• To achieve the rank of Grand Master in the BJCP, it is necessary to accomplish an additional service requirement beyond simply accumulating the necessary judging experience points and attaining the required score on the BJCP exam. In the past, this service requirement was poorly defined, and administered on an ad hoc basis. With the increasing number of judges attaining Master status, the BJCP Board has codified the requirements in the following set of rules, effective June 1, 2005.

    The table below provides a quick summary of these GMSR point values, and the descriptions below provide an explanation of each. The rest of this page describes it all in detail.

    Points Service
    240 Grand Master Service Requirement (GMSR) Points per GM level
    50 Minimum exam grading credits per GM level
    2/exam Lead Grader
    1/exam Second Grader
    10/exam Exam Administrator
    5/exam Exam Proctor
    10-50 BJCP Committee Member
    10-50 BJCP Committee Chair
    4/mo. BJCP Regional Representative
    4/mo. BJCP Director
    4/mo. BJCP Program Administrator
    2.5/mo. BJCP President
    1.5/mo. BJCP Treasurer
    12/mo. * Exam Director *
    1/exam Associate Exam Director
    2/mo. Assistant Director
    Varies Ad-hoc Service to the BJCP
    0.2 Non-Judging points per GMSR point


  • Detailed Rule Summary

    1. Total requirement

    A total of 240 GMSR credits are required to fulfill one Grand Master Service Requirement. Credits earned by grading will be called exam grading credits but also qualify as GMSR credits. Credits earned by other methods will simply be called GMSR credits.

    2. Grading minimum

    A minimum of 50 exam grading credits must be earned through grading or reviewing exams for each GMSR.

    3. Grading exams

    Grading Exams is the primary method of earning exam grading credits and completing a GMSR:

    1. A lead grader will earn 2 exam grading credits for grading one exam and preparing the RTP.
    2. A second grader will earn 1 exam grading credit for grading one exam.

    4. Administering exams

    Administering exams is a method of earning GMSR credits. 40 GMSR credits (equivalent of administering 4 exams) should be earned by this method, but since not everyone has the same opportunity to administer exams, part of these credits may be earned by other methods such as grading. The term Exam Administration Credits will no longer be used for credit earned after June 1, 2005.

    1. Administering one exam will earn 10 exam GMSR credits. Any exam administering credits earned prior to June 1, 2005 will have earned 25 GMSR credits which may count towards the 240 GMSR credits required for 1 GMSR.
    2. Proctoring one exam earns 5 GMSR credits.

    5. Committee Membership

    Serving on an approved BJCP committee such as the Style Guidelines Committee may earn GMSR credit.

    1. Normally, the GMSR credits earned for serving on a committee will range from 10-50 GMSR credits. The President will give the GMSR credit range to the Committee Chairman who will then recommend to the President the credit each committee member should receive. This will be completed within 60 days of the committee completing their business or the maximum number of credits recommended will be awarded. The Board of Representatives will then vote on the approval within 30 days of the submission or the Chairman's recommendation to the President or the recommendation automatically takes effect. The Chairman will base individual GMSR credit on the contributions of each member. The Board has the authority to adjust the recommendations and also grant more credit than the 50 GMSR credits for exceptionally long and detailed work.
    2. Committee Chairman will earn an additional 10-50 GMSR credits. The recommendation for GMSR credits for the Chairman will be presented by the President with the Chairman's recommendation for committee member's credit to the Board of Directors.

    6. Other Positions

    GMSR credits are earned by serving in approved positions including Program Administrator, Directors, Representatives and Associate or Assistant Directors including Administrative Assistants. Officers who resign or are removed from their position and do not complete a full year of service must have approval of the Board of Directors to obtain credit for services performed during that year.

    1. Program Administrator, Directors (except Exam Directors), and Representatives will earn 48 GMSR credits per year of service (4 per month). There is no cap to the number of credits a Director and Representative may earn serving the BJCP.
    2. The President of the Board will earn an additional 30 GMSR credits per year of service (2.5 per month) and the Treasurer will earn 18 GMSR credits per month of service (1.5 per month).
    3. Exam Directors will earn 1 exam grading credit per exam reviewed. However, the minimum number of exam grading credits awarded annually to an Exam Director is 144, recognizing the service in administering the Examination program. * This criterion was modified in July, 2008 to better recognize the actual workload of EDs.
    4. Associate Exam Directors will earn 1 exam grading credit per exam reviewed.
    5. Assistant Directors (except Associate Exam Directors) and administrators will earn GMSR credits at 24 per year (2 per month).
    6. The Board of Directors has the authority to amend these figures as job requirements and contributions change.

    7. Non-judging points

    Non-judging experience points are automatically earned with GMSR credit in the amount of .2 non-judging experience points for each GMSR credit. This applies to all methods of earning GMSR credit. Judging points rather than non-judging experience points will be awarded for proctoring exams.

    8. Special service

    Ad hoc service to the BJCP may be considered by the Board for awarding service credit and should be requested through the Regional Representative.

    9. GM levels

    The Grand Master Service Requirement scheme is required for every Grand Master rank, not just Grand Master I.

    GMSR Program Maintenance, Administration, and Retroactivity

    10. Program maintenance

    The Grand Master Service Requirements will be maintained by the Program Administrator or as designated by the Board. Records of all BJCP recipients of GMSR credits will be updated on or about June 1 of each year starting in 2005. A special update may be requested when a BJCP member believes he/she may have completed a GMSR.

    11. Effective date

    This program commences on June 1, 2005. Points previously earned will not be changed and updated to the new point scales. All service completed but not recorded may be credited under either the old or new system as long as the BJCP member does not receive less credit.

    12. Approval

    Approval for advancement is not required by the Board of Directors.

    Updated February 2, 2009 to remove references to provisions which expired in 2008.