The Advanced Roles represent additional structures for Level 3 judges that represent leadership aspects of the Judge Program. Each role has a set number of places available (though the number may fluctuate over time as need arises).
Program Coordinators and Grand Prix Head Judges hold their Advanced Roles for 18 months, Regional Coordinators hold them for 24 months. Every six months, one third of the roles will expire, and a new round of applications will be considered. For Regional Coordinators this happens once every 12 months for half of the roles. Expiring judges are welcome to reapply during this process. Applications are handled by the non-expiring members of that role, who collect the results and submit feedback on each candidate to Wizards for final selection.
A Level 3 judge applying for an Advanced Role should have demonstrated exceptional skill as a Level 3 Judge; event and project performance will be considered in the application. Because they have a set expiration, there are no formal maintenance requirements for Advanced Roles (though in exceptional circumstances, a judge could be removed at the discretion of the Judge Community Manager).
Geo-regional considerations may apply during candidate selection for a role. A Level 3 judge may hold more than one Advanced Role at the same time, but judges are generally discouraged from attempting to fulfill more than two of these roles at the same time.
Program Coordinators are the leaders of the Judge Program. They are responsible for taking strategic direction from Wizards of the Coast and figuring out how to implement it program-wide. This is done by coordinating with other judges who lead various projects, and part of their role is to ensure projects have clear direction, success criteria, and project members are being appropriately recognized.
Find out more about the Program Coordinators group and their tasks.
These judges are responsible for acting as Head Judges, Support Judges, and Appeals Judges for Grand Prix events. Duties vary according to which role they have been assigned to for a particular Grand Prix, but may include pre-tournament staff planning, communication, coordinating the event, taking appeals, and providing post-event reporting.
A newly-appointed judge to this role will spend the first few Grand Prix as a Support Judge to ensure a smooth transition to a full Grand Prix Head Judge role.
Grand Prix Head Judges are expected to demonstrate exceptional rules knowledge, ability to clearly articulate rules, policies, and the underlying philosophies, leadership, and organizational skills.
The current anticipated need for Grand Prix Head Judges is 21-24.
Application Process
- Demonstrated success as a Grand Prix team lead.
- Cover letter.
- Rules test.
- Policy test.
Applicants who pass this step move on to:
- Policy Situation test and Grand Prix Head Judge evaluation.
These judges are responsible for the maintenance of the Judge Program on a regional level. They handle the day-to-day needs of their regional judges, oversee Level 1 and Level 2 testing, advancement and maintenance, engage with organizers to make sure their needs are met, and ensure care and training of the judges in their region.
Find out more about the Regional Coordinators group and their tasks.
The Grand Prix Head Judge Leader position is a management role focused on oversight of the Grand Prix Head Judges and oversight of large tournament policies and practices. It is a one-year appointment contracted by Wizards of the Coast.
It is not a prerequisite that the candidate be a Grand Prix Head Judge, but experience with the role is preferred.
Duties of the Grand Prix Head Judge Leader:
- Manage the selection process for new Grand Prix Head Judges twice a year, including generating questions and coordinating evaluations.
- Facilitate Grand Prix Head Judge discussions. Act as mentor to new members, and be a significant voice for Grand Prix logistic and policy questions. Mediate disputes on the list if necessary.
- Centrally coordinate with TOs and Grand Prix Head Judges to make sure all Grand Prix have appropriate staffing (Head Judges and Appeals Judges) from the group.
- Own best practices and processes for large scale tournaments.
- Ensure Grand Prix Head Judges are fulfilling their obligations, including post-event tournament reports.
The selection committee for the Grand Prix Head Judge Leader consists of a Program Coordinator, four active Grand Prix Head Judges and two Level 3 judges chosen from the at-large population. Anyone seeking the position is ineligible to serve on the selection committee.
The Regional Coordinator Leader position is a management role focused on the guidance of the Regional Coordinators and ensuring that the regions implement the program’s structure appropriately. It is a two-year appointment contracted by Wizards of the Coast.
It is not a prerequisite that the candidate be a Regional Coordinator, but experience with the role is preferred. If a Regional Coordinator would have his or her term expire while serving as Regional Coordinator Leader, that term would be automatically renewed.
Duties of the Regional Coordinator Leader:
- Oversee the selection process for new Regional Coordinators in a portion of the global regions twice a year, including generating questions and coordinating evaluations.
- Facilitate Regional Coordinator discussion, act as mentor to new members, and be a significant voice for regional administration questions. Mediate disputes among Regional Coordinators as necessary.
- Ensure consistent regional implementation of Level 1 and Level 2 definitions.
- Assist Regional Coordinators in developing the leadership structures for their local regions.
- Ensure that Regional Coordinators have the resources they need for success and relay any large-scale problems to the Program Coordinators or Wizards of the Coast.
- Engage with the Judge Conduct Committee and Regional Coordinator Committee on regional discipline questions.