Structural Changes

We are no longer organizing our members primarily by region.
Judge Academy is hiring Champions for each motivational judge-type. (Tournament Rules, Event Logistics, Game Rules, Community Relations).
Champions will create initiatives and content intended for their archetype.
Local distribution hubs will still be used for conference sponsorship distribution.
In 2022 JA is expanding L1 Translation materials in Portuguese and Chinese.

Dues/Fees

In 2022 the membership fee changes to $75 USD, regardless of level.
JA has restructured so that we no longer need to collect VAT from EU members.
Judge-exclusive merchandise packages will be available for purchase. More info will be released on this soon.
Membership renewal will open in November for 2022 dues.
Unrenewed memberships expire and move to Rules Advisor on Feb 1, 2022.
New-member welcome bonuses will not continue into 2022.

You will be notified when new content is posted that is required for maintenance.
L1 and L2 advancement processes have not changed.
JA has confirmed L2 badges, the L3 process, and advanced L3 certifications.
L3 Modules are live. Forms for sign-offs and digital L3P will be live in January.

Direct-mailing promos is an unsustainable process.
2022 Judge Academy Promos will only be distributed as rewards through conferences.
JA is striving to make the distribution of promos less transactional and more clearly rewards based on community engagement.
The promo theme for 2022 is Enchantments.
Conference Support Structure for 2022:
- Two new promos will be released every three months.
- Digital conferences will give out the two new promos.
- In-person conferences will give out the two new promos as well as two older promos from the previous wave.
- Conference organizers and presenters will also receive a previewed promo that will only be available to organizers and presenters up until the December End-of-Year Celebrations in 2022.
- Promos spoiled so far: Wave 1 – Greater Auramancy, Omniscience; Wave 2 – Parallel Lives, Stranglehold; Preview Card 1 – No Mercy.

Graphic design overhauls to the website – More simple and visually appealing.
Social features such as: Friend List, Messaging, Activity Feed, Skills Endorsement, Profile Customization, Judge Resume Creator.
Better event creation capabilities. Events can be marked as “favorites.” Old events will eventually be imported for record-keeping purposes.
Persona System – Judge, Tournament Organizer, Player, and Game Publisher.
Each interacts differently with the site. Personas toggle needed buttons to make navigating the site easier.
New account registration is being simplified.

Judge projects are coming back and JA will be providing project organization and management tools to help.
Judge projects will be built on and follow an Open Source framework.
Judge projects are independently organized, meaning JA cannot direct, manage, or control any judge projects.
Judge projects can be privately owned or community owned, but are never owned by Judge Academy.
Judge projects are not compensated by Judge Academy. Judges are free to participate (or not participate) in judge projects as they see fit.

Judge Academy would appreciate some beta testers for the new features, so sign up here if you are interested!