Northeast Regional Judge Conference

Initial registration for this event completed on August 8th.
You may however still register as a Standby Judge.
Standby Judges are unable to receive Judge Foils but are still welcome to attend to conference.

Please use this link to register as a Standby Judge
http://apps.magicjudges.org/events/apply/1387/?late_key=ff40cf9ac58896462fb6a7c6824d7fbe  

I’m very excited to announce the next Northeast Judge Conference (and More), which will be held at Ice Imports in East Windsor Connecticut, on Saturday September 6^th 2014.  Special thanks to Eric Meyer of Ice Imports for agreeing to host us.


What is a Judge Conference?
Judge Conferences are events designed to meet other judges, both from the Northeast and out of our region; to learn; to teach; to share; and, of course, to have fun.  During the conference we will have a schedule of seminars and workshops that cover different aspects of judging, which will be useful for any judge, regardless of how long they have judged or what level they are.  Most of us all know how to play the same game so we typically end up turning cards sideways, everyday I’m shuffling, or going on tilt at some point.


Who can go to the Judge Conference?
Judge Conferences are open to everybody, regardless of your level or if you are certified.  The only expectation is participation.  You should share your knowledge, ask all your questions, and learn.  Then take some of this new found knowledge back home to those judges who weren’t able to attend.


What’s the schedule?

1200 - Introductions, regional stats, and housekeeping

1230 - Introduction to Deck Checks (Kush Singhal)
- Effective communication (Brogan King & Elliot Raff)

1330 - Casting spells (Bobby Fortanely)
- Judging and playing in the same event at Regular (Ben Klein)

1430 - Unsporting Conduct and when it becomes a major offense (Amanda Stevens)
- Legacy Primer (Steve Guillerm)

1530 - The new road to L2 (Paul Baranay)
- WER common issues (Chris McGuire)

1630 - Judge Apps, cover letters, and applying to large events (Jason Riendeau)
- Judging your first Competitive Event. (Will Anderson)

1730 - Certifying L1’s and The Welcome Wagon (CJ Stambaugh)
- Professionalism: Demeanor, Attire, and Presentation. (Brandon Lane)

1830 - Cheats and Cheating: What to look for and how when checking decks. (Olivier Jansen)
- Judging with Autism (Alex Stratton)

 
Special concurrent small group sessions on Judge Calls with Alex Mullins, Andrew Rula,
and Layers with Casey Brefka.  See Forum posts for details on these small group sessions.
 

What can I do to help?
We are currently looking for presenters, so if you are interested in presenting please send us an email (northeast.judge.conference@gmail.com) with your topic before August 8^th, 2014.  Topics can and do range vastly with your skills and nearly anything is acceptable.  Examples of prior presentations are located here. 

Additionally it would be great to videotape at least some of the sessions to archive and share.  So if you are comfortable recording a session for the web we would love it.  Please let me know if you are able to do this.

Finally if you have a great idea to make this the best conference it can be and it hasn't been covered please contact me.


So what about those shiny tokens of appreciation?
Wizards of the Coast is indeed supporting this conference with judge foils for eligible attendees.  These will be given out based number of sessions attended.  In order to be eligible for judge foils you must be a certified Judge and have registered for this event on or before August 8^th, 2014.  There are no exceptions to this rule.  If there is even a chance that you will be attending you should apply before the deadline to ensure if you do attend you are eligible to receive foils.

Are Judge certifications going to be available at the conference?
Both Level 1 and Level 2 testing will be available at the conference.  Those interested in testing should use the cover letter section to share their intent to test at the event.  L1 candidates should ensure to share where they typically Judge and how often, which Judges they have already worked with (if any), and why they want to be a Judge.  L2 candidates should ensure they meet all the qualification requirements and will be contacted by one of the L3's attending the conference to confirm eligibility and availability.


So what is the “and more” part of the conference?  I thought you would never ask.  
Saturday evening we will have a Judge draft and more details on this will come out closer to the conference.  Additionally when you apply for this event you will be asked if you are interested in spending Sunday at Six Flags New England.  Should enough of us want to do this, we will have the option to individually purchase discounted day pass(es) to spend a day together not doing judge things.  The discounted rate is $37.


The logistics of attending:
Ice Imports is located just off of Exit 45 on I-91 in Connecticut -- 10 minutes from Bradley International Airport.

Driving Times from other nearby cities:
1:40 from Boston             2:20 from New York City
1:40 from Albany              3:45 from Philadelphia

Hotels:
Comfort Inn & Clarion Inn Bradley Airport are both located with a half mile of the venue.
Nearer to the airport are many more options.  
We don’t currently have a hotel block, but if there is interest, we can work to arrange one.


If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send us an email at northeast.judge.conference@gmail.com

See you there!