Fab Foundry Events is excited to announce the opening of the Calling Columbus 2026 weekend staff applications!

This is your chance to join the team as a Judge or other staff.
Applications will close on 24. November 2025 (end of day anywhere worldwide). 
A selection will be made and communicated by 1. December 2025. 
Please ensure you read through the entire application before applying.

Dates: 16. - 18. January 2026
Venue: Greater Columbus Convention Center 400 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215

The weekend will include the following events
Calling, Battle Hardened and Scheduled Events

We are looking for various roles over the event weekend, the description bellow is a broad overview to give you some context.

JUDGE AND JUDGE LEAD ROLES

• Floor Judge (Level 1 or 2)
  
  • You will help run casual scheduled events as a Head or Floor Judge or be a Floor Judge at a competitive or above tournament.
  • Level 2 is required to be part of the Calling (or above) event.
  • This role can be 3 or 2 days. Being flexible on being able to work 2 days as well will increase the chance to be staffed. 

• Judge Lead (Level 2)
  • Judge Lead positions are given out either for one or for two days, most lead days will go to 3 day positions, some can go to 2 day postistions.
  • You will be required to be in contact with the leadership team of the event as well as preparing team briefing and other preparation before the event. 
  • During the event your focus is to enable others to fulfill their tasks as well as take care of their wellbeing and foster feedback and growth.
  • Judges with this role will be scheduled into one of the following positions:
    • Team Lead (This is the most common lead position)
      • Calling or Battle Hardenend (as Level 2)
      • Pro Tour or World Championship (as Level 2 with a Team Lead Certification or eqivalent)
      • Special events like World Premieres or other special events
    • Scheduled event support - either being the Head Judge of a big or relevant scheduled event or general support at scheduled events
    • Team Lead Certification Evaluator for any evaluations done on during the Calling (only for members as part of the TLE group)

• Scheduled Events Assistant (Level 2)
  • You will be assisting the lead running scheduled side events during the day.
  • You will not be required to activly contribute to planning but are activly encouraged to learn with the processes before and during the event.
  • This role typically comes with the late shift on each of the days in this role. 
  • For most events this is a learning and mentee role to grow and get familiar with the responsibilies of the Scheduled Events Lead.

EVENT LEADERSHIP ROLES

The following roles are part of the event leadership and will require active (pre-event) communication with each other and the tournament organizer.

• Scheduled Events Lead (Level 2)
  • This position is staffed for all event days in this role and is expected to start each day at the event.
  • You will be leading the scheduled events and the Judges with them over the weekend. 
  • You will be required to be in contact with other leadership positions and the event organizer before the show to organize the staff schedule as well as sending out team briefings for your judges.
  • During the event, your focus is to enable your team to fulfill their tasks as well as take care of their wellbeing and foster feedback.
  • This role has a focus on logistics and mentorship.
  • Facilitating any disqualification reports made on side events, including verification that they got submitted.

• Battle Hardened Head Judge (Level 2)
  • You will be the Head Judge of the Battle Hardened on Sunday. This requires you to plan and communicate your event with your leads and floor judges as well as execute the event on the day.
  • You will be required to be in contact with other leadership positions and the event organizer before the show to organize the staff schedule as well as sending out team briefings for your judges.
  • During the event, your focus is to enable your team to fulfill their tasks as well as take care of their wellbeing and foster feedback.
  • This role has a focus on rules and policy.
  • One other day on the weekend will be as team lead and another day as floor judge.

• Scorekeeper Lead (any level)
  • You will be scorekeeping different events during the weekend.
  • You are the main scorekeeper responsible for the Calling (or higher) event(s), but will still be supported by the other scorekeeper(s).
  • This position is staffed for all event days in this role and is expected to start each day at the event.
  • This role requires a high familiarity with GEM and PurpleFox, especially drafting processes.
  • You will also take care of the other scorekeepers, this can include coordinating breaks.

ADMIN, SCOREKEEPER AND SPECIAL ROLES

• Event Admin (any level)
  • You will help staff the prize wall, info desk, registration and stage.
  • This position is mostly staffed for all event days in this role.
    
    
• Scorekeeper (any level)
  • You will be scorekeeping different events during the weekend. You may also assist with other tasks at the stage.
  • This position is staffed for all event days in this role.
  • This role requires an at least baseline familiarity with GEM and PurpleFox

• Experience Coordinator - Judge (Level 1 or 2)
  • This role will be the first point of contact for attendees, staff or other parties at the event to reach out to in case of harassment or discrimination. 
  • Applicants should be comfortable in conflict resolution, mediation, and handling sensitive conversations.
  • The role brings high visibility to all attendees, players, and staff, so that you are easy to identify and approachable.
  • Please mention any training or relevant experience you have in this area in the application questions.
  • A short post event report is part of this role.

• Mentor (Level 2)
  • This role is not open to direct applications. The majority of Mentors will be Level 2, but depending on the skill needed Level 1 will sometimes get this role)
  • We expect growth and mentoring from our staff overall, this role does not excuse others of those duties. 
  • You will be focused on directly mentoring and give feedback to other staff members. This role can also be focused to directly support specific staff roles and members.
  • The days and rates for being in this role vary depending on the need and scale of the event.

The outline of roles and responsibilities above is an estimate of our staffing requirements for the event.
Please note that these are subject to change and may be adapted upon our final staff selection for the event.
From time to time there will special expections to the above outline to account for certain event specific details.

Staff of this show will be direct brand ambassadors for the game and should act accordingly. This means presenting themselves professionally as well as delivering great customer service for all attendees. Additionally, here are some general expectations:

• Shift times
• Your shifts each day can be in the window of roughly 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.
• Shift lengths will be around 10–11 hours, with a one-hour lunch break and at least one thirty-minute break.
• Please be aware that if you are not available for the time frame above you need to mention that in the application, it may reduce your chance of being staffed.
• Your actual shift call times will vary by role and shifts.
• You are required to be ready to work your shift at your actual call time, this means being in uniform and ready to listen to your briefing.
  
  
• Judge attire
• Judges are expected to arrive on time and in appropriate attire. 
• Predominantly black pants, or similar, and predominantly black shoes. 
• If you have one or multiple yellow judge shirts, please bring them to the event.
• Additionally, judge shirts can be provided in limited quantities, please answer accordingly in the application questions.
• Your uniform needs to be covered when you are not on shift, unless you are in the break room.
• Please avoid attire directly featuring brands or IP of other TCGs.

• Staff communication
  • We also expect every staff member at the event to update themselves on information posted in the staff Discord to be aware of general information as well as their roles and responsibilities. Usage of the staff communication medium is required. 
    
    
• Selling, buying and trading
  • Staff or attendees are not allowed to sell or buy any items in or near the event hall. 
  • The only exception to this is official vendors in the event hall.
  • Trading cards or other gaming items are allowed. 
  • Staff are not allowed to engage in any buying, selling, or trading while on shift or in-uniform

• Access to privileged data
  • You are not allowed to share or use any data you have access to as a staff member for anything non-event work related unless given explicit permission by the organizer. Examples include but are not limited to: decklist data, metagame data and other sensitive data. 

The staff outlined below will receive the following per day worked based on their role for that day.

In addition to the below, every staff member will receive one display box of current product for the weekend, regardless of days.

Travel and accommodation needs to be arranged and paid by each staff member on their own, independently of the organizer.

Payment details

Payment method will be decided before apps close.

In addition to the staff compensation outlined above, sponsorship is available.
Applicants can request sponsorship during the application process by responding to the relevant questions.

Sponsorship can be requested for various reasons

This can include extra cost due to distance to the show, lodging restrictions or any other reasons associated to increasing costs for you to attend the show. You can also request sponsorship if you are flexible in what you want as a role but need to meet a certain minimum total. 
You are able to describe your reasoning in one of the dedicated application questions. 
The general compensation is already designed to help you cover your hotel and travel cost.
For example, you drive to the show or have an average costing flight then sponsorship is not designed for you. But if you for example travel a big distance for this show or have any restrictions that make your accomodation cost more then it can apply.

The following are the maximum that can be requested per region

North and Central America - max. 400 USD
Rest of world - max 800 USD

Expectation on traveling to other georegions

We encourage Judges to apply to events outside of their regions to facilitate growth and consitency around the world. 
But please be aware that travel to other georegions then your own (Americas, Europe, Asia - Pacific) for Judge roles is in most cases reserved for Level 2 Judges. You may apply for any region but please adjust expectations accordingly. An exception to this is Latin America due to the strict visa regulations for North America. 

This event will have dedicated seminars during Friday evening. Details will be announced later. This will be presenter supported.

All staff members, regardless of the number of days worked and their role, will receive promotional items for the event.
This promotional gift is an expression of appreciation for the contributions of all staff working this event. These items should not be considered part of, or in lieu of, your staff compensation for the event.

Additionally, all staff members who are certified Level 1 or above with the Judge Program will receive a selection of judge specific promotional items.

A staff celebration with food, drinks, and booster drafts will occur during the weekend event. The exact details of the staff celebration will be confirmed and communicated closer to the event. For most shows this will happen Sunday evening.