Ask any long-time judge what a judge can do for you or your event, and you’re likely to get an earful! As this is a blog, and we like to keep it readable, let’s cover some simple ABC’s of how a judge can help.
Let’s start with the perspective of a store owner or tournament organizer. If you are one of these people, great! If you have ever played in a store, you have certainly at least encountered one of these people. Sometimes they’ve never even heard of a judge, so you can share a few items.
- Availability: If a judge is available to take calls from players, then you are available to help customers at the counter!
- Brain Space: Judges fill their brain space with rules and policy. This means you have brain space for business matters.
- Connection: Judges are connected to a larger community. If you need an answer, they probably know where to find answers. If not, they probably know someone who does! They also help you know what is going on in the larger community, and help you to be a part of it.
Moving on to the perspective of the player, we have a slightly different–and yet slightly similar–set of ABCs.
- Answers: Got a question? Ask! Judges thrive on questions. They’ll either know the right answer, or they will help you find someone who does!
- Benevolence: Judges want everyone to have a good time; not just the highly competitive players, not just the newcomers, but everyone. Judges want the event to be fun and fair–something that will keep everyone involved happy!
- Consistency: A trained judge can help ensure that events run in a consistent manner. They know the rules and policy, and they have an interest in making sure that events come to their natural conclusion–one that is consistent with rules and policy. This means that an event in Moscow will run under the same rules and procedures as one in Los Angeles. It’s nice to know what to expect at an event!
Obviously, players have an interest in helping TOs and store owners and TOs have an interest in making better events for players–because then the community will grow! This symbiosis means that categorization may be a bit semantic, but hopefully it gives you just a small hint of the difference a good judge can make. Need a judge for an event? Want to become a judge? Contact your regional coordinator to help find someone near you that can help!
Today’s Tournament Tip written by
David Hibbs, Level 3 judge from League City, TX