US-South Regional Conference - Atlanta

Thank you for your interest in the US-South Regional Conference in Atlanta, GA!

This conference is open to judges of all levels and will focus on skills that are gained through mentorship and experience rather than those that can be studied in rules and policy documents. We will prioritize judges who have less experience at multi-judge or convention level events, as they will have the most to learn. However, absolutely everyone is welcome and no one will be denied unless we cap our attendance limits. 

That being said, you cover letter matters! Tell us about yourself, what you look to gain from this conference, and what you are working towards in the Judge Program. Acceptances will be posted publicly shortly after the application closing date.

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TIME

The US-South Regional Conference - Atlanta will be held from 10am- 6pm on Sunday, May 17th.

(NOTE: This is a change from the original date of April 19th.)

There are 2 tracks, each with 6 sessions. 

TRACK 1

Track 1 will contain traditional presentations on topics related to the skills described above. If you are interested in presenting, please include this in your cover letter along with what topic you would like to present on. This page will be updated to reflect topics as presenters are accepted. 

10:00am-10:30am- Welcome and Introductions

10:30am-11:20am - Presentation 1 | TBD

11:30am-12:20pm - Pending | TBD

12:30pm-1:20pm - Pending | TBD

1:20pm-2:20pm - LUNCH

2:30pm-3:20pm - Gary Roland | TBD

3:30pm-4:20pm - Nik Zitomer | Body Language While Judging 

4:30pm-5:20pm - Michael Starr | De-escalation Nation: The Art of Arbitration

5:30pm-6:00pm - Closing and Distribution of Foils

TRACK 2

Track 2 is something I am very excited about and am hoping to unveil at this Judge Conference: A Judge Escape Room!

It's worth noting that this track is not yet complete, and due to tighter than expected timelines I cannot yet guarantee that it will be ready. This idea has been in the works for months and we will be doing everything in our power to make sure it is ready in time. There are a lot of physical bits and bobs to obtain, testing needs to be done, etc. In the event it is not, there will still be a full day of presentations on Track 1.

During each of the 6 presentation slots, judges can alternatively sign up for an hour long escape room experience that will focus on team building as the group solves puzzles related to common judge calls, card interactions, etc. David Rockwood will be the 'Presenter' for this and will be running each session. A sign up sheet for this optional track will be made available the morning of the conference. As this is the first time this presentation is being run, it is very much a first draft. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated and used to adjust and improve for future conferences. 

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VENUE

Win Condition Games

3895 Cherokee St NW #610

Kennesaw, GA 30144

This is a foil sponsored conference provided by Judge Academy. As prerequisites for receiving foils, you must be a certified judge and participate actively and in a constructive manner during all seminars. You must attend all sessions to be eligible for foil sponsorship. 

We look forward to seeing everyone there!