WIAA District Three Forensic Spectacular
2021 — NSDA Campus, WA/US
PF Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideAndrew Chadwell,
Assistant Coach, Gig Harbor HS, Gig Harbor WA
Coached PF: 10+ years
Competed in PF: 1 year
Competed in British Parliamentary: 2 years
Competed at the 2012 World Universities Debating Championship in Manila.
Items that are Specific to the 2018 TOC tournament are placed at the end of this-I would still encourage you all to read the whole Paradigm and not just the TOC items.
Hello all,
Note: I debated in PF at a time when things were a bit different-Final focus was 1 minute long, you could not ask to see your opponents evidence and not everything needed a card in order to be true. This might explain some things before you read the rest of this.
Arguments have a claim, a warrant, and a link to the ballot (impact). This is interpreted by my understanding of your explanation of the argument. If I don’t understand the argument/how it functions, I won’t vote on it.
Main items:
1. Clear arguments-I should be able to understand you.
2. What are the impacts?-Impact calc is very important.
3. Give me voters in Final Focus.
4. Abusive Case/Framework/Conduct: Alright so if you are running some sort of FW or case that gives your opponent a super narrow bit of ground to stand on and I feel that they have no ground to make any sort of case then I will consider it in my decisions.
That being said if your framework leaves your opponents with enough ground to work with and they don’t understand it that's their loss.
Conduct in the round should be professional-We are here to debate not get into shouting matches. Or insult the opposing team's intelligence.
Framework/Res Analysis/Observation’s: Totally fine with as long as they are not super abusive. I like weighing mechanisms for rounds.
Evidence Debates/Handover: I have a very large dislike of how some teams seem to think that PF should just be a mini-CX where if you don’t have a card even if the argument is pure logic, they say it cannot be considered. If the logic and the link works I am good with it.
I don't want to see evidence/definition wars unless you can clearly prove that your evidence supplements your opponents. Also, evidence handover counts toward your prep time-not outside of it. You wanna see someone's evidence that comes out of your prep.
Speaker Points: I was asked this several times last year so I figured I would add this piece. How to get 30 speaker points from me. First of all I would say that clarity is a big helper in this, alongside that I will also say that asking good lines of questioning in crossfire can help you get better speaker points from me. I do tend to grade harder on the rebuttal and final focus speeches since those were what I was primarily doing when I competed. The other thing that can be really helpful is analogies. Good analogies can win you a round. If they are actually good.
Things that help you win my ballot:
Unique arguments (That actually link to the resolution)
Be clever.
Be polite.
Be Civil
Make it an awesome round. Down to the wire back and forth. Keep me on the edge of my seat.
Things that hurt you:
Being abusive- either in case or in speaking. Aggressive CF and arguments are okay with me, but keep it in check.
Disregarding All of the above points.
Not being attired professionally. (Unless extenuating circumstances exist)
Ignoring my point about evidence debate.
Insulting an opponent personally.
TOC Specific Items
Please share your opinions or beliefs about how the following play into a debate round:
The speed of Delivery: Medium speed and clarity tend to win out more than the number of items that you claim should exist on my flow.
The format of Summary Speeches (line by line? big picture?)
I generally would go for either Line by line will help my flow be clear and easier to understand at the end of the round. Big picture I tend to believe has more of an impact on the summary and the final focus.
Role of the Final Focus
Put this up at the top: But here it is again: I want to see Voters in the final focus. Unless your opponent pulled some sort of crazy stunt that absolutely needs to be addressed, the final focus is a self-promotion speech on why you won the round.
Extension of Arguments into later speeches
If an argument has not been responded to then you can just extend it. If it has been refuted in some way shape or form you need to address that counter before I will flow it across.
Topicality
Unless this is explained extremely well I cannot vote on T. Frankly don't risk it.
Plans
Not for PF.
Kritiks
With the lack of knowledge that I have in regards to how Kritiks should be run, Please do not run them in front of me. This will likely make vote for your opponent.
Flowing/note-taking
You should be flowing in the round-Even if you know that you have the round in the bag. Always flow.
Do you value argument over style? Style over argument? Argument and style equally?
Equal. A debator who can combine good arguments with style is going to generally win out over one or the other.
If a team plans to win the debate on an argument, in your opinion does that argument have to be extended in the rebuttal or summary speeches?
Definetly in the summery. If you have time in the rebuttal you can...
If a team is second speaking, do you require that the team cover the opponents’ case as well as answers to its opponents’ rebuttal in the rebuttal speech?
No. If you can start to do that great-but that might push you past the medium speed threshold.
Do you vote for arguments that are first raised in the grand crossfire or final focus?
If they are new-no. However, if they are extensions of prior arguments then that will be determined on a round by round basis.
If you have anything else you'd like to add to better inform students of your expectations and/or experience, please do so here.
Please read the whole paradigm. Also remember that I am human (I think) and I can make mistakes.
- I did public forum for four years in high school, so you do you!
- I would prefer if the debate would be more focused on ideas than pulling a ton of cards. If you spend a long time debating over one piece of evidence, I will be annoyed.
- I can understand you if you go fast, but I don't think you have to go fast to be convincing. I will award points to teams that can be persuasive in a succinct way.
Good luck!
Hi, my name is Christine Pyle
I am a coach and participated in debate in school many years ago.
Fast talking(spreading) is fine, however clarity is key.
Signposting is preferred - organization helps not only me but you
If you are utilizing impacts to enhance your case, follow through with those impacts in your case to the end of the debate.
I'm looking for good case structure, compelling arguments, good use of crossfire, and that arguments with weight are flowing through to the end.
LD 101
I did PUFO in HS but I was pretty bad so my bad if I don't understand your nuanced theories and arguments. Tabula Rasa, ELI5. I'm not some weirdo who is going to ask to "see a lot of clash" but I do like to see offense AND defense. Please don't let me sit on your own flow or your opponents flow the entire time, if I'm not going back and forth, I'm probably really bored and am going to give you the L in spite. Otherwise, do whatever, and when I say whatever I really mean it.
The use of "colorful" language is not only okay but encouraged and REWARDED so long as you do not explicitly insult or degrade your opponents. Your partner is free game though. If you have questions about what "colorful" means, ask me for clarification. Any and all references to pop-culture or anime won't "necessarily" help your ballot, but they will guarantee a 30 for speaker points. Cross ex isn't judged.
Keep it respectful, but keep the energy high. I want to see an entertaining and somewhat educational round while also allowing everyone to have fun. If you feel like you gotta yell, please do it, it keeps the atmosphere competitive and high octane. Treat it like a kinda serious SPAR round. I once ran a case about milk and still won, please one-up me and hit your opponent with something about lobsters or the sand mafia.
"The use of terms pertaining to street slang, such as "no cap" or "on god", are not only welcome, but very beneficial for teams looking for a positive ballot. Correct implementation of this lingo displays your ability to speak/think in different modes of thought while still adhering to the professional expectations of a debate. I highly encourage competitors to pair this form of speaking with hip-hop references for an instant victory." - from a fellow judge
I like debate and have been coaching and judging debate for 40 years. I competed in high school policy debate and college NDT and CEDA debate. For most of my career, I coached all events at Okoboji High School in Iowa. I worked for Summit Debate at NDF Boston in Public Forum for 15 years and judged numerous PF LD practice and tournament rounds. I have been the LD coach for Puyallup High School for the past five years. I'm working with the LD, Congress and PF at Puyallup.
The past six years, I've judge LD rounds from novice through circuit tournaments. I judge policy rarely, but I do enjoy it. Paradigms for each follow.
PF This is a debate that should be interesting for all Americans. It should not be overly fast or technical. I will take a detailed flow, and I don't mind terms like link and impact. Evidence should be read, and I expect refutation of important issues, especially the offense presented in the round. Follow the debate rules, and I should be good. The final focus should spend at least some time going over weighing. Be nice to each other, and Grand Cross should not be a yelling match. The summary speaker must extend any arguments to be used in Final Focus. I expect the second speaking team to engage in the arguments presented in the rebuttal. I do not like disclosure theory, and it would be difficult for me to vote for it.
LD - I have judged a lot of circuit rounds over the years but not as many over the past four years. Washington state has a slower speed preference than the national circuit, so I'm not as practiced at that type of speed. My age means I don't flow or hear as well as I use to, so make sure I'm flowing. I like speed, but at rare times I have difficult time keeping up. If this happens, I will let you know. I expect a standard/criterion debate in the round. If you do something else, you must explain to me why it is legitimate. If you run kritiks, DA's, or plans, you must develop them enough for me to understand them. I do not like micropol positions. I will not drop them on face. I don't mind theory, but again, it must be developed. Bad advocacy is bad debating. Lying in the round or during cx will be dealt with severely. CX is binding. I expect clean extensions of arguments, and will give weight to arguments dropped by debaters. I want to be a blank slate in the back of the room. Please tell me why I should vote for you. Deontology frameworks are fine, but they must be justified. Any tricks must be clear, and obtuseness in CX will not be allowed. Finally, I will not vote for disclosure theory unless something weird happens.
Policy died in our circuit, and we were the only team still trying to do it. I haven't coached a policy team for a season since 2010; however, I've had teams go to tournaments in policy for fun and to try it. I've also judged policy debate at district tournaments to fulfill the clean judge rule. I have judged a couple of policy rounds this year, and they were not difficult to judge. Just expect me to like traditional positions.
Watch me for speed. I will try to keep up, but I'm old. It's a lack of hearing that may cause me to fall behind. I will yell "clear," and that probably means slow down. I'll do my best. I like all kinds of policy arguments, and I'm ok with kritiks. You may want to explain them to me a bit better because it may have been awhile since I heard the argument. Besides that, I'm a policy maker unless you tell me to be something else. Theory is ok, but it should be developed. Abuse must be proven in the round. Rebuttals should kick unimportant arguments and settle on a few to delineate. The final speeches should weigh the arguments.