I am a parent judge with 5+ years of PF/LD/ Policy experience. Please consider me a Flay Judge.

• Speak as fast as you would like, but I will ask you to slow down if I cannot understand. No spreading please. I am fine with 15 seconds of grace time.
• Please be respectful of your opponents and give them a chance to speak. Do not keep interrupting or be rude or condescending. If not, I will drop your speaker points.
• Please do not read any form of progressive argumentation (theory, kritiks, etc.) as I cannot evaluate them and will not give you credit for them.
• Off-time roadmaps and sign-posting are encouraged. It helps me follow your debate better.
• My decision will be based on your contentions, evidence, rebuttals, impacts, summaries and weighing. I will evaluate all those on both sides to come to a decision.
• I like to see well-researched cases backed by strong and credible evidence. Please include me in the email chain to share cards as I like to review them as well.

Good luck and have fun!

Hi debaters!

Please speak clearly and if possible, not too fast. Also please explain your arguments in plain terms.

Good luck!

Lay Judge. Please signpost and terminalize impacts. Speak clearly and do your best!

New to judging. All argument is valid as long as the argument is justified. Show your evidence clearly.

Enjoy, it will show on your delivery!

I'm a lay judge. I have kids who debates, so I've judged some local circuit tournaments, but that's it. Please do not speak too quickly. Please be clear and nice to your opponent.

Please don't use too much debate jargon.

Otherwise, have fun in the round, make me laugh, and let's debate!

My background is executive management in technology companies. I have some limited experience in judging PF.

General Rules

Be Respectful

Don't Misrepresent Evidence

If you are asked a question, answer it. If you ask a question, allow it to be answered

Final Focus should reflect what took place during the round, not just repeat opening arguments

Make Convincing and Logical Arguments. While logic prevails, emotion and conviction also helps. Most important, have fun.

I am a parent judge.(lay judge)

Please speak slowly and clearly. Signpost well so that I can follow along.

Refrain from using debate terminology. Make sure you tell me clearly why I should vote for you in late speeches.

I will take notes, and I will try to vote on arguments, though delivery is also important.

I am a parent judge for PF.

Please explain your arguments clearly and slow down. Signposting is preferred and slowing down is very important. I listen in cross-fire, and it plays a big role in your speaker points. Be nice to your opponents and keep cross-fire civil.

1. I am new to judging, so I would appreciate if you speak in normal pace (marginal slow or fast is ok) and clearly.

2. I am a big believer in fact, so please be correct in your facts.

3. Please be respectful towards your opponents- no mockery or intimidation.

Good morning and best wishes for a great debate! My name is Bianca Gruetter and I am a parent and volunteer judge. This is my first opportunity to judge a debate and I am very excited to be part of this event. Please speak slowly, clearly and maintain eye contact. Spreading will not help. Please keep your own time. Off-time road maps are preferred and please deliver organized speeches. Please make sure to avoid overly technical, advanced debate jargon. Make sure to emphasize your important contentions/points in every speech. Make sure that you state your voting issues in your final speech. Good luck and enjoy!

Hey debaters! Here is some information about me that I think is important to know before you start the round:

- I am a lay judge.

- Assume I'm completely new to the topic so whichever side convinces me the best will be voted for.

- Please refrain from spreading, I will most likely miss arguments if you spread.

- Speak clearly with logic and analysis, not just evidence. Evidence is useful in many situations, but always include logic and warrants to back it up, it's useless to just read cards during a debate round.

- I expect both teams to be timing themselves during your speeches and I'm fine with a 10-15 second grace period for each speech just to finish up your last thoughts.

- Please remember to be respectful at all times during the debate round especially during cross x, I will not accept behavior that is not respectful.

Finally, remember to have fun! :)

I am a lay judge, new to debate judging. This is my first tournament. My son is a PF debater, so I know what the current topic is and have heard some cases in brief. I am also most familiar with PF debate structure and rules. That said, I have reviewed the criteria for judging for the other debate formats as well, and I am looking forward to hearing your arguments.

I am a "lay" judge and English is not my 1st language. Please speak clearly, do not speak too fast, explain thoroughly, and use simple
assumptions about my knowledge of the topic.

Parent judge. Please speak slowly and clearly.

Crossfire is important to me. I want to see competitors having equal speaking time with interaction between each other. Competitors should provide insightful and relevant questions and be respectful. In cross-fire I also want it to flow as well, i.e. the cross and responses have to be related and not orthogonal. In delivery, I want to see eye contact and deliberate clear speech (no rushing or spreading). Please address the judge clearly and confidently. I want to see flow of thought, not disjoint ideas and talking points strung together. For content, I value well-researched content with clear links and subpoints. Concise is always better. For the effort put in I take and send out detailed notes on all aspects of the debate: content, depth and quality, delivery, and crossfire.

1. I am a parent/judge. I am ok with any argument as long as there is sufficient evidence for the case. Arguments should be concise and straight to the point.

2. Please speak clearly and not too fast. Clarity is the key and I want to be able to properly understand your point to effectively judge you.

3. Maintain a clear speech order (do not jump around from contentions to refutations, etc.)

4. During CrossX please fully answer all of the questions asked. I think an effective CrossX is very important.

5. Please be respectful towards others and have fun!

I'm a parent judge, and I have been judging PF, LD, and INTERP for more than 2 years.

I lived in United States since late 1990s, so you can consider me as a native English speaker.

I usually judge the debates based on 3 aspects, the content and logic, the presentation skill, and the techniques during the cross.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me before the round starts.

I am a parent judge and have judged LD for the 2 years and PF for 2 years. I have recently started to judge Speech events too.

Speech and decorum: Effectively communicate your position. Keep to the topic and please do not spread since the it’s hard to follow. The use of evidence and logic to support your contentions is important. Please track your time as my attention is on the content.

Argument preference: I prefer debaters present their arguments and explain how it is superior. An argument must have a claim and support data with the source and full citation available if requested. I considered both the probability and the magnitude of the arguments.

In the end the person that effectively supports their initial position and also offers competent clash with the opponents arguments will likely win.

I am a non-native English speaker. I have a limited knowledge of public policy and politics in America, so be sure to paint a picture for me that gives me the whole context of your argument and the debate itself. Please refrain from speaking too fast, and be clear and intentional with your arguments. Debate as if your judge were a fellow high school student. Finally, be kind and courteous to your opponents and carry yourself with optimism and happiness!

I used to judge many speech events. Here are a few things important for speakers in speech events: Effective voice modulation (exaggerated voice is okay too), a bit slower pace (slower & faster mixed pace works better), Use of articulation a few times, gestures (not necessarily all the time), and bigger excitement.

I am new to PF debate judging. I feel better when debaters present enough evidences with confidence and logical justifications for their arguments.
Good luck!

I am a lay parent judge who has judged PF, LD, and various speech events in the past two years. Please do not spread or speak at very fast speeds, speak clearly and slowly so I can catch everything. I can't evaluate any advanced argumentation/theory/Ks, so please avoid it.

Be respectful and have fun!

Parent judge; my child is a Varsity Public Forum debater at Palo Alto High School. 
In order for me to better understand you can you please email me your cases before speaking. My email is deepalallas@gmail.com

I am a "lay" judge. Please speak clearly, avoid speed, explain thoroughly and do not make
assumptions about my knowledge of the topic. Public Forum is an event designed to be judged
by anyone - that is what appears in the description of the event provided by the NSDA. Debate
accordingly.

Volunteering for judging Public Forum debate with limited experience.

I'll be looking for balance, balance between well established arguments and well organized refutes, balance between team members on the contribution and how each would compliment each other over the rounds.

I've debated before (LD, policy, Public Forum) so dont worry about holding back. I do care if you are disrespectful to your opponent. I am quite familiar with the topic. I graduated from UC Davis with a medical microbiology degree and have done clinical research. All contentions and CX questions that are answered with valid evidence and reasoning are encouraged and  should be an easy round to win. 

I am relatively new to judging parliamentary debate. Please speak at a reasonable rate, define your terms, and make clear links from policy to impacts. Avoid complicated debate jargon and Kritiks. Use theory only if you believe that there has been an abusive definition, or that your opposition has gone off topic. Don’t abuse POIs or POOs. Neg. Counterplans are acceptable. The team that educates me on the topic and makes their case clearly and respectfully will get my ballot.

My email (for email chains, or questions): edklin@gmail.com

Background and Experience:

I did policy debate for Leland High School from 1998-2002. I placed at state, went to nationals, earned ToC bids, was in semi-finals of Berkeley, etc. In other words, I competed at a high level in front of both parent judges and circuit judges (slow and fast debate).

For approximately 3+ years after graduating from high school, I came back to Leland to coach policy debate.

However, as you can see, that was MANY years ago. I have been coaching debate at a small private school (The King's Academy) since 2018. I have NOT judged (in practice or in a tournament) any truly circuit/fast debate rounds for over 10 years. [I have judged a few fast rounds at local league tournaments, but these are not the same, of course, as fast rounds on the circuit--I would call this medium speed policy debate].

While I still believe I can handle fast-type arguments (Kritiks, theory, CPs, etc.), two possible problems: 1) I might not be up-to-date on contemporary debate lingo or newer concepts and 2) I might not be able to handle top spreading speeds due to my lack of practice listening to spreading.

Since coming back to debate in 2018, I have judged other debates (LD, PF, etc.), and they generally make sense to me even though I may be less familiar with their cultures. I should be able to handle a medium speed debate in these non-policy debate events.

Profession:

I have been teaching in the sociology department at UC Berkeley since 2014. My subfields are in immigration, globalization, and international development. I also frequently teach classes on sociological research methods (and evaluation of evidence). This is just for your reference so you know what kinds of ideas, concepts, ways of thinking I would most likely be familiar with.

Overall Paradigm:

I do consider myself to be tabula rasa (blank slate). That means that I will try my best to keep my personal opinions out of the evaluation of the debate round and only consider what you say. This means that if you do not say it explicitly (for example, you do not say, the disadvantage outweighs the affirmative case because...) then I cannot evaluate that argument. I will first try to judge the round based strictly on the arguments made in the debate, but if I feel like it is impossible for me to decide who wins based on the arguments in the round, then I will end up intervening and using my own judgment of what arguments were made more persuasively or less persuasively (based at least somewhat on my own personal opinion and feelings about those arguments that are made, or feelings about how good the presented evidence was). I prefer NOT to intervene, but many debates often end up this way because the 2NR/2AR (last two speeches) do not clearly explain how I should vote and/or both teams make the same arguments over and over and neither seem to be winning logically over the other team and so I have to step in and decide what I think is the better argument.

Key Points to Pay Attention To:

- Be clear and explain thoroughly.
- 2NR and 2AR (last two speeches) needs to have clear articulations of how the judge should vote (including impact weighing/comparisons)
- In policy, I am neither "stock issue" or "policy" paradigm, but rather, you explain what you think I should be or do to evaluate the debate round (you tell me what is the best way to evaluate the round and why--convince me to adopt a paradigm if you want me to adopt one, or just convince me why I should vote for you).

I am a "lay" judge. Please speak clearly, avoid speed, explain thoroughly and do not make assumptions about my knowledge of the topic. I prefer well articulated argumentation. Please don't be too tech-y with me, I don't know what Ks or T or phil are.

Hello, I am a parent judge that has judged in several tournaments in the past.

When speaking:

I look for the speaker to be confident, but not condescending in any way. Please do not spread, I will not accept jargon. If I can't understand what you are saying, I will not be able to take notes. Please be respectful to your opponents at all times.

Argumentation:

I will evaluate arguments based on how clear and effective they are. I will not be persuaded by arguments that are not clearly backed up. I will be voting for the team with stronger arguments and impacts.

Theory:

Please do not introduce theory!

Plans:

Don't introduce any if you are a Public Forum Debater

Best of luck to everyone!

lay

I have been judging LD and PF debates for about 6 years. I do flow cases so it will be great if you could provide me with an off-time roadmap and signpost your arguments. I judge based on tech>truth.

It is important to have a clear framework, so make sure that you state that this is contention 1, subpoint 1 etc. Please extend your arguments and make sure that you have cards for your evidence since I do read them. I like clash so you have to defend your contentions during cross examination.

Please be respectful to your opponent during cross examination. Do let your opponent finish their question or sentence. I will sign my ballot the second that I hear any discriminatory language.

Have fun, do your best and good luck!

Please make sure that your arguments have logical consistency and that your presentation has integrity.

Also, presentation skills play a large part of my evaluation.

I just have a few suggestions on what I value.

a) Logical arguments. Please have a coherent structure to your arguments. Back up your arguments with evidence/data. And make sure your arguments are impactful.

b) Speed: I value medium speed at the expense of too many arguments. Don't be too fast. I won't vote you higher based on the number of arguments.

Good luck and have fun!

I am a parent judge, and this is my second year with debate. Consider me a flow judge.

I appreciate it when speakers talk clearly and introduce issues, and definitions or describe acronyms before using them.

Do speak confidently and in equal measure use logic and arguments to support your case.

I expect participants to be polite and courteous with the opposing team. Also, I expect participants to state what are the key facts I should consider, even when seemingly obvious. Do not assume I will credit you for a mistake of the opposing team unless you highlight it.

Good luck!

I am a parent judge and I have judged for 2 years. I prefer logic in debates with clear understanding of the topic.

Key focus on:

Sufficiency/Insufficiency

Advantages over disadvantages

Brink/Linearity

Impracticability

Impact or improvement quantified

Connect the dots to conclude

No hyperbolic or illogical inferences

Donts:

Don't jump or hop arguments

No racist, sexist, fascist or derogatory statements. Will not tolerate.

Do:

Articulate your arguments as concisely as possible

Speak clearly and enunciate correctly

Words matter, use them wisely

Just make sense

I am a parent judge. I look for the data and and evidence supported arguments during the debates. 

lay judge, dont go fast and be respectful.

My preference is that the speakers should have a moderate pace in their speeches so that the judge could fully understand them and specifically when they are speaking about their contentions.

Be polite and respectful through the debate.

I request that both the parties could time each other while speaking and warn/alert if they are exceeding the given time limit

I am a 2nd year parent judge. 

I look for facts and examples.

Please be respectful and don’t talk over one another.

Please speak clearly, instead of fast.

I am a parent judge with zero experience in PF and very minimal experience in LD.

I mostly look for cohesion and confidence when it comes to you addressing the topic. I will time you, however I will not cut you off if you are over time.

Cultural Competency Certificate

Please make your contention loud and clearly.

Regular speed would be ideal.

Love debate.

I am a parent judge, and will ignore theory during debate.

Hi Participants,

I am a lay judge and this will be the first tournament that I am a judge for.

1) Please provide clear and concise arguments. Speaking faster and "spreading" will not win points with me as I'm not a Technical judge who can understand that technique. I want to see that you are engaged and passionate about the subject. I will pay attention more to how you articulate your points and provide convincing arguments that any lay person can understand.

2) Please show respect to each other.

3) Good luck and have fun!

I have been a judging PF from 2018 onwards. I have judged varied tournaments from Novice to Varsity levels.

Present your story clearly.  My preference will be clarity over ambiguity.

I don't mind if you speak fast.

I also weigh based on maturity of the thought, clear communication and metrics relating to your argument

I am a new judge, so please talk at a moderate speed. I flow somewhat and I value your speaking styles. I would like you be kind and nice to opponents.

Please time yourselves and each other.

I am a flay judge in that I have lots of experience judging, but I'm not an actual flow judge. I know how the debate process works, and I've judged in over 15 tournaments.

Good rhetoric and lay appeal and I will most likely vote for you. If you don't know something or are otherwise unsure/unready for something just fake it until you make it; I like seeing confidence.

I will not flow cross-ex but I will be paying attention. If you bring something up in cross-ex and want me to flow it, remember to say it in speech as well. Emphasize important points with speech inflections, as well as bring up things you want me to remember/write down several times. Don't put down your opponent (like in LD) and don't bully during cross-ex, although remember to be assertive and stand up for your partner (during grand) if you have to.

Speech

It doesn't matter to me what you do while you speak, as long as you make eye contact regularly. Sit, stand, meditate, doesn't matter to me. Please try to signpost as much as possible, it really helps, and it makes it a lot easier to follow what you're saying. It also helps your speaks (now you're listening, huh?). Gesticulate, use ethos, pathos, logos, talk loud, whatever you have to do to get my attention and my vote (and high speaks).

Kritik

Since I'm not a professionally trained judge, I don't have any specific policy against K's, but don't expect me to go with your point of view without strong rhetoric. I must need to know exactly WHY their view on a policy is wrong, and WHY your take matters more. If I were you, I would not run a kritik.

Etiquette

Insulting your opponent is DIFFERENT FROM arguing with them. You can say the same thing by yelling as you can by assertively speaking to your opponent. Please do not argue/yell/bully your opponent. That is a sure way to lose speaks and maybe the entire round.

Speed

I, like the vast majority of other judges, will have an easier time listening and understanding to you if you speak slower. Note: I prefer slower speaking, but I can handle faster speed to some degree. I may look confused/stop writing/not take note of important parts if you are going to slow; that means I do not understand you, and you may need to slow down.

Other

I can promise you that I will understand these issues more than most judges. Please make sure to time yourselves, if there is a discrepancy between the prep time, speech time, etc., try to work it out yourselves, although I will interfere if too much time is taken.

Thanks for reading this information, although I know it's long and boring. Good luck!

I have served as a judge for debate for four years and I prefer slower speech with proper short pauses.

For congressional debate, I would love to see new arguments that really advance the debate.

For speech, I prefer the structured approach with emphasis and rigor logic.

~~~~General~~~~

I am a first time parent judge--please speak slowly.

Remember to have fun!

~~~~Speech~~~~

I will not give you time signals (although I can if you ask)

I'm an intermediate-level parent judge with several years of experience judging mostly PF.

I believe the primary goal of debate (and speech) is to communicate effectively and persuasively. Make compelling arguments supported by solid evidence and reasoning and use examples to illustrate your points whenever possible. Aside from constructing your own case, make sure you adapt to your opponents' arguments and avoid talking past each other. Remember that it's not a sign of weakness to acknowledge an opposing viewpoint.

I understand some of you prefer rapid-fire delivery but please prioritize clarity and enunciation over speed and density. This way, I won't miss any of the key points you are making. Keep in mind that I cannot give you credit for things you said but I never heard.

Please do not introduce new arguments in the final speeches of the debate. I will not consider them.

Most importantly: always be respectful to each other, relax and have fun!

English is my second language, please speak slower and clear and use simpler english where possible.

I am a parent judge. I will try to take notes on key parts or your speeches so please sign post and speak clearly/at a normal pace. I will judge based on 2 key factors:

1. Logic: whichever team has the most logical links between claims and provide reasoning (warranting) behind their claims

2. Weighing: proving which impacts have the most political, health-wise, etc. impact in different ways

Thanks and good luck!

I'm a parent judge. This is my second year judging.

Please don't go too fast. I have lived in the US for almost 30 years now and am very familiar and interested in all kinds of political topics.

I will try my best to take some notes, so please signpost.

Thanks! Good luck!

I am a parent judge. Please speak clearly and slowly.

I appreciate your being respectful and courteous to your opponents.

Good luck!

I am a lay parent judge. I prefer that debaters don’t speak too fast so that I could follow your arguments.

I will judge based upon:

1) solid logic and reasoning.

2) strong advocacy of your position.

3) utilization of evidence.

4) clear communication.