SNFI 4th Week Tournament
2016 — CA/US
LD Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHey my name is Kat and I debated for IHHS for 4 years till my graduation in 2014.
I qualified to both NSDA nationals and the ToC, so I'm comfortable with speed or lack thereof.
I was mostly a traditional util debater and was not terribly fond of Ks, but will obviously listen to anything except flat ontology.
Kesha references in your speeches yield higher speaks, as does overall polite behavior and smart, clever strategy.
Theory, T, Plans, are all good. I've been out of the community for a year or so, so I'm not super aware of current trends - just something to be aware of.
I also competed often and to varying success in congress, extemp, and other I.E.'s and have judged pretty much every event in existence at this point.
11/10/19
Haven't gotten around to building my new paradigm yet as my old judge philosophy got lost in Al Gore's internet.
For now, a few things:
--Truth over tech.
--I am a debate coach. I am also a professional educator. I care about education, not just the game of debate.
--I flow. I have been in grad school recently and not judging much so I may be a bit rusty.
--Signpost the flow religiously.
--Framework is just another argument. You don't just auto win the round because they dropped framework arguments.
--I do not hear well. Be loud and clear as much as you can.
--Feel free to ask my any questions before the round other than, "Do you have any preferences?" Specific questions are better!
Anya, Lynbrook '18 Alum and Second Year @ Cal Poly SLO
*updated for CPS new*
apd2000@gmail.com
^ add me to the email chain. Flashing isn't prep.
Hi! I'm Anya. Currently a second year undergrad @ Cal Poly SLO. Debated VLD at Lynbrook for three years and competed a lot / coached younger debaters and went to camp for three years and all that lol.
But to be frank though, since I'm in college it's been a few years since I've judged varsity LD rounds. So this means if there's new jargon in the VLD community or new progressions that have happened in the last couple of years, i probably don't know them lol so pls don't assume i do. i'm a bit rusty with stuff since like i said it's been a while (just putting it out there to be transparent) but it doesn't mean i won't know wat you're talking about -- as long as you're clear
this also means maybe talk a bit slower especially at the beginning as I get used to spreading / flowing at a decent pace. like i will mention below i'll yell clear a few times like 3 but then stop flowing if you're being obnoxiously fast so plsss dont xd
In general I'll vote off anything as long as you explain it and win it well.
also, I'm comfortable with evaluating both lay and progressive debate (if this wasn't clear!)
Basics
PLEASE slow down on tags and author names. My biggest pet peeve is when people spread way too fast and expect me to catch all of it - I'll yell clear three times and then stop flowing. I also personally like when people really explain or emphasize more important arguments rather than just rush through everything.
I'll give higher speaks for impact calc / weighing / smart arguments / strategy / good overviews and really making the round easy for me to decide. I'm not great at flowing so all this would be super helpful :) I try not to tank speaks so DON'T be offensive and be respectful, esp if you're debating a novice or something - I'll tank your speaks if you're gonna be an ass. Don't do it.
I presume neg if squo, if you defend advocacy i'll presume aff. Permissibility flows neg (although you can convince me otherwise)
I will not vote off tricks (especially since i haven't done VLD for a few years lol pls pls pls don't assume i'll be down for some werid tricky debate) + i'll vote off spikes in 1ac only if they're super warranted & well explained and clear!!!
semi strong threshold on extensions. less so if they conceded it, you can just kind of extend / explain if its not that imp, but spend a good amount of time on it if it IS important. just kinda common sense stuff + i give some leeway to the aff bc on the timeskew
I also will increase your speaks if you engage really well with the aff - dont just read 4 off and dont respond or explain links well
i default offense defense and voting on strength of link
disclose! :) and flash pls
Larp
By far my favorite type of debate :) I don't believe you have to win uniqueness for a link turn.
Please read CPs with a DA or turns to the aff at least....
you NEED to weigh in these types of debates and i really like evidence comparison / even line by line! I won't vote off defense or terminal defense but i think it does make debates more compelling when people interact with args rather than just read read read :)
really make good extensions and explain the importance of evidence esp in these types of debates. for instance if ur extending a confusing da pls explain it!! dont just say 'extend the link'.
anyway i really like these debates so if you go for them in front of me pls do it well! :)
Theory / T
I think TVA claims on T are really persuasive - give examples of ground you lose and pls make the abuse clear. I default drop the debater, no rvis, and competing interpretations on both T and theory. Going for an RVI on T might be hard in front of me but once again if you think you can convince me otherwise go for it! If you're gonna read a non topical aff be ready to defend it well against T in front of me!
in terms of theory, i think 1ar theory is a super good strat :) tbh i dont love friv theory and i find the abuse really hard to figure out for a lot of these shells ( like spec status, etc) but once again if you think u can explain it go ahead.. just dont expect me to vote for something bc u assume i see the abuse. basically, impact ur args!
also theory / T debates get really messy and i will dock ur speaks if u dont sign post and weigh clearly... pls dont leave me with a CI vs interp debate with no weighing and a bunch of dropped args :( i will not be happy
Ks
I really like these types of arguments! Alt and link explanation in the 2nr is super important - especially explain WHAT the link is and how the alternative solves case. I think a lot of K lit is super cool and I def go for these arguments but things like high theory or really dense lit really has to be explained well. I don't feel comfortable voting off things I DON'T understand, so if you read these things you have to make sure you know what you're talking about! don't just read a weird K and don't explain it well especially in the 2nr! I will say though i'm more comfortable with larpy debate than this kind of debate but that being said if you wanna go for this just do it well!!
Phil / FW
I honestly go for util most of the time, so reading things like dense phil is probably not a good idea. aka probably dont do this / dont assume i understand what you're talking about - however, once again, if you can explain it and answer util well go for it. Just don't confuse me. Pls impact and compare offense / warrants and tell me what the aff / neg world looks like!
Please put me on the email chain - amyleighsantos@gmail.com
I debated for 3 years at Presentation High School in LD and policy and coached throughout college. I mostly read critical arguments, as well as some policy oriented stuff. I am probably not the best judge for phil/tricks, but that being said, you should read whatever you feel most comfortable with in front of me! I am absolutely fine with speed but I haven’t judged much lately so it would be helpful for me if you start slow. More specifics:
Ks: I really love K debate, as as I mentioned above, that’s what I read most of in high school. However, I will not just vote for you because I like the K, so please make sure you’re explaining the story of the K, putting in the work on the link and framing debates, etc. I also really loved reading K affs (I was big into fem stuff in high school) but make sure you are clearly articulating a reason to vote aff and what the aff actually does. I am looking for an explanation of what your method actually looks like in practice, and why it means I should vote for you.
Policy/LARP: I also really enjoy policy debate! I don’t think there’s really much to say here but I appreciate good evidence comparison, impact weighing, and overviews.
Framework/T: I love a good framework debate, but it's also in your best interest to engage the substance of the aff! I think the more specific your framework/T shell is, the more interesting/strategic
Theory: I don't mind theory but these debates tend to get messy, so try to keep it clean and maybe go a little slower.
Phil/tricks: I am really not a good judge for phil and don't particularly enjoy it, sorry :,(
The easiest way to win in front of me is to really clearly and explicitly explain your position and why you're winning. Collapsing to a few main arguments and explaining them well is always better than having too many arguments that aren't impacted or explained very well.
My favorite part about debate is when students are passionate about what they defend and read positions they care about. Please don't be sexist, racist, ableist, trans/homophobic, etc.
Updated 04/05/21 for NPDL-TOC
Feel free to ask questions about my paradigm before the round!
About me: I did national circuit LD in high school and APDA parli in college. I qualified to the LD TOC my senior year in HS. My senior year on APDA I was the 4th highest ranked speaker in the country and half of the 7th highest ranked team.
I used to be pretty active in coaching and judging circuit LD, and currently coach APDA.
How I judge rounds: I try my best to make an evaluative decision based on the flow and avoid intervening as much as possible. In practice that means I'll evaluate the framework debate first or, if both debaters have agreed to the same framework (philosophical or otherwise), and evaluate any weighing arguments made about what I should prioritize under the framework. Then I'll evaluate the offense both debaters have linking back to the framework I'm using to evaluate the round (this includes also evaluating relevant defense and weighing arguments).
I assume a truth testing paradigm (Gov has to prove motion true, Opp has to prove motion false) but am certainly open to other arguments about how my ballot should function. I default to using reasonability to evaluate theory/T and don't assume theory/T is an RVI, but those are just the presumptions I have if you don't make any arguments on these issues, not absolute preferences by any means.
Progressive arguments: I am generally fine with anything that you would normally see run in a circuit LD/policy round. I don't have any particular argumentative preferences and I think historically have been pretty neutral when judging clash of civilizations type rounds - I judged a number of LD rounds back in the day that were some version of a K aff vs topicality/framework, and I think I had a pretty even voting record in those rounds.
All pre-fiat arguments do need an explanation of why the come before case, so reasons theory is a voter or a role of the ballot for a K. I won't just assume something is pre-fiat because it's tagged as being something that is traditionally understood to come before post-fiat arguments.
I won't vote on anything I don't understand, so if you want to ready a really gooey K I'd recommend going a bit slower in constructives and then explaining it really clearly in the LOR/PMR. This also goes for blippy theory arguments. I have a very good understanding of what theory is generally, but I'm not at all up to date on the latest theory trends. There's usually certain buzzwords/jargon/shorthand that refer to certain theory arguments that are popular on a circuit in a given year - I won't know any of those, so it would help me a lot if you could explain any theory arguments you want to make in clear and intuitive terms.
Speed: I don't have anything against speed and could comfortably flow national circuit LD/policy speed as of 3 years ago. However, that was 3 years ago, and I haven't tried to flow rounds that fast since then. I'm honestly not sure what will happen if you start reading at top speed in front of me. I would recommend starting off slowly and building speed, and enunciating really clearly. I've found that clarity is more of a limiting factor on what I can flow than pure speed is, so I imagine I'll have an easier time flowing speedy but also very clear teams than I will somewhat slower and less clear teams. I'll say clear or slow if I can't understand you. If I'm saying it a lot, that's probably a sign you need to slow down.
Parli specific things: My understanding is that judges in NPDL are supposed to ignore new LOR/PMR arguments, so I'll apply the same standard that I would in LD and ignore anything that seems obviously new. I'll automatically look at anything you call a POO on, so might still be worth calling if you think it's close or you're really worried about me not thinking something is new. If you do call a POO, please keep it quick and civil. Just tell me what you're calling new, I'll ask the other team to tell me where they think I should look for the argument on the flow, and then we can move on the round.
If you're spreading and/or reading something really complicated, I would prefer that you take a POI or two during PMC/LOC so that your opponents can clarify the arguments. I always thought that cross-ex was really important for this, and since there's no CX here I feel like POIs are an important opportunity for your opponents to try to understand your arguments. I feel much less strongly about POIs in MG/MO and don't really care if you don't take any in those speeches (unless you read something totally new, in which case same thing probably applies).
I'm fine with PMR shadow extensions for arguments dropped from PMC, even if MG doesn't explicitly extend them. However, that doesn't mean that the PMR can answer LO responses to PMC that MG dropped.
I'll also evaluate new MO arguments that the LOR doesn't explicitly rehash.
Misc. preferences: I don't really like it when debaters are unnecessarily mean or condescending or when debaters talk over their opponents. I'll drop you if you say something explicitly racist/homophobic/sexist/etc.
I won't call for cites unless there's a dispute in the round about what a card says. If you accuse your opponent of misrepresenting evidence, I'll call for the cite and look it up. If you are clearly lying about what an article says, I'll drop you, since lying about evidence is bad. If it's ambiguous/power-tagged, I'll probably just ignore the card.
Lynbrook '18, UChicago '22
Competed in LD for 3 years in high school; judged LD (Holy Cross, Voices, HWL, Stanford) & CX (Bronx, GBX, UNLV) in 2020-2021
Email: yichen.zhu@gmail.com She/Her/Hers
- How you should pref me: LARP (1), Theory (1), Phil (2), K (2/3), High Theory (3)
- Tech > truth generally, but I will not vote for something that is categorically false (racism good, 1+1=3, etc)
- Will not vote on an argument that's dropped if there is no warrant or if I didn't flow it
- Strategy dictates speaks so go for only what is necessary and end early if you can
- Make good arguments, weigh a lot, and give a clear ballot story in your last speech
Specifics:
LARP
Anything is fine, but you will probably lose if your aff doesn't include at least a short util framework.
Phil
I would like to say I have a decent grasp on most analytic phil and would like to hear something interesting (here something interesting ≠ your logical consequence aff with tricks, although I don't mind hearing it).
Ks
Love good Ks but strongly dislike poorly written ones, although I will vote on it if you win. Know your literature. Give concrete examples of what your impact/alt looks like. If you read a ROB/ROJ, explain why it precludes a normal standard. I don't like it when the debate turns into two people claiming opposing things with no real comparison to back it up.
Theory
Enjoy good T/theory debate! I will no longer vote for arguments of the form "Evaluate the round after X speech." Otherwise I will vote on any theory no matter how frivolous, although your speaker points will suffer and I have a lower threshold for responses if your shell is really silly. Justify why competing interps implies I vote on a risk of offense. I will gut check against bad theory if you win reasonability and have some defense on the shell. Paragraph theory is fine, but you should explicitly state things like fairness/education, competing interps/reasonability, and drop the arg/drop the debater. If no arg is made, I default reasonability, drop the arg, no RVIs.