Lansing Debate Invitational
2021 — Lansing, KS/US
Novice Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideBrett Cranor
bvsw '23
ku '27
I know nothing about debate trends/popular arguments for any high school topic.
email chain (please include both)- cranor.brett@gmail.com+ bvswdebatedocs@gmail.com
If you have any questions/problems with anything said below, feel free to ask.
General Thoughts-
1--Read whatever. I'm open to functionally everything. Ideological opposition to arguments doesn't decide who wins the debate. The bar only gets crossed if it harms other debaters or is a procedural violation of debate (clipping, miscutting evidence, etc).
2--I only evaluate what you say. tech> truth, but debate is a speaking activity, not a research document submission. I make decisions solely from the words on my flow; I'm not going to reread all your cards to find warrants for you. If you want me to read things after the debate/it is important to the round, I will obviously read them. Debate takes a lot of commitment, dedication, and perseverance so I will do my best to reciprocate such commitment by adjudicating the debate to the best of my ability.
3--I don't have a set scale for speaker points. They're pretty arbitrary but revolve around precision, smart decision-making, and how well I feel like you've actually debated (i.e not having a block battle). I will not give you a 30 if you ask for one. Even if you win you should get a 30 in the round, that does not reflect your speaking ability. This is non-negotiable. I do not care, speaks are getting beyond inflated. Speaker points are based on speaking so there's no out-of-round practice (like open source, etc) that is going to give you boosts, but that doesn't mean there aren't extra ways to increase them.
For example:
-not having a computer/blocks in finals rebuttals
-making funny & applicable jokes
-technical, efficient, and easy-to-following debating (i.e numbering, clear lbl)
4--Cross-Ex: It should always be open unless agreed upon by the debaters. If your offense is predicated on someone not knowing the answer to a question, while their partner knows it, you deserve to lose. This doesn't change if you are mav. However, I still do believe the person getting cross-examined should be answering the majority of questions asked. Having one person answer all the questions is nearly always perceptually horrible. Cross-Ex is binding and I will flow any questions and responses for the duration of three minutes. Debaters are free to ask any questions to the other team during their own prep time, but I won't flow anything said/responded to.
5--Go for the arguments you are comfortable going for. Your ability to debate the arguments you're comfortable with outweighs the consequences of badly explaining arguments because a judge prefers them. That being said, if a said argument is more confusing and/or technical, just explain it more in-depth.
6--My bar for an extension seems to be fairly high. I understand that speeches are constrained by time limits, but I'm a pretty big stickler about only accepting arguments in previous speeches. This does not just mean I throw them out the window, but rather the bar for disproving them lowers. I'm all for spin, but there is only so much you can get out of a sentence. The place where I most commonly see this is 2ac and 1ar case extensions. I enjoy seeing debaters extend advantages and internal links while doing line-by-line, as opposed to overviews, but a clear and coherent internal link chain should be present in every speech. With that being said, new 1ar arguments are up to the debaters and the only time I will personally intervene to strike things off my flow is while protecting the 2nr, against a new 2ar.
7--Dropped arguments are true, but I think debaters tend to have tunnel vision when it comes to this. There is a large chance that something else on the flow can implicate said argument, which makes banking on them solely less offensive than many believe.
8--I will not vote on anything outside of the round; no exceptions. If it's important enough, tab should be deciding this, not me.
Novice Specific-
Be nice. Everyone is here to learn (or just pass the class tbh) so unnecessary, degrading, or rude remarks are automatically going to make me not want to listen to you. I enjoy watching and evaluating debates but am completely uninterested in watching people degrade others for mistakes/not knowing what to do.
PUT ME ON THE EMAIL CHAIN: owenwcrouch@gmail.com
Owen W. Crouch
He/Him
former debater at Olathe East
Tell me a dad joke before the round to let me know you read my paradigm :)
I Like Theory and Policy. I can handle a simpler K like Cap or Imperialism. I can handle speed but I prefer a more traditional debate style.
My biggest thing is that you need to be explaining arguments. You need to tell me why I need to vote on a given point. Especially on your voters for T, the framework for Ks, Impact calc, Etc. Tell me why I Care.
If I get to tell you who won right after the round, I invite you to ask questions about my decisions, respectfully disagree and tell me I'm a fool, and/or schedule an appointment to catch these hands.
Hi!
They/them
If you are comfortable feel free to share your pronouns with me.
Freshman at UNL. I have experience debating open and one year of varsity debate. I also competed in student congress during forensics season. Your args need warrants. Racism, sexism, ableism, and queerphobia aren’t acceptable. If I see any of these you will get the four (or 25) and lose the round.
Please give content warnings if what you are going to say could be triggering.
SIGN POST. PLEASE. Tell me what card you are referencing and read your tags and authors.
Please don't spread.
Your args need warrants.
New cards are acceptable thru the 1ar.
K's: acceptable if you can explain them to me, but I have never been a K debater and I am not very familiar with Ks and K literature, so please keep that in mind.
CP: Needs a net benefit
DA: needs to have a link
Overall, think of me as a flay policymaker judge. (also don't call me judge. Call me August.)
Have a good round and I don't care if you swear but don't over do it and don't be mean.
Put me on the email chain: augustfritton@gmail.com
I have been debating for four years
The K
I will listen to and evaluate the k (including performance affs). Accessibility is a very important part of any kritik, as such, be very explicit on what the role of the ballot is and what the intended impact of the alt and/or performance is. A team that is obviously knowledgeable about the kritik they are running and does a good job at framing the round and providing alt solvency can certainly win. However, I will vote on no link to the K and I will default to policy impacts unless the framing debate is done well. Don't be a moving target, try not to perf con or change advocacy stances between speeches (obviously you can kick out of the K but some of those things might haunt you on other flows). I don't love K v. K debates (framework makes the game work) but do what you must.
CPs and DAs
Please be competitive. I like PICs bad arguments and I will often vote on them unless the neg can prove competition/lack of abuse in round. Be sure to have a clear net ben (internal or external) and articulate what it is, I've seen far too many CPs without them gone for. For the aff, I don't love hearing a laundry list of every perm you can think of. Read and articulate perms that actually test competitiveness (i.e. "perm do the aff" isn't a thing). DAs should be unique, generics are good but ev quality is important.
T
Explain your definitions and make sure the card you use has warrants that actually state (or strongly imply) your interp. Competing interps need to be evaluated in terms of both the definition's contextual value as well as the warrants of the definition read. Explain your limits/ground. No laundry list here, articulate how exactly in-round abuse has occurred or how what the plan text justifies is bad. Explain your voters. If you want to read and actually go for T, I need to see contextual work done early and often. Avoid using buzzwords unless they actually mean something.
CX
CX isn't binding unless you say it is. I'm fine with asserting arguments during this time but, if it's clear you're using this time to have an 11-minute speech, I won't be very happy with you. Don't make this a shouting match please, otherwise I'm just going to ignore both teams and nobody wants that.
Speed
I am okay with speed in basically every instance except for when we get to theory args made on the flow that need explanation. If it's intricate and not in the speech doc slow it down a bit, it will help you if I can understand what's going on. That being said I'd prefer you be organized, clear, and slow instead of messy, unintelligible, and fast. I won't ever give up on your speech if you have a hard time with clarity, but just know I may not pick up all of your arguments
easton.logback@gmail.com --- any pronouns except it/its
TL;DR: Do lots of judge instruction. Explain how arguments interact. Write my ballot for me.
Meta-Level Stuff:
I have spent a lot of time thinking about debate; an approximation of my old thoughts can be found in my old paradigm, linked at the bottom.
I try not to let these biases influence my decisions, i.e., to only vote on arguments and analysis explicitly made in the round (this is the obligatory 'I'm tech over truth', 'read the arguments you're best at and not what you think I would like' disclaimer in the paradigm).
I try to prevent intervention by, at the end of every debate, noting every argument made in the 2NR/2AR, and resolving them solely in the context of other arguments made in the round. This usually takes me a really long time.
To make my decisions not take as long, and lower the chance of intervention, you should do as much analysis as you can for me. The final rebuttals should:
1---Identify what arguments you're ahead on, and explain why they win you the round (these are your 'win conditions').
2---Explain why your 'win conditions' make your opponents 'win conditions' irrelevant.
Your opponent will probably win at least one argument. My decision is far easier if, instead of just spamming defense and pretending you're ahead on everything, you explicitly call out why whatever argument your opponent wins does not matter.
The less you make a ton of arguments with minimal analysis, and the more you completely develop one argument, the easier it is for me to vote to you.
Thoughts On Specific Arguments:
I have a lot of them, and they change constantly.
Ask me before or after a round if you have a specific question. If you want the general idea of my thoughts on or experience with specific arguments, check out my old paradigm.
Good luck!
Grant McKeever – he/him – ggmdebate@gmail.com (put this on the email chain and feel free to ask questions)
Experience: Current coach for Lincoln Southwest. Current NFA LD debater (1v1 policy) for UNL (elections, nukes) - did DCI/TOC style stuff senior year (water) and was on the trad/KDC circuit in Kansas prior (criminal justice, arms sales, immigration) at Olathe Northwest HS so I’m most likely familiar with whatever style you’re going for
TL;DR: Run what you run best. I’m open to mostly whatever, specifics down below. Default to policymaker. Give me judge instruction, explain arguments, and tell me how to vote because that’s probably how I will. The rest of the paradigm is moreso preferences/defaults/advice than explicit constraints; my job is to flow the round and evaluate what happens in it, and I try to do so as unbiased as possible.
Don’t be disrespectful. Just don’t.
I've noticed a lack of warrants and impacts from claims coming out of debates - an argument has 3 parts; you will get a MUCH more favorable (or, at the least, less intervention-y) RFD if you go beyond the claim and give me comparative reasons why it is true and how it frames my ballot.
ON EVIDENCE CITATIONS -
My patience is growing thin on a lot of these questions - I have watched blatant violations of the NSDA rules on evidence (sources:https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Debate-Evidence-Guide.pdf and https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hq7-DE6ls2ryVtOttxR4BNpRdP7xUbBr0M3SMYefek8/edit#heading=h.nmf14n). I will not hesitate to tank speaks and/or drop the debater for failure to comply with these standards (and it's magnified if your opponent points it out).
What this means:
- You MUST provide cut cards with full citations - this means setting up some form of evidence sharing (speech drop, email, flash drive, paper case, etc.) that I have access to for the ENTIRETY of the debate to check for clipping and evidence standards. THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE SHOULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE CARDS YOU READ IS SILLY AND MAKES FOR BAD DEBATES. (stolen from Zach Thornhill). This includes having access to the original source material the card was cut from, and provide : full name of primary author and/or editor, publication date, source, title of article, date accessed for digital evidence, full URL, author qualifications, and page numbers for all cards. In round, you only have to verbally say the name and date, but I need the rest of this information provided in another format. HYPERLINKS ALONE ARE NOT SUFFICIENT - THEY ARE ONE PART OF THE CITATION, AND FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE REST OF THIS INFORMATION IS SUFFICIENT TO VOTE DOWN.
- I am VERY unlikely to give you much leeway for paraphrased/summarized evidence - this model highly incentivizes debaters misconstruing evidence, and 99% of the time misses out on the warrants as to WHY the claim is true (which means even if it follows evidence rules I am unlikely to give it much weight anyway). In addition, paraphrasing is only used for one small, specific portion of an original source, not summarize pages of information into a sentence to blip out 20 cards. If you are concerned I may misinterpret part of your paraphrased case as violating this and/or are concerned, you should read cut cards that highlight the words from a source read in the debate. If you do paraphrase, you MUST have outlined the specific part of the card paraphrased clearly - failure to do this is an evidence violation.
- Clipping, even if accidental, is enough to be voted against - I don't care who points it out when it gets pointed out or how - I will be following along, and if I find you clipped I will vote against you. This is non-negotiable.
- Distortion, nonexistent evidence (in here, point 1), and clipping (point 3) are the only violations in which the round will be stopped - that doesn't mean any other evidence violations will not negatively impact your speaks and the arguments I have on the flow.
I don't want to do this to be mean, but these are necessary to maintain academic integrity and faithful representation - especially at postseason and national-level tournaments, these violations are inexcusable.
Pref Sheet (mainly for LD, but works for policy too)
LARP/Policy - 1
K - 1/2
Theory*** - 1/2
Phil - 3/4
Tricks - 5
Other: probably somewhere throughout the paradigm - or just ask
General
Debate is a competitive game, and it is my job as a judge to evaluate who wins the game. As competitors, you get to tell me how to evaluate the game outside my defaults and why I should evaluate this way - this takes a lot of different forms with many different reasons, criteria, benefits, and more, but my job is to evaluate this clash to decide a winner (which becomes much easier with judge instruction). However, debate as a game is unique with the educational benefits it provides and have real impacts in the way we think about and view the world - I think debate about what debate should look like are important to framing the game, and can easily be persuaded to find extraneous benefits to the "game" to evaluate/vote on.
Tech>truth, though sticking with the truth usually makes the tech easier. I've especially noticed the more pedantic impact/internal links/interps/etc. the less likely I am to give it a bunch of weight.
Prep Time - not a big fan of people stealing prep. If it gets bad enough I will start to just dock prep time as you're stealing prep so steal at your own risk. I also give verbal warnings, if I tell you to stop please just stop I don't want to be grumpy. TIMES TO NOT TAKE PREP: while someone is uploading a speech doc, as someone is going up for cross, after your prep time has expired, etc.
Speed – Spreading is fine. Make sure everyone in the round is okay with it though before you do. If you spread make sure it’s clear. If you’re super fast I probably can't understand your top speed, and appreciate going a slower on tags/analytics. I'll yell a few times, but if the keyboard ain't clacking/I'm frantically trying to keep up I'm not recording your arguments.
-Within that, I'm probably not going to verbally call on a panel; I'm going to assume the speed you're going at is to best adapt to the other judges; a lot of the same signals tho will still apply, I just won't be as verbal ab it
Framing – it’s good. Please use it, especially if there’s different impacts in the debate. Impact calc is very good, use it to the best of your ability. I'm a policymaker after all you’ll win the round here.
I've increasingly noticed that heavily posturing is becoming less persuasive to me; it looks much better to frame the debate through you being ahead on specific arguments (ie evidence/warrant quality, impact weighing, etc.) then posturing about the round writ large. Especially with the way I evaluate debates, the last minute ethos/pathos push is by and far less important than writ large "I'm soooooo far ahead" that can get articulated on the flow to shape my ballot.
Neg
Ks – I probably don’t know all of your lit. As long as you explain I should be fine and am more than willing to vote on them. I'm once again reminding that you should either send your analytics or slow down otherwise else my flow WILL be a mess. Judge instruction is key here - give me ROB and impact stuff out.
Topicality – I love a good T debate. Not a fan of T as a time suck; it's legitimately so good. If the aff is untopical/topical/exists go for it. That being said, I need good violations on T. Slow down a bit on the standards/voters piece of things. I default to competing interps, but can evaluate on reasonability if it's won.
CPs – Swag. Theory is highly underused here, so as long as I can flow them (slow down on them) I'll vote on them. Condo is usually good but I default a bit to reasonability here - especially if the aff points out specific abuse stories. I default to framing this debate as a scale of "if the CP solves ___ much of the aff, what does the risk of the net benefit need to be to outweigh" - so pairing good case defense and net benefit debate is crucial.
DAs – Good. Please just have at least a somewhat reasonable link chain.
Theory – I'm fine with it. I heavily lean towards drop the argument and not the team unless it's egregious/about in-round discriminatory behavior. Still will default to competing interps but would be happy to go for good C/Is under reasonability. Disclosure (for an example): I think disclosure is good and you should disclose, but I am much less likely (not opposed) to reject the team and instead default more towards leaning neg on generic links/args. Condo/Topicality are probably the only ones that I reject the team on. Generally frown on RVIs, the better out is making those articulations under reasonability.
Case – I feel that case debate is highly under-utilized. A strong case debate is just as, if not a slightly more, viable way to my ballot. However, please pair it with some sort of offense; case defense is good but if there's no offense against the aff then I vote aff. Especially with a CP that avoids the deficits heck yeah.
Aff
K Affs – Refer to the K section. Fairness and education are impacts, but the more they are terminalized/specified (to things like participation) the more persuasive your arguments become. Haven't been in enough FW debates to know how I truly lean on that, I'll evaluate it like everything else - impacts are key.
-TVA is better defense than SSD imo but both are defense; they take out aff impacts on the flow, but if you go for these (which u should) pair it with other offense on the page
Extinction Impacts – have a probable link chain and make sure aff is substantial - that's much easier to win and helps u later on.
LD
I'm a policy kid, LD circuit norms and evaluations can fly over my head. I did a couple years on the trad circuit so I know some things but it's not my forte - refer to the policy stuff and ask questions before round. Judge instruction is still CRUCIAL.
I don't know philosophy and I won't pretend to know it. You can run it but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE explain it and how I evaluate it - odds are LD time constraints make it an uphill battle.
Not a fan of tricks. I have low threshold for responses to it and actually considering it in the round. Couple this with the theory section above.
I think LD uses the word "ought" for a reason, and that it's to make it an uphill battle to win PTX/Elections DA/Process CPs/any argument that the link relies on certainty/immediacy of the resolution being bad and not the actual implementation (read all your other DAs/CPs to the rez/their plan/whatev)
-this isn't to say you can't just that it's a bit more uphill - win the definition debate to win these are legitimate
PF
You still should be cutting evidence in PF with good, clear cites.
I still will judge this event like any other - judge instruction and impact calc are key.
Most of my policy section still applies (focus on aff + DA sections - CPs and Ks in PF get wacky and is prob easier w/o them).
Good luck, and have fun!
Last Major Update 5/27/2023
BVN '23, Harvard '27
Put me on the email chain: elizabethrplace @ gmail.com
I am not coaching for a high school and have very little topic knowledge, so avoid using acronyms in tags for the first constructives.
I believe debate is a technical game and because of that I almost always default to tech over truth. That being said, evidence quality matters a lot. Application of meaningful author indicts and pointing out nonsensical highlighting is extremely persuasive to me.
Refutation also matters. Please don't read long overviews that don't engage with arguments being made in round. Make sure impact calculus engages with arguments the other team is making.
Prioritize clarity over speed. If you go fifteen off and I can't understand a single tag, you are probably losing the debate.
Counterplans
Condo is good, but I am more than willing to vote for condo bad if it's debated properly.
I like counterplans that are textually and functionally competitive but if you impact out why having one is better for the sake of competition I’ll vote on it
Delay and uncertain counterplans are probably not competitive and I am easily persuaded by "perm: do the cp"
Kritiks
Debate them technically
Probably need to be centered on the plan, if not please have a justification for why that is good
Planless Affs
I believe procedural fairness is an impact, but you still need an explanation for why that's true.
I need an implicit answer to the TVA in the 1ar or at the very least 2ar answer needs to match 1ar warrants with the same wording
K v K debates are interesting but links to the plan/rehighlighting are even more important in these debates
Email: lilyren2004@gmail.com
They/she
BVN 23 -> KU 27
Brief summary of my thoughts -
Not very familiar with the topic debate-wise, I have general information because of my political work and research, but don't assume I'll know what you're talking about with buzzwords.
Tech over truth any day. Judges usually always vote on technicalities because debates boil down to that rather than questions of truth. I'm more policy-oriented but I'm open to anything. I'm most familiar with cap K, imperialism, set col as both aff and neg args. I'm more experienced with answering the K than going for it, but don't let that deter you from reading a k. I will only ask for more explanation of methodology and links. I like theory, I like cps, I like das, I like T. Intentional malice = auto loss. I'll + .2 speaks if you make the analogy
"Like a road, it goes both ways". I don't like death good.
Speaks - depends on tournament level and judge pool
Normal Speaks:
27 - 28 = you probably lost but good effort?
28.1 - 28.5 = average I wasn't blown away
28.6 - 28.9 = You're pretty good
29 - 29.5 = OMG go win the tournament
Inflated Speaks
28.5 = baseline
28.6 - 28.9 = average/eh
29.1 - 29.5 = You're pretty good
29.6 - 29.9 = OMG go win the tournament
Top Level - I refuse to go back and read a card in the last rebuttals not only if they're new, but cards that you say to go back and look at with no warrant. Just say the warrant and apply it with "that's X author".
FW - I'm very policy oriented on framework but lean heavily on tech over truth. I'm confident enough to be an unbiased judge and see when a team is clearly ahead. Policy wise, you're better off going for fairness in front of me. Going for the K, you're better off going for education in front of me.
Kritik - I like plan specific links, but I'll still vote for links of omission. If the K is covering literature I haven't listed in the brief summary, I will probably need more explanation (aside from Ks that have to do with a debater's personal experience). I high-key struggle with the old dead french philosopher Ks. I just need explanation and not sound bites. I don't care for the alt unless it's in the 2NR. Framework-y or material, no preference.
Counterplans -I like them, I hate them. Do what you want. I was and am a 2a, so I'm more sympathetic to aff theory args and perms. But once again, tech over truth.
Disads - like them, but if you read a 1 card DA, your speaks are capped at average and will never go higher.
Topicality - Love it, it's fun to watch those debates. I don't mind to a certain extent the quality of the definition but if it get's too silly I won't give good speaks. I don't have much preference on T except for when debating reasonability. I think that aff teams need to explain why their aff is reasonable enough, saying just one more aff ontop of their case list isn't an argument because I think that all the neg arguments of limits/precision answer that.
Theory - I've gone for condo outweighs no inherency twice and won twice, therefore I am a condo god. But otherwise read whatever.
Misc. - Don't be hateful, be nice, I love debate and you love debate therefore we all love debate
Disclosure
Add me to the chain - jackshaw.debate@gmail.com
Please include the name of the tournament, the teams debating, and the round number in the header of the email.
Email chain > Speechdrop > File share > Google Drive > Flashdrive > Paper >>>>> "We don't disclose"
About Me
Shawnee Mission South 2022, University of Kansas 2026
Pronouns are He/Him/His, but I'm comfortable with any.
I have experience in policy debate on both the Kansas and national circuits as well as LD debate, IX, and IMP2 on the Kansas circuit.
TLDR
Do what you want*. Win the debate from a technical standpoint on the flow to win the debate.
*I will not vote on outright problematic args like racism good, homophobia good, abelism good, etc. and "suffering is inevitable so we should all end ourselves".
If you have any questions about anything in my paradigm or otherwise my thoughts about debate, feel free to ask me.
Judging Philosophy
I will vote on anything* you tell me to using an offense-defense paradigm.
An argument is comprised of a claim and at least one supporting warrant. For me to evaluate and argument, and for you to win an argument, it needs more than just an assertion without backing.
Tech informs truth every time. Truth has value but technically winning an argument comes first and is the most objective way to evaluate a debate.
Absent a procedural reason for judge intervention, I will evaluate the debate starting with key framing issues and judge instruction, then often the impact level and impact comparison, then the rest of each side's extended arguments carried through their last rebuttals.
I evaluate the round while being a blank of a slate as possible. While I do have opinions about debate and arguments, I have no real overwhelming ideological predispositions or biases, so don't stress about conforming to whatever you perceive my style to be.
I will evaluate evidence the way it is spun in the round first. I will read over relevant and especially flagged evidence before my final evaluation. If you think it is pertinent, ask me if I want a card doc. I probably will.
There’s no need to call me judge. Call me whatever you see fit instead; just “Jack” is fine. Or just avoid personally addressing me.
If I'm not reacting to what you say with any emotion, it's because I'm trying not to, as I want to evaluate arguments as a spectator without being a distraction or a real-time influence on what is being said.
Procedural Notes
Both teams should disclose a reasonable period before the round. I will not hesitate to vote on properly executed disclosure theory.
Academic ethics violations are bad. To avoid this becoming an issue, be clear where you mark cards and be ready to send a marked copy if it is requested of you.
You can insert perm texts and short rehighlightings, but read your rehighlighting if it's more than a few words.
Speak as fast as you want so long as you are clear. I’ll give two "clear"s if you are not clear. If the problem continues after that, I'll flow what I catch and miss what I don't.
Sending analytics is cool and can boost speaks.
Time yourselves, including CX and prep.
I don’t really care what you do with your CX time; I think of it like a speech that I mostly don't flow. Asking your opponents questions is good and can help speaks and ethos, but if you want to use CX as prep time, I won't stop you.
I always default to open CX, but I am fine if all of the competitors agree to closed.
Speed is good and preferred if you can read clearly and if there is no ability-based opposition in the round, but you'll be better off speaking in a style you are comfortable in front of me with rather than one you are not, especially for rounds with a tricky panel.
Speaks will reflect the quality of debating done, though difficulty of the tournament's pool will scale all of my point assignments. I am open to using speaker points as objects to be discussed in the round as a form of solvency or praxis if you can win it, but I lean towards using the ballot, including speaks, as I see fit rather than as praxis for debaters.
If I can give an oral RFD, I will. I will be as efficient and direct as possible and will share the reason for my decision as well as broad comments for both sides with more specific comments being left to the ballot, as I respect the competitors' time. With that being said, I am always open to questions and can elaborate as much as time allows me to. Feel free to email me after round if you have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, etc.
Online Debate
If my camera isn't on, assume I'm not there unless I say otherwise.
Please turn your cameras on if you are able and feel comfortable doing so.
I understand and empathize with tech issues, so just keep us updated as best you can on resolving them as they arise. If a tournament has tech time allotted, let us know clearly (if possible) if/when you need to use it.
I will likely have some good headphones to listen to you with, but I may still miss something if you cut out or are inaudible, so play it on the safe side and prioritize clarity over speed.
Mute if you aren’t speaking, especially if there’s background noise. We all should be able to hear the speaker as best as possible without external distractions.
Case
I like to know what I’m voting for, so be clear about what signing my ballot for you entails and affirms.
You don't need a plan to have an advocacy, but you should at least have an advocacy.
Kritiks
I'm partial to letting the aff at least weigh their impacts on FW.
As with evaluating an aff's advocacy, make sure you tell me what I’m voting for when I vote neg for the alt, whether that be “reject the aff” or a fundamentally new model of society or anything in between or beyond.
Arguments centered around identity should appropriately reflect the debaters advocating for them. I am all good with those arguments in a vacuum and by no means would I force someone to justify their identity, but this is something to keep in mind when making that personal and strategic choice in front of me.
Disadvantages
Intrensicness is bad and my threshold for voting for this argument is very high.
Counterplans
All counterplans will be evaluated as legitimate until the aff wins otherwise.
Judge kick is good when applicable. If the neg can win that condo is good, I will default to judge-kicking a counterplan unless the aff can win otherwise. However, if a counterplan is in the 2NR, I will flip presumption to the aff unless the neg can win otherwise.
Topicality
I default to competing interps.
RVIs aren’t real at least for affs with plans.
On the question of framework / T USFG, I consider myself somewhat aff-leaning, but I won't hack for the aff by any means.
Theory
My reject the team threshold is high but my reject arg threshold is lower.
Don't spread through your analytics at max speed if you want me to catch them.
I generally like to flow non-arg-specific theory like condo on a separate flow to keep it clean, so make sure to note where theory is on your roadmaps.
PerfCon is oftentimes more of an internal link to condo than an independent voter, but I guess I can vote on it if you want me to.
For an ethics violation, I need to have clear and definitive proof of the abuse occurring as well as a clear willingness to stake the round on it before I can consider pulling the trigger. However, at the point at which abuse has clearly occurred, I am partial to dropping the team. If I agree with the violation, then the violating team gets dropped with minimum speaks and the other team gets max speaks. If I do not agree with the violation, it's the inverse.
Lincoln-Douglas
Traditional > Kritikal > Philosophy > Theory > Tricks
I debate on the Kansas circuit, so I've really only been exposed to conservative/traditional LD, though I am confident in my ability to adapt based on my policy knowledge.
I default to organizing the debate by flowing definitions and burdens, values, criterions, aff contentions, and neg contentions on their own respective pages.
Definitions > Value > Criterion > Contentions
I have 3 years of high school debate experience, as well as judging at least 5 tournaments this year including novice state. When judging, speakers should seek to balance communicative skills, as well as technical debate skills. I highly value when speakers summarize their most important arguments, not only for my benefit, but it also proves your understanding. Generic DA, T's, CP's, and K's are all fine by me so long as you have a clear understanding of what you are saying and substantial supporting evidence. Speed not an issue when reading cards as long as I have access to your speech via Speech Drop or a similar service. When you're addressing me as the judge however, your speed show slow down and speaking should become more deliberate.