Europe – East Summer Conference 2017

Hello fellow judges!

We would like to invite you to our summer conference which will be held in Varna, Bulgaria. The conference will take place between June 30^th and July 2^nd, 2017.

If you wish to present at the conference, please fill out the Presenters Application.

SCHEDULE

Recent Policy/Rules Changes

As a wise Chinese man once said: "Man who not know rules/policy updates, not make good judge decision. Man who not make good judge decision, not be good judge". In honor of this famous saying, we're going to make sure everyone's up to date on the latest and greatest. See you there!

Road to L3

So far you've managed to certify as a level 1 judge and then as level 2, but the road to L3 is much harder. It requires a deeper understanding of what makes the judge program tick, and getting to know yourself just as well. Even if L3 is not on your radar in the foreseeable future, the road to L3 is paved with self improvement, which can benefit you as a judge, and a person, of any level.

Customer Service

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
Customer service, in a nutshell, is meeting the needs of the players.
But what is it they need exactly? What can we do beyond what they need and expect? And how can the most unhappy players be our greatest source of learning?

Handling Deck Problems

The ancient lands of Amonkhet brought us an old-new infraction. We will discuss how to handle and fix different types of deck problems under the new IPG.

Writing Reports

Sharing your experiences from a tournament or a conference by telling your friends all about it is great, but if you want to reach a bigger audience (or if you're working on your L2 pre-test requirements), writing a report is the right thing for you. Writing a report is not so hard, but writing a good report... now that's a completely different story. Come and learn with us how to do it the right way!

Tournament Logistics Workshop

Even if you're a rules guru, and even if you know the MTR, JAR and IPG by heart, running a real event might store some new things to learn. Table numbering, pairings distribution and end-of-round procedures have a great impact on a tournament. Do it right and everyone is happy. Do it wrong, and delays and unhappy players start to pile up. These unwritten skills and practices have been passed on from one judge generation to the next, and now it's your chance to improve at them as well.

Magic Trivia!

Do you think conferences are boring? You're looking for some fun and games? The trivia is just for you!
(it's also for you if you think conferences are awesome ;) )

Judge/TO Relations

As a judge you work in events. Events are ran by TOs. The relationship between your TO and you can make events be pleasant and successful, or a nightmarish experience. In this presentation we'll be talking about the needs of TOs and how they influence their relationship with judges.

Ruling Simulations

The "Ruling Simulations" workshop we all know and love is back, and it gives you the opportunity to practice random situations with other judges who can help you and give you feedback on the spot. If you want to improve your ruling delivery techniques - this workshop is your chance!

TESTING

L1/L2 testing will be available at the conference. To be tested, please contact the following people before June 19^th (if you wish to test for L2, please make sure that you have filled out the L2 candidate form before asking to be tested):
L2 testing coordinator: Christian Gawrilowicz
L1 testing coordinator: Milorad Pavlovic

FOIL SUPPORT

In order for you to receive judge promos, you must apply via JudgeApps. If you miss the application window or are uncertified at the closing date, you will not receive any foils. 

Regardless of their sponsorship, accepted applicants will receive these foils:

ACCOMODATION

Hotel: The conference will take place in park-hotel "Persey"

For better pictures and customer reviews you may prefer checking booking.com

There are two kinds of sponsorship options:

• Room Sponsorship: hotel room for Friday and Saturday nights is paid for by the conference organizers
• Volunteer: hotel room is not paid for

All participants accepted for room sponsorship will have their accommodation paid for two nights (Friday and Saturday) with breakfast included. If you would like to bring a partner or a friend who is not a judge, or extend your stay at the hotel (additional price will be posted once hotel details are final), please mention that in your cover letter when applying.

All accepted judges of Europe-East and all L3 judges will receive room sponsorship if they choose to ask for it. L2 judges outside the region by default will not receive room sponsorship Exceptions may occure for very strong L2s; please persuade us through the cover letter. There will be an option to have an extra foil withheld to cover their accommodation. L1 judges outside the region by default will not be accepted unless they produce valid reasons in their cover letter.

TRAVEL

By plane: The city airport is VAR. WizzAir, Turkish Airlines/Austrian airlines fly there among others.

The country's main airport is SOF (Sofia). Flying Sofia-Varna is ~75 EUR for a round trip with WizzAir and 50%-100% more with few other airlines. Although it is a 5-hour drive, you will find friendly rides that will make the time enjoyable. Same goes for Istabul (IST) and Bucharest (OTP).

By train or bus: There are also trains that cost 15-20 EUR (one way) depending on type of train and whether you want to pay for a place in the sleeping compartnement. Price for bus tickets is about the same and both means of transport take ~8h.

Current train schedule:

Sofia - Varna: 10:00; 10:55; 13:00; 16:00; 21:00; 22:50; 22:55

Varna - Sofia: 6:25; 7:20; 8:40; 10:25; 13:15; 15:20; 22:00; 22:12; 23:05;

Buses leave almost every hour.

There may be changes to all schedules (planes, buses, trains) durng the season, that will increase the number of option available.

By car: As mentioned above, there will be judges coming to the conference from all nearby places - Thessaloniki, Istabul, Bucharest - so it will be easy to find a ride. We are also working on a way to facilitate the process and make it easier to find the optimal logistic solution for your needs.

If you're flying, you can put your name in the flying schedule spreadsheet so you can meet with people at the airport.
If you're driving and want to share your car, or looking for a ride, the ride sharing spreadsheet is just the thing for you!

FEEDBACK

All Level2+ judges with 2+ conferences under their belt, are required to provide meeningful feedback at the end of this conference. Fail to do so may impact your acceptance in future conferences. Of course, feedback will be open to all judges.