You might be wondering: What is a Judge Conference?

A Judge Conference is an excellent way to help you and your peers grow and advance as Judges. At a Judge Conference, you will meet old friends, make new ones, expose yourself to innovative new judging techniques, engage in fun activities, and leave even more excited about our community and judging. (from Judge Academy)

June 27-28, 2020 was a milestone moment. The first-ever online Judge Conference in the Southeast Asia region focused on L1 Development was held and it was a huge success. Note this is not the first online Judge Conference for the judge community as a whole. But it definitely was the first for the region.

You might be wondering, why L1 development, and why now?

Level 1 Judges make up the majority of the judges in the judge community. They’re the face of the program and their presence adds value to the local game stores they frequent. Continuous learning and providing guidance for development is key.

The line-up for the weekend:
Day 1

Day 1 started with Martin Laureta, sharing his insights on defining one’s identity as a judge, he also discussed about the impostor syndrome and his thoughts on advancing to the next level.

Sugeng Hartawan then guided us through George’s story, playing at an FNM. highlighting the differences between JAR and the IPG by providing scenarios for George and his experiences during that FNM.

Lastly, Ian Mervin Go tackled what may be considered as a sensitive topic for some, highlighting on why such penalties were not given to the players but something they’ve actually earned.

Day 2:

Day 2 started with John Say giving a refresher on the 7 layers. John shared a spreadsheet that judges can use to have a better understanding of how the layers interact while studying that section of the Comprehensive Rules.

Reuben Ferrer then followed it up with “Writing Better Reviews”. He highlighted the fact that this can still be achieved even though we’re all practicing social distancing. He also touched base on using the L3 qualities for a judge’s review even if they’re not planning to advance.

Joel Bantiles, then handled a “core” set update, featuring Ikoria and M21. He even prepared several interesting two truths and a lie scenarios. We ended the entire conference with a friendly Quiz Game with Ron Joson as the game master.

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Doing it all online is really different from what we’re all used to. Online conferences are the best option for us at the moment and we can all make the best out of the experience.

Switching from the original plan of a physical conference to a virtual one was relatively easy, though it required additional manpower from the original line-up. Giving credits to all the members of the Planning and Organizing team, who assisted me all throughout the process. Thank you folks! 🙂 From the original staff members Danica Cervania and John Erick Viñalon, both of whom were with me during the initial planning of the initial physical event, inspection of venues, and other back-end preparations. Also, I thank Randolph Co and Ronald Allan Caluste who were both brought in as online staff.

The Organizing team and Event Staff

I would also like to say “Thank you” to all the L2+ judges who acted as moderators during group discussions, providing valuable knowledge and expertise. Finally, I’d like to thank all L1s in attendance. Thanks everyone and until next time 🙂

Note: This conference was originally planned as a physical conference and was initially scheduled for April 2020. When the pandemic struck, I was given the option, to either cancel, postpone, or bring it online. I initially opted to postpone the event, but after a few months of waiting I decided to do it online. A few days after, Judge Academy made the announcement about Online Conferences from June-August.

Planning and preparation for an online event was different from a physical one. A test run was conducted to check connectivity not just with the presenters but with the attendees as well. With 62 attendees in total, making sure that everything is covered is not an easy task. Thankfully, I have an amazing team helping me prepare for this event.