Great Lakes Regional Judge Conference July 2016

UPDATE: If you cannot attend please contact us at gljudgeconference@gmail.com !

The new Great Lakes region is excited to invite you all to our first Regional Judge Conference! This conference will be held on Saturday, July 9th, 2016 at Pandemonium Games & Hobbies in Garden City, MI. We plan to host a mixture of both traditional presentations and workshop-style presentations on a variety of topics related to Magic Judging. Applications for this conference are open to all judges, so please join us for a day of camaraderie and learning.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the conference please contact the Conference Organizer Heidi Sitten at gljudgeconference@gmail.com.

How to Register

If you are interested in attending this event, simply click the "Apply Now!" button above. We will accept applications continuously, so that attendees can quickly gain access to the event forums. We expect the forums to be a helpful resource for coordinating travel and hotel plans with other judges.

All are welcome to attend, including uncertified judges and judges from regions outside the Great Lakes! If you know an uncertified judge who is planning to attend, please encourage them to register for the event via JudgeApps so they can receive updates and information about the event. While uncertified judges are not eligible to receive foils, we wish to ensure an accurate headcount. If an application through JudgeApps is not immediately possible, please contact Heidi Sitten at gljudgeconference@gmail.com with names and email address of anyone who wishes to attend.

Attendance Capacity & Foils!

As a thank you to the judge program, Wizards of the Coast allows us to offer attendees a selection of promotional foil cards, proportional to the number of seminars attended. However, conference policy limits us to requesting a maximum of 150 sets of foils. To qualify to receive foils you must meet the following criteria:

•      Register for the conference by applying to this JudgeApps event before the application deadline.
•      Be a certified (Level 1 or higher) Judge with a appropriate level in JudgeApps at the time you apply. If you certify after applying, email Heidi Sitten at gljudgeconference@gmail.com with your updated level. 
•      Be among the first 150 people to meet the above criteria.

Based on past conference attendance, it is possible that we will reach the attendance cap. Applications for this event will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. For these reasons we encourage you to apply as early as possible to ensure your spot! An accepted application confirms we have room for you at this conference. If you have applied and been accepted, but will be unable to attend, please email us at gljudgeconference@gmail.com so that we may offer the slot to another judge. 

Foils will be distributed at the end of the event and attendees are expected to provide feedback on the presentations they attend in order to receive foils.

If the attendance cap is reached, we will place an update at the top of this solicitation. We will continue to post updates as space opens up.

Presenters

We are looking for a group of engaging, effective presenters to help make our conference a success. Positions are available for up to 8 traditional presentations and up to 8 workshop presentations. We are seeking high-quality presenters who will push the envelope and interact as well as educate. Most presentations will be given an audience of between 20 to 40 judges. Depending on attendance and application feedback, some presenters may be asked to present twice in order to allow all interested attendees to see their presentations.

If you are interested in presenting, please email Heidi Sitten at gljudgeconference@gmail.com as soon as possible, but no later than Saturday, June 4th. Your proposal should include: 

•      Seminar Topic
•      Technological Needs (projector, AV, etc.)
•      Ideal Audience Size
•      Information and materials about previous seminars you have presented (Power Point slides, links to recordings of any past presentations if available, etc.)

Previous experience is not a requirement to present. First time presenters are welcome! 

Testing

Testing for both L1 and L2 will be available at this conference. 

We can only guarantee you'll be tested if we know you want to test! If you wish to test or know a candidate who wants to test, please contact us at gljudgeconference@gmail.com and we will put you in touch with one of our testing coordinators.

***L2 CANDIDATES*** (including those from other regions): In addition to emailing us & in order to ensure your pretesting requirements are fulfilled and provide our testing coordinators with the information they will need to issue your test, please fill out the Great Lakes Level 2 application found here: http://blogs.magicjudges.org/greatlakes/level-2-application/  

Schedule

Our preliminary schedule is as follows. A more detailed schedule will be posted to the forums once it is finalized.

10:00-10:30 Sign-In & Networking

10:30-10:45 Welcome

11:00-12:15 Block A

12:30-13:45 Block B

LUNCH

15:00-16:15 Block C

16:30-17:45 Block D

18:00-19:00 L3/RC Panel

FOIL PICKUP

A judge dinner will be arranged for those interested after the event. Location TBD.

Travel Plans

A comprehensive travel guide will be posted in the forums to help everyone plan to attend this conference.

HELP WANTED!!!//Conference Staff

Interested in helping out the conference but not in presenting? Please contact us at gljudgeconference@gmail.com if you are interested in any of the following roles!

Staff Photographers - We need 1 to 2 people interested in taking photos.

Travel Guide - An intrepid individual is needed to collect and post information about local hotels, restaurants, entertainment and travel routes.

Testing Coordinators - We need L2 and L3 judges willing to coordinate L1 and L2 testing.

Greeters/Sign In Desk/Foil Distribution - schedule handout, name tags, welcome packet, and foil distribution.

Conference Aide - Help with setup before and breakdown after conference. Introducing presenters, helping presenters with logistical & technological needs, making sure things go smoothly. Feedback collection.

Contact Information

Questions? Suggestion? Let us know! Feel free to email us for any reason at:

gljudgeconference@gmail.com