Princeton Classic
2021 — NSDA Campus, NJ/US
PF Varsity Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI am a parent PF judge, and a practicing attorney with more than 25 years of experience.
I believe a sound debate is about a fair, intelligible and intelligent dialogue. Speed reading off a computer screen or spreading is incompatible with such a process. Fast speakers assume the risk that I could miss some arguments/points/evidence. Additionally, if in my view you've spoken at a fast clip, I will not view unfavorably your opponent failing to respond to an argument that you have advanced.
Do not resort to speech docs. Make your case orally.
I flow arguments and strictly rely on my flowsheet. While I do not take note of points made/unmade in crossfire, I pay careful attention to astute questions and answers. Please bring up crossfire points that you would like me to flow in a subsequent speech. I am persuaded by well-structured, logical and linked arguments that are honestly supported by key pieces of evidence.
In addition to making your case, you must meaningfully engage with your opponents' case. The team advancing a contention must rejoin the issue and tell me why the opposing team's rebuttal/counter/block does not work.
In crossfire, please avoid questions with long preambles.
While, for the most part, I don't get into the weeds with cards and evidence, I may on occasion call for a piece. Teams should feel free to assail each other's evidence during the debate.
Please do not use debate jargon.
I do not like theory and K's. Hew to the topic of the day.
Keep the discourse civil. Incivility in any form will hurt your cause.
Enthusiasm for, intensity, and passion regarding the proposition you are espousing is welcome. Discourtesy or aggression against your opponents is not.
Tactical and strategic thinking in arguing, rebutting, and in crossfire is always delightful.
I appreciate clear analysis of why your contention should win the day in the summary and final focus. Further, the final focus should have all that you would like me to vote on (akin to writing my RFD for me - pros of your case and cons of your opponent's.) Lastly, all arguments and evidence that are in the final focus must have been in the summary and no new arguments in the summary speech - it is a matter of fairness.
Happy debating!
Sophomore at Princeton debating British Parliamentary and did 4 years of PF in HS.
fawazahmad@princeton.edu if you have any questions.
Overarching things:
Tech>Truth: All of us can pretty much agree, most of the arguments we read in PF are bs so I evaluate the round solely on what's presented in the round regardless of the truthfulness of the argument. But remember the more sophisticated your argument gets the lower threshold I have on evaluating responses.
Frameworks: I default to a cost/benefit analysis framework. If a team provides a framework for me to evaluate the round under it should be introduced as early as possible and extended throughout all speeches. Introducing a framework in second summary is FAR too late. If there are two frameworks please do the comparative for me and explain why I should pick one over the other.
Comparative Analysis: Please do the comparative for me with different arguments. If both teams are running similar arguments do the comparative and tell my why yours is better. If teams are running different arguments (ie one is an economic impact and one is a democracy impact) I need to know why I'm preferring your argument. Absent comparative analysis, I will have to interpret things on my own and you don't want that.
Extension: Extending only the authors and taglines of cards doesn't suffice for me. You need to extend the substance of the card as well and how they relate to your impact. If you want me evaluate something in FF it should be included in summary. I usually allow first speaking teams to extend defense straight to final focus but in reality you should be mentioning important defense extensions in summary.
Progressive args: I don't have that much experience with progressive arguments. I don't like theory debates but will tolerate them. Run these types of arguments with caution. If you run them with me explain them really well in round.
Misc:
-I will not flow cross. If something important happened in cross mention it in speech.
- When time stops, I will stop flowing. Anything said over the time limit will not factor into my RFD
- Quality over Quantity; don't spread. If you plan on speaking fast please send a speech doc. If I can't understand you I'll say clear and after 3 times I'll stop flowing.
- Second rebuttal should respond to turns/disads.
- Please collapse on a few arguments in summary. I prefer quality over quantity and clear extensions.
- Weigh, weigh, weigh (as early as possible in the round)
- Implicate turns and defense
- Please don't miscut (I will drop you)
-There's nothing more I hate than long speeches in cross.
-Please be nice people in round and don't run arguments that are harmful to a group of people
GLHF
I debated PF in high school
Paradigm adapted (copied) from Thomas Zhang's.
Please try to keep track of your own prep time.
Tech > Truth
Case - Don't go too fast if possible (starts to get hairy around 200wpm+). Specifically slow down for tag lines (including warrants/impacts), author names, institutions, dates, and statistics.
Off-case args - Never debated them. If you are going to run an off case arg, I'd pref it not to be frivolous (i.e. actually nuanced/interesting/strategic)/just used to pick up a dub, esp if it's against novices or people who can't spend thousands to go to camp and learn progressive argumentation.
Crossfire - Anything you want me to evaluate from cross needs to be brought up in a speech.
Rebuttal - Start signposting here please. Number your responses. Label what the response is at the beginning e.g. de-link, turn, non-unique, etc. If you read an overview, tell me before the speech + where I should flow it. Given the new summary rules, I want to see rebuild in second rebuttal. New frontlines in second summary are too dang sketchy (the only time to respond is first FF, which creates insane time skew).
Summary - Off-time roadmaps appreciated. At the very least, tell me where you're starting. Don't just say "extend Moore '19" but actually make an effort to walk me through your warrant/impact story again. Signposting in the later speeches is really key.
Final Focus - Anything you want me to vote off of has to be in FF. Anything you want in FF has to be in summary. I'm only going to vote off of something if you extended both warrant and impact in both speeches (the warrant debate is more important for me though). It would probably be in your best interest to collapse and weigh at some point.
Presumption - On resolutions that call for an action, I presume neg. On value resolutions, I presume first speaking team. Both can be changed if you make it a topic of debate. I try to look for any offense to avoid presuming tho (risk of offense args are great for this).
Disclosure - I'm not voting off of disclosure theory. If you disclose to your opponents, include me in the chain sahila@princeton.edu.
Evidence ethics - I'll call for evidence if it sounds sus af, someone tells me to, or what you say it says changes throughout the round.
Don't be rude or problematic (please).
Hi! I debated PF for four years at Hunter College High School. I am doing APDA in college right now. I can generally flow speed.
February topic: Their evidence is not specific to West Africa is NOT a response. I will not flow it.
Please please please do not use weighing mechanisms like "strength of link" and "clarity of evidence."
Avoid evidence debates.
I don't care about cards too much! Have warrants and weigh!
I don't know too much about theory but I will flow it/try to understand it.
Read content warnings if you're going to read something potentially triggering. If you are unsure, ask anyway!
Don't be rude, sexist, racist etc. If you are offensive, I will drop you.
Have fun!
I'm currently a sophomore at Princeton, and I debated in high school. I'll be as nice as I can with speaker points as far as the guidelines let me. I expect that you all know better than to say rude, offensive, or discriminatory in round.
If you're going to go with a theoretical argument, make sure you have plenty of evidence to defend it, because I don't like shaky theoretical arguments. Practical arguments and real-world examples really help me give legitimacy to your argument or rebuttal, when possible, so I'll lean more toward arguments that have those. It's also good to assume that my knowledge on a given topic is surface-level at best during the first couple of rounds.
I will not remember anything from crossfire unless you bring it up in a later speech.
Make sure you speak clearly - I can probably keep up with you if you're speaking quickly, but if I can't understand you I'm not going to flow it.
conflicts: groves high school (class of 2019), wayne state university (class of 2023, secondary ed major w/ minors in public health & gender, sexuality, and women's studies), detroit country day high school
always put me on the email chain! Literally always! if you ask i will assume you haven't read this! legit always put me on the email chain! lukebagdondebate@gmail.com
pronouns: they/them.
the abridged version:
-
do you, and do it well
-
don't cheat in ways that require me to intervene
-
don't misgender me, or your competitors
-
do not assume i am going to vote for you because you say my name a lot
some general stuff:
the more and more i do debate the less i care about what's put in front of me. when i first started debating, i cared very deeply about norms, the resolution, all that jazz. now, if you're willing to read it i'm willing to judge it. i'd rather see an in depth debate with a lot of offense and clash than anything else, and i don't care whether you do that on a T flow vs. a k aff or a cap flow vs. a policy aff.
my least favorite word in the english language (of which is not a slur) is the word "basically." i would rather listen to everyone for the rest of time describe everything as "moist" than listen to you say the word "basically." i've hated this word for years, do not use it. make of that what you will.
it should be said i at one point read a parody aff that involved my partner and i roleplaying as doctor/patient during the 1ac. i care exceedingly little what you want to do with your 8 minute constructive, 3 minute cx, and 5 minute rebuttals - but those speech times are non-negotiable (unless the tournament says otherwise). play a game, eat a salad, ask me about my cat(s), color a picture, read some evidence; but do it within the constraint of a timer.
(this "time fetish" is less of a "respect my time" thing and more of a "i need to know when i can tell tab who i voted for" thing. i take a lot of pride in getting my decision in before repko, and i wish to continue that streak.)
stuff about me as a judge:
i do not follow along in the speech doc. i try not to look at cards. be clear, be concise, be cool. debate is first and foremost a communicative activity. i will only read y'alls ev if there is serious contention, or you tell me to. i HATE DOING THIS, and this very often does not go how people think it will.
if you say "insert re-highlighting" instead of reading the re-highlighting i WILL consider that argument uncarded
bolded for emphasis: people are also saying they can 'insert a caselist' for T flows. this is not a thing. and i will not consider them part of the debate if this occurs.
i do not play poker both because i am terrible at math and because i have a hard time concealing my emotions. i do have pretty bad rbf, but i still think you should look at me to tell what i'm thinking of your speeches/cx.
speaker points:
Misgendering is bad and a voting issue (at the very least I will give you exceptionally low speaks). due to my gender identity i am hyper aware of gender (im)balances in debate. stop being sexist/transphobic jerks, y'all. it's not that hard. additionally, don't be racist. don't be sexist. don't be ableist. don't be a bad person.
Assigning speaker points comes down to: are you memorable? are you funny? are you a bad person? Did you keep my flow neat? How did you use cross?
I usually give in the 28.2-29.9 range, for reference.
ethics violations:
i consider ethics violations clipping, evidence fabrication/omission of paragraphs between the beginning and end of the card, and violence (e.g. calling Black people the n word as a non-Black person, refusing to use correct pronouns).
for clipping: a recording must be presented if a debater brings forth the challenge. if i notice it but no one brings it up, your speaker points will suffer greatly.
for evidence miscutting (this is NOT power tagging): after a debater brings it forward the round will stop. if the evidence is miscut, the team who miscut the evidence will lose with lowest speaker points possible. if the evidence is not miscut, the team who brought forth the violation will lose with the lowest speaker points possible. i will not entertain a debate on the undebatable.
for violence: i will stop the debate and the offender will receive the lowest speaker points possible and will lose. the person who is on the receiving end of the violence is not expected to give input. if you misgender me i will not stop the debate, but your speaker points will suffer.
one of these, because i love getting caught in the hype
brad hombres ------------------------------------X--banana nut brad
generic disad w/ well developed links/uq------X------------------------------------ thing you cut 30 mins before the round that you claim is a disad
read a plan--------------------X---------------------don't read a plan
case turns--X----------------------------------------generic defense
t not fw--------------X-------------------------------fw not t
"basically"-------------------------------------------X-just explaining the argument
truth over tech------------------X--------------------tech over truth
being nice-X------------------------------------------being not nice
piper meloche--------------------X--------------------brad meloche
'can i take prep'----------------------------------------X-just taking prep
explaining the alt------X--------------------------------assuming i know what buzzwords mean
process cps are cheating--------------------------X-------sometimes cheating is good
fairness--------------------------------X----------------literally any other fw impact besides iteration
impact turn-X--------------------------------------------non impact turn
fw as an impact turn------X--------------------------------fw as a procedural
green highlighting-X----------------------------------------any other color
rep---------------------------X----------------i don't know who you are and frankly i don't care to find out
asking if everyone is ready -X-----------------------------------asking if anyone isn't ready
jeff miller --------------------------------------X--- abby schirmer
PUBLIC FORUM SPECIFIC THINGS:
i find myself judging this a lot more than any other activity, and therefore have a LOT of opinions.
- time yourself. this includes prep. i'm not your mom, and i don't plan on doing it for you. the term "running prep" is becoming very popular, and i don't know what that means. just take prep.
- don't call me judge. "what should we refer to you as?" nothing! i don't know who is teaching y'all to catch judges' attentions by referring to us directly, but it's horrible, doesn't work, annoys all of us, and wastes precious time. you should be grabbing my attention in other ways: tone, argumentation, flowability, humor, sarcasm, lighting something on fire (please do not actually do this). call me by my first name (luke) if you have to, but know if you overuse it, it has the exact same affect as calling me "judge."
- PLEASE don't assume i know community norms, and saying things like "this is a community norm" doesn't automatically give you that dub. i entered PF during covid, and have a very strong policy background. this influences how i view things like disclosure or paraphrase theory.
- even more so than in policy, "post-rounding" me after a decision is incredibly common. you're allowed to fight with me all you want. just know it doesn't change my ballot, and certainly won't change it the next time around.
- i will never understand this asking for evidence after speeches. why aren't we just sending speech docs? judges are on a very strict schedule, and watching y'all spend five minutes sending evidence is both annoying and time consuming - bolding, because i continue to not get and, honestly? actively hate it when everyone spend 5-10 minutes after each speech exchanging evidence. just sent the whole speech. i don't get why this isn't the norm
- i'm fine with speed and 'unconventional arguments.' in fact, i'm probably better for them because i've found PF aff/neg contentions to be vague and poorly cut.
- PFers have a tendency to call things that aren't turns "turns." it's very odd to me. please don't do it.
- i'm not going to delay the round so you can preflow. idk who told y'all you can do that but they're wrong
- if you are using ev sending time to argue, i will interrupt you and make you start and/or i will tank your speaks. stop doing this.
- i'm very split on the idea of trigger warnings. i don't think they're necessary for non-in-depth/graphic discussions of a topic (Thing Exists and Is Bad, for example, is not an in-depth discussion in my eyes). i'm fine with trigger warning theory as an argument as long as you understand it's not an automatic W.
- flex prep is at best annoying and at worst cheating. if you start flex prepping i will yell at you and doc your speaker points.
- PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO READ THEORY:I hear some kind of theory (mostly disclosure) at least once a tournament. I usually end up voting for theory not because the theory is done well, but because the other team does not answer it properly. I do like theory an unfortunate amount, but I would prefer to watch a good "substance" debate than a poor theory debate
LINCOLN DOUGLAS SPECIFIC THINGS:
-
please read my policy and pf paradigms. they have important information about me and my judging
-
of all the speech activities, i know about lincoln douglas the least. this can either be to your advantage or your detriment
-
apparently theory matters to a lot of y'all a lot more in this activity than in policy. i got a high threshold for voting on any sort of theory that isn't condo, and even then you're in for the uphill battle of the century. i like theory debates generally, but watching LDers run theory like RVIs has killed my confidence in LD theory debate.
-
'i'm gonna take X minutes of prep' isn't needed. just say you're taking prep and take prep. i'll never understand LD or PF judges who act as if they are parents and y'all are 5 year olds asking for cookies after dinner; if you can figure out how tabroom works and how to unmute yourself, i'm pretty sure you can time your own prep.
-
going fast does not mean you are good at debate, please don't rely on speed for ethos
-
i hate disclosure theory and will prob vote neg 99.9% of the time (the .001% is for new affs or particularly bad answers). just put your stuff on the wiki, i genuinely don't understand why this is a debate to be had. just disclose. what year are you people living in.
things i don't care about:
- whether you keep your camera on or off (if you wanna lose free speaker points, that's up to you)
- speed. however, you should never be prioritizing speed over clarity.
hidden at the bottom: if you read the kato k and call it the "oppenheimer k" in the roadmap for the whole round i will give you a 30
neda-specific:
please use all your time. my bar for civility is much lower than most neda judges, so make of that what you will. please also use evidence.
I did PF for 4 years for Walt Whitman and am currently a freshman at WashU in St. Louis. Please add b.baisinger-rosen@wustl.edu to the email chain. My paradigm will just be a numerical list of things to keep in mind. If I am missing something, don't hesitate to ask questions.
1. Generally speaking, I am a flow judge. I would categorize myself as a tech over truth within reason; if I think your argument is ridiculous, I may still vote for it, but the bar for adequate defense will be lowered.
2. Do not be sexist, racist, homophobic, ableist, or any other word that describes being a bad person. If you feel that your opponents have been any of these things and I did not address it, please let me know and I will intervene as necessary.
3. Do not read theory, kritiks, or forms of arguments like this. I am not confident in my ability to accurately evaluate them, and moreover, I believe that these forms of argumentation do not belong in this activity. If you choose to read these arguments despite this, you will receive at most a 28, and I will significantly lower my standard for what qualifies as an acceptable response to that argument. If you think that your opponent is acting in a way that is problematic like misrepresenting evidence, just say that.
4. Spread at your own risk; I will likely get the gist of your argument, but I will likely miss some of the nuance and I will also probably dock your speaks for making my life difficult.
5. I don't really care if you paraphrase evidence rather than using cut cards, but if I determine that you are significantly misrepresenting what a piece of evidence says, I will dock your speaks and potentially drop you. On that token, I will only call cards if a specific piece of evidence is integral to the round or one of the teams asks me to.
6. Please include warrants. A piece of evidence is significantly less credible in the round if you can't tell me why the information in the card is true, and it is a perfectly valid response to simply say that something is unwarranted. Carded, warranted analysis > uncarded, warranted analysis > carded, warrantless analysis.
7. Start weighing as early in the round as possible and make sure that your weighing is comparative, or else it isn't weighing. I will not evaluate new weighing in final unless it is the only way to resolve the round.
8. When extending your case, do more than just frontline. Extend your link story and quantified impact to give me the best possible sense of what your argument is. Also, please collapse as much as possible: the best way to win my ballot is with clear and specific offense, and extending too much offense is a great way to make sure that your offense is blippy and hard to evaluate.
9. Defense from 1st rebuttal is sticky.
10. This is a basic rule and I shouldn't have to clarify this, but I will: don't read new arguments in final focus. Any offense that you want me to vote on must be in summary, including weighing. If you feel that your opponent has done so, point it out.
11. If you are reading arguments on sensitive subjects, please read a trigger warning so that debaters who may be impacted by these issues may opt out if they are affected by them.
12. If your opponent calls a card and you take more time that normal (more than 2 minutes), I will begin to run prep time and potentially dock speaks.
13. Speaker point scale: 28 is average, anything below a 26 means you acted in a problematic manner during the round, and anything above a 29.5 means you debated exceptionally.
14. Have fun!
Currently serving in the United States Navy in California. Honored to participate as a judge and watch young Americans practice one of the fundamental skills of Democracy. He/Him/His are my preferred pronouns. Unless preference clarified by participants, I will use initials and gender neutral pronouns when referring to specific participants.
Judging is based on participants' ability to clearly state their position, lay out supporting claims in an organized manner, provide insightful questions that diminish strength of opponents' claims, and defend their own position when questioned by opponent. I will do my best to provide comments that help explain reasoning and give feedback for improvement.
Key points:
I will always look negatively at responses that rely on straw person attacks, cherry picking data, unsupported slippery slope, and the greatest offender of all being whataboutism- derailing debate with unrelated issues.
Most importantly, be respectful to each other.
I competed for four years, so I am functional on the flow, but please speak intelligibly.
I am lay but I flow. I'm mostly a local circuit judge although I have judged 5 or so national tournaments. Don't make personal comments or take the round where it doesn't need to go. If you are a jerk, your speaks will suffer greatly.
I evaluate the round like I'm tech>truth but keep it believable.
Speed: conversational, don't spread, card dumping probably is a bad idea for me
Case: Don't read four contentions, I don't enjoy the strategy of running one just to drop it every round.
Rebuttal: Implications are a must, tell me why your response matters. I won't consider anything terminal defense unless it is implied as such. Warranted analytics>>>unwarranted cards. Weighing should probably start in rebuttal although I will evaluate it in summary as well. Signpost!
Summary: Weigh, I will default scope and magnitude but strength of link comes first. Extend your case with warranting, card names are not enough: give me your case story. First summary should frontline but nothing new in second summary. Everything that's in your final focus should be in summary.
Crossfire: You should be able to defend your warrants in crossfire but I'm not gonna flow it. If your opponent concedes something in cross, say it in a speech.
Final Focus: Pretty straight forward. Extend everything you want me to evaluate. Extensions from rebuttal are abusive don't do it. Defense is partially sticky, I get the concept but don't hold me to it. Extend your weighing, clashing weighing analyses need to be addressed. New responses in final are weird... don't.
Progressive args: I have 0 experience with this and think its corrosive to debate. If there is a serious in round abuse, you don't have to tell me I will deal with it myself.
My email is brianbenchek@gmail.com put me on your email chain. I will read evidence if its highly contested or if you tell me to in a speech.
Have fun
I have 35 years of public forum, policy, and LD debate experience as a participant in high school and college and coaching at the college and high school level. My judging paradigm leans towards a stringent emphasis on logical coherence, depth, and respectful communication. My approach encourages debaters to prioritize quality over quantity and engage effectively with their opponents' arguments. Generally, I am not a fan of debate theory arguments. I also believe debate is an oral activity, so no need to exchange evidence and cases before the round.
Key Principles:
1. Note-Based Judging:
- Objective Evaluation: My evaluations are based solely on the flow/notes taken during the round, ensuring impartiality.
- No Knowledge Injection: I refrain from interjecting my own knowledge or opinions into the debate, maintaining a neutral stance.
2. Engagement and Clash:
- Direct Engagement: Debaters must address and refute opponents' arguments directly.
- Effective Clash: Construct your rebuttals with a clear and direct clash, ensuring that counter-arguments are tailored to challenge the initial claims.
3. Well-Developed Arguments:
- Depth Over Width: I prioritize one to three deeply developed, logical, and well-warranted arguments over numerous superficial points.
- Valid Warrants: Your arguments should be underpinned by credible, well-explained warrants.
- Impactful Arguments: Clearly articulate the real-world implications of your arguments to demonstrate their significance.
4. Category-Relevance:
- Format-Appropriate Arguments: Ensure your arguments, including critical frameworks like Kritiks, align with the debate format (e.g., Policy, Public Forum). I am not a proponent of non-topical arguments.
- Maintaining Relevance: Steer clear of diversions and ensure that your arguments are pertinent to the topic and category of debate.
5. Humanistic and Respectful Communication:
- Respect: Maintain a respectful demeanor towards all participants, including opponents and judges.
- Clarity and Pace: Be mindful of your speaking speed to ensure your arguments are fully understood and noted.
- Avoid Excessive Jargon: Use accessible language to explain any technical terms or jargon.
Additional Notes:
A. Quality of Evidence:
- Credibility: Only utilize credible, verified sources and evidence in your arguments.
- Application: Apply your evidence accurately and ensure it directly supports your claims.
B. Strategic Argumentation:
- Consistency: Maintain consistent argumentation throughout the debate, avoiding contradictory claims.
- Strategic Choices: Make tactical decisions regarding which arguments to pursue further based on their strength and impact.
C. Constructive Criticisms and RFD (Reason For Decision):
- Feedback: My feedback will be constructive, aiming to highlight areas for improvement alongside positive aspects.
- RFD Transparency: My decisions will be accompanied by clear, coherent reasons rooted in the arguments presented during the debate.
D. Timing
- Requesting Evidence: Debate is an oral activity. I do not need to see the evidence or cases. We should be able to look up sources. If you request cards, the requestor will have this time deducted from prep unless tournament rules prohibit this. I see this often abused during rounds to gain more prep time, and I am not a fan of this practice.
- Roadmaps: If you provide these, they will be timed. I do not need them and will follow where you go.
Conclusion:
Debaters are encouraged to view the debate not merely as a competitive arena but as a platform for developing and refining skills pertinent to effective leadership and communication. Focusing on depth, clarity, and respectful interaction, my judging paradigm fosters a conducive environment for meaningful, impactful debates beyond mere point-scoring.
Reminder:
While it's pivotal to be strategic and competitive, remember that the skills you hone here – articulation, critical thinking, and respectful discourse – are the real victories, equipping you for constructive engagement beyond the debate floor.
I look forward to witnessing thought-provoking, well-argued, and respectfully conducted debates!
- What I look for in a great debate is a cogent argument -not an attempt to please the judge.
- Ad hominem has no place in a debate.
Speech:
I am a relatively inexperienced speech judge but have plenty of experience in forensics. Please feel free to ask any questions.
Public Forum:
Flow judge.
Stating something that contradicts what your opponents have said isn't debating; it's disagreeing. AKA implicate your responses and don't repeatedly extend through ink.
I look for the path of least resistance when I'm deciding a round.
If you misrepresent evidence, I will drop you.
Theory: Generally, I don't think theory belongs in PF debate. I think PF is unique in the sense that accessibility is an integral part of the activity and in my opinion the speed at which debaters often have to speak and the evidence cited in theory shells are simply not accessible to the public at large. That being said, I understand the value of theory with respect to protecting competitors from abuses in round and out of respect for all debaters and arguments alike I will listen and flow theory and evaluate it in the round. I've even voted for a team who ran it once. All I'll say is the only thing worse than running theory is doing it badly. If you don't know what you're doing and you don't actually have a deep understanding of the theory that you're running and how it operates within a debate round, I wouldn't recommend that you run it in front of me. Lastly, if you're going to run theory you should know that I really value upholding the standard that you run in and out of rounds and across all topics.
Experience:
Debated in PF during all four years of HS for Bronx Science, dabbled in Policy for a year at Emory. Coached for 3+ years. Currently a law student at Emory.
Judged various forms of debate since 2013.
Please add me the to email chain: bittencourtjulia25@gmail.com
I am a parent judge. I was once a debater in high school (that was a while ago!), and have judged few public forum rounds. Please signpost clearly. Do not run theory. You can speak relatively fast but don’t spread.
I have been a parent judge for PF for six years. Though I take a lot of notes, please do not be fooled into thinking I am a flow judge. I am most definitely a lay judge and appreciate debaters who do not speak too quickly or use a lot of jargon. For example, if you must use a term like "non unique," please specify what part of the argument you are referring to, or better yet, don't use the short-cut term "non unique" at all, as it is more informative if you are more explicit in your reasoning. If you speak so quickly that I do not catch the details of your arguments, you may lose the round, even if your arguments are superior, since I will not have heard them in full. Lastly, if you are dismissive or rude toward your opponents, your speaker points will suffer, and it will impact my decision for the round. Rounds that are conducted in a respectful and collegial manner are much more pleasant for judge and competitors alike, and they tend to result in much higher quality debating all around.
My name is Diya (she/her and pronounced DEE-UH). I debated throughout high school and am currently a junior at Duke (make a reference and I'll smile). I don't debate anymore ... ie I'm out of touch with fast speaking, technical debate, and am coming into this topic with no background. I will vote off the flow.
Speak clearly! Please please please don't spread. Call me traditional (I was), but speaking quickly for the sake of it is not what debate is about
Don't be rude; be respectful (if you're rude, expect low speaker points)
Frame your arguments - I'll default to util if you don't provide a better framework. WEIGH
I appreciate frontlines in second rebuttal
Warrant statistics and evidence with logic. Your numbers mean literally nothing unless you can explain to me WHY they're relevant or actually make sense. That being said, very low chance I call for evidence... you should know how to read and correctly interpret data
For email chains/evidence exchange: chancey.asher@gmail.com
I am a lay parent judge. I am looking at Contentions, Rebuttals, Extend, Impact, Weighing. Also, I am looking at your links - if you are trying to link to an impact of 8 billion lives lost because whatever this debate is about will lead to global thermonuclear war and the end of humanity, I PROBABLY won't buy it.
What is your impact, and why is it greater than your opponent's impact?
I also love clean rounds. I start to lose focus when a round gets bogged down in technical disputes.
As a judge, I would like students to be
1. Clear in communication. Students who talk too fast tend to mumble words/sentences and it becomes very difficult to comprehend what points they are trying to make. The pace of talking should be such that judge is clearly able to make out what they are saying. They also should be loud enough, especially in environments where multiple teams are debating in same room on different tables.
2. Students should provide clear, succinct evidences and avoid repeating same point again and again.
3. Students should be cordial and respectful of other teams points.
Hey everyone, I am a parent judge approaching three years of experience in both debate and speech.
-
I am a standard tech > truth flow judge (meaning that I will write down everything you say, even if it’s illogical). That being said, it’s your responsibility to address the fact that your opponents are running something very illogical if it happens
-
Signpost. Tell me what contention you will be refuting/defending at all times - this makes it so much easier for me to effectively judge
-
In the case of a prepared debate, be sure to cite evidence for your claims, but also have the logic for why it is true. Debate is both evidence and logic-based, and I expect to see both
-
Lastly but most importantly, please keep your arguments at a reasonable speed. If I can’t understand what you’re saying then I won’t be able to flow it
Parent judge; speak slowly.
I did two years of Public Forum at Byram Hills and two at Lincoln Sudbury High School.
General Ideas
I think you should be frontlining offense (turns and disads) in second rebuttal. Straight up defense does not need to be frontlined, but I do think it's strategic. Summary to final focus extensions should be consistent for the most part. Overall, the rule of thumb is that the earlier you establish an argument and the more you repeat it, the more likely I will be to vote for it, i.e., it's strategic to weigh in rebuttal too, but it's not a dealbreaker for me if you don't.
To me warrants matter more than impacts. You need both, but please please extend and explain warrants in each speech. Even if it's dropped, I'll be pretty hesitant to vote on an argument if it's not explained in the second half of the round. Also, I have a relatively high standard for what a case extension should look like, so err on the side of caution and just hit me with a full re-explanation of the argument or I probably won't want to vote for you.
The most important thing in debate is comparing your arguments to theirs. This doesn't mean say weighing words like magnitude and poverty and then just extending your impacts, make it actually comparative please.
Technical Debate
Overall, I was not super experienced in a lot of aspects of tech debate. I think I can flow most of the speed in PF, but you shouldn't be sacrificing explanation or clarity for speed.
I will try my best to be "tech over truth", but I am a just a young man and I do have my own thoughts in my head. To that end, my threshold for responses goes down the more extravagant an argument is. Do with that what you will. I'd say generally don't change your style of debate for me, but be conscious that I might not be on the same page as you if you're being a big tech boi.
I don't know as much as I probably should about theory and K debating. I'm open to voting on them, but I'll let you know right now that I am not super informed and you'd have to explain it to me like I'm a dummy.
If you want me to call for a piece of evidence, tell me to in final focus please.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me before the round.
Add dcigale01@gmail.com and planowestdocs@googlegroups.com to email chains.
EMAIL: jcohen1964@gmail.com
I judge Public Forum Debate 95% of the time. I occasionally judge LD and even more occasionally, Policy.
A few items to share with you:
(1) I can flow *somewhat* faster than conversational speed. As you speed up, my comprehension declines.
(2) I may not be familiar with the topic's arguments. Shorthand references could leave me in the dust. For example, "On the economy, I have three responses..." could confuse me. It's better to say, "Where my opponents argue that right to work kills incomes and sinks the economy, I have three responses...". I realize it's not as efficient, but it will help keep me on the same page you are on.
(3) I miss most evidence tags. So, "Pull through Smith in 17..." probably won't mean much to me. Reminding me of what the evidence demonstrated works better (e.g. "Pull through the Smith study showing that unions hurt productivity").
(4) In the interest of keeping the round moving along, please be selective about asking for your opponent's evidence. If you ask for lots of evidence and then I hear little about it in subsequent speeches, it's a not a great use of time. If you believe your opponent has misconstrued many pieces of evidence, focus on the evidence that is most crucial to their case (you win by undermining their overall position, not by showing they made lots of mistakes).
(5) I put a premium on credible links. Big impacts don't make up for links that are not credible.
(6) I am skeptical of "rules" you might impose on your opponent (in contrast to rules imposed by the tournament in writing) - e.g., paraphrasing is never allowed and is grounds for losing the round. On the other hand, it's fine and even desirable to point out that your opponent has not presented enough of a specific piece of evidence for its fair evaluation, and then to explain why that loss of credibility undermines your opponent's position. That sort of point may be particularly relevant if the evidence is technical in nature (e.g., your opponent paraphrases the findings of a statistical study and those findings may be more nuanced than their paraphrasing suggests).
(7) I am skeptical of arguments suggesting that debate is an invalid activity, or the like, and hence that one side or the other should automatically win. If you have an argument that links into your opponent's specific position, please articulate that point. I hope to hear about the resolution we have been invited to debate.
I competed in extemp for 6 years (3 in high school, 3 in college) along with doing Congress and some PF in HS and have since coached pretty much every speech event and world schools debate for the past 2 years. For reference, I'm a school-affiliated judge but work at a government contracting company doing work for the Marine Corps, so be warned that national security is my niche area of expertise.
WORLDS: I specifically look for students who use this style of debate to persuade (read: talk at a normal pace. Worlds was created to counter the trend of debates turning technical, and I'm going to try and uphold that as best I can).
PF: I look for logical consistency of arguments and general plausibility. Do not run Ks or anything else wild with me. I will not be persuaded by arguments like "because we use the word 'the' that means the world will end in nuclear war so vote pro" which I have seen run. Also, I can handle speed so long as you work up to it but I tend to deduct a few tenths of a speaker point for excessive speed since PF was never designed to be a technical debate event and I feel like that's going against the event standard as written by the NSDA. But if you want to spread then I will not automatically preclude you from winning the round and I will be perfectly capable of following along.
BOTH: Show me you care about your arguments, and show me why I should vote for you. I see plenty of debates where there's clash, but tell me why your side comes out on top at the end of the day. If both sides have the same position some clash will get declared a wash, and there's never a wash in debate because one side always does a better job fulfilling the value or criterion or impact better than the other side. Just saying you're winning an argument does not make it true, show me why you're winning and trace the progress of that clash for me. I do flow, but I'm not a fan of teams saying "extend contention ___" and then providing no reason why I should do that. Again, tell me why the opponent's response or lack thereof is sufficient to warrant extending something.
Other than that, have fun! I definitely notice when students are enjoying themselves and tend to give an extra style point (or speaker points in speech and PF) or two for that.
Hey my name is Kai Cowin and I am a Third-Year-Out who did PF on the nat cir. for about 4 years and coach on the side.
YES, add me to the email chain (kc81@rice.edu)
PF
Winning my ballot is very easy if you follow these steps
- Weighing: At higher level rounds, it is almost a guarantee that each side will have at least some offense that will stand. It is your job as debaters in order to persuade me on why your point is more important than your opponents. Don't just throw out terminology like "we win on magnitude" or "clarity of link", give me an actual explanation on how your points weigh over your opponents.
- Good Evidence: PLEASE CUT YOUR CARDS AND HAVE THEM READY IN at least 1 MINUTE FOR YOUR OPPONENT AND in at least 3 MINUTES FOR ME otherwise I will drop the evidence
- Cross: Tbh as a flow judge I hate GCX and would rather give both teams an extra 30 seconds of prep if we skip it --> I will not consider a concession unless it is given in speech as well
- Case: I will usually ask for case cards (B4 Speech) ,IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE TO GIVE THEM or ARE READING UNDER 750 WORDS YOU DO NOT NEED OR HAVE TO SEND CASE (If you send the case cards b4 speech I will give yall auto 29s)
- Theory/K's: Totally fine for me as long as it is not friv ALSO I DO BUY RVIS EASILY so run theory at your own risk
- Judge Simp{s}: Telling me I look good right before I vote will probably not make me wanna vote for yall at all
- Good Ev: I WILL CALL FOR EVIDENCE AND IF IT IS REALLY BAD I WILL VOTE AGAINST YALL
- Framework Deb: Love FW debate (SV, Deont, Util, Ect.). Please actually understand what these FW and theories are though, like don't just say them as buzzwords
- What I vote on:if something has no ink next to it or is conceded or is weighed the most then I probably will vote on it as it might be the clearest way to the ballot
- I WILL ALWAYS DISCLOSE EVERYTHING
- FINAL FOCUS:Please write my RFD and maybe your wildest dream will come true --> like I might seriously consider voting for you if you do a great job on this part (pls just remb to mirror summary).
- POST ROUNDS: I love these as long as it is respectful - I think it helps for the education of the round. However please keep your questions/whatevs to three to four per team.
Final notes:
MOST IMPORTANT-- have fun doing debate is hard and the fact you are doing this is admirable. I want to make sure you have a fun and good round so if you have any questions or need anything email me, or just ask me in the round.
I ALSO MIGHT SEEM GRUMPY WHEN I GIVE DECISIONS BUT I PROMISE IM NOT I PROB JUST HAD A A TEST EARLIER ON IN THE DAY
Often an excel sheet for who I voted for and why can be found: HERE, its not in depth but it at least inc disclosure for the tourney
Make fun of Adam for +.09 speaks cuz its only worth that much :P
Cuz i think its funny here are some instincts that my ma has previously written about -- if you are able to mention it in a speech plus .5+ speaker points (max 1)
Instincts That Distort Perspective
The Gap Instinct. Our tendency to divide things into two distinct and often conflicting groups with an imagined gap between them (e.g. us and them).
The Negativity Instinct. Our tendency to notice the bad more than the good (e.g. believing that things are getting worse when things are actually getting better).
The Generalization Instinct. Our tendency to mistakenly group together things or people, or countries that are actually very different.
The Destiny Instinct. The idea that innate characteristics determine the destinies of people, countries, religions, or cultures; that things are as they are because of inescapable reasons.
The Single Perspective. Our tendency to focus on a single cause or perspective when it comes to understanding the world (e.g. forming your worldview by relying on the media, alone). (adapted from Factfulness by Hans Rosling)
HAVE FUN!!
YOU CAN HIRE ME FOR A JUDGE IF YA WANT FOR A TOURNEY IG ||
Experience with LD and PF
-Good with Speed & spreading
-Looking for opponents who give me full expanded thoughts and examples; excellent POI’s and cross exams
-for me, debates are won during the crosses
-ask thoughtful questions and find holes in opponents arguments
-flay judge: competed in high school (07-09) and have been judging lots of online tournaments since the pandemic. Can flow fairly well, but some of the jargon has gone out the window in the past few years, so laymen's terms are preferred when it comes to technically things. I have a college education, but some speech specific language, I don't remember.
Hi i'm jared
Lane Tech 2016
GSU'2021
- i help coached at wheeler hs in georgia alittle this year and rufus king here and there this year so topic knowledge is there. As I have judged the water topic a bit more here is some more articulated opnions:
Framework: You need to prove to me why an aff is not debatable, things like the industry da's, or the interstate compacts cp's seems like what the core neg ground is looking like whats its more the be. I need somewhat of a conversation of why an Aff makes it impossible. One off framework is probably not the best in front of me. Y'all need to probs look into like ivory tower args at least, how would the group of people you advocate for understand the args you are goin for, and how thats probs academic elitism and resinscribes the impacts you talk about .
K aff's : I need to understand what your aff does, and how it solves what it says you solve by the end of the debate. I ran these mostly while I debated, but I need to understand some relation to the topic, or why I should not care about the topic. But if it is the should not care about the topic route, you probs need to give give a ground list on the framework debate.
Theory: Alot of CP's are prolly cheating , once you hit 3+ condo that has some perf-con thats prolly bad.
to win my ballot beat the other persons arguments.
Quick Metaview to better understand how I view things.
1. K's/K aff's: Was my own bread and butter while I debated, will understand most literature basis but do not expect me to the work for you.
2. T's/Impact Turns': Underappreciated in debate , and I think are enjoyable debates if done well.
3. Politics DA : They are the intresting toxic thing that could go either way.
4. Policy Affs : If your aff relies on more intricate knowledge such as like a random court case more explanation the better.
5. Process CP's are probably cheating, but im more inclined to reject the arg than the team.
larger meta-framing issues :
a. dont be racist
b. aff prove why the status quo is bad - neg says its good or run your k or cp
c. ill dig a cp and impact turn strat with your 8 off strat or one off performance - ill listen to your arguements and look at it.
d. anything is probably could be voted on if not racist
f.I am probably truth is higher value than tech ,I'm not the most familiar with more techy policy args where slow down more of my knowledge is the K I'll try buy if im confused and look lost that means you are going over my head
g. theory : please just for the love of god do not read more than 5 or 6 condo, at this point its a question of yes reasonability but at the same time I need to be able to figure out what your warrants are. More often that not if CP's are specfic they'll avoid most of the theory questions.
h. With topicality it'll always be an interesting debate that with good framing its good.
i. In a round where I have to be answering questions It probably goes more towards the K, and how I think the Ontology Debate works out.
Non-Policy Debate Section:
You do you, and I look at flows. alot of my views on arguements in debate are summed up below, but I am open to any non-traditional forms of any of the other types of debate as long as you are not racist. I tend to vote purely off the flow as long as something is not just a straight up lie(i.e "Trump was Good"). On theory issues i tend to default to whatever means the least amount of judge intervention.
Third year out from Bronx Science debated all four years and was pretty successful (bids, broke at TOC). I don't know much about very tech argumentation (Ks, theory), but feel free to run them (just explain them well). I am very compelled by comparative and uniqueness weighing and detailed warranting!!! All offense should be responded to in the next speech and turns (esp if ur going for them) should be fully extended with warranting and weighing. I will not vote off blippy extensions.
Speak slow and clear. Be respectful to your opponents.
Thanks
I Dont Want to be On email chain. Also my microphone is broke so if you need my attention type in chat thanks. I am a “LAY” judge who has not judge the round before. Make debate simple and easy to follow because that is good for people.
- Lay judge. Please keep your delivery slow and clear. I appreciate clear analysis of why you should win in the final focus. Quality over quantity and truth over tech are very important to make my decision. I also appreciate debaters that are able to present their cases not reading at them; a real presentation style with prompts if necessary.
I am an Americorps service member with less formal debate training.
My ballot is awarded to the team with the best speaking skills, articulation of their arguments throughout the whole round, proper refutation of all their opponent's points, usage of evidence, and comparative argumentation.
Speed and jargon are a no. Please don't immediately presume I know the intricacies of deep research on the resolution. The point of a public forum debate is that you should be able to break down the debate on the resolution for anyone and convince them why your side is right. Finding a way to make me care about your side by bringing out your emotions is a plus. Being mean or a bully does the opposite.
Be sure to time your own speeches and keep track of prep time. I'll also be keeping time, but there is a speaker point reduction for those who don't do it.
The team that convinces/persuades me that their side is correct in the debate will win.
Experience
I competed in speech and debate for four years in high school. I mostly competed in Extemp, Congressional Debate, and World Schools and a few times in PF (I have a good understanding of the event).
Content
That is to say, the winning team has the better plausible impacts that outweigh the other team’s impacts (if you do not do the weighing then I will have to, but it would be beneficial for you to do the weighing). In order for impacts to be plausible, then you should have warrants that clearly lead me to your impacts. To show that your opponent’s impacts are not plausible you may attack their warrants, links, or the validity of their evidence.
Delivery
Please do not spread. I want to make sure I can understand and put everything you say on my flow, but if you spread or go too fast then I will miss it. Also too fast speeds will probably result in a reduction of speaker points.
Other Notes
- Please do not run a “K” or a “theory” and debate the topic!
- Don’t raise NEW arguments (considered for the first time in the debate) in grand cross fire and especially not in final focus, I will not consider them and it won’t make me happy.
- In most cases, I will give the win to the team who does a better job of convincing me that their arguments are better and will assign speaker points based on style/delivery, so I do give low point wins.
Good Luck!
I am currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania. I competed on my high school's varsity debate. I was elected co-captain my senior year and was one of the highest-ranked debate duos in the Philadelphia public league. I do not have much experience with Public Forum debate, but I have done some research on the style and conventions.
I value respectful and factual debating. It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, don't interrupt or talk over your opponents during any part of the debate. I prefer coherent and clear speeches over speeches that are fast and attempt to fit in as many words as possible in the allocated time. I tend to reject false dichotomies and logical fallacies. Keep your arguments straightforward, if you can focus on one central argument and really support it throughout the entire debate, that will serve you better than half-supporting several different arguments.
I don't usually keep track of time, but with the new online format we can play it by ear.
I'm a Blake debate alumna and now an assistant coach.
Worlds Schools debate was my main format, and I competed it for three years at the national level. Speech content: include the principle debate, rebuild / extend arguments from the first speech in the second speeches, and become more globalized for third and fourth speeches. Weigh - and early!! Speaking style: signpost.
As a secondary format, I competed in PF. I am very familiar with the format, and lay on most topics. Read dates, signpost, and I prefer cards / evidence over paraphrasing.
Be nice to each other! At the end of the day, debating is about learning and having fun.
EMAILS FOR EMAIL CHAINS: blakedocs@googlegroups.com and sierra@u.northwestern.edu
NOTE FOR THE 2021 PRINCETON CLASSIC: I have not judged debates on this topic or done *any* research on it, so please do not assume any background knowledge on crypto or regulations surrounding it. Try to explain everything in as much detail as possible, and do not use acronyms or reference events that I will probably be unfamiliar with.
Debated PF for all 4 years of high school and do Parli in college.
- Decent at flowing, but please don't go too fast. Also signpost a lot (i.e. clearly/explicitly say what you are responding to at every point in your speech).
- No experience judging theory/Ks. Probably don't run these kinds of arguments in front of me, but I won't automatically vote you down if you do.
- No need to extend defense in first summary unless the second-speaking team frontlines in their rebuttal.
I am a Middle School Debate Coach, and I score better when debaters are slow and concise.
Let me know if you have any other questions before the round or if there is anything I can do to accommodate your team.
Background - I did PF as my main event for four years at Montville Township High School.
Specifics - I highly appreciate it when teams weigh. Weighing can begin as early as rebuttal. If you guys as debaters make comparisons between your own arguments and your opponents’ arguments by any metric, it tells me where to focus when making my decision. This is far better than a round without any weighing that leaves it up to me to decide where to vote. Other than that, I think it makes a lot of sense to start frontlining in second rebuttal.
Have fun!
I am a parent judge.
Timing:
Please Time yourself (rounds and prep)
Speaking:
- Please speak at a reasonable pace and be clear.
- Please be courteous
Cypress Bay '20 | Georgetown '24
Put me on the email chain: Gavsie.joshua@gmail.com
Top Level Stuff:
I did policy debate in HS and I'm currently competing at Georgetown.
Do whatever you want. I'm as happy to judge a K v K debate as I am a nuanced CP/DA debate. This round is for you all, not me. Most of my opinions about the activity can be overcome by good debating so just be smart and you can probably win my ballot.
That being said, there are obviously the standard non-negotiables. For example, "racism good" or anything else of the sort gets you an L with 0 speaker points. I feel like shouldn't have to say much more here just please don't be a bad person.
Good speaks for good debating, great speaks for being funny.
A significant amount of the following stuff is taken from Tessa Harper. I think they articulated their thoughts on this stuff really well and it mirrors how I feel about these issues.
How I Evaluate Debates:
I'll evaluate arguments as per the execution on the line-by-line unless told otherwise. Dropped arguments are true but that doesn't mean it's the best argument or the winning one. Explain why concessions matter and why they should frame my ballot.
I'll have the speech doc open but I'll be following YOU so please be clear (especially in online debate)!! I'll be looking at cards if I really need to or if specific pieces of evidence are flagged.
Clash Debates:
- I'll vote for framework but it's not an excuse to not engage with the affirmative. Negative teams that fail to do this usually sound like block-reading robots and will not fare super well in these debates unless they grapple with specific parts of aff offense.
- That being said, there is a difference between T and framework. If you want to take the aff up on some other part of the topicality debate outside of focus on the USFG, I'm definitely down for that.
- Critical affs should probably have a model of debate. This means that impact turns to T should be coupled with a good counter-intepretation and that the aff should counter-define words in the 2AC. A 2AR that is impact turns alone without a vision for what we are doing in this activity or in a debate will be much harder for me to vote for than a warranted vision for debate that provides at least some defense/link turns to their standards.
- Examples/history matter a lot and will influence how I evaluate competing theories of power -- whether it is techy IR debate or a high theory discussion of psychoanalytic black feminism, I think that theories draw their explanatory power from material realities of the world and I tend to be be more easily convinced by debaters and scholars who tie their theory to that world. This doesn't mean I need you to be empiricists or defend a materialist conception of history, just that having a knowledge of how your theory is related to the world around you will make the arg far more persuasive to me than floating buzzwords.
- TVAs are usually not super important to me. At best, they're fine defensive arguments but not what you really need to be winning in these debates to get my ballot.
- Critical affs should ideally have a relationship to the topic that is inherent and significant. I will be more persuaded by T against affs that don't do or say anything about water than I will be against teams that read an affirmative which answers a core question of the topic.
- K's v policy affs -- the good ol' framework tricks like fiat bad are nice and works far too often (ehem affs) but I also enjoy in-depth link and alt work. The affirmative tends to lose these debates when it doesn't leverage the case beyond "we have a big impact" -- timeframe args, comparative arguments about alt solvency, etc. are all very helpful when adjudicating these debates and the negative should prepare for them beyond simply the frame out, even if it is a useful trick. These are the kind of debates I'm the most well versed in if that's something that's important to y'all.
K v K debates:
- These debates can be a lot of fun to watch - if both sides demonstrate a good understanding and application of the literature they're reading I'll be very satisfied.
- I like critical affs that defend material praxis. Advocating for grounded praxis will always get me interested in a debate. Don't let this mean you abandon theory -- theory is extremely important for controlling the direction of politics, subject formation, praxis, etc. but when I have a soft spot for critical affs that are able to combine theory with praxis. (See above about using history.)
CPs:
- Advantage counterplans with impact turns as the net benefit are underutilized in the debates I judge.
- I get annoyed when teams let counterplans absolve them of the need for good case debate. Solvency deficits to the aff matter as much as the aff's solvency deficits to the counterplan.
- PICs -- I like these. The more substantive the PIC's relationship to the aff, the less I will be persuaded by theory.
DAs:
- Specific DAs are always good but politics can be good too and get the job done when debated well
- The relative magnitude of the uniquness/links determine what the direction of things are. Be comparative.
- 2ACs/1ARs that impact turn disads strategically are cool
Topicality:
- Not super familiar with the T norms on the water topic - do with that what you will
- I do really enjoy T debates - creating distinctions between the kinds of ground/affs that are allowed or denied is the sort of comparative work that makes decisions easier.
- Precise and predictable limits are good!
- Functional limits exist and are persuasive to me but you should be clear about why and how.
- Evidence is either extremely important or largely irrelevant depending on how it is framed - you should control this framing.
- I default to competing interps but reasonability arguments paired with a strong push on arbitrariness/precision can be persuasive.
Pet Peeves in no particular order:
- Not flowing speeches. There shouldn't be a minute and a half of figuring out what cards were skipped before cross-ex. (Especially in varsity debates lol like cmon pay attention)
- Bastardizing revolutionary history and/or reading ev written by reactionaries will lower your ethos and speaker points - there are so many better ways to debate the cap K than reading imperialist propaganda about communism. Please do better.
- Don't call me "judge." Josh is fine.
- Profoundly untopical policy affs written only to beat critical teams but never to be read against policy teams (ehem, "sabotage")
- Being mean for no reason in cross ex.
- Reading the cap K as a root cause/state good double whammy, rather than, ya know, a real argument.
LD Things
Everything above still applies but it’s worth noting that I think tricks/friv theory is an absurd form of argumentation. If this happens to be your thing, strike me and move on. If you primarily read anything else, I’m probably a fine judge for whatever you want to do lol.
I’m not super familiar with the heavy philosophical aspects of LD but am not unwilling to vote for it, I just may require a higher threshold for explanation in these debates.
PF Things
My background is in policy debate but I'm familiar with the structure and style of PF rounds. That being said, I'm really not trying to watch kids in PF attempt to spread through their case and adapt to me in a way that is clearly not their preferred style of debating. What this does mean is that I have a higher standard for evidence comparison, line by line, and actually answering arguments. If you do these things, you're in a good spot. If you don't, you will likely lose. Feel free to ask any questions before the round.
ALSO, the evidentiary standards in this activity are wild. If someone calls for a card and it takes you five minutes to send out a link to a 60-page PDF, I will not be terribly happy. Please actually cut cards and have them readily accessible in the debate.
Hey, my name is Sam! I debated on the GA circuit for 3 years and nationally for 2 (2014-2017), breaking even my senior year at ToC and Nationals. Since then, I have judged and coached for several programs. Weigh your arguments and their terminal impacts against your opponent's arguments and impacts in summary/final focus. Second-half cohesion is important, make sure the summary and final focus work well together. I will not vote off of anything that fails to be extended from speech-to-speech. I can follow most speeds you're used to, but please do your best to speak clearly. Be polite to each other and enjoy the learning experience: D.B.A.A!
email me for questions/add me to the chain: tara.gill.527@gmail.com
tl;dr:
Me: "Do you know why I'm such a laid-back judge?"
Y'all: "Why?"
Me: "I go with the flow"
(creds to @Debate Memes on Facebook haha)
- yes I will vote off the flow
- honestly just debate well enough to make me care enough about the round (which means focus on the bolded text below)
- warrant, extend your full link story and impact, and weigh and you're doing really well
- I don't think most debaters truly spend time explaining warrants or weighing
- things you want me to vote on have to be in every speech after first rebuttal
- I want the round to be chill and educational and fun so please make that happen
quick disclaimers
i'm now old and grumpy and care a bit less about debate than i used to so please don't assume i have extensive topic knowledge
novices:
it's so cool that you're trying out this activity even though it's probably kind of scary. If you don't understand some of my preferences in the long version, the tl;dr should be fine. Just know that you're probably doing great and that you got this :)
feel free to ask me any questions before/after the round.
Longer Version:
hi! I did 2 years of Public Forum at Lexington but I started out my debate career in policy which influences how I judge!
- i'm more tech than the average tech judge so please clash to avoid judge intervention, or at the very least weigh a lot on both link and impact levels :)
- in later speeches, please give quick narrative style overviews at the top of your own case then frontline/line by line (i still don't know what frontline means but just don't drop stuff) if u want me to vote on your contentions otherwise dropped defense will mitigate your impacts. this also means u should frontline in second rebuttal and extend defense in first summary.
- i will vote off most arguments including theory/k if they are debated well (my threshold for these being run well is pretty high lmao so try at your risk) and not used just to be exclusionary (check the bottom of my paradigm)
- do a lot of weighing/impact calc and logical analysis (not just for me, it is also strategic if you're lost/confused and I would know first hand oops)
- once again please weigh weigh weigh. really make the force of gravity a lot here (i'm sorry i'm a physics nerd)
- start collapsing by first summary because depth>breadth in terms of giving quality arguments in short PF speech times
- crossfire shouldn't be three minutes of extra debating please ask and answer questions in a non-aggressive and CIVIL manner or I will be frustrated, get a headache and probably dock speaks.
- if you want to take off a jacket or shoes in round feel free to do so because i almost never debated with shoes. this will not affect speaks or the result :)
- feel free to ask me questions about my decision if you're confused, I will not dock speaks and I feel like it usually helps you learn how you can improve in the future
- i am fine w speed if you do all of the following: prioritize clarity, make sure your opponents are ok too, slow down on tags, authors, and analytics, signpost clearly, offer speech docs if necessary
- lastly, debate is a game: this means that you should not be exclusionary, follow the rules or warrant why you shouldn't, and let me know if there is anything I can personally do to make the debate more accessible to you, and HAVE FUN!!!!!
Extra:
- fist-bump instead of shaking hands haha
- I'll default to a slightly above a 28 if it's by 0.1 and 28.5 if it's by 0.5
- i am also happy to talk after round, show you my flows, and answer questions about either debate or life :)
LD (MSDL States 2024):
i am fairly confident in my ability to flow a debate and understand arguments that are clearly explained to me, however, I also understand there are certain thing specific to LD that I am not familiar with.
- focus on weighing your arguments against your components, basic frameworks (util, structural violence) I am familiar with and are good for providing that comparison
- not sure about other "value criterion" that's a term i've heard but i don't know what that means so just explain to me clearly
- not super used to nat circuit LD speed anymore, but a little speed is fine
- rest of the paradigm applies
I'm proud to say this marks my 10th year of judging Public Forum. Even though I've been doing this a long time, I still consider myself a "Mom judge," but don't despair. I will do my level best to flow the round competently.
Please give me your case in a simple, logical format and give me the reasons why I should vote for you. Please don't speak super fast, since that just makes my head spin, and I won't be able to follow your brilliant arguments as easily.
I always say, I'm okay with a little speed, but if you're talking so fast I can't make out what you're saying, that's not going to be good for you. I want to comprehend what you're telling me. If you feel like you're spoon-feeding me your case, I won't be insulted. You have plenty of flow judges to impress this tournament with fancy twists and turns.
One thing I will say is, If you don't extend an argument in summary, I can't weigh it at the end.
Lastly, please be professional and courteous to each other. No eye-rolling, tongues hanging out, general snottiness. Even if you think your opponent is on the ropes, I don't want to see it on your faces. Win with grace and class.
I'm a parent judge, former litigator, and currently a bank regulatory and policy attorney. I'm also a volunteer firefighter.
I'm fine with moderate speed, as long as it's clear and isn't spreading. Please frontline in 2nd Rebuttal, and weigh in Summary and Final Focus.
For the round, please time yourselves, and when time ends, then simply complete your sentence and defer.
Be respectful of your opponents, and during crossfire and grand crossfire please strive not to speak over your colleagues and remember to always ask questions (and not soapbox your contentions).
Best of luck!
I'm a lay judge who doesn't know flow or will not be flowing throughout the debate.
I judge crossfire as well since I do not flow throughout the debate.
I do not require an off-time roadmap, but if you feel the need to do one do it.
Try your best to use facts, not speculation but I understand that there are many situations where speculation has to be used.
Your job is to convince me how your points outweigh their points clearly and in order so that I can tell who won the debate.
Refrain from using debate slang as best as you can since I am not that experienced.
Lastly, Don't be disrespectful to the other team. If I feel that one team is being very disrespectful to the other, then that will impact my final decision.
Hi, I am a parent of an avid debater, and I am a scrupulous note taker. I always read up on the topic prior to judging, but explain things to me as if I am learning about it for the first time. I have an extensive history judging on the national circuit for PF. I like teams which have good evidence to support their claims. Try to tell me a story with your arguments about why your impacts matter in the first place. Links in your logical reasoning should be clearly explained, and I won't consider your impacts unless your links make sense. Also, if it is not in summary, then it shouldn't be in final focus. During Cross-X try be as respectful of your opponents as possible, and being respectful helps your speaker points. If you're going to turn your opponent's argument, make sure there is an impact. Also last but not least, weighing during summary and final focus definitely makes it easier for me to judge your round. Look forward to judging your round!
I absolutely love the framework debate, please explain to me how I know your impacts achieve your framework. FRAMEWORK IS HOW I AM SUPPOSED TO VOTE IN THE ROUND.
I am comfortable with all forms of arguments: K's, Counterplans and plans, Theory, Reverse voting issues, ETC. Just explain yourself and don't assume I know the literature.
If you exhibit any discrimination towards your opponent or me it will be extremely difficult for you to get a ballot from me.
I appreciate a good speaker and someone who stays confident, NEVER GIVE UP any solid argument could persuade me to vote for you
Good Luck!
Lay Judge
* Speak slowly and clearly. Keep things simple and logical. Don't use debate jargon.
* When you read evidence, please say reasons behind it also (don't just say we have _ card and move on).
* I prefer reason over evidence. I like when teams remind me of their final case arguments but don't spend a whole minute on it - just say it in one or two sentences.
* If you collapse, please say clearly that you are collapsing.
* I don't believe improbable arguments like nuclear war and extinction. A piece of advice is to run smaller impacts for me to believe and vote for it.
* Please be respectful to each other
Thx and have fun.
I am a parent judge with some experience.
Please speak slowly and clearly.
Please respect other speakers during crossfire and do not interrupt opponents.
Your case is the most important part of the round.
Please weigh in the round and compare your arguments.
Good Luck!
I am a parent judge who has been trained. Please don't speak too quickly and please listen to your opponents and respond thoughtfully.
This is my 39th year teaching and most of that I have also coached speech and debate. As far as debate goes, I coached LD starting in the mid 80's running on and off through 2017. I coached policy on and off from 1990-2000. I have coached PF on and off since its inception. I have coached congressional debate since the early 80's. I don't have a paradigm for Speech events, but I have coached and judged all speech events since the early 80's as well.
As a Congress Judge:
Delivery: I embrace the role play. You are all portraying legislators from across the country and should behave with the decorum that role suggests. That being said, we have legislators from across the country with various styles and habits -- that makes congress debate AWESOME! There is no single, perfect way to deliver!
Evidence Usage: CD is, at its core, a debate event. Arguments should have sound, sourced evidence that follows NSDA rules. Empirical claims require empirical evidence.
Analysis - If I am judging Congressional Debate, chances are the tournament is a national caliber tournament (otherwise I would be working in some capacity in tab). I expect high level analysis at a high level tournament. If you are the 4th speaker and beyond - I expect unique arguments and I expect analysis and refutation of earlier speakers. Crystallization speeches do not merely mention every speaker that spoke earlier on a piece of legislation. It literally crystallizes the two sides, weighs the impacts of the two sides, and persuades me of their chosen position.
Argument Impacts: Please identify who or what is impacted. Be specific. In CD, please explain real world impacts. The narrative of impacts is as important (if not more) as the numerics of impacts.
On the topic of cost benefit analysis and weighing... Be careful of playing the numbers game. A large number of persons harmed may not necessarily outweigh a single person harmed, if the single person's harm is total and complete and the larger number still enjoy existence.
Decorum: Behavior in and out of chambers is important. Respectful, educational, kind, and full of fun... these should be in balance! (I don't like boring debate)
I don't have a calculator on the above. Very seldom is there a debater who is awesome at them all... But all need to be part of the mix. If I am judging a top round, I suspect that all speakers will be amazing! That means the final ranking will come down to relevance in the round. If all speeches were brilliant, questioning and answering were spot on, and knowledge of topics is at the top, who stood out as the genuine, 'real deal'?
PF Paradigm - I embrace the notion that the event is intended to be judged by an informed public forum. That does not mean dumbing down arguments because you think the judge is dumber than you because they didn't go to camp (adults don't go to camp). I think most judges want to hear good arguments that pertain to the resolution and want to hear clash between positions. That being said, here is my more specific paradigm:
Speed - I love an energetic debate, but save spreading for policy (and sadly LD). You should have written a prima facie case that either affirms or negates. It should be written so that the first speaker can energetically deliver it. Most PF spread isn't really spread, it is spewing and incoherent choking due largely to the student's failure to adequately cut their case. I am fine with clean, clear, speed. Can I hear arguments delivered at 385 wpm? yes. Will I flow them? probably not.
Frameworks - Sure, if you really are running a framework. If it is legit (and stays up in the round throughout), both sides will be weighing impacts within that framework.
Observations - Sure, if they are observations. Observations are not arguments. They are observations. "It is raining - observation: things are wet." "If Trump wins the election it will trigger nuclear war" is an argument, not an observation.
Warrants and Impacts are your friends!! Numbers are just numbers - how do they happen? why do they happen? who is affected and why them? is there possible counter causality? Really good logic if well explained will beat blippy numbers. Well explained statistics that are connected and clear will beat poor logic.
Flowing - Yes, I flow. I expect you to do so as well. I don't flow card names and dates - so make sure when you refer to a piece of evidence you reference what it says, not a name.
Jargon - I am not a fan. Don't say de-link. It is often unwarranted. Explain how and why. Unique is a noun, not a verb. You cannot 'non-unique' something. I love turns, but don't just spout 'turn.' Explain why their argument works against them. Or show how their impacts actually are good, not bad. At its heart debate is a communication education activity; I take your education seriously.
Kritiks - They are arguments. I was okay with them in policy when they were a 'thing,' largely because policy is more game than debate. I was not okay with them in LD when used as a gimmick. I am the LD judge that still clings to the notion that we should have value debate. However, a well thought out K that communicates the impact of the issue must be answered in any debate! In PF, I might be okay if a team ran a kritik that they truly believed in, and they clearly had the ethos and pathos to convince me it wasn't just a gimmick, I MIGHT vote on the K if it is argued well. OR, if their opponents clearly understood the K but just didn't want to deal with it. A K is still an argument, and the premise of the K needs to be responded to as an argument. If not, chances are I am going to vote for the K.
I am not a fan of: rude behavior, gender put-downs, dog whistle language, or individuals being mean/cocky just for the heck of it. =26s-27s. I would go lower, but most tournaments won't let me.
I love intense and lively debate. I love true arguments that are well researched, argued, and impacted. I love smart. Smart gets 29.5s and 29.9s. It has been a very long time since I gave 30's but I do give them!
[Background] I’m currently attending Fordham University (NY) majoring in Political Science. Previously, I debated at Vista Ridge High School (TX) in PF on the local/state/national level, reaching TFA State & TOC. Add me to the email chain: jhayes48@fordham.edu
[Evidence] I probably won’t call for cards unless they sound too good to be true; if you think I shouldn’t buy one of your opponent’s cards, tell me to call for it. I do, however, expect properly cut cards that can be produced in a timely manner at your opponent’s request. If you take a long time locating evidence, it will affect your speaks.
[Argumentation] I can go along with much of what you will run, with a few exceptions. I will NOT evaluate theory unless there is a legitimate violation in the round; paraphrasing and disclosure are not legitimate violations. For me, the most important aspect of your argumentation is your ability to develop a clear narrative for me to follow: I am more likely to buy arguments that have a strong internal link into a smaller impact than those that have a weak internal link into a larger impact. I prefer weighing from first rebuttal on; it must be extended through final focus for me to evaluate it. I expect some line-by-line in the summary, but I think you should spend much of your time comparatively weighing/framing the round. Repeating your impact and tagging “scope” and/or “magnitude” after it is not comparative weighing, it’s just proving to me you know how to memorize a number.
[Speaks] I can handle a bit of speed; I’ll let you know if you’re going too fast for me. Speaks will range from 28.5-29.5 mostly, based largely off my subjective view of how articulate and convincing you sound as a debater. I don’t pay much attention to CX, but I still expect you to be civil; if not, it will definitely affect your speaks.
Paradigms I agree with: Amod Daherkar, Jonathan Daugherty, Max Fuller, Nahom Tulu
Don’t be afraid to ask me questions before the round. Good luck!
Hello! I'm Zakiya and welcome to my paradigm.
About Me:
Competed in PF for 2 years during high school.
Currently debating parli as a sophomore at Princeton University.
General Expectations:
Please do not spread. Please signpost.
Please keep track of your time while speaking and during prep time. I will stop flowing if you go over time, although "over time" does have a few seconds of leeway.
I am fine with most arguments, as long as they are well warranted. Please avoid tricks.
Passion about your arguments is always welcome, but unnecessary aggression is not. Please do not make xenophobic or bigoted arguments. Please be respectful of people's pronouns.
If you have any questions for me post-round, you can reach me at zhelm@princeton.edu
Have fun and happy debating!
Debate History: I debated for Towson University & Binghamton University (4 years college).
First and foremost, I will not tell you how to engage in the debate. Whether it be policy or K affirmatives I'm open to debaters showcasing their research in any format they choose. However, I do prefer if debaters orient their affirmative construction towards the resolution.
When evaluating a debate I tend to weigh the impacts of the affirmative to any disadvantage or impact the negative goes for in the 2NR. Therefore, if the affirmative does not extend case in the 2AR it becomes more difficult for me to evaluate the debate unless you tell me the specific argument I should be voting on otherwise.
Next, is framework. I evaluate this before anything else in the debate. If you run framework in front of me go for decision making, policy research good, learning about X (insert topic related policy discussion i.e. warming, tech, economy, education, etc.) is good, clash or ground. I do not want to feel as though your framework is exclusionary to alternative debate formats but instead debate about its inherent benefits.
I also really enjoy case debate. If you are on the negative please have case turns and case specific evidence so that the debate for me is a bit more specific and engaging.
CP's and DA's are also arguments I evaluate but I need to have a good link for both or it will make it difficult for me to vote for them.
Please focus more on explanation of evidence and not on the amount of evidence introduced in the debate.
I tend to keep up on politics and critical literature so don't be afraid of running an argument in front of me. I will always ask for preferred pronouns and do not tolerate racism, white supremacy, anti-blackness, sexism, patriarchy, transphobia and xenophobia.
I am a parent judge.
During the round, please speak clearly and slowly so that I can understand your arguments. Please refrain from using debate jargon and explain your arguments thoroughly; anything that goes unexplained might not be taken into account. Make sure to signpost and clarify if you drop any points. I will prioritize clarity. Also, make sure to time yourselves, and please put evidence in the chat so I can see it as well.
Weighing is vital. Tell me why you believe you won the debate and on what points specifically.
Finally, please be courteous to all participants and have fun.
4 years of PF, UVA '23
Winning my ballot starts with weighing, in fact, weighing is so important I'd prefer if you did it at the begiNning of every speech after first rebuttal. Be cOmparative, I need a reason why I should look to your arguments firsT. Please collapse, don't go for more than one case arg in the second half, its unnecessaRy. I'm a lazy judge the easIest plaCe to vote is where I'll sign my ballot. I'm not going to do more worK than I need to. I will not vote off of one sentence offense, everything needS to be explained clearly, warranted, and weighed for me to evaluate it(turns especially). I try not to presume but if I do, I will presume whoever lost the coin flip.
I will evaluate progressive arguments.
If you are going to give a content warning please do it correctly - this means anonymized content warnings with ample time to respond.
I'm very generous with speaks, speaking style doesn't affect how I evaluate the round and I don't think I'm in a place to objectively evaluate the way you speak. With that being said I will not tolerate rudeness or ANY bm in round. I can handle a decent amount of speed but do not let speed trade off with quality.
Online debate I will be muted the entire round just assume I'm ready before every speech and time yourselves and your own prep. I will disclose if the tournament allows.
Questions: chashuang1@gmail.com
Debated for Bronx Science for 4 years (2015-2019) and been judging for three years in college; polsci and public policy major at Hunter College
DISCLAIMER FOR CAT NATS: I am completely new to the water topic (haven't researched, coached it, etc.), keep this in mind while debating in terms of technical terms and knowledge of topic Ks, CPs, etc. I have also not judged policy in over a year so chill with the spreading
Feel free to run any argument in front of me. I want you to tell me how to vote and how I should view the round. Besides that, I'm down for anything.
Quarantine edition edit: My connection isn't the best so please send the analytics and/or spread like 5% slower so I can flow it, if the argument isn't on my flow I can't evaluate it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Feel free to add me to the email chain: undercommonscustomerservice@gmail.com
tl;dr: run what you want
I decide rounds pretty quickly so I usually disclose right after the 2AR.
This is more for policy rounds but don't just card-dump, I hate it when teams just spew a bunch of cards at each other and expect me to do all the work.
If I’m on a panel with Eugene Toth there is a literal 100% chance that we will vote the same way.
My paradigm has been greatly influenced by my god-tier debate partner in high school so if you want to give it a look: https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?judge_person_id=46818
TKO: If you think you 100% won the round at any point in the debate (i.e. other has no path to a ballot bc of conceded off case, etc.) then you can call a TKO and the round will stop. If I buy that the opponents have no path to the ballot, I will give you the win and 30s. If you are wrong, you will get an L and 25s.
DA
DA should at least have a aff-specific link and not just "Protecting water resources means Biden loses political capital". Make sure impact calc is tight, and good evidence comparison will notch up your speaker points. I want you to tell me a story of how the aff actually triggers the impacts.
CP
Haven't gone for that many CPs, not really my favorite argument. Please slow down for the CP text, especially if it's one of those really long ones. Whatever you run, make sure that you have a clear net-benefit.
FW/T
Unless its not even in the direction of the topic, I won't automatically vote down an aff because it violates your interpretation of framework and the resolution. If there is no significant impact and there is sufficient response from aff, I will weigh education over fairness.
I like to hear cleverly thought out T arguments against K affs that aren't just USFG, but an explanation, again, is necessary.
K
I run Ks very often and love a good K debate but I also hate it when the links for the Ks are not explained well or are just generic. Most of the K debate is rooted in the link debate and you have to be able to do this well in order for me to understand how the kritik functions in terms of the affirmative.
A side note: I am not a judge who thinks you need to win the alternative debate in order to win the round. As long as you can prove that each link is a non unique disad to the aff, and those disads outweigh, I will gladly vote neg. However, winning the alternative debate definitely makes your job a LOT easier. If you do go for the alt, I need to know what the alt is supposed to do, how it is supposed to do it, and why what it does matters. You have to be able to explain the alt well, a lot of debaters do not read the literature behind their kritik and this means they cannot explain their alternatives well or just summarize the tags of the cards when explaining the alt.
Love creative K args, topic-specific Ks are really cool too and I've been finding myself voting for more eccentric and high theory Ks so take that as you will
Ks I've ran: Cap (almost every variant of it: logistics, Dean, historical materialism, etc.), academia (Moten and Harney, Tuck and Yang, etc.), ID stuff (set col, queer theory), psychoanalysis.
K affs
I have read K affs the majority of my debate career. Love them, they great. But if it is a nontraditional aff, an EXPLANATION is necessary. If I don't understand what the aff is, what it does, or why it's good, then I will absolutely default neg
Theory
Have judged a fair amount of theory debates at this point and have voted for condo and ASPEC, so I'm down w it just make sure you have interpretation, violation, and standards esp in the last speech
Troll args
Been there done that, just don't be reading random files you found in the backfiles or online without knowing what they mean
I am a traditional parent judge. I have limited experience of judging.
Please do not read fast; I cannot give you my vote if I do not understand what you are saying.
I want to see you clearly say which arguments you are refuting to in rebuttal and response speeches. Please number your responses so that it is very clear -- please signpost!
I appreciate clear analysis of why you should win in the final focus.
Please be respectful to each other. If I see you being disrespectful and unnecessarily rude, I can almost guarantee that you will not get my vote.
I am in favor of persuasive speech which is fact based. Argumentation should be held in a composed and respectful manner. Use your time wisely. May the best team win!
I debated PF for Centerville High School in Ohio for four years and coached the middle school team for three years. I am a senior at Vanderbilt University coaching the University School of Nashville's debate team.
I competed at a few national circuit tournaments, but most of my debating was done on the local circuit. I have judged all debate formats but have not competed in all of them. Most of this paradigm relates to PF but in terms of Policy, I am open to hearing every argument and will evaluate based on the flow.
Add me to the email chain at sung.jun.jeon@vanderbilt.edu. If you spread, send a speech doc.
In terms of a PF round, here are a few things that I want to see:
1) You don't have to read direct quotes. I am fine with paraphrasing. However, if I find that you are misconstruing your evidence to make your claim, then I won't vote for that specific argument. Your speaks probably will go down as well if your opponents call you out for misconstruing evidence.
2) If you are speaking second, make sure to frontline any offense. I think it is strategic to frontline everything but at the minimum frontline turns.
3) I won't flow cross-fire, but if something major happens, make sure to address it in the next speech.
4) When extending cards and offense in the latter half of the round, make sure that you explain the warranting behind it.
5) If evidence is called, make sure to produce it in a timely manner. Also, I will call for evidence if you tell me to call for evidence.
6) Don't just dump responses. Explain what your evidence indicates and how this piece of evidence is significant in responding to your opponent's case.
7) I like to see you start weighing in rebuttal. I think it is strategic to set up the weighing earlier in the round and then carry that through summary and final focus.
How I vote:
If you want me to vote on a certain argument, it should be in both summary and final focus. Your argument should be explained in a clear manner and your impacts should be extended. Weighing your argument and impacts against your opponent's argument and impacts will make your path to the ballot easier. I will try not to intervene, but please weigh arguments comparatively to make my job easier as a judge. If not, I will have to decide which arguments are more important.
If there is no offense generated from each side (highly unlikely), then I will default to the first speaking team. If you say things that are sexist, racist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, or are extremely rude in any way, I will drop you and give you low speaks. The debate should be civil and debaters should be respectful.
Please do not postround me. I do encourage you to ask questions about the round and why I voted the way I did. I am always looking for feedback to improve my judging.
If you have any additional questions, let me know.
I competed in Public Forum for Corona del Sol HS for four years, graduating in 2019. I am now only very infrequently involved with the PF debate circuit and have not watched / judged a debate round since 1H 2022.
I coached for two years after graduating with my team championing the TOC in 2022. Therefore, I have a somewhat clear understanding of how to flow and evaluate a round, but I don't frequently judge and am less acquainted with the topic than most. You should assume I have no clear picture of stock arguments or common pieces of evidence.
You can read any argument you'd like - I'll vote for anything, though I will need greater explanation on how non-traditional arguments function for my ballot.
Hi! I’m writing this for my dad (who doesn’t believe in paradigms). A couple things you should know:
He’s a parent. Treat him as such; you know what to do.
He’s a professor who gets paid to evaluate students. You’re debating in front of someone who definitely can tell a good and bad link chain apart.
He says he understands speaking quickly. However, he doesn’t think that fast speech is persuasive. I wouldn’t go fast, and definitely not spread.
He doesn’t know any debate jargon. Use at your own risk.
He is a historian, and knows a lot of history. Same for public health -- be careful that what you run would be accepted by an academic in the field.
Be polite & fairly formal. He just spent 15 minutes complaining to me about informal paradigms.
He wants debate to be fun. I'd recommend smiling.
He doesn't believe in off-time road maps. He says that he has never seen them in the rulebooks, and that debaters simply say "first I will rebut the opponent's case, then I will make our case" -- which isn't either surprising or helpful.
Overall, debate like you would in front of a teacher ready to edit your case. Good luck and good debating!
Sheryl Kaczmarek Lexington High School -- SherylKaz@gmail.com
General Thoughts
I expect debaters to treat one another, their judges and any observers, with respect. If you plan to accuse your opponent(s) of being intellectually dishonest or of cheating, please be prepared to stake the round on that claim. Accusations of that sort are round ending claims for me, one way or the other. I believe debate is an oral and aural experience, which means that while I want to be included on the email chain, I will NOT be reading along with you, and I will not give you credit for arguments I cannot hear/understand, especially if you do not change your speaking after I shout clearer or louder, even in the virtual world. I take the flow very seriously and prior to the pandemic judged a lot, across the disciplines, but I still need ALL debaters to explain their arguments because I don't "know" the tiniest details for every topic in every event. I am pretty open-minded about arguments, but I will NOT vote for arguments that are racist, sexist or in any other way biased against a group based on gender identity, religion or any other characteristic. Additionally, I will NOT vote for suicide/self harm alternatives. None of those are things I can endorse as a long time high school teacher and decent human.
Policy Paradigm
The Resolution -- I would prefer that debaters actually address the resolution, but I do vote for non-resolutional, non-topical or critical affirmatives fairly often. That is because it is up to the debaters in the round to resolve the issue of whether the affirmative ought to be endorsing the resolution, or not, and I will vote based on which side makes the better arguments on that question, in the context of the rest of the round.
Framework -- I often find that these debates get messy fast. Debaters make too many arguments and fail to answer the arguments of the opposition directly. I would prefer more clash, and fewer arguments overall. While I don't think framework arguments are as interesting as some other arguments in debate, I will vote for the team that best promotes their vision of debate, or look at the rest of the arguments in the round through that lens.
Links -- I would really like to know what the affirmative has done to cause the impacts referenced in a Disad, and I think there has to be something the affirmative does (or thinks) which triggers a Kritik. I don't care how big the impact/implication is if the affirmative does not cause it in the first place.
Solvency -- I expect actual solvency advocates for both plans and counterplans. If you are going to have multi-plank plans or counterplans, make sure you have solvency advocates for those combinations of actions, and even if you are advocating a single action, I still expect some source that suggests this action as a solution for the problems you have identified with the Status Quo, or with the Affirmative.
Evidence -- I expect your evidence to be highlighted consistent with the intent of your authors, and I expect your tags to make claims that you will prove with the parts you read from your evidence. Highlighting random words which would be incoherent if read slowly annoys me and pretending your cards include warrants for the claims you make (when they do not) is more than annoying. If your tag says "causes extinction," the text of of the part of the card you read needs to say extinction will be the result. Misrepresenting your evidence is a huge issue for me. More often then not, when I read cards after a round, it is because I fear misrepresentation.
New Arguments/Very Complicated Arguments -- Please do not expect me to do any work for you on arguments I do not understand. I judge based on the flow and if I do not understand what I have written down, or cannot make enough sense of it to write it down, I will not be able to vote for it. If you don't have the time to explain a complicated argument to me, and to link it to the opposition, you might want to try a different strategy.
Old/Traditional Arguments -- I have been judging long enough that I have a full range of experiences with inherency, case specific disads, theoretical arguments against politics disads and many other arguments from policy debate's past, and I also understand the stock issues and traditional policy-making. If you really want to confuse your opponents, and amuse me, you'll kick it old school as opposed to going post-modern.
LD Paradigm
The Resolution -- The thing that originally attracted me to LD was that debaters actually addressed the whole resolution. These days, that happens far less often in LD than it used to. I like hearing the resolution debated, but I also vote for non-resolutional, non-topical or critical affirmatives fairly often in LD. That is because I believe it is up to the debaters in the round to resolve the issue of whether the affirmative ought to be endorsing the resolution, or not, and I will vote based on which side makes the better arguments on that question.
Framework -- I think LDers are better at framework debates than policy debaters, as a general rule, but I have noticed a trend to lazy framework debates in LD in recent years. How often should debaters recycle Winter and Leighton, for example, before looking for something new? If you want to stake the round on the framework you can, or you can allow it to be the lens through which I will look at the rest of the arguments.
Policy Arguments in LD -- I understand all of the policy arguments that have migrated to LD quite well, and I remember when many of them were first developed in Policy. The biggest mistake LDers make with policy arguments -- Counterplans, Perm Theory, Topicality, Disads, Solvency, etc. -- is making the assumption that your particular interpretation of any of those arguments is the same as mine. Don't do that! If you don't explain something, I have no choice but to default to my understanding of that thing. For example, if you say, "Perm do Both," with no other words, I will interpret that to mean, "let's see if it is possible to do the Aff Plan and the Neg Counterplan at the same time, and if it is, the Counterplan goes away." If you mean something different, you need to tell me. That is true for all judges, but especially true for someone with over 40 years of policy experience. I try to keep what I think out of the round, but absent your thoughts, I have no choice but to use my own.
Evidence -- I expect your evidence to be highlighted consistent with the intent of your authors, and I expect your tags to make claims that you will prove with the parts you read from your evidence. Highlighting random words which would be incoherent if read slowly annoys me and pretending your cards include warrants for the claims you make (when they do not) is more than annoying. If your tag says "causes extinction," the text of of the part if the card you read really needs to say extinction will be the result. Misrepresenting your evidence is a huge issue for me. More often then not, when I read cards in a round, it is because I fear misrepresentation.
New Arguments/Very Complicated Arguments -- Please do not expect me to do any work for you on arguments I do not understand. I judge based on the flow and if I do not understand what I have written down, or cannot understand enough to write it down, I won't vote for it. If you don't think you have the time to explain some complicated philosophical position to me, and to link it to the opposition, you should try a different strategy.
Traditional Arguments -- I would still be pleased to listen to cases with a Value Premise and a Criterion. I probably prefer traditional arguments to new arguments that are not explained.
Theory -- Theory arguments are not magical, and theory arguments which are not fully explained, as they are being presented, are unlikely to be persuasive, particularly if presented in a paragraph, or three word blips, since there is no way of knowing which ones I won't hear or write down, and no one can write down all of the arguments when each only merits a tiny handful of words. I also don't like theory arguments that are crafted for one particular debate, or theory arguments that lack even a tangential link to debate or the current topic. If it is not an argument that can be used in multiple debates (like topicality, conditionality, etc) then it probably ought not be run in front of me. New 1AR theory is risky, because the NR typically has more than enough time to answer it. I dislike disclosure theory arguments because I can't know what was done or said before a round, and because I don't think I ought to be voting on things that happened before the AC begins. All of that being said, I will vote on theory, even new 1AR theory, or disclosure theory, if a debater WINS that argument, but it does not make me smile.
PF Paradigm
The Resolution -- PFers should debate the resolution. It would be best if the Final Focus on each side attempted to guide me to either endorse or reject the resolution.
Framework -- Frameworks are OK in PF, although not required, but given the time limits, please keep your framework simple and focused, should you use one.
Policy or LD Behaviors/Arguments in PF -- I personally believe each form of debate ought to be its own thing. I DO NOT want you to talk quickly in PF, just because I also judge LD and Policy, and I really don't want to see theory arguments, plans, counterplans or kritiks in PF. I will definitely flow, and will judge the debate based on the flow, but I want PF to be PF. That being said, I will not automatically vote against a team that brings Policy/LD arguments/stylistic approaches into PF. It is still a debate and the opposition needs to answer the arguments that are presented in order to win my ballot, even if they are arguments I don't want to see in PF.
Paraphrasing -- I have a HUGE problem with inaccurate paraphrasing. I expect debaters to be able to IMMEDIATELY access the text of the cards they have paraphrased -- there should be NO NEED for an off time search for the article, or for the exact place in the article where an argument was made. Making a claim based on a 150 page article is NOT paraphrasing -- that is summarizing (and is not allowed). If you can't instantly point to the place your evidence came from, I am virtually certain NOT to consider that evidence in my decision.
Evidence -- If you are using evidence, I expect your evidence to be highlighted consistent with the intent of your authors, and I expect your tags to make claims that you will prove with the parts you read from your evidence. Pretending your cards include warrants (when they do not) is unacceptable. If your tag says "causes extinction," the text of of the part you card you read MUST say extinction will happen. Misrepresenting your evidence is a huge issue for me. More often then not, when I read cards in a round, it is because I fear misrepresentation.
Theory -- This has begun to be a thing in PF in some places, especially with respect to disclosure theory, and I am not a fan. As previously noted, I want PF to be PF. While I do think that PFers can be too secretive (Policy and LD both started that way), I don't think PFers ought to be expending their very limited time in rounds talking about whether they ought to have disclosed their case to their opponents before the round. Like everything else I would prefer were not true, I can see myself voting on theory in PF because I do vote based on the flow, but I'd prefer you debate the case in front of you, instead of inventing new arguments you don't really have time to discuss.
I am a parent/lay judge. I appreciate clarity over speed, as well as respectful disagreement. I expect you to synthesize and apply your research, not simply provide citations.
I am a flow parent/lay judge who prefers clarity over speed.
Please avoid spreading so that I do not miss an argument or response.
I appreciate respectful disagreement and appreciate when you are being directly comparative with your opponent's arguments to demonstrate how you are winning the round.
Keep the impacts realistic. It will be easier to vote for you if the case seems both practical and plausible.
I expect the debaters to present evidence in their arguments and will only look at it if there is a conflict.
I am not particularly supportive of theory arguments and would prefer you stick to the topic at hand.
Although an experienced PF judge, I am also an LD judge.
Hi! My name is Charles Karcher. He/him pronouns. My email is ckarcher at chapin dot edu.
I am affiliated with The Chapin School, where I am a history teacher and coach Public Forum.
This is my 10th year involved in debate overall and my 6th year coaching.
Previous affiliations: Fulbright Taiwan, Lake Highland, West Des Moines Valley, Interlake, Durham Academy, Charlotte Latin, Altamont, and Oak Hall.
Conflicts: Chapin, Lake Highland
-----------TOC 24 UPDATES-----------
Not well-read on the topic.
In PF, you should either paraphrase all your cards OR present a policy-esque case with taglines that precede cut cards. I do not want cards that are tagged with "and, [author name]" or, worse, not tagged at all. This formatting is not conducive to good debating and I will not tolerate it. Your speaks will suffer.
All speech materials should be sent as a downloadable file (Word or PDF), not as a Google Doc, Sharepoint, or email text. I will not look at they are in the latter formats.
----------------------------------------
Mid-season updates to be integrated into my paradigm proper soon: 1. (PF) I'm not a fan of teams actively sharing if they are kicking an argument before they kick it. For example, if your opponent asks you about contention n in questioning and you respond "we're kicking that argument." Not a fan of it. 2. (LD) I have found that I am increasingly sympathetic to judge kicking counterplans (even though I was previously dogmatically anti-judge kick), but it should still be argued and justified in the round by the negative team; I do not judge kick by default. 3. Do not steal prep or be rude to your opponents - I have a high bar for these two things and hope that the community collectively raises its bars this season. Your speaks will suffer if you do these things.
-----------
Debate is what you make it, whether that is a game or an educational activity. Ultimately, it is a space for students to grow intellectually and politically. Critical debate is what I spend the most time thinking about. I’m familiar with most authors, but assume that I know nothing. I want to hear about the alt. I have a particular interest in the Frankfurt School and 20th century French authors + the modern theoretical work that has derived from both of these traditions. I have prepped and coached pretty much the full spectrum of K debate authors/literature bases. Policy-style debate is fun. I like good analytics more than bad cards, especially when those cards are from authors that are clearly personally/institutionally biased. Inserted graphs/charts need to be explained and have their own claim, warrant, and impact. Taglines should be detailed and accurately descriptive of the arguments in the card. 2 or 3 conditional positions are acceptable. I am not thrilled with the idea of judge kicking. Theory and tricks debate is the farthest from my interests. Being from Florida, I've been exposed to a good amount of it, but it never stuck with or interested me. Debaters who tend to read these types of arguments should not pref me.
Other important things:
1] If you find yourself debating with me as the judge on a panel with a parent/lay/traditional judge (or judges), please just engage in a traditional round and don't try to get my tech ballot. It is incredibly rude to disregard a parent's ballot and spread in front of them if they are apprehensive about it.
2] Speaks are capped at 27 if you include something in the doc that you assume will be inputted into the round without you reading/describing it. You cannot "insert" something into the debate scot-free. Examples include charts, graphs, images, screenshots, spec details, and solvency mechanisms/details. This is a terrible norm which literally asks me to evaluate a piece of evidence that you didn't read. It's also a question of accessibility.
3] When it comes to speech docs, I conceptualize the debate space as an academic conference at which you are sharing ideas with colleagues (me) and panelists (your opponents). Just as you would not present an unfinished PowerPoint at a conference, please do not present to me a poorly formatted speech doc. I don't care what your preferences of font, spacing, etc. are, but they should be consistent, navigable, and readable. I do ask that you use the Verbatim UniHighlight feature to standardize your doc to yellow highlighting before sending it to me.
-----------
Misc. notes:
- My defaults: ROJ > ROB; ROJ ≠ ROB; ROTB > theory; presume neg; comparative worlds; reps/pre-fiat impacts > everything else; yes RVI; DTD; yes condo; I will categorically never evaluate the round earlier than the end of the 2AR (with the exception of round-stopping issues like evidence evidence allegations or inclusivity concerns).
- I do not, and will not, disclose speaker points.
- Put your analytics in the speech doc!
- Trigger warnings are important
- CX ends when the timer beeps! Time yourself.
- Tell me about inclusivity/accessibility concerns, I will do whatever is in my power to accommodate!
Seven lakes High School '21 | University of Texas at Dallas '24
contact: vedaprasana@gmail.com
she/her
Debate experience:
I mainly participated in PF debate throughout high school at both local and national tournaments
PF:
- I am a standard flow judge who evaluates tech over truth.
- Okay with any arguments along as they are not offensive, racist, homophobic, etc.
- I am fine with speed as long as everyone in the round can clearly hear the arguments. I do not like spreading.
- Evidence: Paraphrasing is fine as long as you don't blatantly misconstrue the evidence. When providing paraphrased evidence please give the specific line that you reference. Evidence ethics are important, call your opponents out for any misconstrued evidence, false claims or any lies.
- Speaker points: Speaker points are awarded based on strategy and obviously how well you speak. As mentioned above, I will dock both speaker points and drop you if you have bad evidence ethics. Moreover, i'll give bonus speaker points if the round is entertaining and respectful. Being rude and loud will only decrease your speaker points so don't do that
- Give a roadmap of the speech beforehand and signpost throughout the speech.
- To extend an argument you must extend the contention name, the name of the cards and more importantly what the card says. You can't just tell me to extend 'x card' without telling me why the card is important to both your argument and the round. Speaking of extensions, the round should flow from your constructive to the final focus. The second rebuttal should respond to all offensive arguments or I consider them as drops. First summary must extend arguments and defense if it's responded to in second rebuttal. I will more than likely be voting on both the cleanest argument.
- Weighing is great, the more you weigh throughout the round the easier it is for me to vote. Please start weighing during rebuttals. New weighing after second summary is too late and I will not evaluate that.
- Any arguments or concessions during Cross must be brought up in speeches.
- If you read a framework, read warrants. The Framework debate must include weighing.
- Final focus should have the same arguments as summary
Email me if you have any questions!
Background – Debater for over 6 years and an experienced judge in multiple formats.
General Notes for speakers:
· I)I appreciate organized speeches which are clear to follow. The manner, style, vocabulary and pace of the speech doesn’t matter insofar as the speech is able to communicate the depth and meaning of the argument and case.
· II)Healthy environment must be maintained during speeches i.e. AVOID: - a) condescending behavior to opponents, b) passing rude and stereotypical statements about particular community which might be offensive to majority of rational individuals, c)Racist, sexist and homophobic prejudicial behavior, d)Generally abusive and unfair tone.
· III)Use material which would be understandable by an average reasonable voter.
· IV)Customization, innovation and uniformity in arguments is always cherished
· V)Feel free to reach out to me via mail for any queries or assistance.
Arguments and Cases:
· I) I do not have any preference in terms of which Type of arguments matter more, however I sit with an open mind for the speakers to convince or sell argument want me to buy through their Persuasiveness. (you should be able to sell a comb to a bald person)
· II) Analysis to the arguments- simply stating a fact isn’t enough until and unless you prove :-a)why a particular fact matters more than others, b) how it is relevant, c)Implication of the argument, d) evidence to support the facts, e) Analysis to core issues and trends to support the consistency and applicability of an argument.
· III) Give taglines to flag out your arguments – i.e. while giving a speech which includes *why pollution is bad* - the taglines can be a) Pollution is bad because it has health hazards to humans , b) Pollution is bad because it impacts climate change and c) Pollution impacts economy. These headlines can further be analyzed.
· IV) Counter proposals/ plans – if you wish to introduce counter proposals, try to analyze and extend the comparative of the benefits of your opponent’s plan and your counter plan. For eg. You can compare it by means of feasibility, efficiency, cost benefit analysis, time saving etc.
· V) Comparative – be comparative and weigh as to why your impacts have stronger stance than your opponents. Make the specific links of “where your side is comparatively better and how?”
· VI) Uniformity – it is important to establish a clear stance of the team and becomes easier to follow. Any inconsistency in form of contradiction, doubts or hesitation shows non uniformity of the bench which reduces the integrity of the case. Insofar as the contradiction isn’t huge enough which might change the entire meaning and impacts of your case, it doesn’t impact you much with respect to speaker score, otherwise you might attract certain penalties based on the degree of contradiction.
VII) Engagement - Rebuttals and clashing is very valuable to judge the closest teams in a round. Simply reading prewritten cards aren’t enough to win a debate, you need to modify and adapt in order to outweigh your opponents. Prove why you are right and disprove your opponents. Weight your benefits with theirs, compare your harms with theirs and tell why your world is still better than your opponents.
Speaker scores
The ballots reflected will be based on following criteria
· 1) Overall performance in terms of arguments, analysis and engagement.
· 2) Quality of speeches irrespective of whether you win or lose.
· 3) Any form of racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia seen in your speeches will tank your scores.
Former debater from Ohio. Prefer traditional but okay with any/most anything. be nice
I debated LD and PF in hs, APDA in uni. Currently studying applied math, biology, and computational medicine at Johns Hopkins
Pronouns: He/Him
Email Chain/Contact: ikhyunkim2138@gmail.com | Facebook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick Prefs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: For PF teams, I am comfortable with Ks, Theory, etc. just execute it well...please
1-2: K/LARP
3-4: Phil/T/Theory
5-6: Tricks (please just strike me)
It seems like there is a tendency to pref based on speaks given so here are some quick stats on that
LD
Avg Aff Speaks: 28.9
Avg Neg Speaks: 28.8
Avg Overall Speaks: 28.8
Side Skew: 50.575% Aff, 49.425% Neg
PF
1st Speaker Avg Speaks: 28.8
2nd Speaker Avg Speaks: 28.7
Side Skew: 42.500% Aff, 57.500% Neg (idek what's going on here tbh)
CX
Avg Speaks: 29.1
Last Updated: 10.22.2022
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Defaults
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• I default to semantics > pragmatics
• I default to epistemic modesty but I don't mind using epistemic confidence; just warrant why I should.
• I default to competing interps. Feel free to run RVIs when deemed appropriate but warrant why I should err towards accepting the RVI.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Non-T
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• No matter what you do, please have a non-arbitrary role of the ballot else I will likely struggle in terms of framing the debate on both sides. Make sure you explain how your case functions in the round and explain why it's important through the ROB/J/S. That said, explain why we should reject/interpret the resolution differently.
• Aff, please respond to TVA as too many rounds with these types of affs have been lost because of a dropped interp or dropped TVA. Conversely, neg, please run TVA on these types of cases and it will make your work a lot easier if you win it. However, TVA is not enough for you to win the round.
• Cross is binding for me as I do believe that you can garner links/DAs off of the performance of either you and or your opponent even if your evidence says something else. That said, I'd like to emphasize that for these debates that the form of the evidence presented becomes far less restricted and there isn't some inherent hierarchy between them so don't disregard them.
• The permutation tends to be more awkward to both understand and evaluate in these debates so I'd suggest that you overexplain the perm to make it clear. This includes how you sequence the perm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
K
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Ks that only link to the aff’s FW and not to their advocacy feel awkward to me, so take that with a grain of salt.
• I default to perms being a test of competition rather than advocacy. You can try to change this, but you'll have to overexplain to me what it means for a perm to function as advocacy and clearly characterize the advocacy of the perm.
• PF teams, I love hearing Ks but only if they are well done. This means you should know what you are talking about and have a deep understanding of the literature you are reading. That said, please don't be a prick by reading a K in front of a team that clearly has no experience with progressive debate (just use your common sense, it's not that hard to figure this out).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T/Theory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• I don’t have defaults w.r.t. to voter questions such as DTD vs DTA, fairness/education being a voter, etc. It is YOUR job to tell me why your shell is a voting issue.
• I don’t particularly have an issue with RVIs. Feel free to go for an RVI, but I will need convincing on why you get them in the first place, characterize/construct it for me, etc.
• Please don't run frivolous theory in front of me. If the round becomes messy because of it, then your speaks will suffer.
• PF teams, while I am a supporter of theory in PF, please please please don't read shells unless there is/are an actual abuse story behind them. If not, your speaks will suffer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LARP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• I generally am not a fan of conditional counterplans especially since I feel like the neg time skew arguments can be really strong. That said, I am fine with listening to them and will vote on them just please don't be dodgy by not clearly answering whether the counterplan is conditional or not.
• If the neg is running a conditional counterplan, I won't kick it unless it's clear that the counterplan is kicked. This means that just because squo is better than aff doesn't mean I default to voting neg if it wasn't made clear that the conditional counterplan is kicked.
• My position on perms is the same in LARP strategies as it is for Ks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• If you are comfortable doing so, feel free to message me on FaceBook or email me if you want to ask if I know your philosopher well. Otherwise, don't assume that I am well-read up on the specific philosophy that you're reading and do the work of walking me through with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tricks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
... <- this summarizes my thoughts and feelings about tricks, take that as you will
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Points of Interest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Aff/Pro should have a speech doc ready to be emailed by round start time. Flight 2 should enter the room at Flight 2 start time.
• If both sides are fine with it, I’m fine with granting flex prep. Don’t be rude about it, or else your speaks may suffer. Don’t take too long flashing prep unless you want your prep docked along with your speaks
• Engaging with the tagline alone ≠ engaging with the argument or the card. This is a huge pet peeve of mine so please don't just engage with the tagline but engage with the internal warranting of the cards being presented. Cards don't exist simply to back up the claims made by taglines but they have within them their own layers of argumentation which is centralized by a thesis that links to the tagline. TL;DR respect what the authors are actually saying especially given that probably over 80% of your speech is their words verbatim.
• If your speech includes abbreviations or acronyms, please explain them first. Never assume that I know what they mean.
• While I recognize there's no obligation to share your analytics, I will award +.3 speaker points for those speeches including all/nearly all analytics in the speech doc AND that are organized in a coherent manner.
• I tend to make facial expressions that reflect how well I am processing an argument when it's being read i.e. if I am confused then I'll look confused and if I think the argument is good then my face will show this.I apologize in advance if my expressions confuse you; strike me if this is an issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concluding Remarks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have any questions for me before the round starts about my paradigm, please ask after all the debaters are in the room so I don't have to repeat myself. Quick shoutouts/other paradigms that may be worth your time looking at of those who have influenced me as a debater, judge, and a person include Anne-Marie Hwang, Adam Tomasi, Sim Guerrero-Low, Michael Koo, Martin Sigalow, and Annie Wang I am more than happy to explain my decision whether it be in person after the round or through email/social media. Thanks for reading, good luck and have fun!
Speak slowly and clearly so I can understand your arguments; if I don't understand them, I cannot vote for you. Use only realistic arguments.
It's helpful when you frontline and give implications in your speeches. Make sure to weigh in summary and final focus with consistency.
Do not run theory or any type of progressive arguments.
Be respectful to your opponents.
Looking forward to listening to your round!
debated 4 years at Moore High School (oklahoma). was in state out rounds a few times, doing progressive (fast, Ks cool) CX.
CX:
tech>truth, with some obvious exceptions -- if i can't explain your argument to the other team in the rfd, i'm probably not going to vote on it even if it goes dropped. likewise, i'd never vote on a downright offensive arg even if it's dropped
i like to think of myself as tab rasa. read whatever you want. if the last rebuttal gives me a decent reason to vote on it, i'll vote on it. Ks are fine. K affs are also fine. T/FW is just as fine.
i've got a technical understanding of K debate, but don't expect me to know a lot about your lit. idrk how performance debates work (no experience with them), but i'm willing to vote for them. K aff vs K neg is a similar situation - not what i understand best, but a winnable debate if it’s explained well
condo's generally fine. i'll vote for any theory that you win. if you want to win theory, it needs to be all 5 minutes of the 2AR (most likely, it needs to be all 5 minutes of the 1AR as well, in order to make it convincing that you really got cheated so hard the other team needs to lose). if you think at any point in the debate that you may go for the theory you read in the 2AC, slow down on it. i will not vote for standards that i didn't hear in the 2AC, even if the rebuttals are so eloquent and convincing that the magnitude of the other team's cheating makes me sob out of sympathy for you.
"they drop it" IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPLAINING YOUR ARGUMENT.
weird but sometimes important - i almost never catch author names on cards, so if you frequently refer to your ev by its author, i might get kinda lost. i can figure out what ev you’re talking about in the rebuttals if you preface the author name w the warrants tho
i default to offense-defense. it is exceedingly difficult to win zero-risk to me (unless it’s a politics DA with an especially shady link chain)
PF:
i have some experience with pf on one of the most lay circuits in the country. i will judge based off the flow, and my rfd will probably sound like a policy rfd. see my cx paradigm for more specific notes. i'm a bit more lenient on things like tech vs. truth and how much work you'll have to do to extend a dropped argument due to shorter time limits.
generally speaking, i don't think that pf should include spreading - if both teams want to spread, that's fine though
the neg doesn't get an advocacy. not sure if that's a thing in pf anywhere, but it wasn't in oklahoma and it's not in front of me. if the res is one of those stupid "on balance" ones or policy A vs. policy B, i guess the neg gets whichever advocacy the aff doesn't get.
LD:
i have no experience with high school LD other than judging a few novice rounds. spread if you want, explain any arguments that only LDers make like i have no idea what you're talking about, and you'll be alright.
my first impression is that the neg gets at least 1 advocacy in LD. i'm open to having my mind changed in any round with a decent theory debate. have fun.
Crawford Leavoy, Director of Speech & Debate at Durham Academy - Durham, NC
Email Chain: cleavoy@me.com
BACKGROUND
I am a former LD debater from Vestavia Hills HS. I coached LD all through college and have been coaching since graduation. I have coached programs at New Orleans Jesuit (LA) and Christ Episcopal School (LA). I am currently teaching and coaching at Durham Academy in Durham, NC. I have been judging since I graduated high school (2003).
CLIFF NOTES
- Speed is relatively fine. I'll say clear, and look at you like I'm very lost. Send me a doc, and I'll feel better about all of this.
- Run whatever you want, but the burden is on you to explain how the argument works in the round. You still have to weigh and have a ballot story. Arguments for the sake of arguments without implications don't exist.
- Theory - proceed with caution; I have a high threshold, and gut-check a lot
- Spikes that try to become 2N or 2A extensions for triggering the ballot is a poor strategy in front of me
- I don't care where you sit, or if you sit or stand; I do care that you are respectful to me and your opponent.
- If you cannot explain it in a 45 minute round, how am I supposed to understand it enough to vote on it.
- My tolerance for just reading prep in a round that you didn't write, and you don't know how it works is really low. I get cranky easily and if it isn't shown with my ballot, it will be shown with my speaker points.
SOME THOUGHTS ON PF
- The world of warranting in PF is pretty horrific. You must read warrants. There should be tags. I should be able to flow them. They must be part of extensions. If there are no warrants, they aren't tagged or they aren't extended - then that isn't an argument anymore. It's a floating claim.
- You can paraphrase. You can read cards. If there is a concern about paraphrasing, then there is an entire evidence procedure that you can use to resolve it. But arguments that "paraphrasing is bad" seems a bit of a perf con when most of what you are reading in cut cards is...paraphrasing.
- Notes on disclosure: Sure. Disclosure can be good. It can also be bad. However, telling someone else that they should disclose means that your disclosure practices should bevery good. There is definitely a world where I am open to counter arguments about the cases you've deleted from the wiki, your terrible round reports, and your disclosure of first and last only.
- Everyone should be participating in round. Nothing makes me more concerned than the partner that just sits there and converts oxygen to carbon dioxide during prep and grand cross. You can avert that moment of mental crisis for me by being participatory.
- Tech or Truth? This is a false dichotomy. You can still be a technical debater, but lose because you are running arguments that are in no way true. You can still be reading true arguments that aren't executed well on the flow and still win. It's a question of implication and narrative. Is an argument not true? Tell me that. Want to overwhelm the flow? Signpost and actually do the work to link responses to arguments.
- Speaks? I'm a fundamental believer that this activity is about education, translatable skills, and public speaking. I'm fine with you doing what you do best and being you. However, I don't do well at tolerating attitude, disrespect, grandiosity, "swag," intimidation, general ridiculousness, games, etc. A thing I would tell my own debaters before walking into the room if I were judging them is: "Go. Do your job. Be nice about it. Win convincingly. " That's all you have to do.
OTHER THINGS
- I'll give comments after every round, and if the tournament allows it, I'll disclose the decision. I don't disclose points.
- My expectation is that you keep your items out prior to the critique, and you take notes. Debaters who pack up, and refuse to use critiques as a learning experience of something they can grow from risk their speaker points. I'm happy to change points after a round based on a students willingness to listen, or unwillingness to take constructive feedback.
- Sure. Let's post round. Couple of things to remember 1) the decision is made, and 2) it won't/can't/shan't change. This activity is dead the moment we allow the 3AR/3NR or the Final Final Focus to occur. Let's talk. Let's understand. Let's educate. But let's not try to have a throwdown after round where we think a result is going to change.
Not asking for much, but consider the following:
Extend your arguments (offense and defense) - if you don't do this, I will be very frustrated
Signpost or I will get lost
Solid impacts and weigh please
I won't flow down crossfire - that being said, if you bring up stuff from crossfire into your case, I'll flow it
Do not SPREAD
I will stop flowing after you go overtime
Feel free to ask any other questions before round starts
Have fun y'all
TL;DR: Don't be a dick, do whatever you want. I’ll evaluate the flow and I can hang.
Be respectful and don’t be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Off time orders are preferred, don’t thank me before you speak or shake my hand. I will evaluate the flow with very few caveats. Pronouns: he/him/his.
I did policy in high school and NPDA at the University of Oregon. My partner, Gabe, and I won the NPTE in 2022.
Preferences that matter for my decision
- Debate is a game
- Hard debate is good debate
- Lying won't get you very far, interpreting the truth will
- You will be auto dropped if you defend a bona fide Nazi
- Terminal no solvency is a voting issue, but takeouts are rarely terminal
- Nonfalsifiable arguments are probably in bad faith
- I default to magnitude first sans weighing
- Spirit of the interp is not real, write a better interp
- I default to competing interps but do not default to theory is a priori
- Topicality violations are not derived from solvency
- Collapsing is always better than not collapsing
- For the love of god extend the aff
- For the love of god answer the aff
Preferences that matter but less for my decision
- Theory is a cop out - if you're winning theory and substance go for substance
- Condo is good, PICs are justifiable if there are multiple topical affs, CP theory is far from a losing strat
- Perms are defense, collapsing to defense is suboptimal
- Going for RVIs is usually cowardice, cowardice is suboptimal
- Links of omission are weak
- Psychoanalysis is grounded in at best tautologies and at worst transphobia, you can win it but please be cautious
- Decolonization is not a metaphor
- Kritiks are a byproduct of good, nuanced, and educated debate; the existence of ks is good for the activity
- I have yet to hear a compelling flow-based 'spreading bad' argument
- Anthropogenic climate change is real as are extinction risks
- Science is a very useful ideology
- Lit based alts are better than alts you made up
HS Parli specific:
Spread if you can, don't if you can't. I will protect, but call POOs when you think necessary.
Parli is not a "common knowledge" format simply because of limited prep. I will not vote on something "germane" to the topic over something "not germane" to the topic absent an argument on the flow. I evaluate what is germane to the debate; if an impact stems from the action of an advocacy or the resolution, it is probably germane.
CARD specific:
CARD is a format built around accessibility and subject matter education. I will base my RFD on who wins the flow and all preferences above apply, but it is my job to ensure that cordiality, access, and educational value are maintained. In practice, this means I will be extra cognizant of proven abuse/reasonability, power tagging, overt rudeness in cross-x, and smart use of the evidence packet. It’s still debate – don’t pull punches, but at least make sure everyone in the room is having a good time.
Any questions about either my paradigm or my decision email me at skydivingsimians@gmail.com
Parent judge. Very limited experience. Please speak at a reasonable speed (do not spread).
Hi! I am a current third-year student at Princeton University and debated in World Schools for Team China, British Parliamentary, and PF tournaments. In recent years, however, I have competed mainly in WSDC and BP, so I may not be the most familiar with updates to PF rules.
In terms of style, I’m able to flow relatively fast speakers, but please don't spread.
I appreciate evidence to substantiate claims, but evidence/cards themselves do not stand without analysis and reasoning to prove the validity of a phenomenon/trend in the majority of circumstances. Laying out the incentives/warrants to prove your claim can set your argument above your opponent’s. While this may be necessary at times, please avoid fixating on the credibility of various sources of evidence; such disputes should not be the crux of the round.
In general, I appreciate teams with strong strategic focus, who show me why their arguments are, not only true, but also more important. Such teams usually do multi-layered refutations, where they take the other team at their best and still prove why the case stands. They should also have a clear path to victory in their later speeches. In general, teams with strong awareness regarding the dynamics of the round do well.
Regarding equity, please do not resort to ad hominem attacks during crossfire sessions. Avoid interrupting a speaker and keep your questions/comments concise. Please be sensitive to all speakers and stakeholders mentioned in the round as well.
Based on past experience, I am a very generous judge in terms of awarding speaker points, so do not worry about your performance and enjoy the round. I look forward to watching you debate and am wishing you all the best! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me anything before the round or contact me at jl2127@princeton.edu.
Email Chain: Geodb8 AT gmail dot com
[…]
Debated in the New York Urban Debate League (Bronx Law) 2008-2014 and the University of Iowa 2014-2019.
Summer Lab leader: 1x ECLI, 1x DDI, 2x NYUDL, 3x Cal Berk, 1x GDI.
Argument assistant: West H.S., McQueen H.S., Lane Tech H.S., and most recently, CSU Long Beach.
General thoughts:
I vote for the team that did the better debating. I default to first weighing the impact calc debate and focus almost exclusively on the flow to determine what arguments to evaluate. I do not like judge intervention and prefer you all successfully determine the best metric to evaluating the debate.
Speaker points:
While speed is completely fine, please do not sacrifice clarity to “get through a card,” it translate to poor spreading and muddles the rest of the speech. Remember to follow your roadmap, allocate time, sign post, and commit to line-by-line refutation. Refrain from disorganization, shadow extensions, and poor rhetorical skills. While all Cross examinations are open, consider they are as important to your speaks as constructives and rebuttals.
Affirmatives:
Whether or not you read a plan is less important than winning offense against a competing strategy, procedural violation, or DA. In short, win that the aff is a good idea/performance/policy implementation.
a) K/Performance AFF’s
I think 1ACs should be tangibly related to the resolution. 1ACs are research projects and yearly resolutions are the result of a research paper written and voted for by the community. Effectively your AFF is a response to community consensus and their underlying assumptions.
K’s
Critiques are arguments based on philosophical inquiries. If you do not know or understand the philosophy you are advancing it will likely show throughout the debate and can negatively effect speaker points. More importantly, I will not fill in gaps for inaccurate or poor-quality arguments. Remember I focus on what’s happening/the flow.
That aside, I am very familiar with philosophies across numerous cannons.
CP’s
Neg has the burden to prove mutual exclusivity, a CP without a net benefit is just another plan and plan plan debate isnt a thing, the permutation will probably win every time.
a) Method debates
While I am sympathetic to “no-perms,” the negative must prove a link greater than omission. The best Counter methods are stylistically, theoretically or methodologically different than the 1AC then generate offense based on those differences.
Procedurals
a) T/FW
Topicality is a debate about words, the (mis)use of them and their importance. T’s appendage, Framework is a heuristic for debate, a vision for how competitors should engage the activity. While the words topicality and framework are used interchangeably a good debater will identity what they are being called to answer/defend so to make more convincing arguments.
i) Framework specific
Limits is an internal link to a terminal impact; K aff counter interpretations should be bound by the resolution; ontology/epistemology arguments are responsive to FW; I usually vote for FW on TVAs, ground, and procedural fairness.
b) Theory
Easiest debates to decide. Difficult debates to execute. Do not go for theory if you aren’t informed of the meticulous refutation you must accomplish to get the ballot. Believe it or not, there was once a time people went for theory their entire final rebuttal. Conversely, ask whether those few seconds amounts to a W or just defense to prevent the other team from winning on theory.
c) Ethics violations:
These are acts or words done by a competitor that deserves ending the debate. Preferably the tournament organizers resolve the alleged issue. This includes card clipping.
Card clipping claims STOP the debate. Note: I am always either following a speaker on my own pc or listening for the last word they say in each card.However, a card clipping violation requires the claimant provides evidence otherwise I will be stuck piecing together what I believe happened as opposed to whatI know happened.
A more subtle way of committing an ethical violation is stealing prep.
I use to steal prep. Only in the sense that I put my plastic podium, laptop, flow, and sent out the email chain after prepping. But the intentional stealing of prep, actively writing materials, organizing speech docs or speaking to your partner is not fair and excessive prep stealing will result in considerable speaker point deductions.
DAs
Quick observation —the community has elected to have these debates in various parts of the flow as opposed to just a DA page. Linear DAs are on an all time high and overlooking these random DAs may cause a card to turn into a viable strat.
DA proper —I subconsciously rely on an offense/defense paradigm on every flow and can follow internal link chains so I am game for traditional DA debates.
En fin
I start deciding who won by organizing my flow in order of importance, I read evidence if contested or heavily relied on, I weigh your arguments against each other and confirm lines can be drawn between speeches so to discern new arguments.
Lastly, I’m usually flowing cross examination. Explain your arguments well, ask good questions and above all, be respectful.
—————————
Notes:
- James Roland an outstanding educator in the activity gave a lecture at the first camp I attended on being a successful Policy Debater: https://puttingthekindebate.wordpress.com/tag/james-rowland/
- Top 5 debate movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacYl00YzZ0
Hi, I am a parent judge, so please speak slowly and clearly! I have judged many pf rounds before, but I am still definitely not a flow judge. In round, make sure that you're using logic to explain your arguments thoroughly as well. If you see me writing, don't take it seriously, I am just taking notes. Don't be rude and have fun!
---
Hi this is his daughter that does PF and from what he's told me abt judging here are some tips if he's judging you:
-he doesnt flow everything u say :((( so make sure you're emphasizing the most important things he should be flowing
-he won't feel comfortable voting off your argument if he doesn't understand the logic (if he doesn't understand either side he randomly chooses lol so TALK SLOW and MAKE SENSE)
-he likes it when you have arguments that directly clash (pro and con both run the same arg i.e. innovation) but he also likes clean extensions of args that go conceded
-he adores clean signposting
-also he works in like biology/physics/medical related stuff and knows a lot abt pharma so be accurate lol or he'll know
I have 7 years of BP and world schools experience, and 2 years of APDA experience.
Unfortunately I am not good with spreading - my ability to keep up begins to decline at 200 wpm and maxes out at 230 or so. Please speak slowly if you can.
I will not vote on jargon and theory. If you want me to call for evidence, please ask me to - I am unlikely to do so otherwise. I encourage explicit efforts to evaluate and weigh evidence. I tend to "sniff-test" poorly warranted claims if they are outside of what the average NYT reader would consider reasonable rather than accepting them as true for the round simply because they go unresponded to. As a general rule, I prefer quality over quantity.
I will dock speaks if debaters make offensive generalisations about any particular identity group, or if they are excessively aggressive in-round. I really enjoy creative similes and metaphors and will reward speakers who use them effectively in their analysis.
Please feel free to approach me for individual feedback! My email is xiaokel@princeton.edu
Name: Lillian Lung
School Affiliation: Stuyvesant High School
Please signpost.
I am a junior in college who debated PF for 4 years at Cranbrook Schools. I have not been very involved in PF since April 2019, so I likely do not have much knowledge on the current topic.
Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have before the round. I can give much more specific comments in-person.
Hello Debaters!
Good for you at checking paradigms.... I judge several different types of debate:
As a communicator, you should be able to adapt to your audience...ie Judge.
Have fun! Debate is a wonderful activity where you can be smart, have fun, and learn at the same time.
Some items I think you should be aware of that I think weakens your presentation:
Being rude, forgetting to tag your cards, not having cards formatted correctly, and not making some kind of eye contact with judge during cross.
DO NOT say please vote for Aff/NEG...your argumentation and evidence should demonstrate your side should win.
Things to help your presentation: Smile, being polite, and organizing your arguments with internal signposting...sharing cards and evidence before using them.
Public Forum- DO NOT PROVIDE AN OFF TIME ROADMAP- I do not need it.
Please have started the email chain and flipped as soon as you can.
include me in the email chain macleodm@friscoisd.org
Or use a speech drop
General Ideas
There is not enough time in PF for effective theory/K to run. I will not vote for you if tricks or theory are your only arguments. I expect the resolution to be debated and there needs to be clash.
I think you should be frontlining offense (turns and disads) in rebuttal. Straight up defense does not need to be frontlined, but I do think it's strategic. Summary to final focus extensions should be consistent for the most part. Overall, the rule of thumb is that the earlier you establish an argument and the more you repeat it, the more likely I will be to vote for it, i.e., it's strategic to weigh in rebuttal too, but it's not a dealbreaker for me if you don't.
To me warrants matter more than impacts. You need both, but please please extend and explain warrants in each speech. Even if it's dropped, I'll be pretty hesitant to vote on an argument if it's not explained in the second half of the round. Also, I have a relatively high standard for what a case extension should look like, so err on the side of caution and just hit me with a full re-explanation of the argument or I probably won't want to vote for you.
The most important thing in debate is comparing your arguments to theirs. This doesn't mean say weighing words like magnitude and poverty and then just extending your impacts, make it actually comparative please.
Technical Debate
I can flow most of the speed in PF, but you shouldn't be sacrificing explanation or clarity for speed.
I will try my best to be "tech over truth", but I am a just a mom of two five year olds and I do have my own thoughts in my head. To that end, my threshold for responses goes down the more extravagant an argument is.
If you want me to call for a piece of evidence, tell me to in final focus please.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me before the round.
Policy I am a stock issues judge when adjudicating Policy. I am fine with speed/spreading with signposting and roadmaps.
I can't stand the K. Please don't run one. Debate the resolution or run a T argument but very rarely will I vote off case arguments.
Parli/World Schools- Need to see fully developed warrants, impacts and confidence. I love stories and learning new TRUE stuff...
LD- I love debates about Criterion and no neg cases are great if ran with logic, links, and detailed examples. Tell stories. I will buy it if presented professionally and with logic. I need weighing of worlds and chrystalization.
Congress- Please make sure to reference previous representatives speeches and show me you have been flowing and are responding to what has been said in round.
Showing decorum and being polite- like thanking the previous representative always a good thing :)
PLEASE DO NOT ask if I am ready- I am always ready or I will say to please wait.
World Schools- I love the decorum/Parli element and terminology usage. Attacking the premise of arguments, call out logical fallacies, and weigh the worlds please....Make sure to give examples that are not just made up- I know Harvard studies everything, but please refrain from making stuff up.
I do appreciate puns/tasteful humor and use those POI requests and answers strategically.
I'm a parent judge who brings a multi-cultural and international sensibility to my role, a perspective also informed by more than 25 years of practice in the field of law. With clients that have included hi-tech companies, venture capital funds, and a governmental agency, I have always sought a fact-based and science-driven outlook that values substance over style and rationality over rhetoric. May the best debaters prevail!
I prefer that you do not speak quickly. You must be respectful to your opponents. If you are not respectful to your opponents, your speaker points will fall substantially and you may even lose the debate entirely.
hi (:
remi (she/ her) I'm a sophomore at gw studying IA and environmental studies. I did pf in hs but consider me flay
also tell me your pronouns and names before the round starts!
EXTEND your warrants and impacts (quantified preferably) plz -- if you want it voted on, it has to be said in summary AND final focus
basic jargon is fine (DL, turn, extend, time frame) but don't go crazy
I don't write down card names, stats or warrants yes but not names sources or years so if you mention a card name and don't explain it ill be confused
I don't evaluate cross fire, if something happens, tell me in a speech
time yourselves
read content warnings
if you wanna wear sweats or a hoodie that's fine, come in a hat for all I care!
I dont know how to evaluate theory and K's but if you wanna try you can lol
dont be rude and have fun!
Harvard Judging Update: I am very familiar with the PF feb topic
I have competed in PF and help write the Debatetrack brief and run Public Forum Debate Academy on YouTube.
Add me to the email chain if there is one (I'll provide my email at the beginning of a round). I like speech docs and can handle up to ~200 wpm.
I enjoy debates where people incorporate some logic into the round. You can have as many arguments at the beginning of the round, just make sure there is time to explain each one in-depth (examples and a detailed impact are helpful). At the end of the round I’m likely to consider voting in one to three places, so you should condense your arguments as the round progresses (especially in summary speech for those in Public Forum). Additionally, having a narrative/story alongside your contentions is helpful and can aid in getting high speaker points.
While I don't need off-time roadmaps/order of your speech, I am happy to accept them (so long as they are brief). Regardless of that, please tell me where you are starting, whether that is stated in the roadmap or at the beginning of your speech.
Do not be aggressive in cross or speeches, I value respect, and continually interrupting the other side in the crossfire almost always is not good for your ballot. Smugness, head shaking, and smirking/laughing at your opponents will lose you speaker points.
For evidence, I like to have dates and author's last name in accordance with NSDA guidelines. Ideally, you should qualify your sources/authors and let me know what type of study or article the evidence is. After the first mention of the evidence, you can refer to the evidence as the author's last name.
In close rounds, I want to be persuaded and I may just listen to both Final Focus/LD Neg Rebuttal & Aff Rebuttal speeches, checking off things that are extended on my flow.
If you put in believable and effective weighing mechanisms, then I will almost certainly vote for you if there is no other clear-cut comparative analysis. If there are multiple weighing analyses from both sides, I vote for the most compelling (best explained, most realistic) weighing. You can also refute the weighing and I am thus less likely to vote off that weighing unless it is defended.
In particular, I find the truest arguments to be the best place to vote. Thus, discussion of probability is usually more important than the scope or magnitude of an issue. This is not to say scope is unimportant, I am willing to default to the believability of an argument before I consider how many people are impacted.
If there's no weighing, I generally vote for the argument that has been defended the most. In Public Forum, I am looking for arguments to be extended in Summary and Final Focus if they want to be considered
As for time, I will let each team finish up a sentence/concept but f a new response is made overtime, I will not consider it.
In crossfire, I appreciate two things. First, logical questions are appreciated. Second, evidence indicts are also good, although they can be a tad tougher to execute.
At the end of the day, while I do flow, I am more lay than most teams recognize. Great rounds for me include the NSDA National and State finals because they incorporate logic and analytics with solid evidence. I respect a mature, calm, and logical team.
Theory - I don't think I am qualified to vote for a full theory shell but if the opponents have bad evidence ethics I am open to theory. Paraphrasing theory is ok as well, just don't make the shell too technical
Kritiks - really not familiar to these.
I am a former high school policy debater, and a practicing lawyer. I judge public forum debate periodically as a parent. I can handle some speed, but prefer to hear debaters respectfully clash with the opposing team's arguments and explain why their arguments are more persuasive.
I debated in Public Forum debate (2013-2017) at Western Highschool in Florida.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Florida and a Master's degree in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University. Attending Northeastern University Law School in the fall.
a couple of things:
-Y'all should be timing the debate. I am the judge, not a babysitter. I like when teams hold each other accountable.
- don't read a new contention in rebuttal. that's not going on my flow
- The first summary should extend defense if the second rebuttal frontlines the argument. I think it is strategic for the second rebuttal to respond to turns and overviews.
- My attention to crossfire will probably depend on the time of day and my current mood. Please use it strategically if not I'll probably switch to watching youtube videos. - do not just read evidence explain the evidence in your own words. Tell me why the evidence matters to me at the end of the day.
- the summary is cool and all but don't go for everything on the flow, condense the round and give me a narrative. Quality of voters> Quantity of voters.
- Weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh.
-any other questions ask me before the round
SPEAKER POINT BREAKDOWNS
"30: Excellent job, you demonstrate stand-out organizational skills and speaking abilities. Ability to use creative analytical skills and humor to simplify and clarify the round.
29: Very strong ability. Good eloquence, analysis, and organization. A couple minor stumbles or drops.
28: Above average. Good speaking ability. May have made a larger drop or flaw in argumentation but speaking skills compensate. Or, very strong analysis but weaker speaking skills.
27: About average. Ability to function well in the round, however analysis may be lacking. Some errors made.
26: Is struggling to function efficiently within the round. Either lacking speaking skills or analytical skills. May have made a more important error.
25: Having difficulties following the round. May have a hard time filling the time for speeches. Large error.
Below: Extreme difficulty functioning. Very large difficulty filling time or offensive or rude behavior."
***Speaker Points break down borrowed from Mollie Clark.***
if you want to learn more about debate and get better under my guidance.
Click on the link below and sign up now!!!!
https://vancouverdebate.ca/intrinsic-debate-institute-summer-camp-2022/
Princeton is the first tournament I have judged since 2018. I will do my best to judge whatever kind of round you present me with, but you have a much better chance of securing my ballot if you can speak around a conversational pace. I had no experience with theory when I debated, and it will be pretty difficult to convince me to vote for reasons other than the pro or con of the resolution. I would say the vast majority of time the team that does a better weighing impacts is going to win my ballot.
If a team misrepresents evidence/takes evidence out of context thats a big no no. I rarely call for evidence, but if I do I need more than just a cut card. I will not be critiquing evidence myself if it is not done in round, but I need more than a few sentences of context.
I would HEAVILY prefer well warranted arguments over evidence and statistics with no logic to support them. I was a fairly lay debater and it is likely a lay style will be the most convincing for me. This tournament is not for the judges however, it's for the competitors. I competed frequently on the national circuit (TOCs, late nats break rounds, round robins) and if both teams want to compete in a super "circuity" style I am going to try my best to render the correct decision. Both teams simply run the risk of me not being able to keep up on the flow and leaving my verdict more up to chance than any of us would like.
If you have any questions ask me before the round and good luck.
I am an Engineer with several tournaments experience at Varsity PF judging. I like a narrative approach where you lay out the framework of your case even if it comes down to a technical RFD. I rely heavily upon evidence-based arguments and impacts. Don't argue that 100's of millions will die by nuclear war if it is a non-unique argument or you have not even presented a good probability we are headed in that direction.
If you have not won me over by the start of Final Focus, you better layout all the reasons why I should vote for AFF or NEG. Lead me to a decision.
The narrative isn't the only thing I consider, but try to be cohesive... i.e. connect the dots.
A few notes:
- You will never lose the round for being a JERK in cross, but I will give you low speaker points. Rudeness or excessive sarcasm is not rewarded here. Equity in all forms is expected.
- Weigh! Weigh! Weigh! I'm not going to catch everything so I need you to give some sort of weighing mechanisms and have valid probabilities for your impacts.
- I can take speed but do not spread. I will say "clear" or "Speed" twice and then I stop flowing altogether.
- If you go slightly over time that's OK, but keep it under 10-secs.
- 2nd rebuttal must front line.
- Speak up a little, I can't hear well (no, I am not kidding). I will miss most of what you say if you speak to me from behind your laptop. Beware of over-sized lecterns if you need a stand for your laptop.
- Time yourselves, please. Don't steal prep time just because we are ONLINE.
PS: Don't get too comfortable entering the room. After the coin toss, I prefer PRO on my left. Yes, I realize this does not apply in an ONLINE environment.
*I don't like non-topical/progressive argumentation at all, but I will do my best to evaluate it*
I did PF for four years at Newton South and am now a sophomore at Princeton.
Overall:
The most important thing is to be nice and respectful to each other!!
I will be flowing, but I appreciate judging flay debates over super tech debates.
Lay [---------*--] Flow
Tech [---*--------] Truth (if you make a claim I think is untrue but warrant it super well, I'll buy it)
General:
If you don't warrant a response in the speech where you first bring it up, I won't evaluate it even if you warrant it later in the round.
Make sure you implicate arguments the way you want to me understand them. If you don't make a connection for me, I won't make it for you.
Evidence:
Paraphrasing is fine, and I will only call for evidence if someone tells me to do so.
I also think that you can find evidence for a lot of things that aren't true, so when you read evidence you must warrant it.
Second Rebuttal:
Frontline all offense (link+impact turns, dis-ads, offensive overviews). You don't need to respond to defense, but it can be very strategic to do so in rebuttal.
Summary/Final Focus:
Collapse in summary and convince me why that argument is the most important one. Final focus should mirror summary, with the only exception being that first final focus can have defense from rebuttal that wasn't extended in first summary.
Speaks:
I'll boost your speaks if you make jokes, sing part of any of your speeches, or refer to a pro contention as "protention."
If you're rude in cross, personally attack your opponents, or say anything offensive, I'll give you low speaks.
es.motolinia@gmail.com and please add blakedocs@googlegroups.com to the chain as well (this is just how Blake keeps track of our chains because otherwise they get lost).
Just send speech docs from case through rebuttal. We don't need to wait for it to come through but it speeds up ev exchange. If you are in a varsity division and don't have a speech doc, pls do better.
TL;DR clean extensions, weighed impacts, and warrant comparison are the easiest way to win my ballot.
I debated for 2 years in the UDL at Clara Barton and 4 years in PF at Blake (both in MN). Please don't mistake me for a policy judge, I was only a novice and didn't do any progressive argumentation. I have been judging for 5 years.
My judging style is tech but persuasion is still important. I prefer a team that goes deeper on key issues (in the 2nd half of the debate) rather than going for all offense on the flow. There can/ should be a lot on the flow in the 1st half of the debate but not narrowing it down in summ and FF is extremely unstrategic and trades off with time to weigh your arguments and compare warrants.
Use evidence, quote evidence, and we won't have a problem. Don't paraphrase and don't bracket. Bad evidence ethics increases the probability that I will intervene against you, especially in messy debates. I'll start your prep if you take longer than 2 minutes to find and send a card.
Responding to defense on what you're going for and turns is required in the 2nd rebuttal. Obviously respond to all offense in second rebuttal, new responses to offense in second summary will not carry any weight on my ballot. I am very reluctant to accept a lot of new evidence in the 2nd summary because it pushes the debate back too much. (Note: I still accept a warrant clarification or deepening of a warrant/ analysis because that is separate from brand new evidence.)
Defense needs to be in first summary. With 3 minutes, summaries don't have an excuse anymore to be mediocre. Bottom Line: If it is not in summary then it cannot be in final focus. If it is not in final focus then I will not vote on it.
In order to win, you gotta weigh. The earlier you start the weighing, the better. I don't like new mechanisms in 2nd FF (1st FF is still a bit sketch. I am fine with timeframe, magnitude, probability new in the 1st FF but prerequ should probably come sooner). The 2nd speaking summary has a big advantage so I don't accept that there is no time to weigh. It is fine if the summary speaker introduces quick weighing and the final focus elaborates on it in final focus (especially for 1st speaking team). If both teams are weighing, tell me which is the preferable weighing mechanism. Same for framework. Competing frameworks with no warrant for why to prefer either one becomes useless and I will pick the framework that is either cleanly extended or that I like better.
I vote on warrants and CLEAN extensions. A proper extension in the 2nd half of the round is the card name, the claim+ warrant of the card and the implication of the card. Anything short of this is a blippy extension, meaning I give it less weight during my evaluation of the flow. Name of the card is the least important part of the extension for me so don't get too caught up on that, it will just help me find the card on the flow.
I vote on the path of least resistance, if possible. That means that I am more inclined to vote on a dropped turn than messy case offense. But turns need to be implicated, I won't vote on a turn with no impact. Even if your opponent drops something, you still have to do a full extension (it can be quicker still but I don't accept blippy extensions).
You can speak fast, but I would like a warning. Also, the faster you speak, the less I will get on the flow. Just because I am a tech judge, does not mean I am able to type at godly speeds. Don't sacrifice persuasion, clarity, or argumentation for speed otherwise it will be counterproductive for the debate and (possibly) your speaker points. Sending a speech doc (before or after the speech) does not mean that you can be incomprehensible. I still need to be able to understand you verbally, I will not follow the speech doc during your speech.
I am still learning when it comes to judging/ evaluating theory and Ks. I am more familiar with ROB but still need a slower debate with clear warranting. I am more familiar with Ks than theory but never debated either so the concepts are taking me longer to internalize. You can run it in front of me but combining it with speed makes me even more confused. I understand a lot of basic ideas when it comes to theory argumentation but your warranting and extensions will have to be even more explicit for me to keep up. I am in favor of paraphrasing bad and disclosure good theory. I don't have many opinions on RVIs or CI vs reasonability so you should clearly extend warrants for those args.
IVIs are silly and avoid clash. If there is abuse, read theory. If there is a rule violation, stop the round.
Similarly, any sort of strategy that avoids clash is a non starter for me and I will give it less weight on my flow. An example of this is reading one random card in your contention that doesn't connect to anything, then it becomes an argument of its own in the back-half with 3 pieces of weighing.
Also, be nice to each other (but a little sass never hurt anyone). Still, be cognizant of how much leeway you have with sass based on power dynamics and the trajectory of the round/ tone of the room. Sass does not mean bullying.
Take flex prep to ask questions or do it during cross. Essentially, a timer must be running if someone is talking (this excludes quick and efficient ev exchange). You don't get to ask free questions because the other team was too fast or unclear.
If I pipe up to correct behavior during a round, you have annoyed me and are jeopardizing your speaker points. I have a poker face when I observe rounds but am less concerned about that when judging so you can probably read me if I am judging your round.
Sometimes messy rounds will come down to nitpicky things so here are some clarifications:
Warranted Cards > warranted analytics > unwarranted cards > unwarranted analytics
Qualified source and author > qualified source only> qualified author only > no qualified author or source
Link +impact extension > Link with no impact > impact with no link
Comparative weighing > weighing that is only about your impact > weighing that is about opponents impact only
I only have this list because some rounds have come down to each team doing one of these things so this list explains where/ how I intervene when I need to resolve a clash of arguments that were not resolved in the debate.
If the tournament and schedule allows, I like to disclose and have a discussion about the round after I submit my ballot. Ask me any questions before or after the round.
TL;DR: Don't spread, for the love of all things debate signpost, weigh WELL, I won't flow after time for speech is up. I'm not well-versed in theory or K's; you're welcome to run it but I can't guarantee I'll understand it. Won't drop you for misconstrued ev but I won't consider it in my eval of the round.
Timing: I will time the round myself. I won't tell you when time is up as you should be able to time yourself and know that, but I will stop flowing as soon as the allotted time for the speech is up, regardless of whether you are still speaking.
Speed: Speak as fast as you would like as long as you aren't spreading. Take that to LD or some other form of debate where spreading is welcome. I'll accept a speech doc if you want to spread, but if you spread without one I'll dock your speaks significantly.
Theory/Kritiks: I am not well-versed in either. Disclosure theory is fine, the rest are up to you. I don't know theory jargon/terms so please make sure to explain them. I can't guarantee I will understand how to incorporate theory and/or K's into my evaluation of the round but run it at your own risk. I really dislike theory run against opponents who aren't familiar with it - imo that's mean and an abusive way to pick up wins, I'll likely drop you if you do this. I'm generally not a fan and think this stuff belongs in other forms of debate unless you are genuinely trying to change the debate space and not just trying to use it to win.
Signposting: Hopefully the following reminder should only apply to novices - PLEASE SIGNPOST! (AKA, "In my opponents' contention 1, [tagline], they say xyz. In response, we say zyx.") In the words of my favorite debater, Dorothea Newman, signpost so much that I feel like I'm driving in a construction zone. My biggest pet peeve is not signposting. I also appreciate numbered responses and if you do this I'll give you decently high speaks. I will subtract -1 speaks if you fail to ever signpost in the round.
Weighing: Make sure to do a good job weighing, I would rather vote off of who does a better job weighing than my own personal view of impacts. Additionally - you can't just say "we win off of probability and magnitude (insert other weighing buzzwords)", you must tell me why your argument is more probable/has a greater magnitude. Something I appreciate that will bump your speaks: metaweighing.
Reasons for drops: I can and will drop you if you are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist, ableist, etc. Xoxo. Maybe if you run really abusive theory against opponents who are not familiar with theory.
Misconstrued evidence: As disclosure becomes more common within debate, we're seeing less of this, but that being said I won't drop a team for misconstrued evidence, but I will consider that piece of evidence null. It's up to me to decide if the evidence is misconstrued or not so don't automatically assume the evidence is null and void just because you claim cutting one word is misconstruing.
Extra: Make the debate interesting!! Don't just read in a monotone. Make cx lively (I don't flow it or weigh it in round at all but I do listen). A pet peeve of mine - making statement questions in crossfire. Such questions include "[insert evidence] so what do you think of that", "are you aware...", "isn't it true that...", etc. These questions are a waste of time and please try to come up with a more creative way to bring up your points.
Anyway, good luck and you're welcome to postround me if you so desire. Also more than happy to email you a picture of my annotated flows if you don't find the RFD sufficient.
Public Forum debater for four years, judge for three. Feel free to ask specific questions at the beginning of the round but here is generally what I will be looking for:
Sign Post (and Road Maps): Outlining and numbering in each speech not only adds organization to your arguments but ensures that I flow where intended.
Clarity and Presentation: Your arguments are only as good as the way you present them. Apply this concept to speed; speak at a pace so that your points are not only heard but also processed. Present arguments in both a logical and supported manner (with qualitative and quantitative evidence). Rely on BOTH evidence and logic throughout the round, not only the evidence, because I am much more likely to buy into evidence that is BOTH credible and that you can explain (since that shows you have a thorough understanding of what you are advocating for). Succinct explanation, including clear claims, warrants, and impacts will work in your favor. Impacts are especially crucial in explaining to me why what you are saying matters and why your impacts should be prioritized. Remember that link chains should not be implied but explicit.
Respect: Always keep in mind that the round should be clean, civil, and based in evidence. Anything you say will ultimately be a reflection of your character so stay level-headed and grounded in fact. If you question evidence, talk about its credibility, reliability, citations and card-cutting, etc. rather than using subjective words such as bad, atrocious, terrible, etc.
Weighing: Please refrain from squeezing this in at the very last minute! It does not matter if an argument goes uncontested if its impact, and all others, are not weighed against the other side and explained in terms of magnitude, morality, time frame, scope, probability, etc. Use world comparison to explain why it should be a clean ballot for your team. This will help relay a cohesive story to me on why to vote PRO/CON.
Above all, be confident and have fun with the round!
Email: rayelucamyers@yahoo.com
I did PF, EX, and IMP in HS and am currently a freshman in the Princeton Debate Panel, so that means that I'll be flowing your rounds. I'm fine with theory, K's and any type of argument and will vote on it if it is warranted well. I don't really care about speaking style and will never take it into consideration when voting, so feel free to speak as fast or slow as you would like. However, if you aren't clear when making an argument, I will not flow said argument, which could be problematic for you in RFD.
If a team decides to bring up a new argument in summary or final focus, I will not flow it -- as I really do hate it when teams lose this way. With that said, I expect a lot of weighing in summary & final focus, as it makes voting quite easy. If there is a lack of weighing, I have to evaluate arguments myself -- and I cannot promise that you'll be happy with my RFD. As a brief note, in such situations, I will likely end up evaluating the strength of your warrants and the probability that they actually materialize in the real world; do with that information what you will.
Back in HS, there were a ridiculous amount of times that I didn't break because of the arbitrary nature of speaks, so I'll try to give everyone the highest possible speaks possible. Judging endless amounts of debate can become slightly monotonous, so I will give you higher speaks if you are funny (guaranteed 30 if you find a way to cleverly mention Stephen Curry in your speech and 0 if I hear a positive word about KD). Additionally, I will disclose results, speaks & RFD after round. This means that I will not be writing much on your ballot, as I have already explained my decision. However, feel free to ask me any questions regarding the round after I have given RFD.
While I understand debate, I am not familiar with the current topic, so please take that into account during your speeches. Odds are this will only matter in R1 of a given tournament, but if you are running something unique, please explain it well. Also, with that said, I don't care if your argument is true or false, but I care about what is said about it in a round -- if you tell me that the Office is a terrible show and your opponents never respond to it, I will hold it as true in the round (though I promise we will definitely NOT get along and I will buy a burn book with just your name in it).
Lastly, quick note about sources & evidence: I could not care less. I will buy sound logic over any sort of evidence no matter what. If you think that your opponent's evidence is sketchy, please explain to me why it makes no sense, and don't just say "Judge look at this evidence after round, it's BS" because I promise you, I probably won't. With that said, I will never just vote off of a piece of evidence, so it really doesn't matter anyways. Again, good warranting and logic matter a lot to me.
So, you're probably tired of reading this, and my hands definitely hurt from writing it, so that's it from me. If you have additional questions about my paradigm, feel free to ask me before round.
I am relatively new to the debate and speech judging. I am a parent and a lay judge. Please do not spread or speak too fast. Please be polite and time yourself. Thank you.
Experience: Debated LD when I was in high school. I have judged many PF rounds judged
I love good analysis; not so impressed by blippy arguments. Having a coherent narrative by the end of the round is a good thing.
Evidence: quality over quantity. Understand your evidence. Ideally you should be able to:
- explain any expert opinion you cite (rather than just stating it),
- understand where a statistic comes from (how a study was done, what its limitations are etc),
- defend the relevance of any evidence you present, and
- be sure you’re not misrepresenting evidence.
Weighing is important (not just impacts). Tell me why I should vote for you.
Some speed is ok with me as long as you're clear .
If something isn’t in summary, don’t bring it up in FF.
I sometimes avoid disclosing at tournaments in order to get things moving.
**Updated October 31, 2023
Hello everyone!
My judging history will show that I’ve primarily tabbed at tournaments since the pandemic started. However, I’ve been keeping up with topic discussions across LD, PF, and Policy and am looking forward to judging you all!
I’ve been in the debate world for over a decade now, and have been coaching with Lexington since 2016. Starting this academic year, I also teach Varsity LD and Novice PF at LHS. I was trained in policy debate but have also judged mainly policy and LD since 2016. I also judge PF at some tournaments along with practice debates on every topic.
TLDR: I want you to debate what you’re best at unless it’s offensive or exclusionary. I try to have very limited intervention and rely on framing and weighing in the round to frame my ballot. Telling me how to vote and keeping my flow clean is the fastest way to my ballot. Please have fun and be kind to one another.
Email: debatejn@gmail.com
ONLINE DEBATE NOTES
In an online world, you should reduce your speed to about 75%-80%. It’s difficult for me to say clear in a way that doesn’t totally disrupt your speech and throw you off, so focusing on clarity and efficiency are especially important.
I usually use two monitors, with my flow on the second monitor, so when I’m looking to the side, I’m looking at the flow or my ballot.
MORE IN DEPTH GENERAL NOTES
If your argument isn’t on my flow, I can’t evaluate it. Keeping my flow clean, repeating important points, and being clear can decide the round. I flow by ear and have your speech doc primarily for author names, so make sure your tags/arguments/analytics are clear. I default to tech over truth and debate being a competitive and educational activity. That being said, how I evaluate a debate is up for debate. The threshold for answering arguments without warrants is low, and I don’t find blippy arguments to be particularly persuasive.
LD PARADIGM
In general: Please also look at my policy paradigm for argument specific information! I take my flow seriously but am really not a fan of blippy arguments. I’m fine with speed and theoretical debates. I am not the best judge for affs with tricks. I don’t like when theory is spread through and need it to be well-articulated and impacted. I have a decent philosophy background, but please assume that I do not know and err on over-explaining your lit.
On Framework: In LD, I default to framework as a lens to evaluate impacts in the round. However, I am willing to (and will) evaluate framework as the only impact to the round. Framework debates tend to get really messy, so I ask that you try to go top-down when possible. Please try to collapse arguments when you can and get as much clash on the flow as possible.
A note on fairness as a voter: I am willing to vote on fairness, but I tend to think of fairness as more of an internal link to an impact.
On T: I default to competing interpretations. If you’re going for T, please make sure that you’re weighing your standards against your opponent’s. In evaluating debates, I default to T before theory.
On Theory: I lean towards granting 1AR theory for abusive strats. However, I am not a fan of frivolous theory and would prefer clash on substantive areas of the debate. In general, I do not feel that I can adjudicate something that happened outside of the round.
On RVIs: I think RVIs have morphed into a way of saying "I'm fair but having to prove that I'm being fair means that I should win", which I don't particularly enjoy. If you’re going for an RVI, make sure it’s convincing and reasonable. Further, please make sure that if you’re going for an RVI that you spend sufficient time on it.
On Ks: I think that the NR is a difficult speech - answering the first indicts on a K and then having to collapse and go for the K is tricky. Please make sure that you're using your time effectively - what is the world of the alt and why is my ballot key to resolving the impacts that you outline?
PF PARADIGM
In general: I rely on my flow to decide the round. Keeping my flow clean is the best path to my ballot, so please make sure that your speeches are organized and weigh your arguments against your opponents.
On Paraphrasing: I would also prefer that you do not paraphrase evidence. However, if you must, please slow down on your analytical blocks so that I can effectively flow your arguments - if you read 25 words straight that you want on my flow, I can't type quickly enough to do that, even when I'm a pretty fast typer in general. Please also make sure that you take care to not misrepresent your evidence.
General Comments On LD/Policy Arguments: While I will evaluate the round based on my flow, I want PF to be PF. Please do not feel that you need to adapt to my LD/Policy background when I’m in the back of the room.
On PF Theory: It's a thing, now. I don't particularly love it, but I do judge based off of my flow, so I will vote on it. However, I really, really, really dislike frivolous theory (feel free to look at my LD and Policy paradigms on this subject), so please make sure that if you're reading theory in a round, you are making it relevant to the debate at hand.
POLICY PARADIGM
On Framework: ROBs and ROJs should be extended and explained within the context of the round. Interpretations and framing how I need to evaluate the round are the easiest path to my ballot. Please weigh your standards against your opponent’s and tell me why your model of debate works best. While I will vote on fairness as a voter, I tend to default to it as an internal link to another impact, i.e. education.
One off FW: These rounds tend to get messy. Please slow down for the analytics. The best path to my ballot is creating fewer, well-articulated arguments that directly clash with your opponent’s.
On Theory and T: Make sure you make it a priority if you want me to vote on it. If you’re going for T, it should be the majority of your 2NR. Please have clearly articulated standards and voters. I typically default to competing interpretations, so make sure you clearly articulate why your interpretation is best for debate. In general, I do not feel that I can adjudicate something that happened outside of the round.
On DA/CP: Explain why your evidence outweighs their evidence and please use impact calc.
On K-Affs: Make sure you’re weighing the impacts of your aff against tech stuff the neg articulates. Coming from the 1AC, I need a clear articulation of your solvency mechanism and the role of ballot / judge.
Hitting K-Affs on neg: PLEASE give me clash on the aff flow
On Ks: Make sure that you’re winning framing for these arguments. I really enjoy well-articulated link walls and think that they can take you far. I’m maybe not the best judge for high theory debates, but I have some experience with most authors you will read in most cases and should be able to hold my own if it’s well articulated. I need to understand the world of the alt, how it outweighs case impacts, and what the ballot resolves.
One off Ks: These rounds tend to get very nuanced, especially if it’s a K v K debate. Please have me put framework on another flow and go line by line.
I have no background in high school or college debate, but I have been a practicing attorney for more than 35 years and have been judging PF debates for 8 years.
I am a great believer in the “citizen judge” roots of Public Forum. The debater’s job is to persuade the man on the street, with no background as to the resolution of the month, that pro or con should win. Thus, clarity and focus are paramount. Your job is to persuade, not confuse, me. Well-structured arguments and effectively utilized evidence are key, but so are articulation, modulation, and engagement. A glance up from your laptop from time to time can work wonders, as can staying in the Zoom frame in a well-lighted room.
I do flow arguments, but not in a very technical way. A dropped argument will only count against you if it is material to your overall presentation and not offset by more meritorious arguments that make it through Final Focus.
Spreading and the pointless acceleration of pacing it engenders are strongly discouraged. You should choose your arguments carefully and deliver them at a pace, and with an energy and focus, that are designed to persuade.
Use your evidence fairly and judiciously. Do not overstate its significance or twist its meaning beyond recognition. I will only ask to see your card if the outcome of a round turns on an evidentiary dispute, but, if it comes to this, you want to be confident that your card can be read as presented. Also, feel free to request your opponent's cards, but do so sparingly and only when necessary to dispute a material contention or buttress a key argument.
Unfortunately, only one team can win; that’s the way it is in real life and in every courtroom I have ever appeared, so try to roll with the punches.
Most importantly, have fun. Few things are as satisfying as a hard-fought win; or as motivating (for the next round) as a too-close-to-call loss.
I'm pretty new to debate - this is my third year judging
- Please talk in a way I can understand (not too fast, not too much debate jargon, etc.)
- As I'm new to debate, just saying things like "nonunique" or "link-turn" mean absolutely nothing to me, EXPLAIN WHAT YOU ARE SAYING PLEASE
- Despite the fact that I'm a parent judge, I will be judging how you debate not what you say, so do with that what you will
- I might call for evidence if something is fishy (so don't be fishy)
- Above all else, be respectful, nice, and cordial to your fellow debaters. Let's all have a good time with this!
I debated public forum for 6 years from middle school to the end of HS at BC Academy.
Please read this paradigm carefully before so that we don't have delays. Assume that I will always be ready.
Zoom Specific:
My campus's wifi is not very nice, I do advise you to disclose your case to me at roseoh1004@gmail.com before the round actually starts if you are planning to spread. Ddd me to the email chains while you're at it!
can handle up to 200 words per minute cuz you never know when my wifi will crash <3 , please send me your speech docs if you are planning to spread over my limit
I don't care if your camera is off or not if your wifi is also like mine but turning it on is recommended to replicate the in-person debate experience to the largest extent
Please try to wear headphones so that no one echos in the debate round -- my personal pet peeve!
General:
My debate terminology is a little rusty. Progressive strategies might throw me off but I will try to understand and follow them to the best of my abilities.
I'm tech>truth, so make sure to call out sus cards in front of me (I will call for cards if this is notably important at the end of the round - this is why i suggest teams to send me their cases)
If you're saying something problematic/homophobic/anything along those matters, I automatically give you a 20 on speaker points
If you're rude and not professional, I deduct 1 speaker point every second you keep up the attitude until it reaches 20
If it takes you more than 5 minutes to get the card, you don't have the card (actually Yale requires me to be patient a little, so I'll just deduct prep time until u run out lol)
Preferably time yourselves, but don't abuse this - I'd rather focus on the flow/content
I will keep track of prep though, seen too many debaters tryna pull a fast one on me
Much as I like double drop theory for the entertainment factor, do not run this as the ballot doesn't allow me to do so
I consider defence sticky in the 1st summary
2nd rebuttal should frontline offence
extend in SS to be considered in FF I will not extend for you
impact weighing is a must for me in FF, weighing in summary is not required --> if you don't weigh, don't expect to win the round
please do the work for me. I do not like to build bridges or connect messy points together to flesh out what happened in the round nor like to artificially make clashes for debaters
MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVE FUN!!!! DEBATE IS NOT THE END NOR THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD
Simple Paradigm, I am a traditionalist when it comes to LD so I know, when judging on the circuit I will be blocked, but this is LD not Policy. Your Value should simply win out, and your VC needs to convince me that all those contentions and sub-points make sense. Please do your best not to speak too quickly. It's better for me to listen and concentrate on your subject matter instead of you trying to fit it all in. Try your best to avoid speed speaking. However, no stress. No need to impress. Be you and have fun :)
Oh wait, almost forgot, remember this is not policy!
I am a fair open-minded judge who is able to discern a good argument, and have on many occasions awarded the debate win to a contention I do not personally agree with. A debate should be decided on who was more convincing regardless of the judges personal views. It is important I can understand you so that I can effectively judge your argument against your opponent, so speed is not as important as being articulate.
I believe that an argument should be well thought out, well structured, and cogent. I do prefer a fairly bullet-proof framework on which to hang the contentions and I am open to theoretical foundations once that framework has been articulated and defined, but ultimately a contention supported by facts and figures is more convincing as it is more quantifiable and less subjective.
I like to see debaters who challenge their opponents on their points with a crafty and well-timed rebuttals, in other words, able to think on their feet. I listen, take copious notes, and when I give my decision, I clearly state why I picked one side over the other.
I'm a relative newcomer to the world of debate, so any arguments that are done at a speed that an average human would struggle to comprehend, I might also have trouble following. Arguments that clearly highlight the impact are particularly important. During crossfires, I really appreciate questions that allow your opponent to actually answer meaningfully, as opposed to critical statements with a question mark at the end (i.e. "You proved that your argument wasn't valid... don't you agree?"). I keep time and expect you to do the same.
The best time to invest in a good internet connection was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
I'm a truth over tech parent judge with about 3 years experience, and fairly active in the season. I'm a lay judge that flows, but not to any internationally recognized standard, and definitely not in more than one color. My writing is scruffy, sometimes I can't read my own notes. If you see me drawing big circles or boxes, it's because someone just made some ridiculous claim, and it's rude to laugh - so I scribble a shape instead.
Triangle - only a Muppet would say that.
Rectangle - only a Muppet would believe that.
Oval - only a Muppet would have found this in the deepest parts of the internet and think it was worth repeating with a straight face.
I'm a scientist, a software engineer, and yes, that thing behind me is a tower made from IKEA lack tables holding two 3D printers.
I debated in high school and college some years ago. I am a lay judge. I have judged PF over the past 3 years. I encourage speaking clearly and at a pace that is not too fast. I will flow the round. Explain why you believe your side should win and why your arguments are more compelling than the other side’s. Good luck to everyone!
I judge based on my ability to follow an argument, its logic, and the strength of evidence used to support it. I am generally skeptical of statistical evidence and often find it vulnerable to challenge. I will not flow crossfire but I will listen. Summary and final focus are the most important speeches; I depend on these summaries to clarify and refine arguments. I do keep my own time as a way of ensuring that each team uses time equitably. I will try to follow speedy arguments, but I am, myself, on the slower side.
As a judge, either in PFD or LD , I am looking for a good respectful debate, and please note I am traditionalist - yes circuit competitors you hate seeing this. However, the structure and format is set for a reason. Please make sure you use sound evidence and impacts should be clear, like in LD your Value should win out, please do not make this a policy round. Thank you and have a great tournament!
Updated 9/1/24 for Scottsdale Prep
Welcome back and I am anticipating another engaging year of congressional debate. Arizona has a well earned reputation for excellence in congressional debate and I look forward to continuing that excellence this year.
Congress
- Congressional debater - elite debaters come prepared to argue both sides of all bills, never read a speech, anticipate rebuttal in CX, know the burdens in speaking first, mid and last in the course of legislative debate and accordingly speak at all three points in the Congressional session and are ready, willing and able to PO. I begin each session with the PO ranked first and the bar to surpass an elite PO is Jordanesque or Taurasi esque or Clark esque. So, I ballot accordingly. I can only think of one time in the past 10 years that the PO failed to make by top 6 in rank. So, PO and do it well.
- First AFF/NEG - easiest speeches to prepare and delivery. Delivery should be polished, organization and transitions would be clear, all analysis should be well warranted.
- Mid round speeches (2nd AFF/NEG to 4th AFF/NEG) are more challenging than First AFF/NEG and potentially will earn higher rankings. These speeches should be extempted, not read and should interact in a clear and meaningful manner with prior speeches.
- End of round (summary/crystallization) most important and potentially highest ranked speeches if you mee the burden.
- DO NOT BREAK CYCLE. This will result in a rank reduction to last in the chamber. DO NOT BREAK CYCLE.
BONUS INFO
- I commend to you Aristotle - On Rhetoric - specifically his treatment of ethos "the way we become responsible citizens who can understand each other and share ideas is through rhetoric"
- Excellent overview of Congress expectations.
-
PO resources - all potential PO candidates are encouraged to review:
https://www.uiltexas.org/files/academics/Witt_An_Act_of_Congress_PO.pdf
http://www.bobcatdebate.com/uploads/5/5/6/6/55667975/presiding_officer_guide.pdf
-
Members of our community who have taught me a great deal, I strongly urge all congressional debater to review these paradigms from former elite congressional debaters who are now elite judges of congressional debate.
Frederick Changho (I take the approach Truth >Tech)
Summary LD Expectations
- Do not spread. Let me repeat do not spread. I know it's in your DNA but do not spread. I always vote for the debater who speaks slower. Always.
- I am a traditional values judge as this is the foundation for this event. Therefore invest your time and energy on your value. Clarity and defining this value will go a long way to earning my ballot. Investing time in side by side comparison to your opponent's value with a clear and simple explanation for why I should prefer your value will go a long long way to earning my ballot.
- This is not policy debate therefore there is no requirement for a plan or for implementation. Invest your limited time in value analysis, resolutional analysis and rebuttal, not on implementation.
- Traditional debate therefore no progressive debate, critique, or counter plans.
- I reject on their face all extinction impacts.
- I value analysis and warranting over evidence. The best way to lose my ballot is to read a list of cards, indicate your opponent has no cards and unleash some debate math - ie "Judge my view of resolution will reduce recidivism by 150.3% resulting in a reduction of poverty world wide of 173,345,321 and leading to growth in Georgia of 13.49% which will increase the standard of living in Athens by 22.32% and reduce polarization by 74.55% which will ensure that representative democracy will . . . . blah, blah, blah. BTW, when I am exposed to debater math you should know what I hear is blah, blah, blah. So . . . invest your time in simple, clear (hopefully logical) warranting - no need for cards or debater math. You know, I know, your parents know that statistics/empirics prove nothing. PS, if Nobel winning social scientists have the humility to acknowledge that is is virtually impossible to determine causality, you should too, so avoid the correlation/causality offense or defense.
- In your last 3 minutes of speaking you should collapse to your most important or valid argument, provide me with voters, and weigh the round
- Quality over quantity, less is more, therefore those debaters who collapse to a single argument and weigh this argument earn my ballot. In fact, those rare (delightful) debaters who provide a logical narrative based upon a clear value and throughout the round, focus on a single, clear, simple argument make for a breath of fresh air, meaningful 45 minutes of debate and a lasting learning experience. These types of rounds are as rare as a lunar eclipse and I value and treasure these rounds and debater(s) - less than a dozen over my years of adjudication.
- Simple is preferred to the complex. I am a lay judge and while I have over 20 years experience and have judged over 160 rounds of LD in both face-to-face and online environments I find that the simplest argument tends to earn my ballot over many arguments that are complex.
- A negative debater who collapses to the Aff framework and definitions and then clearly explains a rationale for why negating the resolution achieves that value is from my point employing a very sound strategy when arguing before a community judge and overcomes the initial time disadvantage, The AFF debater who uses the 3rd AFF to only review the SINGLE most important argument, weigh clearly and simply and end with valid votes makes the most efficient and strategic use of speaking last.
- Remember to clearly define all relevant terms in the resolution. The March/April 2025 topic has often hinged on definitions. Where there's a difference in approach on a term you'll need to clearly warrant for me why I should prefer your definition. PLEASE not cards or debater math.
Don't worry *(be happy) as I will cut and paste this paradigm into my ballot. But alas, that is after the fact. Oy.
I am appreciative and grateful to have this opportunity. IE and speech I do have comments for you after my "sharing" with debaters. Skip to the end.
You are the teacher, I am the student. As my teacher, you will want to know my learning style.
I am curious and interested in your voice and what you have to say. I am a life long learner and as a student I make every effort to thoughtfully consider your teaching. so . . .
- I take notes (flow) in order to understand. So, a metric for debaters - think of me on the couch with one of your grandparents, Joe Biden and Morgan Freeman. We are all very interested in what you have to say and we are all taking notes. So, be certain your pace allows us to take notes (flow) with comprehension. If you are doubtful about the pace you are using, YOU ARE SPEAKING TOO FAST and should slow down. Thank you very much.
- As your grandparents, Joe, Morgan and I sit on the couch we are striving to learn new material from you. You know far more than we do, you are very familiar with how to convey this information and we all think much slower than you so - KEEP IT SIMPLE. I would advise checking all debate jargon at the bus, before you enter the building.
- Less is more. So, if you have 2 to 5 high level arguments and feel compelled to advance them, go for it. But as the round comes to an end, focus on ONE and make certain you explain it so that your grandparents, Joe, Morgan and I can understand. I was fortunate earlier this year at the 2024 ARIZONA STATE TOURNAMENT to judge an out round of LD on a panel with a young, policy TECH judge and another parent. In a 2-1 decision, I was soooooooooooooooo pleased that, in post round disclosure and RFD this young, policy TECH judge recommended that the two excellent debaters collapse to the ONE argument that they considered most important (ie the argument they were winning). I was overjoyed as I have always indicated one simply and well explained argument will always capture my ballot over the old laundry list. In other words DO NOT RUN THE FLOW in 3rd AFF speech merely explain the ONE argument and weigh the voters. One other outstanding piece of feedback from this young, policy, TECH judge was to look at the judges - he, like I, react to your argumentation - nodding and smiling when we understanding and are convinced and frowning or shaking no when we are not. I noticed he did this in the round and, for those of you who have argued before me before, you know that I light up when you have me and if become despondent when you don't. Useful in round feedback from the judge is GOOD. I know you all have strategy based upon some interpretation of game theory when arguing before a panel. Remember you will most likely have 1, 2 or even 3 parent, lay judges on the panel. WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND DEBATE THEORY, CANNOT PROCESS ARGUMENTS DELIVERED AT A RAPID PACE AND NEED SIMPLE, SIMPLE SLOWLY PRESENTED SIDE BY SIDE ANALYSIS.
Anything else?
- I see LD as an exploration of value, that is values debate, therefore I am most interested in learning your take on the value your have selected in evaluating the resolution. I am not interested implementation, rather the key is how the value you employ affirms or negates the resolution AND why that value is superior to the one selected by your opponent. It is ok, very ok, to concede value. It goes without saying, but I will anyway, that you should understand your value and provide a simple clear definition. Soooooooooo there is Justice, Social Justice, Restorative Justice, Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice, Retributive Justice, Environmental (???) Justice, Economic Justice, Global . . . . well you get the point. Which one are you arguing for? If you don't specify then your opponent may, to your disadvantage, If you opponent doesn't then . . . . well the nightmare of all LDers, your parent, lay judge (ME) will. I don't think you want that. But, for those who read this paradigm, you would not be surprised to find that I am deeply influenced by the value analysis of Aristotle and Adam Smith sooooooooo if you have not read Nicomachean Ethic and/or The Theory of Moral Sentiments you will want to clarify you value as these are the defaults I will use if you don't clearly, slowly and simply explicate yours.
- I am skeptical of Rawls based upon my reading of A Theory of Justice. But, by sharing this prior with you I want you to know as a student I am very interested in learning. So, if based upon your reading of Rawls you provide a rationale for my acceptance, you have it. Of course, the prereq for success here might well be your actual reading of Rawls, although the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy makes a start on introducing this theory to the lay reader.
- I am very skeptical of Utilitarianism and its various expressions, particularly the rote and familiar rationale that is read on the top of cases that use it. I am very easily persuaded to reject based upon the comparison of impact on the minority.
- I reject all extinction impacts
- I reject all progressive debate
- I reject kritik
- If you are compelled to provide a counter plan or alternative as NEG, you need to provide clarity as to the link to the resolution and to utilize analysis and material that the AFF would be expected to aware of. (I understand the grammar policy have now OKed ending a sentence with a preposition.
- CX is important for the ethos of the debaters, clarification, and laying the ground for rebuttal.
- In round tone - I appreciate all debaters, particularly those who are having fun, display good humor and take a collaborative rather than adversarial approach. I know you are all very serious about this activity (which I appreciate) and you need to be yourself. That said, when considering your approach, particularly in CX you might try a thought experiment or fantasy - you are arguing before the Supreme Court. What tone and approach would you take if you were trying to engage either Elena Kagan or Neil Gorsuch, remember of course that your grandparents, Joe, Morgan and I are also up there on the bench.
Non debaters
IE - I tend to be much more impressed by the performance that reaches deep within to find some sort of reality or authenticity and I tend to be less impressed by the well developed techniques that excellent actors employ.
Extemp - I value analysis within the context of a cohesive narrative over quantity of evidence cited.
Orators - your call to action need be substantial, significant, clearly defined and either achievable, or contextualized in such a manner that the attempt has significant value.
And don't worry, my previous paradigm, saved for posterity due to the scope of Google - here
*Taking this approach, Aristotle proposes that the highest good for humans iseudaimonia, a Greek word often translated as "flourishing" or sometimes "happiness". Aristotle argues that eudaimoniais a way of taking action (energeia) that is appropriate to the human "soul" (psuchē) at its most "excellent" orvirtuous (aretē). Eudaimoniais the most "complete" aim that people can have, because they choose it for its own sake. An excellent human is one who is good at living life, who does so well and beautifully (kalos). Aristotle says such a person would also be a serious (spoudaios) human being. He also asserts that virtue for a human must involvereason in thought and speech (logos), as this is a task (ergon) of human living.
I'm Cole Presten and I'm currently a junior at Princeton. I did public forum debate for all of high school, so I'm familiar with general terms and jargon.
With that being said, I would prefer a round that would be understandable by a lay judge, or for that matter someone completely unfamiliar with debate. Remember the point of public forum debate. I would especially stress that you clarify your impacts. Telling me that you "win on scope," for instance, without a clear explanation of cause and effect may be true, but making me look at my notes and deciding for myself where you "win on scope" is far less compelling than a clear argument and explanation.
Although it's within your right as a debater to use information so long as it's backed up by a source, I will be skeptical if something sounds fishy, and I hope your opponents will be too. Because of this, I find it useful to say "X of New York Times" when noting your source rather than just "X", because "X" could be a writer from any random blog for all I know.
In general, winning the round ultimately comes down to convincing me that you won the round, not some esoteric system of points here and there. So keep that in mind and good luck.
About Me: I am a parent judge with my first experience starting in 2019. Since then I have judged 30 rounds as of end of 2020. I have primarily judged Public Forum for high school students but have also a few rounds of Parliamentary debate for middle school.
Why Debate Matters To Me: As Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "“the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” To me, debate is one of the best real life arenas where this gets tested. I believe in debate as a forum for highlighting the strength of narrative, expression and persuasion that is based on a foundation of research and thoughtful insights and sharpened by intellect. I see it as a dynamic mix of strategy and tactics that is an essential life skill in any professional or social setting.
Procedural Preferences: A limited list of things that I like to emphasize to help debaters present their case, and for me to do justice in understanding your arguments:
(i) Please minimize spreading - this is not a speed-reading contest. If I as a judge cannot clearly follow your argument, I will have limited basis to judge you on the merits of your contentions and overall case
(ii) Signposting is important - both while setting up your contentions and when rebutting your opponent's contentions, evidence or impact. It helps me establish your case and cross-reference it to the rebuttals
(iii) Identify yourself - at the start. I will ask for this explicitly to ensure that I get your names and the order in which you will present so that I can correctly assign speaker points
(iv) Time yourself - I will not be validating or judging you by how many seconds under or over the limit. A few seconds over is not going to be penalized. I am less impressed when you wrap up 20-30 seconds before your allotted time.
(iv) Be polite - to your opponents. We are not at war. Similarly, the judge is not here to put you down - relax!
Evaluation Criteria: My evaluation criteria goes with the flow. What that means is that, as you progress through the flow, I expect you to build on your contentions, cite the impact of your evidences, de-emphasize your opponents' arguments and rebuttals, and finally summarize the progression in the Final Focus.
With that context here are a few guidelines of my evaluation -
1. Case building will be evaluated on the depth of your research that truly emphasize your contention(s). Great contentions with weakly supported evidences and impact will not get you high points - but, and this is important, I will not unilaterally evaluate the merit of your contention, if your opponent team does not clearly highlight the weaknesses
2. Evidence is important, but your support of that evidence to reinforce your contention and weightage is far more important. Simply citing a source as the truth is not enough, it has to be proven by facts and supported by analysis. Just because a publication or a source says something, does not make it true
3. Cover all of your opponents contentions and evidences in your rebuttals. Leaving a point un-responded, essentially means that you have not been able to find a good contrary argument and evidence and hence strengthens the opposing team's argument
4. Weightage is important, but not just by stating it. It has to be accompanied by reasons why your weighting framework is better than your opponents'
5. Speaker points are provided on 3 specific criteria - presentation, quality of argumentation, and strategic choices. The strategic choices are your extemporaneous evaluation of your opponent's case and how you choose to re-position your case and work through your research to analytically de-emphasize your opponent's key contentions, evidences and impact
That's it. Good Luck to one and all!
Rakesh Purohit
Howdy,
I have countless years of experience as a judge/coach for HS debate, and I was a collegiate competitor back in the day (AFA , IPDA , NFA) ... currently I'm a consultant teaching IE's at the university level (AFA)
- PLZ treat your opponent and judge the way you would want to be treated, there is no room for rudeness or hate or toxicity in debate
- have any questions? feel free to ask
- tournaments that use .5 speaks are VERY bad, .1 all THE way
- I mainly judge College IE's and HS nat circuit PF - these are my absolute fav's
- Talking fast is ok, spreading is a big NO for me ... also if its not a bid tournament I DON'T want to be on the chain / will not look at the doc
- IF USING HISTORICAL EVIDENCE (whether debate or public speaking event) , you need to address the 5 C's of historical analysis ... if not then this is for you ---> L
IE's: MS and HS level - you do you, be you and give it your all!!
Collegiate (AFA) - you know what to do
(MS , HS , College) - I'm a stickler for binder etiquette
Congress:
if you treat this event like its a form of entertainment or reality TV I WILL DOWN you , you are wasting your time, your competitors time and my time
POs: I'm not gonna lie, I will be judging you the harshest - you run the chamber not me and I expect nothing but the best. Please be fair with everyone , but if I feel the PO is turning a blind eye or giving preferential treatment I will document it
Competitors: Creativity, impacts, structure and fluency are a must for me.
don't just bounce off of a fellow representatives speech, be you and create your own speech - its ok to agree tho
don't lie about sources/evidence... I will fact check
best way to get high ranks is to stay active thru the round
clash can GO a long way in this event
For direct questioning please keep it civil and no steam rolling or anything harsh, much thanks.
gestures are neato, but don't go bananas
witty banter is a plus
I only judge congress in person not online
NEVER wants to Parli a round
PF:
if y'all competitors are early to the round go ahead and do the coin flip and pre flow ... this wastes too much time both online and in person
tech or truth? Usually Tech, however it all depends on what you run, if you're going to say things that are absolutely not true (holocaust never happened... etc) STRIKE ME - because if I have to go Truth I will have no problem telling you you're wrong and will make an example out of you
I better see clash
if the resolution has loose wording, take advantage of it!!
I value good strategy and refined rhetoric, if you have this you'll most likely get my ballot
I'm all about framework and sometimes turns ... occasionally links
I don't flow during cross x , but if you feel there's something important that the judge should know.. make it clear to the judge in your following speech
I LOVE evidence... but if your doc or chain is a mess I'M going no where near it!!!
Signposting - how do I feel about this? Do it, if not I will get lost and you won't like my flow/decision
FRONTLINE in second rebuttal!! (cough, cough)
Best of luck going for a Technical Knock Out ... these are as rare as unicorns
Extend and weigh your arguments, if not.. then you're gonna get a L with your name on it
I'm ok with flex prep/time but if your opponent isn't then its a no in round - if yes don't abuse it ... same goes for open cross
When it comes to PF ... I will evaluate anything (if there's proper warranting and relevance) but if its the epitome of progressive PLZZ give a little more analysis
^ Disclosure Theory: if you have a history of disclosure then do it, if not then you will get a L from me, why? Great question, if you don't have a history of promoting fairness and being active in the debate community you have no right to use this kind of T
I'll be honest I am not a fan of paraphrasing, to me it takes away the fundamentals from impacts/evidence/arguments/debate as a whole - it lowers the value of the round overall
Speaker points - I consider myself to be very generous unless you did something very off putting or disrespectful
Easiest way to get my ballot is by using the Michael Scott rule: K.I.S "Keep It Simple"
LD:
take it easy on speed , maybe send a doc
Tech > Truth (most of the time)
links can make or break you
value/criterion - cool
P/CP - cool
stock issues - cool
K - cool
LARP - can go either way tbh
Trix/Phil/Theory - PLZ noo, automatic strike
never assume I know the literature you're referencing
CX:
I don't judge a lot of CX but I prefer more traditional arguments, but I will evaluate anything
look at LD above
PLZ send a doc
Worlds:
I expect to see clash
no speed, this needs to be conversational
don't paraphrase evidence/sources
STYLE - a simple Claim , Warrant , Impact will do just fine
its ok to have a model/c.m , but don't get policy debate crazy with them - you don't have enough time in round
not taking any POI's makes you look silly , at least take 1
^ don't take on too many - it kills time
don't forget to extend, if you don't it a'int being evaluated
the framework debate can be very abusive or very fair ... abuse it and you will get downed
as a judge I value decorum, take that into consideration
Overall:
Should any debate round be too difficult to evaluate as is.... I will vote off stock issues
I like to consider myself a calm, cool and collected judge. I'm here doing something I'm passionate about and so are y'all - my personal opinions will never affect my judgement in any round and I will always uphold that.
If anyone has any questions feel free to contact me or ask before round - whether online or in person.
May all competitors have a great 2024-2025 season!!
Parent judge, no topical knowledge. Don't spread and be civil during cross.
Put me on the email link chain dinaellis@paulhastings.com
Parent Judge. Please speak clearly, identify your main arguments at the beginning, and make clear transitions. I can't follow people that talk too fast, have too many citations or use debate lingo. I spent most of my career on Capitol Hill working on House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees. I currently am an attorney at Paul Hastings where I represent fintech, crypto and blockchain companies before Congress and the agencies.
Mark your contentions or I can's follow the arguments.
Nuclear destruction is not something that I think is credible. Your arguments would have to be very good against the other team.
Facts matter but don't bring up brand new arguments at the end.
I am a first year out from high school debate so debate is still relatively fresh in my mind. I debate PF for four years on the national and local circuit in New Jersey.
I will almost certainly disclose at the end of round
I decide who wins on grand cross....just kidding the tldr for my paradigm is that I'm a former debater who will flow and did not like people that were passive aggressive, rude, or did abusive debate when I was in hs, and it's still an ick for me.
----------
Long paradigm:
I'm a flow judge with tech over truth, to a certain extent. I enjoy squirrely arguments but you need to have warrants and cards backing up your argument.
Case: I'm fine with speed but your case should not be over about 800 words
Rebuttal: SIGNPOST tell where you are on the flow or I'll probably put your response in the wrong place. Don't read 15 blippy responses on a contention because this is a really abusive move and I will be very sad :(. Instead, give me 3/4 good responses that are well explained and carded. Furthermore, I want WARRANTING. If you just name drop a card like, "delink this argument because the NYT says that my opponent's argument is wrong" and don't explain it I will not flow this response. I don't expect second rebuttal to frontline; however, I would highly recommend frontlining if you have time remaining.
Second Half: I was taught that if my judge doesn't flow rebuttal or case they should still be able to make an informed decision because you will re-explain your case(with warrants and cards), explain/refute your opponents responses, and read good responses to your opponents extensions. I will of course always flow case and rebuttal, but your skills as a debater should make it unnecessary for me to really look at the top half of my flow when I'm making my decision.
Summary: You need to frontline, extend responses to your opponent's case, re-explain your case, and weigh.
Final Focus: Should be very similar to summary but with more weighing. You need to tell me why I should vote for you and why your impacts are more important than your opponents
Crossfire: Don't be rude, Do NOT pull passive-aggressive moves like "can I talk/or you're not letting me talk" two seconds into your opponent's answer/question. I will not flow cross so if something important happens you need to tell me in your next speech so that I can flow it.
Speaks: I will not give below a 27.5 unless you do something really offensive. Your speaks will be considerably better if you mention The West Wing, bring me candy, give me a good meme on the topic, or have a really funny tagline somewhere. If you work The West Wing into one of your speeches and do it well, I will give you a 30 no questions asked.
Major Nonos:
Don't do really abusive things like saying "my opponents dropped an argument" if they didn't (I will know and I will drop this argument from the flow). Don't use really sketchy cards because if I hear something sketchy I will call for it. Don't belittle or insult your opponent. If you have any questions or need help with anything debate related you can reach out to me at yash.roy@yale.edu
I am a traditional judge, believing PFD is not Policy or LD, please stick the tenants that established what PFD was and still should be. Speed is deterred, if you speak too quickly those contentions and cards are dropped , slower pace and stronger arguments win out. Please be respectful and, when asking for cards or evidence please have readily available, if not, the time will be taken from your prep time, especially if the inability to locate and send is abusive.
Thank you and looking forward to a great debate!
Speech Judging:
Heavy emphasis on delivery. Biggest red flag is points that do not flow logically (if it sounds like BS it better be explained well or I won't buy it). Do not sound robotic and have fun with your speech, I like laughing.
Debate Judging:
Logic, feasibility, and real-world metrics are the most important. Aside from that, delivery plays a big role - no spreading. Be nice in round, rudeness/frequent interrupting will get you docked. I flow but I am not gonna note every single card/evidence piece so if you think one small point is gonna win you the debate you should make it obvious to me. Also, I try to be tabula rasa (at the same time, 1+1 is not 3).
Past Experience:
Competitive: 4 years of Extemp (NSDA Semifinalist) and 4 years of Original Oratory, 3 years of PF, 2 years of Congressional Debate - varied experience in all S & D events except interp (2700+ NSDA points over 4 years).
Judging: 10+ tournaments in all events
I am currently a novice on Columbia's Parliamentary Debate team, but I have years of experience in Speech and Debate itself. I competed in Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, and World Schools Debate. Despite my main Speech experience, I am comfortable with judging debate as well. I am not extremely familiar with the timing and order of speeches so I may require some assistance/reminding.
I appreciate clear speaking (in a manner that is not extremely fast), as well as proper etiquette from both teams. I evaluate on based on the logical reasoning of an argument, and the proficiency with which one can both defend it and extend it. Please be respectful in rounds to your opponents (no cutting off etc), and let me know if you have any special circumstances (for instance, would like to be referred to by specific pronouns, tech issues).
I look forward to seeing you all speak!
I competed in public forum debate for 4 years at Poly Prep (2014-2018), coached Lake Mary Prep HM (2018-2019), and currently coach Poly Prep (2019-2021).
Add me to the email chain: hschloss2@gmail.com
Warrant your turns
Do comparative weighing
Tell me why your evidence is better
Bad evidence bad speaks
As a lay judge, I look for teams to make cohesive, clear arguments. For me, the quality of your arguments weigh more to me than the quantity of your arguments. I will provide a short RFD. It’s a pleasure to judge your debates, and best of luck!
UPDATED 6/1/2022 NSDA Nationals Congress Update
I have been competing and judging in speech and debate for the past 16 years now. I did Parli and Public Forum in High School, and Parli, LD and Speech in College. I have judged all forms of High School Debate. Feel free to ask me more in depth questions in round if you don't understand a part of my philosophy.
Congress
Given that my background is in debate I tend to bring my debate biases into Congress. While I understand that this event is a mix of argumentation and stylistic speaking I don't think pretty speeches are enough to get you a high rank in the round. Overall I tend to judge Congress rounds based off of argument construction, style of delivery, clash with opponents, quality of evidence, and overall participation in the round. I tend to prefer arguments backed by cited sources and that are well reasoned. I do not prefer arguments that are mainly based in emotional appeals, purely rhetoric speeches usually get ranked low and typically earn you a 9. Be mindful of the speech you are giving. I think that sponsorship speeches should help lay the foundation for the round, I should hear your speech and have a full grasp of the bill, what it does, why it's important, and how it will fix the problems that exist in the squo. For clash speeches they should actually clash, show me that you paid attention to the round, and have good responses to your opponents. Crystallizations should be well organized and should be where you draw my conclusions for the round, I shouldn't be left with any doubts or questions.
POs will be ranked in the round based off of their efficiency in running and controlling the round. I expect to POs to be firm and well organized. Don't be afraid of cutting off speakers or being firm on time limits for questioning.
Public Forum
- I know how to flow and will flow.
- This means I require a road map.
- I need you to sign post and tell me which contention you are on. Use author/source names.
- I will vote on Ks. But this means that your K needs to have framework and an alt and solvency. If you run a K my threshold for voting on it is going to be high. I don't feel like there is enough time in PF to read a good K but I am more than willing to be open to it and be proven wrong. For anyone who hits a K in front of me 'Ks are cheating' is basically an auto loss in front of me.
- I will vote on theory. But this doesn't mean that I will vote for all theory. Theory in debate is supposed to move this activity forwards. Which means that theory about evidence will need to prove that there is actual abuse occurring in order for me to evaluate it. I think there should be theory in Public Forum because this event is still trying to figure itself out but I do not believe that all theory is good theory. And theory that is playing 'gotcha' is not good theory. Having good faith is arbitrary but I think that the arguments made in round will determine it. Feel free to ask questions.
- Be strategic and make good life choices.
- Impact calc is the best way to my ballot.
- I will vote on case turns.
- I will call for cards if it comes down to it.
Policy Debate
I tend to vote more for truth over tech. That being said, nothing makes me happier than being able to vote on T. I love hearing a good K. Spread fast if you want but at a certain point I will miss something if you are going top speed because I flow on paper, I do know how to flow I'm just not as fast as those on a laptop. Feel free to ask me any questions before round.
LD Debate
Fair warning it has been a few years since I have judged high level LD. Ask me questions if I'm judging you.
Framework
You do not win rounds if you win framework. You win that I judge the round via your framework. When it comes to framework I'm a bit odd and a bit old school. I function under the idea that Aff has the right to define the round. And if Neg wants to me to evaluate the round via their framework then they need to prove some sort of abuse.
I'm Lindsey, I have some past experience judging and coaching public forum debate.
My Paradigm
I will vote for the team that presents a stronger logical argument. I will consider arguments on quality of evidence presented, arguments speaking to why your case is impactful, and strength of responses to the opposition's argument.
The New York Post Article
I want to clarify a few things as succinctly as I can for future reference.
1) I do not condone banning topics from discussion or any judging style that automatically disregards a topic based on the subject matter. I have always been open to discussing difficult topics and will continue to be an advocate of freedom of speech.
2) In high school, I did not have access to many debate resources and did not regularly compete at national circuit tournaments (usually we had around 5 teams per tournament). Because of this, I often found advising and judging from online paradigms, forums, or message boards. When I became a Judge briefly, parts of my paradigm were meant to give free advice related to style and decorum. The main point I wanted to convey is that being respectful and genuine about presenting arguments leads to more persuasive argumentation. Contrastingly, utilizing provocative arguments only for the purpose of shocking a judge and winning is less fulfilling. I apologize if my language came across the wrong way, debaters should have the freedom to explore any topic they want. Additionally, this was targeted specifically to theory and K debate, where debaters often have no advanced preparation of what the topic is going to be.
3) I do not support the recent publication of videos of debaters with the intention to shame their argument style. Every debater deserves the autonomy to make arguments that they want without fear of being cancelled or harassed on twitter. I think we should all try to be more open-minded about different ideas and understand that young people will often make mistakes and grow from them. Be respectful, engage with people in a good-faith way, and allow students the space to change their mind.
4) A good lesson for debate (and life) is to always try to understand nuance and different perspectives. I hope that anyone that reads any article (especially an article of this nature) would be intrigued enough to learn more, to contextualize their information, and to understand evidence before drawing conclusions. I will post the full conversation I had with James below for context.
Hi Lindsey: I am writing an article for The Free Press about judging bias in the NSDA. This bias is illustrated by Tabroom paradigms that tell students what they can and can’t say on the basis of politics and ideology.
I am reaching out because you along with other judges and the NSDA are the focus of my reporting. I will be publishing your name and your Tabroom paradigm below. In the interest of fairness and accuracy, I would like to provide you with the opportunity to comment and answer the following questions. I am reporting on the following comment from above:“...if you are white, don't don't run arguments with impacts that primarily affect POC. These arguments should belong to the communities they affect.” 1. What is an example of an argument that you believe a white student could not run because of their race? 2. Why did you eliminate this statement about race from your most recent paradigm update? If you could provide a response by9PM Eastern today (Fri, May 12), that would allow sufficient time for your comments to be incorporated. Best, James T. Fishback --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey James! I don’t know if it’s exactly my place to say what arguments will/won’t make marginalized communities feel unsafe in the debate space and that’s one reason I updated my paradigm. I want it to ultimately be the debater’s decision, but I want to ensure a team that is directly affected by the argument is comfortable discussing it in the debate space. Another reason I eliminated this sentence was because I incorporated a similar idea in my section about progressive debate and I feel it captures the main idea better: I think debaters should communicate before the round to make sure both teams are aware of what topics will be discussed and are comfortable with it. In essence, I think arguments that may be super hard to argue for communities that are directly involved with the impacts should be discussed prior to the round to ensure debate is fun for everyone. My goal isn’t to “eliminate free speech”, but to have both teams be able to have a productive and fun debate. This kinda goes along with my first comment, but I didn’t eliminate the idea itself. I wanted to clarify later in my paradigm that students should notify one another to see if their opponents are comfortable with a proposed topic. I think these topics are important to be discussed, but not when one team is using the argument as a means to get a win without considering the feelings/experiences of their opponents (especially if their opponents are directly affected by the impact).
I am happy to clarify anything else if needed! Best, Lindsey Shrodek
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Lindsey! This is helpful
Re: "I want to ensure a team that is directly affected by the argument is comfortable discussing it in the debate space." If, before a round, a team of black students expresses discomfort about their non-black opponents' case because it details the impacts of defunding the police on black families, would the non-black team still running that argument without consideration for the experiences of their opponents factor into how you chose the winner/assigned speaks?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I consider everything that happens in round. The goal of debate is to be a productive, positive-sum experience for everyone, and debaters need to be considerate of that goal when deciding how to run an argument and whether to run it at all. You can look at my updated paradigm if you want more information as the one you have is nearly two years old.
Best, Lindsey Shrodek
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to know where my intentions lie, please know that I intend to judge every round to its entirety, regardless of subject matter, that is why I wrote to James: "I consider everything that happens in a round." Thank you for reading! :)
Michael Siller Paradigm
About Me: I am a parent judge on behalf of either Stuyvesant High School or the Bronx High School of Science, depending on the tournament. I am not a "technical" judge. I have been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and have a good sense of what makes a persuasive argument and an effective presentation style.
Procedural Preferences: There are a few guidelines I will ask you to follow as you present your case, to allow me to most effectively understand and judge your arguments:
(i) Please identify yourself at the start. I want to make sure I get your names, schools, the side you will be arguing, and the order in which you will present so that I can correctly assign speaker points.
(ii) Please try to avoid speaking too quickly. I prefer that you speak clearly, focus on your most important points, and avoid trying to cram in every argument you can think of. It will be more difficult for me to follow the flow if you are speaking too quickly.
(iii) Mind your time: I will not be judging you by how many seconds you are under or over the limit. A few seconds over is not going to be penalized; on the other hand, you should strive to use up as much of your available time as possible in a meaningful way.
(iv) Be polite. There's an apt maxim from the field of legal ethics: One may disagree without being disagreeable. Attack and criticize your opponents' arguments, not your opponents.
"Theory" arguments. If you intend to make theory arguments that's fine, provided you also engage on the merits of the topic at issue. Debaters will be judged and scored on how they address the assigned topic.
Evaluation Criteria: I will evaluate your presentation based on a combination of how well you: (a) appear to demonstrate a mastery of the substance (about which you may I assume I know far less than you); (b) present your arguments logically, coherently, and persuasively; and (c) refute and weigh your opponents' arguments, as well as on your presentation style (e.g., poise, professionalism, and ability to think on your feet). Concerning thinking on your feet, I pay particular attention to how well you comport yourself in cross-fire.
For purposes of sharing evidence, my email is mbsiller1@gmail.com
I wish everyone good luck and look forward to your presentations!
I competed in PF at Nova High School in South Florida from 2014 to 2019. I just graduated from Duke University and am finishing up my fourth year coaching PF at Durham Academy.
For Nats 2023, please put me on the email chain- smith.emmat@gmail.com.
How I make decisions-
I tend to vote on the path of least resistance. This is the place on my flow where I need to intervene the least as a judge in order to make a decision. Explicitly identifying your cleanest piece of offense in the round, winning that clean piece of offense, completely extending that clean piece of offense (uniqueness, links AND impacts in BOTH summary and final focus), and then telling me why your cleanest piece of offense is more important than your opponents' cleanest piece of offense is usually an easy way to win my ballot.
General Stuff-
- Do all the good debate things! Do comparative weighing, warrant your weighing, collapse, frontline, etc.
- Please preflow before the round. Holding up the tournament to take 15 min to preflow in the room is really annoying :(
- Warrants and full link chains are important! I can only vote on arguments I understand by the end of the round and won't do the work for you on warrants/links. Please do not assume I know everything just because I've probably judged some rounds on the topic.
- I won't read speech docs, so please don't sacrifice speed for clarity.
- I have a really low threshold and 0 tolerance for being rude, dismissive, condescending, etc. to your opponents. I'm not afraid to drop you for this reason. At the very least, I'll tank your speaks and write you a kindly worded educational ballot about making rounds unnecessarily hostile.
Evidence-
- I personally feel that calling for evidence as a judge is interventionist. I will only do it if 1- someone in the round explicitly tells me to in a speech or 2- reading evidence is literally the only way that I can make a decision (if this happens, it means both teams did a terrible job of clarifying the round and there is no clear offense for me to vote on. Please don't let this happen).
Progressive Stuff-
- I'll vote on Kritiks if they are clearly warranted, well explained, and made accessible to your opponents. (I am admittedly not a fan of K's but will vote on them if I absolutely must.)
- I will also vote on theory that is clearly explained, fleshed out, and well warranted. I believe that theory should ONLY be used to check egregious instances of in-round abuse and reserve the right to drop you for frivolous theory. I won't buy paraphrase or disclosure theory.
- HUGE DISCLAIMER: My biggest pet peeve in PF right now is the use of progressive args to make rounds inaccessible to teams who don't know how to handle them. Reading progressive args against a clearly inexperienced team to get a cheap win is an easy way to auto lose my ballot. ALSO I am really not confident in my abilities to evaluate progressive arguments. If you choose to run them, you take on the risk of me making the wrong decision despite doing my best. Proceed with caution!
- If you plan on reading arguments about sensitive topics, please provide a content warning before the round.
- I am a new judge. Please speak clearly, identify your main arguments at the beginning, and make clear transitions between arguments.
Email for email chains: blakedocs@googlegroups.com
The Blake School (Minneapolis, MN) I am the director of debate where I teach communication and coach Public Forum and World Schools. I also coach the USA Development Team and Team USA in World Schools Debate.
Public Forum
Some aspects that are critical for me
1) Be nice and respectful. Try to not talk over people. Share time in crossfire periods. Words matter, think about what you say about other people. Attack their arguments and not the people you debate.
2) Arguments must be extended in each speech. This idea of "sticky defense" and not answering arguments in the second rebuttal doesn't understand how debate works. A debater can only make strategic choices about their speech if they base it on what was said in the speech previous to them.
3) Read evidence. I don't accept paraphrasing -- this is an oral activity. If you are quoting an authority, then quote the authority. A debater should not have to play "wack a mole" to find the evidence you are using poorly. Read a tag and then quote the card, that allows your opponent to figure out if you are accurately quoting the author or over-claiming the evidence.
4) Have your evidence ready. If an opponent asks for a piece of evidence you should be able to produce it in about 60 seconds. At two minutes or so, I'm going to just say the evidence doesn't count in the round because you can't produce it. If I say the card doesn't count then the card doesn't count in the round. If you say you can't produce the card then you risk losing. That is called fabrication to cite evidence and then not be able to produce it. If I ask for a card after the round and you can't produce it, again you risk losing the round. Good evidence practices are critical if this format is to rely on citing authorities.
5) I tend to be a policymaker. If there is no offense against trying a new policy then I suggest we try the new policy as it can't hurt to try. Offense is important for both sides.
6) Use voting issues format in summary and final focus. Learn that this allows a clear story and weighing. A voting issue format includes links, impacts, and weighing and provides clarity to just "our case/their case". You are still doing the voting issues on "their flow" or "our flow".
7) Lead with labels/arguments and NOT authors. Number your arguments. For example, 1) Turn UBI increases wage negotiation -- Jones in 2019 states "quote"
8) Racist, xenophobic, sexist, classist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and other oppressive discourses or examples have no place in debate.
Enjoy the debate and learn from this activity, it is a great one.
Hello,
My name is Theo Stamatis. I have been involved with debate for a number of years in several different capacities. I do have a preference on pace of your speaking so long as you do not rush. If the speech is comprehensive and consistent is something I also look for.
Here is also a list of my judging preferences:
- Do not rush! My argument is "the slower you talk, the more effective it becomes. The faster you talk, the less effective it becomes."
- Roadmaps are vital and strongly encouraged.
- Sources should not be from newspapers or journalists. They are profoundly bias and would further weaken your argument.
- For a proper case, including impacts in the structure of the contentions is critical for a solid performance.
- Do not waste time on definitions
- Respect in the round is non-negotiable, especially during CrossX/Grand CrossX. This cannot be stressed enough. Keep it civil, but a healthy back and forth.
- Great public speaking skills starts with coming prepared and being confident in your case.
- Positive Attitude throughout the round!
I am a game theorist and policy-maker judge. I will accept any arguments so long as you can prove that they are sound, relevant, and entail resolution-unique impacts. My background is in logic, rhetoric, and philosophy so I expect arguments to be well constructed with sound reasoning and appropriate warranting. I like to see progressive clash in crossfire rather than questions aimed at clarification or exposition. It is my belief that a debate simply cannot be won on content alone so I place equal weight on framework (theoretical) arguments and case (empirical/evidential) arguments. My win condition for debate is not only how well versed and dominant you are on a particular topic but also how well you can debate objectively; some criteria for this evaluation include but are not exclusive to effective use of turns and blocks, effective construction of counterexamples, effective elucidation of advantages and disadvantages of argument acceptance, and effective elucidation of fallacious argumentative methodology. In more empirical formats such as PF I see it as essential that debaters understand the respective fact-finding and research methods involved in their warrants; in other words, debaters should be able to quickly and accurately explain exactly how a conclusion was reached in an academic study, meta-analysis, etc. and furthermore how that conclusion uniquely addresses the claim or claims it is being employed to support. Overall I believe that the purpose of debate is to encourage more comprehensive and diverse education, thus abusive strategies (policy debaters I'm mostly looking at you) rarely win on my ballots.
My history is such that I have participated in Lincoln-Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, and Congressional debate. The vast majority of it was spent in a very traditional district in Lincoln-Douglas. That being said, I do believe that my varied background does allow for an understanding of progression in each format of debate. I am not entirely shut off to hearing anything, I might not wear a smile on my face about it... but I have voted on things like topicality and theory stuff. Now, if we want to get down to the specifics.
LD: First and foremost, Lincoln Douglas is evaluative debate. It doesn't always necessarily call for specific action, sometimes (most of the time) it just calls for justifying an action or state. I don't buy that there always has to be a plan. Additionally, I'm of the mindset that there is framework and substance. I tend to favor substance debate a lot more, that being said, if there can be a good amount of discussion on both sides of that, even better. I like to hear about the resolution, policy started to degenerate in my area to a series of Kritiks and bad topicality argumentation. I walk in expecting the resolution... I'd like to talk about things pertaining to the resolution if at all possible. The role of the ballot begins at the beginning as who was the better debater, if you want to change that let me know, but I tend to like it there. Finally, in terms of evidence, I hate calling for cards, but if it is so central and the round leaves everything riding on that piece of evidence I'll call for it. (Also if it's that key, and I for some reason miss it in my flow... Judges are human too.)
PF (UPDATED): Having judged and coached for a few years, I've learned to let a lot of the round play out. I HIGHLY value topical debate. It is possible to have critical stances while maintaining some relationship to the resolution. Additionally, I think PF is designed in such a way that there is not enough time to really argue K or T stances in a truly meaningful way. Take advantage of the back half of the round and CLARIFY the debate, what is important, why is it important and why are you winning? Tell me what I'm voting for in the final focus, make my job easier, and there's a good chance I'll make your tournament better.
One last note, please don't be mean spirited in the round, don't say that something "literally makes no sense." Don't tell me there is a flaw, show me the flaw.
In summation, run whatever you are happiest with, I might not be, but it's your show, not mine. Be great, be respectful, have fun. And if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I'm not a mean judge (Unless I am decaffeinated, or someone is being disrespectful).
Go slow. Be clear. Be nice.
If you would like more, I have written detailed paradigms for each style I judge:
I debated four years pf, ld, and policy in high school and four years of policy in college.
I can flow pretty much everything, and I’ll evaluate all the arguments to the best of my ability. Try to give your arguments impacts and help me create a framework to evaluate the debate.
Update April 2024- some thoughts after a few years of judging pf
I'm considering not allowing off-time road maps as I think they've become super long-winded and silly. It's my preference that you say, "pro case then con case" or vice versa. Sometimes there are extra sheets of paper that's fine, but I've been in too many debates when the off-time road map sounds something like this, "I'm gonna start by talking about the major issues in the round, then I'm going to address some of the things my opponent has said, before frontlining and then weighing at the bottom." That is, essentially, meaningless to me.
I think that debaters should reward punctuality and timeliness. When I was a debater I didn't realize how much judges are on the clock. There is a judging deadline and if the debate starts late, or seems to take forever. Besides extenuating circumstances, I am always trying to be on time and I think it's selfish to make the tournament run late. That means if I only have two minutes left before the decision deadline, I am spending two minutes deciding. It is in your best interest as debaters to give me more time, not less to think about the round.
I've watched a few theory debates this year. I tend to think RVI's are silly. PF theory is not my favorite but I have voted on it before.
I do really like it when debaters make arguments comparative and have a lot of topic knowledge. I'm often interested in these topics and it's nice when you are too.
I haven't judged debate in around 1 and a half years. However, I worked for 2 years as the GA for Western Kentucky. Coached at Ridge High school for 3 years primarily focusing on PF, but also helping with policy, Parli, and LD. I also competed for Western Kentucky University for 4 years doing LD. So I am experienced with debate, but keep in mind I may be rusty, so please focus on solid impact calc. and keeping the round clear/clean.
-------General Thoughts---------
I like speed! I think fast debates advance the bounds of possible argumentation within the debate space. Although, I do think people should avoid spreading if it is going to propogate structrual disadvantages or your opponents have asked you not to & would hear out speed bad in those instances. Additionally, I do need pen time. I think there should be pauses between arguments delivered at max speed and without them I may miss something
I like debate to be focused on topical advocacy. This means I prefer when debaters do research related to the topic at hand and my ballot in some way affirms. This doesn't mean I am not willing to vote for resistance strategies on the AFF/Neg but that I like to see research connected to the topic within those strategies. Not purely generic arguments. This also applies to theory. While I like T debates. I am fairly unpersuaded by theory argument completly seperated from the topic-- although I have voted for them before.
I am a flow judge but not fully tab. I dont think the role of the judge is to vote for unwarranted arguments. This means 1 sentence analytics (especially spikes or 'tricks') have little value to me and even if conceded are unlikely to be voted on. However, if evidence is conceded I am almost 100% going to vote on it. Basically, ev = fully tab. Blips = not fully tab.
------NFA LD--------
When I did NFA i ran primarily policy arguments, so as a judge I am best evaluating policy arguments. However, this doesnt mean I don't want people to run K's if thats your thing-- you just need to 'tuck me in' more in those debates or I may make a mistake.
As a judge I feel like the most important thing to me is that your reading arguments that are well researched and you can easily explain neuonced details of the arguments. This means reading arguments that you dont understand well with me in the back is not a good decision-- I wont want to vote for it. Also please cut new evidence, evidence quality is very important to me.
GO FAST!! I love spreading. I think debate is a highly competitive activity build upon using skills and tactics to overwhelm your opponent and make them lose.
Generally I would say, I'm cool with just about any argument if the round isn't close. But when rounds are close and competitive there are a few important things to note
For Theory-- I default to competing interps. I want theory positons to have direct in round implications as they relate to the affirmatives plan-text. This means I really hate 'trolley' theory. for example high school LD rounds about robot theory would be a non-starter for me; or if you read 'go to the beach thoery' i will stop flowing the position and you just wasted your time. Essentially I think T, Spec args, or CP theory-- but don't like random interps that aren't clearly derived from debate norms.
For the K-- I'm pretty comfortable with evaluating the K, however if its a more obscure K then i would prefer you to go slower during the collapse or contextualize it so i know what im voting for. I'm really into philosophy from a person level, especially Marxism and psychoanalysis-- so the odds are fairly high I'm relatively familiar with the literature. However, this doesn't mean I'm the most informed about kritique tricks and strategies you may carry out with your specific K (since I didn't read the K in many rounds), so just be sure not to assume too much from me from a knowledge standpoint.
Non-T AFFs: I'm willing to listen to the debate, and in a round thats a crush I would consider myself a fair judge. However, I definitely lean toward prefering that AFFs are resolutional. I have no issue with non-T affs from an ideological standpoint, but I do really have an issue with non-resolutional arguments because of the sheer impossibility of predicting them. So while I'm not going to hack in these rounds, I do think as a competitor you want to prefer resolutionality when possible
My favorite rounds are a really good policy debate. DA + CP's are great for me. Contrary to the K, it's going to be almost impossible for you to loose me on policy tricks or strategy. I love it when people set NC's up to cleaverly get their opponent for example T to force DA links or other creative policy strategies (doing these things, or generally impressing me with the policy strat is a great way to boost speaks.)
------High School LD------
^Read above 1st^
-Other things-
This is only my first year coaching HS LD, so LD specific tricks (in progressive rounds) are a little risky for me. Essentially, if you wouldn't ever see it in a policy round (RVI's, Spikes, NIBs, friv. theory, actions theory style phil) then it might not be the best argument to run for me. But that isn't to say I would never vote for that stuff
On theory:
-I don't like RVI's on T. I think the neg gets to test T at least once. However, on other theory args RVI's are cool.
-I don't like when the 1ar completely collapses to theory. This doesn't mean I won't vote for it. However, it isn't a good way to get high speaks
-I don't love disclosure debates. I think people get to break new affs. If people never disclose I will fairly evaluate the arg.
-Nothing truely frivilous please
-I don't like spikes/ one sentence theory args. Theory needs warrants too
-I am used to college LD where the AR is 6 minutes. As a result, I generally do think the aff has it a little worse-- do with that what you will
On Phil:
All phil debates aren't my favorite/ I am not the most familiar with them so tread lightly. However I will hear out the arg and totally try my best to evaluate it. I got a degree in phil so I am likely familiar with the authors, but not the specific debate applications/ tricks
------High School PF-----
Weighing is one of the most important things for me in PF because i find rounds often get muddled and lack an easy place to vote so i want to be told exactly what issues are the most important and where to vote. This means there needs to be a clear collapse in summery with that argument well impacted out in final focus.
Clash is also extremely important to me in PF. This means a few things. The second speaking team must cover the ink that was just put on their case in the first rebuttal as it makes the round easier to follow and fosters more clash if you choose not to and then the first summary makes extensions I'm not going to be very receptive to your new responses in second summary. Additionally please avoid only responding to taglines, if you don't give a warrant for your response, or concede their warrant the argument is functionally conceded.
Please give me a clear road map because I'm flowing and hate it especially in summaries when they don't make sense or aren't easy to flow due to lack of a road map. This doesn't mean you can't get creative in your order just have one and make it clear.
Beyond this I'm willing to vote on just about anything as long as it isn't blatantly offensive. I also really like when debaters try new things so step outside of the box, so especially in PF don't be afraid to try arguments that may not generally be the norm.
I am a parent judge and not a seasoned debater or debate judge - so not a great judge for spreading strategies. I encourage you to speak slowly, loudly and logically so that I may follow your arguments and properly account for them. To me, good reasoning supported by solid evidence is what wins. I believe that talking over your opponents or treating them in a disrespectful fashion detracts from your argument and from the high level of discourse we all seek.
Lets make the best of today - We all had other options to spend our weekend. We are here by choice. So put your best foot forward!
Yes, I am a lay judge or rather a term I prefer - "citizen judge". FWIW: I have been judging PF for last 4+ years.
I enjoy judging and come to the table with open mind. I leave my pre-conceived notions outside, and do not check your record prior to the round.
So what do I value:
* If I can't understand you, I can't flow for you, so please speak slowly, clearly and loudly. No spreading, please.
* Simplicity of thought and explanation, BUT focus on specifics. Especially, during cross-X, I love when team not just "ask for the card" but know the weaknesses of the research and exploit it.
* It helps me to flow your speech if you give me an off time roadmap, so please do so. If you have any questions, ask me before the round starts.
* Its an intellectual fight. Dont shy from it. But the best team are those who don't "spike the ball" after scoring touchdown. Lets be civil.
* I will NOT do your job - I m here to judge, not debate. If an opponent does not point a flaw in argument, I will accept it.
* PL do not - appear dismissive (leave your eyerolls outside) or rude. Its distracting and unprofessional. I will ding u points, but not the outcome (so ironic).
* I know things like theory and kritiks are starting to show up in PF, but I am not the right judge for that kind of argument. I will only vote on the substance of the resolution.
PS - Sorry if I said your name incorrectly, or used wrong pronouns. Please correct me.
Hi!
I am a first parent time judge, with NO EXPERIENCE in speech or debate.
I will vote on truth over tech.
I will try my best to flow and take notes but will not be able to understand much if you start spreading. SO SPEAK SLOW.
Be respectful to me and your opponents.
I won't give you detailed explanations of my decision of who won during the round but will explain my choice in the ballot.
If you would like to email evidence to your opponents, include my email as well: menkathakur@gmail.com
Also, if you would like, you can give an of-time roadmap (totally your choice).
Background: I debated Parli in High School and College. I am currently a coach for PF, have been judging PF ever since
-I don't mind speed, just speak clearly
-Time yourself, I will also keep time and will stop flowing when you run out of time
-I do prefer when you stand when giving speeches
-I vote on impacts. Provide warrants and evidence for your claims. Extend these through final focus.
-Please cut your cards in advance - if you can't find your card quickly, I will assume it does not exist and strike it from my flow
-I expect you to frontline, and please weigh in final focus
-I will not flow crossfire, if it is important bring it back in your speeches.
-Please signpost, makes flow easy
Please send all evidence and speeches to mgt2130@columbia.edu
My name is RJ Tischler, and I've been volunteering as a judge for speech & debate since 2016. Consider me a lay judge with a lot of experience — I’ve heard that the term “fl-ay” matches my judging style.
For debate:
Clarity is key.
Don't speak too fast (aka, no spreading. Aim for ~200 WPM or fewer).
Weigh the impacts at the end of the round for me.
Explicitly state what your voters are.
Not very familiar with kritiks/theory, but willing to hear them.
If you'd like, feel free to send me your case to read along: email rtischler@phillyasap.org
(JV/Novice debate)
Prioritize clash. That is the purpose of a debate. I am not inclined to buy arguments that "the opponents didn't respond" to contentions that you neglected to revisit & therefore didn't result in clash. If your opponent truly doesn't respond to an important contention, be sure to point that out in rebuttal or crossfire. Don't wait until summary (in PF).
Prounouns: she/her
Triggers: n/a
Paradigm: I'm a "Flay" judge, but I've been judging PF since 2014, and I've judged at major tournaments like Harvard, Georgetown, and UK. Don't spread - I flow the entire round (including crossfires) and I want to be able to not only understand your arguments, but note when you are or are not addressing your opponents' arguments. I prefer clear logic, solid evidence, and confident rhetoric. I don't believe that the entirety of a debate is evidence versus evidence, so frameworks, weighing, and actually speaking persuasively are a major plus. While I fully understand debate jargon, don't rely on it as you would with more technical judges. Make me care more about your world than your opponents'.
I prefer PF rounds are NOT theory or K arguments. However, I will always judge based on how you handle your case, and how your opponent handles it.
If the tournament allows spectators, those spectators should not be leaving and coming back repeatedly during the round. It's incredibly distracting for me and may hinder competitors as well.
FOR DIGITAL TOURNAMENTS: Please speak slowly enough that the internet connection can keep up with you. Even with a solid connection, going too quickly results in a blur of noise that makes it difficult to listen for judges and opponents alike.
Additionally: During a digital tournament, please speak up if you cannot hear your opponent. Don't wait until the end of their speech to note that, for you, they were cutting out. It is better to handle the issue with tech time and have the speech given normally than having an off-time recap.
I have 7 years of both debate and judging experience combined, ill go into deeper detail before an actual debate round (feeling lazy)
I consider myself to be an all around judge, in the sense that my sole purpose in the debate round is to evaluate it and vote on who made the most convincing argument.
Experience: 3 years of national circuit PF debate at Timber Creek High, currently debating at Florida State University as a first-year.
General rule of thumb:
Speed: Absolutely no spreading, as it disadvantages everyone in the room. Other than that, I'm pretty flexible but I ask that you check with your opponents prior to starting to ensure a fair round.
Framework: I automatically default to the framework that I find most consistent in the flow. If two frameworks are provided, tell me why yours should be used to evaluate the round.
Please do all of the interpreting of arguments for me. It should be very clear to me why you won the round. As the competitors, you don’t want me to have to piece things together at the end of the debate. Extend your arguments clearly!
I strongly urge against card dumps. Quality over quantity here. It’s great to have a really good card but how well can you analyze it? If necessary, I will call for cards once the debate is over. Extend the card, not just the author and tagline!
Please no Ks, I’m not used to them and will get very lost in round.
Absolutely no bringing up of new information in final focus. If first speaker mentions it in summary, I’ll (reluctantly) extend it, but any new information will not be written down. Speeches should build off of each other.
I don’t flow crosses but I can and will use them in terms of speaks. Be professional.
Make it very clear to me by FF why I should choose your side. I don't mind how you organize your speeches, just signpost. I appreciate brief off-time roadmaps just to tell me where I should start flowing.
I vote off of the flow. I flow the entire round except for crosses. Please be respectful to your partner and your opponents; I look very negatively upon rude debaters. This is supposed to serve as an educational platform and a fun extracurricular activity.
Lastly, please remember to have fun! The online format isn’t ideal for any of us but we should remain civilized and professional. Good luck to you all!
I have been a lay/parent judge for the past 4 years. I did not debate in high school and am not well versed in the technical aspects of debate. I judge rounds as if I were watching a presidential debate. (Because really you're doing this to learn how to present a point of view in the real world.) Are you able to present a valid argument with points relevant to the topic? Can you respond to the other presenters arguments in a logical manner with validated information ? Are you able to speak in a respectful tone yet still effectively argue your side of the question ?
I expect all competitors to be respectful, know the rules of their format, and follow the needed order of the debate. I would categorize myself as more of a traditionalist versus progressive. I appreciate sound, well-researched arguments and dislike hyperbolic statements. Additionally, I am okay with fast conversational speed, but not faster than that.
PF:
four turns equals a square and I have the power of god and anime on my side
TLDR: tech judge, defense is sticky for 1summ, if you don't extend case in both speeches, im capping your speaks at a 27, will vote on K's and theory. safety first, for any specific questions about this pls read my paradigm.
i will be very unhappy if you do not show up to the round at the check in time, if you do not show up preflowed, and if you cannot quickly produce clearly cut cards on demand.
add me to the email chain alex.watson@potomacdebate.com
For any other questions, read my extremely long paradigm.
LD and Policy:
Please send speech docs with fully typed analyts and full tags. Also these are not my home events so sorry if I make a bad call. Feel free to post round me.
I am a new judge and a parent of a debater. Please speak clearly, identify your main arguments at the beginning (roadmap), and make clear transitions between arguments.
Background:
I am a professor in the department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University. I have a BA in political science from Dartmouth College and Ph.D in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University.
Judging Experience:
This is my third year as a parent debate judge in PF. Thus I have a reasonable amount of experience in PF including judging TOC. Nonetheless I am definitely a lay judge, not a tech judge; see further notes below. If I am judging you in an event other than PF, please be aware that I am unfamiliar with the type of speech / debate you are doing. I will do my best to evaluate the round according to the instructions judges are given for your type of event, but I will likely be evaluating at a naive level, e.g., are you articulate and clear? I will almost certainly miss the finer points of a non-PF event.
Preferences:
As a scientist in an environmental field, I interact frequently with policy professionals and the media. This experience has taught me the importance of focusing on the most likely and important impacts of a decision (as opposed to getting lost in arcane, less likely impacts), of contextualizing the arguments being made (i.e., providing justification for why certain issues are important or not important to the issue at hand), and presenting evidence that is unbiased and evidence-based (as opposed to failing to critically assess ones sources, or exaggerating the evidence and/or the likely impacts). My debate judging follows these preferences.
Please do not spread. If you speak too fast for me to follow your argument then I cannot give you credit for it. Also, be aware that I am not a tech judge, and may miss the more technical aspects of the round, such as offense and defense for example. What I will notice and reward is appropriate and unbiased use of evidence, contextualization, logical reasoning, and higher-order thinking.
Debate is fun (although I don't have debate experience). I enjoy judging. Most of my judging experiences are PF followed by LD. I also judged limited rounds of parli, policy and congress. Except for PF, don't assume that I am familiar with the current topic. I usually disclose and give my RFD if it's allowed and time permits.
Add me to the email chain: cecilia.xi@gmail.com
I value clear warrants, explicit weighing and credible evidence. In general tech > truth, but not overly tech > truth (which means that I have to think about the truth part if you read something ridiculous) if you read substance.
- Speed: talking fast is not a problem, but DON'T spread (less than 230 words per minute works). Otherwise, I can only listen but not keep up flowing. If I missed anything, it's on you. If it's the first round early morning or the last round late night, slow down a little (maybe 200 words per minute).
- Warrants: the most important thing is clear links to convince me with supporting evidence (no hypothesis or fake evidence - I will check your evidence links). Use cut card. Don't paraphrase. If you drop your warrants, I will drop you.
- Flow: I flow everything except for CX. Clear signposts help me flow.
- Rebuttals: I like quick thinking when attacking your opponents' arguments. Turns are even better. Frontlines are expected in second rebuttal.
- CX: don't spend too much time calling cards (yes, a few cards are fine) or sticking on something trivial.
- Weighing: it can be any weighing mechanisms, but needs to be comparative. Bring up what you want me to vote on in both summary and FF (collapse please) and extend well.
- Timing: I don't typically time your speeches unless you ask me to do so (but if I do, the grace period is about 10 sec to finish your sentence but not to introduce new points). I often time your prep and CX.
Non-substance (prefer not to judge)
Ts: limited judging experience. Explain well to me why your impact values more and focus on meaningful violations. Don't assume an easy win by default reading Ts, if you sacrifice educational value for the sake of winning.
Ks: no judging experience. Only spectated a few rounds. Hard to understand those big hollow words unless you have enough warrants to your ROB. If you really want to do Ks (which means you are at risks that I won't be able to understand well), do stock Ks.
Tricks: I personally don't like it - not aligned with the educational purpose of debate.
Finally, be respectful and enjoy your round!
Hi! I'm a parent judge of a Bronx Science debater. I AM A LAY JUDGE.
I am going to be flowing but PLEASE speak slow so that I can do so. Around 700ish word cases is a good speed
Email: klyellen@yahoo.com
My daughter helped me write this:
What will help me flow your side better:
Don't blip over tags.
- When Front-lining: Quickly re-explain their response and which of your contentions it is on before front-lining it.
- When Extending: Please re-explain your argument in a style that will help a layperson better understand it (it sometimes takes me hearing the argument explained more than once to completely understand it)
I will not vote off on anything said in cross but I will be listening, Explaining something well in cross could make or break whether I understand your argument in other words cross will help me better understand the arguments made in round.
I will only call for evidence if you tell me to in speech or if it is important to my decision
I will not evaluate K’s or Theory such as paraphrase or disclosure. However, If something makes you feel unsafe in the round that would normally require theory, tell me in a speech and tell me how I should evaluate it
Let me know if there are any accommodations you need, this should be a safe space for all!
Most of all Have Fun :)
I'm the parent of a debater, treat me as a traditional judge. Speak well and be consistent between your speeches. I expect everything to be brought up in the final focus be in the summary. I always prefer a debate with less arguments but more analysis than a debate with more arguments but less analysis. I prefer a fact supported by quantifiable measurement and good reasoning. I value logical arguments that happen in the real world as I am interested in the implication of these topics in the real world. Don't run progressive arguments such as theory, Ks, or tricks as i don't know how to evaluate them. Have fun and be respectful of each other at all times.
This is my first time judging a debate and I will not be flowing or timing. Please be nice and respectful.
Extra speaks if you are able to insert a BTS reference :)
I have debated in some capacity at some point in my life, current PF coach for Boston Latin School/APDA debater. Tl;dr normal tech judge. (My paradigm used to say flay judge but Ive come to realize I’m a lot more tech>truth than most judges. Read anything as long as it’s not racist or bad.)
my email is lemuelyu@bu.edu, please add it to the doc/email chain/carrier pigeon
At the end of the round, I will look down at my flow and do a few things, in the following order.
-
I will look at any framing, characterization, burdens, overviews etc. and evaluate the clash (or lack thereof) there. The winning arguments will serve as a filter for arguments in the round or as a way to determine the top layer of the round.
-
I will look at each individual contention or piece of offense within the round and determine what is won and how much it has won (i.e., how well it links to its impacts, a function of warranting, INTERNAL LINKS, uniqueness, etc). I will look at defense and evaluate whether it is terminal or mitigatory, and whether defense has been properly frontlined. Importantly, I will only look at offense and responses that are both extended and implicated in the final foci, and pulled directly from summary.
-
I will look at weighing. I often think about this as “layers” for the round, the side that best accesses (via probability, scope etc) the highest amount of the most important impact will win the round. This means weighing impacts over other impacts (i.e. death over poverty), and then weighing access to impacts/link weighing (i.e. more death over less death)
- I will vote for the argument with the best link into the greatest amount of the best impact (not necessarily the greatest quantity).
some procedural stuff
- tech > truth but there is a threshold of believability for your arguments. if you claim that the sky is neon orange, you better have some EXCELLENT evidence for it. also, if you're argument is straight up racist, sexist, etc. i will not remain tabula rasa.
- I have never learned theory in my life, so I am not receptive to it. However, if you feel like running theory and get your opponent's ok to run it, you're welcome to run it at your own risk. Might make the round more interesting...
- light cussing is fine but full on spewing invective is not fine.
- I can generally flow relatively quickly but if you're gearing up to pull up speechdocs I will stop flowing. I will only flow what I comprehend.
- please don't be disrespectful. If you are disrespectful then I will be disrespectful to you :((. I don't care if you have fun or not, that's up to you. But don't make it unfun for other people.
- Weighing and warrants are important, they're what win rounds. Weigh before final focus and have a clear narrative. If no weighing is done throughout the round I will default to some stupid weighing mechanism like "who weaponizes the gay frogs". No one wants that. Also, I won't vote for an argument I don't understand.
- second rebuttal is required to at least frontline turns, otherwise they are considered dropped.
- Please signpost.
- Be as aggressive or passive as you want in cross, i'm usually not listening unless it starts to become whack. Aggressive =/= disrespectful. If both teams agree you can literally use cross as prep time if you want.
- Don't postround please, the round is over and you should have made it clear during round.
- If a card becomes heavily disputed in round, I will call it.
- If a warrant for an argument is not given, "this is not warranted" is a valid response.
- If the argument is well warranted and not empirical, "this is not carded" is not a valid response.
- if you concede defense to frontline a turn, tell me what piece of defense you concede and how it gets rid of the turn. Being able to wipe offense off my flow simply by saying “we kick out” is dumb.
- speaks start from 27 and go up from there. If I give you a 27 I think you were kinda poopoo. A 28 means you were aight. 29 means you were very nice, and a 30 means you were very very nice. Anything below 27 means that I think you're a terrible person
- Don't go more than 10 seconds overtime. I'll stop listening to what you say after that. Abuse prep and your speaks will tank.
Rapid speaking and excessive technical language may hinder your performance. It's acceptable to speak quickly as long as you remain clear. But if speed affects your clarity, it's better to slow down.
I won't share my decision post-round to ensure the tournament progresses smoothly and to uphold fairness in all debates. The decision will solely be reflected in the ballot.
I am a parent PF judge. I value strong arguments with well supported evidence. Here are some of my asks:
1. Please be clear and not speed through your speech.
2. Please be respectful throughout the entire rounds. Don't be rude or condescending.
3. Please be constructive when setting up your arguments (build your case, cite relevant evidence, tell me your side of the story).
4. Please provide reasons you disagree with your opponent during rebuttals and don't forget to defend your own case.
5. Please make your final focus convincing for me to vote for you.
Thank you.
Hi! I'm writing this for my mom as a debater :)
For state quals 2023: She knows the resolution, but not the specific arguments.
Most important: She is a parent judge who is not a native English speaker. I cannot emphasize how important it is to speak slowly.
Path to her ballot: Lay adaptation! Please speak clearly, slowly, and non-aggressively. She will not vote for you if you are rude. Speak well, be chill. Be respectful in cross, mildly assertive at most.
READ THIS: I have told her that in both summaries and final focuses, at the TOP of each speech, there will be weighing. Please read this sentence at the beginning of each back half speech: "Judge, even if you 100% buy their argument of XXX, we still win based of our argument of XXX, here's why: ..." Please assume that she will buy at least some of each side's case, and here is a great time to practice your comparative weighing. Tell her why your impact outweighs, even if your opponents also win their impact. If you do not do this weighing at the top of each back half speech, you will probably lose.
Constructive: Make your case very clear. No convoluted link-chains with weird impacts. Clear warranting. 100% serious, I highly recommend reading a 500-600 word, single contention case.
Rebuttal: Please number your responses, and make sure to be clear on what you are responding to. Second rebuttal should frontline, but make it clear when you are, and what specifically you are frontlining.
Summary: If you didn't listen to me and read more than one contention: COLLAPSE. Both summaries should go for just one argument. Please make it clear when you are addressing your case, and when you are addressing your opponents' case.
Final Focus:Same as summary basically, make it clear what she is voting on, aka make clear the name of the argument, what the argument is, and why you are winning it.
Miscellaneous but important:
- Short off-time roadmaps before every speech.
- Please signpost when you are switching flows.
- Absolutely zero jargon, and don't emphasize turns, she won't understand. Please do not drop case for a turn.
- keep your own time
- don't bother with telling her to read evidence/evidence debates, it won't matter.
I expect all competitors to be respectful, know the rules of their format and follow the needed order of the debate. I would categorize myself as more of a traditionalist versus progressive. I would appreciate all competitors speak slowly, loud and clear AND clearly state their contentions.