Hello, and welcome to Time Distortion! On my way to judge at Pro Tour: Journey Into Nyx, it dawned on me that I had a great item to kick off this blog! Disappointingly free of functioning WiFi, I couldn’t help but reflect on my first Pro Tour experience as a judge (PT Houston, 2002, in case you’re wondering). That was a long time ago! Ponder that for a moment–more than a decade of Pro Tour time. What were you doing with Magic five years ago? Ten? TWELVE? In that time, some things have stayed fairly consistent, and others have changed dramatically. Where to start? Why not start in advance of the event….
Application Process
You can’t be on staff if you don’t apply, right? I made an effort to find my application after I got home (I booted a barely working windows 98 machine, if you can believe it) but was unable to find any of this in my archives. So, I have to go with my barest memories.
In 2002, you could be an L2 and work the PT and I was a local L2 to the event. I saw a post on the DCIJUDGE-L mailing list and sent an email out with my basic information (I was a local L2). I think I got a simple email back that I was accepted, but maybe I just got the staff list. This is all foggy in my memory, but the point is that everything was simple and informal from my perspective.
Digression: Would you believe that Scott Marshall and I were both L2 at that event, that Shawn Doherty was already around as an L3, and that Rune Horvik was L4? Mind blown.
Contrast this with 2014 PT events. Today, you either have to be an L3 or have an L3 recommend you. There is a formal application process. You write a cover letter and ask to be staffed. If you’ve ever written an application for a GP or Star City open, you know what I mean. That’s right; even L3s still have to write meaningful cover letters.
Staff Composition
L3 judges are not exactly common even today, but they were flat-out scarce in 2002. The average judges at the time were good–very good, even–but the floor staff of a PT now is exceptional in every sense of the word. It means a lot to be accepted for one of these events today. In 2002… not as much. I feel incredibly honored to have been on staff for PT Journey into Nyx!
I’ve already mentioned the level expectations, but there were differences in the composition of the staff well beyond that measure. In 2002, a few members of the judge staff were employed by–or very closely tied to–WotC. Maybe you’ve heard of a guy named Mark Rosewater? Rumor has it he does some kind of design work now. Anyway, at the time he was an L4 judge and worked for WotC. He was also on staff. Mike Donais was also L4 and in R&D… and on staff. I’m sure I’m missing someone, but the point is there was a close tie between being a high-level judge and working directly for Wizards.
Today, the high-level judges have their own careers. Magic is a big part of their lives, but the relationship is not exactly a formal employee-employer. They work *with* Wizards, not *for* Wizards. I may delve into this more in the future, probably with the help of some of those judges, but for now I’ll say that I think this is an important distinction.
Moving on… if you look at the staff list you will notice that not as many judges came from abroad. By my count, roughly 6 of the 30 judges (1 in 5) were international in 2002; in Atlanta that number was 10 of 23 (almost half). I love this change; it really shows how the game has spread around the world and that the Pro Tour is not just a US event.
Breath of Dreams
As you can see, much has changed just in staffing a Pro Tour. I’ll leave this here and come back with Part 2 a bit later. For now… dream of judging a Pro Tour. It’s much better today than it was 12 years ago! I’ll leave you with some staff photos, just for fun.
