So, not too long ago, at least on the scale with which I have articles published, I wrote about the concept of adequacy and being evaluated as such. Beyond adequate, we have a whole slew of terms to describe judges who perform well: rock stars, exceptional, fantastic, and more. But there are two terms that […]

Adequate. Three stars. Met baseline expectations. Average. Getting an evaluation like that can sting. I find that a lot of judges strive for constant improvement or perfection. The community has sometimes carried the label of a “cult of self-improvement.” Outside of judging, a three-star rating is practically an absolute condemnation.  But here’s the thing – […]

I had this idea while I was editing in a last-second conclusion to my article on leadership. Leadership in judging has what I find to be a relatively unique dynamic. One week, you’ll be leading a team, or head judging an event, and then a month later, or maybe even a day later, you’ll be […]

We’re proud to announce the promotion of Travis Lauro from California to Level Three. Here are a few words that his friends and mentors had to say about him: “Travis is quite the character. Personally, and I know this is true for other judges, too, he keeps me in check on my policy knowledge by […]

Okay – so this post is a lot longer than the one that simply covers the changes, which you can find here. The goal of this post is to walk through why we’re making the refinements and updates that we are. If you’re looking for the overview of levels as they will exist in 2023 […]

Hey folks, as you may have discerned from the title, we’re working on clarifying and updating the various judge levels and certifications. This post is just covering what the changes are, so you can quickly look and see what’s different. This is not a redefinition – the general scope of each level is remaining the […]

Games Are Bad Okay, let me put that into some context: Many games or cute icebreakers during team meeting introductions or as part of a team-building activity frequently fail to achieve their objectives. Sometimes they can even be counterproductive to your larger goals. (Note: This isn’t a blanket statement – there are plenty of times […]

Let’s start with a story. You’re the head judge (and the only judge) at an RCQ at your local store. It’s not massive: you started with twenty-nine players, and a few have dropped.  It’s the final round, and you haven’t deck-checked either of the players at table two, so you’re headed that way when the […]

Today I’m going to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart – imposter syndrome and self-doubt. To begin with, “Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud.” I find it affects me most frequently when I’m stepping into a new role for the first (or second, […]

The other day during the June First Week chat about a judge’s first large event, we were asked “What’s the best team to ask to be on for your first event?” My guest and I disagreed, and it prompted me to dive deeper into the topic. There are a lot of different teams and roles […]