Hello everyone,

Wave 13 went live last June 25, 2018. Just like previous waves, published exemplar nominations highlight rockstar judges from various judge programs and our region definitely has a good number of exemplar nominations.

Our blog featured some of the rockstar judges and their “exemplary actions” from our region in Wave 12, and the same is true for Wave 13. In this write-up, we will feature the nominees and this time around we asked them their thoughts about the nomination or the exemplar program.

Now, let’s go ahead and meet some of the awesome judges from our region 🙂

“Hi Wendra, I’d like to thank you for your performance in Beijing. Like I said, I really appreciate your attitude in the event, your passion and your focus in work. Even in an event you don’t understand the local language, I can still see you doing your best to solve players issues, and your hard-working attitude indeed influence the judges around you. That’s invaluable. It’s my pleasure to have you in the team, and I’m really looking forward too working with you in Singapore!”

We asked Wendra for his thoughts about the exemplar program and he said:

“Exemplar nomination is a way for us to let other judges know what’s considered as ‘exemplary’. Perhaps it could be an inspiration for them or maybe they can find a new way to make it even better. So, I believe with the Exemplar Program we can help other judges to be better.”

“Duel Commander events are typically not run at Competitive REL. However, when a large amount of prizes are at stake, exceptions must be made. Thank you for keeping high stakes duel commander events at Block 101 Hobby Shop secure. With your presence, players can register for the event knowing that it will be run to a higher standard by a L1 judge who is capable of applying the IPG. Thank you for your in ensuring the fun atmosphere of commander events is maintained even at Competitive REL. Thank you for your patience in checking 100 card decks. Thank you for making a difference in the PH Duel Commander community.”

We reached out to Mj and asked him what does the nomination mean to him, he simply said:

“Being nominated means alot to me because I know that there is someone from the judge community who appreciates my effort.”

“Hello again, Nhong! It was no surprise for me to see you taking part as a mentor in the Magic Community Cup series. Even though at the time you were still Level 1, you demonstrated the commitment and the qualities usually associated with Level 2 judges and did your part to help other judges improve. That’s why I was very happy when I heard you passed your exam, and now I can write this recognition to you as a well deserved Level 2 judge. Congratulations and well done!”

Boonyakiat expressed his thoughts about the nomination:

“Exemplar nomination reflects what I did were great things to myself and our community. I hope it’ll be an inspiration to others to do a little good thing everyday to our community”

“I heard from other L2 judges that you’ve done quite a bit to revitalize the competitive Magic Scene in Baguio City. Baguio is quite far from Manila and it’s been a long while since a major tournament was organized there. You have been playing and judging Magic for quite some time and you are like a father figure to players there. Thank you for being very generous with your time in teaching other formats to players and your perseverance in soliciting more involvement from other judges. Your efforts have yielded the first PPTQ in Baguio City on May 27 and the King of the North Event on June 1st which many players are excited for, especially the casual players whom you have ushered to competitive Magic. I hope that your support as a local judge for your LGS and your local players extends beyond the RPTQ in August. Keep fanning the flames for the Magic scene in Baguio City Magsi! You’re doing an awesome job.”

When we reached to Jaime and asked him what the nomination means to him, he said:

“I’ve always perceived the Examplar Program as a double-edged sword. Validation is a tricky word. So when asked, “What does the exemplar nomination mean to you?”, it really made me think. Indeed, how significant is the nomination for me?
I’ve always been a low profile judge (That is what I always believe anyway). So to receive a vote from my seniors is really surprising. To be noticed and be commended of something I love doing, it is very encouraging to say the least. Do note that I just can’t take all the of credit . I am merely a part of a collective effort being made by the whole M:tG Baguio Community.

“Zie, I believe you already had the same recognitions as to what I want to nominate for. Your Flash Feedback token really helps judges to give feedback to other judges who work in the same event. I believe there are a lot of judges who would forget to give feedback if they don’t give those feedback immediately and while some may not feel comfortable giving feedback face to face or may not feel like it is the most convenient approach, so those Flash Feedback tokens really help. Then there is the regular tokens or the Magic Judge Feedback Form that we distribute to the players, really gives the judge community that “cool” factor from the player’s perspective. A lot of players feel really happy when they received your tokens, even some of them sleeve and protect their tokens as their precious one. So you’ve done very good job on your project, your effort and your passion is definitely exemplary. Cheers Zie!”

We asked Zie about his thoughts regarding the nomination and here is what he has to say:

“By the time you read this, close to a hundred thousand tokens would have been printed under the Judge Tokens project (and another ten thousand under the Flash Feedback Tokens project), and they’re being used in about 30 Magic-playing countries over the world. All this is done with neither of us taking a cent of profit, whatever fees we charged were for printing and shipping, and any extra funds are kept for future designs and shipments.

I started making and giving out my own custom tokens as a way to connect with other people. I’m very awkward and anxious. The act of giving out a small token (ha) as proof that I’ve interacted with you is a powerful one. When I receive feedback, either privately or through Exemplar nominations, I read heartwarming messages like “The players love them!”, and it makes me feel happy that I’m helping judges connect with their players.”

“Hello Lisa, I would like to commend your dedication in your learning. Ever since you were certified as a L1, you have put in tremendous amount of energy and effort into pursuing your dreams of becoming a Competitive L2 judge. Throughout my time mentoring you, you consistently ask questions when you have doubts and actively exposed yourself to as many Competitive REL events as possible with other L2 judges. This has not only phenomenally improved your learning, but also your practical field experience in interacting with your players. Your efforts proved very fruitful as demonstrated by the Judge manager’s confidence in providing you an opportunity to be on staff for GP Singapore. It is really great to have a Judge who is very eager in improving herself, provide feedback and willing to partake in joint discussions on the field, and that is a great level of energy our judges can learn from you. I encourage you to keep up your enthusiasm and use this very rare opportunity in GP Singapore to enhance your learning. Well done! “

We emailed Lisa Wu and she said:

“This is my first exemplar nomination, and a pleasant surprise and a great encouragement to continue learning, growing and giving back both as a judge and a member of the MTG community. Shout out to my mentor WJ for his enthusiasm and teachings!”

Thank you for checking out our region’s Exemplar Highlights. Another wave of Exemplar nominations have come to a close and we hope that these “rockstar judges” that we highlighted for this article along with the other awesome judges that you know were able to inspire you.

Don’t forget to give those awesome judges a “high five” whenever you see them!