Special thanks to Håkon Gulbrandsen, who has done a great job with the guidelines and made sure they actually got published!
So you are thinking about hosting a mini-conference? Well done, that is awesome! If you want your mini-conference to be sanctioned, you will have to fulfill the requirements described in this post. This post also includes recommendations that, while not required, are generally expected to be followed.
The requirements in this post may be reduced or lifted in special cases. If you believe this is necessary for your conference, please contact the Regional Coordinator as soon as possible for information/approval.
See the final page for a quick-to-refer cheat sheet and resources you might find helpful.
General:
The conference is required to be aimed towards L1 judges. This means the following:
- Material on judge soft skills is excellent. This includes, but is not limited to, taking judge calls, customer service, and player diplomacy.
- Material on rules is excellent, but keep it fairly simple. A seminar on “How to Cast Spells” is infinitely more useful than discussing whether or not a face-down Zoetic Cavern can be turned face-up while Blood Moon is in play.
- Regular REL topics are excellent.
- Competitive REL topics may be included, but should not be the main focus.
The conference is expected to offer variety of topics in rules, policy, and soft skills. (i.e. not all seminars should be about rules).
It is highly recommended to host a draft, sealed event, and/or other events after the planned sessions end.
Location:
The conference is required to be able to seat all participants, and that the location is accessible for all participants. It is highly recommended that the location has sufficient equipment (projector/screen) to facilitate seminars. The number of participants versus the ventilation capabilities should also be considered.
The person(s) in charge of equipment (screens, projectors, etc) should make sure that everything is functional before the conference starts, preferably early enough to replace it if needed.
Deadlines:
Mini-conferences may be hosted from August through December each year. If you want to host one, the Regional Coordinator has to be notified no later than June 30th. At this time, you do not need to know the exact location or date for the conference.
Information about the location and date is to be sent to the Regional Coordinator at least ten weeks before the conference takes place.
The required deadline for participants to apply on JudgeApps is six weeks before the date of the conference. Only judges who have applied by this date can receive judge foils. This requirement is in place to make sure the appropriate number of foils may be distributed in time.
Participants:
The conference is required to have at least ten certified judges among the participants. This number is checked when the applications at JudgeApps closes (see “Deadlines” above). Of these judges, at least one needs to be a L2+ judge.
If the six week deadline is approaching, and the required number of participants is not yet met, please contact the Regional Coordinator.
Number of sessions:
The conference is required to offer the following:
- 10-14 participants: a minimum of 3 seminars and/or workshops.
- 15+ participants: a minimum of 4 seminars and/or workshops.
The sessions should preferably be hosted by certified judges. It is recommended that at least one session is held by an L2+ judge.
Recommended time management is 40-45 minute seminars (remember to include time for questions) with 15-20 minutes breaks, and 60-90 minute workshops. A 30-45 minute lunch break should also be included in the schedule.
No sessions should run simultaneously, unless more than four sessions are planned for the day.
Scheduling:
The conference is required to be scheduled through JudgeApps, and posted about on the Nordic Judge Forums. It is highly recommended that the conference is advertised in local/national social media groups.
Certified judges, L1 candidates and interested players with no immediate plans to certify for L1 should all be welcomed to attend the conference. Material may be presented in either a native language, or in English.
Other:
It is highly recommended that there are possibilities to certify for L1 during or after the conference. Potential L1 candidates should be put in contact with an L2+ before the conference, so that they may prepare for testing.
Please make sure to have a reasonable plan on how lunch/dinner will be served. This may for instance be done by appointing someone to buy bread and spreads, or to make sure the local café has enough tables and food when all the participants arrive for lunch. Make sure to collect information about allergies/intolerances. How you solve the food issue is not important, but it is important that it is solved.
Post pictures in the regional Facebook judge group if possible, so that everyone can see your awesome conference!
To receive conference compensation (Judge Foils), your conference needs to fulfill all the requirements provided in this post, unless the Regional Coordinator has confirmed a deviation for your conference (see introduction).
Cheat Sheet:
- Topic: L1 focused.
- Sessions: 3 or 4, based on number of participants.
- Location: Accessible for all participants, seatings for all, functioning equipment for seminars.
- Participants: 10 certified judges, including an L2+.
- Scheduling: JudgeApps, Nordic Forums, social media groups.
- Deadlines: Initial information: June 30th. Date&Location: 10 weeks. Application locked in: 6 weeks.
- Other: L1 certification, planned lunch/dinner break, host limited event or similar after conference.
Resources:
Typical mini-conference planning timeline (Tips: by changing the date (mm/dd/yyyy) of the conference, all your deadlines change accordingly):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CZBbv6JUafGJvzLdMs_DiK8MFxbu8h_9TnP8bfByHWo/edit?usp=sharing
Feedback form:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lTFJ6jtgDiJxI5dnMTTHFzF_1V-kUAAZUN5E8hj4UVA/edit
How to do a presentation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TdBEqMzYuXWmvJUQhRWmlen_ucMouwpykJn9RrAJfto/edit