USA-South Spring Judge Conference 2016

In cooperation with Wonko's Toys & Games, I'm thrilled to announce the USA-South Spring Judge Conference for 2016!

The Judge Conference is open to everyone, regardless of Judge Level or location. However, If you plan to attend, please apply here so that we will have an accurate headcount for planning purposes.

Venue
Wonko's Toys & Games is hosting us for this conference! They have a large play area which will be converted for our use. The store features many board games, other TCGs, Warhammer 40k, and various collectibles, in addition to a good Magic selection!

Wonko's is located on the NW corner of Lake Creek Parkway and HWY 183, next door to O'Reilly's Auto Parts.

13776 US-183 #116
Austin, TX 78750

Google Maps Link

From Austin or anywhere South, take US 183 N, exit Lake Creek Pkwy. Once on the frontage road, make a left under the freeway and the shopping center will be on the right. It's in the same parking lot as Goodwill and 24Hour Fitness.

From Dallas or anywhere North, the most direct route would be I-35 South to TX 45 West (TOLL ROAD) then US 183 South and exit Lake Creek Pkwy. The center would be the first on the right. It's in the same parking lot as Goodwill and 24Hour Fitness.
Alternatively, you can take I-35 South, then exit N FM620 (Round Rock Ave). Turn right on N FM620 (Round Rock Ave). Follow N FM620 (Round Rock Ave) and turn right onto the frontage road for TX 45. Make a left on US 183 South frontage road and the center will be on the right side.

This conference is being held with two "tracks" being run simultaneously. The smaller track will be able to host approximately 25 audience members, with the larger track hosting everyone else. Seating preference for the smaller track will go to L2+ judges. The larger track presentation is listed first.

10:00am
Opening Announcements

10:10am
Your First Big Event! - Antonio Zanutto
Player Diversity - Jarrod Feight

11:10am
Intro to the IPG : GPE - John White
Investigations : I see what you did there - David Hibbs

12:10pm
Lunch

1:30pm
Code of Conduct - Kevin Binswanger
WER Usage and Troubleshooting - Mike Ames

2:30pm
Judge / TO Relations - Josh McCurley & Jim Shuman
Mentoring - Alex Tune

3:30pm
Break

4:00pm
Serious Problems at Regular REL - James Scott
Tournament Reports - John Trout

5:00pm
Soft Skills - Tanner Sorensen & Nick Spears
Teaching Magic. Teaching Layers. - Matt Hoskins

6:00pm
Cleanup & Feedback

6:30pm
Dinner and Games

Presenting
The following presenters will be giving seminars at this conference:

Mike Ames - WER Usage and Troubleshooting - WER is a necessary component of nearly every sanctioned Magic event. During this session, we will discuss ways to avoid common problems, how to resolve simple and difficult, and learn some more efficient ways to do common tasks.

Kevin Binswanger - Code of Conduct - Judge conduct matters... a lot, and not just because of the consequences for misconduct. Learn about the Magic Judge Code of Conduct, why it matters, discuss the role of judges in social media, and get any conduct related questions answered.

Jarrod Feight - Player Diversity - This talk will focus on simple and effective strategies for approaching a diverse player base as well as examples of previous interactions relating to player/judge diversity. Attendees will get a chance to discuss previous interactions and/or experiences in group discussions

David Hibbs - Investigations : I see what you did there - What is your goal in an investigation? Maybe it's time to rethink! In this presentation, we'll talk about when to investigate and how to go about doing so--and maybe practice a little bit!

Matt Hoskins - Teaching Magic. Teaching Layers. - This presentation discusses teaching techniques and tools that are applicable to any MTG subject. The teaching techniques will be demonstrated through teaching layers, although the goal is as much the teaching as it is layer knowledge.

Josh McCurley / Jim Shuman - Judge / TO Relations - This talk will include TO/Judge responsibilities and how they impact compensation negotiations. It is primarily looking at competitive events but will address working FNM's/Pre-Releases as well.

James Scott - Serious Problems at Regular REL - At regular REL, the focus is always on fun yet sometimes things happen that aren't so fun. Anything discussed in this presentation is a disqualification and can cause a player to be ejected from the venue at the TO's discretion.

Tanner Sorensen - Soft Skills - This session will give you the opportunity to hone your competitive REL skills. Participants will “take judge calls” that will test not only their knowledge of the CR, IPG and MTR, but also their ability to handle complex judge scenarios.

John Trout - Tournament Reports - The best tournament reports keep readers engaged, and aren't written on a whim. They take planning, data collection and a focus on storytelling. We will discuss preparations, useful notes to take, and how to turn your notes into a riveting narrative.

Alex Tune - Mentoring - Judges will be exposed to all the forms of mentoring within the program. The presentation will include mentoring and cultivating new judges, peer review, mentoring other judges (regardless of levels), and requirements for certification for L1 and L2.

John White - Intro to the IPG : GPE - This presentation will be about section 2 of the IPG, Game Play Errors.  It will go through each of the errors (missed trigger, LEC, HCE, GRV and FtMGS) and talk about the definition, philosophy and penalty for the infractions.

Antonio Zanutto - Your First Big Event! - Going Big at Magic Tournaments from A to Z : This presentation is aimed to help judges in their first steps towards large Magic Events. Several topics will be discussed, including ODEs, Appeals, Side Events, Team Structure and many more.

Testing
If you are interested at testing at this conference, please contact Nate Hurley.

Foils
In order to receive foils for attending, you must be a certified Judge and register on or before March 12, 2016.

Other details
There is no attenance charge, but please bring funds to cover meals and snacks that are not covered. This will include the Judge dinner.

 
This page will be updated with more details as we approach the date of the event. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact David Carroll.