“When Fiber Jar is flipped because of an attack, you can activate Ring of Destruction.”
“If you use Kuriboh to negate a direct-damage attack from Spirit Reaper, Spirit Reaper is destroyed because it was targeted.”
“You can use Divine Wrath to destroy Mataza the Zapper when it starts to attack a second time.”
“When your Staunch Defender resolves, your opponent’s sheep tokens will switch to attack position.”
“If you use Book of Moon because you want to flip your monster face down to stop incoming damage from Magic Cylinder, the trap still resolves and you still take damage.”
“You can activate Torrential Tribute when Giant Rat’s effect special summons a monster.”
Ladies and gentlemen, all of the above rulings are incorrect. You might be wondering where I got these rulings from. They’re real rulings that were made by level 2 and level 3 Yu-Gi-Oh! judges. I made the Kuriboh ruling myself. I’m bringing these rulings up to highlight the fact that judges are human and humans make mistakes. Whether you’re new to judging or you’re a battle-scarred veteran in a judge’s shirt, you will make a bad call at some point. This isn’t the best situation, because no judge wants to make an incorrect ruling. However, how you react after you make an error can help contain the mistake so it will have the smallest impact on a tournament.
First, let’s take a closer look at some common reasons why mistakes happen. Some faulty rulings can directly result from peer pressure. Here’s an example. Let’s say two players are dueling in front of a large crowd. The turn player attacks an opponent’s set monster with Dark Ruler Ha Des. It turns out that the set monster is D. D. Warrior Lady. The turn player asks, “You can remove my Dark Ruler, right?” The opponent nods while people in the crowd loudly agree that D. D. Warrior Lady can remove the Dark Ruler from the game. The judge of this duel doesn’t fix the play because he or she doesn’t want to rock the boat or start trouble. This is a clear example of a judge folding to peer pressure. The judge in this example doesn’t have to be an inexperienced one to make this kind of error. He or she could be a competent judge who had a lapse in judgment because of exhaustion.
In addition, faulty rulings often happen because judges , especially head judges, are under enormous pressure to perform well. When you are judging, and especially when you’re head judging, you will feel it. Judges have to make sure their rulings are timely, the players are happy, the results are entered correctly, and that the rounds start on time, all without breaking a sweat. This kind of pressure can cloud a person’s judgment and make someone say the wrong thing at the wrong time. With all these expectations, it’s amazing that judges don’t end tournaments looking like the tortured souls on Spirit Elimination.
How can we stop all this pressure from hurting our judgment? If you’re feeling anxious about your ability to judge, researching the current environment and metagame will give you more confidence. The more prepared you are, the less pressure you’ll feel, and you’ll be less likely to make mistakes. For example, I’m preparing to judge at a Regional tournament and I’ve noticed a lot of duelists in my area using Emergency Provisions. Because of that, I’ve been studying the rulings on the spell and how it works with other popular cards. I’m hoping that my hours of preparation will pay off.
Some judges are fixated on the issue of time during a tournament. They want to make sure that all rulings they issue are given within 30 seconds of a play. While it’s an important goal, you may not be able to reach it all the time. We’re judges, not a pizza delivery service. It doesn’t matter that you saved time if your rulings are wrong, especially if a wrong ruling could have been avoided if you took the time to think about it or check with a fellow judge. Stop the clock, take whatever time you need, give the ruling, and then give the duelists extra time to finish their match. Don’t be embarrassed to double-check a ruling with your fellow judges and feel free to let the players know what you’re doing. You can say something like, “I would like to consult with my colleagues before I make a ruling. Thank you for your patience. I’ll make sure you guys get some extra time to finish your match.” Neither the players nor your fellow judges will think any less of you.
No matter how much you take your time or how much you prepare, you will make a mistake at some point. What do you do after you’ve made a bad ruling? More importantly, what do you do when the bad ruling you made costs someone the match?
As soon as you know what happened, you should confront the player who was hurt by your ruling. By taking the first step, you show your sincerity and professionalism. Apologize for the faulty ruling and stress the fact that these rulings are subject to human error. Be sure to apologize with dignity, and don’t beg for forgiveness! At this point, one of two things will happen. If the player is open-minded and reasonable, he or she will accept your apology and that will be the end of it. However, most duelists will not be happy with just an apology. Most duelists will be upset about the situation and will make demands for something like a replay of the match or a match win in their favor. It’s important that you don’t give in to these demands. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you have to be a doormat.
Don’t get defensive if the player you’re dealing with is acting in a mean or abusive way. Just let that player know he or she can file a formal complaint with UDE. You should be cooperative and give your full name and UDE number. At this point, thank the player and end the discussion.
It’s also not the end of the world if a player lodges a formal complaint against you. The officials at UDE are reasonable and open-minded. They know what it’s like to judge at events and are aware of the challenges that come with the job. I wish I could tell you that you’ll never have to deal with situations like this, but hopefully, this article has given you a better idea about how to handle yourself when these kinds of predicaments happen.
Thank you all for reading. If you have any comments or questions you would like to share, you can reach me at sangpukdee_simon@yahoo.com