20 6A UIL Academics LD and Speech
2022 — Richmond - Bush HS, TX/US
Speech Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI value debate that is germane to the topic. Loosely connected theory shells or using "trick" debate strategies hold less value than those in which are directly relevant to the topic. I am looking for well researched and well delivered debate.
Spreading is frowned upon. In my opinion spreading ruins the spirit of debate. If I cannot understand the words coming out of your mouth you are not debating, you are mumbling. Preference will be given to the debater that is speaking clearly, and making their points with fluidly.
Be respectful to me and your opponents at all times.
Updated - 9/5/2024
Email: I do not use email for debate rounds please use tabroom.share or speech drop.
Experience:
Coached debate at HAIS (1), Crosby (3.5), Dulles (3.5), and Niles West (3.)
Debated policy for 4 years at Crosby (2004-2008), In College at UMKC (Fall 2009), and Houston (Spring 2009, 2012-2015)
Non-negotiables
- If you use sexually explicit language or engage in sexually explicit performances in high school debates, you should strike me.
- If you think the appropriate response to other people explaining how they need to be included in debate is to say "West is best" or "Violence towards people like you is good" please strike me.
- Purposeful or dismissive acts of misgendering will result in a full speaker point loss and if the other team makes it an argument the possible loss of a ballot.
- All permutations must have a text.
- I will not vote on hidden theory shells unless the following are met (I clearly have it on my flow, the document sent during the round includes it , and the theory is warranted to be sufficient for a winning argument how it is read in the original form.)
Tech ---------------------------------------------------------X----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Truth
I very slightly side with tech, but more importantly conceded arguments are only as good as the warrants you extend and what the evidence actually says. Not your tagline, the argument/evidence. I think this is important because the Flow is very important to my decision making but I am not willing to vote for a gross misrepresentation of evidence, nor am I willing to entertain tagline extensions as warranted explanations. I can never think of a reason for a debater to say "read this card" if you're doing your job I should read it and go yep that is what they said in round! Truth also matters, if confronted with conflicting claims about the nature of a set of evidence I will pass judgement on correctness over technical factors.
What is Debate?
I think that we need to understand we are a community of people responsible for the activity, We are responsible for teaching and guiding students to make decisions that are descriptive of the community they wish to compete within.
Policy
Theory
Theoretical rejections of the team have an incredibly high burden in my mind. Theoretical rejections of the argument have a much lower burden. For me to vote for a team entirely on theory they must prove that the debate was borderline impossible. Contrarily to win reject them argument you only have to prove the debate would be better without the argument. To me using theory to force a condensing of the round is a sound strategy. Also, generally, if you're conceding that conditionality is good then you're highly unlikely to get me to vote down the team on another theory argument.
DA's
Disadvantages are the core of all aspects of debating. Make sure you extend all four components when going for a DA. This includes when going for Disadvantages from any perspective.
CP's
Calling into question the legitimacy of many different types of counter-plans should be a portion of your strategy. Too many affirmatives allow the negative to get away with a lot of abuse on the counter-plan that they shouldn't. CP must have a text, a clear solvency mechanism and a net benefit. Please make sure you extend each if you go for the argument. Perm do Both, Perm Do CP, and Perm do aff and CP on other issues are all answers to various things, but the latter two you need to justify. Please create nuance in both perm and theory debates this makes life a lot easier.
Framework
I feel strongly that framework should be part of a strategy to answer critical affirmatives but should not be your "answer" for critical affirmatives. Given the debates I have watched most recently the question of fairness vs critical education has largely come out of the side of critical education arguments. I also think that the majority of rounds I voted for framework have been for clash standards, with a very strong push for limiting subject formation, and a very strong push that the game effects every aspect of debate and thus infects the critical education/DA's the aff is going for. Combined with SSD or solid TVA push this tends to be the easiest way to my ballot as the negative. I also find the more you mitigate the aff itself the more likely I am to vote for something like Fairness or Clash is a sliding scale.
For the affirmative having your DA/Critical Education impact turn the content we clash over needs to be explicitly done, I generally am fine with any number of potential frames for this type of arguments and am willing to vote on innovations if they impact turn the clash or fairness' content or form. That being said I do not judge college debates (I've judged like 3 in my lifetime.) and as such the new verbiages or the hottest new trend needs to be explained to me in this format. What is the argument? Why does it impact turn Clash/Fairness? and What resolves the claim? (Alt or interp.) The aff must also have a good reason it needs to occur on the aff. I'm down for SSD bad to be clear but being aff is special and their should be a reason you need to be aff.
Critical Affirmatives
Critical affirmatives should have a solid defense of both their importance but also the importance of debating it. There should be a clear area of debate that the negative can and should engage in. That being said I really enjoy watching good Kritikal affirmatives deploy the various ways of relooking at debate structures and topics. I find affirmatives that are either very small but willing to engage with whatever strategy the negative chooses, or conversely, very large structural affirmatives that will engage on a theory level with everything to be the best. Be ready to answer the core questions negation should ask you. Why this aff? Why this round? Why negate this? Why this ballot? If you think you have good answers to those then I'm likely going to enjoy watching the debate.
The Kritik
Kritik as framework :I am willing to vote for kritiks that pair down to just a framework argument but feel this decision needs to be hyper clear in the 2NR, preferably in the 2NC as that would give you the biggest set of arguments and still lets you no link aff offense. If you are going for framework then do that, don't hedge bets that's generally how you lose rounds. Win that the affs scholarship is fundamentally abhorrent or unreliable to the point of worthlessness. Win that this furthers systems of domination, and win that a model of rejection proposed by the negative interp is a better world for debate than the consequences only style the aff uses.
Kritik as structure: I am willing to vote for kritiks as structural criticisms, I treat these debates very much how I treat CP/DA debates. You need to win the alt and a net benefit that outweighs the aff. Obviously you can do that through mitigation of the aff or via the alternative resolving the impacts, or action of the 1AC. I like clear Link -> Impact -> Alt solves extensions just like I expect that from CP/DA Debates.
The PIK: I have no issues with these if they are clearly flagged (I do mean very clearly) in either the 1NC or the Block. I do not think you get to answer the CX question can the kritik result in the aff, say no and then proceed to go for a PIK. I think these can be strategic especially against arguments about reps, but you need to win reps severance bad, and that PIKS are good. It is a strategy do not mind it have fun.