Judge of the Month August 2023 – Selene Bergers

Welcome back judges! We are excited to recognize Selene Bergers for her contributions to our community. Selene is an active member of the European judge community, having worked many events in a variety of places across Europe and presenting in several judge conferences. She has put in effort to encourage inclusion and understanding in the judge community, and we are proud to showcase her as our Judge of the Month!

Name: Selene Bergers

Level: 2

Location: Arnhem, Netherlands

Occupation: I’m a manager in childcare. I manage several teams on different locations of a larger company. The teams take care of the children and I make sure everything works as it should. Oh, and cuddling babies to keep myself sane.

Fun Fact: I really get into the most weird and crazy situations. It’s just that I always forget them when people are asking for stories…

Favorite Hero: Prism and Dash

How long have you been judging Flesh and Blood?
My first event was the Dutch Nationals in late 2021. I’ve been an MTG judge for more than ten years, and at that point I have seen a couple of videos to understand the game and played less games than you can count on one hand. Just by applying magic policy, it sort of worked out.

Why did you become a judge?
I love being a part of the community and fulfilling a role in the community in which I can give players an amazing event is incredibly fulfilling. Besides great games, the competitive scene is also about winning and when you judge, you always ‘win’ by having a good time 😉

How has being a judge influenced your life outside of FaB?
Judging has brought me to many places in the world and has given me many awesome people in my life with different cultures, languages and views on life. It widens my horizon. I certainly learned to find a balance between being my silly self and a professional attitude in my career, and my daily life. It taught me to be proud of myself, staying strong in difficult situations and many more things.

Who have been some of your biggest mentors in FaB judging, and what did they teach you?
So many judges have taught me new things. Even little interactions have left good memories. I will list a few: Riccardo Tessitori for our continuous conversations about leadership and how being a softer person can be a strength. Amanda Coots for being the woman I look up and being an inspiration of what I one day hope to achieve. Bart Wieszok for being a kind and knowledgeable mentor in and outside events. Klaus Lassacher for helping me pushing back (literal) borders when it comes to travels to other continents.

How did you start playing Flesh and Blood?
I’ve played Magic the Gathering since I was 7, but in the last few years it wasn’t the game for me anymore. I tried several card games, but nothing really stuck. Then FaB came and I was a bit pessimistic, especially with the pandemic still limiting organized play. But then it took off and I am still convinced it’s the best card game I have ever played.

What is your proudest moment in your FaB judging career?
Leading the team during a full day of side events was amazing and I felt incredibly powerful. I love to be in that managing position making it my job that others can successfully do theirs.

What challenges have you faced in judging, and how have you worked to overcome them?
When you judge you make mistakes, you get insecure about your performance or how people think about you. You get feedback which can be valuable but also difficult to hear. Learning to remain positive about yourself, keep focused on good teamwork and the service you provide to players while working through those things, can be a difficult task. It’s important to talk with other judges about these moments and experiences. We are all human and even the best of us have moments of insecurity of feelings of loss. You are not alone and sharing with eachother creates strong connections between people.

What are some tips you have for other judges?
Growing as a judge, is also growing as a person. That process can be slow and difficult with setbacks and rough patches. When you know judging is more than just learning rules and open yourself to a wide variety of things you can learn, judging itself becomes an incredible journey.

What motivates you to continue judging?
I have a lot ambition and hope to achieve great things in my judge career. The feeling of contributing to an amazing weekend for so many people keeps me always looking forward to the next event.

What is your favorite non-Flesh and Blood hobby?
I enjoy music and history a lot. Ask me about Dutch history and I will tell you amazing stories. Besides that I like to learn languages and learn about different kind of people.

You have presented at several judge conferences, how do you prepare for presenting? Do you have any advice for judges hoping to present at conferences in the future?
I’m blessed with being a very easy public speaker. I have a a clear idea of what the message is that I want to give, but improvise the rest. I do prepare specific jokes or interactive parts, to make sure they work well with the audience.
As advice I would say: find a topic close to what you know so you hare from your area of expertise. Do what works for you. If you need to bring memory cards to be able to guide you through your presentation, do this! Never be afraid to share your knowledge. Judges will be eager to hear your experiences and what you have to say is valuable.

You have put in work to educate people on inclusion in the judging community, what has motivated you towards this goal and do you have any advice for those looking to contribute to making their fellow judges feel included and accepted?
The FAB community is a place where people of many different walks of life and backgrounds come together. Many of us are neurodivergent, identify with one or more letters of LGBTQI+. The same is true for me.
I discovered that explaining people how the world works for me, created understanding…. It’s not about changing their view on things, but creating empathy and acceptance.
Eventually we all want to be accepted in a community and I hope to use my position as a judge to give people a voice and create this understanding so we all can celebrate our diversity. Judges have a position of authority and are an example for members of the community. When we accept each other and create a place where everyone may be a part of the game and the community, players will follow and together we make this a reality.

You have judged at many large events in Europe over the last two years, how have you seen the European FaB scene develop in that time?
I remember that there was this small store that could import alpha and 1st edition cards, but we couldn’t actually play with them because there were no events. Now, two years later there are large events and even a world championships coming to Europe. It’s incredible how fast FAB established an organized play infrastructure across the world. They put the right people in the right places, learned from other TCGs and judge communities. I am very happy to see that many judges from other TCGs have found a place in the community and are able to share their knowledge and help shape Flesh and Blood. I think LSS being receptive to this has helped the game grow so fast.
Also it’s great to see that as a judge you can prove yourself and grow within the ranks and get position in which you can learn new things.
You can see that FAB is growing and improving and re-inventing certain aspects and together with a great community, that’s a recipe for a bright future.

Thank you to Selene for your contributions to the Flesh & Blood judging community and for taking some time to answer our questions! Want to nominate a judge for next month? Fill out this form to get them in the running!