FEATURE FRIDAY: Head Judging My First Pro Tour

As many of you know, I'll be Head Judging Pro Tour Atlanta March 11-13, and it'll be my first foray into running The Show. Head Judging a Pro Tour is more than just showing up and making sure the event runs well. In fact, preparations for me have been ongoing for more than a month. None of it is a solo effort; each step of the way is either coordinated with or aided by other high-level Judges, and of course, Judge Manager Andy Heckt. Here's a trip through my PT Atlanta run-up.

Selecting the Judge staff: This is an always-difficult process. Sometimes more we get more than three times the number of Judges applying than we have slots for. Led by Andy, I met onlne with the other Professional-level Judges to balance out the needs of the Judge Program, Pro Tour Atlanta, and the individuals concerned in selecting a team. It's not a question of selecting the 25 or so "best" Judges. Everyone that applies is qualified (assuming they're Level 2 or higher).

There are numerous factors that go into this selection. Sometimes a great deal of PT experience can work against a Judge applying for sponsorship; we like to give everyone their chance. That being said, we have to balance the learning experience with knowledge of the working Pro Tour, so that we a smooth event. We look very closely at Judges who wish to certify for Level 3 or recertify. We need to ensure we have a spread of language skills in addition to English, such as French, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian, perhaps more. Unfortunately, money also plays a part in the selection. It's expensive to bring international Judges to a domestic event or vice versa. That's why you'll see, for example, more European judges at European PTs than you will at those in the US or Asia.

Scheduling the Judge staff: Once the arduous process of selecting the staff is done and we've notified everyone, comes figuring out what to do with everybody. At Pro Tours, Judges are organized four teams: Pairings, Slips, Deck Checks, and Logistics. The Pairings Team posts new (and removes old) pairings and standings. The Slips Team distributes the results entry slips each round. The Deck Check Team does both deck verification in the first round and checks in subsequent rounds. The Logistics team takes care everything else, from updating the live standings board to making sure the booster packs are laid out for drafts--and everything in between.

Each team has a Team Leader, who schedules and directs the activities of the team during the day (teams change each day so that a Judge gets as broad an experience as possible). Generally, we select experienced Judges to lead teams on Day 1, setting the tone and example. On Day 2, Team Leaders are those who are testing for advancement at the event or in the near future, giving us an opportunity to observe their leadership and organization skills.

Other Professional (Level 5) and International (Level 4) Judges not usually assigned to teams. Most of the time, they're floating, lending a hand where they might, taking care of administrative tasks (such as preparing for and performing Level 3 interviews) and always available to council the Head Judge. If a major issue arises (such as a disqualification or a weird ruling), the Head Judge will not make the decision in a vaccuum. He'll consult with the L4's and L5's present and Pro Tour Manager Scott Larabee, Andy, and sometimes John Grant. I'll be lucky enough in Atlanta to have Gis Hoogendijk, Collin Jackson, and John Carter on the team in Atlanta, so I know I'll have the best advice available should something unusual rear its ugly head.

When making the schedule, we have to take into account that some Judges will at times be away from the team structure. The Feature Match area must be covered, and Judges will be away for both the written exam and interview portion of Level 3 tests. We also have to retain the flexibility to move judges around on the teams, and perhaps even shuffle some Main Event Judges over to Side Events should their manpower need exceed ours.

An idea I'm going to continue with in modified fashion is Jaap Brouwer's "kernel team" idea from Pro Tour Columbus. Often, Judges only see each other for limited time during an event, making providing feedback difficult. What I'd like to do is to make small teams of 3-4 judges, each guided by an experienced Level 3, and as much as possible schedule them all together for the weekend. The more familiar the Judges are with each other, the better opportunity we have to for mentorship and crossfeed.

Setting Goals: Of course, the overriding goal is to run a perfect event--stay ahead of schedule, make it smooth for the players, get everything right. Besides that, we'll be discussing other goals for each individual Judge. As mentioned before, some will be testing for advancement. Others will be walking along the upgrade path, so we'll be pointing them in the right direction. While every Judge is encouraged to evaluate any other Judge's performance, some of the higher-level folks will be specifically tasked to evaluate specific other Judges. For example, I'm sure that at Andy's direction, both Gis and Collin will be providing both evaluation and feedback to me (regarding my own performance) both during the event and afterward.

Write a Judge Package: Before the event begins, Judges will receive a packet of information regarding the event, covering topics ranging from where the staff hotel is to their conduct during the event. If I'm correct, this was a Mike Guptil brainchild of several years ago. Though there is some information that's identical at every PT stop, a majority of it is event- and site-specific, so I'm currently writing that document.

Arrange the Judge Seminars: One of the great additions to the Pro Tour (started a few years back by Gis) is the Judge seminar. Mostly hosted on Sunday when we need a smaller staff (only for the Top 8), experienced Judges will provide education and training to a large group. The seminar (as opposed to lecture) format has paid us great dividends. After deciding on topics, we task the specific Judges to write and present the seminars, with pre-event review. Topics for this PT include "Handling Slow Play," "Clear Lines for Unsporting Conduct," and "Developing a Self-Sustaining Judge Community," among others.

Write a First-Timer's Package: Adding my own personal touch to this event, I'm writing a "It's Your First Pro Tour" package that will (surprisingly!) given to all the folks who are at their initial Pro Tour. One of the things I've seen from first-timers is a sense of being overwhelmed by the entirety of the experience, and often times not knowing anyone else. The major thrust of this is that no Judge feels like an outsider in our family.

Set Up Elder Dragon Highlander: While not part of my preparation as PT Head Judge, EDH is quickly becoming PT tradition amongst the Judges, so I'll be arranging that, as I mentioned a few weeks ago. Again, it may be that my duties keep me from actually playing, so Paul Morris and Cari Foreman have graciously volunteered to help on-site.

There will certainly be other things that pop up along the way, but there's enough strength and flexibility built into the event setup for us to deal with them. Of course, you'll be getting my full report after the event.

See you Friday.