I am an English teacher who is volunteering my time. I will always listen with an open mind.

In Oratory, Info, and Impromptu: I value your originality, creativity, and persuasive presentation of ideas of personal importance. Cite your sources, explain their importance, and tell me why it matters.

In DI, HI, DUO: It is crucial that you tell a story in a meaningful and impactful manner. Characterization, gestures and facial expressions, and, vocal variation will all add to the overall decision.

Overall speaking skills or/and argumentation are critical to winning! But remember the most important thing is that you learn!

hello!!!! my name is nidhi (she/her), and if you're reading this, i'm prolly judging you on a local novice round.

i have experience in primarily congress, and some extemp.

extemp:

pls pls pls just answer the question, and u will be fine.

i'm pretty trad for extemp, just pls make sure u have a solid roadmap so it's easy for me to follow

make sure ur sources r not ages old (2018 was 6 years ago, and therefore outdated :l)

Hi! My name is Nikhita Kumar and my pronouns are she/her. I am currently a sophomore and I attend Coppell High School. I compete in IEs, so I most likely will be judging those events at novice tournaments.

Email: nikhita.nikhitakumar@gmail.com

Interp Events (DI, HI, POI, PROSE, POETRY, DUO, DUET):

I have competed in dramatic interp and prose. I look for purposeful blocking as well as telling your character’s truth. I am open to shape and forms of blocking/storytellingas long as it has a purpose. Facial movements, tone, pacing, and character development are crucial parts in oral interp. Keep me and your audience engaged the whole time. The piece should not feel rushed, even if you are going overtime. In terms of cutting, shape the story into the way you want it and how you wish to convey it (as long as the author’s intent is being respected). Do not alter the story just to get the 1, I will always respect the story you wish to tell. For binder events, I will always take binder movement and etiquete into account. Let me get to know your character! Let me laugh, cry, and understand why you giving me this story at this event. Please provide trigger warnings if necessary, it’s so important to acknowledge the content especially in an event like DI.

Public Speaking Events (OO, Info, Extemp):

I have competed in OO and a bit in Info. I expect a well founded speech structure which means a complete introduction, transitions throughout the body, and a well thought out conclusion. I LOVE agds that are engaging and creative. I want to see a strong connection with your speech. Why should I care about it? Why are you presenting it to me today? I consider eye contact being made with the audience throughout the majority of the speech. I take tone into account as well. It should be clear as well as conversational. I want a good balance of ethos, pathos, and logos. I am a sucker for humor, but that should not be the center of your whole speech (save the jokes for HI). As for VAs in Info, allow yourself to be creative and interact with it but it should not distract me from your speech.
Although I don’t compete in extemp, I do want to see a general understanding of the topic. Have a clear organization that adds to impact and value of your overall speech. Sources should be reliable and up to date.

At the end of the day, I just want you guys to have fun. So take a deep breath before the round and give your best performance.

Add me to the email chain: nkshetty170@gmail.com

Parent Judge

Tag team/open cross is fine

Do’s:

Speaking clearly

Being nice to your opponent and make sure to smile!

Adding everyone to the email chain

Dont’s:

Toxicity

Non disclosure

Being mean to the judge or the opponents (there’s no reason to be mean)

Being late

Be respectful, debate is supposed to be fun. Speak clearly and don’t be condescending to your opponents.

Have fun!

Hey! I am Will Spencer, a High School student - Graduating class of 2025.

About me - I really love speech and debate with all of my heart. I think it is the best possible thing any student can do with their time and it gives us all something to work for without worrying about never getting a chance to play. I compete in a lot of different events, but primarily LD, PF, and IX. I was a national qualifier in IX last year (where I made it far in storytelling!) and a PF qualifier from the Yellow Rose district in Texas this year. I also compete and high levels of congress. I am the team captain of THEO Christians debate team, so I often judge and give feedback and am coaching others.

LD - For LD, the best thing you can focu on is framework. Please don't leave value/criterion in the dust like I see happening a lot. Your case depends on your V/C and taking out your opponents V/C is the name of the game, that's what makes LD unique. I really don't mind if you debate more traditionally or progressively, I can follow along either way. At the end of the day, my vote will be based off of the flow, and off of the V/C argument. Who best achieves what V/C and clearly solidified their cases on my flow? That's the winner. I do judge Cross, because it's my favorite part of the debate. No matter if you are asking or responding, take control of the round and be effective in your questions/responses.

PF -PF is my baby, and again- I don't mind trad or prog debate. I've seen and done it all so go for it, but please respect the event. It isn't policy so go wild but don't turn this into a policy round. I appreciate a FW in PF but it isn't necessary, it just makes my voting easier. I won't vote on who I think should win, I'll vote on who my flow said won. So clearly signpost every argument, maybe give me some offtime roadmaps, and having a great framework for me to vote under makes my job much easier and makes your case seem much more convincing. For crossfire, have fun. I don't mind if it becomes snarky and/or aggressive but don't yell at each other. If i round is heated, i understand more than anyone that you may want to be aggressive or a but snarky. Don't bully anybody and be respectful of your opponents but this is a debate, I expect clash and I expect emotion. If even I think you are being too mean, you probably are.

Hi,

I am a novice parent judge who works in IT and I follow the news every day and try to be updated on world events. Try to stay abreast of events around me to the best of my capabilities