I have over 3 years of judging experience of various events including Congress, IE, PFD and LD (traditional) in regional and national level. Lately, I have been judging LD and PFD events.

I have a few preferences that need to be followed during a round in order to persuade me:

· Speak clearly, I understand speaking fast is necessary at times, but I should be able to comprehend everything you are saying.

· I expect civility and respect within the round, there will be no racism, sexism, misogyny, ethnocentrism, belittling of your opponent, or personal criticism of your opponent. If you display any of these actions I will no longer listen to you or your arguments.

· The debate will be weighed and judged on clear and consistent arguments on the framework, which are carried throughout the round.

· Evidence must be presented throughout the round. If your opponent doesn’t negate your evidence, emphasize on it to get the advantage.

· Framework is very important. You must have a clear value and value criterion. You must apply it to all of your arguments made in the round and uphold it at the end. I should be able to relate to the contention you’re speaking about and all of your supporting points.

· Please keep your pace to a conversational speed so I can flow. If I miss something on the flow, I can’t vote based on it.

· Having confidence is a key to effective debate. If you sound confident and bring your arguments clearly, you’re more than likely to convince me.

I typically can't hear/follow full speed spreading. If I can't hear you I will yell clear.

I will listen to any arguments I understand. If you are running progressive arguments I expect clear explanations for every part of the case. You can read tricky arguments but if I can't hear them I will not vote on them.

Traditional approach is probably best.

I value tech over truth, once again as long as the argument is explained to me.

During rebuttals I expect clear, heavy impact work. Explain how your arguments interact with theirs and tell me why to vote for you.

Hi all,

This is my first time judging so people call it a lay judge. Be strong in your rebuttals, use more stat & facts and not ethics & morality.

Do not make crossfires an all out screaming competition, be respectful to each other.

I have been judging for around 3 years on the LD local and national circuit.

I value traditional debates where both debaters emphasize clash of nuanced philosophical and empirical evidence. I believe that debate is meant to express ideas of the resolution and is meant to show the passion of the debater. Make sure to provide defensible claims and be sure and clear about the points you want to make. Remember to always treat your opponent with respect and be open to different types of arguments. I love hearing well developed values and contentions that really show the better side of the resolution at hand.

Things that you should do:

- good and easy to understand framework
- excellent contention choice
- amazing weighing of arguments and clear ballot story
- respecting your opponent

Things you should not do:

- disrespect your opponent
- having poor strategy in round
- speaking extremely fast
- not having a clear story for the me to vote for

Last note is that debate is a place where you should have fun!

I have been judging since the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. I have judged both Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum Debates as part of the Florida Gulf Coast Catholic Forensics League. I have judged in local and regional events including 8 in-person tournaments and 1 online tournament. I had the privilege of judging the Final Round of the National Lincoln-Douglas Debate last year. I do not like spreading. If I can not understand an argument, then I can not give credit to the points of that argument.

I feel that a few well-developed arguments prove more persuasive than a larger quantity of arguments. In addition, arguments should each be addressed individually.

Rebuttals should provide voters answers to address the important issues advanced in constructive speeches. Rebuttals should also extend arguments individually which debaters advanced in constructive speeches.

Citations after article introduction are preferred.

Oral prompting won't affect my decisions.

Build the value that is not overly complicated and should be relatable, and criterion should not be over technical.

I prefer empirical arguments over philosophical and theoretical to support a value position.

Critical arguments should provide substantial evidence for their support.

Debaters should make sure that all claims are supported with specific, defined examples with no paraphrasing.

Off case arguments should have a purpose or illustration for the case at hand.

The focus should be winning the debate, not just attacking a person's style or flaws of method. Winning on technicalities is not winning a debate.

Remember that in order to win a round, respect towards your opponent is paramount. It is hard to find in favor of debaters who belittle or berate their opponent in or out of round. Graceful winners are as important as graceful losers.

I vote off the flow. I don't mind debate jargon, but I may ask you to clarify some terms. Don't spread or talk too fast (200 wpm is the max where I can still catch everything you say). I will ask you to slow down if I'm missing arguments. I may ask you after the round for cards and evidence, so don't run out of the room until I've let you go. Be respectful in cross. I will not tolerate Ad Hominem attacks (attacks against your opponent and not their argument). I do not like theory arguments that are off topic and trying to be "clever" to win on technicalities. I will likely not vote on it, especially if you are abusing it.

LD: I have a background as a philosophy professor. Please make your value and value criterion clear and carry them throughout the round. Don't turn this into a 1 person policy round. I prefer more traditional LD arguments. If you are going to try to tell me that mass extinction is good, for example, it better have some hard evidence and strong logic backing it up.

PF: Make sure your arguments all make logical sense. I probably will not vote on Kritiks or weird theory. I prefer you have evidence to back up your claims but it is not always needed for logical arguments. Please present me with clear impacts and carry them throughout the round.

Feel free to ask me questions after round (if this is a tournament where judges disclose), but know that I have already submitted my ballot so please don't try to convince me why my decision was wrong. If you want to set up an email chain, my email is josephmpergola@gmail.com

Hello,

I am a parent of a LD debaters (my son and daughter), who have been debating for 6 years. I have been judging for 6 years as well. So I can flow some speed and understand the framework debate very well. Please do not use your highest spread with me. I understand the logical arguments if explained well. I like confident debaters. My average speaker points would be 28.5.