SFR Novice Tournament
2018 — Sioux Falls, SD/US
PF Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHistory (Humble brag commence) - Debated PF 4 years of HS through Harrisburg, relatively successful on the nat circuit, very successful SD debate circuit
1. my biggest critique on current PF debate is how unethical I have seen it be, with that being said it will be very hard to win my ballot as an unethical debater ie. lying, bullying, ect. -and if I see this as a real issue your coach will be notified so tread lightly-
2. I value the flow, I judge off the flow, the only way you can lose my ballot is if you lose the flow (Or ethically listed above) If there are judges on the panel that are lay I understand you choosing to go for their ballot as I did the same as a debater, I will still vote off of the flow first but do not let yourself get into the mindset that you cannot win my ballot
3. I love helping debaters understand why they lost or how to improve, ASK QUESTIONS PLEASE (love my time to shine haha). Definitely stop me after round and ask why you lost or how to improve or shoot me an email @ cassyherd02@icloud.com I promise you will get a hefty explanation of my ballot (Based on certain tournament rules I may not be able to if disclosure or feedback is not allowed but my inbox is still open after tournament or when you get w/l)
Tech stuff
4. I do not believe in sticky defense. ie. I will not just extend things that your opponents didn't respond to, you have to do the work for me and tell me what I need to extend and why
5. To critique myself, I am not good with names and dates so with your extensions remind me what it is they said that was so important so I can give you the extension
6. Please do a line-by-line with a roadmap rather than voters in summary/ FF, it is a lot easier to flow. If you choose to do voters I may not catch where you're at on the flow, if it doesn't make it to my flow its not voted on
7. Just calling something a turn doesn't make it a turn, with this you must explain why that specific argument wins you their impacts or a new impact you present, simply stating "They drop x y z turn" doesn't mean much to me, tell me what turn, why its so massive, and why it wins you the round for it to become a voting issue on my ballot
8. Lastly, impact calc. are you winning on magnitude, scope, clarity of impact, ect? If you don't tell me how I am voting then I have to interfere and make that choice myself which I don't like to do. If your judge has to interfere at all your job isn't done
she/her lm the H half of sf roosevelt GH
past experience - varsity debater, first speaker, above average student most days, state champ (sd of course so take that as you will), nsda nationals 2018, 2019, 2020, circuit tourney stuff, toc gold tourney all that jazz :)
weighing will win.
sexism, ableism, racism, any negative isms ----> voted down.
interrupting, not tolerated. just kidding. go ahead, but don't mansplain or waste my time.
about my vibe: i am nice. i promise. y'all are wholesome.
if I shake my head profusely, change the topic.
Use your prep time: prep, get to know your partner, do your calc hw, cry. i don't care, but use it wisely.
if your impact is so HUGE or TERMINAL that you will spend an hour trying to convince to care, act like you care. (EX: if global warming is going to kill us should make me want to buy a new prius after the round)
if you can not provide your evidence within 2 minutes, it does not exist in my mind sweetie.
policy on ev exchange: exchange EV, take prep, read it, stop prep, hand it back.
as a judge, i will set my bias aside to the best of my abilities. BUT. let me acknowledge one: to my fellow female debaters, y'all are killing it. don't forget that.
---[ Key Points ]---
Philosophy: Tabula Rasa, flow judge, and Key arguments tend to decide
Speed: Moderate / Sub-spread (250-350 WPM)
Case: Should be shared either in physical copy or digitally. Don't care how many contentions there are.
Tigger Warnings: Should be checked pre-round for sensitive material and ready to be switched out
---[ Personal Info ]---
Pronouns: (They/Them)
Email: Martin.Kloster@jacks.sdstate.edu
Experience: Policy, PF, LD, World Schools, and Big Questions. I also have experience in Oral Interp (Drama, Humorous, Duo, Readers Theatre), theatre, and Extempt. Fourth year judging.
Education: Junior at SDSU majoring in Sociology and minoring in Philosophy / Comp Sci. I have a good grasp on most of the concepts discussed in round.
Online ballots tend to be long and specific, and are filled out as a tournament goes on. I enter the results first, then update comments until all of my notes are down or I run out of time. If a ballot is blank or incomplete - or if there are any questions - then email me and I will do my best to communicate my RFD, notes, flow, and/or make clarifications.
---[ General Information ]---
/ Evidence /
I expect transparency first and foremost. If evidence is asked for it must be provided within one minute, after that prep time must be used. If evidence can't be provided then it will be dropped, and debaters can choose to drop evidence at any point in the round. Evidence should be linked back to the source material as a link or to the full text. Evidence should be a text document (word, google docs) or pdf because of paywalls and highlighting/marking. For summarized evidence, relevant text should be in some way marked or noted. Logic based arguments don't need sourcing or evidence. I prefer that a copy of the case is shared, but this is not required unless asked. The best way to share evidence and cases is through an email chain and the second best is through https://speechdrop.net/. This should be configured before the round.
/ Speed and Performance /
I have audio processing disorder and ADHD, so I can't keep up with full on spreading. I prefer moderate/sub-spread speed (250-350 wpm). Articulation and volume is important and will allow for higher speeds. Sharing a copy of the case will allow me to make up for the Audio Processing Disorder, meaning that I have an easier time judging and the debaters have better judging on their cases.
/ Default Weighing Preferences /
Pre-fiat K > T = Theory > Post-fiat K > Case
Don't get abusive with spikes and blips.
/ Kritiks /
Running K's:
I love K's when they are properly argued. Running K's have risks, and I expect them to be run well. K's are highly technical to set up and run, and it can end up falling apart with a simple mistake. The best way to mitigate risking a round is to be careful and/or fall back if the K fails. I also need signposting or communication that it is a K so I can judge it accordingly.
Defending against K's:
A debater should at least be prepared with generic defense. If you can get to the heart of the K and argue on that, you can probably beat it. One caution: arguing that the K is abusive without without warrants will fail. The more prepped a debater is against an argument, the less I will weigh limits abuse.
/ Theory /
I will weigh theory if it's argued well. Proper Theory arguments with good impacts will do well. I dislike Framers intent but do enjoy Topicality arguments as a whole.
/ Arguments /
I have biases like anyone else, but I make sure not to vote on them. Because I feel it is important for transparency to state them, I have listed them below....
I love hearing Marxist, Anarchist, Feminist, Critical Race Theory, Decolonization, Queer Theory, etc. Generally won't care about Econ arguments unless they are tied into impacts on living beings or have a framework to make it important. I Passively dislike Heg and Realism arguments, but am still willing to listen. Again: I will vote almost anything with solid warrants and argumentation.
/ Trigger Warnings /
Trigger Warnings should be given prior to the speech and before the round if it is in the case. If an opponent or judge is unable to interact with the sensitive material, a back up should be prepared or the point should be dropped. If you have the foresight and understanding to check about material before use I expect alternatives to be prepared.
/ Variations /
I weigh and judge Novice differently than I do Varsity, and am more strict with how K's are ran in state.
---[ Lincoln-Douglas / Policy ]---
Tabula Rasa jduge. I am loosely attached to the rules unless they have good warrants. Debate is socially constructed for the benefit of the students, and as such it should be up to the students to construct it however they want. NSDA rules work for me, but if debaters want to argue that a rule or structure is wrong then I'll follow along. I just need good arguments.
In the round, I put whether or not the debaters themselves are respected first. This means that competitors should attack the arguments and not the opponents. A light degree would result in lower speaker points, and egregious cases will be met with a vote down. If a round needs to be put on a hold because of an anxiety or a panic attack, I'll do whatever I can to accommodate - I just need some notification.
While I'm not technical about the rules (unless it is brought to the center of a debate), I am technical when it comes to the ideas and arguments within a round. In my ballots I'll try to point out exactly where I think weaknesses are in the case or arguments, but I won't vote on these unless they are either touched on in the debate or I'm forced at the end of the round to make connections because of a wash. I am open to any arguments as long as there are good warrants, links, and they don't actively degrade people. K's are great with a good link, but also I am perfectly willing to do whatever with the ballot if both competitors agree and it actively furthers education (Ex: Using the rest of the debate to talk about an issue that is affecting the real world). Run something fun that you care about it. Odds are I'll follow along with it and prefer that over something that is strictly strategic. Make debate a fun experience.
High Speaks - Respectful yet assertive debate. Compelling ideas and good argumentation will improve your position. 30 if I think that the round betters debate as an activity.
Low Speaks - Abusive arguments or showing a lack of care. Very low Speaks for being abusive to opponents.
---[ Public Forum ]---
I have a debate background, so I understand jargon and will judge off the flow. Good arguments and understanding what is being argued will lead to a win. Don't be afraid of running frameworks and resolutional analyses, because I will take them into consideration and they will make an impact.
---[ Extempt ]---
Questions should have a clear answer with convincing points. Timing to me is important, but usually not a deciding factor. I will weigh information density and quality over performance, but only margianally so (it can be a tie breaker). In person I will turn my laptop around so that the competitor can see the time and I don't need to worry about missing a time signal.
catherinxliu@gmail.com
Sioux Falls Washington ‘21, Harvard ‘25
Experience: I did LD for 4 years. I now do a lot of APDA/BP. I mostly did traditional debate but am generally familiar with/did some circuit. I was a 2021 NSDA finalist in LD.
update for Harvard:
I do not know any topic-specific jargon. It’s in your best interest to explain things very clearly, no matter what position you run.
Here are my general thoughts about debate. Feel free to ask me other questions before the round starts.
- Tech > truth
- I am fine with evaluating most things, and you should run what you're most comfortable with. I would prefer if the aff is at least vaguely in the direction of the topic—what this looks like is up to you. Realistically, I am probably better at evaluating policy positions and stock Ks/phil than I am at evaluating theory or other Ks/phil, but I also think debaters who are good at explaining how things interact with the round will win anyways.
- Reasonable speed is okay, but my ability to understand spreading is really not very high now, and I will not flow off the doc. Slow down especially on tags and analytics.
- You need to extend the whole argument (warrant + impact).
- I usually find that the 2a/n is more effective when you collapse on fewer things that are well weighed instead of many things. If you don't weigh your arguments, I will have to do it for you, and you may be upset by what I think matters most.
- Most theory is fine, but the more frivolous it is, the lower my threshold for responses. Interpret this how you will.
- I will not evaluate tricks.
- Please compare link strength, especially in util v. util debates :(. If aff reads "US presence causes terror through anti-Western sentiment" and neg reads "actually US counterterrorism efforts decrease terror" and then both of you keep extending these arguments past each other without any further comparison, I have no idea how to evaluate the clash and will not vote on it, even if the impact itself is well weighed.
- I like clear judge instruction.
hi my name is rachel (she/her) i’m excited to judge (almost always)
chahta yakni | šuŋgmánitu oyáte
dowling 23- i am going to be judging a ton of pf for the foreseeable future! i'm excited to learn more about a different style of debate. however, the way that I approach rounds pretty much never changes. i only care about the arguments on the flow, not speaking style. i highly value framework debate and impact weighing, and i expect that debaters try their hardest in every round. my paradigm might not be very helpful if you're a PF debater, so feel free to ask me questions before the round. gl everyone!
apple valley 22- email chains consistently annoy me. if you can use speech drop i would appreciate it very much.
going forward- i'm not going to clarify a position on my paradigm for only 1 debater- if you want to ask questions, i think it's only fair that your opponent gets the same opportunity. if you want to email me beforehand, either cc your opponent or just wait until everyone is in the room.
Quick Guide if you want to pref me
1- Give back the land (Tuck and Yang, not Churchill)
Debord
Orthodox Marx (i have mixed opinions on Stalin and Mao. I think there are probably better critical theorists who articulate their ideas better, but whatever floats your boat. Lenin is fine, but I'm only really familiar with Imperialism:HSoC. If you read Krupskaya I'll be stoked).
SC authors (Locke especially, Hobbes 2nd and Rousseau 3rd)
Rawls
Socrates/Plato
2- Butler
LARP (i think of this in two ways, either structurally or argument-wise. I'm pretty solid on both, although you'll be better off dropping some hyper-specific policy language because it wasn't what I usually went for as a debater)
Spinoza (this is only at a 2 because I genuinely don't think you could ever make Ethics topical).
Hegel- i mean what can you do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3- Trad/lay (i debated in SD, so go figure).
SOME DnG (I think I get rhizomatic thought, I think I get schizophrenic capital, I don't understand most of the rest of it. Plz be cautious.
Kant- idk man this is run in so many different ways you should just ask.
4- Middle-of-the-road Performance (I have not yet been able to find a debater that clearly articulated how to substantively weigh performance in a round, and I ran performance several times. If you think you can then go off, I'd love to hear it). This includes poems, songs, personal narratives, etc- see "5" for aggressive or emotionally traumatic performance.
"High Theory"- whatever this means, if it's gonna make my brain bleed i'm not a fan.
Chinese Imperial Philosophy: Confucianism, Taoism.
Theory- I'm not a huge fan and I'm bad at flowing it. Like terrible. Please if you do this to me go very slow I will unintentionally drop 50% of your standards. RVIs mostly good. paragraph theory is fine, it just needs clear impacts to the round/debate space.
5- Evola (ill drop you no cap)
Time Cube >:(
skep
social darwinism
badly done death drive (ie "k*ll everyone, nuke war good). Don't justify oppression, don't be rude. Also in here- physical performance or extremely emotional performance. Do not read me trauma-porn.
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here is a list of things that make me go :) in rounds
1. extending the whole argument (claim + warrant) in every speech
2. warrants that you can actually explain tbh
3. evidence comparison (especially using author quals)
4. when u kick ur F/W and turn their case (that’s spicy stuff)
5. when u run a well articulated Kritikal position that ur excited about and that makes me learn stuff ( although it makes me go :/ if it’s clearly commodifying a people group- ex. don’t facilitate a performance you have no stake in)
6. in general if u teach me something that’s great!!!!
here’s a list of things that make me go :( in rounds
1. you have a captive audience in the round, so don't make the round unsafe for anyone (think the -ists and -phobias). if you do so in a manner that i think warrants it, i will
a. drop kick u off the ballot
b. give u the lowest legal speaks
c. talk to ur coach
d. tell ur mom
2. when ur winning and u rub it in the other person’s face- that is rude stop. not gonna drop ur speaks though- its just annoying.
3. don’t run afro pes if ur non black or anything like that- don’t use other people’s oppression as a gimmick y’all the ballot isn’t worth it
if you take each part of the debate seriously then u should be fine- most people mess up the most when they get too confident
ask me if u want more info i’ll tell u how i feel about anything and i’ll give u time to change it if u need to
my email is rdover2@gmail.com if u need it
u get +.1 speaks if u can diss Andrew Myrick in ur speech and it flows well
Basic info about me:
I debated policy (NSDA) for 4 years and currently do LD (NFA) debate in college. I have been coaching for the past 3 years for NFA LD, but I have experience coaching PF, IPDA, and Parli. I will listen to anything and everything. So you do you. As a judge I probably lean more toward tech over truth. But with that said, if an argument is outlandishly false, I probably will not vote for it. I do like some good line-by-line and analytical arguments. Not everything has to be direct evidence reading. You should also do some weighing by the end of the debate, this will make my life easier.
I use they/them pronouns. Be nice and have fun!
Email: trenityr@gmail.com
Speed: I am an 6 out of 10, I can handle speed, but tags must be CLEAR. If not, then I won't get your arguments down. If I am judging you online, please consider lagging and audio quality!
Topicality: I love/hate topicality. If you're aff you do not necessarily need to be topical. However, if you're the neg, you need to prove to me why the aff needs to be topical and why they violate topicality. If you can win the competing interpretation and their interpretation is bad, you will have my vote. The interpretation debate is the MOST important. The next important part would be standards. But I like a good T debate and can vote either way on it.
DA: I am down for any DA as long as it sorta links and sorta makes sense. I prefer a good link chain and storyline with a DA. But please do some good link analysis and impact calculation. This will make my life easier.
CP: These are chill, but I think the neg team should tell me how they have the internal links/impacts of the aff. It should also be clear why the CP is net better and solves better than the aff. There should also be a net benefit. The perm debate is also important and should be had.
K's: I love a good cap, fem, or queer K. I read a lot of lit through my years in high school and have definitely expended on it in my time in college. However, if you are going to read some philosophers (like Baudrillard or Nietzsche), please know what you are talking about. As a philosophy major, seeing these people get misconstrued pains me. But I am always down to hear whatever K you have created. Just make sure to explain the link level to the aff and why the alt is net better in whatever you are doing. Also, framework debates on Ks are important and should be had.
K affs: I have run a k aff before, I love performances and k aff lit! Make it yours! Just be ready for a framework debate or a K v K debate. But if you can defend the resolution bad and/or roll of the ballot, you can probably get my vote.
Framework: I think this is a valid argument; fairness can be an impact but MUST be explained well. Do what you want with this and explain it well.
Theory: I will vote on them and think they are fun; make sure to warrant the argument out! There should be some standards and voters with theory.
All of this above applies to policy/ld.
Please tell me how to vote, I do not want to do the work for you.
Ask me any other specific questions if you want!
Rebekah Tuchscherer (she/her) rebekah.tuchscherer@gmail.com
B.A. in Journalism and Biology, current ophthalmic clinical researcher
• 2023: Debate Judge for Roosevelt High School (Sioux Falls, SD)
• 2018-2020: Lincoln-Douglas Assistant Coach at O'Gorman High School (Sioux Falls, SD)
• Former high school Lincoln-Douglas debater (Milbank, SD)
Public Forum
This event was created with the intention of accessibility, meaning that your speech should be 1) at a delivery rate that is easy to keep on a paper flow, and 2) use high-level debate terminology sparingly. I prefer a speed of about 4-6 on a 1-10 scale, but if I can't understand or keep up with parts of your case, it likely will not make it on my flow or be weighed in the round. Efficiency and effectiveness are key.
The debates I appreciate the most are those when debaters can recognize and articulate when apples are being compared to oranges. I don't like giving points to a team just because they have a bigger number / claim a larger impact, but can easily vote for a team that can dig into the source, organization or methodology used to get said numbers.
Rebuttals:
If you are speaking first, I'm fine with you spending all 4 minutes on the opp case. If you are second speaker, you should defend your case in some capacity and briefly respond to arguments made on your case. At minimum, you must answer turns. This is not to say I think you need to go for everything in second rebuttal. I’m fine with strategic thinking and collapsing when necessary.
Summary/FF:
As a judge of mostly Lincoln-Douglas, I LOVE some clear voting issues. I don't think that a line-by-line argumentation style is typically necessary and prefer a nice crystalization.
Crossfire:
Good, respectful and effective cross examinations are appreciated and a great way to up your speaker points.
Theory/Kritiks/Counterplans/Plans:
Please don't.
Extra Notes
- Anything excessively past time (5+ seconds) on your speech can be dropped from the round. I won't flow it, and I won't expect your opponent to respond to it.
- I don't care how you dress, if you sit, stand, etc. Debate should be comfortable and accessible.
- Collapsing and making strategic decisions in 2nd rebuttal and 1st summary is an expectation of PF. Try to go for everything, and you will have a mountain to climb for a win.
- Rudeness in cross will lose you speaker points. You can make strategic offensive rhetorical decisions to put your opponent on the defensive, but there is a difference. Please be kind. :)