PTQ F̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶R̶e̶f̶o̶r̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶ Dragons of Tarkir, Sheffield

Welcome to solicitation for Patriot Games Sheffield’s final PTQ, aka PTQ My Birthday!

This is my first time HJ’ing a “big” event, and having looked at the rest of the PTQ calendar I am expecting this one to be fairly popular. With that in mind, I’d like to be thorough with the pre-event planning. Please take a moment to read through the details below, and include what relevant information you can in your cover letter.



The basics

We are looking for six floor judges plus three reserve judges for this Standard format event on 31st January. The day will also incorporate a PPTQ, a GPT for GP Liverpool, and possibly draft side events as well. Judges need to be on site at 8:30am. Exact finish times will be subject to the demands of the event (and side events), so flexibility is desirable, but please assume you are needed until at least 7pm. Venue info can be found at the top of the page.

Compensation

Compensation is paid in cash, at minimum wage. The TO (Jim Freeman) will require judges to fill in an invoice for their time before this is paid. Judges are responsible for their own relationships with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. If you have any further questions about compensation, please contact me or Jim and we’ll do our best to answer them.



Roles and opportunities; What to include in your application

There are one or two roles, mentioned below, which I would like to assign during the event. If you’re interested in any of these, please say so:

• “Back-up HJ.” I would like to have a senior L2 or L3 judge on staff who, in the event that I am abducted by aliens or otherwise incapacitated, can take over HJ responsibilities for the event, in addition to acting as HJ during my break and potentially handling appeals if I am unable to do so.
• Side Events Lead. Depending on the number of players in attendance and how well subscribed the side events are, I may hand over responsibility for these events to another judge.
• Deck Checks. Pros: sitting down. Cons: piles of paper everywhere.
• Papers. Do you like cutting and sticking? This could be the job for you!
• Shadow. If you are working towards L2 (more on that below) or are a new L2, and the event allows, there may be some opportunity for you to spend time working closely with the HJ - the goal being to leave you in a better position to run your own events, especially PPTQs, in the future.
• Reserve Judges. If you are willing (or would prefer) to be a reserve judge, please say so - including if you have any preference as to being activated first, second or third. Reserves will play in the main event for free unless activated, which may happen at any point during the day if the main or side events require it. Reserves will be activated so as to keep the player:judge ratio at around 30-35:1, provisionally at 240, 270 and 300 players.
• Top 8 Availability. Able to stay late? Likely to need to leave earlier? Please let me know in your application. Remember also that, as compensation is paid by the hour, you will be compensated for this extra time.

Judges who haven’t worked with me much/at all at previous events, especailly L1 judges, should include details of their Comp REL experience.

In view of the new PPTQ system, I am very keen to take this opportunity to help L2 candidates work towards certification, and will prioritise this as much as is feasible. Judges who are currently working towards L2, especially those who feel they are close to testing, should discuss this in their application. Please address your progress with respect to the L2 requirements, and anything else you think is relevant. Please bear in mind that the needs of the event come first, and that I am not able to administer L2 exams myself. L1 judges who are not already working towards L2 are unlikely to be accepted.

Extras

I live in Sheffield. If you don’t, and could do with a place to stay, I might be able to help out with that. There’s a spare room, a sofa, and even floors in some of the rooms. This is not such a good idea for those allergic to small furry creatures - we have quite a few of them. They may try and sleep on your head.

It’s my birthday! I’m turning 27 on the day of the PTQ and plan to celebrate the occasion once the event is over. Exactly what this entails will likely depend on how tired everybody is, but I dare say beer and pizza are on the cards (hah, cards). Fun will be mandatory.

Applications will be open for 3 weeks, and the staff list will be posted shortly after that.

Finally, I get the impression that this event will be popular amongst judges as well as players, so apologies in advance to those I can’t accept onto the event staff. I hope some of you will come along anyway and support Jim’s last PTQ and have a drink with us afterwards. Merry Christmas, and see you all in January!