AB Regional Judge Conference 2016

----- OFFICIAL REGISTRATION IS CLOSED -----

However, we would still like you to attend! Use the following link so we know to expect you:
[redacted] 
(This will also give you access to the forums and updates for the event.)
Note that you will not be eligible to receive a foil packet at the conference.

It's Judge Conference time in Canada! This time, we'll be getting together in Sylvan Lake, AB (30–40 minutes west of Red Deer) for a weekend of Magic, Judging, and Generally Fun Things. The main events (and accommodations) will be at Kasota East Camp, on the south side of Sylvan Lake.

This is the last of four (4) Regional Judge Conferences being held in Canada this year—that's twice as many as normally allowed! Canada's Regional Coordinator, Gavin Duggan, has petitioned on our behalf for this special arrangement for Canada, and in exchange, each attendee may only receive up to one (1) foil packet from Canadian Regional Judge Conferences in 2016, regardless of how many conferences he or she attends this year.

The other three conferences are:
6–7 August — Victoria, BC
3–4 September — Ottawa, ON
15–16 October — Moncton, NB

Note that there is effectively a fee to attend this conference. However, that fee includes accommodation for two nights, and will be waived for a select number of judges who apply for sponsorship. The quantity of available sponsorships will depend on the total number of judges attending and the number of sponsorships donated personally by other judges. See below for more information on Accommodations.

What's in a conference? 

The goal of this conference is to improve the overall quality of Magic Judges and their interactions with Magic Players. Attendees are invited to receive training and knowledge from other experienced judges, and share their own skills and observations with the judge community.

As an appreciation for your contribution to the betterment of the Magic Judge Programme, foils will be distributed at the conference to attendees. Only judges who are certified as of the application deadline (19 October) and who have actively participated in a full slate of seminars on the Saturday will be eligible to receive a foil packet at the conference. More information on the foil packet is availble on the Judge Conferences Blog.

If your judge level on JudgeApps is incorrectly showing L0, please have your Regional Coordinator email David Poon confirmation of your certification.

Registration

If you wish to attend this conference, please take the time to apply here on JudgeApps and tell us about your JudgeLife™. Attendance at this conference will be limited, so be sure to indicate in your cover letter not only how this conference will affect your own personal growth in the programme, but also how it will benefit your local, regional, or global Magic community.

Please note that you may cancel at any time, so it's better to get your application in sooner rather than forget about it and accidentally miss the deadline.

Preference will be given to judges living in Canada, but all interested parties are encouraged to apply (and will likely be accepted as long as there is room and their cover letters contain sufficient content).

Registration will remain open through Wednesday 19 October. To submit an application after that date, please email David Poon directly. Judges who apply late will not be eligible to receive a foil packet at the conference.

Schedule

Friday — Draft pods and board games. Head over to the forums to see what's being planned!

Saturday — Our conference day. Seminars and stuff will be held from approximately 9:30am–6:30pm. Judge dinner at Lokal, 7pm. (Directions from Camp here.)
Presentations include:
9:30am – Abeed Bendall: GP Selection Process
10:30am – Darren Gamble: Investigations, and Catching Cheaters
11:30am – Adena Chernosky: Triggers and Replacements – how to tell them apart and how to handle them when objects are entering or leaving the battlefield. We'll also discuss what to do when you receive a judge call and the players have either forgotten or incorrectly resolved these abilities, what penalties to issue, and how to fix the game state.
12:30pm – Zak Turchansky: Tricky Scenarios

2:30pm – Sam Hung: The Softer Side of Judging – How to handle difficult situations. We will go through some concepts and apply those concepts to real life scenarios.
3:30pm – Cyril Ford: The Quest to L2 – bettering yourself and others around you
4:30pm – Angela Schabauer: travelling abroad
5:30pm – Brendan Capel: Community Building 

Sunday — Conference follow-up. Optional seminars and other events may be held from approximately 10am–12pm.

Presentations and Volunteering 

If you wish to present a seminar, or volunteer in some other way, please fill out this Google Form no later than Wednesday 19 October. 

Seminars should be approximately 50 minutes long and should solicit active participation from the audience—this could be anywhere from structured Q&As, role-playing scenarios, or even friendly competition. Proposals for off-the-wall, non-traditional, non-lecture-style presentations that challenge the concept of what a seminar is are very much encouraged.

L3 presenters may present their seminar at up to two (2) Regional Judge Conferences in Canada this year, and will be offered a small travel incentive to attend the second conference.

Testing 

Have you been thinking about testing for the next level? This is a perfect opportunity to stop procrastinating and put a deadline on your calendar. Testing for L1 and L2 will be available at this conference—make sure you express your interest when you apply.

Please note that certifying for L1 at this conference will not make you eligible to receive a foil packet.

Accommodations 

We will have full private use of the main lodge, washhouse, and five cabins at Kasota East Camp for our conference! The cost to have a bed on site for both nights is $55 (total).

We recognize that judges come from all sorts of backgrounds and economic demographics, so we will be offering a limited number of Room Sponsorships for this conference, based on the total number of attendees. Furthermore, if you find that you are in a position to do so, you can personally sponsor an additional judge (anonymous or not) to come to the conference. Please indicate your needs and preferences in your application.

If you feel you are unable to come due to travel difficulties, accommodation needs, financial hardship, or any other reason, you are encouraged to email David Poon with your concerns. We want to have every interested judge able to attend this conference, so we will make every reasonable effort to make it possible for you to come.

Directions by Google here.