The Longhorn Classic 2021
2021 — Austin, TX/US
Public Forum Debate Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HidePF Debater for 4 years
I am very framework and evidence-oriented. Show me how your case supports your framework and why your evidence is relevant. Strong evidence is important, and I won't give a lot of weight to flimsy arguments. PLEASE EXTEND. Extend your arguments so I can give them the weight they deserve when deciding rounds.
Please keep things organized and go down the flow instead of jumping around. I can handle speed but I need to be able to keep up and flow everything. (Spreading won't get you very far with me) The easier I can read my flow, the easier I can understand you and your arguments. A roadmap before the speech is nice.
Although I did PF in high school, my knowledge and experience of Ks are limited, so you will need to thoroughly explain your arguments, but if properly fleshed out I can definitely understand.
Aggressiveness in a debate is expected and I don't mind it, just please be respectful of your opponents. Of course, discrimination or flat-out disrespect is unacceptable, so please be courteous.
Elkins '20 | UT '24
Email: nibhanakbar@gmail.com
I did pf for 2 years
messenger is preferred
UPDATE:
For UT, please send all case docs to nibhanakbar@gmail.com, thanks
3 Ways to get the easiest 30, these speaker point bumps are going to be individual ie. first speaker does the james harden reference only he/she would get the 30 so you would have to each do a reference if you choose that route.
1. Any POSITIVE James Harden Reference
2. Skittles - either sour or normal
3. a coke - don't do this one anymore thanks I already have 3 of them thanks
Overall
straight up, I will NOT evaluate any form of progressive argumentation. I don't know how to evaluate it, and if you fail to meet this requirement, I simply won't flow. I'm open to any other substantive argument, but this is the one hard rule I have.
I like link debate it makes my job easy, and impacts don't matter unless both teams win their respective link thanks in advance
I flow on my laptop so I can handle top limits of pf speed, but if you double breathe or don't go faster properly, that's unfortunate. In all honesty if you keep it a medium leaning fast pf speed i would prefer that
If you run an offensive overview in second rebuttal it will make me really sad :(
I mess with paraphrasing
General
- I consider myself tech > truth I'm going to vote for the team with the least mitigated link chain into the best-weighed impact
- Defense you want to concede should be conceded in the speech immediately after it was originally read
- a concession requires an implication of how the defense interacts with your argument not just "we concede to the delinks"
Rebuttal
- Any turns not frontlined in second rebuttal have a 100% probability
- If you are going for something in the latter half of the round, collapse in second rebuttal and frontline the entire thing
- Defense do be sticky till frontlined
- Don't extend in second rebuttal it makes zero sense
Summary Overall
- Extensions - Author and Warrant thanks
- You have to extend uniqueness - link - impact for me to vote on something
- For turns - if you want to collapse on a turn in FF the extension has to have the argument/impact that you are turning in the first place
First summary
- New evidence for frontlining is cool
- Extend some defense ig
Second summary
- Extend defense
- Y'all should weigh if you don't that's kinda chalked
Final focus
- Extend uniqueness link and impact
- Extend weighing pls
Cross
- Don't be rude but if you are sarcastic that's cool but there is a pretty thin line between being rude and sarcastic
- If y'all skip gc that would make me very happy which in turn leads to a bump in speaks for everyone
Evidence
- I'll only call for evidence if it sounds fire or someone tells me to
Post Round
- I'll try to disclose every round
- Post-rounding is cool with me, you can do it after rfd or on messenger after the round.
- I presume neg if there is no offense in the round
Donts
- Be toxic
- Spread on novices, if its clear that you are winning just show them respect and give them a chance to learn ie: explain the implications in cross in an understanding way
- Say something that’s blatantly racist/sexist/misogynistic/ xenophobic and all those lists
Extras
Also if you made it to the end, I've noticed the quality of extensions has exponentially decreased since I have been judging. I honestly just want you to extend case and then frontline or the inverse, or if you are the goat frontline and extend thanks.
Please do not feel obligated to get the extra speaker points they are there for two reasons 1) So I can enjoy a debate round a little more 2) So I don't get hangry.
Did pf for strake, qualified to toc 3 times, won tfa state in 2020
flay judge
Don't go too fast
Please try not to call for a lot of evidence
ask questions if you want to know specifics
January 13th, 2024
I debated four years at Emporia High School and Washburn Rural High School (Kansas)—class of 1991. I went on to debate at the University of Texas for three years. I suppose I should be considered a traditionalist, but I don’t have any predisposition against more progressive styles of debate.
My judging experience is mainly from policy debate. I expect my approach to public forum debate will be similar. You tell me how I should view the round. I will default to a utilitarian calculus, but it is up to you to define how I should rank competing impacts and values. I view the competing teams as authors of their own worlds, and I must choose which world I prefer.
Debates that demonstrate substantial interaction with the positions of the other side are more interesting than debates that operate in independent universes. Strategically, conceding too much of the case debate leaves you fighting an uphill battle.
I was around during the early days of the kritik, but I don’t have a lot of knowledge of most of today’s kritiks. If you abandon the case debate to focus on a generic kritik with only tangential links to the affirmative you potentially relieve the affirmative of their burden of proof.
Tactics that will help you win my ballot:
Be intelligible. I’m not going to flow the emailed text of your speech. I’m going to flow what I hear you say in the round. Go as fast as you want as long as you are not sacrificing comprehensibility. The goal is to deliver an efficient speech that maximizes word economy.
Explain the implications of the arguments that you are winning. It’s not enough to win the argument. Explain how the argument fits into how you want me to evaluate the overall round.
Specifically counter your opponents’ arguments. Highlight the weakness of their sources, or of the logic of their sources’ assertions. I’m looking for a demonstration of your ability to think independently of your front-line blocks.
Evidence is a tool to support your arguments and analysis. I’ll give more weight to a logical, original analytic than a piece of evidence with thin reasoning.
It’s an honor to participate in this activity with you. Have a great weekend!
I debated in PF for 4 years and did Prose for 3 years and was my school's team captain for both events :)
PF
1. SIGNPOST
2. Unless you are kicking case to go for turns/disads, Second Rebuttal has to respond to defense and turns that are read in the first rebuttal
3. pls weigh but don't start shouting random weighing mechanisms to me without clearly warranting
4. extensions are crucial!!!
5. collapse
6. summary and final should mirror each other
7. If you don't know what I'm referring to, don't worry! You can always ask me questions before the round, but essentially I want you to present your arguments convincingly and logically while adequately responding to the arguments of the other team
8. “If you at any point in the debate believe that your opponent has no routes to the ballot whatsoever i.e. a conceded theory shell/link or impact turn/ double turn/ terminal defense/, you can call TKO (Technical Knock Out). What this means is that if I believe that the opposing team has no routes to the ballot, I will give you a W30. However, if there are still any possible routes left, I will give you a L20." -Cara Day
9. I don't have too much experience with progressive arguments and honestly have no idea how to evaluate them so...
10. also pls dont spread
everytime you make a taylor swift reference I'll bump your speaks by 0.1 each time (0.25 if its a midnights reference)
IES
I'm basically okay with anything you're comfortable with, just make sure you indicate your title/piece and keep track of your own time!
If you have any questions feel free to email me at niousha.bastani@gmail.com or just ask me before the round begins.
(she/they)
Who am I?
I am a social studies teacher the assistant debate coach. I mainly judge public forum and believe it is a positive space for open and healthy rhetoric. I hope you agree with my view that public forum is an event for the common person.
I am hard of hearing
I will be using a transcription aid on my phone to follow the round. It is not recording the speech and the transcript is deleted after 24 hours. Please, speak loudly and clearly for me and the transcription.
How I evaluate debate.
Treat me like a lay person who can flow. Use email chains, cut cards rather than paraphrasing, and avoid the use of debate jargon. I want to see clear defense, impacts, and links. I am a social studies teacher, so focus on your ability to use evidence and real-world understanding. I will vote on understanding of the issue, evidence, and explanation.
### Speeches
If you don't talk about it in summary, I'm not evaluating it in final focus.
### Cross
Don't use crossfire as an opportunity to bicker. I don’t pay attention to cross. In my opinion, cross is meant to examine your opponent’s case and clarify any questions. Seeing people using cross just to dunk on the opponent is not useful.
### Spreading
I am new to debate and English is not my first language so I cannot judge spreading - nor do I believe it has a place in *public* forum. I need to understand your argument and your ability to adapt to your audience will be judged.
### Theory
If your opponent does any of the Big Oofs and you read theory about it, I'm inclined to think you're in the right.
I don't want to listen to K debate - I will be honest and admit I do not know enough about debate to evaluate them fairly (except for the aforementioned exception)
Big Oofs
These are things that will make a W or high speaks an uphill battle. If you read theory against any of these (when applicable), I’m inclined to side with you. Avoid at all costs.
1. Misuse Evidence. Know the evidence and cut rather than paraphrase. Use evidence that is relevant, timely, trustworthy, and accurate. Use SpeechDoc or an email chain to keep each other accountable and save time.
2. Be late to round. Especially for Flight 2. I understand the first round of the day, but please try your best to be in your room on time. Punctuality is a skill and impressions are important.
3. Taking too long to ‘get ready’ or holding up the round. Have cards cut, flows setup, and laptops ready to go before the round. Especially if you’re going to be late.
4. Not timing yourself. Self-explanatory.
5. Not using trigger warnings. Debate is better when it’s accessible. Introducing any possibly triggering topics or references without consent is inaccessible.
6. Doing any of the 2023 no-no’s. Homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, racism, ableism, etc. is a one-way free ticket to a 25 speak and an L for the round.
The Respect Amendment
This section was added for minor offensives that rub me the wrong way. No, I will not vote on these. I might dock speaks for not following these - depending on severity.
I want to forward a respectful, fair, and accessible environment for debate. The Big Oofs are a good place to start. But I hope that every debater would…
1. **Respect their partner.** Trust that they know what they’re doing.
2. **Respect their opponent.** Don’t belittle them or talk down to them. Aim to understand and give critiques on their argument, not to one-up them on something small.
3. **Respect the judge.** All judges make mistakes and lousy calls - especially me. We can respectfully disagree, and that’s okay. However, not a single judge has changed their mind because you were a bad sportsperson.
*For any PF rounds I happen to judge - I have never debated PF in my life, but I've debated enough to know how to judge it. Just remember I'm not really familiar with the structure of PF.*
I want to be on the email chain. Please email me at hebronlc111@gmail.com
If you have any specific questions, ask.
I'm a first year out and I debated LD with Hebron for 4 years
State and Nats qualifier
I'd highly prefer if you'd share your constructive speech and evidence in some way, whether that be through email or google doc.
You should go for any argument you want, but here are my familiarity with arguments ranked:
1) Ks/K-affs
2) LARPing
3) Theory
4) Phil
5) Tricks
Online Debate Things
-Please go slower if we're online
-Keep a recording of your speeches in case anything happens
Defaults
Speed - I'm fine with spreading, but please don't spread analytics (especially theory stuff) at your highest speed. I can't type that fast. Will say clear once.
Open cross in CX and flex prep in LD are fine.
Sending Evidence - It'd be ideal if you could send your prep out during prep time, but if you need to take a few seconds to send it out after, it's fine. Anyone caught stealing prep gets 25 speaks.
Default args
1) No RVIs on theory
2) Competing interps > reasonability
3) Default framing - Util
4) Tech > Truth (this excludes racist, homophobic, or sexist remarks)
Speaks start at 28.5 at locals and 28 at TOCs. Although clarity and speaking ability can somewhat affect speaks for me, you gain or lose most of them based on argumentation and strategy.
If you're debating someone less experienced, be nice.
I also don't flow CX so concessions need to be brought up in speeches.
Add me on the email chain: nilu6060@gmail.com. Please send constructives at a minimum
Short Version
American Heritage School ‘19
Georgia Tech ‘22
Any offense in final focus needs to be in summary. First summary only needs to extend defense on arguments that were frontlined in second rebuttal. Second rebuttal should answer all offense on the flow.
Tech > truth
Long Version
Presumption:
- If you want me to vote on presumption, please tell me, or else I'll probably try to find some very minimal offense on the flow that you may consider nonexistent.
- I will default neg on presumption, but you can make an argument suggesting otherwise.
Extensions:
- The warrant and impact of an offensive argument must be extended in summary and final focus in order for me to evaluate it.
- Your extensions can be very quick for parts of the debate that are clearly conceded.
Weighing:
- Good weighing will usually win you my ballot and give you a speaker point boost, but please avoid:
1. Weighing that is not comparative
2. Weighing instead of adequately answering the defense on your arguments
3. Strength of link weighing - this is just another word for probability and sometimes probability weighing is just defense that should've been read in rebuttal
4. New weighing in second final focus that isn't responding to new weighing analysis from the first ff.
Evidence:
- I will read any evidence that is contested or key to my decision at the end of the round.
- I won't drop a team on miscut evidence unless theory is read. I will drop speaks and probably drop the argument unless there's a very good reason not to.
Speed:
- Go as fast as you want but I'd prefer it if you didn't spread.
- Don't sacrifice clarity for speed. If I can't understand it, it isn't on the flow.
Progressive Argumentation:
- I have a good understanding of theory and have voted on less conventional shells albeit my threshold for a response and your speaks could go down. Please read theory as soon as the violation occurs.
- I wouldn't trust myself to correctly evaluate a K. Most of the time I find myself thinking they don't really do anything. Read at your own risk and I will try my best to properly evaluate.
- If there are multiple layers of prog. (ie theory vs K vs random IVI) do some sort of weighing between them.
- I don't evaluate 30 speaks theory. I tend to believe disclosure is good, but won't intervene.
Other things:
- I think speaks are arbitrary, but humor helps, especially sarcasm.
- Paradigm issues not mentioned here are up for debate within the round
- Reading cards > paraphrasing, but paraphrasing is fine
- Postrounding is fine
- Preflow before the round start time
- I will not vote on explicitly oppressive arguments.
Baylor '25
Colleyville Heritage '21
Email: shahinadebates@gmail.com
I did policy (and some LD) for 4 years in high school and am currently debating at Baylor
Try to make the subject of the email chain: "Tournament - Round # - School 1 (AFF) v School 2 (NEG)" or something similar
--
TLDR
I'm not going to do work for you. That being said, you should write my ballot in the 2NR/2AR and tell me what I’m voting on -- this means these speeches need to be heavy on judge instruction.
Evidence quality matters a lot more than evidence quantity -- a more technical and organized debate is easier to vote on than a card-heavy debate.
Clash is good. Line by line is good. You should interact with the debate you're actively in, don't just spread through your blocks and move on.
DAs:
I start the round with a 100% presumption of a risk of the DA. This means I need impact calc... Do the risks matter? Do they outweigh the aff's impacts? I don’t know, you tell me.
The same 5 affs and disads on every topic gets boring and you know it -- a good impact turn debate is much more interesting to evaluate than people just reading ev at each other.
Tech>Truth is probably the most applicable here.
Counterplans:
You need to explain why it solves better than the plan. Don't just say "counterplan solves" and expect me to vote on it. Same thing with perms too -- "perm do both" isn't an argument.
Well thought out PICs/PIKs are fun and strategic when debated correctly
I will not judge kick the CP unless explicitly told to do so.
Kritiks (Top Level):
I was a K debater throughout high school and now at Baylor, so I'm probably a good judge for you if you want to go for the K
I've debated/researched a lot of Asian Identity, Pessimism, Logistics, and Racial Capitalism in the past and some Settler Colonialism/Grove and Psychoanalysis currently if that is important to you.
Try not to go for things you're not familiar with -- you're missing out on critical substantive debate when you're reading something just for the sake of it
K v Plan:
Sometimes K debates get muddy if there aren't specific links to the aff, so you should probably find some sort of link that is specific enough to the AFF (or at least attempt to contextualize it). That being said, I’ll vote on a generic link if it's insufficiently answered or dropped.
Tell me what the world of the alt looks like; I'm not going to vote for an alt that I can't understand. Same thing with the perm.
I think the aff gets to weigh the plan, but the neg should also get residual links of reps to the plan -- I can be convinced otherwise, though.
K Affs:
I literally don't care what kind of aff you read -- I have experience reading straight up policy affs to K affs. However, most of the Affs I have read/cut have been K Affs -- this is the kind of debate I'm more used to.
I think your Aff needs a topic link at the very least, unless you have a cohesive answer as to why you don't have one.
Topicality/Theory:
Topicality debates are my favorite when done well. I love good T debates and hate bad T debates. Don't make this a bad one.
I really like nuanced T debates against policy affs. I think a lot of these affs get away with WAY too much than they should (like fiating away literally everything) which is why I really appreciate fun little arguments like extra T and effects T being impacted out in the 2NR.
Case lists + examples of ground loss + a good interp = a good T debate.
Topicality is a question of models of debate, not THIS debate. I would rather you go for an education or portable skills/testing impact as opposed to procedural fairness.
I think that condo is probably the only theoretical reason to reject the team, even then, please come prepared with robust explanations of your theory arguments. For all other theory arguments, you should err on the side of over-explanation and more judge instruction.
FW v K AFFs:
Even as a K debater, I'm still going for FW against K affs in 75% of our neg rounds, so I'm comfortable/familiar with both sides of this debate.
I think a lot of teams have trouble with TVAs and SSD, both on the aff and the neg. Your TVAs should have clear plan texts and SSD arguments should be able to solve the content of the aff as well as the 2AC's answers to framework.
I tend to err neg on the fairness question absent specific aff answers as to why FW can resolve aff offense via the TVA/SSD debate.
I think presumption is SUPER underutilized in these debates. K affs are usually very vague in terms of explaining the advocacy/solvency and I think that presumption is probably a winning strategy against K Affs 9/10 times. A 5 minute 2NR on presumption would probably be my favorite (and most preferred) type of 2NR in these types of debates.
PF
Set up an email chain before the round.
My thoughts about PF are basically Judy and Katelynne's paradigms put together -- look there if you have any lingering questions. Email me if you're still confused.
I think Dave Huston's thoughts on progressive PF are probably a good answer to a lot "Ks" that PFers try to read. I'm not against progressive PF BUT you have to make a strong case for why you're reading what you are. Don't tell Dave that I agree with him (he doesn't need to know that I think he's right).
--
Notes:
I appreciate sass and assertiveness (don't make this boring), but be respectful. That being said, use your critical thinking skills to decide what you want to read in front of me.
Other than disclosure, I won't make a decision based on anything that occurred outside of the round -- I probably don't know you and I don't feel comfortable evaluating the character of a person that I don't know.
If you're interested in applying to/debating at Baylor, please reach out! You can send me an email or find me in person if you have any questions.
if you bring me food +0.5 speaks :P
PF 4 years, ended with 5 bids
tech > truth
speed is fine
2nd rebuttal must frontline. anything you want frontlined must be in the speech right after.
weighing is very good and wins you the round if both teams have offense
i will call for evidence only if it's disputed/crucial to my decision. i will also call for evidence if you explicitly tell me to look at something.
speaker points reflect who had the best narrative and strategy. i would prefer slow and cohesive over a fast card-dump
please signpost, or i'll be quite lost
i did not do any progressive debate, so read progressive arguments at your own risk. please be very clear and frame them as traditional arguments, and i'll do my best to evaluate them (although i prefer not to).
if you have any other questions, feel free to ask me before the round
Email: chiniwalas@gmail.com
About Me:
Coppell '21 | UT Austin '25 | He/Him
Coach for Coppell High School
Debate Basics:
1. Extend your arguments, please... I hate having to vote teams down because of this, but it is the simplest thing to do and one of the easiest ways to make sure you don't lose a ballot. If you are confused as to how to do this, please ask me before the round.
1a. An extension just needs to include the claim and warrant of an argument. If you want to include the author/cite and the full tagline, then go for it. However, the bare minimum of an extension is claim+warrant.
1b. Regarding the extension of progressive arguments. I think that there is an inherent advantage to a theory/(non-topical) critical/ROB argument compared to case/substance-based arguments so if you read one of the former arguments in a constructive speech you must extend said argument in the rebuttal (this is not necessary for the latter).
2. Make sure that you have some form of offense at the end of the round. It is really easy to get caught up talking about one point and making sure that you win it, but make sure that said argument is going to help you win the round and isn't purely defensive.
3. Defense is not sticky. I don't want to sound like an old man, but back in my day we had 2-minute summaries and we still had to extend our defense. If you can't make it happen in a 3-minute summary, read fewer arguments.
4. I'm a little more lenient with impact terminalization (i.e. poverty decreases by 2%, saves 20 million lives per degree increase, etc.) but note that this makes it easier for your opponents to turn your impact and it makes it harder for you to do impact calculus. Also, while I won't dock you directly, if your opponents point out that your impact is vague/unclear it might make me less likely to vote for you.
5. I would like to think I am pretty decent at evaluating theory and other progressive arguments, but slow down a little if you are going to be reading something that you think is hard to understand. When in doubt, run it by me before the round (email or just ask). That being said, I do have certain beliefs (disclosure good, paraphrase bad) that won't affect the round unless you ask me to vote on reasonability (instead of competing interpretations).
6. Evidence ethics are important, but I won't verify evidence unless one team explicitly tells me to do so. I hate calling for/having to read the evidence, so if I can find a way out of it (without intervening) then I will definitely try to do so. Misrepresenting evidence is a really easy way to lose a round if your opponents call it out and give me an independent voting issue. Without an IVI, I will just drop the evidence from the round if I find it is miscut.
7. I am okay with speed, but as I said, if you are reading something super progressive, then slow down. Other than that, if you are going to spread, then send a speech doc ahead of time.
8. I am tech over truth. The exception is if you say something racist, homophobic, sexist or otherwise exclusionary.
9. If you have any other questions, just ask me. I'd like to think I am a nice person (although Shabbir might disagree) and I'm much more likely to be happy if you asked at my preferences instead of just guessing.
For Novices:
Pay attention primarily to 1, 1a, 2, and 4. I can answer any other questions you have before or after the round.
If you have any questions about debate (theory or progressive arguments specifically) please shoot me an email and I'd be happy to answer any that you have!
Hello my name is Liliana Coovrey. I currently go to UT and I did PF all through high school. I am not new to PF and I have judged many Speech events and PF rounds in my time.
Speaker Points: If you are rude in any way to your opponent I will take off speaker points. I do not stand for any type of discrimination or hate speech and it will cost you the round if I see it. If you are aggressive in a polite way that will not affect your speaker points. I encourage a healthy debate round in which you can be competitive.
Cross EX: I do not flow everything in cross ex, but if a good point is made and then brought up in the following speech I will consider it in the round.
Constructive Speeches: Anything not brought up in the constructive speeches will not flow in the rebuttal.
Framework: I value framework only if you give me a clear reason why. If you bring up a random framework and never speak about it again it will be dropped. You do not automatically get access to your framework for saying it, I want a clear and warranted thought process for why I should weigh it.
Rebuttal Speeches: If an argument is dropped I will not automatically drop it from the flow. I need to hear what argument is dropped and why it matters. The same goes for clash on the case itself. Tell me why it matters and why I should care.
Speed: I am fine with fast-talking but it needs to be clear. I do not particularly like spreading, but if you can make it intelligible then I am fine with it. If it gets to a point where I cannot understand you, I will say 'clear' but if I do not say anything, you are good.
Progressive Args: I am fine with progressive args as long as they make sense and are not abusive. If you can prove why it makes sense and why it matters to the topic, then run it as you please.
This may seem like a lot so if you have any questions please ask. I want to see a clean and educational debate. :)
Strake Jesuit '19|University of Houston '23
Email Chain: nacurry23@gmail.com
Questions:nacurry23@gmail.com
Tech>Truth – I’ll vote on anything as long as it’s warranted. Read any arguments you want UNLESS IT IS EXCLUSIONARY IN ANY WAY. I feel like teams don't think I'm being genuine when I say this, but you can literally do whatever you want.
Arguments that I am comfortable with:
Theory, Plans, Counter Plans, Disads, some basic Kritiks (Cap, Militarism, and stuff of the sort), meta-weighing, most framework args that PFers can come up with.
Arguments that I am less familiar with:
High Theory/unnecessarily complicated philosophy, Non-T Affs.
Don't think this means you can't read these arguments in front of me. Just explain them well.
Speaking and Speaker Points
I give speaks based on strategy and I start at a 28.
Go as fast as you want unless you are gonna read paraphrased evidence. Send me a doc if you’re going to do that. Also, slow down on tags and author names.
I will dock your speaks if you take forever to pull up a piece of evidence. To avoid this, START AN EMAIL CHAIN.
You and your partner will get +.3 speaker points if you disclose your broken cases on the wiki before the round. If you don't know how to disclose, facebook message me before the round and I can help.
Summary
Extend your evidence by the author's last name. Some teams read the full author name and institution name but I only flow author last names so if you extend by anything else, I’ll be lost.
EVERY part of your argument should be extended (Uniqueness, Link, Internal Link, Impact, and warrant for each).
If going for link turns, extend the impact; if going for impact turns, extend the link.
Miscellaneous Stuff
open cross is fine
flex prep is fine
I require responses to theory/T in the next speech. ex: if theory is read in the AC i require responses in the NC or it's conceded
Defense that you want to concede should be conceded in the speech immediately following when it was read.
Because of the changes in speech times, defense should be in every speech.
In a util round, please don't treat poverty as a terminal impact. It's only a terminal impact if you are reading an oppression-based framework or something like that.
I don't really care where you speak from. I also don't care what you wear in the round. Do whatever makes you most comfortable.
Feel free to ask me questions about my decision.
do not read tricks or you will probably maybe potentially lose
just signpost during your speech, please no fOR aBrIeF oFfTiMe RoAdMap (unless there's tshells on top of substance).
I debated for Vista Ridge (graduated 2021) and study Finance at UT Austin
Currently I am involved with Texas Debate and previously coached for Seven Lakes
I’m a “tech > truth” judge whatever that means to you
Paradigms I agree with for reference: Jonathan Daugherty & Jack Hayes
PF Paradigm at the top, LD at the bottom. I approach the events in a completely different manner. I wouldn't apply what is in the PF paradigm to LD.
PF Paradigm
I am a coach that has been involved with debate for a while. At the most basic level, I will evaluate the impacts students have access to at the end of the round using the weighing/framing mechanisms provided. You should be weighing in the back half of the round. Here are some notes about the details.
-I am listening but not flowing crossfire. While I'm not voting on anything that is said here, I am judging your knowledge of the important args and the topic in general.
-I am not tab. The best description of my judging style is a critic of argument. I want to vote for the best debaters, and to that end, I feel this activity is at its best when students explain warrants. I will vote on consequential drops, but I almost never vote on unwarranted blippy claims, even if they are carded. So for instance, if Smith 20 says "the economy will crash in two months," and that is the end of the story; for the purposes of the round I am not assuming the economy will crash in two months. You need to explain why Smith thinks that and contextualize its importance within the round. If Smith doesn't give a reason you are comfortable explaining, or you don't understand why Smith thinks that, this argument should not effect the RFD. My bar for a warrant that I will accept is very low(often I disagree with the warrant but still accept it), but the bar does exist. Just give me something that makes sense. The top competitors warrant and do all this naturally, so I don't think a lot of adapting should be going on.
-I prefer a brisk but understandable pace in the rebuttal/summary speeches, offense in the FF needs to be clearly extended (preferably weighed) throughout.
-I view debate as a game that teaches essential skills, and will vote for the students that in my opinion win the game. Using offensive arguments or not respecting the dignity of your opponents will lead to you losing the game.
-There is a zero percent chance I will vote on theory. I am ok with paraphrasing but prefer direct quotations. I do not expect disclosure (full text or otherwise).
-There is a zero percent chance I will vote on a non-topical K. There is a zero percent chance I will vote for a K that links into the topic in general. If the K has a strong link into the opponents advocacy, I will consider it, but probably still vote against it.
-Defense is not sticky.
-You should frontline in 2nd Rebuttal.
-Sell terminal defense, I have a higher bar for granting access to the impact then a lot of judges.
-There is no reason for a plan or CP.
-I don't like politics DAs, in policy rounds they work as a net benefit to a CP decently, but as independent offense in PF I think it is poor in general. The only way I'm voting on it is if it the other team severely mishandles it or has no offense I can comfortably vote on.
-If you want to see cards have the names ready and say them immediately after the speech. The 1st speaker for each team should be ready and adept at sending cards. I am not ok with a stream of asking for cards one after the other stretching out the time. The PF round should end in roughly an hour.
LD Paradigm
The PF paradigm above doesn't apply very much here. I debated LD in high school, but that was a long time ago. In LD, I'm resigned to being tab and voting on execution. I will try my best to reward the better debater, so if you can go fast and clear that is good.
I prefer debate on the topic and I view this activity as a game, so my natural inclination is to expect the resolution to grant both sides with ground, although the specifics can be debated. In general, I don't like to vote on blippy drops. I rarely vote for non-topical affs. Framework debate is ok and I will vote for the debater that executes their style the best. I enjoy judging debates with clash, and reward developed arguments which clearly link to the core issues of the resolution. I will vote for Plans, CPs, DAs, Ks, Theory, and framework. You are not winning the round in cross.
I don't have a problem with speed, but if I can't understand what your saying I will not connect the dots for you. A brisk speech that is clean is preferable to a faster pace in which words are mumbled and there are many noticeable stumbles. I keep a detailed flow and if an argument is dropped it matters. I like to hear voters during the final speeches.
cameronmdecker10@gmail.com
TLDR: run whatever you want, i can handle progressive args and speed, im voting on the flow. dont be problematic.
PF: i did pf for four years so i would say i’m pretty experienced and can handle most arguments.
be respectful in round, i don’t really care if you get aggressive because i know it happens, just make sure your aggression doesn’t come off as disrespect to your opponents. if you do/say anything problematic (ie being racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.) in round you’ll get dropped.
Framework: i'll vote on your framework as long as you extend it through every speech and actually use it to tie your impacts. if you just say our framework is x at the beginning of every speech im more likely to just judge the debate as if framework didnt exist. essentially, tell me why youre winning under your framework with each impact you extend throughout the ff and summary. also, if your framework just says "if we prove x and y then we win this debate" and x and y are literally just your first and second contention, then im just gonna drop the framework and default to either your opponents, or if they dont offer one then cost benefit analysis. its abusive to say that the only path to the ballot is through whatever your specific arguments are.
last thing on fw: if you do not clash with your opponents fw and just say "we're winning under my fw" or "our fw is better" im either going to default to the opponents framework or default to cost benefit analysis because at that point youre not debating youre just being repetitive.
Argumentation: i really dont care if you wanna run progressive arguments such as counterplans or kritiks, but im only gonna vote for you if you actually know what youre talking about and not just using it to catch your opponents off guard. that being said, my experience with Ks is somewhat limited, so if you run one, just explain it thoroughly
another note on Ks and CPs: if youre only attack against them is that "they arent allowed in pf" then youre gonna lose the round. just debate the argument.
besides that im open to any argument really.
Weighing: teams that quantify impacts are gonna win my ballot 99.9% of the time vs teams that dont quantify anything. quantifying is by far the easiest way to weigh impacts against each other. if no quantifiable impacts are brought in the round its basically impossible for me as a judge to pick a winner if its a close debate because at that point youre making me choose which argument i think sounds better.
besides quantifying, i really like impact calc. if you tell me that youre impacts have more probability, bigger magnitude, and a better timeframe then it makes it really easy for me to vote for you.
Speaks: generally ill give good speaks as long as no one is rude, like i said i dont mind aggression as long as its not rude or disrespectful. i also will give you better speaks not only based on actually speaking skill, but how well your argumentation is within your speech. if you get up and give an absolute banger rebuttal or summary, youll probably get a 30 assuming youre not being hateful in the round.
Speed: i dont mind speed, just dont full on spread, other than that if you wanna go fast thats fine with me. im giving you the benefit of the doubt that if i can keep up, then your opponent should be able to as well, however, that works both ways so if i lose track and cant understand you im gonna assume the opponents cant either.
other than that, i think this is a great activity that everyone should have fun with. dont be afraid to make jokes, smile, and enjoy yourself. thats what this activity is for imo.
LD: i never did LD but i did PF for four years and i was a pretty progressive debater so im gonna be able to keep up with any arguments. i dont mind speed, just dont full on spread unless you wanna let me have the evidence youre reading, other than that if you wanna go fast thats fine with me. im giving you the benefit of the doubt that if i can keep up, then your opponent should be able to as well, however, that works both ways so if i lose track and cant understand you im gonna assume the opponents cant either.
i'm basically like a flay judge, tell me what to vote for and why.
Please treat me like a lay judge. Go slow and keep it simple. :)
Don't get super technical because i don't believe that's the way pf should have to be
3 min summaries mean please collapse and weigh
i dont like it when teams waste 20 extra mins in round not even looking at cards but pulling them up, so if u have to spend more than two mins trying to find called cards itll start eating into your prep - have your cards prepared
IN CONGRESS:
I expect to see plenty of clash. The event is called congressional DEBATE! Utilize questioning period effectively, and ask targeted questions. Analysis is the #1 priority
Did PF and Policy for 4 years in high school. I now actively coach PF and attend UT Austin.
Contact info (for email chains): lnj.deutz@gmail.com
Basics
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I'll try my best to adapt to your style - debate the way you want and enjoy the activity
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I have little patience for people stealing prep and for long evidence exchanges. you will be in my good graces if you make sure the wasted time between speeches is reduced. send cards before your speech for a boost in speaks.
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If you follow (2), my speaks usually range around 29. If you get 29.5+, I was very impressed.
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As for speed, I am ok with it generally but I flow on computer so if you conjure up a blip-storm in summary (ie- read a bunch of one-liners) because you don't properly collapse, I will end up missing something.
PF Basics
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I'll vote off of the least mitigated link chain with an impact at the end of the round
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To make an argument into a voting issue, it should be properly extended in the latter half of the round, warranted throughout the round, and weighed against other arguments
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Have tangible impacts (extinction works) - statistics about the economy growing don't count and reading "x increases trade and a 1% increase in trade saves 2 million lives" doesn't make the impact of your individual argument 2 million lives
PF Rebuttal
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Frontlining is required in second rebuttal - if you drop offense, it becomes conceded and defense on an argument you collapsed on should be frontlined or it'll be an uphill battle
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Each response should have a warrant - you can read as many as you'd like, but no warrant means it doesn't matter. 10 warranted responses with weighing is generally far more effective then reading 30 blips
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In my experience, most rounds can benefit from collapsing early & weighing in second rebuttal
PF Summary/Final Focus
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Any argument (defense or offense) that wants to be a voting issue needs to be in both speeches - "sticky" anything doesn't exist
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Extend and weigh any argument you go for
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Arguments not responded to in the previous speech are conceded - just call it that and extend it and move on
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Metaweighing is good but hard - try your best to do it when needed and you'll be rewarded
Theory
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Read what you want but I'd prefer shells to be accompanied by examples of in-round abuse; for example, if you are reading paraphrase theory, it would be nice to see which piece of evidence in their case is misconstrued (although it's not required).
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Out-of-round abuse cannot be adjudicated by me - this stuff needs to be reported to your coach or the tournament's committee if a reportable offense
Other non-standard arguments in PF
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I'm down to vote on anything that is well warranted. I'm a big fan of frameworks (with clear standards) and will vote on K's as long as they are well laid out (ie- if you want me to vote on biopolitics, explain in a couple of sentences what that means and what it looks like in the real world). For reference, in high school, I read versions of neolib, imp, bioptx, spark, and cap in pf
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Try something new! I've gotten to the point where I've judged so many debates that look virtually identical to another that I will probably reward you with speaks if you try out a new strategy/case position/argument, etc.
Evidence
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Every piece of evidence needs to be cut - you can choose to paraphrase but must still have cut evidence for it
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Make evidence issues part of the debate rather than out-of-round issues - each team should be given a chance to justify the abuse or explain why it warrants a loss.
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I'll never call for evidence unless explicitly told to - if you want me to read evidence don't just call it bad and tell me to read it, take the time to explain why you believe it's bad if it's a critical part of the debate
Post-Round Info
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I will always disclose as long as the tournament allows it - if they don't, shoot me a message on messenger and I will
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Ask questions! You should use the post-round opportunity to learn what you could've improved on.
jedonowho@gmail.com
Extensions need to include warrants - simply saying extend Smith '20 isn't enough, you need to be warranting your arguments in every speech. This is the biggest and easiest thing you can do to win my ballot. Rounds constantly end with "extended" offense on both sides that are essentially absent any warrants in the back half and I end up having to decide who has the closest thing to a warrant which means I have to intervene. Please don't make me intervene - if you actually extend warrants for the offense that you're winning you probably will get my ballot.
Make my job as easy as possible by clearly articulating why you've won the round - write the ballot for me in summary and final focus. Even though I'm flowing and doing my best to pay attention, I'm not infallible and so if the summaries and final focus are just going over a bunch of arguments without clear contextualization of how they relate to the ballot, I'm going to struggle to decide the winner.
Don't do debater math.
Don't steal prep or do anything else that makes the round last longer than it needs to be (not pre-flowing beforehand, taking forever to pull up evidence). Please pre-flow before the round! Flex prep counts as part of your prep time - really not sure where people got the idea that it doesn't lol.
Don't go too fast in front of me.
Open to theory and K positions but I'm not super familiar with these arguments. I think the arguments can be very fun and educational and encourage them if you want to read them. I have decided I will not vote on non-topical Ks though.
Technical things:
Defense isn't sticky anymore with the 3-minute summary
Second rebuttal needs to frontline.
If you want to concede defense to get out of a turn it needs to be done the speech after the turn is read.
No new weighing in 2nd FF, unless you're responding to weighing from 1st FF.
Anderson 21' PF 3 years and some gold bids, LD 1 year and I was a novice lol
Tabula Rasa
Debate is a game
K's, T, disads, theory, any progressive args are fair ways to play
I endorse good norms...I am happy to evaluate arguments that establish them
you're probably not winning a generalized theory bad IVI in front of me,
if you think you've encountered bad theory, read your own shell (or IVI) about friv theory or any specific shell you find abusive
default competing interps
speed is fine
feel free to post-round me until you understand my decision
For readers:
I flow real good so follow the rules
No new offensive arguments past rebuttal; don't read new framing in final
Every part of your offense (claim, warrant, impact) must be extended in summary or it is dropped
If it's not on my flow when it should be, it's not in the round anymore
You should frontline in second rebuttal
Defense is not sticky; extend it in first summary
I don't listen to cross so bring up concessions in speech
I give speaks based on in round strategy and technical prowess
FOR LD
tech pf judge
larp: very comfortable with larp, I won't mess it up I promise
theory: debated a lot of disclosure and paraphrasing in my day, I probably wont mess it up
T: T is cool
Ks: mostly familiar with the structure but not with the lit, go easy on me, I might mess it up but I'll try my best
fine with spreading
ask specific questions if you have them
bellaire '21 | ut '25
he/him
put me on the chain: wfan042211@gmail.com
general:
tech > truth
trad is good, theory is a coin flip unless violation is blatant
constructive:
send a doc if fast
rebuttal:
quality > quantity
no offensive overviews in second rebuttal
summary:
make it clear what ur going for
final focus:
be clear, should cover what summary covered
General stuff
i competed for 4 years in pf
i did some stuff
i'm down for whatever in round
postround me if you think i'm wrong
i will almost always prefer good warranted analytics over bad unwarranted evidence
put me on the chain jeffpfree@gmail.com
if its not on my paradigm I don't encounter it often or haven't formulated an opinion on it yet; just ask before round
LD:
Pref Shortcut
1 - T/Theory, Policy
2 - Tricks
3 - Phil, K
4 - High Theory K, everything else
note for k debate
since i did bad event in hs I am not very read on majority of k lit, especially more obscure stuff
that being said read whatever you want -- it just might take me a little bit to fully understand it
Defaults
T/Theory>K
Edu>Fairness
No RVIs, competing interps, DTD
PF:
event is kind of not good and rounds are usually boring - i am definitely biased towards whoever has more entertaining round strat
disclosure is probably good and paraphrasing is probably bad
i am not very sympathetic towards trigger warning shells that preclude discourse and kill arguments - i'll evaluate but my threshold to DTD is much higher than with any other theory argument
evidence standards are very low atm, i lean heavily towards any bracketing/misrep/etc. shell
Hi! I debated Public Forum for four years. I'm the average 'flow judge' and would also describe my (previous) debate style as an average 'flay' debater. For background, I qualified to TFA State thrice and TOC/NSDAs twice. In short, I would suggest you focus on persuasion and quality of arguments, rather than quantity and jargon. Do not put me on the email chain and please go at a very slow speed.
Read this above all: "I will not evaluate any Ks, theory (particularly disclosure theory), or other forms of technical argumentation from Policy/LD that are not common in PF. Not only am I uncomfortable with my ability to seriously evaluate these, I don't think they should exist in an event designed with as low of a barrier of entry as possible. If your opponent is racist, sexist, ableist, etc. I will intervene as necessary." -Jacqueline Wei
1. Exercise PF style judgment. Collapse, full frontline in second rebuttal, and extend defense in summary. DO tell me explicitly to call for evidence and signpost clearly. DON'T tag team speeches, flex prep, or spread. Speaker points are based on the above mentioned strategy but also decorum.
2. Present a cohesive narrative. Speeches throughout the round should mirror each other and have a strong central idea. As such, developed arguments and smart analytics always trump blips. I find myself not voting for arguments with little work done on them when they don't fit a story. By the end of the round, each argument should have extended evidence with a claim, warrant, and impact.
3. Weighing decides rounds. Weighing and meta-weighing should be done early and throughout the round, but with quality over quantity. This means implicating your weighing to engage with your opponent's arguments. I encourage you to create a lens to view the round by weighing turns, evidence, and case arguments in novel ways.
Ask any questions to me if necessary (feel free to contact me at nilaygandhi@utexas.edu) , and remember to enjoy each round!
I am a new Judge, and I enjoy judging speeches. I have Judged several speech competitions this year. While Judging, I look for a strong introduction and conclusion and would like to hear more logical and supportive data and analysis of the stance one is taking. I do my best I can to judge each Speech on its own merits. I take notes during the Speech and rate the candidate on the style, delivery, content, analysis, examples/citations, and the strong introduction and conclusion.
My pronouns are she/her.
Email: olivia.hardage3@gmail.com
I did PF at Westlake and I currently coach there.
You only need to extend defense in first summary if it has been frontlined otherwise, it sticks.
I think 2nd rebuttal needs to at least frontline offense and preferably defense as well. I won't automatically down you if you don't do this but I prefer it and I think it's more strategic.
If you want to concede a de-link to kick out of a turn you can't just say that phrase, you need to explain why the particular arguments allow you to do that. If you only say "we concede the de-link so we kick out of the turn" and move on and your opponent extends the turn, I will grant them the turn.
I will vote on the least mitigated link chain leading to the most weighed impact. I will vote for a team with a fleshed-out link chain and a poorly extended impact over a team that does the opposite.
I give speaks mainly based on presentation or if I think a team should be in out rounds. However, if you want a 30 from me focus on speaking clearly and having good round etiquette.
I'll evaluate any arguments like theory/Ks but I don't have pervasive knowledge of how they traditionally function in rounds so make sure everything is explained thoroughly.
I'm good with speed to an extent, anything getting close to spreading I probably can't follow.
The most important thing in debate is weighing! If you don't weigh, I am forced to decide what I think is the most important argument.
If you want more specifics, feel free to ask me questions!
grossly overqualified parent judge
Current affiliations: Director of PF at NSD-Texas, Taylor HS
Prior: LC Anderson (2018-23), John B. Connally HS (2015-18), TDC,UTNIF LD
Email chain migharvey@gmail.com; please share all speech docs with everyone who wants them
Quick guide to prefs
Share ALL new evidence with me and your opponents before the speech during which it is read. Strike me if this is a problem. A paraphrased narrative with no cards in the doc does not count. This is an accommodation I need and a norm that makes debate better. I have needed copies of case since I was a high school debater. Even with me complaining about this, it often doesn't seem to make a difference. The maximum amount of speaks you can get if you don't share your constructive with me is 28.4 and that's if you are perfect. This guideline does not generally apply to UIL tournaments or novice debate rounds unless you are adopting national circuit norms/speaking style
PF:
Tech > truth unless it's bigoted or something
Unconventional arguments: fine, must be coherent and developed (K, spec advocacies, etc)
Framing/weighing mechanism: love impact framing that makes sense; at the very least do meta-weighing. "Cost-benefit analysis" is not a real framework. Must be read in constructive or top of rebuttal
Evidence sharing/disclosure: absolutely necessary but i won't ever vote for a disclosure shell that would out queer debaters. I will err toward reasonability on disclosure if there is contact info on the wiki and/or the case is freely shared a reasonable time before round.
Theory: I am gooder than most at evaluating theory but don't read it if you don't know how. Evidence ethics is very very very very very important
Speed: Fine. Share speech docs
Problematic PF bro/clout culture: ew no
Weighing: wins the majority of PF debates, especially link weighing
Default: offense/defense if there's no framing comparison or reason to prefer one method of weighing
Flow: yes, i flow
Sticky defense: no
LD/Policy:
LARP/topicality/MEXICAN STUFF: 1+
1-off ap, setcol, cap/1nc non-friv theory: 1-2
kant without tricks: 1-2
deleuze/softleft/psycho/non-pess black studies: 2
most other k/nt aff: 3
rawls/non-kant phil/heavy fw: 3-4
Baudrillard/performance: 4-5
queer pess/tricks: probably strike although I'm coming around on spikes a little bit
disability pess/nonblack afropess: strike if you don't want to lose
UIL: Pretty much anything is fine if it gets us through the round with minimal physical or emotional damage. Try to stay on the line by line. Read real evidence. Weigh, please. For CX, maybe don't read nontopical affirmatives against small schools or novices. For LD, make sure your offense links to your framing and that you have warranted justifications for your framework. Read on for further details
TLDR: Share speech docs. Don't be argumentatively or personally abusive. Debate is a game, but winning is not the only objective. Line by line debate is important. No new case extensions in 2AR or final focus. I will intervene against bigotry and disregard for others' physical and mental wellness. I don't disclose speaks, sorry :). I promise I'm trying my best to be nice. LD and policy-specific stuff at the bottom of this doc. I love Star Wars. I will listen to SPARK, warming good, and most impact turns but I generally believe that physical death is not good. Pronouns he/him/his.
Speaks range: usually between 27 and 29.8. 28.5 is average/adequate. I usually only give 30s to good novices or people who go out of their way to make the space better. If you are a man and are sexist in the space I will hack your speaks.
Note on ableism: It is upsetting for me personally to hear positions advocating unipolar pessimism, hopelessness, or the radical rejection of potential futures or social engagement/productivity by the disabled or especially the neurodivergent subject.DO NOT read disability pessimism/abjection or pandering arguments about autism to get me to vote for you. You will lose automatically, sorry
Post-rounding: I can't handle it. This includes post-rounding in email after rounds. I am autistic and it is psychologically and behaviorally triggering for me. I'll take the blame that I can't handle it, just please don't.
Afropessimism: I will vote you down regardless of any arguments made in the round if you or your partner aren't Black and you read afropess. Watch me I'll do it
I have the lowest threshold you can possibly imagine for a well-structured theory argument based on the refusal to share evidence not just with me but with your opponents.
Long version:
Personal abuse, harassment, or competitive dishonesty of any kind is strictly unacceptable. Blatantly oppressive/bigoted speech or behavior will make me consider voting against a debater whether or not the issue is raised by their opponent. If a debater asks you to respect and use preferred pronouns/names, I will expect you to do so. If your argument contains graphic depictions of racial, sexual, or otherwise marginalizing violence, please notify your opponent. Also see mental health stuff below, which is personally tough to hear sometimes. You do not need to throw trigger warnings onto every argument under the sun, it can be trivializing to the lived experience of the people you're talking about. Blatant evidence ethics violations such as clipping are an auto-voter. Try not to yell, please; my misophonia (an inconvenient characteristic shared by a lot of autistic people) makes unexpected volume changes difficult.
Our community and the individual people in it are deeply important to me. Please do your part to make debate safe and welcoming for competitors, judges, coaches, family members, and friends. I am moody and can be a total jerk sometimes, and I'm not so completely naive to think everything is fluffy bunnies and we'll all be best friends forever after every round, but I really do believe this activity can be a place where we lift each other up, learn from our experiences, and become better people. If you're reading this, I care about you. I hope your participation in debate reflects both self-care and care for others.
(cw: self-harm)
Mental and emotional well-being are at a crisis point in society, and particularly within our activity. We have all lost friends and colleagues to burnout, breakdown, and at worst, self-harm. If you are debating in front of me, and contribute to societal stigmas surrounding mental health or belittle/bully your opponent in any way that is related to their emotional state or personal struggles with mental wellness, you will lose with minimum speaks. I can't make that any more clear. If you are presenting arguments related to suicide, depression, panic, or self-harm, you must give a content warning for me. I am not flexible on this and will absolutely use my ballot to enforce this expectation.
PF: Speed is fine. Framing is great (actually, to the extent that any weighing mechanism counts as framework, I desire and enthusiastically encourage it). Framing should be read in constructive or at the TOP of rebuttal. Nontraditional PF arguments (K, theory, spec advocacies) are fine if they're warranted. Warrants in evidence matter so much to me.
PF Theory: I agree with the thesis behind disclosure theory, though I am less likely to vote on it at a local or buy an abuse story if the offending case is straightforward/common. Disclosure needs to be read in constructive. Don't read theory against novices. I will have a low threshold for paraphrasing theory if the violation is about the constructive and/or if the evidence isn't shared before the speech. Don't be afraid to make something a paragraph shell or independent voter (rather than a structured shell) so long as the voter is implicated.
I will always prefer evidence that is properly cut and warranted in the evidence rather than in a tag or paraphrase of it, especially offense and uniqueness evidence. I have an extremely LOW tolerance for miscut or mischaracterized evidence and am just *waiting* for some hero to make it an independent voter.. So nice, I’ll say it twice: Evidence ethics arguments have a very low threshold.
DO NOT PERPETUATE THE TOXIC, PRIVILEGED MALE PF ARCHETYPE. You know *exactly* what I’m talking about, or should. Call that stuff out, and your speaks will automatically go up. If you make the PF space unwelcoming to women or gender minorities, expect L25 and don’t expect me to feel bad about it.
I absolutely expect frontlining in second rebuttal, and will consider conceded turns true. I will not vote on new arguments or arguments not gone for in summary in final focus. No sticky defense.
"It's not allowed in PF" is not by itself a warranted argument.
Crossfire: If you want me to use something from crossfire in my RFD, it needs to be in subsequent speeches. I am not flowing crossfire; I am listening but probably also playing 2048 or looking at animal pictures. I don't really care if you skip Grand, but I won't let you use that practice as an excuse to frontload your prep use then award yourselves extra prep time.
LD/Policy Specifics:
Speed: Most rates of delivery are usually fine, though I love clarity and I am getting older. If you are not clear, I will say "clear." Slow down on tags and analytics for my sake and for your opponent's sake, especially if you don’t include your analytics in the doc. For online debates, the more arguments that are in the doc the better. I will listen to well-developed theoretical or critical indictments of spreading, but it will take some convincing.
Kritik: I have a basic understanding of much of the literature. Explain very clearly why I should vote and why your opponent should lose. For me, "strength of link" is not an argument applicable to most kritik rounds - I ask whether there is a risk of link (on both sides). Your arguments need to be coherent and well-reasoned. "Don't weigh the case" is not a warranted argument by itself - I tend to believe in methodological pluralism and need to be convinced that the K method should be prioritized. A link is *not* enough for a ballot. Just because I like watching policy-oriented rounds doesn't mean I don't understand the kritik or will hack against them. If you link to your own criticism, you are very unlikely to win. I believe the K is more convincing with both an alternative and a ballot implication (like most, I find the distinction between ROB and ROJ somewhat confusing).Please be mindful and kind about reading complicated stuff against novices. It is violent and pushes kids out of debate.
Theory/T: Fine, including 1AR theory. Just like with any other winning argument, I tend to look for some sort of offense in order to vote on either side. I don't default to drop the debater or argument. My abuse threshold on friv shells is much higher. I will not ever vote for a shell that polices debaters' appearance, including their clothes, footwear, hair, presentation, or anything else you can think of (unless their appearance is itself violent). I'll have a fairly high threshold on a strict "you don't meet" T argument against an extremely common aff and am more likely than not to hold the line on allowing US/big-ticket affs in most Nebel debates. One more thing - all voters and standards should be warranted. I get annoyed by "T is a voter because fairness and education" without a reason why those two things make T a voter. I don't care if it's obvious. Don't abuse theory against inexperienced debaters. A particularly egregious example would be to read shells in the 1AC, kick them, and read multiple new shells in the 1AR. Underviews and common spikes are fine. Please, I strongly prefer no tricks or excessive a prioris.A little addendum to that is that I do like truth testing as an argument, but not to justify skep or whatever dopey paradox makes everything false
Frameworks: Fine with traditional (stock or V/C), policy, phil, K, performance, but see my pref guide above for what I am most comfortable evaluating. While I don't think you have to have your own framework per se, I find it pretty curious when a debater reads one and then just abandons it in favor of traditional util weighing absent a distinct strategic reason to do so. I think TJF debates are interesting, but I seldom meet frameworks that *can't* be theoretically justified. Not sure if there's a bright line other than "you need to read the justifications in your constructive," and I'm not sure how good that argument is. I will vote on permissibility/presumption, on which I often lean aff in LD/policy.
LARP: My personal favorite and most comfortable debate to evaluate. Plans, counterplans, PICs, disads, solvency dumps, case turns, etc. Argue it well and it's fine. I don't think making something a floating PIK necessarily gets rid of competition problems; it has to be reasoned well. I'm very skeptical of severance perms and will have to be convinced - my threshold for voting on severance bad is very low. Impact turns are underutilized, but don't think that means I want you to be bigoted or fascist. Cap/heg good are fine. I'm very skeptical of warming good but will vote for it. To the extent that anyone prefs me, and no one should ever pref me under any circumstances, LARPers ought to consider preffing me highly.
Condo: Be really, really careful before you kick a K, especially if it is identity-related - I think reps matter. I am more likely to entertain condo bad if there are multiple conditional advocacies. More likely to vote on condo bad in LD than policy because of time/strat skew. One conditional counterplan advocacy in LD or 2 in policy is generally ok to me and I need a clear abuse story - I almost never vote for condo bad if it's 1 conditional counterplan.
Flashing/Email/Disclosure: I will vote for disclosure theory, but have a higher threshold for punishing or making an example of novices or non-circuit debaters who don't know or use the wiki. Reading disclosure at locals is silly. Lying during disclosure will get you dropped with 25 speaks; I don't care if it's part of the method of your advocacy. If you're super experienced, please consider not being terrible about disclosure to novice or small-school debaters who simply don't know any better. Educate them so that they'll be in a position to teach good practices in future rounds. My personal perspective on disclosure is informed by my background as a lawyer - I liken disclosure to the discovery process, and think debate is a lot better when we are informed. I won't vote on disclosure theory against a queer debater for whom disclosure would potentially out them. One caveat to prior disclosure is that I do conform to "breaking new" norms, though I listen to theory about it. In my opinion, the best form of disclosure is open-source speech docs combined with the wiki drop-down list. Please include me on email chains. Even if you don't typically share docs, please share me on speech docs - I can get lost trying to listen to even everyday conversation if I'm not able to follow along with written words. Seriously, I have cognitive stuff, please send me a speech doc.
Sitting/Standing: Whatever.
I do not care how you are dressed so long as your appearance itself is not violent to other people.
Flex prep/open CX: Fine in any event including PF. More clarity is good.
Performative issues: If you're a white person debating critical race stuff, or a man advocating feminism against a woman/non-man, or a cis/het person talking queer issues, etc., be sensitive, empathetic, and mindful. Also, I tend to notice performative contradiction and will vote on it if asked to. For example, running a language K and using the language you're critiquing (outside of argument setup/tags) is a really bad idea.
I do NOT default to util in the case of competing frameworks. If the framing debate is absolutely impossible to evaluate (sadly, it happens), I will try to figure out who won by weighing offense and defense under both mechanisms.
I tend to think plan flaw arguments are silly, especially if they're punctuation or capitalization-related. I have a very high threshold to vote on plan flaw. It has to be *actually* confusing or abusive, not fake confusing. I do like interp flaw arguments as defensive theory responses in the 1ar
I won't ever hack against trad debaters, but I am what you’d call a “technical” judge and if a debater concedes something terminal to the ballot, it’s probably game over. If you’re a traditional debater and the field is largely circuit debaters, your best bet to win in front of me is probably to go hard on the framework debate and either straight-turn or creatively group your opponent’s arguments.
Warrant all arguments in both constructives and rebuttals. An extended argument means nothing to me if it isn't explained. “They conceded it” is not a warranted argument.
Policy:
New for 2022: I'm older than most judges and I don't judge policy regularly anymore; I need you to slow down just a tick (300 wpm is fine if clear). I generally don't get lost in circuit LD rounds; think of that as your likely standard.
I was a policy debater and consultant at the beginning of my career. Most of this doc is LD and PF-specific, because those are the pools to which I'll generally be assigned. Most of what is above applies to my policy paradigm. I am most comfortable evaluating topical affirmatives and their implications, but I am a very flexible judge and critical/plan-less affs are fine. That said, just like in LD I like a good T debate and I will happily vote for TFW if it's well-argued and won. One minor thing is different from my LD paradigm: I conform a little bit more to policy norms in terms of granting RVIs less often in policy rounds, but that's about it. Obviously, framework debate (meaning overarching framing mechanisms, not T-Framework) is not usually as important in policy, but I'm totally down with it if that's how you debate. I guess a lot of policy debaters still default to util, so be careful if the other side isn't doing that but I guess it's fine if everyone does it. Excessive prompting/feeding during speeches may affect speaks, and I get that it's a thing sometimes, but I don't believe it's particularly educational and I expect whomever is giving the speech to articulate the argument. I am not flowing the words of the feeder, just the speaker. While I'm fairly friendly to condo advocacies in LD, I'm even more friendly to them in policy because of norms and speech times. I'll vote for condo bad, but it needs to be won convincingly - I'll likely err neg if it's 1 or 2 counterplans. Much more likely to vote for condo bad if one of the advocacies is a K that links to the counterplan(s).
Everyone: please ask questions if I can clarify anything. If you get aggressive after the round, expect the same from me and expect me to disengage with little to no warning. My wellness isn't worth your ego trip. I encourage pre-round questions. I might suggest you look over my paradigm, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't ask questions.
Finally, I find Cheetos really annoying in classrooms, especially when people are using keyboards. It's the dust. Don't test my Cheeto tolerance. I'm not joking, anything that has the dust sets me off. Cheetos, Takis, all that stuff. I get that it's delicious, but keep it the hell out of the academy.
Elkins '20 | UT '24 | UHLC '27
Email: rhasib01@gmail.com
I don't have experience with this topic
I did PF for 4 years
2 gold bids 3 silver bids 5000 state points
Overall
- I cannot keep up with speed. I cannot keep up with speed. I cannot keep up with speed. The quality of the debate is better when its at a reasonable pace
- I dont want your speech doc
- Reading any progressive arguments (theory, tricks, Ks, etc) = L20. Please strike me if you plan on reading these types of arguments, I will not vote for you.
General
- Tech > Truth. I'm going to vote for the team with the least mitigated link into the best-weighed impact
- If you do not sign post properly, I will miss a lot of your speech. This is VERY important.
- Frontline first AND THEN extend the argument, otherwise it looks like ur extending through ink until you decide to frontline.
- Extend turns thoroughly. Many debaters cannot do this. If you want it to be a real voting issue, you must put as much work into the extension/implication/analysis/weighing as you would for case offense
- Defense you want to concede should be conceded in the speech immediately after it was originally read. A concession requires an implication of how the defense interacts with your argument not just "we concede to the delinks". Otherwise, if the other team ends up extending the subsequent turn, I may give it to them
Second Rebuttal
- Frontlining turns in second rebuttal are crucial, any turns not frontlined in second rebuttal have a 100% probability
- I recommend collapsing starting 2nd rebuttal but it's up to you
- You don't have to extend at all in second rebuttal, just frontlining is cool with me
- Please do not read an offensive overview in second rebuttal
Summary Overall
- Do all extensions with author names and the warrant behind them
- If you want me to vote off case offense, you have to extend uniqueness - link - internal link - impact and then you should be good
- For turns - if you want to collapse on a turn in FF the extension has to have an impact (i.e. if you extend a link turn you also have to extend the other teams impact)
First summary
- New evidence for frontlining is ok
- Defense is not sticky even in 1st summary
Second summary
- You must extend defense
- Last chance to start weighing
Final focus
- Big picture
- Still extend uniqueness link and impact
- Extend weighing
Cross
- Don't forget to time cross, happens way too much
- Cross is for yall, not for me
- You can skip grand cross, up to you
Evidence
- I'll only call for evidence if it's SUPER important for the decision or the other team tells me to call for it
- If you take forever pulling up evidence I will be very mad
Post Round
- I'll disclose unless tourney directors say otherwise
- I presume neg if there is no offense in the round
Have fun and let me know if you have any questions!
I debated for Strake Jesuit from 2017 to 2021. Cleared at TFA State twice, got a silver bid, went 5-2 at Glenbrooks once, etc, but overall I'm no Roy Tiefer.
You are extremely encouraged to read theory or a k. When I judged LD, people actually took my paradigm seriously and read crazy arguments, so I hope you'll do that here. I also don't know this topic very well. Specifics on progressive debate are near the bottom of my paradigm. Auto 29.7 speaks (or higher) if you actually do read something unconventional. Here's some other ways to get good speaks:
Reading "cut card" theory (something along the lines of "debaters must not read cut cards"): Auto 30
Calling your opponents out for not extending impacts
Making any joke
Turning 360 degrees when reading a turn
Paraphrasing Case
Skipping GCX
Conceding a delink/nonunique to kick out of turns
Kicking case
Finding a way to mention Palau (Auto 29.3 or higher)
How to LOSE speaks:
Offtime roadmaps that are too complicated for no reason
Not extending impacts
Laughing too much during round when nothing funny is being said (don't be rude to your opponents!)
Saying “we outweigh on ___________” with zero explanation
Calling for more than 4 pieces of evidence
Asking your opponents "have you sent the card yet?" more than once: No more than 27.5
AFTER ROUND: I'm happy to disclose and give critiques, but only if y'all don't aggressively postround me. I used to think postrounding was totally fine but I'm new to judging so I won't be perfect. Please remember that I am literally not allowed to change my decision
bh9831a@american.edu for any inquiries.
Regular paradigm:
Debate is a game. Strategy is what makes the round fun. I don't really care what arguments you read, as long as you win the argument on the flow. I'm not going to be one of those judges who says "ohhh yeah i'm tech over truth but if your argument is dumb my threshold for responses goes down haha" because if they say that then they're really truth over tech and kind of a lay judge.
Specifics:
SIGNPOST!!!!! Also number your responses/arguments, helps me know where to flow which means I'm more likely to make the right decision
First Rebuttal - No rules. Read a new contention, who cares. I love a ton of DAs or turns, but they NEED warrants and analysis. I always got super annoyed when teams read a ton of 5-second turns and won off of them simply because the opponents weren't even given a warrant to respond to. Also paraphrasing is highly encouraged.
Second rebuttal - This speech needs to address to everything from first rebuttal. If something goes unmentioned in second rebuttal, it's conceded. Also if you're gonna collapse you have to do it here, don't leave your opponents in the dark before first summary
Weighing in rebuttal is fine, but don’t do it too much because it means you don’t have enough real responses. I love weighing overviews and stuff like “if we win our case we win the round” but spending too much time on weighing in rebuttal will show me that you don’t actually know how to respond to your opponent’s arguments. There are exceptions to this, like if there's framework involved, but that's my general thoughts.
Summary - First summary must extend everything that could be in final focus, even defense.
Most importantly, extend impacts. I’m pretty tough about this because I lost a bunch of rounds during my sophomore year over winning the flow but failing to extend an impact. If your opponent doesn’t extend an impact in first summary, you could stand up and just extend your case and an impact, frontline your case, and say “they don’t extend an impact,” and you'll win. No impacts = no offense. If neither side extends impacts, I presume first speaking team.
Grand Cross - Skipping this is extremely encouraged.
Final focus - yeah same thing as summary
Weighing - I guess on this issue I am different than most "tech" judges. I think weighing is overrated. Every judge says they loooooooove weighing then they don't vote on it. The reason why is you can have flawless weighing on every level of the round but if you drop one piece of terminal defense, you lost your case so your weighing becomes useless. I had just 4 rounds in high school where the judge voted off weighing. It's not that important most of the time. The reason why is because in almost every single round, both sides don't win equal access to their offense, so weighing isn't needed for a decision because one side always has a better link chain. So focus on the path to the impact, not comparing them.
Most impact weighing is redundant, unless both sides win their links into their impacts, in which case it can make the difference of the round.
Link weighing is defense. Also, if your opponent drops something, it becomes 100% true in the round, so therefore it has 100% probability. I am inclined to vote on probability weighing that says something along the lines of "they dropped it so it's 100% true, but their case has defense on it so it can never be 100% true."
Most of all, I love prerequisites and short circuits. These are easily my favorite arguments in debate and I made them a lot in HS. The great RJ Shah taught me to look at all the arguments in the round and see if you could connect any of them to garner more offense, and doing that always seemed to surprise judges and win more rounds. Going beyond surface level offense and defense is quite impressive.
Other unconventional debate positions
I love watching frivolous theory/k debates. You can run (almost) any type of these arguments. Just win it like any other argument. Similar story with impacts goes here - if a k doesn’t have a role of the ballot, it’s not a k. If theory doesn’t have “drop the debater” I can’t vote for you off of it.
- I won’t listen to “drop the argument” shells, make it fun and read drop the debater. It's like winner takes all!!!
- I will listen to paraphrasing theory, but I'll also listen to "cut card" theory. I believe paraphrasing is a good norm in debate and reading cut cards is a waste of time. So if you'd like to read a shell that says debaters should paraphrase, do it. Even if you lose, I will give you double 30 speaks just for being bold enough to read the argument.
- I won't evaluate identity k's
- You don't need to wear a mask. A lot of people have told me they're just wearing it so that they don't get a shell read on them. Don't worry because I will drop any team that reads something along those lines with the lowest speaks I'm allowed to give. Nobody should ever be penalized in a debate round for their decision on whether to wear a mask, and feel free to do so if you'd be more comfortable.
Evidence
Please stop calling for so much evidence. Trying to be perceptually dominant by calling for 7 pieces of evidence after your opponent's constructive and then asking them every 30 seconds "did you send the evidence yet?" when they clearly haven't won't work on me. This is a very rude and condescending strategy. It might work on lay judges, but I'm gonna dock your speaks if a) you call for more than 2 pieces of evidence after any speech or b) you ask "did you send it yet?" more than one time. If you can't find the evidence, that's alright (most of the time), just make a logical analysis that says the same thing. As I said, debate is a game, and you are just as much a part of it as some random author from the Washington Post.
I will not call for cards. It's interventionist. For example, if a team says "omggggg their evidence is bad pls call for it" and the opponents don't contest that claim, I am not calling for it, because you won that evidence contest on the flow just like how every other argument works. If you do call them out for bad evidence ethics and they push back and say "no the ev is good pls call for it," I'm still not calling for it. If you're making an indict, tell me what specifically makes the evidence so bad. If you're contesting a team's indict of your evidence, then tell me what specifically makes your evidence good, or why your argument still stands without it. Evidence weighing should be more common in debate and I'll go with the team that best defends their claim rather than calling for the evidence to decide for myself.
Flow and respond to what the other team says.
I don't have the speech doc open so do things that make it easier for me to flow. Position yourself so I can hear you. Don't speak into your laptop or stand on the opposite side of the room. Don't read typed-out things like they are the text of a card. Slow down and change the intonation of your voice when you're speaking.
If I don't understand something, I will not vote on it even if it is conceded.
Corss-x starts right after the constructive speech ends.
Starting and stopping prep each time you need to use more prep time will cost at least 15 sec.
Very simply, if you have trigger warnings because the topics are more taboo then I am not the judge for you. If you can't explain it to your school administration or parents without them raising concerns then don't run it in front of me. Time and place are important.
Things I will not vote on (AUTO 25 Speaks):
Arguments that suggest students should engage in risky behavior.
Death is good.
Fear of death is bad
Aff's that don't defend the resolution.
Aff's that link to debate in general instead of the resolution.
Judge pref disclosure
Disclosure
Asking me to vote on something that happened before the debate round started.
Asking me to vote on something that happened after the debate round is over.
Vote for a team because they are part of a marginalized group.
Bataille
Baudrillard
Settler Colonialism
Deleuze
Psychoanalysis
ontological argument
epistemological arguments.
In fact, it would be better if you just didn't run a K.
PIC's
Condo CP's
Topical CP's
Consult CP's
conditions CP's
A Critique of Full Text Disclosure
Spreading bad
A Critique of Disclosure
Vote only for women
This list will be ongoing. I will update it to let you know.
So what is left you might ask:
Case debate
Topicality
Da's
CP's that are not listed above.
Other things you might want to know:
1. Da's can have a zero-risk.
2. Aff adv's can have zero risk
3. Solvency can have zero risk
4. Substantial will be important in these types of debates.
5. The neg will get a healthy dose of presumption.
I really would like to listen to a debate about the resolution.
Updates:
PF is different from Policy. PF shouldn't try and be policy. If you try to be policy in a PF then you won't be as successful. You don't need to spread. Few cards are better. Explaining good. Tagline extensions only are bad.
I have been judging lots of PF rounds. And here are some things you should know.
- I am more truth over tech.
- You might have evid on the world is flat. It doesn't mean it is true. The other team might not have evid on the world is round. I am still going to vote on the world is round, if they say it is round without evid.
- The more internal links you have to your impact. The less likely it is.
- Probability is more important than possibility.
- Having 20 cards with two-sentence each won't get you very far.
- Cutting evidence out of context is becoming a problem. Don't do that. Seriously, don't do that.
- The big questions on the topic matter.
- Common sense arguments are better than stupid arguments with cards.
- Saying the other team dropped an argument when they didn't will cost you speaker points! I am tired of hearing this and I would suggest you flow.
- I listen to cross-x. Cross-x is binding.
- Spreading in PF is not needed. Your time is better spent going for fewer arguments better than lots of arguments poorly. The whole point is to collapse and explain.
- When the timer goes off, I stop flowing.
Your evidence better match your claim. It is becoming a race to the bottom with evidence. If the evidence does not match your claim then I will not evaluate that argument. simple!
Maybe I am getting old. I like what I like. If you don't want to adapt to this judge then strike me. If you have me and don't feel the need to adapt then you take the risk on what happens at the end of the round, not me.
If you have questions before the round ask me.
UPDATE: 10/27/23---- Be on time! In fact, be early.
UPDATE: 9/25/24--- From everything I have read about public forum debate there are several key elements that make it different form policy debate.
- accessible
- conversational format
- advocacy
Link debates are more important to me than your impact. If you can't win a substantial risk of your link then more than likely you won't win the debate. Comparing the risk assessment of the links (Pro vs Con) is very important.
Please do not spread. I want to understand your points clearly.
I want to know your logical and sequential arguments - explain throughout your argument why it's important.
Truth > Tech
I like off time roadmaps.
Sign posting is very appreciated - makes it easier for me to follow your arguments.
Have a clear summary and final focus.
Be respectful to opponents and each other.
Please keep your own time, I want to focus on your content.
Have fun and do your best!
Email chain/ questions: char.char.jackson21@gmail.com
they/them
As a topshelf thing, I will probably vote for arguments I don't understand
LD Paradigm:
arguments in order that i am comfy with them are
theory>larp>K's>tricks> phil
i can flow p much any spreading as long as its clear if i have a problem i will say something
I will vote on any argument as long as its not problematic, only if you sufficiently extend warrant, and implicate said argument.
PF Paradigm:
Send docs even in person i expect docs from all of you
If you want the easy path to my ballot; weigh, implicate your defense/turns, tell me why you should win.
Smart analytics > bad evidence or paraphrased blips.
Debate is a game, as such I will normally be a tech>truth judge except in circumstances where I deem an argument to be offensive/inappropriate for the debate space.
Rebuttal:
I prefer a line by line. Second rebuttal should respond to turns/disads.
Extensions:
I wont do ghost extensions for you even if the argument is conceded, extend your arguments.
Arguments that I am comfortable with:
Theory, T, Plans, Counter Plans, Disads, Kritiks, most framework args that PFers can come up with.
Presumption
I presume too much, tell me why I should presume for you if you think you aren't going to win your case, if you don't make any arguments as to why I should presume I will presume based on a coin flip, aff will be heads and neg will be tails.
I also think I will be starting to vote more on risk of offense, in this scenario.
i get bored so easy please make the round interesting.
debate is problematic in many ways. if there is anything I can do to make the round more accessible, please let me know beforehand
I am a lay judge with some experience in public forum and speech, and limited experience in Lincoln Douglas and Congress.
Please don’t spread or do anything that would make it hard for me to understand you.
Tell me why you are winning, tell me what’s important, don’t make it hard for me to figure that out. WEIGH.
If you have a speech document and are comfortable with sharing it, that would ensure that I do not miss anything you say.
My email is djacobs@mytruloan.com if you want to share anything.
Email- JKaminskii34@gmail.com
TLDR (updated 11/4/22)
- Speed is fine, you won't go too fast
- Win the flow=win the round
- Presumption =neg
- Theory is cool, run it well (Interp, violation, standards and voters. RVI's have higher burden)
- K debate is even better
- Defense needs to be extended
- I default to magnitude/strength of link weighing
- You can run any and all args you want, but they cannot be problematic/discriminatory/ attack your opponents. This will be an auto 20 speaks and L.
My debate experience:
Current assistant PF coach at Trinity Prep
3 Years of NFA-LD Debate
4 Years of Public Forum debate
Paradigm-
It should be pretty easy to win my ballot. In my opinion, debate is a game, and you should play to win. Here are the specific things most debaters would want to know.
PF
- I am cool with speed, so long as you don't use it to push your opponents out of a round. I will call clear if you become hard to understand, so keep that in mind.
- I will evaluate all types of arguments equally unless told otherwise.
- I am willing to listen to things like K's and theory arguments, so long as they are impacted out in the round.
- I really enjoy framework debates as well. I think these can be particularly beneficial for limiting the ground your opponents have in the round.
- I am tech over truth, which means so long as it is on my flow, I will evaluate the argument regardless of my own feelings on it. I will also not flow arguments through ink on the flow, so be sure to engage with your opponents answers in order to win the link level of your argument.
- Summary and FF should be somewhat consistent in terms of the direction they are going. Inconsistencies between these speeches will be harmful, especially when it comes to evaluating the strengths of your links and impacts
- On that same note, I want to see some sort of collapse in the second half of the debate- going for everything is typically a bad strategy, and I want to reward smart strategic choices that you make.
- I default to a net benefits impact calc, unless given a competing way to view the round. I am cool viewing the round through any lens that you give me, so long as you explain why its the best way for me to evaluate the round. If absent, I have to intervene with my own, which is something I hate to do.
- If you want me to call for cards, you need to ask me to do so. In that same regard, I wont intervene unless you leave me no other option.
- I dont flow CX, so if you want me to hold something that was said as binding, you need to bring it up in all of the subsequent speeches.
-Speaker points, in my opinion, are less about your speaking performance and more about your ability to present and explain compelling arguments, interact with the opposition, and provide meaningful analysis as to why you are necessarily more important. Content above style
-On a more personal note, I want the rounds that I judge to be educational and allow debaters to articulate arguments about real world issues, all of which deserve respect regardless of your own personal opinions. I have seen my partners and teammates experience sexism, racism, and other types of discrimination, and I have absolutely zero tolerance for it when I am judging.
-If you have any other questions about my paradigm, please feel free to ask me. I also will give feedback after rounds, you just have to find me and ask.
LD
- All of the above applies here as well. There are a few extra points that may be helpful.
- I will always evaluate framing first, so long as there are competing positions. If values are the same, just collapse and move on. These can be either traditional or more progressive/kritical frameworks.
- For the NR/2AR, don't go for everything- there simply is not enough time and debates are not lost by making strategic decisions to go for one or two arguments instead of extending the entire case.
- I dont need voter issues- just go top down the AC and NC and win your offense/extend defense.
- Impact calc is necessary- PLEASE weigh your impacts. I default to a net benefits impact calc, unless given a competing way to view the round.
Hey, my name is Bryce!
Put me on the Chain: Bryce.Keeler720@gmail.com
Create a chain every round, saves time calling for evi, thx
PF Paradigm
General
* Debate is a game, I'm not a policy maker
* Tech > Truth
* Cut cards, Strike me if you don't
* auto drop for racism/sexism/homophobia or anything I deem problematic that can make the debate space unsafe for others. If you are, auto loss with 25s.
* Things you can do to make it easier to win the round
* line by line in rebuttal
* framing
* warrant extensions in last 2 speeches
* collapsing
* comparative weighing on link level
Misc
* I don't buy sticky defense
* I pref cut cards, +1 speaks if you use them
* Speaks start at 28 and go up or down based on strategy
* Spreading is fine, send doc if you are
* I presume neg unless a presumption arg is read
* Skipping grand = +1 speaks
Progressive Args
Shortcut
* T
* Policy
* K
* Phil
* High theory
* Tricks
tbh prob won't understand high theory, that being said, you can still read it just might take me a while to understand
Not very caught up with k lit, pls explain well
Defaults
* T > K
* Edu > fairness
* No RVIs, competing interps, DTD
Extra
* Disclosure is good, paraphrasing bad
* disclosure and paraphrasing is very easy to win with me, i have a really low threshold for DTD on those arguments
* I like evidence shells (powertag, misbracketing, etc.)
If you have any questions ask before the round
Also, If there is anything I can do to make the round more accessible, please let me know before the round :)
I did PF at Bellaire High School and parliamentary debate at Rice University on the NPDA circuit.
I did four years of PF and graduated in 2018. I won’t know anything about the current topic, so please be clear and define topic jargon! I am also a speaks fairy in a way. SIGNPOST!!!!!
I'd like to think as little as possible, pls do the thinking for me : - ) You can make this easier by signposting, warranting every argument, implicating what each argument means, and collapsing early in the round.
I'm good with average fast PF speaking but prob not spreading (do not worry about speed if you are good with it) - I will flow off a speech doc but please don't abuse it to spam turns. I'll say clear twice
2nd rebuttal needs to frontline; defense sticks through first summary if it's not touched in the rebuttal (but it's good to extend terminal defense).
Weigh as early as you can; I won't look to new weighing in the FF.
I'll only call for evidence if it’s disputed or sketchy/someone explicitly tells me to call for it.
I never did progressive debate so I have a very sparse understanding of how it works; if you read progressive args, please be very clear & try to frame them as traditional arguments. I'll do my best to evaluate them (although I don't prefer to).
other stuff:
Do not argue in cross it doesn't help anyone
Keep your own time please!
down to skip grands
do not come off as overly tryhard and condescending i WILL tank your speaks, debate honestly and cleanly
Don't be rude/sexist/ableist/racist/etc, respect pronouns, and use content warnings. Feel free to message me on Facebook or email me (kennethhlin1@gmail.com) if you feel at any point unsafe in round.
Debate is hard - be cool, have fun!
Hey guys! My name is Hrishi (pronounced Rishi). I competed in Public-Forum Debate for four years, and qualified to TFA state three times, so I consider myself a flow debater/judge.
Here are a few basic things to help y'all understand me as a judge.
Pre-Round things
- Pre-Flow before the round starts
- Create the email chain before round starts, my email is linked below.
Tech things
1. Extensions are important. If you want to go for an argument it must be extended in every speech. If you drop defense or offense, I am not going to evaluate it.
2. Unless you are kicking case to go for turns/disads, Second Rebuttal has to respond to defense and turns that are read in First Rebuttal.
3. Collapse in the second half of the round. Trust me going for one arg is always better than extending 6 different contentions.
4. Don't misconstrue evidence, it's really annoying for both me and your opponents. Please share evidence in a timely manner. (If it takes an abnormal amount of time to find something, it will be dropped from the round)
5. Weighing is important but make sure you do it well. Don't just shout mechanisms at me without explaining the warranting behind them
6. I'm not familiar with progressive args, so run them at your own risk. I never ran progressive args while competing and I have very little experience evaluating these arguments. If you still want to run progressive arguments you are welcome to, but don't blame me if you don't like how I evaluate them.
Other things
1. If you say something that I know isn't true I'm probably not going to buy it.
2. I am a PF debater at heart, I am not a fan of spreading. Don't speak faster than I'm able to flow.
3. If the debate is a wash I will presume Status Quo. (This rarely happens though)
4. Don't be a jerk. If you are sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or xenophobic then I'll drop your team.
5. It's okay to match energy in round, just try to stay civil and respectful towards everyone.
6. My debater brain has deteriorated after I came to college, so I don't particularly care about the minor technicalities.
7. I know debate is stressful, but have fun. Make jokes and laugh, I promise you the world will not end because of the results of one round.
If you have any other questions ask me before the round begins.
TLDR: Focus on warranting, extensions, and weighing and you'll do great.
Good luck with y'alls rounds!
Email: hrishika.marakani@gmail.com
I have competed in or coached various debate formats for over 20 years. Namely, I competed in policy debate for 7 years and competed and coached public debate for another 12 years. Ultimately, I value being a tabula rasa judge at the core.
For PF in particular, my desire is to see debate focus predominantly on persuasion and reasoning. Evidence should be a guide to the debate, not the debate itself. Impact calculations should be obvious, explained, and well defended by logic and reasoning. Debaters should not depend on evidence to speak for itself, nor should they be unable to explain basic warrants when prompted. Kritical argumentation and topicality should only be used if it is applicable, provides needed negative/con ground, and should not be used as a time suck. Finally, debaters should be well rehearsed with signposting and telling me where they want arguments on the flow; I shouldn’t have to make that judgment for them.
For email chains: jbagwell05@gmail.com
*It’s been a while since I’ve judged, and I have very little topic knowledge. Try to overexplain arguments please.*
*If all competitors get to round early and begin, I'll boost speaks*
*aamirsmohsin@gmail.comfor the email chain*
General
I did PF for four years on the local and national circuit; treat me as a standard flow judge
- Tech > Truth
- Comfortable with anything < 250wpm, but if you plan on speaking quickly, don't sacrifice clarity; I'll need a doc for anything above that
- Fine with paraphrasing as long as not misrepresented AND you have the card cut ready to send
- Extend the content of a card, not just the author
- I presume first-speaking team if there's no offense at the end of the round, but that can be changed if args are made in round
Speeches
Cases
- Do whatever you think is strategic
- Slow down on weird args
Rebuttal
- If you choose to dump responses, PLEASE make sure everything has a warrant and don't go ridiculously fast unless you're reading cut cards
- Read new advantages/disadvantages (and don't label them as 'overviews') if you want, but they should interact with your opponent's case
- Second rebuttal, at the minimum, should frontline any turns on case.
Summary/FF
- Collapse
- Make the implication of defensive args clear
- I'll be iffy on weighing in first final, it should be in first summary unless second rebuttal chooses not to collapse
Progressive
- I think I'm okay at evaluating theory debates. This is the max you should probably read in terms of progressive args
- If necessary, read whatever you need to, and I'll try to adapt to you
Speaker Points -- tell me if you do any of the bonuses
- I'll start speaks at a 28.5 and go up or down based on strategy
- I'll up speaks by a point if you disclose properly (full-text or OS) on the NDCA wiki
- I'll tank speeks if you steal prep
I have been judging for several years now. I don't disclose. I am okay with spreading as long as can understand your arguments. I will not give you the win if I feel you are being rude or disrespectful to your opponent. Such as attacking their personal appearance or speech, accent etcetera.
If you concede I will take it as your acceptance to defeat. My favorite parts of PF are the crossfires so bring it.
If judging LD I will give the win to the best candidate regardless of my personal opinions since LD is all about who did the best job to convince me of their points.
When judging speech events I am critical of not just your tone, but your entire performance. Emotion, range, and ability to make your feelings encapsulate me in your piece.
In Congress, delivery, the ability to argue and defend your bill is crucial. I need not only to understand but see the rationale behind your points.
UT Austin
Email: misharafiq2020@gmail.com
I did PF for 4 years at Elkins High School
I am not very familiar with progressive arguments so I will not evaluate any theory, tricks, Ks, etc., unless there is a violation in the round that hurts or excludes someone. Even then, I would prefer you point it out to me in paragraph form with a warrant and explanation rather than forcing me to evaluate progressive argumentation. Honestly if you're planning to run these type of arguments, strike me.
Sending me cases prior to the round would be greatly appreciated. If you're gonna spread SEND ME A SPEECH DOC.
If you run an offensive overview in second rebuttal it will make me really sad
General Stuff
-Tech>truth
- MUST signpost and weigh
- don’t just card dump in rebuttal without any analysis
- Frontlining turns in second rebuttal is a must
- Any turns not frontlined in second rebuttal have a 100% probability
-If you’re not extending with author name and warrant then wyd
- If you want me to vote off case offense, you have to extend uniqueness - link - impact
Evidence
- I won’t call for evidence unless the other team tells me to do so. The only time I’ll do it is if that one piece of evidence will win you the round.
- If I end up calling for evidence that you misrepresent/fabricate, you will get L20
Speaks
-As long as you’re not rude, blatantly cocky, or you start yelling for absolutely no reason - then i got you with speaks don’t trip over it.
Any baby keem reference will get you auto 30 speaks
Debated PF at Bellaire High School for 4 years.
Email: vrama000@gmail.com
Tech > Truth
Flex Prep is completely fine
Presume NEG
Don't be sexist, racist, homophobic, etc.
Be nice to novices
Progressive is fine, but I have been out of debate for a while. I may not be familiar with some arguments you are making, but I will evaluate them
You can postround me/ask me questions if you would like
I am a third year out and I did CX and LD at Austin SFA from 2015-2019.
I would like to be on the email chain - anevayel@gmail.com
General:
I have 0 preference for argumentative style (traditional, “progressive” etc). Yes I’m fine with whatever speed you want to go.
Tech/Truth: I default to tech on arguments I either have personal opinions about or don’t understand but please don’t mistake tech as just having more ink on the flow. I swing more towards truth in matters where whatever is being said is like common knowledge or a fact about current events etc.
I will not disclose your speaker points and I won’t give you a 30.
Speaker points are 60% strategy and quality of argumentation and 40% how clearly you spoke and your in round etiquette. I will give you the lowest points I can if you are nasty. Don’t be.
LD/CX:
Kritiks: Fantastic. Please make sure you understand it and you explain it clearly. I’m probably familiar with whoever you are reading so I wouldn’t downvote you because I don’t know/understand the author but the burden is still on you to explain and win their argument as if I don’t know who they are.
T: Please be mindful I have not judged many rounds on this LD or policy topic so I have 0 preconceived notions of what is T and what is not. You must give me a clear violation->impact story.
Theory: If you’re in LD or PF-I don’t evaluate theory. Ask me for clarifiers if you must. CX- do your thing but please don’t just spread through a bunch of blocks someone else likely wrote
Disads and Counterplans are great! Make your link stories specific! Please, don’t forget to debate about the aff!
PF:
Please be nice to each other. Don’t quote the TFA rules at me. Run whatever arguments you want but you absolutely must tell me a coherent story that is backed by your evidence.
sroach@eanesisd.net
PF Paradigm
Mostly a tab judge. Prefer cards heavy on emperics and warrants. Like to see weighing come down to impacts but just looking for clash in summary speeches. Poise and confidence in grand cross is important but won’t change the ballot. Just focus on what you can control in the round and I’ll flow based on the line of argumentation presented.
IE Paradigm
Organization is key!! I'm paying close attention to sign posting and transitions. If you're competing at a high level, finding content and sources should be the easy part; fitting in the right material for each main point and correctly citing authors/publications is where I am looking for you to move the needle for placement in your room.
When applicable, I love tactful and purposeful attention getting devices. If you're using an analogy, can you lace it through your entire speech? Are you using a famous quote to get things start? It should be related or connected to the content of the speech. I love to laugh, or be challenged, or intrigued. Use what you feel comfortable with.
Dedicate the appropriate amount of time to each component of your presentation, performance, speech etc. Long winded intros or 10 sec conclusions communicate to me that you structure or outline needs crafting.
please put me on the email chain: kateshadman@gmail.com
^^please send docs, don't dump an entire speech into the body of the email
Colleyville Heritage HS (TX) '20: 4 years PF (tfa and nat circuit)
University of Oklahoma '24: 4(ish) years policy
pronouns: she/her/hers
tl;dr (pf)
do whatever you want, i vote on the flow. your barrier to speed is your opponent (if they can’t handle it don’t do it). please warrant and weigh your arg and terminalize your impacts — if you do this you will most likely win. 2nd rebuttal should frontline, if they don’t defense is sticky in 1st summary. if it’s in final it needs to be in summary. have good evidence ethics.
come in pre flowed and send the email chain at the start time
for roadmaps: just tell me which piece of paper to have on top
tl;dr (cx)
my only cx experience is in college, so I'm not as with it as the other college policy debaters
I don't care what you read, I'll listen to pretty much anything. write my ballot for me, I love judge instruction (especially on the K, implicate it to the round plss). I'm biased for a good policy round but don't get me wrong, I love a good K (most familiar with set col, security, and cap). pls label each piece of paper in the 1NC. regardless of the argument, make sure to extend the link (really hard to vote on anything in the 2AR/NR if it's missing) and implicate your args.
come in pre flowed and send the email chain at the start time
for roadmaps: just tell me which piece of paper to have on top
welcome to my paradigm:
*before your speech, pls just tell me what piece of paper to start on and I'll follow you from there (cx: just give me the order of the sheets of paper)
Warrant, Weigh, Win- it's that simple.
- it needs to be on the flow, I need clean extensions and weighing if you want me to vote on it
(please weigh. please, please, please weigh)
- for it to be an extension, I need claim, warrant, and impact
- tell me why/how you're winning and why your argument matters (write my ballot for me)
- terminalize impacts
- please come in pre-flowed and prepared to debate (i want to start the round asap)
- speech doc/email chain should be sent at the start time of the round (or earlier, just not later)
- signpost, I want to write down all of your wonderful arguments (in the right places)
- speed: i don't care how fast you go, know your opponent (if they can't handle the speed -- don't go fast, if they don't have experience flowing off speech docs, this isn't the round for them to learn), if you're going to go sicko mode, give me a doc, otherwise, I flow on paper if I'm not writing stuff down, slow down
pf specific:
- quality > quantity
- tech > truth
- default util
- I don't like calling for ev. you should be doing the ev analysis yourselves, ie. compare the ev between speeches then say it in the speech (I won't vote on it if it's not on the flow)
rebuttal:
- 1st rebuttal shouldn't be doing case extensions (unless it's an ov, fw, or weighing you want flowed on your case), i already got the args from case, it's just repetitive
- 2nd rebuttal: pls frontline offense
summary:
- if 2nd rebuttal frontlines, defense is not sticky
- if 2nd rebuttal doesn't frontline, defense is sticky
- please weigh (pls, pls, pls)
final focus:
- final focus should mirror the summary (if it's not in the summary it shouldn't be in final) (weighing should also be the same)
- PLEASE DON'T GO FOR EVERYTHING, collapse and narrow down the debate
crossfire:
- start whenever y'all are ready, don't wait on me
progressive args (pf)
I would rather not but, do whatever you want, but, it's extremely hard to do the work you need to do within the pf time constraints and the bar doesn't lower just because it's pf. if you are going to do something funky, one of the biggest mistakes I see is not implicating the K (or whatever) to the round, make sure you do work on page comparison otherwise, it's really hard to see how the argument is relevant to the round. tell me how to evaluate the arg in the context of the round.
"progressive args don't belong in pf" isn't a response (unless you have a beautifully curated block on this arg), you need some legitimate ink on the flow
again, I would rather not judge progressive rounds in pf, if you want to, you run the risk of losing the ballot a lot easier than if you debated traditionally
evidence:
don't do anything stupid and don't take forever to pull up evidence, evidence should be cut properly and cited with a working link, if your opponents are doing something bad/sketch with ev make it a voting issue--I am very likely to vote on it (if it's legit)
personal thing about ev- evidence shouldn't be paraphrased when it's introduced into the round, you should be reading from cards, obviously this gets lost in the back half of the round (which is fine)-- if you are going to paraphrase make sure you have the cut cards available and that you are representing them correctly
- Please stop speaking so fast. I max out at 220 wpm. Past that, I'll only catch bits and pieces of it all, and that is not a good position for any of us.
- *if you have me in any other debate event than PF or LD: I'm so sorry. I'm not gonna lie to you: this won't go well, and I apologize in advance.
- Yes, put me on the email chain. krishna.shamanna2401@gmail.com
- *For LDers: they've been sticking me in ya'll's rounds all year despite my objections, so I've reluctantly become somewhat mildly knowledgeable about how the event works, and can safely say that I won't be the absolute worst judge in this event, and should generally be able to follow along most substance. That said, please treat me like a flay judge, and ease up on the speed and the jargon, because if ya'll start spreading or feel the need to try some new-fangled progressive argumentation, I promise you that I will have no idea what's going on and will either default to the team I can comprehend or literally just flip a coin if I don't know what's going on for either of ya'll.
- No longer relevant because COVID, but leaving it here for posterity: Bring me food and I'll give you a 30 (just you, not your partner, unless he/she/they brings me food too-- no freebies).
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Some stuff abt me: I debated in PF for two years for Westwood High School, one of them on the national circuit where I achieved mild success. Now I'm a second year out. Here's what you rly need to know:
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TLDR: Warrant, weigh, and don't be abusive. Tech>Truth, but don't be offensive and/or dumb. Yes, I disclose, and no, you don't have to.
Long version:
- Yes, I intervene. 2 scenarios where it will happen: Either you're being incredibly offensive (sexist/racist/homophobic, etc.) in the round, or you lie about evidence. To clarify the first: I haven't seen many egregious examples of this type of conduct, but suffice to say: when you cross a line, I will drop you. I don't care if you won the flow-- if you actively contribute to making the debate space more exclusionary, I refuse to reward you for that with a W. To clarify the latter: It's one thing to marginally overstate the extent to which a card supports your contention. It's another thing entirely to cherrypick the part of a card that supports your argument, while ignoring the entire list of answers to your argument made in the next paragraph. In the overwhelming majority of cases, I will simply drop a piece of evidence if I find it to be misconstrued. But if your entire link chain is based on one card, and that card is a straight-up lie (at least the way you read it), I will drop the entire argument from my flow and refuse to evaluate it. I won't necessarily drop you for it, if you have some other source of offense that wins you the round, but you will be at a disadvantage from that point forth, and your speaker points will be dismal. This has happened exactly once so far in my time judging-- please do not be the second, whoever is reading this.
- I'm nice on speaker points now. Don't worry too much, just be respectful.
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I heavily dislike presumption/default votes, and expect you to not put me in that position. If you're confused about what this means, let me elaborate: A very disturbing situation is one in which I have to view two or more paths to the ballot that are both equally strong. Don't misunderstand-- this most often means you're doing something wrong. For example, if I have two ways to evaluate the round and I can literally flip a coin to figure out who gets the W because you frontline and extend completely separate arguments while doing 0 comparative weighing, I will consider factors such as quality of extensions, which scenario is more of an offensive argument to vote off of, etc. to make my decision. To clarify, this DOES NOT mean I will intervene to give the W to the team I like more in the round. It just means that the team does the better debating in a bad round should win the debate, rather than me reducing the ballot to the outcome of the coin flip-- ergo, no "presuming" anything.
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Speak fast if you want (mostly-- but if you're over 250 words per minute, we'll have trouble), as long as you’re clear, and your opponents don’t get spread out of the round (hint: if this is a potential issue, ask if they would like to establish a speed threshold). But if you wanna ignore this, just let me be clear about something: I. Am. An. Extremely. Lazy. Person. I try to intervene as little as possible in debate rounds, and that extends to your speaking. If I cannot understand you, I will not work to understand you-- I shouldn't be doing that anyways. It's your job as a debater to convince me of stuff, so do it right.
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CPs/Ks/Theory and progressive whatnot--- Please, don't do it unless there's no other option. There are some situations where it's unavoidable: If your opponents paraphrase like 100000 cards and spread to place a boatload of responses, leaving you with not nearly enough time to make responses and call for evidence and whatnot, sure, run theory about spreading, paraphrasing, or whatever-- but it has to be egregious abuse. And even then, please dumb it down rather reading a shell. This event was designed to be a form of debate accessible to everyone, and I believe these types of arguments, while sometimes necessary, undermine that purpose. Not only do I doubt I can evaluate them correctly, but I'm frankly tired of seeing teams (you know who you are) from big schools with multiple coaches that are flown out every other weekend, go into round and spread theory shells against small-school teams (from predominantly local, lay circuits) about how small schools are supposedly harmed by non-disclosure or paraphrasing (this means I almost never evaluate disclosure theory).
- Paraphrasing- I don't understand why people are so uptight about this in PF. Reading direct quotes doesn't mean you can't misrepresent what the evidence says, so the logic behind the "no paraphrasing" requirements that many judges/coaches set doesn't really make sense to me. Again, this event is designed to be accessible to everyone-- in some cases, that necessitates paraphrasing evidence in order to articulate your arguments in the clearest way possible. But independent of that, I think it's important to realize that with the time limits being what they are in this event, sometimes paraphrasing is the only way that you can have enough time to make an argument at a deeper level and really provide a complete narrative for the judge to evaluate. So please, paraphrase if you want, and don't read theory against it unless there's actually an egregious case of misrepresentation that changed the coarse of the whole round.
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I shouldn’t have to say this but: Claims/Statistics need warrants before they can be evaluated as arguments, and this applies to all offense and defense in the round. If you extend an impact without extending the warrant (or vice-versa), I count it as dropped-- not weighable. Extending an argument, ESPECIALLY with the new extra minute of summary, should be done cleanly, with everything important mentioned in both summary and final focus. If neither team does this, I won't be happy.
- First summary is no longer allowed to skip extending terminal defense. If you're gonna extend it in final focus, I want it in summary as well. This year, the NSDA has literally given you an entire extra minute of summary AND prep time. There is no excuse anymore.
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If you want to concede defense to kick out of turns on your case, or read your own defense on your own case to kick those turns (sketch, but I'm cool with it), you need to do it immediately after the opposing speech which made those turns.
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Second rebuttal MUST frontline turns, AT A MINIMUM. I think you should frontline defense as well, but I won't penalize you for not doing it. I like overviews, and don’t care if they’re in second rebuttal. Any overview read in first rebuttal MUST be answered in second rebuttal, otherwise it is conceded. You can allocate your time however you want-- I did 2-2 splits throughout my (very short) career, and it usually worked.
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Terminal defense extensions are good. Turns are better. You can drop your case at any point in the round and still have a shot, assuming you did it right.
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Anything in final focus must be in summary, except weighing (It doesn’t matter to me when you do it, as long as you do it because too many of you don't). Everyone needs to weigh. No one does. Please do. If not, you run the risk that the round becomes a messy stalemate (happens more often than you’d think), forcing me to intervene, and neither you nor I will appreciate the outcome of that.
- Weighing is more than saying buzzwords like probability, scope, magnitude, etc. You actually need to explain it. In fact, if you just get to the point and avoid saying those buzzwords (as in just say "Our impacts are more important because 1) we save 150 million people, while they only save 5 thousand, 2) We give you global benefits while they're restricted to China, 3) The chance of accessing X benefit is X% more likely to happen that nuclear war, which is almost possible today because of mutual deterrence"-- ALL WITHOUT SAYING THE WORDS "WE OUTWEIGH ON MAGNITUDE, SCOPE, AND PROBABILITY, BC ___") , I can guarantee you'll have extra time to warrant and even add some more weighing mechanisms, and maybe even some meta-weighing-- and then you'll be EXTREMELY likely to get my ballot, along with a FAT 30 :)).
- I realize that a lot of people won't be comfortable with this because it goes against everything ya'll were taught in debate camp and school and whatnot--- so I won't penalize you for it, meaning you COULD get a W30 without doing any of this-- it's just infinitely more likely that you'll fall back on buzzwords as a crutch and do 0 weighing, so be careful.
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I strongly prefer that teams collapse in summary/final focus on key issues. You can go line by line in summary if you want, but by the time you get to final focus, I think you should be collapsing on 1-2 voting issues in the round, and CRYSTALLIZING.
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Please have your evidence (preferably cut cards, but PDFs are ok if you paraphrase) available when your opponents call for it. As someone who debated with a very unreliable laptop and frequently used paywalled articles, I know sometime it takes some time to pull up evidence, so I'm slightly forgiving with this and will do my best to not be unfair. But try to not take it too far, because it's annoying, and if I'm on a panel, I can guarantee that I'll be one of the only ones who'll be nice about this.
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Misconstrued cards will be dropped from the round. If I catch you straight up lying/falsifying, you’ll be able to tell; my face (particularly my eyebrows) is very expressive when I’m angry. Suffice to say: you’ll get an L25, and you’ll know you did, well before I announce it, post it on tabroom, and loudly scold you.
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I don’t like jerks, but I love sass!. Please, by all means-- Be funny!!! (if you can haha) Tournaments are too depressing most of the time, for everyone, so ya'll might as well make this an entertaining experience for all of us.
- If you are being overtly offensive (as in racist, xenophobic, sexist, etc.), you will get an L25, period.
Please. Please. Please. Just go slow. I am convinced that the definition of slow has changed. Whatever you think is slow, go slower. Run whatever you want but just go slow.
Kempner '20 | UT '24
Email: rajsolanki@utexas.edu
its probably easier to message me on facebook though
30 speaks if i get a good speech without a laptopI will give you 30 or the next highest speaker points literally possible if you go slow and clear
Round Robin Update - please send cases and speeches in the email chain - no google docs
Round Robin Update 2 - I judged my first round and I genuinely could not understand an argument that was made... and I am certain that was not because of any hearing issues or inability to process a competitive debate round. If you want me to flow your speech, go slower and actually explain your arguments.
Warning: Proceed with caution when choosing the arguments you run against clearly inexperienced teams. Idk if I reserve the right but just cause it sounds cool Imma go ahead and reserve the right to drop you if I think that you are making the event inaccessible for anyone.
everytime i come back and judge debate i feel like people's standard for the term fast is changing. I am a technical judge, but honestly, please go slow(er) its way more fun for my experience and your ballot.
Clear link-warrant-impact extensions is fundamental to getting my ballot
The Jist
- Debate is a Game, you play it how you want to. But I also have my own bias as to how the game is won. This means that doing what you do best along with adapting to my paradigm is the way to go.
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My role as a judge is not as a norm setter. It is as a policy maker and voting on the implications of a policy action. This means that I will not evaluate any theory shells, tricks, or any other super progressive stuff. I want you to debate PUBLIC FORUM. However, I still want to see a good tech>truth debate. So imagine that you're in an out round and like 30 people are watching. Debate the way where every single person can understand those arguments and form a decision on their own. The only exceptions to this preference are Ks and paragraph theory. With Ks, i think they are technically answering the resolution, but I don't prefer them because i'm not that well versed nor do i particularly enjoy judging them.The other exception is paragraph theory. By this, if you see clear abuse and think they should actually be dropped mid round, then just explain why. I don't want a shell, just explain the abuse story as if it were a traditional argument
- dont run disclosure theory or paraphrase theory
- love a good framing debate hate a bad framing debate xD
- "I'm going to vote for the least mitigated link into the best weighed impact" - Andy Stubbs.
- My favorite American Asher Moll puts this quite exquisitely, "weighing is important but is not necessary to win my ballot, provided i think your defense on the offense that they go for is terminal. that said, you should still weigh in case i grant your opponents some offense. if i think both sides are winning offense, i resolve the weighing debate first when making my decision. i will only evaluate new 2ff weighing if there was no other weighing in the round"
Speed is a really subjective thing here. I honestly think it depends. When I debated, I was always relatively faster because I'm used to speaking in a faster pace in all my conversations. So when I debated, I would say I debated at a normal speed, but it was still relatively fast and understandable because that's just how I talk. So to be as objective as possible, speed should be like my Thai Food spice level: Medium! This means a little kick in the pace can be advantageous, but too much is going to make my brain explode and I might just give up on flowing. If you're going too fast, my mind is just going to lag and my flow across the rest of the speech is going to drop like dominos. That might frustrate you when it comes to my RFD. But if you do want to go super fast, send a speech doc to me and your opponents.dont go fast but maybe read the strikethrough
- I'm tech over truth, read any substance you want
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Crossfire is 100% binding. Im going to pay attention. The speech exists for a reason and im being paid to pay attention. It's also a skill that you need to learn and it promotes not being bailed out by a partner if a mistake is made.
- If you believe your opponent has no path to the ballot, you can call TKO. The round is then officially over. If your opponent has no path to the ballot at that point, you get a W30. If you are incorrect, you get an L 25.
- The summary and final focus speeches of the round MUST have a link, warrant, AND impact extended. I have a mid-tier threshold for impacts but an extremely high threshold for the link and the warrant. You must explain the entire link story or else none of y'all will be encouraged to collapse.
- i feel like a lot of debaters had trouble distinguishing in round humor with being a dick so you can mess around but it better be good.
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There has to be some basic response to the first rebuttal if you want to wash away their defense/turn/DA in the second half of the round. For instance, if a response is made in 1st rebuttal, a basic response to it in the second rebuttal would suffice, but a more well-explained response in second summary would be required. This means that I think it is strategic to frontline in the second rebuttal. It's your loss (not the actual L but probably the actual L) if you don't. Personally, I spent 2-2.5 minutes in second rebuttals front-lining and then the rest on their case, simply because i already had more time to create a more efficient and selective rebuttal by going second. NOTE: if you frontline their entire rebuttal and you put solid coverage on their case, i am going to give you a 30 regardless of how good/bad the final focus is. I think those types of speeches are the most impressive.
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I don't think that defense is sticky anymore with the 3 minute summary, but I don't think this should be a problem and it's probably to your advantage that you extend defense regardless. If you make one or two solid defense extensions that are poorly or not responded to, then that's really hard to come back from, so just do it.
- Obviously the rule of thumb is that you should not bring up new stuff in summary and final focus, unless first summary is making frontlines.
- DO NOT and i mean DO NOT try reading offensive overviews or new contentions, what you all like to call "advantages or disadvantages" in second rebuttal. I am straight up not going to evaluate it especially if you just kick your entire case and collapse on it. FREE ELKINS AP
- If there is no offense left in the round, I presume NEG. Remember, I said I was a policy maker so in super basic terms if I don't see any comparative change as a result of affirming the resolution, then I negate. if its a benefits versus harms resolution then I presume to the side (usually aff) that is also the squo
- take flex prep if needed
- Signposting is crucial or else my flow is going to drop like dominos part 2
- When you make extensions don't just say the author name make sure that you're giving a clear explanation of what the author is saying. Not only is this better practice but I don't get every single author name down so make sure you are clear.
I debated for 4 years for Strake Jesuit and know how public forum works. I do not have extensive topic knowledge, but am ok with speed (no spreading) as long as you're clear. Please try to refrain from using progressive argumentation.
Debate is a game and I'll buy any arg as long as it's well warranted.
TLDR: Consider me a lay flay judge. Tech > Truth
I did not do debate in high school or college.
I have coached speech and debate for 20 years. I focus on speech events, PF, and WSD. I rarely judge LD (some years I have gone the entire year without judging LD), so if I am your judge in LD, please go slowly. I will attempt to evaluate every argument you provide in the round, but your ability to clearly explain the argument dictates whether or not it will actually impact my decision/be the argument that I vote off of in the round. When it comes to theory or other progressive arguments (basically arguments that may not directly link to the resolution) please do not assume that I understand completely how these arguments function in the round. You will need to explain to me why and how you are winning and why these arguments are important. When it comes to explanation, do not take anything for granted. Additionally, if you are speaking too quickly, I will simply put my pen down and say "clear."
In terms of PF, although I am not a fan of labels for judges ("tech," "lay," "flay") I would probably best be described as traditional. I really like it when debaters discuss the resolution and issues related to the resolution, rather than getting "lost in the sauce." What I mean by "lost in the sauce" is that sometimes debaters take on very complex ideas/arguments in PF and the time limits for that event make it very difficult for debaters to fully explain these complex ideas.
Argument selection is a skill. Based on the time restrictions in PF debate, you should focus on the most important arguments in the summary and final focus speeches. I believe that PF rounds function like a funnel. You should only be discussing a few arguments at the end of the round. If you are discussing a lot of arguments, you are probably speaking really quickly, and you are also probably sacrificing thoroughness of explanation. Go slowly and explain completely, please.
In cross, please be nice. Don't talk over one another. I will dock your speaks if you are rude or condescending. Also, every competitor needs to participate in grand cross. I will dock your speaks if one of the speakers does not participate.
For Worlds, I prefer a very organized approach and I believe that teams should be working together and that the speeches should compliment one another. When each student gives a completely unique speech that doesn’t acknowledge previous arguments, I often get confused as to what is most important in the round. I believe that argument selection is very important and that teams should be strategizing to determine which arguments are most important. Please keep your POIs clear and concise.
If you have any questions, please let me know after I provide my RFD. I am here to help you learn.
Pronouns: he/him
I was a Public Forum debater for Anderson High School for four years, so I am relatively familiar with Public Forum Debate today.
I am a technical judge who will vote off of the flow rather than the mere persuasiveness of one's arguments. I will be doing absolutely no work for you during the round with the exception of evaluating disputed evidence if requested. If you would like for me to vote on a specific argument then you need to explain to me the claim, WARRANT, and impact every single speech and how that argument interacts with the rest of the debate. I am receptive to most kinds of arguments and debate styles; however, keep in mind that this is PF and not all of your judges will be as accommodating.
At the end of the debate, you should strive for a more nuanced understanding of the subject matter and the interworkings of public argumentation rather than simply the W.
If you have any specific questions regarding speaker points, types of arguments, etc. then please ask me before the round starts.