The following requirements reflect the minimum standards developed for the Judge Certification Program. Judges currently seeking certification or advancement should consider them as guidelines for the amount of experience and ability they will need to have attained for a particular level. Each level provides a description or the role of the level in the program as well as qualification guidelines for the level, and the requirements to maintain status at this level.
A judge who fails to maintain the requirements of a level can be reduced to a level appropriate with their recent activity or may have their memberships expired. An expired judge may recertify at or below the level when their membership expired. Doing so requires petition to the DCI and may also include requirements for new interviews, tests, or judging activity before such is granted.
For questions contact John.Carter@wizards.com.
Level 1 - Local Judge
Level 2 - Area Judge
Level 3 - Regional Judge
Level 4 - International Judge
Level 5 - Professional Judge
Level 1 - Local Judge
Level 1s are generally Local judges, who oversee local tournaments, run Regular REL premiere events, or aid in larger premiere tournaments. They usually operate in a metro-area. They are knowledgeable of Magic rules, DCI tournament rules, structures, formats, and are capable of organizing store-level events.
Local Judges are the main envoys to the retail community and work with (sometime for) retailers. Retailers often inquire about local judges and will often have local judges asked to aid them in organizing and running/reporting their tournaments. Many retailer operators employ local judges or become local judges themselves.
Qualifications
- Judging of at least two events under supervision of a level 2 or higher judge.
- Brief evaluation interview and test with same level 2 or higher judge demonstrating maturity, diplomacy, communication skills, and work-ethic.
- Minimum score on judge certification exam with emphasis on current Magic: The Gathering rules, the DCI Penalty Guidelines, and Standard Floor Rules (www.thedci.com).
- Knowledge of tournament structures with experience as a player in DCI-sanctioned tournaments.
- Knowledge of Limited (Sealed Deck and Booster Draft) and Constructed formats.
- Ability to act as judge for small DCI-sanctioned tournaments (8 - 16 players) both limited and constructed.
Retest interval: A candidate who fails may reattempt certification in two months.
Requirements to maintain
Level 2 - Area Judge
Level 2s are the Area judges who want more than the local scene and desire to see tournaments run to a higher standard. They operate in a county or state level and with experience can run Qualifier events, support Grand Prix, Championship, and Pro Tour level events. They are willing to travel, train others, organize events, score keep, work with local stores to improve tournaments and are aware of the premiere level programs of Organized Play.
For many judges, Level 2 is as high as they’ll desire to progress in the program - higher levels requiring more time-commitment.
Qualifications
- Certified Judge for six-months. Head judge of at least 3 events. Judge at GPT+
- Ability to head judge a medium-sized DCI-sanctioned tournament (32 - 64 players), both with and without the use of software to administer the tournament - both limited and constructed.
- Ability to accurately complete the following tournament forms: match report slip, match report form, sanctioning application, warning form, DQ reporting form, and event report summary.
- Strong verbal communication skills: ability to explain rules, penalties, and tournament procedures to players and other tournament staff.
- Evaluation interview and test with a level 3 or higher judge demonstrating maturity, diplomacy, communication skills, work-ethic, knowledge of the DCI Penalty Guidelines, Standard Floor Rules, Extended and Team Format, and Magic: The Gathering rules, (www.thedci.com). Respect of their fellow judges.
- Understanding of the judge certification processes and policies, the DCI tournament sanctioning procedure, and appeals process.
- Familiarity with DCI Reporter software.
Retest interval: A candidate who fails may reattempt certification in three months, with written recommendation of a level 2+ Judge.
Requirements to maintain
Level 3 - Regional Judge
Level 3s are Regional judges who are the leaders of premiere organized play and the judge communities in key regions of the world. They generally operate in large areas, Provinces, and countries. They are often their regional-leaders, respected in their community. They mentor level 1s and level 2s in becoming better judges. Level 3 judges are expected to have a presence in their community and on the web, conduct judge reviews, be team leaders at major events, and provide feedback on judges to the DCI.
A Regional Judge requires more than knowledge of policy and rules. It requires demonstrating leadership, teamwork, community respect, commitment, availability, and understanding the philosophy of the DCI Judge Program. Just knowing the rules is not enough, though very important – how to apply them and when is often more important. A Regional judge is an ambassador of the DCI who works closely with their area office and the Worldwide judge manager. Regional judges are consulted on the judge program and its policies. They can be tasked to write articles, reports, reviews, and other documents for use in developing the judge program. In addition they are tasked with developing the local DCI gaming community, both by educating players, developing the judge program and encouraging organized sanctioned play in cooperation with the retail stores, game clubs, etc….
Testing for level 3 is a different experience than other level advancement tests. Because of the role and authority a level 3 has, the written test is used simply to benchmark a candidate as to whether they are eligible to be interviewed. The interview process plays a far more important role and consists of questions from a panel, roleplaying situations, and evaluation of a candidate’s reactions and philosophy. More than half those that test their first time for level 3, fail – mainly on the interview portion (and mostly from lack of experience with events in other regions or judging styles). A Level 5 (Professional), or multiple level 4 (International) judges are required to test Regional judges.
Qualifications
- Level 2 (Area) Certified Judge for one year. Head judge of at least twenty events of various formats. Head judge of six premiere events. Judge at three premiere level events (Competitive REL). Head judge of one Competitive REL event.
- Written recommendation from one Regional or higher-level judge.
- Ability to manage judge teams of small size.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills: ability to represent both the DCI and player communities, ability to work closely with the DCI managers; local and worldwide. Published judge article/report. Ability to communicate with other judges at international events. Active of Judge-L.
- Evaluation interview and test with a level 5 judge demonstrating maturity, advanced diplomacy and communication skills, a strong work-ethic, understanding and philosophy of the DCI Penalty Guidelines, Standard Floor Rules, Team Format, and expert knowledge of the Magic: The Gathering rules, (www.thedci.com).
- Expert understanding of the judge certification processes and policies.
- Fluency with DCI Reporter software.
Retest interval: A candidate who fails may reattempt certification in six months. With written recommendation of a level 3+ Judge.
Requirements to maintain
- Yearly renewal of membership under current guidelines (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=judge/resources/judgerenewal)
- Head judge of at least one PTQ or Nationals tournaments a year. Head judge at least four tournaments each year.
- Regional judges are retested periodically to ensure expert knowledge is maintained.
- Maintain qualifications above (written recommendation not required).
Level 4 - International Judge
Level 4s are International Judges who have demonstrated and maintain their experience, skills, and dedication to the DCI and its organized play. They are capable of head judging Grand Prix events, two-hundred plus player events, and organizing a staff of judges. They have shown a superior level of diplomacy in their dealings with players, judges, and the DCI (both regional and worldwide) and are the leaders of the Regional judges in their countries or regions.
An International judge leads their community of judges working closely with the DCI offices to evaluate and mentor the judges in their area. The DCI offices work closely with their International judges on policies and programs, asking their feedback on new programs. International judges are expected to often write articles, reports, reviews, and other documents for use in developing the judge program. They may be asked to lead groups of other judges in developing various areas of the judge program. Level 4s are called to head judge Grand Prix, attend one or more Pro Tours and they are often NetReps for list-servers.
Judges are interviewed for level 4 through both on-hands training at professional events and an extensive oral review process. Only judges who have demonstrated the ability to successfully head judge a Grand Prix or major Nationals level event are asked to interview.
Qualifications
- Demonstrated ability to head judge a Grand Prix or major Nationals/Championship event.
- Written recommendation from one level 5 or higher-level judge.
- Ability to manage judge teams of moderate size.
- Dedication and availability to the DCI. Employees and primary contractors of Hasbro’s competitors may have a conflict of interest with the duties of this level.
- They must be internationally capable (language, travel, etc…) and be available for travel to these major events.
- Strong communication skills: ability to represent both the DCI and player communities, ability to work closely with the DCI managers; local and worldwide. Demonstrated ability to participate in the Level 3 interview process.
- Evaluation interview with the worldwide judge manager demonstrating maturity, advanced diplomacy and communication skills, a strong work-ethic, expert understanding of the judge certification processes and policies, and DCI policies.
- Expert with DCI Reporter software.
Requirements to maintain
- Yearly renewal of membership under current guidelines (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=judge/resources/judgerenewal)
- Head judge of at least one Professional tournament a year. Head judge at least four tournaments each year.
- International judges are retested periodically to ensure expert knowledge is maintained.
- Maintain qualifications above (written recommendation not required).
Level 5 - Professional Judge
Level 5s are Professional Judges who have demonstrated and maintain their experience, skills, and dedication to the DCI and its organized play. They are capable of head judging Pro Tour events, organizing a staff of judges, and contributing to the development of the Judge Program. They have shown a superior level of diplomacy in their dealings with players, judges, and the DCI (both regional and worldwide) and are the worldwide leaders.
A Professional Judge leads the worldwide community of judges by working closely with the DCI offices build the judge program and add to its resources. The DCI offices work closely with their Professional judges on policies and programs, asking their feedback on new programs. Professional judges are expected to often write articles, reports, reviews, and other documents for use in developing the judge program. They may be asked to hold seminars for other judges at events. Level 5s are called to head judge Worlds, Championships, and Pro Tours. Level 5s act as advisors to the DCI.
Judges are selected for level 5 through both on-hands training at professional events and an extensive oral review process. Only judges who have demonstrated the ability successfully head judge a Pro Tour are asked to interview.
Qualifications
- Demonstrated ability to head judge a Pro Tour.
- Written recommendation from one level 5 judge.
- Ability to manage judge teams of any size.
- Dedication and availability to the DCI. Employees and primary contractors of Hasbro’s competitors may have a conflict of interest with the duties of this level.
- They must be internationally capable (language, travel, etc…) and be available for travel to these major events.
- Strong communication skills: ability to represent the DCI to the player community, ability to work closely with the DCI managers worldwide.
- Evaluation interview with the worldwide judge manager demonstrating maturity, advanced diplomacy and communication skills, a strong work-ethic, expert understanding of the judge certification processes and policies, and expert knowledge of DCI policies.
- Expert with DCI Reporter software.
Requirements to maintain
- Yearly renewal of membership under current guidelines (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=judge/resources/judgerenewal)
- Judge of at least one Professional tournament a year.
- Professional judges are retested periodically to ensure expert knowledge is maintained.
- Maintain qualifications above (written recommendation not required).