Judge Announcements

DMF Vegas Judge/Volunteer Call Dec 4-6

869587 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:23:08 GMT

This goes out to all the World of Warcraft TCG/Minis enthusiasts that are looking to help out with Darkmoon Faire: Vegas.

This is a lot of work, but it is great fun as well. Plus each Judge/Volunteer will start out with a great gift or EAs.

In addition to these promos, we will be making sure that each Judge/Volunteer walks out the door loaded down with product. We have some hotel sponsorships available (no flight/travel unfortunately) for those that can judge/demo WoW TCG and WoW Minis. If this sounds like something that you are interested in, here is the information that you need.

Volunteer (send this info to demo@upperdeck.com)

* Name
* Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
* UDE number
* Days you are available to volunteer
* Cerification Levels (RK, PM, Spec)
* Tests you would like to take at this event, if any.
* Email address
* Locations you regularly demo
* Any premier events you have demoed/volunteered at before.
* Any special requirements (hotel, flight, food, disabilities, and so on)

Judge (send this info to judge@upperdeck.com)

* Name
* Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
* UDE number
* Do you need hotel (yes/no)
* World of Warcraft TCG rules certification
* World of Warcraft Minis rules certification
* Player Management certification
* Days you are available to judge
* Tests you would like to take at this event
* Email address
* Mailing address (street, city, state, ZIP, country if from outside the United States)
* Phone number
* Events you regularly judge
* List of premier events you have judged, if any (Regionals, Darkmoon Faires, Nationals)
* List of premier events you have judged for other games
* Any special requirements (hotel, flight, food, disabilities, and so on)

All things told this is a great opportunity and one amazing time. In addition to all of this, Upper Deck will also take you out for dinner one night. These dinners are the stuff of legends. Or at least hilarious anecdotes!

2009 WoW TCG & Minis World Championships Judge Call!

869587 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:54:40 GMT

Hello Judges,

We are happy to announce sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming 2009 WoW TCG & Miniatures World Championships, which will be held in Austin, TX from October 8-11. This is a phenomenal chance to improve your judging skills and to work with some of the most talented judges and players in the industry.

This sponsorship opportunity will be open from Tuesday, August 25, 2009 through Friday, September 11, 2009.

If you are interested in applying for TCG sponsorship, please email judge@upperdeck.com with the subject line, “Sponsorship for 2009 WoW TCG World Championship.”

If you are interested in applying for Miniatures sponsorship, please email judge@upperdeck.com with the subject line, “Sponsorship for 2009 WoW Miniatures World Championship.”

Sponsorship

There are two types of sponsorship, Full and Partial. If you only need airfare or only need hotel accommodations, please indicate that in your email. This will increase your chances of receiving partial sponsorship. Please indicate your sponsorship request clearly in your email.

Full Sponsorship: Upper Deck covers the full cost of your airfare and hotel for the duration of the event.

Partial Sponsorship: Upper Deck covers the full cost of EITHER your airfare OR your hotel for the duration of the event.

If you are selected for sponsorship, an Upper Deck staff member will contact you from September 14-18, 2009, and let you know the type of sponsorship you have received and to arrange travel to the event.

Application Requirements

◦Level 1 WoW TCG or Miniatures rules certification.

◦Level 1 Player Management certification.

◦Must be 18 years of age or older.

◦Ability to work long hours with minimal breaks. Most days will be at least twelve hours long.

◦Ability to assist event staff with duties other than judging, including tournament area maintenance, player registration, side event logistics, game demos, and so on.

General Information

◦The WoW TCG World Championship will be held from October 9-11, 2009 with Last Chance Qualifiers being held on October 8, 2009. Sponsored judges will be expected to judge at these events.

◦The WoW Miniatures World Championship will be held from October 10-11, 2009 with Last Chance Qualifiers being held on October 8-9, 2009. Sponsored judges will be expected to judge at these events.

◦If you are not available to judge on Thursday, October 8, you may still be considered for sponsorship.

◦Each judge will receive a stipend during each day of judging to offset the cost of meals, snacks, taxis, parking etc.

◦A judge may be scheduled for work outside of the World Championship area. Talented judges are needed for side events, particularly on Saturday and Sunday.

◦The dress code is black and white Upper Deck judge shirt, black slacks (no jeans or cargo pants), and black shoes. If you do not have an Upper Deck judge shirt, a shirt will be provided for you at the event.

◦If you are not selected to receive sponsorship for this event, please do not be discouraged. We receive hundreds of applications and only require a very small number of judges. If you continue to work hard and advance your skills, you will most certainly be chosen for a future event.

◦If you are not selected to receive sponsorship but still wish to volunteer at this event, please send an email to judge@upperdeck.com with the subject line, “Judge Volunteer for 2009 WoW World Championship.” Include the Following in Your Email

Please use the following template when applying for sponsorship.

· Name
· Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
· UDE number
· Type of sponsorship you are applying for
· If applying for flight or full sponsorship, the airport you would fly out of.
· World of Warcraft TCG rules certification
· World of Warcraft Minis rules certification
· Player Management certification
· Days you are available to judge
· Tests you would like to take at this event
· Email address
· Mailing address (street, city, state, ZIP, country if from outside the United States)
· Phone number (including cell)
· Events you regularly judge
· List of premier events you have judged, if any (Regionals/Realms, Darkmoon Faires, Nationals)
· List of premier events you have judged for other games
· Any special requirements (hotel, flight preferences, food, disabilities, and so on)

If You Are Selected For Sponsorship

◦Judges are expected to act in a professional manner at all times, and any judge not doing so will be asked to leave the venue immediately.

◦Judges will need a credit card to cover incidental expenses at the hotel (room service, movies, laundry, and so on.)

◦Judges will cover their own transportation to the airport and hotel.

◦Judges may be assigned to share a room with one other judge.

◦Judges may not have friends, spouses, players, or volunteers stay in their rooms for liability reasons.

◦Judges will pay any changes to the hotel or flight schedule that cost more than the original purchase price.

◦Many judges may wish to take advanced level exams. While we will try to rotate judges so that they are able to take this exam, no judge is guaranteed a chance to take the exam at this event.

◦Bring comfortable shoes and socks.

◦Be prepared to work very hard for the duration of the event.

Penny Arcade Expo Volunteer Call! (Sep 4-6)

869587 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:03:58 GMT

Hello everyone,
The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is happening September 4th - 6th in Seattle, WA.

Upper Deck is looking for some volunteers for this event. We may be able to offer a shared hotel room with another volunteer, but you have a much better chance if you are local. We have a couple sponsorships available (assistance with hotel) for those that can demo/judge WoW TCG and WoW Minis.

All volunteers for this event will receive a PAX badge that they can use to enter this event. They will also receive an Upper Deck gift kit that has Upper Deck product and World of Warcraft EA cards. Depending on the hours you work, and the quality of the job you do, these may include: Earth Shock, Moonfire, Gift of the Wild, Form of the Serpent, Curse of Exhaustion, Cairne Bloodhoof, Lady Katrana Prestor, Blast Wave, and/or Holy Shock.

If you are interested please send demo@upperdeck.com an email with the subject: Volunteer - PAX. If you apply and are selected, you will be contacted soon before the event with a confirmation email and the schedule. Please include the following information in your email:
* Name
* Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
* UDE number
* WoW TCG RK Certification
* WoW Minis RK Certification
* Player Management Certification
* Specialist Level
* Do you need hotel (yes/no)
* Days you are available to volunteer
* Tests you would like to take at this event
* Email address
* Mailing address (street, city, state, ZIP, country if from outside the United States)
* Phone number
* Locations/events at which you demo
* List of premier conventions you have attended to demo (GenCon, ComiCon, etc.)
* Any special requirements (hotel, food, disabilities, and so on)

New Judge Articles on www.UDE.com/Judge!

869587 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:14:01 GMT

Hey all!

There are a couple new articles on the front page of UDE.com/Judge.

We hope that this trend will continue in the future!

UD Day Volunteer Drawing

731819 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:37:42 GMT

Results are up! You can find the article here:

http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/op/judge/article.aspx?aid=5302

New Judge Webpage

731819 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:30:08 GMT

Hi Folks,

I've revamped and launched a new webpage for judges at www.ude.com/judge

Most of the program announcements will now be posted there. In addition, if you are a high level judge and you are interested in submitting articles for the site, please let me know.

Thanks,

Testing FAQ

731819 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 23:21:51 GMT

Q: Where can I find certification 1 tests?

A: You can find all certification 1 tests online at www.ude.com/judge. Each test is open book. If you do not pass the test you can retake a different version in 7 days.

Q: What are the testing requirements for cert 2 tests and higher?

A: In short, tournament judging experience and proven track record for judging tournaments. For a complete list please refer to this FAQ.

Q: Where can I take tests for cert 2?

A: Cert 2 tests are offered by level 3 judges. Each level 3 judge can offer cert 2 tests for Player Management. In addition, a level 3 judge can offer cert 2 tests for each game that they hold cert 3 in rules knowledge.

In addition, certain individuals authorized by Upper Deck (such as UDE employees or their business partners) may offer certification opportunities at larger events (usually C-Value 40 or higher). Each of those events has a contact email address which judges should utilize to check if testing is available.

Q: Where can I test for cert 3?

A: Cert 3 tests are offered by individuals authorized by Upper Deck (usually UDE employees). These test usually require extensive event observations and interviews to determine skill level. Most of these certification opportunities exist at larger events (usually C-Value 40 or higher). These tests must be arranged prior to the event to ensure ample opportunity for observation and testing.

Q: What is a level 3 judge?

A: A level 3 judge for a specific game is an individual that has passed both player management cert 3 and game specific rules knowledge cert 3 exams. Check here for a list of level 3 judges.

Q: How do I contact someone for a cert 2 testing opportunity?

A: Since most testing opportunities occur at premier events, your best option is to contact the Tournament Organizer for the specific event at which you plan to test. You can do this by looking up the event in our Tournament Locator and emailing the contact number for the Tournament Organizer.

In addition to the above option you may also contact a Level 3 judge directly. You can find their contact information stickied on the appropriate judge forums.

Q: What do I need to know before the test?

A: In addition to knowing the material for the specific test you are planning to take, you should have your UDE number on hand with you. If this is not your first attempt at that test, you should have a record of when you last took this certification test. You can find this information here.

Q: What happens during the event that I judge?

A: Most applicants will be asked to help judge at the event that they wish to test. This is done to observe the applicant and to make sure that they are interested in increasing their certification level to help out with the judge program.

Conversely, if you plan to take the test at an event for which you are already signed up to judge, please let the Head Judge and the Tournament Organizer know ahead of time, so that they can observe you.

Q: I want to take the test, but I am not judging, can I?

A: Usually, no, for the reasons outlined in the question above. However, in special cases, this is sometimes possible. You should still arrange testing ahead of time with the person who will administer the test. An example of a special case would be a judge that volunteered at multiple WoW Regional tournaments wanting to test for WoW Rules Knowledge at a Yu-Gi-Oh! Shonen Jump Championship.

Q: I took the test and passed, now what?

A: Congratulations, once your paper work is processed, your certification advancement should be reflected here. In addition your testing attempt should be recorded here. Paperwork processing can take up to 1 month from when you took the test.

Even though you passed, you should still go over the test with the person that administered it and at least review any of the questions that you missed. It’s also a very good idea to ask this person for contact information, to make sure that you are able to follow up with this person if your test results aren’t updated after 1 month.

Q: I took the test and did not pass, now what?

A: You should view this testing attempt as a learning opportunity. Go over each of the questions that you missed with the person that administered the test to better understand the material for the next attempt. Your testing attempt should be recorded here; however paperwork processing can take up to 1 month from when you took the test.

Most re-testing has a wait period associated with it. You can refer to this FAQ for additional information on when you can re-test.

Q: Who should I contact with any questions about the testing process?

A: Your first point of contact should be with the person that administered the test. Make sure to save their contact information! This is the person you should talk to if your information isn’t updated in 1 month from when you took the test. If you are unable to get an answer from the person that administered the test, please contact judge@upperdeck.com with the following information:

Your name:

Your UDE number:

Certification for which you tested:

Date when you tested:

Event at which you tested (if applicable):

---------

Tester’s name:

Tester’s UDE number:

Q: What are the expectations of higher level judges?

A: Passing higher certifications carries a certain degree of responsibility. For specific requirements please review this FAQ. In addition to those requirements, judges should always behave in a befitting manner. Remember, you are a representative of the games that you judge both at tournaments and at any other public medium.

For a downloadable .doc version, please visit the Judge Resources folder.

Account Linking instructions

731819 — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:26:11 GMT

Hi Folks,

In order to post in the new forums please go through the following steps:

1. Create a forum account. If you already have a WoW forum account, you can use that one.

2. Go to www.ude.com/op/link and link your forum account to your UDE number. You will require your UDE number password to do this. If you have problems with this step, please email player@upperdeck.com

3. Once your account is linked, you will be able to post in the forums for which you have certifications (similar to the old forums).

If you have any problems with linking, please email player@upperdeck.com

Thanks,

Player Management and Rules Knowledge certification descriptions

731819 — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:31:59 GMT

Migraged from the old forums

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Player Management and Rules Knowledge Certification Descriptions

This document defines and outlines each of the five certifications for player management and rules knowledge. In addition, this document explains the testing and re-testing process associated with each level. Finally, this document contains a quick reference chart for each of the certification.

Definitions

A judge is defined as a person who is officiating a sanctioned tournament, regardless of the certifications achieved by that person. A judge’s level is determined by taking the lowest certification between his or her rules knowledge for the specific game and his or her player management. This is a reversal of existing policy.

Official documents will use the term certification when referring to tests and the term level when referring to people. These two definitions are new.

Example: Alex has certification 3 in WoW rules knowledge, certification 2 in player management, and has not yet taken certification 1 in Yu-Gi-Oh! rules knowledge. Alex is a level 2 WoW judge and a level 0 Yu-Gi-Oh! judge.

Example: Thomas has certification 3 in Yu-Gi-Oh! rules knowledge, certification 3 in player management, and certification 1 in WoW rules knowledge. Thomas is a level 3 Yu-Gi-Oh! judge and a level 1 WoW judge.

Judge Program Update

731819 — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:30:01 GMT

Mirgraed from the old forums.

------------

Hello everyone,

I’d like to welcome all of you to the newest addition to the forums, the Judge Program Announcements forum. For now, this will be the official means for me to get out information about the Judge Program at large.

As many of you know, I recently accepted the Judge Manager position here at Upper Deck. I’d like to discuss what I have in mind with the Judge Program and touch on a couple future goals for the program in this post. I am very excited about upcoming changes!

Forums

Among the first things that Scott Elliott and I discussed about the Judge Program, is that we must establish an online community where judges can network and interact with each other in order to continue to gain experience. Judges, who I’ve had discussions regarding the program, also echoed this sentiment. The Judge Forums launched at the end of April for all current rules specializations as well as the player management specialization. The community response to using these forums has been incredible and the forum community itself continues to grow and develop. With this recent addition of a judge announcement forum I hope to further improve communication regarding the Judge Program.

My long term goals for these forums include for the judges to not only establish a community to trade ideas and educate each other, but to take it one step further. I am seeing these forums as sort of a center for judges to log in to view announcements, check policy and even, with proper credentials, download level 2 certification tests so that they can administer them to their local candidates.

Testing process

One of the most common questions I receive is, “I took the L1 test online, how can I test for higher levels?” By the end of July I hope to formalize the processes and requirements for all higher level testing. Yu-Gi-Oh! L3 judges have already seen a rough document of this. I expect to have something posted in this forum by the end of July. In addition to that, I hope to have a few helpful documents with what to expect created so that the process is not as intimidating.

My long term goal is to distribute the work involved in testing for level 2 among higher level judges. Higher level judging will continue to be done by mostly UDE personal to ensure that only the best candidates advance, so that they in turn, certify only the best folks for level two.

Judge Card

The “when will I get my judge card?” question is probably the second most common question that I receive. It is my expectation that new and updated cards will be mailed out to active judges in the fall. In order to prepare for this, I encourage everyone to click here to update their information on file with us.

My long term goal is to establish a process, starting with this fall’s mailing, of mailing out new and updated judge cards yearly.

New tests

In addition to formalizing the progression process for judges to advance in levels, one of my goals is to have a new or an updated level 3 test for each of the rules knowledge specializations as well as the player management specializations by GenCon Indy. This means that every judge is very much encouraged to volunteer at Indy so that they can get certified. Send an email to judge@upperdeck.com about this. You can also find more info regarding specific games in their appropriate rules knowledge forums. Judge volunteer information is usually stickied in each rules specialization forum.

My long term goal is to develop fresh tests for folks that did not pass the test the first time. I understand that it’s frustrating to hear that you can not test because there is no new test available and I hope to fix that.

Sponsorship

I will continue to post all sponsorship opportunities at each specific rules specialization. These are fantastic opportunities for judges to gain experience along side some of the most talented judges in the program. In addition, most high-level testing (level 3+) will take place at these shows. Even if you don’t get selected for sponsorship, I encourage you to volunteer to go to events that are relatively close to you. The experience you gain by participating at one of the highest levels of the Organized Play is definitely worth it!

My long term goals are to double the amount of sponsorship and volunteer applications that I receive. This will allow for larger staff selection and over-all more folks attending each show. In turn, this will ensure that staff at these events has ample opportunity for training and certification.

As always, I very much appreciate feedback regarding any facet of UDE’s Judge Program. If you have suggestions or ideas, please email me at judge@upperdeck.com

Thanks,

Forum moves

731819 — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:56:05 GMT

Hi Folks,

We're moving a couple of things on our site. It looks like forums are affected. We should have things squared away shortly.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Charsky