Earlier this month, on October 6, Wizards of the Coast put out a short statement via their WPN site.
I didn't hear about it until a few days later. A friend of mine from high school, who plays Magic casually, mentioned it, and I was incredulous; surely I'd have heard about something like this. Normally I'd get a notification on Facebook from the judge group I'm in when news of this sort breaks- but the ever-mercurial social media algorithm proved unreliable, and thus the only notifications I've been getting the past month have been about Facebook Marketplace, a feature I've never used and have no intention of using. But I digress.
If you don't know what Judge Academy is, it's the company that's been, essentially, in charge of Magic's judge program for the past 4 years. It handled judge training and certification, approved judge conferences, and worked with WoTC to deliver judges their promo cards, among other things. I became a level 1 judge just a few months before its inception, so my experience as a judge, thin and fragmented as it's been from the pandemic, has coincided with Judge Academy rather neatly.
As I've been working towards level 2 recently, I've noticed some of the cracks in JA. The website is painfully slow. The content of the modules is sometimes lacking. When I emailed them in late August to give critical feedback on one of the modules, I never received a response. A few weeks back I overheard another judge saying that none of the conference requests were been approved- and in a system where attending conferences are the only way to receive judge promos, that surely was ruffling some feathers.
So the fact that Wizards has shown JA the door is maybe not so shocking in hindsight. (I believe that Tim Shields and the folks who work for JA are capable and passionate-- I want to be clear that I don't think that its shortcomings were the result of any personal failings-- the task of managing the judge program on a global scale through a pandemic on a shoestring budget was essentially an impossible one.)
But the way Wizards delivered this news? In six sentences? With exactly zero plan in place for what will replace Judge Academy? It's neglectful to the point of abuse. "Experienced Magic judges are the lifeblood of high-level Magic" -- we know. Are you going to help us in any way? "We look forward to the future of Magic judging" -- what kind of future *is* that, WoTC? One where you ignore us and expect us to just make your game and your tournaments continue to function for you? What is your plan!!??
Anyway, the same day of the announcement from WoTC, a group of five judges announced the formation of Judge Foundry, a non-profit association for the U.S. and Canada that can take up the mantle of the judge program for the region. They've put out a series of articles laying out their plans for level requirements, their philosophy of mentorship, and how elections for the board of directors will work, among a couple of others. With each step they're asking for feedback from the judge community. And, hopefully, judges in other countries can use Judge Foundry as a template, modified as needed to suit the needs of their regions, in which to form their own judge associations.
Once again I'm blown away by the level of organization and professionalism that Magic judges display. It's meeting judges like this that made me want to become a judge in the first place. It also puts in stark contrast how WoTC has been treating its judge program. We strive for excellence, to give players the best possible experience with their game, and WoTC treats us as though we're disposable.