Alta Silver and Black Invitational
2020 — ONLINE, UT/US
Public Forum Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI am a parent judge. Please make sure you speak clearly and explain to me very specifically the arguments and why you should win. I do not understand technical speak, so again make sure you are explaining yourself. Overall, be respectful and have fun!
Hi! I'm a junior at UC Berkeley studying CS & Business and I debated in PF for Gunn High School for 4 years.
I haven’t judged/done anything debate related in a WHILE and know nothing about this topic - old paradigm below
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Experience (only competed in PF): 3x TOC, 2x Elims @Nats, Championed Berkeley, Semi-ed Stanford, Top Speaker Awards at Yale, Berkeley, etc.
I'm cool with all types of argumentation so feel free to do whatever you want - if you're planning on running a K or T please explain your argument thoroughly.
I am fine with speed but if you are going wayyy too fast or speaking totally unclearly, I'll let you know.
Have fun in cross and please stay calm and polite.
Some important things to note:
- read TWs if/when needed
- defense is sticky
- tabula rasa, tech > truth
- I will ALWAYS (unless you argue otherwise) presume first because I believe the first-speaking team has a structural disadvantage and significant time skew.
- pls weigh
- respond to all turns in 2nd rebuttal AND frontline
- engage with clash
- if you are extremely rude or offensive (racist, sexist, ableist etc.) in any way at all I'll drop you and give you 25 speaker points.
- I won't call for evidence unless you tell me to and it's a) essential to adjudicate the round and b) sounds misconstrued
- Sajan Mehrotra is my idol (if you want more specifics, please read his paradigm, which I believe is a link to someone else's paradigm lol)
Feel free to email me at ishan.balakrishnan@berkeley.edu if you have any questions after the round - I'm happy to give advice or further explain my decision at any time!
I participated in high school and collegiate debate and am experienced in judging all high school debate forums. For all debates I will judge on logic of your arguments and claims. Each claim must have a warrant, data, and impact to hold weight in an argument. I do appreciate K's when they are relevant and thorough.
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
As a Congressional debate judge, I am listening for fervor, passion, and rhetorical integrity. Students who begin or lapse into reading their speeches will not receive high marks from me - extemporaneous speaking is key here with ideas presented in flavorful tones without the monotone elements that derive from reading a series of sentences. The proficient asking and answering of questions is key to receiving a high score from me. I listewnt to your words and expect clear pronunciation, medium pace, and enlivened debater from you and your peers. Once the session has ended, please accept my 'virtual high five' as a response to your gestures of 'thank you for judging' mantra.
DEBATE
I am primarily a tabula rasa judge, adjudicating arguments as presented in the round. Theoretical arguments are fine as long as they contain the necessary standards and voting issue components. I am not a huge fan of the kritik in PF and tend to reside in that camp that believes such discussions violate the legitimacy of tournament competitions; that being said, I will entertain the argument as well as theoretical counter arguments that speak to its legitimacy, but be forewarned that shifting the discussion to another topic and away from the tournament-listed resolution presents serious questions in my mind as to the respect owed to teams that have done the resolutional research deemed appropriate by the NSDA.
I am adept at flowing but cannot keep up with exceptionally fast-paced speaking and see this practice as minimizing the value of authentic communication. I will do my best but may not render everything on the flow to its fullest potential. Please remember that debate is both an exercise in argumentation as well as a communication enterprise. Recognizing the rationale behind the creation of public forum debate by the NSDA underscores this statement. As a result, I am an advocate for debate as an event that involves the cogent, persuasive communication of ideas. Debaters who can balance argumentation with persuasive appeal will earn high marks from me. Signposting, numbering of arguments, crystallization, and synthesis of important issues are critical practices toward winning my ballot, as are diction, clarity, and succinct argumentation. The rationale that supports an argument or a clear link chain will factor into my decision making paradigm.
RFD is usually based on a weighing calculus - I will look at a priori arguments first before considering other relevant voters in the round. On a side note: I am not fond of debaters engaging with me as I explain a decision; that being said, I am happy to entertain further discussion via email, should a situation warrant. Also, Standing for speeches is my preference.
Hello - I have been judging for a couple years now. Please speak clearly - Speaking quickly is okay, but please do not spread. In summary and final focus my preference is that you make a logical argument based off the evidence, but no need to repeat the cards. Etiquette is important to me. You will receive higher speaker points if you are polite to opponents. I know how much prep work this takes and I am impressed you are here! Good luck today.
Background: Former LD, CX and PF debater
I’m tabula rasa on most things, just don’t advocate for positions that are evil or trollish.
I will attempt to respect the norms of the circuit and tournament I am judging at; I do not want to impose on any particular debate style and generally am more inclined to be open minded about things like this.
While evidence is good, I believe too often many rely on ‘evidence dumping’ and focus too little on analytics. Basically, spend a fair amount of time framing, contextualizing, weighing, clash, etc.
For speaker points, I base it off everything but your physical speaking ability. How well did I think you navigated the round, how did you choose to order arguments, and overall strategy contribute a lot here.
Respect each other and please signpost!
If you have questions please let me know.
bennettjamesbrown@gmail.com
Did nat circuit pf for 4 years, also did circuit LD for a little.
For LD: Mostly debated theory, never interacted much with phil/K lit, but I'm willing to vote on it, just need it explained a little more.
For Pf: answer offense in 2nd rebuttal, defense is sticky, down to vote for theory in pf, please weigh
Hello!
I am a parent judge. This is my first time judging varsity pf. My background is in software and computer science. I will judge the round based on who presents a compelling argument that is easy to understand. Even if something is dropped, I won't vote on it unless it is explained and implicated in the round very clearly. For speed, a little faster than conversational is fine, but DON'T TALK TOO FAST. IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, I WILL NOT VOTE ON IT. For speaker points, I am pretty generous, I average about a 28-29. I will only give you a 25 or 26 if you have been blatantly offensive or you lacked in speaking/analytic skills to the point of incomprehension. Don't talk over each other in crossfire. It is not impossible to earn a 30 from me. An ideal round for me will have clean case extensions and narrative, emphasis on logic and warranting over carded evidence, collapsing in the back half of the round, simplifying the round into a few key issues, and CLEAR WEIGHING on why your impacts are more important.
Above all, have fun, and please be respectful! I look forward to judging you!
Hello!
I debated public forum for all 4 years and was captain of Eagan High School pf debate.
Couple things to know about me:
I am currently a Junior at the University of Minnesota studying History with a minor in Chicanx studies.
I believe public forum is the most accessible form of debate meaning anyone should be able to come into the round and understand what is going on. It is an art form to be able to put complex topics into accessible words for the public to understand.
Therefore, go slow and dont be disrespectful. I strongly prefer traditional pf, if you do anything more you risk me losing you on the flow but I am able to handle someee speed.
I am against inaccessible academia and believe if you are using jargon (includes theory and Ks), you are doing pf wrong.
I make sure I listen intently on the summary speech as I was a second speaker in Highschool.
High school debate should to be a place where no one feels attacked. do not run anything sexist, racist, queerphobic, transphobic, classist, etc.
Remember: its just debate! use debate for experience and to expand your knowledge :)
Who am I:
I am the head speech & debate coach at Idaho Falls HS. I've been a head coach for 10 years, and also competed in high school and college.
Here's the best way to earn my ballot for any type of debate:
1) Win the flow. If you drop an issue in a speech, do not bring it back up. In PF, dropped arguments are technically ok (you gotta summarize after all). Just make sure to communicate to me on why it is good/bad/unimportant that an argument was dropped.
2) Impact out what you win on the flow. I don't care if your opponent clean concedes an argument that you extend through every speech if you don't tell me why I should care.
3) Weigh your impacts! This is a great way to win the ballot with me.
3) Clash with your opponent. Just because you put 5 attacks on an argument doesn't mean it has been dealt with if your attacks have no direct clash with the argument. If you are making an outweigh argument, tell me and I can evaluate it as such!
4) Courtesy. If you are not kind, courteous, and ethical to your opponent, you will receive lower speaker points. I believe that debaters should be able to win on the flow and do so in a kind and professional manner. If the round is extremely close, I often use courtesy and ethics as a tiebreaker.
5) Speed: I think that it's easier to have a cleaner debate when it is regular conversational speed, but I understand when you have to pick it up a bit. Not a fan of spreading.
6) Comms: The more I coach and teach, the more I find myself being persuaded by stronger and more polished speakers. Don't forget about good speaking techniques!
CONGRESS:
Good congress involves speaking extemporaneously, using evidence and analysis, and having excellent speaking skills. I will rank you higher if you are kind, yet strong in your quesitoning answers. Good congress people should be present throughout the round the round through both speeches and questions. I recognize that preset recency can be difficult, so make sure you are both asking questions, and raising your placard to speak often!
LD DEBATE:
Value/Value Criterions
I think these are necessary in LD debate. I am a more traditional LD debate, but i'm open to progressive ideas (or CPs). Make sure to use your V/CR throughout the round. These are usually a large weighing mechanism for me, so make sure I know why I should prefer your V/CR and how you use that to win the round.
K's/Theory
I don't prefer Ks, but recognize the need for theory at times. I prefer traditional LD debate, with a focus on values and value criterions.
Plan's/Counterplans
I'm much more accepting of CPs than Ks in LD. I understand when a CP is necessary to run as the neg.
POLICY DEBATE:
I tend to be a more traditional-style policy judge, as in I judge following traditional rules. However, I'm still very open to arguments. I don't love Ks, mostly because I think debating the heart of the topic is important. I love a good T shell when the aff isn't topical (you won't find me penalizing you for T...unless you run a million as a time suck. Then I might not like it). Line-by-line and sign posting are key. I would say I'm about a 5 out of 10 on a speed scale for policy. If you go too quickly, you will notice me flowing less, so be aware.
PF DEBATE:
I love good public forum debate! I think good PF is a balance between amazing argumentation (line-by-line, direct clash, etc.) and killer speaking skills. I think good teamwork with your partner is very important. Treat your partner like a person who deserves respect. Both partners should be involved in Grand Cross. I prefer crystalization over line-by-line in the summary, but I won't punish you for a line-by-line refutation summary. Weighing is crucial in PF. Tell me WHY I should prefer your arguments and impacts so that I don't have to intervene with my own thoughts during deliberation. Debaters that don't tell the judge exactly what to vote on andwhy are just inviting the judge to choose whatever they want, leading to intervention.
Calling for evidence during in-person rounds
From the judge---
I will only call for evidence that is contended throughout the round, with that being said if you want me to call for evidence, tell me to call for it and what is wrong with it so I don't have to throw my own judgement in.
From your opponent---
I will not time you to give evidence to your opponents, but I will time you if you start reading the evidence and analyzing it. I believe that should be done in prep. If you are taking too long to find/give evidence to your opponents, I will start your prep time. So be quick!
Have an excellent round!! Ask me any questions about my paradigm before the round starts!
Hello! My name is Maximus, call me Max for short please.
I graduated from Sky View High School this year where I competed in Debate for 1.5 years doing PF.
I'm fine with spreading, just slow down for taglines and other important information.
I really like impact calc.
Some background:.
I am the CTO of a mid sized FinTech company. I have been judging PF for the past 6 months.
I take a lot of notes during the debate and make my decision on the most convincing arguments.
Please provide an offline roadmap and also do clear signposting so I can take good notes.
For all debates: Sign post your arguments and be polite to one another. Speed is fine as long as you are clear.
CX: I am a stock issues voter. I have a high threshold on topicality and kritiks. There must be a substantial disadvantage for a team that is impacted out if a team wants to win the round solely on topicality. If the aff is truly untopical, then run topicality. Otherwise, if it is for a time-suck I would avoid this. The weirder the kritik the more work needs to be done developing the argument. Also, please use a roadmap to cover what part of the flow you will be on before you start.
LD: The value / value criterion clash is critical. Please go over this throughout the debate and use it as a mechanism to weigh the round with, rather than trying to solely win on the value / value criterion debate. Make sure to clash on the relevant issues in the debate and weigh the impacts on both sides. I look for arguments that are not just evidence based but also have a good tie to philosophy. In your final speech, I prefer that you use some of the time going over voters.
PF: Clash is critical in public forum. You should be weighing all arguments in the debate and bring new evidence in the round to support your position. If you have a framework, make sure to use it throughout your speeches and don't wait until the final focus to use your framework. You need to spend time utilizing your framework throughout. In your final speech, I prefer some voters.
4 year varsity debater from College Prep. Graduated in 2020.
I evaluate the flow first, tech over truth.
I can handle speed - would much rather prefer a slower, clear speech to a faster, garbled speech (esp with the online format)
Terminalize your impacts!
Weigh the debate for me so I don't have to and you don't get mad when I "do it wrong".
Everything that's in Final Focus should have been in summary (unless it's responding to something new from second summary (which also shouldn't happen)
You'll get good speaks from me unless you really mess up.
If you have any questions feel free to ask me before the round
I welcome any questions about my decision after the round.
email: gupta.abhimanyu@gmail.com
-Debated 4 years LD, graduating in 2013; qualified to TOC twice and reached Quarterfinals my senior year.
-Have coached for 10 years; am currently the Head Debate Coach at Lynbrook High School.
CIRCUIT LD PARADIGM
-Have a debate about the standard.
-Come up with and articulate your own responses against your opponent's positions rather than hiding behind cards, and don't be blippy.
-Be very clear. Your spreading should be clear. Your explanations should be clear. It should be very clear in your last speech what my RFD would be if I'm voting for you. A good final speech makes me sign the ballot immediately because there is no ambiguity about how the round is breaking down.
-Start doing argument comparison as soon as possible. When responding to an argument, explain why your response is better/makes more sense than the original argument (leaving all of this work until the 2NR/the 2AR will require judge intervention on my part to resolve the debate. Also keep in mind that argument comparison is different than merely weighing impacts).
-I don't vote on disclosure theory. I don't like the concept of everyone knowing the full content of everyone else's positions in advance -- I think it leads to pre-scripted debates and has turned LD into an activity that focuses too much on evidence as opposed to analytic argument generation, which was a skill that LD used to be very good at training.
-I also don't vote on any theory or kritik that only links because of something that happened outside of the round.
-There are some concepts from policy-style debate that I plainly don't understand. Textual and functional competition, germane versus non-germane net benefits, how process cp's work... Explain yourself, and don't use jargon.
-1AR theory: if you want to be able to go for it later, you have to invest time developing it and pre-empting the 2NR. I very rarely vote on 1AR theory, not because I'm opposed to it, but because the 2AR almost always sounds new.
-I almost never read cards after the round. If you say insert rehighlighting without reading the card out loud, there is a 0% chance that the argument will have anything to do with my ballot.
Speaks: I usually give between 28 and 29.
Email for email chains: ryleyhartwig@gmail.com
I competed in public forum at American Heritage in high school (2014-2016) and policy at FSU (2016-2018). Any questions you have specifically about my paradigm can be asked before the round.
Paradigm
- Do anything you want to do in terms of argumentation. It is not my job as a judge in a debate community to exclude certain forms of argumentation. I probably have not read your specific K lit if you go that route, make sure you explain it. If your theory is frivolous its a lot less likely to win, but go for it if you are confident in winning it. If you are reading a "role of the ballot" and it is different in every speech, I probably will not evaluate it. If you are reading a "role of the ballot", you should be able to recite it from memory without changing the phrases multiple times in the debate. Do not read a "role of the ballot" if you do not plan on keeping it consistent, it will result in worse speaker points.IF you're reading a K or other critical argument, explain your authors warranting, don't just assert an extension without explaining and characterizing your authors warranting to the specific debate.
- If neither team has any risk of offense at the end of the debate, I will default neg on presumption. I ALWAYS prefer to vote off a risk of offense over presumption, your probability analysis could win you the round. Provide a contextualization for your impact, and attempt to maintain a narrative throughout the later half of the debate. You will be a lot more convincing.
- Generally have been tech over truth. In PF there are significant time constraints to explain intricate link chains to arguments that may maintain more "tech" than "truth" in their nature--try to stray away from these. My threshold for responses to arguments that are more "tech" than "truth" is pretty low. If there is a large difference in strategy that allows for one of the "tech" over "truth" arguments to win on the flow, that is where I will vote. (eg. Team A reads a nuclear war scenario, Team B only responds with vague variants of "MAD", as long as Team A responds and extends warrants, this is still a tech over truth win)
- Sound logic is better than crappy cards. I think the main determinant of good quality evidence is not where it comes from, but the warranting the author uses to justify either their research or logic-based conclusions. The "why" in evidence is more important than where it is from unless a debater can prove that where the source is from be grounds for the warranting to be undermined.
- Cx is binding.
- If you disagree with my RFD, feel free to postround respectfully, I will be glad to answer any questions or give my thought process when deciding as long as the discussion remains civil.4
Hi everyone! Gonna keep this pretty short so you have more time to prep and less just trying to read an essay.
In all rounds be respectful of opponents pronouns and any sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise hurtful language will not be tolerated.
Debate:
I debated all 4 years of high school and participated in nationals three times. I mainly debated PF, though I did also occasionally debate LD. As a general rule be respectful to your competitors. I am perfectly fine with some fire and passion within the debate but be careful it doesn't turn into rudeness. Humor is okay so don't be afraid to crack some respectful and applicable jokes.
(PF):
Feel free to add some speed to your speeches, though if you spew and it gets to the point of just an info dump then I will mark it down in speaks. I don't classify myself as a flow judge due to the fact that I won't drop you just because you dropped one argument, as long as it wasn't a large impact in the round. I won't flow cross though it will play into my decision. Furthermore, make sure you don't only tell me what the impacts and voters are but be sure to weigh and tell me why they matter.
(LD):
As previously mentioned I mainly did PF so I do like clash regarding points. Always relate back to your Value and VC. Mainly in LD what's most important to me is a strong and stable link chain, with extra points if it has evidence to back you up.
Speeches:
I did Oratory for 3 years and also participated in foreign extemp. Mainly with speeches, I'm looking for a strong and confident speech that will intrigue me. Make sure to have your movements down (it doesn't have to be the triangle but I would like some sign that you are alive).
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If you have any questions feel free to email me at hhennrich02@gmail.com or ask before the round starts. Likewise, feel free to email me after the round with any questions.
I am a Lay Judge. Please speak slowly and clearly during the round. My speaker point range is from 27.5-30. Be respectful in the round and have fun.
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.
My preferences are pretty standard. I like taking notes on the arguments, evidence, impacts etc while you are speaking. I don't like new ideas introduced later in the debate. Weigh as much as possible to differentiate your narrative from your opponents, starting from the summary.
I'll weigh everything at the end of all the rounds. Public forum should encourage well-rounded, persuasive debating. Be respectful during crossfire, no time wasting tactics. I judge on your preparation, ideas, evidences, rebuttal, arguments, and impacts. My final decision comes down to all of them on both sides.
Email: caitlynajones1@gmail.com
Pronouns: (she/her)
I have done no topic research. Assume I know nothing
I debated PF for 4 years
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If you want me to vote on it, it needs to be in the summary and the final focus
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Please don’t just yell cards at me. Some analysis please
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If there’s an evidence misconduct problem, I’d rather you point out the issues with your opponent’s interpretation of evidence during your speeches, but I’ll call for a card if you tell me to.
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Any concessions in cross need to be in a speech for me to flow it
- Don't Spread at me. If I need a case doc to follow you, it's too fast.
- I'm not flowing anything after the 10-second grace period
I was a three year policy debater from South Dakota. I tend to be a policy maker judge, but I will try and vote however I am told to during the round. Some speed is fine, but make sure that you are clear with tags and you may have to slow down if you are explaining complex arguments or theories to me. Please don't be rude towards the other debaters or your partner - debate should be a place where everyone feels welcome.
Policy
I'm cool with any type of arguments being ran, but I prefer DA/CP/case debate versus critical or topicality (unless if they are actually untopical). Open CX is fine, but don't use up all of your partner's time. Make sure to have warranted extensions of your arguments and I appreciate if the debate can be boiled down to why you should win. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me before the round starts.
LD
I am pretty new to LD, but I will do my best to judge any round. To be honest, you will need to spend a little time explaining what some of the arguments are, as I'm not up to date with a lot of the buzzwords used. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me before the round starts.
PF
While I never competed in PF, I have been primarily judging it for the past two years. As for argumentation, y'all can run whatever you'd like, I do not mind. Don't steal prep or go over time with your speech - once you run out of time I stop flowing. Do your best to be fast with your evidence, it can get pretty obnoxious waiting. It's your opponent's right to ask for evidence, and it's on you to provide it without holding up the debate.
PF PARADIGM:
Head Coach at George Washington in Denver
I have watched some rounds on this topic.
I will vote off the flow if I can which means you need to sign post and keep the same names and structures for arguments as they were coming out of case. In other words, do not rename arguments later in the round. If I cannot figure out where to flow the argument, I am not listening to what you are saying, but rather trying to figure out where it goes. I am most happy when you guide my pen to the flow and tell me exactly where to write and what to write!
Make sure whatever you carry into Final Focus, is also part of Summary. All of the sudden extending arguments that have not been part of the debate is not a winning strategy.
Weigh the round, explain why your arguments outweigh your opponents'. Be specific; do not just say you "outweigh" leverage certain cards and contentions to explain
Dropped arguments only matter if you tell me why they matter!
Truth over tech; facts and reality matters. I will not vote off improbable, unrealistic or fundamentally flawed arguments. This does not mean opponents can just say they are improbable and move on, work must still be done to explain why the arguments are flawed, but if it is close and the arguments have been discredited with evidence and analysis, I will err on the side of "truth".
Dates matter and NSDA rules say you should at a minimum read the year of the card; please follow these rules or I will not flow your cards.
Views on Theory: Not a fan of it in PF. Run at your own risk.
Kritiks: See theory above
Views on Spreading: Do not spread! Reading quickly is not the same as a full out spread.
Please share all cards you are reading in a speech before the speech. Set up an email chain! This will avoid the annoying wait times associated with "calling for cards." All cards should be appropriately cut, please do not share a PDF or link and ask the other team to look for the relevant passage.
Pet Peeves
Please do not ask every single person in the room if they are ready before starting to speak. One simple, "everyone ready?" does the trick! Once you ask, give a little bit of wait time before you actually start speaking.
As far as I am concerned, the only road map in a PF round, is "Pro/Con" or "Con/Pro". Please do not use the term "brief off time road map." Or ask if I time them!
Avoid calling me "judge".
I stop listening to Cross-Fire if it is loud and the debaters talk over each other.
POLICY PARADIGM:
Head Coach George Washington High School.
If this paradigm isn't completely clear, please ask questions before the round! I'd rather you be informed than to be inconvenienced by a misunderstanding about anything said here.
Most Importantly: I haven't judged much circuit policy, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing.
If you want to have a good round in front of me, there's a couple things you should do/not do.
1. PLEASE take it easy on speed. Given that I do not judge on the circuit often, I'm a little out of practice flowing. This means that if you want me to understand what you're saying, you need to slow down. Obviously, this means you should far and away strive for clarity over speed.
2. If you are reading positions that are silly/don't make sense, expect to be disappointed with the decision that I make. Overly absurd Kritikal positions, and politics disads that seem to not have any internal links are definitely a no-go in front of me. I'm open to Kritikal positions, and I think they're interesting, but things like Death-Good aren't up my alley. Read a position that you know well in front of me and I'll enjoy it.
3. I'm comfortable evaluating Framework debates. I think affs should be at least tangentially related to the resolution. I'm not fond of just "Anti-USFG" affs. In addition, don't assume that I know all of the arguments that you're trying to make. On either side, the arguments should be explained clearly and concisely.
LD Paradigm
Although I come from a state that does primarily traditional value-criterion debate, I am an experienced policy coach (see the paradigm above). I can evaluate policy style arguments and am very open to them. I am much more persuaded by arguments that are related to the resolution and can be linked back to it as opposed to Kritikal arguments that do not link. I am, however, excited by some the resolution specific Kritiks and would love to hear them! I am familiar with a number of off case positions and theoretical arguments, please do not make assumptions and take time to give brief explanations.
I may not be able to easily follow or be familiar of all theory arguments. Slow down and explain them.
Dropped arguments only matter if you tell me why. You do not automatically win just because an argument is dropped.
As far as speed goes, I can keep up with it if it is clear and well articulated and has the purpose of covering more arguments. But I am not a fan of going fast just to go fast.
Please put me on the email chain -- julialynch101 AT gmail.com
I debated for four years at the University of Miami and mostly ran traditional policy arguments. However, I am open to listening to anything and will try my best to understand positions based on the arguments and evidence presented in the round. I respect the time and effort you are putting into this activity and hope that you will share that same respect for me and your opponents.
Top Level:
I flow on paper and lean more tech over truth.
Evidence quality (and analysis!) over quantity.
I prefer impact calc early and most definitely by the end of the round. “Even if”-esque arguments go a long way with me.
I love cross-ex and will reward speakers that are strategic, assertive, yet respectful.
Stealing prep is one of my biggest pet peeves -- please don't do it. I appreciate it when teams keep track of their prep (in the chat, if online).
Counterplans: As a former 2N, I loved running them and appreciate hearing well-thought-out and strategic CPs. However, I am skeptical of multi-plank counterplans that have no/few solvency advocates. In those instances, particularly, I can be easily persuaded by “links to the net benefit” args. Negs should identify net benefits early and clearly – I’ll hold you to what you say originally. Conditional planks and cross-application of planks/CPs to different pages frustrate me unless specifically flagged as a possibility early in the round. I will only “judge-kick” the CP if explicitly told to do so and can likely be persuaded otherwise with solid aff arguments.
Topicality: T is a voting issue and I believe that affs should have a plan, and if not, an advocacy statement. Otherwise, it’s unclear to me what the aff has to defend which likely makes in-depth engagement grounded in a point of stasis difficult. Reading blocks and blocks of definitions without analysis or embedded clash is not a winning strategy with me. I enjoy hearing arguments regarding topical versions of the aff and the value of debate and topic-specific education. Extra-topicality is an independent voting issue.
Disads: DAs are a great strategy either with a CP or straight up versus case. However, uniqueness and links need to be solid. I greatly appreciate “case turns the DA” and “DA turns case” args and prefer case-specific DAs over generics (read: politics).
Case debate: I absolutely love case debate and respect debaters who put in the time to point out flaws and contradictions on-case, even if via just short analytics. On-case turns and solvency takeouts can go far if explained and deployed correctly.
Kritiks: As mentioned above, I did not run many Kritiks when I debated. As such, I am not as familiar with the literature and would appreciate a clear explanation of the link and the alternative. I prefer topic-specific Kritiks and/or ones with concrete links to the plan itself, not just “the aff” or a singular piece of evidence. I think it would be difficult for me to vote for a K without an alt; however, I can be persuaded into thinking otherwise if sufficient work is done at the uniqueness/link level.
Theory: 2 condo is fine, but conditional planks and contradicting positions are a tough sell for me. Condo is the only theory arg for which I will “reject the team.”
** PF **
I did PF for a couple of years in high school so I am familiar with the structure and style. However, given that I haven't been active in the PF circuit for a couple of years, please be mindful of throwing around PF-specific debate terms without explaining what they mean. Although the paradigm above is through the lens of Policy, many of my preferences apply to PF. Please ask me any questions you have before the round and I'd be happy to answer.
FOR TOC 2023
First of all, congrats on making the TOC and best of luck; it's an accomplishment to be here so try your best and have fun! I've been out of debate for a year, but have been nearly fully removed from the community so I'm not very updated with the new meta, strategies, etc. With that being said, that doesn't change my judging philosophy. I'm still down to listen to anything and will vote on it if won. I've bolded the important sections of my paradigms for prefs, but if you still need a pref sheet, here's something you can use:
1 - Case, T, Theory, Ks, K Affs
2/3 - Tricks, Phil, Lay Debate
tl;dr
read whatever you want, be respectful to your opponents, and collapse in the back half/rebuttal speeches
i prefer technical debate
Longer Version
evhs '22
I was primarily coached by Luke DiMartino and Trevor Greenan. My paradigm is extremely similar to theirs, so if you feel that any part of this paradigm is unsatisfactory in terms of giving you the information you want, refer to theirs
Tech > truth, for adjudicating debate rounds. In parli, I will not fact check anything; I expect that you have integrity and will not lie about sources. If I wind up judging any carded debate event, I will most likely read some evidence, but the decision I make will be mostly based off of what you say in the rebuttals, your extension and spin of the ev, and overall just technical debating. I will not hesitate to intervene if you are being disrespectful to your opponents; racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, misgendering, or anything violent won't be tolerated. I don't mind if you postround with me, just please make sure you're respectful.
I don't have any argumentative preferences. I'm comfortable with evaluating standard advantage vs da/cp debates, theory debates, k's and k affs. I am not super comfortable with tricks, phil positions that are popular in LD, and super dense process CPs. My go to arguments by the end of my debate career were a buddhism k aff, spec shells, the cap k, a baudrillard k, t-fw against k affs, topicality, and ofc advantages and da/cp strats. I have more familiarity with these types of args but hold no biases. Anything goes in front of me, as long as you win it on the flow
Keep the flow clean. Number your arguments. Signpost. I usually flow the 1NR (in parli) on a separate sheet, so tell me if you would like me not to. Give me clear roadmaps and tell me the sheets you are going on in order. I flow virtually now, so telling me where overviews are would also be appreciated so I can add cells. I should be okay with speed, but I've been out of flowing for a while so opt for 90% of your top. I will not give out double wins. You should time yourself. I will protect the flow as much as I can, but call the point of order if you really want to be sure. Please take at least one POI in your speech; it is deeply saddening that parli still doesn't have flex time at every tournament.
I'll decide the winner of the round by comparing the win conditions each team presents me with in the rebuttal speeches. Comparatively weighing all of the arguments you make is super important to me. Whether the debate comes to down to china war vs warming, or the perm on the cap k, comparatively explaining why your argument is stronger than your opponents will win in front of me. My goal in the round is to minimize my intervention. I will zero out my personal opinions and try and use only my understanding of arguments to try and come up with the decision. Regardless of all that, judge instruction and weighing are your best friends.
For case arguments, I care about uniqueness more than the average judge, and think that smart analytical defensive arguments can be fairly powerful. On the flip side, I don't find myself believing in zero risk. I default to utilitarianism but am open to other frameworks as long as you are specific as to how I can weigh impacts at the end of the round. The more abstract you are, the more explanation I'm going to need. Standard arguments like politics, bizcon, etc. are all fine, but a really good topic DA in parli will definitely make me happy.
Counterplan debates are good. I will default to all advocacies being conditional and will judge kick your CP if told to in the 2AC (or 1AR if I wind up judging policy or ld). Fine with pics, adv cps, agent cp's. Not up to literature on process cp's so if you do go for them err on the side of overexplanation. Sad as it is to admit this, I am probably a better judge for theory than for a perm debate, but if the perm debate is properly explained and not super dense I will be happy to adjudicate it. Perms are tests of competition, not advocacies, and it will be really really hard to persuade me otherwise. Please send specific texts that are binding.
I frequently read theory and topicality and did a lot of nonsense with it, so I'm good with judging theory debates. I will most likely intervene on theory read in the 1AR for parli. Default to competing interps. I thought I figured out what reasonability was once and then forgot, so if you want to go for it please provide a brightline because I would prefer to not arbitrarily decide theory debates. Repeat interps, explicitly extend your voters, and please please please collapse. I enjoy good topicality debates as well; just make sure you have specific interps. Tricks like jurisdiction triggering presumption are fun, but don't lack on the substance of your standards and the true debatability of your interp. Once again, comparative weighing is super important. Weigh 1NC vs 2AC theory, weigh fairness vs education, weigh standards against each other. You are, theoretically, cultivating a "better" model of debate with your nonsense spec shell, so please weigh it against the counterinterp and tell me why your standards are better than theirs. My thoughts on theory are very similar to Trevors, so please refer to their paradigm for more specific explanation. Last thing here, is that I don't need in interp for things like "pics bad"; cp theory, floating piks bad, and all those arguments alike do not need interps for me to understand them, but if you are pressed for an interp then you should be able to provide one. Presumption is fire; please go for it (not even just in theory debates, all debates at this point)
I enjoyed kritiks more towards the end of my career, and find that good K debates are super fun. I think I have a passable understanding of most literature bases, but please err on the side of explaining your thesis and/or theory of power as much as possible. I care about framework more than the average judge; this is mainly cause I care about debatability a lot paradigmatically. However, I think strong framework arguments aid the negative more as I would feel completely fine voting on frameouts of the aff. I don't need a rotb, but if you do, just know that the rotb is nothing more than an interp and it will not mean anything to me if your framework arguments don't justify it. Specific links are good; alts doing and solving something is also really good. I think a compelling alternative should be able to resolve it's links. Aff teams should pick specific strategies. I am not fond of watching teams go for both hard right and soft left strategies against the K. Think about what your aff is saying, and then pick between link turn/perm or impact turn. Or invent a new strategy to beat the K, just make sure it lines up with what your 1AC is saying. I am not fond of K's bad theory, but if won i will vote on it.
K Affs are something I got into in the latter half of my debate career, and I really enjoyed them. For neg teams in this debate, don't go on autopilot. It's really easy to read the same fairness overview, and I would know cause I did this myself. Engage with the line by line because more often than not the aff probably has some compelling arguments. For aff teams, framework here, again, really matters. This is because I genuinely think you can win that your framework is an a priori in front of me. Regardless, smart counter interps are good, but so are impact turns. Just pick a strategy and align yourself with it. Back to the neg, I think it is very important to leverage your standards as turns to aff offense. Deeply questioning the sustainability of debate, as an activity, that isn't centered around competition or stasis will help you win my ballot. Additionally, creativity in arguments would be appreciated here. Fairness first gets boring after a while, and I say this as someone who went for fairness in nearly every framework round.
K v K debates: not much to say here. Compare frameworks and err on the side of over explaining. Judge instruction in these debates is even more important than in others. The aff probably gets a perm, but if you really dont want them to have one, make a theory argument.
Any questions, email me at mani.ayan2004@gmail.com. If you read through all of this, thank you. The debate space is yours and you should read whatever you would like. Have fun!
Who am I:
MS CS. I build AI models in industry
7 Years of Debate mainly in public forum.
I am used to national circuit public forum. I won PKD Nationals in college public forum twice.
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Public Forum
I will do my best to come into the debate with no preconceived notions of what public forum is supposed to look like.
Tech > Truth unless the flow is so damn messy that I am forced to go truth > tech to prevent myself from letting cardinal sins go.
Here's the best way to earn my ballot:
1) Win the flow. I will almost entirely vote off the flow at the end of the debate. If it's not in the FF I won't evaluate it at the end of the day.
2) Impact out what you win on the flow. I don't care if your opponents clean concede an argument that you extend through every speech if you don't tell me why I should care.
3) Clash with your opponent. Just because you put 5 attacks on an argument doesn't mean it has been dealt with if your attacks have no direct clash with the argument. If you are making an outway argument, tell me and I can evaluate it as such!
4) Please.. PLEASE extend your arguments from summary to final focus. Public forum is a partner event for a reason. i don't want two different stories from your side of the debate. Give me an argument, extend it through all your speeches and that's how you gain offense from it at the end of the day.
K's/Theory
I am fine with K's but please be aware of the following:
Y'all this isn't policy. It's public forum where you have potentially 4 minutes to detail a K, link your opponents to it, and impacted it out. This doesn't mean I won't evaluate and potentially vote on a K, rather I would caution against running a K just to say you ran a K in public forum.
Theory makes debate a better space. Don't abuse it
Speed
I can keep up with pretty much whatever you throw at me. Signposting is critical but in the rare case I have trouble I will drop my pen and say clear to give you a notice.
Plan's/Counterplans
I will drop you if you run one of these. This is public forum.
Speaker Points
Speaker points will be given with a couple points of consideration:
1) Logic. Anyone can yell cards 100mph at the top of their lungs. Speaker points will be higher for individuals who actually use logic to back up their evidence. Honestly you should be using logic anyways.
2) Signposting and clarity: Organization and well-built arguments are key in PF and.. ya know.. life.
3) Coding jokes. I am a computer scientist and will probably lose it (.5 SP bump for adaptation)
Calling for evidence
I will only call for evidence that is contended throughout the round, with that being said if you want me to call for evidence, tell me to call for it and what is wrong with it so I don't have to throw my own judgement in.
Any other questions ask me in round!
Lincoln Douglas:
I have judged quite a bit of Lincoln Douglas in Idaho; however, I am primarily a national circuit Public Forum Coach. I have will no problem following your on-case argumentation. K's, while I have introductory knowledge about, are not my speciality and please adjust accordingly.
I have no problem with counter plans in LD and I will come into the round with an open mind of how LD is supposed to look.
4 Tips for me:
1. Win the flow by extending your arguments and collapsing on key voters.
2. I could care less if you win the value/c debate unless you tell me why it ties to your impacts in a unique scope that your opponent does not.
3. Coding jokes get a .5 SP bump for adaption. (I am a computer scientist and believe adaptation is important to public speaking. But you won't be penalized for this haha)
4. Have fun!
If you have any questions please feel free to ask!
Policy
I have judged well over 50 policy rounds in Idaho; however, I have never judged national circuit (TOC) policy. What does this mean for your adaption to me?
Add me to the email chain marckade@isu.edu
1. Run whatever you want. I have no problem with K's or any other argument some local circuits believe to be kryptonite. I believe debate is a game that has real world implications. I am tech > truth. See #3 for more info
2. I have ZERO issue with fast paced, spreading of disads, on case, and generic off-case positions such as counterplans. You can go as fast as you want on these as long as you are clear in the tagline.
3. If you decide to run something fancy (K's), you will need to slow down a little bit. I have judged K debate, but it is not my specialty and I am not up to date with the literature. But I believe most K's to be fascinating and I wish I judged them more. The most important thing you can do to help me vote for your K is EXPLAIN the links. Links are everything to me <3
Hi! I'm Cale- I've been coaching and judging for 8 years (PF and LD, some policy).
Affiliations: Del Norte, Magnolia, Director of PF at VBI
Former: Westlake, Flanagan, Corona del Sol, Brophy, Quarry Lane
General:
- Read whatever you like: judging debaters who enjoy what they read is fun. However, keep in mind the coherence of my RFD will scale with your clarity- slow for analytics and tags, send well-organized docs, signpost, and number answers when you can. You'll be much happier with my decision.
- I will not 'gut check' or strike an argument just because you've deemed it unwarranted or silly. Instead, I encourage you to make an active response- it should be quick to do so if the argument is as underdeveloped as you say.
- Extend your arguments. Something more than the tag is necessary, even if you think it's conceded.
- Keep the round a safe and pleasant place for everyone. I will work hard to give you a thorough decision so long as we can all access the debate and speak about it afterwards without hostility.
Policy:
I'll judge kick the CP. I am good for your competition-based or process CP. Most often, teams would be better served engaging in a competition debate rather than reading a blippy theory argument. Default limitless condo (won't hack for it, but it's a strong default).
Zero-risk exists, and while it is difficult to achieve, it is entirely possible to make an argument's implication so marginal that its functional weight in the round is zero.
I am happy to judge critical debates, but please engage in the lbl and err against being too overview heavy- especially true in the case of a planless affirmative.
LD:
Policy- What I judge most. Above section applies, I'll just add that a. 3 word perms aren't arguments- explain the world of the perm and b. Limitless condo less strong a default given speech times in LD- still think you're better off engaging in a competition debate, but more open to cp theory claims.
Theory- A lot of what I judge. Always send interps and slow for anything you extemp. Far too often in these debates there's no weighing or line by line done on paradigm issues: the 1n reads their theory hedge and vaguely crossapplies it to the 1ac underview, and then all of these arguments just float around in the 1ar and 2n without resolution- please lbl to make judging this tolerable.
K- I frequently judge & cut a variety of cap & setcol arguments- external to that, I will need more judge instruction/won't be steeped in your literature's jargon. Please lbl clearly: I find myself most lost in k 2n/2ars when the overview is jargon-heavy and crossapplied everywhere.
Tricks- Requirements for me to vote here: 1. It has a warrant & implication 2. It is delineated in the doc (not in the cut of a card or hidden in a tag) 3. You're not being intentionally obtuse in cross 4. You slow way down in the rebuttal speeches and make the extension + application of the argument exceptionally clear. With all of that being said, I have no predisposition against voting here, particularly if you're reading triggers for a fw, skep or p&p.
Phil- I have next to no experience save for a lot of Kant, I mostly judge tricky weird stuff. Need you to slow down and give me extra judge instruction if you're reading anything denser, but happy to learn.
PF:
Extend defense the speech after it's answered and be comparative when you're weighing or going for a fw argument. Otherwise, read what you think is most fun and educational. This can include theory, critical arguments, and other forms less common to PF- I only ask you don't read these positions just for the sake of doing it. Read them well.
Come to round ready to debate (pre-flowed, have docs ready if you're sending them, etc). The only way to frustrate me beyond being rude is to drag out the round by individually calling for a lot of evidence and taking forever to send it.
I judge based on Cost-Benefit Analysis, the one side that can show more pros and uphold their arguments will win the round. However, bad sportsmanship will cost you Speaker Points and perhaps to lose the round if no real arguments are made. Keep arguments simple when possible but I will write everything down so don't worry! And please time yourselves.
Debate Voting:
I judge based on flow with weightage in rebuttals and how you protect your arguments against opponent rebuttals. I judge unbiased and according to the debate rules.
Speaker Points:
Presentation of constructive pro and con arguments is prepared speech and it establishes base for speaker points. Good presentation of Rebuttal and summary speeches which are not prepared ahead will push speaker points higher.
Judging History:
SCU Dempsey Cronin Invitational 2019 Varsity Public Forum
Stephen Stewart Middle and High School Invitational at Milpitas 2019 Varsity Public Forum
Georgiana Hays Invitational 2019 Varsity Public Forum
Cal Invitational UC Berkeley 2019 Varsity Public Forum
33rd Annual Stanford Invitational 2019 Varsity Public Forum
SCU Dempsey Cronin Invitational 2018 JV Public Forum
32nd Annual Stanford Invitational 2018 JV Public Forum
Middle School Speech and Debate Fall Classic 2017 Public Forum
Stephen Stewart Middle and High School Invitational at Milpitas 2017 Public Forum
Hello! If you need to contact me my phone number is (435)640-0086 and my email is petersc@lawrence.edu
Background:
I've done four years of high school LD debate as well as multiple speaking events.
A conglomeration of thoughts/ how to win my ballot:
Sometimes I turn my camera off, I promise I'm paying attention.
Cut cards please.
Speed shouldn't be a problem unless it is used as a weapon of confusion. If you can go slower and still read your case please do.
Please do weighing in a clear clear way it will help you win.
Link and Evidence comparison is important. Show why your link is stronger than your opponents' clearly.
I vote for the well-reasoned, well-argued and well-defended argument over the sad drawing out of dropped arguments.
I don't love hearing Ks. I have 0 background in them and don't like to feel scared. However, if you can read a K in a clear and concise enough way for PF I will be fine.
Reach out with additional questions!
I have been a judge for 2 years. I have judged all events on the speech side at local tournaments and both nationals. I have judged PF at every local tournament for the last year. I want to hear concrete, logically connected arguments. Before you start your speech tell me which side of the flow you are starting on, stating clearly your contentions and sub-points. I have issues with spreading, if I cannot flow your arguments, you cannot win, simple as that. Please weigh at the end. I expect professionalism and good sportsmanship. Most important have fun and good luck!
i flow the round but i'm not tech and i can handle some speed (be safe and just go slow). i'm pretty well-read on most topics, especially economic ones, but i'm tech over truth. logic > evidence w/o warranting. if the tournament allows me to i'll disclose w/ a detailed rfd
I am a parent judge, but was never a debater myself. I am still fairly new.
I have mostly judged parli, with a pofo round and LD round as well. I appreciate outlines/roadmaps. I really appreciate you speaking clearly and not going too fast. I may ask you to slow down if needed. Your arguments hold more weight if I can understand them and you aren't trying to cram a ton of information into your time. Please avoid jargon. Remember, your job is to argue the resolution before a non-specialist judge.
I will drop speaker points to 25 if there's any sexist, racist, homophobic, or ableist rhetoric.
Be polite. Have fun.
Again, know your audience. I am not a hired judge with years of debating experience. Your approach with me should be different than with a very experienced judge. I try to be the best judge that I can be, and come to the debate with the expectation that I do not draw conclusions, or make connections, unless you make them for me. I judge based on the quality of the arguments made.
Gabe Rusk ☮️&♡
Want me to judge a practice round for you and provide feedback? Check out www.practicedebate.com
Immigration Topic UKSO:
Plx: Already heard someone mispronounce Kamala today. Doesn't bode well for your credibility on the arg. It's Comma-Lah not Kuh-mahluh. Also your polls better be from this week and you better know the methodology of your models/polls.
Background
Debate Experience: TOC Champion PF 2010, 4th at British Parli University National Championships 2014, Oxford Debate Union competitive debater 2015-2016 (won best floor speech), LGBTQIA+ Officer at the Oxford Debate Union.
NSDA PF Topic Committee Member: If you have any ideas, topic areas, or resolutions in mind for next season please send them to my email below.
Coaching Experience: Director of Debate at Fairmont Prep 2018-Current, Senior Instructor and PF Curriculum Director at ISD, La Altamont Lane 2018 TOC, GW 2010-2015. British Parli coach and lecturer for universities including DU, Oxford, and others.
Education: Masters from Oxford University '16 - Dissertation on the history of the First Amendment. Religion and Philosophy BA at DU '14. Other research areas include Buddhism, comparative religion, conlaw, First Amendment law, free speech, freedom of expression, art law, media law, & legal history.
2023 Winter Data Update: Importing my Tabroom data I've judged 651 rounds since 2014 with a 53% Pro and 47% Con vote balance. There may be a slight subconscious Aff bias it seems. My guess is that I may subconsciously give more weight to changing the status quo as that's the core motivator of debate but no statistically meaningful issues are present.
Email: gabriel.rusk@gmail.com
PF Paradigm
Judge Philosophy
I consider myself tech>truth but constantly lament the poor state of evidence ethics, power tagging, clipping, and more. Further, I know stakes can be high in a bubble, bid, or important round but let's still come out of the debate feeling as if it was a positive experience. Life is too short for needless suffering. Please be kind, compassionate, and cordial.
Big Things
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What I want to see: I'm empathetic to major technical errors in my ballots. In a perfect world I vote for the team who does best on tech and secondarily on truth. I tend to resolve clash most easily when you give explicit reasons why either a) your evidence is comparatively better but also when you tell me why b) your warranting is comparatively better. Obviously doing both compounds your chances at winning my ballot. I have recently become more sensitive to poor extensions in the back half. Please have UQ where necessary, links, internal links, and impacts. Weighing introduced earlier the better. Weighing is your means to minimize intervention.
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Weighing Unlike Things: I need to know how to weigh two comparatively unlike things. If you are weighing some economic impact against a non-economic impact like democracy how do I defer to one over the other? Scope, magnitude, probability etc. I strongly prefer impact debates on the probability/reasonability of impacts over their magnitude and scope. Obviously try to frame impacts using all available tools. I am very amicable to non-trad framing of impacts but you need to extend the warrants and evidence.
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Weighing Like Things: Please have warrants and engage comparatively between yourself and your opponent. Obviously methodological and evidentiary comparison is nice too as I mentioned earlier. I love crossfires or speech time where we discuss the warrants behind our cards and why that's another reason to prefer your arg over your opponent.
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Don't be a DocBot: I love that you're prepared and have enumerated overviews, blocks, and frontlines. I love heavy evidence and dense debates with a lot of moving parts. But if it sounds like you're just reading a doc without specific or explicit implications to your opponent's contentions you are not contributing anything meaningful to the round. Tell me why your responses interact. If they are reading an arg about the environment and just read an A2 Environment Non-Unique without explaining why your evidence or warranting is better then this debate will suffer.
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I'm comfortable if you want to take the debate down kritical, theoretical, and/or pre-fiat based roads. I think framework debates be them pre or post fiat are awesome. Voted on many K's before too. Here be dragons. I will say though, over time I've become increasingly tired of opportunistic, poor quality, and unfleshed out theory in PF. But in the coup of the century, I have been converted to the position that disclosure theory and para theory is a viable path to the ballot if you win your interp. I do have questions I am ruminating on after the summer doxxing of judges and debaters whether certain interps of disc are viable and am interested to see how that can be explored in a theory round. I would highly discourage running trigger warning theory in front of me. See thoughts below on that. All variables being equal I would prefer post-fiat stock topic-specific rounds but in principle remain as tabula rasa as I can on disc and paraphrasing theory.
Little Things
- (New Note for 2024: Speech docs have never intended to serve as an alternative to flowing a speech. They are for exchanging evidence faster and to better scrutinize evidence. Otherwise, you could send a 3000 word case and the speech itself could be as unintelligible as you would like without a harm. As a result there is an infinite regress of words you could send. Thus I will not look at a speech doc during your speech to aid with flowing and will clear you if needed. I will look at docs only when there is evidence comparison, flags, indicts etc but prefer to have it on hand. My speed threshold is very high but please be a bit louder than usual the faster you go. I know there is a trade off with loudness and speed but what can we do).
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What needs to be frontlined in second rebuttal? Turns. Not defense unless you have time. If you want offense in the final focus then extend it through the summary.
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Defense is not sticky between rebuttal and final focus. Aka if defense is not in summary you can't extend it in final focus. I've flipped on this recently. I've found the debate is hurt by the removal of the defense debate in summary and second final focus can extend whatever random defense it wants or whatever random frontlines to defense. This gives the second speaking teams a disproportionate advantage and makes the debate needlessly more messy.
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I will pull cards on two conditions. First, if it becomes a key card in the round and the other team questions the validity of the cut, paraphrasing, or explanation of the card in the round. Second, if the other team never discusses the merits of their opponents card the only time I will ever intervene and call for that evidence is if a reasonable person would know it's facially a lie.
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Calling for your opponent's cards. It should not take more than 1 minute to find case cards. Do preflows before the round. Smh y'all.
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If you spread that's fine. Just be prepared to adjust if I need to clear or provide speech docs to your opponents to allow for accessibility and accommodation.
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My favorite question in cx is: Why? For example, "No I get that's what your evidence says but why?"
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Germs are scary. I don't like to shake hands. It's not you! It's me! [Before covid times this was prophetic].
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I don't like to time because it slows my flow in fast rounds but please flag overtime responses in speechs and raise your phone. Don't interrupt or use loud timers.
Ramblings on Trigger Warning Theory
Let me explain why I am writing this. This isn't because I'm right and you're wrong. I'm not trying to convince you. Nor should you cite this formally in round to win said round. Rather, a lot of you care so much about debate and theory in particular gets pretty personal fairly quickly that I want to explain why my hesitancy isn't personal to you either. I am not opposing theory as someone who is opposed to change in Public Forum.
- First, I would highly discourage running trigger warning theory in front of me. My grad school research and longstanding work outside of debate has tracked how queer, civil rights advocates, religious minorities, and political dissidents have been extensively censored over time through structural means. The suppression and elimination of critical race theory and BLM from schools and universities is an extension of this. I have found it very difficult to be tabula rasa on this issue. TW/anonymous opt outs are welcome if you so wish to include them, that is your prerogative, but like I said the lack of one is not a debate I can be fair on. Let me be clear. I do not dismiss that "triggers" are real. I do not deny your lived experience on face nor claim all of you are, or even a a significant number of you, are acting in bad faith. This is always about balancing tests. My entire academic research for over 8 years was about how structural oppressors abuse these frameworks of "sin," "harm," "other," to squash dissidents, silence suffragettes, hose civil rights marchers, and imprison queer people because of the "present danger they presented in their conduct or speech." I also understand that some folks in the literature circles claim there is a double bind. You are opting out of trigger warning debates but you aren't letting me opt out of debates I don't want to have either. First, I will never not listen to or engage in this debate. My discouragement above is rooted in my deep fear that I will let you down because I can't be as fair as I would be on another issue. I tell students all the time tabula rasa is a myth. I still think that. It's a goal we strive for to minimize intervention because we will never eliminate it. Second, I welcome teams to still offer tw and will not penalize you for doing so. Third, discussions on SV, intersectionality, and civil rights are always about trade offs. Maybe times will change but historically more oppression, suppression, and suffering has come from the abuse of the your "speech does me harm" principle than it benefits good faith social justice champions who want to create a safe space and a better place. If you want to discuss this empirical question (because dang there are so many sources and this is an appeal to my authority) I would love to chat about it.
Next, let me explain some specific reasons why I am resistant to TW theory in debate using terms we use in the literature. There is a longstanding historical, philosophical, and queer/critical theory concern on gatekeeper shift. If we begin drawing more and more abstract lines in terms of what content causes enough or certain "harm" that power can and will be co-opted and abused by the equally more powerful. Imagine if you had control over what speech was permitted versus your polar opposite actor in values. Now imagine they, via structural means, could begin to control that power for themselves only. In the last 250 years of the US alone I can prove more instances than not where this gatekeeping power was abused by government and powerful actors alike. I am told since this has changed in the last twenty years with societal movements so should we. I don't think we have changed that significantly. Just this year MAUS, a comic about the Holocaust, was banned in a municipality in Jan 22. Toni Morrison was banned from more than a dozen school districts in 2021 alone. PEN, which is a free press and speech org, tracked more than 125 bills, policies, or resolutions alone this year that banned queer, black, feminist, material be them books, films, or even topics in classrooms, libraries, and universities. Even in some of the bills passed and proposed the language being used is under the guise of causing "discomfort." "Sexuality" and discussions of certain civil rights topics is stricken from lesson plans all together under these frameworks. These trends now and then are alarming.
I also understand this could be minimizing the trauma you relive when a specific topic or graphic description is read in round. I again do not deny your experience on face ever. I just cannot comfortably see that framework co-opted and abused to suppress the mechanisms or values of equality and equity. So are you, Gabe, saying because the other actors steal a tool and abuse that tool it shouldn't be used for our shared common goals? Yes, if the powerful abuse that tool and it does more harm to the arc of history as it bends towards justice than I am going to oppose it. This can be a Heckler's Veto, Assassin's Veto, Poisoning The Well, whatever you want to call it. Even in debate I have seen screenshots of actual men discussing how they would always pick the opt out because they don't want to "debate girls on women issues in front of a girl judge." This is of course likely an incredibly small group but I am tired of seeing queer, feminist, or critical race theory based arguments being punted because of common terms or non-graphic descriptions. Those debates can be so enriching to the community and their absence means we are structurally disadvantaged with real world consequences that I think outweigh the impacts usually levied against this arg. I will defend this line for the powerless and will do so until I die.
All of these above claims are neither syllogisms or encyclopedias of events. I am fallible and so are those arguments. Hence let us debate this but just know my thoughts.
Like in my disclaimer on the other theory shell none of these arguments are truisms just my inner and honest thoughts to help you make strategic decisions in the round.
Website: I love reading non-fiction, especially features. Check out my free website Rusk Reads for good article recs.
Siva Sambasivam
I debated in high school - autoqualed to TOC and placed at Nats. Coached for a few years - my teams have won TOC and t5'd NSDA Nats, so I should be able to keep up with anything you throw at me.
Debate is a game, play to win.
Debate is an educational activity, play fair.
TLDR: Tech > Truth, please warrant args and do comparative analysis, I’ll vote for anything. Don't lose sight that debate is still a persuasion activity - I appreciate debaters that are technically sound, but debate without ignoring this fact. Also, please make the round pleasant - nothing I hate more than spending time on a weekend watching kids get mad at each other. It's just debate; not that deep.
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Now the juicy stuff:
- I will only intervene under two conditions: 1. If a team is skewed out of the round technically or accessibility is compromised. Keep debate safe and fun - read trigger warnings, send docs, etc (more on this below). 2. There is absolutely 0 weighing done - then I'll do my own impact calc because I really don't want to presume.
- If you haven't had me before: As a debater, my favorite judges on the circuit were Cale McCrary, Riley Shahar, John Nahas, Cara Day, and Conrad Palor - This would have been my ideal 5 judge panel, and a lot of my paradigm is based on theirs, so I'll evaluate rounds most similarly to them.
- It's my job to adapt to you. Let me know if there's anything I can do to make the round more accessible and feel free to ask paradigm questions before round.
- Postround as hard as you feel like. I’ll continue the conversation for as long as you want (even after the tournament), unless I think it’s going in circles.
- Second rebuttal must frontline turns and respond to weighing, if you wish to contest them. Otherwise, they are conceded, with full strength of link. Don't try some wand-waving in summary, it's a waste of your time. First summary only needs to respond to arguments that second rebuttal interacted with. (If second rebuttal doesn't respond to defense, you can backline it in first final focus). I'm willing to buy arguments that second rebuttal needs to FL everything.
- I will ALWAYS disclose my decision and give an RFD, whether the tournaments bans it or not (pls don't snitch on me). I used to hate it when I didn't get a decision/feedback, especially from flow judges, because it prevented me from making mid-tournament adjustments. I think not getting judges' feedback gives a significant advantage to schools who can have coaches watch the round, and I want to level the playing field. Feel free to message me on facebook during or after the topic if you have any questions or want feedback/advice.
- The only time I expect disclosure is if you read a pre-fiat argument with discourse as an impact. If you don't, it's not an auto-L, but disclosing is a way to show me that you are not commodifying my ballot. This also means I'm inclined to buy disclosure theory in this type of situation - I hate people running arguments like these just for ballots. I think it's great if you actually care, though, because debate can be used to bring awareness and force people to research/understand arguments they previously wouldn't have.
Come to the round already preflowed & coinflip done pls unless you have a paradigm question
| LINE BY LINE | SIGNPOST | EXTEND ARGS | SUMMARY TO FF CONSISTENCY | HAVE FUN |
-General-
- Please extend your link story with warrants in the back half - one exception: if a certain part of your argument is conceded, I don't NEED that part. For example, if you read in case a warrant for nuclear war -> extinction, I don't need that warrant extended in the back-half if it's conceded. Remember, if it is conceded, I don't NEED this, but I'd prefer it. If your entire arg is conceded, I still need at the least the link and impact. Debate is about efficiently and persuasively articulating arguments - if you don't do that in the back-half I'll be hesitant to vote for you, and your speaks will take a hit.
- Cool with anyone speaking in cross, I don't see a reason why every cross shouldn't just have everyone involved, ESPECIALLY in rounds with pre-fiat and apriori arguments.
- Please send a speech doc if it's either, A: above 350 wpm (cards) or B: above 275 wpm and a lot of paraphrasing and blippy analytics. As my old coach would say: I'll probably be fine without a speech doc, but it won't help you when I get distracted for 0.2 seconds and miss your 12 rOuNd WiNnInG TuRnS. I think speed is good for the activity, just try your best not to be exclusionary.
- Speaker Point boost for disclosing - I think disclosing is good but I also have a very high threshold for disclosure theory and paraphrase theory because I don't believe teams should be *forced* to disclose. That said, I do believe it is a good practice and it does put you at a disadvantage, so let me know before constructive that you disclose, and I'll add 1 pt to speaks.
- TKO (Technical Knockout) Rule: if you believe your opponent has 0 path to the ballot as long as you properly extend arguments, not just a small probability chance (they drop a warranted and extended ROTB and a clean link and they don’t have an external link into your ROTB, for example), you can call a "TKO" and the round ends early. If you're right, you win and get 30s. If you're wrong, you lose and get 20s.
- For the second speaking team, no new final focus analysis is allowed unless it is responsive to new first final focus arguments.
- If you think there is something missing from my paradigm, ask me before round or make an argument in round for why I should follow a certain rule when judging.
-Substance-
- DAs in second rebuttal: Here's the deal. Most of y’all accidentally do this anyway cause people don’t read proper "link turns" or "impact turns". That's fine. However, let’s make sure these are all warranted and implicated. Remember, warrants make arguments, implications make responses. Also don't just read disads, sprinkle in some analytics. Like, if your rebuttal is “oN ThEiR CaSe - iTs GoNnA sTaRt wiTh An OvErViEw.... COnTeNtIOn FoUr Is..." then please abstain. I already said I’m cool with speed, read your 12 contentions in constructive. Let's make rebuttal somewhat responsive.
- Hidden arguments are fine as long as they have warrants.
- Summary - this is BY FAR the most important speech in the round. I know other judges are willing to do this, even some of the best, but I will not vote for a team with a second speaker that ghost extends stuff into final focus. I won’t do that. Please extend your arguments well in summary. I also find the warrants for defense and turns go away by summary for a lot of teams - my rule about not voting for unwarranted arguments still applies to these. Even if you are winning 5 pieces of conceded terminal defense, if a warrant isn't extended, then I won't buy any of the defense.
- sTrEnGtH oF LiNk meta weighing is the new "clarity of impact". I won't vote for it absent a very well developed warrant. Even if you do warrant it, I think it's stupid. This is pretty much a "trick" read by techy teams to skew another team out of the round. If someone reads it on you - here are 4 responses: 1. It destroys education because it encourages people to avoid impact calculus, which is key to real-world policymaking, 2. It also encourages people to extend tons of blippy defense through ink because frontlines are rarely terminal, as opposed to interacting with arguments, which is key to in-depth education, and 3. It discourages warranted link comparison, like historical precedent or uniqueness comparison, which is more applicable to the real world, and 4. If you win your argument, you also have 100 percent strength of link. Read these 4 responses and it'll probably take out the SoL metaweighing, if not serve as an independent reason to drop your opponents for setting bad norms (if you make this implication, obviously). I would absolutely love a team to drop if you win any of these. However, if you don't read these responses, I won't have any sympathy for you, because you should be reading paradigms before round.
-Weighing-
There are two ways I can comfortably vote for you: you either nuke them on the flow, meaning you just win the arguments indisputably and weighing isn’t needed, or you properly weigh. You'll likely have a better time in the latter category. With that:
PLEASE PLEASE WEIGH. Comparative and INTERACTIVE weighing specifically.
Carded weighing and framing are great. Meta weighing is awesome. Link comparison is even better.
- Weighing is not spamming random buzzwords. Weighing is not "OuR EcOn aRg OuTwEiGhS tHEiR LiVeS aRg On ScOpE." Do impact calc, and actually responsive impact calc (not just scope, magnitude, reversibility, timeframe, etc). While I do appreciate this traditional weighing, I would obviously prefer interactive and comparative analysis - i.e. link-ins, pre-reqs, short-circuits. I'm inclined to reward good internal link debate.
- Just a piece of advice: disguise link turns here (i.e. if you are winning an Econ argument and you’ve conceded a war link, just give reasons why a bad economy link turns war and why it outweighs on probability for example). This is also a great way to get back in the round if you drop something big. But also don’t read new substantive link turns as “weighing” - there’s a difference and I’ll catch it.
- Weighing that is not responded to in the next speech is conceded - that doesn’t mean you can’t do more analysis on it (i.e. linking into that weighing or reading a pre-req) but if the actual warrant on any weighing is dropped, it is conceded.
- "Probability" is not weighing on the impact level. If an argument is won, the probability is high. You can do strength of link weighing, but ultimately anything you say is "probability weighing" is just impact defense that needs to come in rebuttal. The only time that I’ll evaluate probability weighing is if it’s new comparative analysis done on the link level between multiple arguments that could not have come in rebuttal.
- Clarity of impact is not weighing unless you warrant why it is weighing (and there are ways to do this, ask me in round if you want) - but just saying that you have a number and your opponents don’t is a stupid way to look at debate, and encourages zero interaction and zero comparative analysis - I’m never going to vote on it absent a warrant. If you make a claim that your opponents don’t have impact contextualization, then sure, I’m more likely to vote for you, but pls pls pls don’t let cLaRiTy oF iMpAcT be your “weighing” in the round. Same thing with "uniqueness" weighing.
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Do meta weighing and link weighing - if two teams both have links into an impact (which should happen in high-level rounds) - do link comparison. (Strength of link, historical precedent, uniqueness, probability). In my career I always HATED when judges intervened with their own thoughts about which warrant or link “made sense” - I’ve had this happen in super late elimination rounds at bid tournaments. If I’m in this scenario I will 100 percent not intervene - it is your fault for not giving me reasons for why your warrant is better even if everyone can agree it “makes more sense” - So, if everyone has extended warrants into the same argument and there is no terminal defense from either side, I’ll default to (in order):
- Which argument has less mitigatory defense (Strength of Link)
- If there's any empirics read on the argument
- Whoever is winning the uniqueness picture (since that makes it more likely that your link has a larger magnitude and greater SoL)
- I’ll prefer a carded link over an analytical link turn
- Remember, these are all easy ways to compare links, along with evidence comparison, that should be said in round, but if nobody says anything, this is how I’ll evaluate competing links.
-Theory-
TLDR: Default RVIs and reasonability, don't skew teams out of round with this
- I really hate teams being exclusionary with theory but here are my bright lines so there is something that is concrete -
- If a team is qualified to the GOLD TOC, they should be able to handle theory shells.
- If you are at a Round Robin, the same goes.
- If you are one round past the bid level at a tournament (i.e. sems at a quarters bid) go for it.
- Otherwise, I'd prefer if you didn't read theory, but if you must: go slow, no jargon, and paragraph form.
- If reading theory against a team that can handle it structure it properly and go as fast as you want. I’m cool with meta-theory. Do weighing between the shells.
- As a side note, if I’m on a panel, please only read your shell if all the judges can handle it. I hate teams reading theory and then getting the benefit of doubt from the judges that don’t know what they are doing. This also means I’m inclined to vote on a shell saying you can only read theory if judges all expressly say they can evaluate it.
- I default to RVIs unless told otherwise. Also, because theory is not a common argument, I default reasonability so that teams that are new to theory can respond to it like a regular argument. I will not drop a team if they responded to the shell adequately, but didn't know exactly what a "counterinterp" was. I'm more than down to default competing interps, but please (1) explain what they are for your opponents and (2) give me a WARRANT as to why.
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THIS is IMPORTANT - If you read no RVI’s - I do NOT believe winning no RVIs turn your shell into no-risk offense. I've heard from people that this is a hot button issue in policy as well right now, and because theory is still relatively new to PF, norms for theory debates are still being set. My stance on this is pretty simple - I've had theory debates (especially back when I didn't understand theory as well) where the warrants for an RVI never actually held up to what the judges considered an "RVI". For example:
- I believe that if someone is winning a link turn on your shell (not reasons to prefer a competing interp) but a link turn - i.e. you read time skew bad and they say time skew good because it fosters critical thinking, an RVI does not get you out of that unless you explicitly explain why your RVI should preclude link turns. Like if your warrant for no RVI's is that it is illogical because you shouldn't win for proving that you are fair/educational - that isn't responsive to time-skew good, right, because their argument is that they are being comparatively more fair/educational than you.
- (Chilling effect could be responsive, but you need to explain why) You can also read defense to your own shell/standards to get out of it, I think conditionality is fine.
Basically, theory is always more exclusionary than substance, so if we use jargon, let's not conflate what that jargon means.
If responding to theory/you’re reading my paradigm rn and worried some tech lord is gonna go 89 off on you, not to fret, just treat theory like any arg (logically) and you should be good ... this isn't an excuse to undercover it though.
-Tricks/K’s-
- Ks. I prefer util debate. That said, I've read and debated basic K stuff so if you wanna read a K and that's your topic strat, I won't change that or penalize you for it. Just please be really clear and explicit and explain stuff well. Once again, if you are hitting a team that doesn't understand it, please be extra slow. I just say I prefer util because I'm less likely to make a bad decision/have to intervene for yall.
- I’m definitely chill with forms of epistemological/deontological weighing, I think these aren't read well by teams and are often underutilized.
- Tricks - just don't. If you are thinking about reading tricks with me in the back, you'll probably win substance anyway, so just do that, please. If you REALLY want to, tell your opponents 30 minutes before the round, and disclose the tricks if they ask.
-Speaks-
- Speaks are subjective - If you are funny, chill and disclose - you’ll prolly get good speaks.
- To give you a gauge on what I like - My favorite debaters stylistically were Matt Salah, Max Wu, Gabe Grodan, and Ezra Khorman.
- Be calm and slow, or dominant and assertive, I don't care - I'm happy to give great speaks to both if you execute properly.
- I know I have implicit biases, so I’ll do my best to counteract them while giving speaks.
- 30 speaks shell: Please don't read this. I think it’s read by predominately male teams and it further hurts womxn, gm’s, and minorities in the activity. As I said, I’ll try to prevent any action on my implicit biases but I won’t vote for this argument, because I do think this fosters exclusionary practices.
-Other-
Formal clothes are stupid - pull up in whatever you want. Make the round chill.
CX: I don’t listen. That said concessions in cross, obviously, can be leveraged.
I don’t like calling cards because I don’t like intervening. I will only call a card if a) you tell me to in a speech and give me a reason to do so, b) I actually just can’t make a decision without seeing it, or c) your representation of the card changes as the round progresses
-Two quick things-
I know you want to win and debate can get super heated and competitive. Trust me, I was never known for being nice in round. But at the end of the day, even if you can’t see it now, you are going to value this activity for the connections you’ve made and the people you meet, not for the nice trophy you get with a horse on top of it. Genuinely try to enjoy rounds and create friendships with the people you debate.
I know lots of schools don’t have many resources or coaching. If you are in this boat - feel free to ask me for help/advice after round, or even after the tournament. I dealt with this for a while and I know, it sucks. We’ll never fully fix the inequities in debate but the least that I can do is try my best. :)
If you’ve gotten this far in my paradigm, I have quite a bit of respect for you. I used to stalk paradigms to learn more about debate, so I love people that read paradigms in their entirety. Let me know that you made it here before round, just pm me in the zoom chat, and you'll get a speaks boost.
Gabriel, He/Him/His, sandovg65@gmail.com
UPDATE ASU CONGRESS 2024: I've debated congress before but this is only my second time judging it. I'm a debate judge so focusing on the cohesiveness of your arg is my priority but speaking also matters (can't get a 5 or 6 on arg alone). Happy to answer questions pre-round.
Intro
I debated Policy for 4 years at both the state and national level, and have experience judging all three debate events. I was an assistant Public Forum coach for a year and have also helped coach Policy students. I'm fine with spreading as long as you slow down for your analytics-- if it's unintelligible, I won't flow it. Just make it really clear when you're transitioning from one idea to another.
I don't trust tabroom completely anymore, so if you have any issues seeing ballots/ anything else with my profile, just email me, I will have the rfd's all saved in a word doc.
Because this is a concern I've heard expressed from some debaters I know-- if I'm not looking at you, it's a good sign, because it means I'm flowing. If I am looking at you, I'm trying to figure out what on Earth you are saying, so I can try to flow it.
Please put me on the email chain.
FOR LD/POLICY (pfers scroll to the bottom):
On Policy and "traditional" args
Theory/ Topicality: I'm cool with this stuff if and only if it is run when necessary. Be careful with theory as it isn't always your friend-- sometimes it is just a time waster. For example, I don't like it when teams run disclosure just cause they're used to it/good at it. Run it if the aff is tricky and them not disclosing actually hurts how you are able to debate-- you need to prove that it is your education at stake if you want to run disclosure in front of me. Truth over tech for sure when it comes to theory.
Topicality I have more patience for (I'm more willing to vote on it for tech-based reasons) but also you need to prove to me why it's bad for debate if the aff is untopical. I'm not going to vote on theory or t just because the aff drops one of your million analytics--but I will vote on them if I feel like you've proven to me the world of debate will be better adhering to your norms. I actually really like topicality when it's run properly I just think that often times it's run as a time suck which makes me sad.
Other Policy args: Framework is good. Disads are good. CP's are good (but I am sure to be considerate of the aff and the potential harm that ridiculous CP's bring, especially if aff makes args for itself). "Traditional" style LD debates are good. Policy style debates are good.
Everything is pretty much good with me if it doesn't undermine the well-being of your fellow debaters or marginalized groups in some way. I also value education in the debate space VERY highly-- don't stifle it.
Tricks-- If you have to rely on tricks to win a debate round, you should probably strike me.
On K Debates
I'm cool with K debates and think that if done right they are some of the most educational debates. I do have one rule, however. Either a K aff should be semi-related to the resolution or the aff debater needs to devote a couple seconds to telling me why the K takes preference to the resolution. I feel like most debaters do this, so it's not normally an issue, but if you don't I think then it's fair game for the neg to fight for resolutional debate. Basically, I go into the round prepared to vote based off the resolution, but I will do differently if it is successfully argued otherwise.
I've both debated K's and debated against K's before, BUT if you read anything too critical, consider summarizing it briefly for me in lay terms-- if I don't know what it is, it'll help me out, and if I do, then it'll boost your speaks because it shows me you can adapt to lay debate with critical arguments. Putting it into a "real-world" perspective will highlight to me why this argument matters.
Overall I think K debates are great and are always better if they're a K you run passionately than if they're the old Cap K you pulled from a camp file 2 years ago and shoved a link card on.
On Voters/ how you should debate
I love both traditional debates and non-traditional-- but I need you to include voters in your rebuttals that tell me why I should consider voting for you. These voters should be for strats that you have carried throughout the round and fleshed out well-- it's okay to condense down to a couple key arguments if you know they can win you the round. What's not okay is just dropping your opponent's arguments without either making it clear to me why they don't matter in the context of the round or neglecting to tell me why the issues you have selected are the critical talking points of the round and deserve all of my attention. There are usually so many arguments in the round, and having each team tell me what they value as the most important argument and why said argument is a voter makes it much easier for me to give a ballot (this means you should condense, even if you are aff, don't try to go for everything, it never ends well). Without voters, you risk me voting on whatever issues I think are most important, and who knows if that will benefit you or not.
Again, tell me exactly WHAT you did that I should focus most on and WHY it is worthy of a ballot. I can look through my flows and evaluate the technical aspect of the debate myself-- what I can not do myself is determine which arguments are most important without bias. Please don't make me even come close to having to rely on my personal opinions to decide a round.
Overall, debate is a game, somebody will win, and somebody will lose. I love seeing different strategies and approaches to it-- that's what makes debate fun. That being said, no game should ever come at the expense of hurting somebody personally, so if there are abusive attacks and/or harmful arguments at the expense of a marginalized group/ a debater, I will take it very seriously both in the administration of the space and with my ballot.
Always feel free to ask me questions before round.
Speaks Chart (for tournaments with decimal speaks):
30: I feel lucky to have judged you because you are just that good.
29.7-29.9: Your performance "wowed" me, good on the flow, good at speaking, and with exciting argumentation.
29.3-29.6: Great debaters.
28.5-29.2: Good debaters and good at speaking.
28-28.4: Good debaters with room for improvement on speaking.
27.5-27.9: You made a couple of errors, but nothing that significantly frustrated me.
27-27.4: You made several errors, but I can see a semblance of strategy.
26.5-26.9: You made several technical errors that have me questioning if you really ever had a path to the ballot.
26 or lower: You said something really offensive/made the debate space actively bad.
FOR PF:
1) Weighing is really important!!!! Teams NEED to tell me how to vote-- I go in to the round open to voting for just about anything (no racist, homophobic, etc. arguments). Telling me how to vote and providing me with evidence/args to back up your claim that you have the best voters is key to my ballot. Especially in debates with lots of args all across the board-- I need voters so that I can see what you think is most important about the round. Teams weighing helps make my ballot so much easier.
2) Refute your opponent's arguments in addition to extending your own, but also don't try to go for everything in your final focus. CONDENSE! PLEASE!
3) As a former policy debater, I'm decent with speed, but be careful transitioning too fast between contentions/ analytics. Those fast transitions are what can make PF hard to flow. Basically just slow down to sign post so I put things on my flow properly. Maybe one day PF will pick up flashing and I can delete this.
4) Have arguments that are backed up by both evidence and analytics. I'm not going to vote solely on unwarranted claims, but I'm also not going to vote for you because you threw a bunch of authors at me and just said "figure it out." Evidence debates are only good if your opponent's evidence is unethical/incorrect, and rarely are good when your evidence is just "better."
5) I'm not the biggest fan of sticky defense or not frontlining defense in second rebuttal, but I understand that PF speeches are short and you're in a time crunch, so I won't hold these things against you. All offense must be frontlined in second rebuttal, however. No new arguments in second final focus, ever!
I'm not a fan of PF cross x and there is a pretty big chance I won't evaluate it unless things that are said come up again in later speeches. I will listen to it, but probably won't put anything down on my flow based solely off of what I hear in cross. Teams being nice, clear, and not turning cross X into a garbled mess often times get rewarded with high speaks from me in this event.
If you have more questions you can ask me before the round. I implement the same speaks chart as listed in the LD/Policy section (if there are decimal speaks).
General:
I did PF in high school.
Debate is a communication activity. So, run absolutely whatever arguments you wish to run, but if you cannot effectively communicate what your arguments are, why you won those arguments, and why winning those arguments wins you the round, I cannot vote for you.
Specifics:
1. Speed is fine. Don't use this as an excuse to be unclear and/or messy.
2. Second rebuttal must frontline both offense and defense. First summary must extend defense.
3. Theory and Ks are both fine. Note: I don't particularly like disclosure or paraphrase theory. That doesn't mean I won't vote for you on these arguments if you win them, but I would rather not hear them.
4. The easiest way to win in front of me is by doing good, strategic weighing and lots of it.
5. The easiest way to get a 30 from me is just by being chill. Look calm, act calm, sound calm. That's honestly all I really care about when determining speaks (assuming you can coherently deliver your speeches).
Email: aas363@cornell.edu
do whatever you want
SAFETY NOTE:
Safety comes first. If the round becomes unsafe for you or your partner and you are not comfortable voicing your concerns in the round, please email or FB message me immediately. I want all debaters to know that I am an adult you can trust in this space. I will do as much as I can to protect you and keep this activity safe for you.
I am a parent judge who is new to debate.
Please speak slowly and make sure to tell me what to vote on.
be respectful- any sexism, racism, etc will mean an auto drop. above everything, everyone should feel comfortable in round
wear whatever shoes or clothes you're comfortable in, you dont have to look "professional"
weigh extend collapse
pls signpost - no offtime road maps unless youre doing something special
the most important thing you can do to win is weigh. tell me why your impacts matter and why as a judge should care about your impacts over your opponents
if offense is not in your summary, I wont weigh it in your final focus. make sure to extend the warranting for your argument instead of just saying "extend this". also if you wanna win the argument make sure you frontlined it, pls dont flow through ink
1st summary only needs to extend defense on args frontlined in 2nd rebuttal
turns must be responded to in the next speech
cant put defense on previously unresponded arguments in summary
2nd rebuttal should at least frontline arguments you are probably going for in summary but not mandatory (still must respond to turns)
dont go for every argument- collapse on 1 or 2
quality of arguments > quantity
well warranted arguments > cards
if something is not clear, its probably your fault and not mine, especially if its the main argument your going for. overexplaining >> underexplaining
i wont read/call for cards unless I am told to or if there was no warrant comparison done in round (but its better to not let me do that)
the faster you go, the worse my flowing skills become
im not the best judge for progressive arguments, but if you warrant them well/there is a blatant abuse then I will try my best to judge it( but I dont have much experience w it so be cautious)
Hi guys!
My name is Zoey and I debated PF on the national circuit for all four years of high school at Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City Utah. I qualified for nationals two years in a row and have made it pretty far in some high skill national tournaments, such as Alta, Jack Howe, ASU, etc. I love debate and know a lot about debate so no need to be worried about me being a lay judge in any way.
As for what I would like to see in rounds. First and foremost please please please be respectful. If I see or hear any homophobia, xenophobia, racism, or ignorance of any kind, wether in arguments or in cross, I will nuke your speaks if not drop your entire team. Abusiveness in arguments or presence is not welcome in the debate space. Additionally if I see debaters, specifically female or nonbinary ones, being spoken down to, interrupted, or made uncomfortable I will, again, either injure your speaks or drop you depending on the severity.
Okay, secondly, I am totally okay with progressive debate, speed, theory, K's, tricks, etc. If you are planning on speed, I would prefer you just speak at a pace where I can flow on my computer or, if needed, send me a doc. I am pretty good with theory and K's and tricks, but please if the other team is not do not use it as a cheap way to win, I will view that as bad debate.
As for speeches in general, I am tech over truth, but don't push that, lie, and be abusive. Framework is cool but not necessary. PLEASE FRONTLINE! Frontlining starts as early as second rebuttal, and I expect extensions to be from resolution to impact, do not just extend through ink. Additionally please collapse, taking on too many arguments at once makes for bad debate. I expect summaries to be the best speeches in the round because you have the most to do in just three minutes so make use of your time and learn what matters in a speech. Final focus is pretty simple, weigh weigh weigh, impact impact impact. I believe that weighing should be brought up in rebuttals, but I also understand not having enough time. That being said if one team weighs in rebuttal and extends through FF, and one team waits until FF to start, there will be a large advantage for the other team. Honestly just debate well, weigh, extend resolution to impact, collapse, and be respectful :)
Cross will in no way impact who wins or your speaks but if there is abuse that can change. Please make cross fun, yes use it as a way to answer questions you need answered, but also the best part about cross is making your opponents get flustered and feel behind. Use it to your advantage, it can help in speeches. If you bring up something said in cross during a speech I will flow it but in general I will not be flowing cross.
As for evidence, I have high evidence standards, I am cool with paraphrasing don't worry, I think it is needed in PF, but please have everything carded and ready to show your opponents. I will only call for cards if it is contended or seems sus.
If I am forgetting something feel free to ask me before the round starts! Also please be on time to rounds :) have fun, debate well, be kind, and good luck
I debated pf for 5 years. My pronouns are he/him.
Time your own prep and speeches.
Only include content that is read in your speech doc.
Be respectful.
Notes:
- Tech > Truth
- Run your own prep time if it takes longer than a minute to disclose requested cards.
- The second speaking team must respond to both sides of the flow
- Do not paraphrase evidence.
- Sourcing your evidence is important!
- Signpost in all your speeches!
Have fun and enjoy the tournament!
Feel free to email me any questions: shivenshekar01@gmail.com
speak slow and clear
Just a little bit about me. I debated in high school for four years in Public Forum, so I have enough experience that I can generally understand the slang and don't hold back too much.
There is a difference between passion for the topic and just being rude; make sure you're riding that line, lol
Make sure the main arguments are carried across the flow.
Other than that, I'll let you guys run the round and convince you which side I should vote for.
I’m a parent of a high schooler. It is the first time for me to serve as a judge. Below are my judging criteria for PF debates.
Judging Criteria.
1. Reasoning. Your statements should be based on strong reasoning.
2. Logical connection. Your statements should be logically connected.
3. Concision, refinement, and clarity. Your statements should be concise, refined, and clear as well as comprehensible.
4. Good rate of speech. You should keep a good rate of speech. I value delivering brief and persuasive statements at a good rate of speech more than telling many words.
5. Respect. You should respect your teammate(s) and the other team(s). And you should attentively listen to their statements.
I am a judge who willingly judges PF, LD, and World Schools debate. I competed in Policy debate many years ago in both high school and college, finishing third in the nation in CEDA debate when that event was still popular. As a coach, I have moved away from Policy debate with it's emphasis on speed and evidence wars over well-reasoned arguments. This affects my view of other debate events as I am quite completely opposed to the infusion of policy debate techniques, such as critiques, into other forms of debate. I do recognize that Public Forum is often fast and evidence heavy and I have no concerns with either the speed or the amount evidence as long as it supports credible arguments. In LD, I am more of a tradionalist who expects value clash and strong case argumentation at a reasonable speed. I enjoy World Schools precisely because this style of debate also places a premium on organization, argumentation, and rhetoric.
As a critic, I am stricly Tabula Rasa when it comes to the arguments themselves; meaning I will only consider arguments the debaters make in round and will not interject my own philosophical or policy paradigms into a round. I am a flow judge who decides votes in favor of the debater(s) who do the best job on convincing me that their arguments should carry the round based on the relative strength of their evidence, reasoning, and argumentation. I NEVER award low point wins. If you didn't do the better job while debating, you will not win my ballot.
Three notes are worth mentioning on procedure. Most importantly, I am entirely opposed to the tendency of some TOC judges to dictate PF strategy by declaring frontlining and other optional techniques as requirements to earn their vote. There are other ways to structure your approach to the round and I encourage students to debate the style that best suits them! Second, I only allow evidence requests during CX/Crossfire. Evidence requests made during prep time will be discouraged. Third, please remember to be polite and try not talk over one another during Crossfire. All speakers deserve a chance to be heard.
I'm a parent judge and this is only my second tournament judging. Do not speak too fast and explain your arguments thoroughly. Be respectful to each other and have fun!
TLDR: Tech > Truth; pretty standard flow judge; follow the line-by-line; there's no need to go super saiyan speed; strong warranting + weighing wins my ballot; skip to the bottom to find some fun speaks boosters (please use these and entertain me. . . please)
Bio: Competed in PF for all four years mostly on the local circuit but also a bit on the national circuit (unfortunate small school tingz :/) at Paradise Valley in Phoenix, AZ; senior at ASU studying Math, CS, and Econ.
Argumentation:
- All substance arguments fly as long as they are well warranted
- Warranted cards >>> Warranted analytics >>> bEcAuSe tHe evIdEnCe sAys sO
- Do not trust me to properly evaluate progressive arguments, I'll probably make a decision that you don't like; if you want to read disclosure theory, then you should probably rethink that strategy
- Weak warranting on an argument means weak responses are sufficient
Structure:
- Arguments that you want evaluated should be extended with a warrant and an impact in summary and final focus
- Second rebuttal and first summary must frontline, otherwise it's conceded
- First summary should extend turns and key defense
- Do not extend through ink, I will drop the argument if you do
- Road maps, signposting, and numbering responses are fantastic, do it
- Collapse and avoid messy rounds; if you want to kick out of something, explain what defense you are conceding and why it kicks out of the turn
- DAs / Overviews are cool, but don't just read a new contention disguised as one
Weighing:
- Just do it. Please. Otherwise I'll decide what's more important and you probably won't like what I pick
- Real comparative analysis, not just "wE oUtwEigH beCauSe 900 mIllIon LiVes iS mOrE tHaN $500 miLliOn"
- Carded weighing overviews/framing should come in rebuttal; other traditional mechanisms can come up through summary
Speaks:
- Speaker points are dumb so I will try to be generous (no free 30s though)
Speed:
- Slow rounds > fast rounds; I can handle some speed but the faster you go, the more I might miss
- Slow down on argument tags; I don't flow author names
- If you plan on spreading...don't
Evidence:
- Read the author, date, and source, it's not that hard
- I'll call for evidence only if either team tells me to
Misc:
- Don’t be a dick; absolutely zero tolerance for sexist, racist, homophobic, etc. behavior - that's a real quick way for me to drop you immediately and tank your speaks
- I like a relaxed, informal, and chill vibe in rounds. Good jokes are great. You can swear, I don’t care.
- Wear whatever the hell you want. Be comfortable!
- Creative references to sports (basketball, football, soccer, tennis, cricket, F1, etc.), chess, or Kendrick Lamar will get you a boost in speaks
- Have fun!
JBHS '20; GWU '24
Pronouns He/Him
Conflicted with James Bowie and Coppell
Bold=TLDR
- for questions/comments/concerns/for the email-chain you can reach me at williams.conner.professional20@gmail.com
This is largely copied from Andy Stubb's paradigm.
I'm going to vote for the team with the least mitigated link chain into the best-weighed impact.
Progressive arguments* and speed are fine (differentiate tags and author). I need to know which offense is prioritized and that's not work I can do; it needs to be done by the debaters. I'm receptive to arguments about debate norms and how the way we debate shapes the activity in a positive or negative way.
*detail of my progressive knowledge/experience below
-Lay debate: easy, love it
-theory: the ones that are common in PF I'm very familiar with, if it's something I probably haven't seen, just explain it well.
-K's: I like K's, but I don't know ANY lit. That doesn't mean I can't evaluate a well-explained argument.
-Non-t K-aff's(?): see^, but I find them really interesting and will still do my best to evaluate it.
-tricks: I didn't have a pleasant introduction to these, so I'm fine with never returning. If you run them, I will probably be sad, but the flow is the flow ig.
-I literally do not know what the progressive argument hierarchy is, so tell me! if the round has 2 tricks, a non-t k-aff, and disclosure, tell me which order to evaluate these things in, or I don't want to hear it when I do it incorrectly.
My three major things are:
1. Warranting is very important. I'm not going to give much weight to an unwarranted claim, especially if there's defense on it. That goes for arguments, frameworks, etc. The exception to this is clean drops, idc how terrible the warranting of an argument is if it's conceded.
2. If it's not on the flow, it can't go on the ballot. I won't do the work extending or impacting your arguments for you.
3. An extension IS: uniqueness, link, internal link, impact. An extension is NOT any of those things on their own. If you fully extend the link but drop the impact, fantastic, you have successfully won a link into nothing. If you extend the impact but not the link, congratulations, I now have a mystery impact floating in the air that cannot and will not be weighed
On the topic of floating impacts, PLEASE weigh. if one side is running homelessness and one side is running food insecurity for example, tell me why I should vote on your argument; if you don't, this begs intervention and you can't be mad if we disagree on which one is more important.
PF specific:
-You have to frontline offense in the second rebuttal.
-I rarely call for evidence; if you don't have the warrant in the summary/final focus, I'm not going to call for the card and do the work for you
-If we're going to run theory... make sure it's warranted and, more importantly, merited. If your opponents are unfamiliar /uncomfortable with theory (maybe don't read it but if you really believe there was a violation I get it) I will probably prefer reasonability (sue me.) If both sides are familiar with theory then competing interps are chill.
Speaker points include delivery, strategic decisions, conduct in the round, etc. I simply do not think it's fair to potentially determine breaks/seeding off of pure speech clarity, ESP with the current digital-only world we're living in.
- if you make a link turn, you should explain what the consequence of having access to their impact does for you, otherwise what is the point. Also if you end up going for the turn you must extend the uniqueness, the (turned) link, and the impact. just saying "we turned their x argument so that's offense for us" does not do anything for you.
Misc.
- I'm open to being post-rounded, I think it's good for the community. If I can't defend my decision then I shouldn't have made it. That being said I am not open to being harassed simply bc you disagree with what I said. Additionally, if this goes on for a while or honestly if it's super late at night I'll probably say that I'll be happy to speak with you at a later time/date and/or give you my email in case you have further questions.
-if there is literally not a single way to vote I'll default to whatever side upholds the squo (this is almost always neg but the wording of some recent resolutions has been odd) this is because the aff (usually) has the burden of proving that a change is beneficial, not just neutral.
-defense is not sticky
I am a flow judge. I need signposting and don't drop arguments unless you explain why it is no longer relevant. Don't look at your opponent in round, specifically cx. Don't use gendered pronouns to refer to your opponents (use they/them or "my opponent/s"). Above all else, anything explicitly racist, sexist, xenophobic, transphobic, homophobic, ableist, etc. will not help your case--and depending on the severity I will stop the round.