{"id":3414,"date":"2025-02-04T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.judgefoundry.org\/?p=3414"},"modified":"2025-02-04T12:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T17:00:08","slug":"maintenance-2025-primer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.judgefoundry.org\/fr\/articles\/maintenance-2025-primer\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintenance 2025 Primer"},"content":{"rendered":"

As was foretold almost a year ago<\/a>, the time for maintenance has come! You can go to JudgeApps today<\/a> to start filling out your checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Andrew and Steven make sure they have all the decklists at SCGCON Columbus in 2024. Photo \u00a9 John Brian McCarthy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of Judge Foundry\u2019s core values<\/a> is Quality. Quality means showing tournament organizers and publishers that judges aren\u2019t just resting on their laurels after achieving a level, but continuing to grow, improve, and keep their skills sharp. Our trade is, by its very nature, ever-changing – while the \u201ccomprehensive rules\u201d of chess have been the same since the 1860\u2019s<\/a>, the games we judge tend to come out with new products regularly that mean having to learn new rules and policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintenance isn\u2019t just about keeping up with rules and policy changes, though – it\u2019s also about keeping up with best practices in logistics philosophy, regularly demonstrating leadership, and mentoring other judges. Events today are run very differently than events in 2019, and we expect they\u2019ll be run differently in 2030, and when judges apply to work events, we want their levels to reflect their current value to an organizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article will outline what you need to know to maintain your level this year. While we\u2019re trying to make it comprehensive, we still expect questions to come up. If it\u2019s a specific case related to you and you alone, email Levels Manager Joe Klopchic about it. If it\u2019s something you believe is ambiguous or which might affect a lot of judges, you can ask about it on the JudgeApps forums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that throughout this article, we\u2019ll refer to \u201clast year\u201d – the maintenance year runs from April 1st to March 31st of the following year. For this window only, update quizzes from the beginning of Judge Foundry count toward requirements, even though they\u2019re technically outside the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who needs to do maintenance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Almost all Judge Foundry members need to fill out a maintenance checklist. If you\u2019re a Level One+ judge, you need to fill out a checklist to maintain your level, unless one of these things is true:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. You leveled up since October 1st, 2024<\/strong>. If you recently gained a new level, congratulations! Also, you can skip maintenance this year. It should be obvious to tournament organizers that a judge who just achieved Level Two is still meeting the standards we expect for Level Two. This also avoids some awkwardness around timing – we didn\u2019t want judges to delay leveling up because they wouldn\u2019t meet the new requirements (which assumed you had plenty of time in-level) and get knocked right back down, at which point they\u2019d presumably be able to interview, test and level back up again.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. You were deployed overseas by the government and unable to meaningfully judge events for at least four months in the last year<\/strong>. This primarily applies to judges in the military, but if you\u2019re working for the State Department, CIA, or any other government agency that has the power to tell you \u201cYou go live here for a while\u201d without it being a suggestion, we recognize that you might not have been able to complete your requirements through no fault of your own. Thank you for your service, and we hope to see you at events at home soon!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. You were on parental leave during a portion of the last year<\/strong>. Congratulations on your new bundle of joy and\/or responsibility! Just as people take parental leave from their jobs after having a kid, it\u2019s reasonable for them to take parental leave from judging. We don\u2019t expect you to strap on that Judge Foundry-branded baby-bjorn (currently out of stock) and get back out on the floor right away, and your level will be waiting for you when you\u2019re ready. In the meantime, it\u2019s never too early to start teaching rules and policy to your little future judge\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re not in one or more of those categories, you must complete a maintenance checklist by March 31st, 2025. That includes everyone – even Judge Foundry\u2019s directors need to fill out our own maintenance checklists!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Paul
    Paul helps a player register his limited pool at Grand Prix Orlando in 2017. Photo \u00a9 John Brian McCarthy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    How do I complete my checklist?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Go to JudgeApps and create a checklist<\/a> for your level. A big thank you to the JudgeApps team for updating the checklists feature to accommodate Judge Foundry\u2019s maintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All levels have some elective requirements and some mandatory requirements. For example, every Level One Judge must complete the L1 refresh exam. Every Level One Judge must also do one of a few things to demonstrate their continued activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The checklist is structured such that you only need to fill out the appropriate number of elective items to complete that section – there\u2019s no extra credit for filling out extras beyond the requirement. In the Level One example, if you worked three events, you do not need to fill out any events played or reviews written or received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    JudgeApps does its best to help you fill out your checklists with things it knows. All reviews written and received will be available for you to just check off. We know that not as many events as we\u2019d like are currently listed in JudgeApps for you to just check off – it\u2019s our hope that in future years, more tournament organizers will go back to using JudgeApps as their tool for event recruitment and communication, making this process easier. You can just manually fill in events that aren\u2019t currently listed on JudgeApps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Remember as you fill out your events list that events you judged for most major trading card games count toward maintenance. As a general rule, any game that\u2019s offered at an SCGCON or LDXP counts. If it\u2019s a game that isn\u2019t offered by those organizers, email us at testing@judgefoundry.org<\/a> and we\u2019ll take a look. But the philosophy here is analogous skills, so we\u2019re probably going to be pretty lenient here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How can I complete my Refresh Exam?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    One of the most common questions we\u2019ve been receiving is \u201cHey, where can I find the Lx Refresh Exam.\u201d The answer, until today was \u201cWe\u2019re still working on it, thanks for your patience.\u201d But the time for patience is at an end – the Refresh Exams are live!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a reminder, Refresh Exams are required for all Level One Judges. They are only required for Level Two+ Judges if you didn\u2019t complete three or more Update Quizzes with Judge Foundry. You\u2019re welcome to take them even if you aren\u2019t required to do so, but don\u2019t be surprised if you see some questions you\u2019ve seen before – these exams were built as a \u201cbest of update quiz\u201d smorgasbord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Much like the Update Quizzes, the Refresh Exams are open-book (but not open-friends) and taken online. You have 240 minutes to submit your Refresh Exam from the time you start it, so make sure you do so at a time when you can focus. All Refresh Exams have a seven-day cooldown, so don\u2019t wait until March 29th to take yours unless you\u2019re extremely confident. And, like all our exams, the questions are considered confidential – some questions on these exams are also in the pools for other exams and it would be unfair to future candidates to leak these questions, thereby reducing their ability to test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s the breakdown of each Refresh Exam for the 2025 Maintenance. There\u2019s no guarantee that these numbers will be the same in future years – they depend, in large part, on the results of our Update Quizzes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Level One Refresh<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Number of questions<\/strong>: 10
    Breakdown of questions<\/strong>: All rules
    Passing score<\/strong>: 70% or higher
    Total attempts available per judge<\/strong>: 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Level Two\/Level Three Refresh<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Number of questions<\/strong>: 10
    Breakdown of questions<\/strong>: 8 rules, 2 policy
    Passing score<\/strong>: 80% or higher
    Total attempts available per judge<\/strong>: 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Level Four\/Level Five Refresh<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Number of questions<\/strong>: 10
    Breakdown of questions<\/strong>: 7 rules, 3 policy
    Passing score<\/strong>: 80% or higher
    Total attempts available per judge<\/strong>: 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Ryan
    Ryan helps Ben and Amanda find a call at Pro Tour Baltimore in 2023. Photo \u00a9 John Brian McCarthy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    What happens if I don\u2019t submit a checklist by March 31st?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If you don\u2019t submit a checklist, we\u2019ll assume that you didn\u2019t maintain your level (see below). We understand that things can happen, and have a one-month grace period from April 1st to April 30th to get your checklist in. You can\u2019t complete any new items (besides the Refresh Exams) during this time – if you were short a few events, the time to have done them was before March 31st. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Consider this period the \u201cheart\u201d part of our tardiness policy. After April 30th, we don\u2019t expect to provide any exceptions and will follow the procedure below for judges who didn\u2019t maintain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What happens if I\u2019m having technical issues submitting my checklist?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If it\u2019s a JudgeApps issue, please use the JudgeApps support forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If it\u2019s a question about whether something fulfills a requirement, please email testing@judgefoundry.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What if I don\u2019t maintain my level?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    First of all, it\u2019s okay to not meet the maintenance requirements – it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re a bad judge. It most likely means that you just judged less than you did in previous years, which can be okay. One sign of maintenance working as intended is that judges are stepping down a level, and being comfortable with that. Maybe you\u2019ll stay at your new level, or maybe you\u2019ll decide to get back to your previous level once you have a chance to judge more (see below on that).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our maintenance follows a \u201csoft landing\u201d rule. That is, if you don\u2019t fill out your checklist, you\u2019ll be reassigned one level lower than your current level – a Level Three Judge who didn\u2019t complete maintenance will be set to Level Two. That\u2019s reflective of the fact that while some skills atrophy, others don\u2019t, and that a one-level downgrade probably reflects skills on balance – rules and policy will be a little more out of date than most L2s, but leadership and mentoring will probably be better than most L2s. If the judge in this scenario doesn\u2019t complete Level Two maintenance the next year, they\u2019ll be reassigned to Level One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Level One Judges who don\u2019t complete their checklists will become affiliate members with no certification, but you\u2019ll still be Judge Foundry members and still eligible for the fast track back to your previous level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If I don\u2019t maintain my level, can I regain it later?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Yes! We want judges to be okay with not maintaining their levels, where those levels don\u2019t currently match their activity level and skills. A part of that is making an expedited path back to their previous level in these circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Each level is slightly different, but the principle is the same: demonstrate increased activity level, demonstrate rules and policy mastery appropriate to your sought level, while avoiding the most time-consuming or difficult-to-repeat aspects of earning a level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In all cases, there is a requirement to wait three months before applying to regain your previous level. We wanted to make the path to reinstatement fairly painless, but we don\u2019t want it to be preferable to just not completing maintenance in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Level One<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019ve been relegated to uncertified and were previously a Level One Judge, you can return to Level One by\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n