing time a few times after events.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I think the toughest obstacle that I\u2019ve overcome is taking charge. I can be passive by nature and I would defer in situations that I was capable to handle on my own.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>For Rules Knowledge, I find the ability to quiz yourself using the spoiler feature on Cranial Insertion to be invaluable. The policy discussions generated by the knowledge pool are also extremely helpful. The thing that I find most helpful is area and regional conversations. The Magic<\/strong>\u00a0Judges of the Midwest Facebook group is really helpful as a method of capturing a variety of opinions on a given topic which really helps you be sure as to what your opinion is on a given subject.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I think there are a class of L1s that will probably never advance and that\u2019s by choice not skill level, but they focused and dedicated to running very good store level events. They are the face of program to a ton of players who will never step foot in a competitive tournament. They are just as dedicated and spend just as much time to hone their skills and we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe<\/span> Local Judge community here in Columbus is very focused on improvement. The judges here want to run events that are very high quality and this is shown by the judges who are local store only judges and the judges that want to work at competitive events. Our local player base is a competitive event focused one, but also a very committed one. We are able to support multiple advance stores with multiple large FNMs. It\u2019s also very cooperative you see players loaning each other cards for decks or supporting local shops that are running competitive tournaments for them.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I make sure I\u2019m drinking a lot of water. I also make sure I take opportunities to sit down when I can. The biggest thing is to be honest with yourself about how you are doing. I know that sometimes my energy level is lower than I think it should be for a given point in the day and I need to manage my own expectations for myself. If you need a break to help you finish an event strong don’t be afraid to ask.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe Bomb Squad showing up outside our States Championship in Ohio. There was a suspicious package outside and they have brought the robot to investigate. Ultimately it was nothing, but it did remind me that we should always know where the emergency exits are at all times just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>It would be Mana Flare<\/a> meets Howling Mine<\/a> for 2G mana.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Red. I tend to work more by instinct which red does even if it gets me in trouble. My favorite Color Combinations in Magic are U\/R, RUG, R\/G, and R\/W.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Jarrod](\"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/jotw\/files\/2015\/01\/Jarrod-3-300x250.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong>I have several people I consider role models in the program. They mostly are role models because of how they have dealt with me and the impact they have made on me. In our interactions I\u2019ve seen traits and characteristics that I want to emulate.<\/span><\/p>\n