Poor judging at the Delaware Ohio prerelease

[YoungJohn06]

I was very unhappy with the way the event was judged. The judge, I think his name was Steve... was very rude with all the kids. He was very testy and just plain rude, he said people weren't allowed to do things... then he would do exactly what he said is not allowed. For instance I had some new people with me... (by new, I mean played Pokemon... and done anything Pokemon related for about 2 weeks) I asked if it would be okay if I helped him with his deck in the main event, I was told I wasn't allowed. Next thing I know, he's helping his daughter build her deck. I and a few others I was with saw him take cards from his pocket and give them to his daughter and put them in her deck... after play had began already.

I was not the only one complaining, he was very rude with the kids. A few people were waiting for the pairings to go up, he had them in his hands and was about to put them up, my friend was looking at them and he got yelled at, not asked to stop looking, he was told to get back and stop looking or he would be kicked out... He made many comments like that to a lot of people, I heard a lot of kids complaining and a lot of parents as well, it just wasn't ran very well at all. Not to mention every time I asked if they were selling boxes or anything I was told no... then people were floating around the place and a few of them had just bought boxes. We asked multiple times if they'd sell, they said after the side events, but things were sold to a few people way before, during the main event... I think a total of 16 packs was sold at the middle of the side event... It went like that all day, everytime a kid told me they bought a box me or a friend went and asked and got a rude response, like "For the last time we're not selling boxes yet" when some kids had just bought some... Like I said, I was not the only one saying it wasn't ran well. I've talked to a few people at events he's judged before and I got a lot of similar things to what happened at this. I'm sorry but if you're going to run a card tournament, you need to be patient with the kids... they're going to be excited, you don't have to get nasty and rude with them like this judge did. I've unfortunately had the displeasure of playing in tournaments he's judged before, I normally would say maybe it was a one time thing, but in all my previous experiences with this particular judge has gone like this, he's been very rude toward the kids and shouldn't be running these things, he's unfair and favorable to his daughter a lot of the time. I'm hoping to get a response from Nintendo about this, I've e-mailed them about this, I'm not the only one either I heard a lot of people saying they were going to try and contact Nintendo about the attitude of the judge.

One of my friends went up to ask him a question, he had his back to my friend and when he turned around he got angry at my friend and said "Do not stand behind me, it irritates me" or something along those lines and doesn't ask if he needed anything or try to answer a question or anything. I would normally quit attending events he's a part of, if I knew for sure he'd be at them, I might start going to other tournaments a bit further away, hopefully I'll find one that has friendlier staff and is more fun to play in, I'm sorry but being yelled at and treated badly all day is not fun, for anyone. If he'd chill with the attitude and the bias judging for his child, it wouldn't be so bad.

 

[ToysRUsKid]

=/, wow thats sad... if what you said is true, he shouldn't be running tournaments. That is uncall for, yelling at kids, being rude like that, kids look up to the judges for questions etc... I bet kids there were scared of him.

 

[TheCrossFormatKid]

This is nothing new either, Steve Gillete(the judge you are referencing), has been rude at all the events i have been to(well, gencon, multiple events in a short time period). He was constantly yelling at people and blaming problems that occured during the tournaments on the participents when obviously the head judge/to was at fault(aka DROPPING people that were UNDEFEATED and stating that they didnt turn in slips when multiple witnesses saw these players do so). He just has a way of blaming everyone else for HIS mistakes and playing "favorites" with a select few. Maybe it was just that he was being a "power judge" with a lack of sleep, but apparently he does it more often than when not well rested.

 

[LeagueMom]

While I cannot speak about specific occurrences mentioned in this topic, I can reply in general as to
the nature and ability of the judging staff at the Delaware Pre-release.
I have been to events judged by Steve and his wife and he is a very capable judge.
Sometimes it is possible to mistake trying to keep order and to keep track of the many things that
a head judge must keep track of as testiness or perhaps annoyance. Most often the official is simply
busy or is trying to do something else at the moment.
I myself have judged enough to know that sometimes you simply get engulfed with many issues at
once and you may even snap at someone occasionally, not out of anger, but out of the need to have
order and to be able to accomplish all that you need to do. Head judges are working under time
constraints as well and take their judging seriously.
Steve is a very amiable person and I have yet to see him be rude.
Some comments were made that seem to imply favoritism and again, while I cannot speak to any one
issue, I have seen enough of Steve's judging to know that he does not show any favoritism. In fact,
as most TOs and judges do, he tends to be harder on his own child, expecting fewer mistakes and
being less lenient.
As to the boxes being sold, I don't believe that telling someone that boxes were being sold after the
main event was an attempt to mislead or keep anyone from buying them and, to the best of my
knowledge, the product being sold had to be limited as it had to be stretched over three events.
Perhaps people didn't get to buy when they chose to but perhaps there were reasons that may not
have been readily apparent.
Assuming things about someone's ability to do something they have a great deal of experience
doing, making allegations about favoritism and making personal judgments about people based on
a tournament experience is perhaps a bit foolhardy.
Perhaps one should not make those kinds of statements before knowing what one is speaking of.
Perhaps sharing some of one's personal judging experience before making such statements would
give them more credence.

 

[DaytonGymLeader]

For instance I had some new people with me... (by new, I mean played Pokemon... and done anything Pokemon related for about 2 weeks) I asked if it would be okay if I helped him with his deck in the main event, I was told I wasn't allowed. Next thing I know, he's helping his daughter build her deck.

I was never asked if help could be given with decks at this event. I don't condone or endorse it at a Pre-Release. In fact, if you were observant, a couple of people asked me to take a look at their decks and give them my opinion - my daughter included, which I did. Did I help her build her deck, no. Did I build her deck, no. Her deck is her creation and her responsibility. I gave my advice and that was that.

I and a few others I was with saw him take cards from his pocket and give them to his daughter and put them in her deck... after play had began already.

This is damed near impossible considering that I haven't opened a single pack until I got home this evening from the Garden City event.

A few people were waiting for the pairings to go up, he had them in his hands and was about to put them up, my friend was looking at them and he got yelled at, not asked to stop looking, he was told to get back and stop looking or he would be kicked out.

Your facts are incorrect. The pairings were being processed and JUST came off the printer. We asked SEVERAL people to keep away from the scorer's table as space was limited. We also asked for some room around the easels as space was also very cramped and in several cases, the staff could not get to the easels. Nobody was told that they would be ejected for trying to sneak a peak at the pairings. We were performing crowd control, plain and simple.

Not to mention every time I asked if they were selling boxes or anything I was told no... then people were floating around the place and a few of them had just bought boxes. We asked multiple times if they'd sell, they said after the side events, but things were sold to a few people way before, during the main event... I think a total of 16 packs was sold at the middle of the side event... It went like that all day, everytime a kid told me they bought a box me or a friend went and asked and got a rude response, like "For the last time we're not selling boxes yet" when some kids had just bought some.

Let me make something about the product clear. I cannot expend 3 events worth of product at 1 event. I opened up product sales during the second round and ran it thru the break. We had to STOP selling product to ensure that we would have enough product to run side events, let alone 2 more main events. We stopped selling product because we realized if we didn't, we wouldn't have enough to run the 2 other events and associated side events. I even called my boss to see how much product we could go down to. We stopped selling when we reached that point. If you didn't get one, I appologize. When it came to sales after the side events, we were allowed to sell what was loose product (ie not sealed boxes), which we did.

he's unfair and favorable to his daughter a lot of the time.

Everyone that knows me and my rep as a Judge (from Mike Gills on down) knows that I am fair, impartial, and competent. I've made SEVERAL rulings that have kept my own kid out of Top 8 situations, Prize Swaps against her, etc, etc. If you wish to cite something specific, please do so.

As to all of the comments about my attitude, I did get snippy. I've never seen a judge NOT get snippy at some point or another during an event. There are other factors at work that you have NO IDEA as to how they influence how an event runs. We made COUNTLESS announcements about several things that went ignored by the bulk of the player base. We use terms when speaking to groups as a whole like "game loss" to gain people's attention. Notice after that announcement was made, we made no more announcements on the topic of deck lists. We had SEVERAL HUNDRED problems with the software and the way that it works (or lack thereof). Problems with the software could NOT be fixed, nor worked around. You are 100% in your rights to appeal up to Nintendo. I encourage it.

 

[Sensei]

Well,I`ll vouch for Steve as well.He is one of the best,most knowledgeable Pokemon judges we have.I don`t think there is anyone out there with more experience than he has.I would trust him to run any tournament I was involved with,whether it be player or judge.Steve knows his stuff.

Since this will obviously turn ugly(as if it isn`t already)and into a flamefest,I`m going to lock this.I really wish people could come on here and discuss things instead of just laying blame and accusing.If someone feels they need to get the ttention of Nintendo about something,then lets leave it to them.

`Sensei