Judge Recruitment

Training for RJRC, JRL, and JRT

Content Outline

Understanding Your JRL Role & Resources

The JRL helps coordinate and strengthen judge recruitment across the region.

  • Works with closely with the RJRC, TC, and RC to 
    • Oversee recruitment efforts prior to a tournament
    • Communicate with registered judges before and during a tournament by:
      • Serving as the main point of contact for questions and help with schedule changes
      • Confirming attendance before round start
      • Communicating with JW, JS, and BA of any changes in judge arrival or attendance
  • Needs a personal cell phone and laptop for judge-related texts, calls, and emails

The JRL has three key responsibilities which will be addressed in the following lessons.

  • Monitor Communications
  • Coordinate Recruitment Efforts
  • Organize Debate Finals

As a tournament staff role, the JRL has several duties:

  • In most cases, at in-person tournaments, the JRL might serve on or near the Judge Welcome Team since the JRL helps with welcoming judges. 
  • The Judge Coordinator is the primary point of contact for all community judge needs until they arrive on site at the tournament or on to the online platform, so monitoring of phone and email are critical during the tournament days.
  • The JRL is also primarily responsible for contacting judges who have not yet arrived at the tournament past their expected arrival time and communicating with the JS and BA about the anticipated arrival time of those community judges using the staff dashboard. 
  • At online tournaments, you will be in text communication with the JS and BA.

Several tools and resources will be available to help the JRL.

A description of each resource is listed below, but instructions on how and when to use many of them are found in later lessons.

  • The RJRC

Your region’s RJRC is your primary source for training and information regarding all things related to your role as a JRL.

  • JRL tournament email address

An NCFCA.org email address and password will be set up and emailed to you. Please use this email when communicating with and about judge coordinating matters. Please do not use this email for personal matters.

  • NCFCA Staff Dashboard
    • You will login with your own NCFCA user ID and password at https://ncfca-staff.ncfca.org/
    • The NCFCA staff dashboard is available to JRLs to see recruitment goals and check on the status of the judges for their tournament. In addition, the dashboard is used to add and remove rounds for a registered judge if they request it and/or add judges to debate finals rounds. The RJRC will provide you training on the functionality within the staff dashboard.
    • There are two areas that are especially helpful for the JRL. Please become familiar with the new staff dashboard when able. 
    • Setup - the Gear Cog : First, once logged in, click on the gear clog labeled “Setup” in the top left (refresh if you do not see it) and click on your region and tournament. JRLSs will have access to view…updates coming soon.
    • Competition - the Shield: Second, when you click on the shield labeled "Competition” (also in the top left, under the gear clog), you will find the tournaments listed on the left-hand side. If you click your tournament’s name, you will enter the dashboard for that specific tournament. 
      • This area is most useful while a tournament is in progress. However, it’s best to familiarize yourself with it before the first tournament begins. The following list highlights the sections most relevant to a JRL.
    • Updates coming soon…
      • Send Notifications
      • Judge Tracking
      • Reports
  • JR LMS module

The Judge Recruiting (JR) Learning Management System (LMS) training module replaces the former “booklet” guide. As an JRL, you are: 

    • Required to complete the Introduction, JRL lessons, and Next Steps lessons.
    • Welcome to view all lessons to gain a better understanding of the JR process.
    • Occasionally, the Judge Recruitment LMS will be updated. When this occurs, the NJRC will email RJRCs—and JRLs if applicable—to provide notification.

Template files and organizational tools found in this folder are used by the RJRC to create JRL master folders for each tournament in the region. 

    • Ask your RJRC for access to your tournament-specific folder, which is filled with customized templates and other documents. 
    • Familiarize yourself with all the documents in that tournament-specific folder as they will be very helpful to you as you fulfill this role. Refer to its JRL Table of Contents for an overview of what’s included.
    • JRLs are free to make copies of those customized resources and share them as needed to accomplish their jobs. Please note that:
      • Documents containing the NCFCA logo may only be edited as directed within the template.
      • Before adding the NCFCA logo to any new materials, consult the NJRC or the Director of Outreach for approval.

Take time to familiarize yourself with the information and resources available to community judges. This will help you answer questions confidently and direct judges to the right tools and training materials.

While it doesn’t include every task or detail, this timeline provides an overview of the entire recruiting process and will help guide you through each stage of the tournament—from start to finish. In addition, this 2025 JRL Timeline of Action Items could also serve as a resource.

 

Lesson Links