{"id":4281,"date":"2026-01-19T20:21:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T20:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.judge.fabtcg.com\/?p=4281"},"modified":"2026-01-19T20:21:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T20:21:52","slug":"mentor-at-world-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.judge.fabtcg.com\/es\/blog\/2026\/01\/19\/mentor-at-world-tours\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentor Role at World Tours: What It Is, and How to Use It Well"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why You Can Trust This Perpsective<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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I\u2019m writing this as the Europe Lead for the Mentoring & Feedback Team, with direct, recent experience of the Mentor role, and after consulting various invested parties. I served as a Mentor during 2025 test events (including GenCon). I will be one of the first Mentors on the 2026 schedule (World Tour London). I also worked closely with early 2026 Mentors (G\u00e9rard and Jon at World Tour Columbus) to compare notes, align expectations, and capture what seems to work in practice.<\/span><\/p>

We are publishing this as the official starting point for the experimentation phase of the Mentor role. It reflects what we have learned from early implementations and the current guidance for how the role should function at World Tours.<\/span><\/p>

Because this is an experimentation phase, aligned with the launch of the new mentoring structure, this guidance is meant to provide staff and Mentors with a shared baseline for expectations and best practices. We fully expect it to evolve as we gather feedback, explore different applications of the role, and refine what \u201cgood\u201d looks like in practice. Updated guidance may be issued as we learn from additional events.<\/span><\/p>

Until that refinement happens, treat this document as the reference baseline. If you believe a specific situation calls for deviating from it, start by discussing it between the Mentor, the event leadership, and the Mentoring and Feedback team so we can align on intent and avoid accidental mismatches.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why the Mentor Role Exists<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The 2026\u20132027 Organized Play landscape creates a scaling problem: the program needs more people ready for higher responsibility (TLCs, Oranges, experienced Floor Judges stepping up) faster, without lowering standards or burning people out.<\/span><\/p>

Mentors exist to increase how much growth judges take away from a World Tour weekend. The role is designed around a simple idea: World Tours are a rare concentration of experience, complexity, and strong leadership. If we treat them only as \u201ca weekend of work,\u201d we lose a major development opportunity. If we treat them as \u201cwork plus deliberate coaching,\u201d we accelerate the whole pipeline.<\/span><\/p>

Mentors do not replace the mentoring expected from Head Judges, Team Leads, Support Judges, and experienced Floor Judges. They complement it, and a good Mentor results in other people mentoring more, not less. The Mentor is there to create more coaching moments, more structured feedback loops, and clearer development plans than what the pace of a normal weekend often allows.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What the Mentor is (and is not)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mentor is a paid Judge Lead position (compensated as a lead day).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mentors are not part of the event chain of command<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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