Aaron Thomas Memorial Invitational at Andover Central
2018 — Andover, Kansas, KS/US
Novice Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI'm Dan, I'm a senior at Derby, this is my 4th year debating. I do a lot of open competition because I play football. I will understand all your arguments unless they just don't make sense. Feel free to go however fast or slow you desire, just talk about it before round with your opponent. If they can't go super fast I will allow you to spread for the constructives but don't be a jerk because it makes me uncomfortable when people cry. I like case arguments and solid DA's on Neg. On Aff you better answer solvency properly, because I'm not one of those guys that even if there is a chance that we help we should do it.
T- You have a novice case list, but I understand if someone runs something weird like reducing finger pistol sales from Saudi Arabia, otherwise good luck with T
CP- Sure but be competitive
Jerk- I understand there are some rounds when the other team drops everything, if something like that happens you have probably already won, no need to berate them just tell me why you won
RFD- Tell me why you win, I won't figure it out for you
I have been debating for about 3 years and have mainly been debating in the open division but I have been to a few varsity tournaments.
T- I do like competing interpretations and believe that if you run topicality then you should go for it in the 2NR and nothing else or else not enough work has been done in my opinion. Put it at the top of every flow
K- I don't mind the K debate. Please explain your alt clearly and what the criticism is. You must also explain why I should vote for the alt.
CP- I love counterplans because they cause competition and I believe that they are good for education. Remember POST. DON'T FORGET THEORY ON THE CP. Condo is fine with me.
DAs- Explain the link
Impact turns- These are fine with but if you run them you must prove that outweighs the competing impact
If have any questions you can email me at dilloleg@usd260.com and yes I would like to be on the email chain if possible
Maize High School '20 (China, Education, Immigration, Arm Sales)
Wichita State (Alliances)
Cornell '24 (Didn't debate)
I now work as a researcher for the United Steelworkers's collective bargaining department. Reach out if you ever want to learn about working in the labor movement. Also means that I don't judge a ton of debates anymore and probably am not super familiar with the topic.
Formerly coached at Maize High School and St. Mark's School of Texas. Call me Connor. they/them
---Top Level---
1. Do whatever you're best at and I'll be happy. When I debated, I primarily ran policy args. My last year of debate, ~50% of my 2nr's were T. I was more K focused for a few years. I'm probably not the absolute best for K debaters (see section below), but I can hang. I usually find myself in clash debates.
2. Disclosure is good. Preferably on the wiki. Plus .2 speaker points if you fully open source the round docs on the wiki (tell me/remind me right after the 2ar. I'm not going to check for you and I'm bad at remembering if you tell me earlier).
3. Don't be mean or offensive. Please actively try to make the community inclusive. I think debate is sometimes an opportunity to learn and grow. However, openly reprehensible remarks and a continuation of poor behavior after being corrected will not be tolerated. I will not hesitate to dock speaks, drop you, or report you to the tournament directors/your coach if you say or do anything offensive or unethical. I can "handle" any type of argument but maintaining a healthy debate environment is the most important aspect of any round for me.
---Things that make me sad---
"Mark that as an analytic" - no.
Not numbering and labeling your arguments. Give your off names in the 1nc. It makes me frustrated when everyone's calling the same sheet different names.
Asking for a marked copy bc you didn't flow.
Stealing prep. You all are not as clever as you think you are. I know what you are doing.
Not starting the round promptly at the start time and generally wasting time unnecessarily. Debate tournaments are exhausting for everyone and I would like the round to be finished ASAP so I have time to write a ballot, give an RFD, talk to my teams, eat food, etc.
Not knowing how to email. I get that mistakes happen, but also it's the year of our lord two thousand and twenty four. The chain should be set up before the round. I really don't want to do a speechdrop. Call me crotchety or old fashioned, but I like to have a record of the round in case it's needed later.
Give your email a proper subject line so everyone involved can search for rounds when they need to later.
"I can provide a card on this later" - no you won't, no one ever does.
---Online Debate---
I'm a big fan of posting the roadmap in the chat.
Slow down. It's possible that I might miss things during the round due to tech errors. Most mics are also not great and so it can be harder to understand what you are saying at full speed.
I have a multiple monitor setup so I might be looking around but I promise I'm paying attention.
If my camera is ever off, please get some sort of confirmation from me before you begin your speech. It's very awkward to have to ask you to give your speech again bc I was afk. It has happened before and it sucks for everyone involved.
---Ks---
I'm totally fine with Ks, but my audio processing issues often are not. I struggle to flow K debates the most I've noticed, and I think a lot of that has to do with the way K debaters debate. Being hyper conscious of the flowability of your arguments is key to me picking up everything. I won't be offended if that means you pref me down. I'm mostly just requesting you don't drop huge blocks filled with words that are not easy to flow if you want me to flow everything you said.
If you're reading something that includes music in someway, I'd greatly appreciate if you turn it down/off while you speak. My auditory processing issues makes it difficult for me to understand what you're saying when there is something playing in the background. I don't have any qualms about this form of argumentation, I just want to understand what you're saying. I'm happy to work with you to find a solution that's still meaningful.
K affs need counter interps. I require a greater explanation of what debate looks like under the aff model more than most judges. You should explain how your (counter)interp generates offense/defense to help me conceptualize weighing clash vs your model. I don't think shotgunning a bunch of underdeveloped framework DAs is a good or efficient use of your time. Most of them are usually the same argument anyways, and I'd rather you have 2-3 carded & impacted out disads.
I think that fairness is probably an impact, but I don't think it makes sense to use it as a round about way to go for a clash terminal. Just go for clash or go for fairness. Predictability is usually the most persuasive i/l for me. I think debate has game characteristics, but is probably not purely a game. If you go for clash, contextualize the education you gain to the topic and be specific.
---Other thoughts---
Condo is good but I'll vote that it's bad if you go for it. I mostly don't think there's a great interp for either side.
I love scrappy debaters. I've only ever debated on small squads (i.e., my partner and I were the ones doing the majority of prep for the team) so I respect teams that are doing what they can with limited resources more than most. Debaters who are willing to make smart, bold strategic moves when they're behind will be rewarded.
I'm not sure how I feel about judge kick. It seems like it makes 2ars incredibly difficult, but I think sometimes that's okay.
I like T debates more than most judges.