I’ll begin this week’s profiles with Jeff Richardson. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he works as an IT technician.

When and where did you pass the Test™?

I passed it at the Houston, Texas Shonen Jump Championship.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?

I’ve been judging for two and a half years.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

I judge both regionally and nationally.

What was your pre-judging background? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

I started playing the game when Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon came out in the US and I was immediately addicted. I joined the Upper Deck Entertainment Demo Team early on, and continued to play competitively. After winning at the store level, I was asked to become the store judge. Later, I stopped competing and transitioned to a full-time judge and tournament organizer. I really prefer judging and casual play.

What’s your judging background?

I started out at the store level (Vintage Stock, Tulsa, OK), doing both tournament organizing and judging sanctioned tournaments. I also did a lot of demos and so forth.

I drove to a couple of mall tour stops in Fort Worth, Texas to get some broader judging experience, and that’s where I took (and failed) my Level 2 test. My first premiere event was the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships in 2004, where I passed the Level 2 test. I also started judging for Vs. System and worked the first three Pro Circuit stops (Anaheim, Indianapolis, and Amsterdam). I’ve also judged various Yu-Gi-Oh! Regional and Sneak Preview events. My first massive tournament experience was as a floor judge at the first Shonen Jump Championship in Anaheim at Gen Con So Cal last year. Since then, I head judged the Shonen Jump Championship in Houston, where I passed the Level 3 test.

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

I like the player and judge management aspects best. I enjoy assigning teams to my judge leads, and making sure everything at the event flows smoothly. I like being readily available for appeals, and I also like keeping the downtime between rounds to a minimum. Administering Level 2 tests is a blast as well.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

The player and judge management aspects—it’s a love/hate relationship. It’s enjoyable to work with great judges and deal with grateful players. On the other hand, there are always exceptions. While having a player expelled from an event with the assistance of a security guard is not my idea of fun, it’s a necessary evil every once in a while.

Does any one event stick out in your mind?

Definitely Shonen Jump Houston. It was an amazing event with 400 people, and apart from the aforementioned player issue, the event ran perfectly. I had a great tournament organizer, Sheila Weissman, and her staff was top-notch. The majority of my floor judges were relatively green, but for the most part, they did a wonderful job.

What’s the biggest contribution that Level 3 judges can make to the game? How about to the judge program?

Giving higher-level-than-the-average-bear feedback to Organized Play, through the Level 3 judge list or however else it’s needed. I would venture to say that most of the Level 3 judges in existence are strongly committed to the growth of the game, and have the experience and wisdom to offer a pretty solid opinion resource to the judge program.

Have you had any particularly memorable tournament moments?

There was a kid in the Midwest who’d been attending our Regional tournaments and attempting to register for the tournament using someone else’s UDE Tournament ID. No one really knows the exact reason why—maybe he was trying to beef up his friend’s ranking? He had been caught numerous times and told not to return. Prior to the Houston tournament, my team leads, the TO, the Upper Deck Entertainment representative, and I had all discussed the possibility of his presence, so we were keeping our eyes open for him.

During registration, I heard that he had made it into the tournament. I found him, refunded his entry fee and explained why, then advised him to leave the tournament area. I made sure that at all times during this process I had at least one or two witnesses present—when you’re dealing with minors, you can’t be too careful. I made sure that everyone understood that under no circumstances was the player to be touched by tournament staff. The kid refused to leave, offering weak, nonsensical arguments. I stayed by the kid, and had a judge call the hotel security. The security guard arrived and the kid wouldn’t leave for her either. To keep the scene to a minimum, we walked outside the tournament area with the kid to talk. After everything was said that needed to be said, we left him in the foyer area with two judges posted to keep him from coming back in. Apart from that major hiccup, the beginning of the tournament went off without a hitch, as did the rest of the weekend. All in all, it was a wonderful tournament . . . although crazy things happen sometimes.

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact or two about yourself.

I’m in a synthpop band called Stevedore. I’m the lead singer. Here’s the link to our website: www.myspace.com/stevedore

Let’s move on up the East Coast of the US and meet John Williams! I’ve worked with John at plenty of events, ranging from Regionals to World Championships, and he’s a great judge to have on the team. John lives in Newark, NJ, where he works as a chemist.

When and where did you pass the Test™?

I passed it at the Boston Mall tour.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?

I started right before the beginning of the Duelist King league, before Regionals became a part of Organized Play.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

Locally, I judge every Saturday in Westfield, NJ. I also judge for most of the Kings Games premiere events in the NY/NJ area.

What was your pre-judging background? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

I always love to play, but since I never went with the main decks of choice, I hardly ever won.

What’s your judging background? Did you start out at league tournaments, or mostly Regionals and so forth?

As a UDE Demo Team guy, I judged the Duelist King league and had access to those rulings files that everyone tried so hard to pirate from the Internet. Once Organized Play changed and added in all the programs it has now, it was almost a given that I would continue on with the new programs. Actually, the very first Regional tournament, the one held in Brooklyn in January 2004, was judged by Dave Brent (the big dog), everyone’s favorite female judge (you), and yours truly.*

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

I like the fact that I learn something new from every event I participate in. There’s always a new experience and new insight if you’re willing to pick them up. And if another judge learns from me, it makes my world that much better.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

Handling outside issues that shouldn’t be part of the card gaming environment.

Does any one event stick out in your mind?

Meeting all of the people and players at the 2004 World Championships was a wonderful thing.

What’s the biggest contribution that Level 3 judges can make to the game?

Remember that as far as the levels are concerned, this is only rules knowledge certification. If a fourteen-year-old passed all the necessary tests, would you still decide to let him judge a Shonen Jump Championship? I think that the “in the trenches” judges bring leadership and stability to a game that’s relatively light-hearted, so things can occasionally get out of hand. Working judges have a love for the game that lets the players know that although we may act as enforcers, we are not above the game itself. If we bring those ideas to the judges that follow us, they can do the same thing.

Have you had any memorable tournament moments? Tell us a good judge story or two!

Did you ever hear about the “Fiber Jar” event? It was a Regional held at The New Yorker Hotel across the street from Madison Square Garden. The computer crashed after round 2, and we had to restart the whole tournament! There were guys at 2-0 who were furious! There were 0-2 players who had just dropped, who claimed that they weren’t dropping anymore! It was a mess! At the end of the day, the judges were close to unaware of their own surroundings.

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact about yourself.

It’s funny that he should mention that—green is the favorite color of our next Level 3 judge Jason Grabher-Meyer. Jason is possibly more widely known as Metagame.com’s most prolific event reporter, but he’s also one of the first Level 3 judges, and he’s done a fair amount of judging over the years. Jason lives in Pickering, Ontario, which is just outside of Toronto. He’s a college student and a writer in the gaming industry. Who knew?

When and where did you pass the Test™?

I passed the Test™ at one of the mall tour stops—I can’t remember which! I passed a week or so after Dave Brent did, so when I see his answer, I’ll be able to figure it out. I was the second person to pass it, other than some Upper Deck staff members.

How long have you been judging Yu-Gi-Oh!?

I’ve been judging for around a year and a half to two years.

Where and how often do you judge? Do you judge mainly locally, or do you travel to a lot of events?

I judge in and around Toronto, as well as around the Northeastern US. Mostly I travel to events.

What was your pre-judging background? Did you like to play? Were you good? Did you ever win any big tournaments?

I played for a year and a half on the mall yours, and actually dove headfirst into Yu-Gi-Oh! a few months in advance to get the job. A big part of me misses how much I used to play. 200 games a weekend against unique competition was a blast. I’ve never won any big tournaments, though, as I went straight from the tours into writing, reporting, and judging.

What’s your judging background?

I’ve mostly just judged at Regionals and Nationals, actually. I did some local judging, but being on the mall tours kept me from doing local-level stuff, since I was working every weekend. After the tours ended, I went straight into judging major events. I’ve got an extensive history of judging for other games, so I’d managed to get by on the general skills I’d learned in the years prior to Yu-Gi-Oh!

What’s your favorite part of being a judge?

Definitely all the money and the public accolades! Those are the best!

 . . . Okay, maybe not. I guess the delusion-free answer is two-fold. First, I get personal satisfaction out of an event that ends up running smoothly. Often as a player, you find yourself in a position where you’re sitting there between rounds wondering how the event you’re competing in got so out of control. I’ve been there a hundred times. But when you step up to judge an event, you’re doing what you can to ensure the event is a success. It’s giving back something to the game, and at the end of the day you know that something went well, because you contributed to it.

Aside from that, the people are great to work with. I’ve been lucky enough to judge alongside the best this game has to offer, as well as a large amount of very promising, dedicated new talent. If you have a good team and a good head judge (or you are a good head judge), then working an event can be really fun. It’s tiring, and trying at times, but it’s nice to get out there to big events and see friends who live hundreds or thousands of miles away.

What’s your least favorite part of being a judge?

The pants. I wear baggy jeans whenever possible and I can’t stand slacks. The endless walking around, the look a player gives you when you make a ruling that isn’t in their favor, the long hours: I can deal with all of that stuff. But the slacks? Unbearable!**

Does any one event stick out in your mind?

Canadian Nationals 2005 was a lot of fun. We were pretty short-handed, but it went smoothly. Head Judging your country’s National Championship is an experience, and I’ve had the honor of doing it two years in a row. The players were all fantastic, as well. There was a lot on the line, but everyone was friendly. Being able to step out of the “stern, stoic judge” role was really nice, and microphone announcements like the following were my source of entertainment for the day.

“All players, please find your pairings for the round and proceed to your seats. The round will begin shortly. Please find your seats. If you have found your pairing on the list, please do not wander off. Please go to your seat . . . Dale Bellido, I’m looking at you. Stop wandering around. Go to your seat. No, don’t come over here! To the seat, Dale, the seat . . . That’s better.”

Gen Con Indianapolis 2004 was a blast too. It was four days of straight Regionals tournaments, head judged by Julia Hedberg, and while the turnouts weren’t nearly as big as some of us had expected, there was a casual atmosphere that was really nice. I know a lot of the big-name players, and a lot of the judges, so there were very few unfamiliar faces. It made for a memorable weekend. Evan Vargas pulled a tablecloth over his head and fell asleep Saturday morning, and drafts started springing up around him. That was definitely a highlight.

What’s the biggest contribution that Level 3 judges can make to the game? How about to the judge program?

Train more judges. In my mind, Level 3 judges can’t do anything more important than train more of their own kind. Being a judge isn’t an easy job and it doesn’t have some of the benefits that being a player has. Truly talented judges are more than just players who couldn’t cut it—they’re a rare breed. As Level 3 judges, the most important thing that we can do is to identify, train, and certify the promising and the determined.

Have you had any particularly memorable tournament moments?

I head judged a regional in London Ontario, either late 2004 or early 2005. It was winter, we were in a venue that was freezing cold, and I was really sick. I had one floor judge to my name, and I was having trouble communicating with all the players. One of the Vs. judges in the adjacent tournament offered me his whistle, and said, “Be careful with this. I’m a lifeguard. That whistle can kill dogs.” It was something to that effect. I was skeptical as I took the whistle—yeah yeah, whatever, killer whistle, sure—as it was this pathetic little white plastic whistle. We get to the end of the round, I give it a light blow, and no one really seems to notice. I yell a bit to get people’s attention, we end the round, and that’s that. Some whistle, I think. They couldn’t even hear it.

When the next round started, I decided to give the stupid thing one more shot. I called out over the din of the crowd, “When I blow the whistle, the round will begin!” I took a deep breath, and let out a gust of lungpower like none before it . . .

This was a big mistake.

I think I actually blew down half the tournament. Sometimes, late at night, I can still hear the deafening sonic blast that I unleashed upon that unsuspecting crowd. People hit the floor left, right, and center, clutching their ears; a chair collapsed, a few players engaged in shuffling threw their decks in shock, and I thought I’d killed this one kid who just stopped moving.

I’ve never used a whistle since.

Tell us an interesting and little-known personal fact or two about yourself.

I’m proficient with light crossbows and sais. No, really, I’m not kidding.***

Which Yu-Gi-Oh! card best illustrates who you are?

Cannon Soldier! I’m versatile, surprising, unassumingly strong, and . . . umm . . . a killer robot with a gun for a face!

We’re three articles into this series, and look at all the things we’ve learned about our Level 3 judges! What fascinating sidelights await us next time? Come back and find out when I profile a brand-new lineup of judges!

* I remember that Regional. That was a lot of fun.

**I hear you, judge brother, I hear you!!

***Actually, he is pretty good. He got me a pair of sais for my birthday, but I’m not very skilled with them yet.