The Exemplar Program will be run as a pilot program through the end of 2014, including two waves of recognition messages to be collected and distributed. We will communicate specific deadlines for submitting recognitions to the L3+ Judges as they are finalized. For a quick reference, recognitions can be submitted using this form here. But before you go too far in completing your form, please read on below to learn how this pilot will work.

In addition, please refer to the “Recognition Writing Guidelines” and “Recognition, not rewards!” pages for more information on how to identify exemplary Judges and write effective recognition messages.

The table below describes how many recognitions of each level a participating Judge may submit in each wave:

These figures will be updated based on participation and adoption, and to address any other problems identified in the pilot program. A description of the final program for rollout in 2015 will be published once the pilot is complete and the measures of its success have been analyzed. That final program will include a revision of the table above which will identify the breakdown of recognitions available to Level 2 Judges.

When the Exemplar Program is rolled out to the broader Judge community at the beginning of 2015, our plan is to have this process integrated into the JudgeApps website. That work has just begun, though, and our pilot version of Exemplar Program through the end of this year will use a web-based form instead.

Exemplar Program recognitions are designed to be written in any language.

You can access the recognition form for the Exemplar Program pilot here.

This form is open and can receive your recognitions now. We will announce the closing date for the first wave as soon as it is finalized.

If you are not a L3+ judge, you are welcome to check out the recognition form to see what it entails, but your recognitions will not be processed as part of the pilot program.

The recognition form asks for the following information:

Who you are (name, level, region, and DCI number)

Who you are recognizing (names and DCI numbers, which you can look up here)

Why you are recognizing them (messages in line with the guidelines here)

It is your responsibility to identify the judges you are recognizing accurately. You are encouraged to look up the DCI numbers of the Judges you’re recognizing in the Judge Center or in JudgeApps, or just ask them directly.

Please note: You do not need to submit all of your recognitions at the same time. Once you submit your response, the “Thank you” page will have a link for you to use if you wish to edit your responses (for instance, to add more recognitions in empty slots). If you believe you may want to edit your recognitions before the window closes, please make a note of that link and keep it available.

Both Wizards and the Judge Program have controls in place to flag and address fraudulent or suspicious submissions, which we take seriously.

In this test phase, we will notify you if and when any of the recognitions you submit are flagged as problematic in some way. We will do our best to give you the opportunity to fix any problems before that wave of recognitions are published and distributed. Depending on how these quality control processes work, we may include them in the full Exemplar Program rollout in 2015.

Regional Coordinators should begin the form as a Judge of their level would. There is a question at the bottom of the second page for Regional Coordinators to access their additional recognition spaces.

Note that there is not necessarily a 1:1 ratio of recognitions submitted to foils distributed. Distribution will be mailed from Wizards directly, so make sure you have your address with them up-to-date. You can update your address with Wizards here. (Please note that, for security purposes, your current address is not be shown at that link, even if it is already on file.)