What's a judge?
From Judge Wiki
At our most fundamental DCI judges ensure our players have a fun, fair, and safe place to enjoy DCI sanctioned events.
Our partners in providing these events are the ruling authority, the DCI and our Tournament Organizers.
Our players interact with us by means of a question designed to resolve a stalled game where players disagree on a game rule or function. The answer to that question is a "Ruling" where the responding judge gets the players back to playing the game.
Issuing rulings is perceived by our players as our main function. Great effort and energy is expended to help judges issue "correct" rulings. Judges are tested on rules knowledge. The best judges constantly review, relearn and refine their rules knowledge and the most effective means of delivering those rulings.
However rulings are, in general, not how we spend most of our time. Our time on the day of the event is often spent getting tables, chairs, tablecloths, computers, printers, banners, posters, product, pens, decklists, and a hundred other things ready before the players arrive.
Once players begin to arrive we become facilitators, we look up or issue DCI numbers, we direct players to the proper places to begin. We review preemptive questions by players about rule interactions. In general we get players to the point of playing.
Once play begins we "are" the DCI for those players. Every action we take from that point forward is a reflection on the DCI, our Tournament Organizer, and of course our judge team. Players whose only tournament experience is that event will use the information they learn at their kitchen tables, game rooms and play grounds.
Now judges work hard to move the event in a timely fashion. Posting pairings, issuing penalties for tardy/absent players, reviewing decks to insure they match the player's submitted list are many of the functions we offer in addition to delivering rulings.
Once the winners and losers have been resolved and our players begin to depart, the work of breaking back down all the items we began the day with is left.
After breakdown is done, a few moments of reflection allows you opportunity to gauge the quality of your event. Rarely are we thanked by the players we worked so hard to serve. Our gain is often in volunteer support offered by the Tournament Organizer and DCI, and the sense that we have helped create something bigger than ourselves.
Outside of the event judges are mentors, ambassadors and policy makers to the games we serve. At the highest levels judges create policy which affects how, when and why judges interact with players.
So in answer to the question "What's a Judge?"
A Judge is The DCI
