I am a parent judge new to speech and debate, expecting students to speak slowly and clearly. Please just assume that I would sometimes know about the topic beforehand. In addition, I might need students to explain their voting issues clearly.

Congress

I've been judging Congressional Debate at the TOC since 2011. I'm looking for no rehash & building upon the argumentation. I want to hear you demonstrate true comparative understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the plan presented by the legislation. Don't simply praise or criticize the status quo as if the legislation before you doesn't exist.

LD Paradigm:

Each LDer should have a value/value criterion that clarifies how their case should be interpreted.

I prefer to evaluate a round by selecting whose V/VC weighs most heavily under their case. Winning this is not in itself a reason for you to win. Tell me what arguments you're winning at the contention level, how they link, and how much they weigh in comparison to other arguments (yours and your opponent's) in the round.

Voting down the flow, if both sides prove framework and there’s not a lot of clash I would move on to the contention level and judge off the flow.

PUBLIC FORUM

SPEED
Don't. I can't deal with speed.

EVIDENCE
Paraphrasing is a horrible practice that I discourage. Additionally, I want to hear evidence dates (year of publication at a minimum) and sources (with author's credential if possible) cited in all evidence.

REBUTTALS
I believe it is the second team's duty to address both sides of the flow in the second team's rebuttal. A second team that neglects to both attack the opposing case and rebuild against the prior rebuttal will have a very difficult time winning my ballot as whichever arguments go unaddressed are essentially conceded.

SUMMARIES
The summaries should be treated as such - summarize the major arguments in the debate. I expect debaters to start to narrow the focus of the round at this point.

FINAL FOCUS
FOCUS is key. I would prefer 2 big arguments over 10 blippy ones that span the length of the flow. If you intend to make an argument in the FF, it should have been well explained, supported with analysis and/or evidence, and extended from its origin point in the debate all the way through the FF.

IMPACTS

I rock with the nuclear war impact, but it's getting a little old, lol. The concept of a nuclear war is too complex and I find that it's been thrown too loosely in the debate space. I know it's cliche, but please don't generate this impact and tell me you win on magnitude and expect that to be a reason for me to give your team an easy ballot. If one of your impacts genuinely leads to an outbreak of a nuclear war, please warrant it well.

CX

I am a policymaker judge who does not ignore the stock issues. I think the Aff's job is to propose a topical policy solution and the Negative's job is to demonstrate why that policy should be rejected. I will weigh the advantages and disadvantages, plan vs CP, and impacts. I will vote on kritiks if they can be clearly enunciated and applied to the advocacy in round. C-X is a highly effective way of framing/rebutting your opponent's arguments

INTERP

Overall: I pay real close attention to the introduction of each piece, I look for the lens of analysis and the central thesis that will be advanced during the interpretation of literature. When the performance is happening, I'm checking to see if they have dug down deep enough into an understanding of their literature through that intro and have given me a way to contextualize the events that are happening during the performance

POI: I look for clean transitions and characterization (if doing multiple voices).

DI: I look for the small human elements that come from acting. Big and loud gestures are not always the way to convey the point, sometimes something smaller gets the point more powerfully.

HI: I look for clean character transitions, distinct voices, and strong energy in the movements. And of course the humor.

INFO: I'm looking for a well researched speech that has a strong message to deliver. Regardless of the genre of info you're presenting, I think that showing you've been exhaustive with your understanding is a good way to win my ballot. I'm not wow'd by flashy visuals that add little substance, and I'm put off by speeches that misrepresent intellectual concepts, even unintentionally. I like speeches that have a conclusion, and if the end of your speech is "and we still don't know" then I think you might want to reassess the overall direction you are taking.

FX/DX: When I'm evaluating an extemp speech, I'm continually thinking "did they answer the question? or did they answer something that sounded similar?" So keep that in your mind. Are you directly answering the question? When you present information that could be removed without affecting the overall quality of the speech, that is a sign that there wasn't enough research done by the speaker. What I vote on in terms of content are speeches that show a depth of understanding of the topic by evaluating the wider implications that a topic has for the area/region/politics/etc.

I started judging my two kids' speech and debate tournaments in high school. I judge IE's, LD, and Policy. And have continued judging these tournaments after my kids moved on to college.

I prefer that you speak loud and clearly. However I do not have a preference on speed. You may flow as fast or slow as you see fit.

Simply, debate is a very fun game that I used to play and enjoy watching. Do what you do best. I will vote for you if I think you win. And please be nice to your opponents.

As far as preconceived notions of debate go, here are a few of mine:

(1) I think the topic should be debated.

(2) I enjoy case debates and plan specific counterplans.

(3) I usually don't have speech docs open during the debate so your clarity is important to me.

I am a parent Judge.

Southlake Carroll '24

southlakecarrolldp@gmail.com

• 3+ years of LD experience.
• Be respectful to everyone in the room.
• Do not say anything that could be possibly offensive.
• I am fine with speed, as long as you are clear.
• Read any style of argument you want, just make sure there is offense, defense, and weighing.

Clarice Perez’s Judging Philosophy

• I debated in Public Forum style debate for one year in high school, as well as two years of LD, NPDA, and IPDA style debate in college.
• I would consider my self a flow judge and stick pretty strongly to voting on the flow.
• I attended a performing arts school for four years and, I do appreciate some level of passion brought into the debate as performance does play a large aspect in selling arguments
• Won nationals and states in Parli and IPDA

Specifics

Email Chain: Please add me to the email chain. clariceperez@outlook.com

Speed: I don’t mind a little bit of speed however if it is being used in an abusive way I will take than it to consideration.I will flow all arguments I can but if your team is going to spread understand that most likely not all arguments will be evaluated due to being unable to write them down. I will take into consideration if your opponent is stating "clear" repetitively and you are continuing to go at the same speed. If you do call speed repetitively do not go up and spread during your speech, it is not a good look.

Topicality: I will flow whatever is argued, however, I do believe the resolution is worded in a specific way and meant to be interpreted in that way for fairness. With that being said it is the negations job to run a constructed T sheet for me to actually vote on topicality. I will not automatically vote for the negation just because the affirmation was claimed to be non-topical, there needs to be clear abuse proven that this non-topical plan is not allowing the negation to make their arguments. I am not a fan of kritik however if a team is running a kritik against you make sure you fully refute it, I will not automatically vote a team down just for running a k. With that being said, please understand that I really don't like K's and it wouldn't be the best idea to run one in front of me

My Ideal Round: I enjoy hearing a true debate, I don’t love hearing procedural arguments and would prefer to hear argument based clash. Also don't just read cards to me and expect me to buy the argument, evidence is great if there's logic provided with it. If you're going to read evidence spend the time to elaborate and explain the significance of the evidence to your case rather than just spewing statistics at me. I would prefer quality over quantity when it comes to advantages and disadvantages. This makes it much clearer when deciding which area to vote as well as always for maximum time to argue for or against specific points. I always prefer a fair amount of signposting to ensure that arguments are being flowed in the correct areas. Be cordial and keep it friendly, I will pay attention to time so need for unnecessary pointing to a timer if your opponent has gone over time. Impact calculus is always nice for a final focus speech, probability will always weigh heavier than magnitude for me. If you are going to claim nuclear war as an impact really make sure to have the link chain there to see it as a probable impact.

I am a parent judge

I am a parent judge and would like debaters to consider the following:

• I will only make decisions on arguments that are understandable to me. So if presenting complex arguments, please try to break them down and explain them clearly.
• Please do not speak too fast; it will be harder for me to follow and process your arguments. Speak at a normal conversation pace and keep arguments clear and concise.
• Please be polite and respectful to the opposing candidate during cross-ex.

I am a lay judge. I have been judging speech and debate for quite a while now. When it comes to debate, please read your case TO me not AT me. Don't bore me with random facts. During the debate, assume I know nothing about the topic. When it comes to framework, keep it simple and make sure your case follows your framework the entire time. Please always explain and weigh impacts and arguments. Don't be afraid to crack a few jokes and be humorous during debate speeches. As long as you are respectful and still on topic, go for it. I appreciate off time road maps to help me with flowing and ballots. Please speak clearly, don't spread and most importantly have fun!

LD

No excessive spreading where you are hiccuping and wheezing trying to breathe, or progressive arguments. I like to see direct contention class and Value/VC debate.