Once upon a December, Ancestral Recall !

This month we will be talking about feedbacks. This includes reviews, tournament reports but also classic one to one feedback.

This week, we will focus on the reviews. This piece from Joshua Feingold and Patrick Cool begins with some reassurance, explaining that it is perfectly normal that they seem hard to write, and then helps us by giving us a bunch of possible things to talk about in our reviews.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2013/04/08/reviewing-up-why-is-it-so-hard/

By taking us away from the terrifying “Strenght/Weaknesses/Improvement angles” plan, we feel more comfortable, and instead of being stuck into a specific structure, a ton of possible choices are now available to change our way of writing reviews.

I hope this will help you next time you want to write one ;)

See you next week for another episode and as always, have a good read !

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/december-2018-feedback/episode-1/ )

Hello!

This week in Ancestral Recall, to continue our cycle about feedback, let’s have a look at this piece about tournament reports.

Joshua Feingold reminds us what a tournament report should be: a feedback about an experience, some lessons learned, an impression of what has been felt on the field. Far from just summing stuff up, Joshua tries to give us clues to build a report through a well structured plan:

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2014/11/07/tournament-reports-as-tournament-essays/

I liked the “direct” aspect of the article (“Do that, it works. Don’t do that, it’s not helping”), and its numerous examples. Writting a report is no longer frightening ;)

Have a good read and see you next week for the last episode of the year :)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/december-2018-feedback/episode-2/ )

Hey !

Last episode for this year !

Here is a piece from William Anderson for our cycle about feedbacks. I really enjoyed this one in particular. It does not focus on the content of the feedback but on the way you give it.

When is it worth to give a feedback ? How to give a negative feedback in a constructive way ? How to find the right words to talk to someone stressed out/tired/angry/surrounded by people ? Anyway, this piece is gold.

You have something important to tell to someone but it has to help them improve => no problem. You have to remind something to an overbooked Head Judge and you do not know how to do it => here you go. Surrounded by people from your team, you would like to congratulate someone in particular without embarrassing everyone => jackpot again !

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2015/06/12/strategic-feedbacking-timing-matters/

As the title says: timing matters ;)

This was the last episode for 2018. It was a great year spent writing for Ancestral Recall. I will take a break in January 2019 and then I’ll be back with some forgotten knowledge dug out for you =)

If you would like to see a piece featured in Ancestral Recall in 2019, please send me a message on Judge Apps (Charles-Henri Turpin) and I will make it fit in a cycle or even start a new cycle with it. Do not hesitate ! Ancestral Recall is here to share knowledge, advices and tips, so everything useful for you can be useful for someone else out there. No subject is dumb and every suggestion is welcomed ;)

Have a good read, take care, and see you in February 2019 !

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/december-2018-feedback/episode-3/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (Dec. 18, 2018 12:54:37 PM)

Hey there !

The new season is upon us ! (it's that time of year)

As said on the blog:
For this new season of Ancestral Recall, I am not alone anymore ! A whole new crew of archivists is helping me digging out the best articles on judging !

From now on, anyone from the crew can write an episode. I hope you will like our new team and that you will continue to enjoy Ancestral Recall =)

New members for the 2019 season:

Matt Braddock, Lars Harald Nordli, Norman Ralph, Janick Staub and Brayden Worrell. Thanks a lot guys !


And without further ado, the first episode of 2019 !

—————–
(Episode written by Lars Harald Nordli)

Hello everyone!

New month means new Ancestral Recall cycle. With the JAR getting an update, we are proud to present the topic of the month - Judging at Regular!

Everyone judging regular events at their FLGS should read this document. It is a valuable tool to guide you in what is common issues, unwanted behaviour and seriuous problems. There is also an alternative to reading. Many commuters listen to podcasts while going to work or school, and we have an excellent episode over at JudgeCast which goes in detail on the JAR!

Click here to download and listen to JudgeCast episode number 106.

Be aware that this was recorded when “determining match outcomes by incentives, coercion, or outside-the-game methods, or gambling on any part of a tournament” was a Serious Problem which resulted in a disqualification. Now we generally handle it as an unwanted behaviour, but knowingly committing one of these behaviors is still a Serious Problem.

That's all for today! Good luck in your next Regular REL event and we'll see you next week! :)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/february-2019-judging-at-regular/episode-1/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (Feb. 13, 2019 05:23:36 PM)

The new structure to travel through episodes should be OK on the blog. I will edit the links provided on this forum to make them all available as soon as possible ;)

Please let me know if you spot anything odd on the blog or here with this new episodes structure :)

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (Feb. 13, 2019 09:02:28 AM)

(Episode written by Lars Harald Nordli)

Greetings everybody!

Following the topic of the month, we’re back to highlight another article about Judging at Regular. Way back in 2013, Evan Cherry wrote this fantastic blogpost about Judging for Local Game Stores. The blogpost explains what a Judge typically do at a LGS, how to present yourself to the TO, and what typical situations might arise during Regular REL-events.

Click here to see the blog post.

Be aware that this was written when “determining match outcomes by incentives, coercion, or outside-the-game methods, or gambling on any part of a tournament” was a Serious Problem which resulted in a disqualification. Now we generally handle it as an unwanted behaviour, but knowingly committing one of these behaviors is still a Serious Problem.

That’s all for today. If you’re not working events at your LGS already, we hope this article inspires you to take action. Go Judge an event! :)

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (Feb. 20, 2019 09:36:39 AM)

(Episode written by Lars Harald Nordli)

Hello to you! Hello to you!

Yes, we're having two greetings today as we're going to talk about Two-Headed Giant! This is a very social and fun format and the article below by Jeffrey Vandenberg highlights what you as a judge need to be aware of:

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2015/05/08/2hg-creating-a-fun-experience-for-everyone/

In this article, Jeffrey goes through special rules for 2HG and general tips and hints for you as a judge. It's a perfect article to read and then go to your store and propose they have a 2HG-event which will bring players with their friends, even monstrous 2 Headed Giant friends!

Good luck to you in your next 2HG Draft or Sealed Deck tournament! Bye! Bye!

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/february-2019-judging-at-regular/episode-3/ )

(Episode written by Charles-Henri Turpin)

Hello everyone !

Today marks the beginning of our new Ancestral’s cycle. This month, we will focus on ourselves, or more precisely, how to take care of ourselves and to improve.

This week’s article is written by Billicent San Juan and gives tips about how to manage one’s anxiety.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/billy/2016/08/19/grounding-techniques-for-event-anxiety/

Every judge has already felt the weight of anxiety right before an event, a complicated task or even just something entirely new we don’t want to mess up. Billy starts by explaining how to recognize symptoms of anxiety and then gives a few techniques to overcome it.

As a very anxious guy, I can tell that some of those already helped me a couple of times :)

I hope they will be helpful to you as well and will see you next week for the next episode ;)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/march-2019-self-care-and-improvement/episode-1/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (March 20, 2019 12:06:16 PM)

(Episode written by Charles-Henri Turpin)

Hello everyone!

Today in our second Ancestral Recall episode about self care and improvement, Billicent San Juan gives us some more wise words, this time about the dangers of burnout.

It is not easy to spot a burnout, and you’re often far down the road when you realise you might have a problem. In his article, Billy tells us about the different “stages” of burnout, things you can do to avoid it, and some traps you should not fall into.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/billy/2015/01/13/preventing-burnout

This is a must read for any judge doing a lot of events during the year and it is very helpful for anyone.

Most of the time, if you feel tired, angry, frustrated, under pressure and so on, it just mean you’re not taking care of yourself enough. Take a moment to “scan yourself” and check how you feel, you might avoid a lot of trouble by doing something as trivial as drink some water or sit down and take 5 ;)

Have a good read and see you next week for the last episode of this month :)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/march-2019-self-care-and-improvement/episode-2/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (March 20, 2019 12:06:40 PM)

(Episode written by Charles-Henri Turpin)

Hey there !

To brilliantly close our cycle about self care and improvement, here is an awesome piece from Derek J. Barbee called “Owning your mistakes”.

This article is not only a guide on how to get back on your feet after making a mistake, it also helps dealing with the fears every judge has on an event and the guilt that come with them.

With wise words and some tales of his personal experience, Derek go through all those awkward situations that can lead you to have a wrong judge behaviour, because you fear something, one way or another. He then explains how you can fight those fears with some concrete actions.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2017/09/22/owning-your-mistakes/

*Every* judge should have a look at this. It contains so much truth and so many “YES! THIS!” moments that it is hard to not relate and learn. It surely brought me a lot and I will definitely advertise it to my padawans and freshly certified judges.

I hope you will enjoy your reading as much as I did and the team and I will see you next month for another Ancestral recall cycle! ;)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/march-2019-self-care-and-improvement/episode-3/ )

(Episode written by Lars Harald Nordli)

Hello everyone !

Today marks the beginning of our new Ancestral’s cycle. This month, we will focus on how to perform various tournament operations.

This week’s article is written by Matteo Callegari where he teaches us the Australian Deck Check technique, a technique which will help you speed up your deck checks at Limited-events.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2015/07/06/the-australian-deck-check-technique/

The key point of the Australian DC is to save time by not changing the order of the cards in the decks: in this way, you’ll be faster in performing the deck check and players won’t need to shuffle the decks after the check. You may even be able to perform a full deck check and give only a +3 minutes time extension!

I hope this technique is something that you can try out to see if your deck checks go faster. Until next week!

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/april-2019-tournament-operations/episode-1/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (April 10, 2019 05:21:19 PM)

(Episode written by Charles-Henri Turpin)

Hello everyone !

Today our second episode about tournament operations will feature an article from Daniel Kitachewsky about body language.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2017/10/20/body-language-in-a-ruling/

During a ruling, body language is definitely important. As the article states, the same ruling can be accepted or appealed right away just because the body language of the judge delivering it was different.

Everybody makes mistakes, everybody might have something important in mind when they goes to a table to give a ruling, but one should always pay attention to the way they give it, so players are happy with the intervention.

After explaining why it is so important, Daniel gives guidelines on how to appear confident and reassuring in front of the players. Well structured and straight to the point, his article contains precious information.

Have a good read and see you next week for the last Ancestral Recall’s episode about tournament operations ;)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/april-2019-tournament-operations/episode-2/ )

(Episode written by Charles-Henri Turpin)

Hey there!

The last episode of our cycle about tournament operations is about a difficult situation in which judges often struggle: counting cards.

Sometimes players don’t know if they played a land for their turn, drew a card during their draw step, drew too many cards etc.

Fortunately for all of us, Antonio Zanutto comes to the rescue and delivers this awesome piece, giving a clear method and plenty of situations examples to help you improve in your quest to count cards:

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2016/12/06/investigations-counting-cards/

Sometimes, counting cards is the only thing preventing a unjustified disqualification. This should be an exercise every judge in trained into. With this article you’ll have the tools for any investigation needing you to count cards in the future.

And you may be able to test your skills during a Magic Fest or a judge conference at a Counting Card Challenge from Mikaël Rabie ;) ( https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/tools/card-counting-challenge/ )

Enjoy your reading and see you next month for another cycle :)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/april-2019-tournament-operations/episode-3/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (April 23, 2019 08:47:53 PM)

(Episode written by Charles-Henri Turpin)

Hello judges and judges to be, it’s Ancestral Recall time !

In this new cycle we will talk about leadership. A big word that some may use in a an incorrect way: the leader is not mandatorily the one with power, it’s not a boss nor a tyrant. A leader is someone able to make decisions for a group in order to make things right for this group and make individuals grow.

Today’s piece is from David Elden (sorry if it is not, his name was not on the article and I just looked up who was posting the “Judging for the win” article). He tells us about what a leader is and how we can find our inner leader and develop leadership. He lists some good habits leaders can have and some traps they should avoid.

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/ftw/l2-prep/leadership-and-leadership-roles/leadership/

All in all, this article is a very good way to start learning about leadership, no matter your judge level or the things you would need leadership for in your life (judging or not).

I will leave you to it. As always have a good read, and see you next week for another episode of Ancestral Recall ;)

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/may-2019-leadership/episode-1/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (May 8, 2019 07:30:02 PM)

(Episode written by Lars Harald Nordli)

Hello everyone!

Today our second episode about leadership talks about the body language of a leader written by Daniel Kitachewsky. You as a leader communicate a lot, even with your body language, and I suggest reading up on Daniel's article:

https://blogs.magicjudges.org/articles/2017/10/20/body-language-of-a-leader/

Because your body language is a fundamental part of what people will perceive of you, and because it can help you get the correct mindset, it can really be worth it to consider the body language you’re using when you’re in a leadership position.

Have a good read and see you next week for another episode of Ancestral Recall!

(This episode can be found in the Learning Sphere section of the Blog here: https://blogs.magicjudges.org/learning/ancestral-recall/ancestral-recall-2019/may-2019-leadership/episode-2/ )

Edited Charles-Henri Turpin (May 15, 2019 12:40:30 PM)