Greetings everyone. My name is Greg Almeida. First, just a little bit about myself. I debated for 3 years for the University of South Florida. During that time I also judged high school policy debate as well as other high school debate events occasionally. I graduated in 2012 from USF with a double B.A. in Political Science and History. I also did my graduate school work at USF where I completed an M.A. in Political Science in 2014. Professionally, I work in political communication and strategy. I've been judging both high school and college policy debate now for 8 years.

I've never had the longest judging philosophy on the wiki, even as my knowledge and experience in debate has grown over time. I believe that every round is unique and has the potential to sway a judge either way. I think that to be the best judge I can be means leaving myself open to any possible argument in any given round. That being said, I do have my likes and dislikes.

Generally speaking i do lean towards Ks in a round. That is because when I debated the majority of arguments that I ran on both the Aff and the Neg were Ks. That being said, you can't just read a K and expect me to vote for you. You need to do your work in showing me how the K links to the Aff and answer any perms that Aff may have. If you are reading a K Aff, don't be lazy about it. In rounds that I've judged with K Aff, I've noticed a tendencies for teams to just extend the 1 AC cards for the rest of the round no matter what the Neg does because the Neg doesn't really know how to answer a K Aff. Please don't do this. I want to see you engage with the Neg arguments. To me that would be the ultimate affirmation of the strength of your K and confirmation of how it applies. In my opinion, Ks are not constrained to having alts. There can be some advantages in not reading in an alt., though from experience I have to say most of the time there isn't, so be careful about doing that.

I do enjoy a good DA-Counterplan debate vs. an Aff with the conventional econ, security, war, or enviro advantages. When reading CPs, please make sure they are competitive. I hate CPs that are just plan-plus. Even if the Aff doesn't explicitly make that argument, I will de-value CPs that I feel are just plan-plus. Affs, please only perm if you have a reason to. Don't get up in 2AC and read 10 different perms because your fast and you can spread them out. Maybe 5 max. I admitedly was never too good in theory debates, specifically perm debates, but I feel like the perm is a tool that's abused quite a bit these days so be sparing with it. Also, Aff advantages and DAs make sure to do some impact calc in the 2NR and 2AR. Even if you did it in earlier speeches, it helps me on my flow to give me a quick impact calc summary at the end. I don't have any problem in a team running as many arguments of any type as they can manage. I'm fine with spreading and such so feel free to feel free.

I'm fine with topicality, though I do not have a long record of voting on it. My position is that if you're gonna go for T, go all out on T, otherwise you should've dropped earlier. I feel like if you get to the 2NR and you're going for T and something else, that sort of undermines the strength of your T argument by aknowledging that the Aff has something they can still use. Some specific annoyances I have, I hate to vote on Condo so please don't make me do it. I hate voting on procedurals in general but especially Condo and especially if its just a "they dropped Condo" line. That being said, I'll do my job but I won't be happy about it. Lastly, don't say stuff that's fundamentally not true just because you feel like the other team won't know what you're talking about. I'm not against making crazy arguments, God (?) knows I've made my fair share, but don't blantantly lie just because you feel like you can get away with it. It's bad for debate and bad for intellectual development outside of debate.

On a technical note, like I said before I'm fine with spreading just make sure you're clear. make sure you enunciate as much as possible and slow down just a tad on the tags so I can make sure I get it on my flow. Please keep your own prep times and do not abuse prep time. Time to transfer docs via flash drive is not considered prep time so do not prep while you're doing that. And I do disclose and make a point to give oral critiques. I know there are some tournaments that try to speed things along by prohibiting dislcosure and critiques, but that's badin my opinion. The whole point of debate is to expand knowledge and get better and the main conduit for that the judge. That's basically it. I will be modifying and expanding upon this paradigm as time goes on.

I'll vote on anything, just make it easy so I don't need to use my third brain cell.

liv (pronounced "leave") birnstad – livbirnstaddebate@gmail.com

any pronouns

washington (DC) urban debate league '23

harvard '27

'23 National Urban Debater of the Year

For LD

I have now judged one LD tournament (Newark '24), im a policy judge who is good for your Ks or more trad LD Strats, but I won't be able to get the tricks debate.

For college policy

I didn't/don't do college debate so I am not familiar with the college topic at all. it's your burden to explain acronyms or any other norms I might miss becuase of that!

TL;DR

debaters stop stealing prep challenge. level: impossible. ☹

i coach the boston debate league's nat circuit team + some WUDL folks

i'll happily evaluate anything, i just care about you having fun and being kind to your opponents. debate isn't always a safe space so anything you do that legitimately harms the safety of the space will deck your speaks and make you lose.

read my face, im very expressive lol

if there is something I see in your speech that appears to be legitimately harmful/violent language, or justifies violence, my ballot is not yours.

I wouldn't consider myself to be too tech-heavy. speed is fine but make sure arguments are warranted out -- I want everything on my flow.

speed? – sure

open cx? – sure

theory? – sure but i wouldn't say im a theory hack

can i read __? – yes, just read it well

tech > truth? – i’ll reward good debate and i encourage you to just make fully warranted arguments above all else.

tell me how to evaluate the round.

Full Version

bio

i debated all of highschool in the washington urban debate league so accessibility is really important to me (see below). i coach multiple HS teams and some middle schoolers which means I will hold you to higher threshold for tolerable nonsense since youre likely not eleven.

i read policy affs all four years but was much more flex on the neg. my entire senior year i only went for a K. did all the nat circuit things and generally care a lot about the activity so feel free to do what you want and do best.

stealing prep

dont do it. if it seems like you are close to stealing prep (i.e. maybe you're not outright stealing prep, but you're using send time very liberally, or anything else sketch. i.e. typing while the other team is in the bathroom and you're not running prep) and i have to remind you more than once, you're losing .2 speaker points each time.

accessibility…

comes before everything else. if youre debating a paper team w/o a computer – make sure there is a way they can access your ev. if you fail to do this i’ll deck your speaks and give the other team much more leniency.

accessibility also means not reading arguments drenched in violence (in any sense) without checking if that is ok for the other teams. this is especially true for teams that read arguments about sexual violence.

speaker points

while policy isnt always seen as one, it IS a speech act, your speaking matters. being technical will help you get speaks but its not enough if youre trying to get 29s or higher. fyi, if you can’t already tell by the way i type, i love, love, LOVE good use of emphasis lol

BE NICE. debaters that are mean in round are not gonna be getting good speaks. being mean shouldnt help you and i won’t reward it.

the k

do whatever you want. win fw. when EVERYTHING, inevitably, become a link in the block, distill it down to like two by the 2NR to make me happy! be warned that i hate psychoanalysis and think that a lot of high-theory ks are annoying as hell. going for high-theory ks is a risk in front of me, dont assume i know the lit or your jargon.

K affs

i never read them but i think theyre super interesting and am happy to evaluate one!

the kritik should be a space of advocacy – not speaking for others. teams taking the literature specific to an identity that they do not hold and completely misinterpreting it is weird. (not saying its bad to explore literature... just don’t do it poorly)

if you read an aff that uses things like songs, poetry, etc, you're good to do that in front of me.

cross x…

Is my FAVORITE part of debate so please, please, PLEASE utilize it well!

6,7,8+ off

I generally believe these kinds of debates are shallow and don't actually give teams as much leverage as they think apart from a time skew. while theory is not my bread and butter (see below) ill be a lil more lenient with condo with 6+ off.

theory

i'm admittedly not a great judge for theory, especially the "specs." if you wanna go for this, you have to GO FOR IT. actually articulate the impacts and the warrants to how they are implicated by whatever your violation is. get off your blocks.

card clipping/evidence ethics

if someone makes a card clipping accusation in the round (or another evidence ethics violation) i will stop the round after the speech in which it occurs, explain the stakes to the team that makes the accusation, and if they decide to continue with the accusation i'll evaluate the argument. if it gets to that point, i'll see if the cards were clipped. if so, the team that makes the accusation wins, if not, they lose.

silly/fun args?

please! debate is supposed to be enjoyable and i love silly little arguments just know the time and place.

misc

I don't see myself voting on things that happened before the reading of the 1ac. if you’re gonna make args about the other team from before the round, it's gonna be hard to get my vote on these args so make them with caution.

if the round doesn’t go the way you want, i would be happy to listen to a redo + give feedback just send it to me within a week.

Hello! My email is mosieburkebdl@gmail.com - Please add me to the chain!

I debated for six years, high school and middle school, in the Boston Debate League for Boston Latin Academy, attending national circuit tournaments for four of those six years. I graduated from Haverford College in 2021 with a degree in Philosophy and a minor in Statistics, and wrote a thesis offering Deleuzian (and related) readings of data visualizations. I received a Master's in Accounting/MBA from Northeastern University in 2022 (despite loving the Cap K).

I began coaching the Boston Debate League's Travel Team, which is composed of teams from multiple schools in the Boston area, in Fall 2022. I coached for Boston Collegiate Charter School during the 2021-2022 season.

Short version:

-I lean K, and I will know your K's lit base. This increases your burden to explain your theory well, and I will not do theoretical work for you in my RFD

-I was a 1N who took T in 95% of my 1NRs and I will understand and appreciate your tricks

-Evidence comparison will get you much farther than 15 new 1nr cards

-Solid development on the case pages gets great results

-Speed and tons of off-case positions are okay. Read the important warrants in your cards.

-I'm not the judge for your condo 2AR, though i'm sure it's great, no really

-This paradigm has not been adapted for virtual debate, but I will gladly answer any questions about how this applies to virtual debate

***********************************************

As of the 2024 Urban Debate National Championship, I have judged 8 tournaments on the fiscal redistribution topic including outrounds on the national circuit. I actively coach and write arguments of all styles on the fiscal redistribution topic.

***********************************************

Full paradigm:

***I follow NSDA guidelines for evidence violations, including card clipping and misrepresentation of evidence, in the absence of guidance from tournament admin***

Style:

Speed is fine. Card-speed and non-card-speed should be different. If you blast through 8 arguments in 15 seconds, I won't get them all, it won't be my fault, and I don’t want to get post-rounded because I didn’t catch that they dropped the 6th of 8 2AC permutations. Don't bury your best arguments!

Strong, direct CX is great! (However:)

Don't be cruel, disrespectful, or belittling. This is especially true if you are more experienced/knowledgeable than the other team. If you're a senior with 4 years of national circuit experience and 3 summers of camps, don't be a jerk to sophomores at their first varsity tournament. This doesn't mean you should go easy, it means that you should take your opponents and their arguments seriously.

K (and K affs):

I am well-versed in a bunch of K literature (and you should ask if you'd like to know about my familiarity with your specific K author), but that doesn't mean you don't have to explain things. Pedagogically, it's important to communicate the theoretical nuances you're using to make your arguments. “Ontology means we win” isn’t a complete argument, even though I know how to connect those dots.

I am sympathetic to arguments about ivory tower positions/armchair philosophy. I debated in a UDL, on a small team, and in a program that often lacked funding. Don't aim to win arguments by virtue of your opponents not having the resources to engage them. If you do this, you're causing direct harm to the activity and to fellow debaters, and that's an impact scenario I am happy to vote on.

Performance is 100% fine by me. If you incorporate a performance as part of your aff's methodology, I will evaluate is as I would any other methodology - so please incorporate it in later speeches and make sure I know why it's important to relevant perm/framework/T/etc debates.

T:

I was a 1N, and there wasn't a single neg block my senior year where I didn't take the T flow. I LOVE good T debates, and this is where all of your clever tricks will be appreciated. Make strategic concessions, go hard on "they don't meet the counter-interp", do fun things with internal links. Defense usually won't win by itself.

Compare interp evidence! This comparison can win you debates. 90% of interpretation evidence sucks enough to give the aff the edge on reasonability.

RVI arguments on these flows won't win you any rounds.

Theory:

If it's a time suck and it works, nice job.

I am rarely a judge where the 2AR should go for theory, and I’m a particularly hard sell on conditionality bad.

I think the neg gets to run multiple conditional advocacies with the exception of abusive cross-application of offense between contradictory positions.

I default to reject the argument, unless you have very strong reasons I should reject the team.

FW vs K Affs:

Run it well. You should have good reasons why your interpretation matters. Fairness is an impact.

Don't throw in arguments about "small schools" to get the moral high ground if you don't care about accessibility absent a ballot, please :)

DAs:

Links are almost always a sliding scale as opposed to Yes/No. How much of a link is there? How does that effect the impact debate?

"We win on magnitude so vote Aff" is not impact calc, nor is it an argument.

CPs:

I was not a counterplan debater and I’m probably a little behind the times on whatever tricky counterplan strategies have made their way into the meta, so give me the more detailed versions of why those arguments solve. Give me warranted sufficiency framing starting in the Block, please.

The likelihood of a PIC 2NR winning is proportional to the scale of the link to the net benefit.

Please slow down on the warrants and impact debate for counterplan theory debates.

Alt cause arguments on case > re-cutting aff solvency evidence to make a PIC to solve alt causes

Case:

Yes please. I don’t need lengthy overviews or underviews. Strive to put more on the case debate against K affs than state good.

Email:mcalister.clabaugh@urbandebate.org

I was a pretty successful high school debater and a pretty unsuccessful college debater in the 1990s, then judged probably 10-12 tournaments on the national high school circuit. Stepped away from debate for about 20 years, then started judging again in 2016 as a volunteer for the Washington UDL, judging around 5 tournaments/year since then.

I'm a big fan of debate, as an activity through which students express themselves and acquire knowledge and skills, and as a competition, and coming back as a volunteer has been rewarding for me, and hopefully helpful for the students I've judged and worked with outside of rounds.

I flow on paper, and organization and structure in speeches are important for me. I really appreciate it when teams identify their arguments when giving them. For example, a 1NC that labels their off-case arguments as "Off" before reading them makes it harder for me to flow the round than a 1NC that announces "Capitalism kritik," or "Politics disad," etc. Same for case arguments - please let me know where on case - solvency, advantage one, advantage two, framing, etc.

I have minimal experience judging kritik affs, and while I've followed their evolution in debate over the last several years, I'm not particularly current or knowledgeable on some of the theory issues around them. I'd like to change that, but if you run kritik affs, there are probably some issues that will be new to me. I do think there is, and should be, room in debate for issues that affect the broader frameworks and circumstances within which policy is created, and ones that have an educational purpose, but I'm not absolute about it and will listen to arguments on both sides.

I have and will vote on neg kritiks, and am more likely to do so if the neg demonstrates in speeches and CX that they have a thorough understanding of their position and its grounding - more than repeating taglines in the neg block & 2NR. I want to hear your understanding of the argument, and a demonstration of why it matters. I've been impressed by the evolution of kritiks in terms of how they're organized and how teams execute them, both on the aff and neg. I'm also somewhat surprised by how frequently teams seem unprepared to debate kritiks that are run against them.

I'm more current on policy and current events than I am on theory, and the NATO topic touches on a lot of issues that I've either debated before or have personal interests and curiosity about.

On issues like solvency and advantages/disads, I'm a big fan of specificity and mechanisms through which A leads to B leads to C, and how/why that happens.

I think topicality is a useful tool for negatives.

2NR/2AR summaries are probably the quickest way to get my ballot, telling me how you see the round, and identifying the key few issues and assessments I should be making and how they should be made.

Good luck.

Highlights

Email: eric.clarke2019@gmail.com + swwpolicy@gmail.com

The 1AC needs to be in my inbox at the start time.

Good for Ks and policy. I prefer policy, but I'm fine with whatever.

I don't love evaluating theory debates to resolve the round, but I will. More below.

Love framework v K AFFs+ T v policy AFFs. Love = like hearing them, not that I'll automatically vote for it. Most good K AFFs have offense to framework embedded in the 1AC, so chances are if you hide behind framework without engaging case you'll lose terribly.

Good with speed. If you're unclear and I don't catch something, it is what it is.

Don't steal prep. If a timer isn't running, you shouldn't be typing, writing, or going over speech docs. I'm not usually pressed about watching debaters, but some people are so egregious about stealing prep that I can't help but notice.

Please track your time.

Experience:

Debated policy throughout high school and college (Georgetown). The strategy was usually policy, but I have some experience going for the K at both levels. I also have some experience judging PF and LD at the high school and middle school levels.

General:

If there are any unanswered questions, definitely feel free to ask me before the round starts, and I'm always happy to give follow-up comments after rounds if you shoot me an email.

Make sure acronyms are full written out somewhere in the card.

I'll usually be paying attention during cross to help wrap my head around arguments. Cross usually helps me contextualize the arguments being made (especially true for kritiks). Cross is binding. Cross is also where you can get a decent bump to speaks - go in with a strategy.

I won't read your evidence at the end of the round unless I'm instructed to. Debate is a communicative activity, therefore you need to be able to verbally convey the key warrants in a piece of evidence to me. If I have to read the evidence myself to find the warrants, you haven't done your job. I will also read evidence if there's an evidence indict. Please make evidence idnicts. A lot of people try to get away with reading terrible evidence, and you shouldn't allow it.

Kritiks:

I typically enjoy judging k debates. I can be on board with the concept and ideas of most kritiks, but you need to be able to explain it in a way where I understand all of the mechanisms and nuances tying it to the aff. At the end of the round, I want to be able to put the thesis of the kritik into my own words.

I'm not the biggest fan of kritiks that are gimmicky, BUT I will vote on it if you execute and do everything you need to on the flow. If you have to ask if your K is gimmicky, chances are it is.

Framework:

Absolutely love hearing framework speeches. Easily my favorite position in debate to talk about and listen to speeches on.

While I enjoy framework, know that neg teams won't have a leg up on the affirmative. They still need to debate it well. My personal feelings are irrelevant during the round. What ultimately matters is what both teams do on the flow.

Theory

I have miscellaneous thoughts about various issues. If a particular issue isn't listed, it's because I don't have strong feelings about it. None of these are set in stone (except condo). These are just starting points I have when thinking about these theory arguments, but I can always be convinced to change my mind. Just keep these predispositions in mind if you decide to go for the position.

a.) PICs bad - lean neg but can be convinced otherwise depending on the PIC.

b.) Process CPs bad - lean AFF but can be convinced otherwise.

c.) Condo - three conditional positions is where I become open to voting on condo.

d.) Perf con - neg gets multiple worlds + contradictory advocacies are fine as long as it's resolved by the block.

e.) Disclosure - I think it's silly unless the other team is genuinely being really shady with their disclosure practices.

Misc:

When thinking about your big-picture strategy in rounds, think about what would be the easiest thing for me to pull the trigger on. I love it when teams make my life easier by going for the most strategically sound combination of arguments at the end of the round.

Does fed follow-on mean states links to politics? Talk to me about it depending on the DA.

Tend to lean tech over truth

I prefer teams go for substance rather than spraying each flow with theory arguments and hoping one of them gets dropped.

Please be ready to put together and send a card doc that only includes the cards you think are relevant at the end of the round. I'll usually ask after the 2AR if I need one, but more often than not, I'm fine.

Speaker points:

Hopefully, nobody needs this reminder, but don't be rude. If you're blatantly disrespectful to the opponents and/or your partner, I will tank your speaks. I get that ethos is big for some teams, but that doesn't excuse being a terrible person.

Let your partner speak for themselves. Jumping in on occasion is understandable and expected. However, don't jump in to the point that you make me think your partner doesn't know what they're doing or talking about. More of a pet peeve than anything else.

Danielle Dupree - danielle.dupree@urbandebate.org- she/her

22 y/o DMV Debater @ Howard University

For TOC....

Speed: Auditory processing issues so i dont like spreading at all - comfortable speed is fine just slow down on tags & analytics or make sure your doc is organized pls. If you MUST spread plsss include any analytics in whatever you send me, otherwise dont hate me if it doesnt get flowed. This is your warning

Performance: I love an unconventional debate when it's done well, meaning make it abundantly clear why your form of debate is necessary. If you're doing a half-baked performance 90% of my rfd will probably be about how I wished you sung me a song or stood on a desk and did a little dance, etc.

K: Preference for K debate. I mostly have experience in antiblackness and femnoire literature, so any other higher level theses will have to be deeper explained.

Troll: I need to hear BOTH teams enthusiastically consenting to a troll round, otherwise at the end of the round you will lose. That is your warning.

Timing: PLEASE im not keeping your prep! don't take prep then ask me how much time you took bookie. I disassociated, I've got no clue. - Also I stop flowing as soon as the time goes off, pls dont try to shove your last arg in after the bell

Cross: I literally don't care, only time I will insist closed cross is if someone's going mav. I do like when you stand but again its not mandatory.

The obvious/nitpicky reminders...

T: Violation & definition is never enough, no limits & grounds, no case. I appreciate creative violations, and T that is brought into the real world. ALSO pls tell me where you want me to flow, esp theory.

FW & ROB: I default the actor of policymaker unless directed otherwise.

All of that is to say, do whatever you want, just make sure you work hard on it and make it fun for all of us :)

If there is an email chain please add me: dennisdebate2003@gmail.com

Background

Debated policy for three years for Northwestern High School as part of the Washington Urban Debate League.

General

Speed is fine but i'll make sure to let you know if you're unclear. No penalty for tech issues but please communicate what is going wrong to the room.

Racism, anti-blackness, sexism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, misgendering and other forms of violence are an immediate L and 0.

Topicality

Aff - Counter-interpretation cards are critical. Tell me why your interpretation is better or neutral for the topic. Examples of what ground the aff team loses under their interpretation are critical. Treat your reasons to prefer as impacts and make comparisons in your rebuttals.

Neg - Make sure to draw a clear distinction of what the the aff doesn't meet. Examples of what affs are topical under your interpretation are super helpful. Treat your standards as impacts and explain why they matter.

Disads

Neg - I enjoy listening to disads. I like politics disadvantages however make sure your uniqueness evidence is up to date. Often disad debates lead to both sides having a risk of extinction so please make it easier for me and provide impact calc in your final rebuttal.

Aff - Same as the neg, evidence quality matters the most and please do impact calc in the final rebuttal

Counterplans

Neg - I enjoy listening to counterplan debates. Make your net-benefit story clear by the block and explain how the CP prevents it or doesn't link.

Aff - Too many aff teams rely on perms on cp debates. Make sure to explain solvency deficits and how your aff and only your aff prevents your impacts.

Kritiks

Neg - I am not familiar with as much K literature but I am open to listening to kritiks and becoming educated on them. Kritiks that use links as disads to the aff are especially persuasive to me. Make sure to explain the alt a little more to me as I may not be familiar with your authors and their theories.

Aff - I think the aff has to do more than tell me I should weigh the aff. Make sure to defend the process of policy-making and scenario planning.

T - USFG/K Affs

AFF - I enjoy listening to K affs that have a relation to the topic. I am probably not as familiar with your theory or authors so please make sure to simplify it for me during your final rebuttals. I never read a K aff when I debated but I believe there is value in challenging the resolution.

Neg - I was often debating T against K affs. If you read T - USFG make sure it's more than "state good" or "policy making" good arguments. Explain the impacts of moving away plan-focused debate.

Theory

I lean towards condo good. Agency CP's are probably legit. Some K alternatives could probably be utopian and vague. Plan texts can also often be vague. Just make sure to prove to me what ground/education you've lost.

I debated at Mary Washington and coached at Wake Forest, then for several national circuit high school teams. I coached a DC UDL team for six years, but have been a judge only since 2022.

Overall, I will vote for the team that does the best debating. But I do have certain predispositions. That doesn't mean a good team can't overcome them - I've voted for lots of arguments I don't love over the years. But it is harder to win my ballot if you depend on those arguments. A few examples:

(1) Kritik Affs that are not centered on the resolution:

**You should probably strike me.**

I have voted for many K Affs over the years, but it's easier to get me to vote Neg.

Negative arguments I find interesting/compelling:

- Disads can link to the Aff advocacy. Does the Aff advocate universal gun control? That would require legislative action and would likely be extremely controversial/unpopular with a huge part of the electorate. May link to Politics. And so on.
- Existence of a Topical Version of the Aff means I vote Neg: I believe most K Aff teams are trying, at least in part, to avoid debating Disads and Counterplans. If the Neg can show me there is a policy or topical action that would allow for the same criticism or Alt, I'm much more likely to vote Neg.
- Forum selection: I'm still puzzled about why Policy debate is the right space to advocate non-policy actions. If you show up to a tennis tournament, don't expect to win because your Rook took the Queen. Tennis is not Chess, and Policy debate is about ... policy.

Merely saying the above won't win a Negative ballot. A good Aff can overcome these arguments. But I am predisposed to them.

(2) Kritiks on the Neg:

I'm much more open to Neg K's than non-topical K Affs. I have voted Neg on every K imaginable, even though many of them seem incredibly generic and frankly dumb. A few are topic-specific and much more compelling. Arguments that interest me include:

- Is the Alt a speech act or a counterplan? Just because the Neg advocates an Alt, I don't assume it will happen. It's the Neg's burden to explain how voting Neg in a debate advances their Alt worldview.
- Is "serial policy failure" an actual solvency takeout? Most of time time it is not. Neg teams should explain why AND HOW the Aff's flawed assumptions/process actually takes out their specific solvency mechanism. "State action always fails" is deeply unpersuasive to me. For example, if the Aff has credible evidence that US arms sales lead to human rights violations, generic "state action bad" claims are unlikely to persuade me that banning the arms sales can't solve. Of course that action may create other problems - and that's very debatable.

(3) Policy Arguments:

I like Disads with specific links and CPs with specific solvency. I'm totally open to Agent CPs and disads, and believe Politics DAs, while generic, are essential to Policy debate.

I believe a DA can have zero risk, either because there is no specific link, no uniqueness, or no internal link. All of these things should be explained and supported with evidence and analysis. I pay attention to dates on Uniqueness cards. If the 1NC is reading uniqueness evidence from a year ago, you should probably lose the DA.

On the Policy Aff side, a lot of 1ACs lack internal links to impacts, and 1AC cards are highlighted down to almost nothing. There is value in pointing these things out.

(4) Other issues:

- ****MAKE ANALYTICAL ARGUMENTS. These are almost extinct, but I will vote on good ones.****
- Speed is fine. If I say "clearer" then you should SLOW DOWN.
- Organization of speeches is critical. Jumping around the flow = bad speaker points.
- Be civil. Don't be mean or overly harsh. Don't make the round personal.

Hi my name is Garshae, I am a freshman in college and I have debated for y years. I started off doing parliamentary debate in middle school then after switching over to high school debate I engaged in policy debate for 2 years. After two years of policy debate, my last year of debating I did performance debate. With that being said I am open to all forms of debating. My only request is that you keep debates clean, fun, and respectful.

rnix@bostondebate.org

Policy Debate Coach for 3 years at Edward M Kennedy (MA), now working for the Boston Debate League. I'm familiar with the resolution and most of the common policy Affs this year. I'm familiar with the more common K and Theory arguments, but if you're running a theory-heavy kritikal aff, do a little bit extra to make sure I understand your argument. I believe my role as the judge is to help both teams improve their arguments and learn from the round.

I go blank slate as best as possible, but I will vote down offensive arguments, and I will explain myself fully in my feedback if that is the reason why I voted you down. I will vote on anything, including K, T, Theory, FW.

Please extend your positions throughout the debate, if you drop an entire position in a speech, even if you bring it back later, I will vote on fairness/violation issues (but only if the other team actually explains the nature of the violation and why I should care that there was a violation in the round, I will do my best not to intervene). Violations won't lose you the debate, but they may cause me not to consider some of your arguments.

I will only ask to see evidence if there has been a direct challenge by the opposing team to it's content or validity.

Impact analysis is the debate round. Convince me why your impacts within your framework are best and why you best achieve your framework and you'll win the round. If one side drops framework, I will assume whatever framework the other team gives me. You need to do the work to weigh the most important arguments at the end of the round. It's safe to assume that if an argument was run and extended throughout the debate that I will at least minimally weigh it in my decision calc, so ultimately you need to explain to me why the summation of your impacts outweighs those of the other team.

I'm pretty good with speed, but volume is important, as long as you're loud enough we'll be all set. There is something to be said for emphasizing your most important points by extending them throughout the round and changing your tone when you present them. Otherwise I will assume everything you're saying has equal weight, which may not benefit you in the round.

Organization is important. Tell me which flow you're on and tell me when you move to something new. If you're giving a line-by-line, let me know, otherwise I'm going to flow everything straight down as an over/underview. I won't do the work for you on the flow.

Hello everyone,

My name is Phebean, and I participated in policy debate(Boston Debate League) throughout high school, reaching the varsity level. Additionally, I served as the debate captain in my high school. I am in college now, and although I am not debating anymore, I have some experience judging policy debates.

Debaters can go at their own speed, just speak clearly.

I am Brandon (most of you guys could already tell lmao) and I have 5 years of debating varsity experience and so I have seen a lot of things being ran on either side.

Things to not do: don't cut card without saying "cut card," don't be disrespectful, and don't do things that you just normally can't do (I believe most of y'all know what to not do)

For most people who will be running a policy off, Great! Feel free to run any sorts of policy aff. The best thing about a policy aff is that we have the inherent squo which is causing the problem (harms) and then we have a proposed plan and solvency leading up to that. You can speed read or do whatever you feel comfortable doing. In a policy aff, I really love the rebuttal part and espeically when debaters give me sort of like an impact calc and something for me to vote on specifically. It could be the advantages, solvency, or just that vote on aff because neg conceived on this and this point therefore we win type of arguments. The exact samething applies to neg! However, if you can go offcase because it just makes the entire case more and more interesting. I love when neg goes offcase because it just talks about more problems that are hidden under the surface of the general case.

For people running a K AFF or a Kritik Aff, love it even more! I am personally into this whole idea of not following the resolution (though it can be annoying to do bc of all the T and framework debates you'll have to deal with) bc sometimes it prob just isn't for everyone yk. I don't have anything regarding my opinions on K debaters, but I do have one thing which is what is the voter and why should I vote you. Though the question is pretty broad, but I want a general solvency that I can or y'all can imagine playing out in the real world.

Hey y'all,

Introduction: My name is Ariella Taylor and I am a freshman at Case Western Reserve University. I have experience running Ks (black futuristic stuff and afro pess) and regular policy cases.

Voting: Impact Calc and Internal link explanations are key for my vote. If the debate is coming down to fw please tell me how I am supposed to engage with these arguments, tell me what my role as a judge is in this round.

If you run - DA - CP - Inherency cards, I need you to explain to me why these arguments matter. Many Aff teams state a problem but do not articulate how their plan solves it. I will buy the internal link between the plan and solvency impacts if the neg does not bring it up, but if they even hint at it I will agree and concede to a huge gap in your case. I try to come into each round unbiased, in most cases, I will not care about (for example) whether black people can vote or not, or billions of people dying in a nuclear war if you do not tell me why I should care. Moreover, please please do not assume that I will just buy args because I am black, I will not.

* Note for the Aff: Please try to get to your solvency in the first speech

* Note for the Neg: Do impact calc on your Das and turns

* I will vote any team down for clear bullying.

David Trigaux

Former (HS + College) debater, 15+ years experienced coach / increasingly old

Director, Washington Urban Debate League (WUDL)

15 Sec Summary:

I judge 30 rounds at national circuit tournaments each year, cut A LOT of cards on each topic, and am somewhere in the middle of the argumentation spectrum. I often judge clash debates. I have some slight preferences (see below), but do your best and be creative. I am excited to hear whatever style/substance of argumentation you'd like to make.

Recent Update: 2/6/24

1. **New Pet Peeve** Plan / Counterplan Flaws: The plan text / advocacy statement is the focus of the exchange -- you should put some effort into writing it, wording it correctly, etc. I've found myself very persuadable by plan flaw arguments if a substantive normal means argument can be made, and heavily reward the wit and research to prepare such arguments. Obviously flawed texts just come off as lazy, sketchy, or both. This also includes circular plan texts -- "we should do X, via a method that makes X successful" isn't a plan text, it's wishful thinking, but unfortunately repeatedly found in 3-1 debates at TOC qualifiers.

Accessibility:

I run an Urban Debate League; debate is my full-time job. I work with 700+ students per season, ranging from brand new ES and MS students refining their literacy skills and speaking in front of someone else for the first time to national circuit teams looking to innovate and reach the TOC. Both debaters are equally valuable members of the community and accessibility is a big issue for me. I see the primary role of a judge as giving you thoughtful and actionable feedback on your scholarship and strategies as presented to me in round, but folks gotta be able to get into the space and be reasonably comfortable first.

5 Min Before Round Notes:

• Speed: I can handle whatever you throw at me (debate used to be faster than it is now, but it doesn't mean that full speed is always best) 75% Speed + emotive gets more speaks.
• Policy v Kritik: I was a flex debater and generally coach the same way, though I have run/coached 1 off K and 1 off policy strategies. Teams that adapt and have a specific strategy against the other team almost always do better than those that try to just do one thing and hope it matches up well.
• Theory: I often find these debates shallow and trade-off with more educational, common-sense arguments. Use when needed and show me why you don't have other options.
• Creativity + Scholarship: *Moving up for emphasis* I heartily reward hard work, creative thinking, and original research. Be clever, do something I haven't heard before. I will give very high speaker points to folks who can demonstrate these criteria, even in defeat. (Read: Don't barf Open Ev Downloads you can't contextualize) Go do some research!
• Performance: “Back in my day….” Performance Affs were just being invented, and they had a lot more actual “performance” to them (music, costume, choreography, etc.). Spreading 3 lines of poetry and never talking about it again doesn't disrupt any existing epistemologies, etc. I have coached a few performative teams and find myself more and more excited about them....when there is a point to the performance. Focus on why / what the net benefit is of the unique argument / argumentation style.
• Shadow Extending: I intentionally don’t flow author’s names in Varsity rounds, so if you are trying to extend your "Smith" evidence, talk to me about the warrants or I won’t know what you are talking about and won't do the work for you. Novices get a lot of latitude here; I am always down to help folks develop the fundamentals. Try extending things even if it isn't perfect.
• Email Chains: This is a persuasive activity. If I don’t hear it/flow it, you didn't do enough to win the point and I’m not going to read along and do work for you. I’ll look through the cards after the round if the substance of a card will impact my decision, or if I want to appropriate your evidence.
• About "the State": I was born and current live in Washington D.C., have a graduate degree in Political Science, and worked in electoral politics and on public policy issues outside debate. This has shaped a pre-disposition that "governance" is inevitable. The US government has a poor track-record on many issues, but I find generic "state always bad" links unpersuasive, historically untrue, and/or insufficiently nuanced. I think you are better than that, and I challenge you to make nuanced, well researched claims instead. Teams that do usually win and get exceedingly high speaker points, while those that don't usually lose badly. This background also makes me more interested in implementation and methodology of change (government, social movement, or otherwise) than the average judge, so specific and beyond-the-buzzword contextualization on plan/alt, etc. solvency are great.
• Artificial Intelligence: I am going to flesh out these thoughts as the season goes, and as I talk to the great, thoughtful peers in the community, but initially, reading rebuttals written by generative AI seems to be cheating, and actively anti-educational, so if you are doing that, don't, and if you suspect the other team is, raise it as an issue.

Ways to Lose Rounds / Speaker Points:

1. Being Mean -- I am very flexible with speaker points, heavily rewarding good research, wit, and humor, and am very willing to nuke your speaker points or stop the round if you are demeaning, racist/sexist, etc.
2. Leave D.C. Out: Don't leave D.C. out of your States CP Text or other relevant advocacy statements. Its bad policy writing, and continues a racialized history of erasure and abuse of the 750,000 + majority black residents who live here and experience taxation without representation. Don't perpetuate it.
3. Make Debate Less Accessible: I run an Urban Debate League; it is my professional responsibility to make debate more accessible.
1. If you erect a barrier to accessing this activity for someone else, I will vote you down, give you the lowest possible speaker points, report you to TAB, complain to your coach, and anything else I can think of to make your time at this tournament less enjoyable and successful.
2. This includes not having an effective way to share evidence with a team debating on paper (such as a 3rd, "viewing" laptop, or being willing to share one of your own) when in person. This is a big accessibility question for the activity that gets overlooked a lot especially post pandemic, many of our debaters still use paper files.
4. Rude Post-Rounding (especially if it is by someone who didn't watch the round): I will contact tab and vigorously reduce speaker points for your team after submission.
5. Multi-Minute Overviews: Don't.
6. Extinction Good: Don't be a troll, get a better strategy that isn't laced with nasty racial undertones. This is a place where theory makes sense -- show me why they don't give you another choice.
7. Intentionally Trolly High Theory or Technobabble Arguments: If you just want to demonstrate how good you are that you can make up nonsense and win anyway, strike me. There should be a point to what you say which contributes to our understanding of the world.
8. Highly Inaccurate Email Chains: Unfortunately, some folks put a giant pile of cards they couldn’t possibly get through in the email chain, and skip around to the point of confusion, making refutation (and flowing) difficult. It’s lazy at best and a cheap move at worst and will impact your speaks if I feel like it is intentional.
9. **New Pet Peeve** Plan / Counterplan Flaws: The plan text / advocacy statement is the focus of the exchange -- you should put some effort into writing it, wording it correctly, etc. I've found myself very persuadable by plan flaw arguments if a substantive normal means argument can be made. It just comes off as lazy, sketchy, or both. This also includes circular plan texts -- "we should do X, via a method that makes X successful" isn't a plan text, it's wishful thinking, but unfortunately repeatedly found in 3-1 debates at TOC qualifiers.

In the Weeds

Disadvantages:

· I like DAs. Too many debates lack a DA of some kind in the 1NC.

o Do:

§ Research! Cut Updates! Quote a card from this week! I am a huge sucker for new evidence and post-dating, and will make it rain speaker points. Have some creative/Topic/Aff specific DAs.

o Don’t:

§ Read something random off Open Ev, Read an Elections DA after the election / not know when an election is, or be wrong about what the bill you are talking about does on Agenda Politics DAs. I wouldn't have to put it here if it didn't keep happening folks....

o Politics DA: Given my background in professional politics, I am a big fan of a well-run/researched politics DA. I read Politico and The Hill daily, enjoy C-SPAN, and many of my best friends work for Congress -- I nerd out for this stuff. I also know that there just isn't a logical scenario some weekends. Do your research, I’ll know if you haven’t.

Counterplans:

· I like a substantive counterplan debate.

o Do:

§ Run a Topic/Aff specific CP, with a detailed, well written/explained CP Texts and/or have some topic specific nuance for Generics (like Courts).

§ Use questionably competitive counterplans (consult, PIC, condition, etc.) that are supported by strong, real world solvency advocates.

§ Substantive, non-theoretical responses (even if uncarded) to CPs.

o Don’t:

§ Forget to perm.

§ Fake a net benefit

§ Default to theory in the 2AC without at least trying to make substantive responses too.

Procedurals/Topicality:

· Can be a strong strategy if used appropriately/creatively. If you go into the average round hoping to win on Condo, strike me.

o Do:

§ Prove harm

§ Have qualified evidence and intent to define

§ Slow down. Less jargon, more examples

§ Creative Violations

o Don’t:

§ Use procedurals just to out-tech your opponents, especially if this isn't Varsity.

Case Debate:

· More folks should debate the case, cards or not. Do your homework pre-tournament!

o Do:

§ Have specific attacks on the mechanism or advantage scenarios of the Aff, even if just smart analytics.

§ Make fun impact and link turns that aren't arguing that racism / sexism, etc. is good.

o Don’t:

§ Concede the case for no reason

§ Spend a lot of time reading arguments you can’t go for later or reading new cards that have the same warrants already in the 1AC

Kritiks:

· I started my debate career as a 1 off K Debater and grew to see it as part of a balanced strategy, a good strategy against some affs and not others.

o Do:

§ Read a K that fits the Aff. Reading the same K against every Aff on a topic isn't often the most strategic thing to do.

§ Read Aff specific links. Identifying evidence, actions, rhetoric, representations, etc. in the 1AC that are links.

§ Have coherent Alt solvency with real world examples that a non-debater can understand without having read your solvency author.

§ Tell a non-jargony story in your overview and tags

o Don’t:

§ Read hybrid Ks whose authors wouldn't agree with one another and don't have a consistent theory of power.

§ Read a K you can’t explain in your own words or one that you can’t articulate why it is being discussing a competitive forum or what my role listening to your words is.

o Literature: I have read a lot of K literature (Security, Cap, Fem, Anti-Blackness, etc.) but nobody is well versed in all literature bases. Explain your theory as if I haven't read the book.

o Role of the Ballot: I default to serving as a policymaker but will embrace alternative roles if you are clear what I should do instead in your first speech.

· Update: I find myself judging a lot of psychoanalysis arguments, which I find frustratingly unfalsifiable or just hard to believe or follow. I'd love to be proven wrong, but run at your own risk.

Public Forum: (Inspired by Sim Low, couldn't have said it better)

I'm sorry that you're unlucky enough to get me as a judge. Something went wrong in tournament admin, and they made me feel guilty enough that I haven't found a way to get out of judging this round.

I did enough congress and LD in high school to assure you I am not a policy debate supremacist from a lack of exposure to other formats, but because peer reviewed research says that it is the most educational and rigorous format that benefits its participants. I also find the growing popularity of the format that is proud of its anti-intellectualism and despite research that shows it is discriminatory against women and minorities reprehensible.

As a judge, I'll be grumpy and use all of your pre-round time to tell you how PF was created as a result of white flight and the American pursuit of Anti-Intellectualism far more than you want to hear (but less than you need, if you are still doing PF). If you do not have cards with proper citations, you paraphrase, and/or you don't have full text evidence ready to share with the other team pre-round, I will immediately vote for your opponents. If both of you happen to ignore academic integrity, I will put my feet up, not flow, and vote based on.....whatever vibes come to me, or who I agree with more. I also might extend my RFD to the length of a policy round to actually develop some of the possibilities of your arguments. Without academic integrity, this is a Speech event and will be judged accordingly.