Grand Prix Columbus 2016

Welcome!

Thank you for your interest in judging at Grand Prix Columbus. We expect this to be a large event and want to bring in a good-sized, well-experienced crew of judges to ensure that it runs smoothly. Below, you will find all of the information needed to apply for the Grand Prix. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact our Judge Manager, John Alderfer at rodetryp@gmail.com. Should you have questions related to the event itself, please contact us at questions@professional-events.com.

The Head Judge for Grand Prix Columbus will be Chris Richter, with support from Jared Sylva and Eric Levine.

The format of this event is Legacy.

The event will be June 10 – 12, 2016. The event will be held in beautiful downtown Columbus at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

We are looking for judges for Friday – Sunday. We will need judges for events starting just before 10:00 AM on Friday and 8:00 AM Saturday and Sunday. We expect Sunday to end around 10:00 PM. 

We are NOT in need of stage staff for this event.

Applications will be accepted until April 18, 2016 with the Grand Prix Columbus staff to be announced shortly thereafter. If an earlier notification of your application's status would facilitate making travel plans, please contact John at rodetryp@gmail.com once you have submitted your application.

Expectations

Judges at this Grand Prix are expected to prepare for the event by reviewing the Comprehensive Rules, Magic Tournament Rules, Infraction Procedure Guide, and Judging at Regular REL documents. These documents can be found at the Magic: The Gathering Document Center. Our expectation is for all staff members to act in a professional manner at all times.

Being on staff as a judge is more than making rulings. You may be asked to manage a line, push in chairs, clean trash off tables, hand out prizes, etc., etc. Flexibility is a necessity for judging. 

Judges are expected to arrive in time and in appropriate attire to begin judging at the start of their assigned shifts. The Head Judge will be arranging main event shifts for Saturday and Sunday and Professional Event Services will assign the Friday schedule. 

Judges at this Grand Prix will be in Magic Judge Program attire of Official Magic Judge shirt, black pants, black belt, and black shoes. You should select your shoes knowing that you will be on your feet a considerable portion of your shift. Judges when not on duty, should refrain from wearing Judge shirts.  If you need a shirt with the current Magic Judge logo, please indicate that in your application.

Compensation

Playmat

All judges will receive the Geist of Saint Traft event playmat for working with us.

Per Day

Judges will receive the following compensation program determined by their level:

Level 1 judges will receive $100.00 and 1 booster display per day worked.

Level 2 judges will receive $200.00 and 1 booster display per day worked.

Level 3+ judges will receive $300.00 and 1 booster display per day worked.

Extended Saturday

Recently at GPs, the trend has been to divide the day into shifts.  This does provide for a shorter day for judges, but does have some drawbacks.  In an effort to provide better structure and continuity, we are going to be selecting some judges to work an extended shift on Saturday, covering the entire main event.  It will make for a longer day for those individuals and so we are offering additional compensation.  If you are interested in volunteering for this, please indicate so on your application.  Those selected to work these shifts will receive the following extra compensation:

Level 2 judges will receive $100.00. 

Level 3+ judges will receive $150.00.

Please Note

All judges receiving payment for this event will need to fill out the appropriate tax paperwork (W-9 for US citizens and W-8BEN for others) and submit it onsite.  There will be no witholding onsite.  

Standby

Standby judges are a special sponsorship class.  Standby judges may not be used to judge at all at the event.  If you are selected as a standby judge, you will be informed if you are needed to judge on Saturday and/or Sunday by Friday night.   If you work the event, you will receive the compensation package described above.  If you are not selected to judge, your portion of the Grand Prix entry fee will be covered by PES (registration is a base event entry).   

Hotel Block

Judges are responsible for their own accomodations. PES has set up a room block for the event and you can take advantage of it as well. 

Hyatt Regency Columbus
350 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43215

 This hotel is attached to the venue.

Room rate is $129 a night

You can book you room using this link: https://aws.passkey.com/g/58641546

How to Apply

Simply click on the "Apply Now!" link toward the top of the page. Please answer all of the questions in the application form.

Note: If your judge level is currently incorrect on JudgeApps when you apply please mention this in your application.

Due to staff needs, judges may be accepted for one, two or three days. Please indicate your preference, and requirements to attend, in your application.  That being said, we only have so many slots - flexibility will increase your chances of being accepted.