QJ Wong, Level 2, Melaka, Malaysia
So, Las Vegas. Where do I even begin?
This GP would be the first for me outside of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. If you had tried to talk to me over the week and I was spacing out – my apologies. Every now and then over the course of the week, I found myself having to take some time to collect myself, simply because the event had been an overwhelming experience for me.
Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone
It might come as a surprise to some of you that social anxiety gets to me easily. Over the past few years of establishing myself as a GP veteran in APAC GPs, I have gotten familiar and comfortable with the judges I regularly meet in my region. GP Las Vegas was the first time in a long time in which I had left my comfort zone far behind. I was very excited, yet there was this looming sense of dread as June approached.
Sure enough, throughout the week there were times when I felt lonely or overwhelmed (or both at the same time). Thankfully, they did not last, for I would see a familiar face smiling and nodding at me, or hear a familiar voice saying ‘Hello!’ or ‘How are you doing?’ all week long. There were also many friends from the APAC region as well, either being on staff or playing the event.
To be able to feel a sense of belonging in a place far away from home, it was an amazing reminder that I was never truly alone in this wonderful community of judges and Magic players. If you had spoken to me over the week and I had stuttered or stammered, sorry about that. If you had taken the time to talk to me, or even just a smile or a nod, know that I really appreciated it. Thank you!
Working with New Colleagues
The anxiety came early on my first day working (Thursday) when I was assigned to help the LCTs, and then put in charge of a sealed LCT at noon. There was a general feeling of doom – ‘What am I even doing here’, you know, the usual stuff about imposter syndrome.
So, I decided to busy myself with work to keep the pessimist side of my brain at bay. To start, I discussed what was expected from me with my lead, which is called a format coordinator here since they’re divided by formats.
Support, help floor the LCTs, run the LCT I was scheduled to do. Got it.
Next, I asked myself, “What do I need in order to achieve these two goals?”
Two points came to my mind, namely:
- Running the LCT – run through a mental checklist of the things I need – tables, pairings board, coordinate with the scorekeeper, result slips cutter etc., and make sure that I either have them, or know whoever has access to them
- Supporting the LCTs – talk to the judges running their LCTs to see what they need help with, keep an eye out for judges who might need help, and talk to them if they look like they do, on top of keeping an eye on the floor.
In other words (or simply, one word), communication. Talk to others about what you need to accomplish your task. Talk to others to find out how you can help them accomplish their tasks.
Most of the planning, logistics, and coordination had already been prepared by the TO, team leaders, and coordinators…which left only the execution of the tasks itself to worry about, and that I felt really simplified the tasks. Awkward as it was for me to interact with people with whom I was not acquainted, there were not many communication issues as the work itself was the same across all events.
Making Full Use of Your Break Time
As you would expect from an event of this size, getting from one point to another takes quite a while. A significant chunk of your hour-long break (for instance) would be spent simply on moving around, be it looking for food, freshening up, or even just by trips to the break room – that is a lot of break time that you are actually not resting. I am sure many of us on staff were grateful for the catering provided in the break room.
Giving Confidence Boosts to Others
Thursday went by in a blur. On Friday, I was scheduled to work at the Sealed GP Day 1, and that morning I reverted to my insecure and nervous self. Thankfully, my TL – Billy Willy seemed to have read my mind (or my face, for I am positive I had the word NERVOUS written all over). As he assigned me a task, he also spoke encouragingly of his confidence in my ability to complete that task.
That was a major boost to my confidence. It helped me to calm my nerves and reassure myself, and as such I had a great day on the floor.
Sometimes, for one reason or another, a fellow judge might be ‘out’ of it. Maybe that judge had a rough start to the day. Maybe for that judge it was one of those days when nothing seems to be going well at all. What that experience taught me, was that a few words of positive reinforcement can go a long way towards steadying someone’s ship. Sometimes, all it takes to help someone have a great day, is simply being a bit more observant, and a few kind words.
Issues with Sealed Deck Registration
Some background information: prior to the event, each card pool had already been electronically registered. However, it seemed like list errors were still relatively common, seeing as I had had to fix quite a number of errors throughout the deck construction period.
During said period, I noticed a table with a player looking bored while one of my colleagues was looking through his card pool. That in itself was not abnormal, but a while later, after helping out with a few calls, I noticed that the same player and judge were still not done with whatever problem it was.
I made my way over to see if there was anything I could help out with. It turned out that there was a mythic-rare card that was not registered in the pool, and my colleague was trying to verify the list. I suggested that we could do a quick check to see if there was an abnormal number of cards in the appropriate rarity. After that, we could count the number of cards registered on the list and see if it was correct. If everything checked out (for example 83 cards registered on the list, it will be hard to modify a printed list yourself after all), we could quickly fix the list and let the player continue deck building without taking up too much time.
If there is a registration error when the pool is registered by the player sitting opposite, we can verify with that player whether or not the card is really in the pool when he or she was registering it. After all, missing out a card or two, or perhaps marking the wrong boxes, is not an uncommon issue during card-pool registration.
GP Vegas in Pictures
Wrapping It Up
I wish I have more to share, but to be very honest, a lot of my time in Vegas was spent gawking around and taking in everything – the sights, the sounds, and the atmosphere. Having said that, and with a better idea of what to expect, I really hope that I will get a chance to go back and do more. I want to interact more with other judges who do not usually visit APAC GPs. I want to observe other judges more. I want to give and ask for and hopefully receive more feedback, especially if the methods I am used to are different.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this report. You can find my reports from Manila and Kobe 2017 below:
Here’s a lil’ something before I sign off:
On overcoming the anxiety of interacting with people I am not familiar with, one piece of advice that I am frequently given is to get to know them more on a personal level. Try to get them to talk about their interests, or any interesting rules questions or scenarios they have encountered recently. I think this is sound advice, and I try to remind myself to do it as much as I can bring myself to do so.
Do you have any suggestions or advice for people like me? Let me know in the forums or in the comments below!
I would love to read any feedback that you might have for me too.
Thanks for reading!