Judge Academy is finally ready to fully launch our Tournament Organizer – Endorsement Writer Badge and the capabilities that go along with it! We are very excited to bring even more event organizers into the fold as we expand our Magic: The Gathering education community. If you are a game store owner, game store manager, game store event manager, or an event manager for a large event series, this post is for you!
If you are interested in writing endorsements for Rules Advisors who are on their way toward Level 1 certification, we now have a badge that allows you to do that. Here is how to step forward for consideration:
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- Sign up for an account on judgeacademy.com, selecting the Organizer persona.
- Go to the Skill Tree tab on your profile. Expand the “TO Electives” column.
- Complete the education module titled “MTG: Tournament Organizer Endorsements for Judges”
- Submit a TO Verification for Endorsements Form, which can be found under the Resources menu.
- Wait for your result via email!
Questions and Answers
What is an endorsement and why do Rules Advisors need them to advance to Level 1?
More information on judge endorsements can be found here: https://judgeacademy.com/endorsement-information/
What if I am a certified judge who wants to add the Organizer persona to my account?
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- Log into your account on judgeacademy.com like normal, then visit the Persona Selector page: https://judgeacademy.com/persona-selector/
- Click on the large “Organizer” graphic.
- Click the “Add Persona” button.
After those steps are complete, you will be able to toggle back and forth between the two personas and their unique educational content by clicking on the dropdown menu in the top right corner of your screen.
How long will it take to hear back after submitting my form?
It should take less than a week to hear back from us with a decision. To expedite the process, be absolutely certain that you have completed the required education module BEFORE you submit your verification form.
What are you looking for beyond just completion of the module’s video + quiz?
We want to make sure that folks sending in the form really are who they say they are to avoid fraud, so in the verification form we do ask for proof of position such as a picture of a business card or anything else that has the store name, the TO’s name, and the TO’s job title on it. Also, we are specifically looking to grant this badge to TOs that have experience hiring/working with certified judges in their own store or at other events. We want judge endorsements to be written by TOs who have ample first-hand insight into the qualities of a really good local Magic judge. We want to know who TOs think will make stellar leaders in their own local gaming communities.
What if I get declined?
Decline emails will contain advice for reconsideration. If you are declined, we encourage you to submit another TO Verification for Endorsements Form in 6 months.
What if I get selected?
Congratulations! You can now start writing endorsements! Instructions will be in your acceptance email. If you have any trouble or encounter any errors, please reach out to us: https://judgeacademy.com/contact-us/
A Final Word
The Judge Academy team is very excited to try out this new avenue of endorsement submission! We know it can be challenging for judges to network with other judges in more remote areas, so hopefully this will ease that obstacle for Rules Advisors who are isolated and don’t tend to spend much time in online judge community spaces. Outside of judges themselves, who better to tell us about the people doing great things in their local gaming community than the very TOs hiring judges and working alongside them? We have seen really promising results from the TOs who have been kind enough to help beta test this functionality for us, and we are extremely optimistic that this is going to bring judges and TOs together even more harmoniously than ever before.
This gaming education community is amazing and we admire all the wonderful folks who take part in it! Keep doing great things. The Judge Academy team is cheering all of you on.