It’s October, friends! Spooky season is upon us! If you have a Magic-themed Halloween costume planned, please send us pictures.
(Field Creeper by artist Anthony Palumbo is Samma’s favorite spooky Magic art!)
EoY Conference Sponsorship
Thank you all for the influx of wonderful sponsorship applications for 2022 End of Year Celebration conferences! Acceptances have just recently gone out, so check your inboxes, organizers! Congratulations to the organizers who have been selected for sponsorship from each region. I know we all had a blast at last year’s EoY conferences, and I’m sure even bigger and better presentations are in the works to send 2022 out with a bang.
Office Hours
OFFICE HOURS ARE TODAY, so please join us for either (or both!) of our two sessions over on Discord. The first one is at 9am Pacific, and the second is at 4pm Pacific. Office Hours are a great time to bring questions for Judge Academy staff. We’re always happy to hear from you!
New Program Manager
Hey, did you hear? Judge Academy has appointed a new Magic Judge Program Manager!
Read more about that in our announcement article.
Endorsement System Changes
Finding the right balance for who can endorse which judges for what roles and when is… well… tricky. Back in the day it used to be the case that only certified Level 3 judges could write endorsements for judges hoping to achieve Level 2. However, with large events greatly diminished over the Covid era, chances to meet Level 3 judges were greatly diminished as well. To solve this problem early on, Judge Academy implemented a policy that Level 2 judges could write endorsements for other judges aspiring to Level 2. The idea was that it seems reasonable to assume that an experienced Level 2 judge knows how to spot a Level 1 judge who is ready to take on the challenge of Level 2 certification. The dilemma this created with website functionality, though, is that certifying for Level 2 instantly granted judges the power to endorse others for L2 despite those endorsing judges not having any tangible experience in the role of a Level 2 judge themselves yet. To accommodate that scantness of experience in newly-minted L2s, the web development team has been working hard on a brand new feature! Going forward, the Judge Academy website is will begin applying our new restriction on endorsements:
A Level 2 judge must be certified as a Level 2 judge for at least 6 months before they become eligible to write endorsements for other judges working towards Level 2 certification.
This policy goes into effect today (October 5, 2022), and will affect any judges that certify for Level 2 today and going forward. Judges that certified for Level 2 yesterday (October 4, 2022) or earlier will not be affected by this policy change. Judge Academy will continue to monitor the proficiency of newly certified judges at every level so that we can make any adjustments we determine are best for the big-picture, long-term good of the Magic judge program. We greatly appreciate all the feedback we’ve received from judges and TOs alike that ultimately led to this decision.
September Content
Since our last update, there has been new content created by our Champions!
Articles:
End of Year Celebration Conferences
Modules/Quizzes:
Spelling Bee – An Unfinity Spoiler
A bunch of new modules are complete and almost ready to be published for a brand new Magic judge education track! The big reveal will come very soon, so keep an eye out for more information.
Upcoming Experiences
First Week October is currently going strong over on Twitch.tv/JudgeAcademy
Don’t miss the last two exciting presentations on the schedule:
- Rob McKenzie / Wednesday, 10am Pacific / How to Read the IPG
- Jeph Foster / Thursday, 10am Pacific / Running Digital Conferences
Achievements
Congratulations to the following judges for their well-earned triumphs:
Monica Gonzalez – Day 2 Team Lead Badge
Joe Sweeney-Steet – LTHJ Badge
Dan Collins – LTHJ Badge
Level 1+ Merchandise Boxes
Level 1+ Merch Boxes are finally available for preorder on MTG Pro Shop! Quantities are limited and these boxes are selling out fast. The password required to place an order went out via email to all Level 1 and higher judges recently. If you are a newly-certified Level 1 Magic judge and want to pick up one of these dazzling Omniscience-themed bundles of wonderment, email questions@judgeacademy.com and we will send you the password!
Privacy Settings
Do you want Event Organizers to be able to find you so they can offer you judge work?
OF COURSE YOU WANT THAT!
We all want that!
So make yourself findable, friend.
Go to your profile on judgeacademy.com and click the privacy tab to start updating your settings.