Last changed on
Sun October 13, 2024 at 11:22 AM CDT
*conflicted with BREAK LD, Seven Lakes, and Atascocita
Email chain/questions: tuyendebate@gmail.com
Additionally, please add the following emails depending on your event:
PF: sevenlakespf@googlegroups.com
LD: sevenlakesld@googlegroups.com
CX: sevenlakescx@googlegroups.com
Round should start at start time. I will dock your speaks by .2 for every minute past start time that the first constructive has not been sent.
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Background/Important info:
University of Houston (Policy debate '21 -'23), BCHS (LD ‘19-‘21), debate coach at Seven Lakes HS (‘23-Current)
***I will not vote on anything that happened outside of round - If you are about to debate someone that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable please sort this out with TAB before round rather than making it an in-round voting issue.
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GENERAL (for all debates):
TLDR: I am primarily a policy debater and tend to evaluate rounds like a policy judge
Policy/Cap > Security/Set Col > Identity Ks/Phil > Tricks/Friv Theory/PoMo Ks
Debaters work hard and I will always try my best to adapt to you, but my experience and knowledge of args varies. For the most part, you can run what you want and I will vote on anything, but your burden of explanation increases the further you move down the list above. That being said I would suggest that you do not over adapt. You are more likely to win running an argument you’re good at and know well. I tend to understand most arguments as long as they are explained well.
Tech > truth in most cases - but truth determines your burden of proof. You still need to make a complete argument with warrants/ev/adequate explanation.
I think almost everything is debatable, will vote on almost anything with a warrant and impact
Will evaluate the round exactly how you tell me to - The more weighing and judge instruction you give the less likely I’ll have to intervene to make a decision. If you do neither of these things do not be upset when I have to arbitrarily decide how to evaluate the round.
I will vote off the flow - I evaluate ev when the arg is contested. I think more debaters should be punished for reading terrible evidence, but i will not do the work for you. I only flow the things said in your speech, but I will still follow along on the doc to check for clipping. (Horrendous clipping is an auto L).
Time yourself and your opponents
Things I default to but can be convinced to consider otherwise: judgekick if no offense, condo good, disclosure good, debate good, competing interps
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Specific Args:
LD, CX, PF are combined below. Read what applies and skip what doesn’t. If it is not here, assume I have no specific thoughts about it. Everything that is here is easily changeable via technical debating.
K --- I have and will vote on any K that is debated well, HOWEVER:
I prefer Ks that critique structures over identity Ks. Two reasons:
1. Unfamiliar with the lit bases - I am often unsure of what the alt to these Ks do. I have no idea what death drive, black ontology, etc means as an alt, however, I have voted on all of them before.
2. In round violence- I think that the way some debaters run K args introduces new violence into the round that wasn't previously there. This makes me sad because I think K lit is interesting and great, but it’s implementation in debate has pushed me towards policy args. An articulation that is just an ad hom is a losing one.
Ks on the AFF: All of the reasons above make me quite receptive to FW against K AFFs. Specifically, if you read a K AFF but cannot provide a reason for why your arguments should be negated then I am more likely to be convinced by FW.
Ks on the NEG: I like clash rounds and I am much more likely to vote for a K on the neg than a K on the AFF. Specifically if you run Ks like cap like a cp+da or security like a case turn. Ks which are able to interact with the aff on the fiat-consequences level have a much higher chance of getting my ballot than Ks that garner offensive from proximate violence impacts.
Theory (excluding T)—- My threshold for voting on theory is slightly higher than for other args since it’s premised on being able to prove abuse.
The greater the time constraints in the debate event the more I err towards the team defending against theory since that minimizes the need for judge intervention. In policy debate there is enough time to develop arguments and thus I tend to view theory in policy as a legit strategic tool. In PF theory makes me want to cry.
friv theory is stupid, I do not like when debaters are afraid of clash.
Disclosure: If you have screenshots/evidence of non disclosure you should put it in the doc. Things said/shown to me during the speeches are the only things I will evaluate.
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Extra notes for specific events:
PF ---
Read less and better args - I can no longer bring myself to vote on these horrifically warranted link chains that have 0 explanation in ff. Because ev practices in PF are so bad and no one reads warrants my ballot has increasingly been decided on purely which link chain I understand more. Better warranting and better ev will win you the round.
Please collapse in the ff. it is not possible for you to adequately explain 4 diff pieces of offense in 2(?) minutes.
Procedural stuff - If you send all the cards you are going to read before your speech and don't paraphrase I will boost your speaks and give you at least a 28.
You must start the prep timer if you want to ask a question outside of CX period.
Weighing - I will judge the round like a policy maker under an offense defense paradigm unless you tell me otherwise. If there is no offense in the final focus you will probably lose.
I notice that in most PF rounds, weighing doesn’t end up playing a large part in my decision making process despite the fact that the impact is the first place I look to when evaluating the round. This is because PFers tend to weigh in a vacuum- ie they do not contextualize the weighing to the amount of the impact that is actually accessed or do meta weighing.
K: You can run it if you think you can explain it to me in 4 minutes
Defense is not sticky: I will only evaluate things that get extended throughout the debate all the way into the last speech.
Second rebuttal must extend case but I do not require you to give an overview - responding to lbl is considered an extension i.e. answering the no link is extending your link but you must also extend arguments dropped by the other team if you want me to evaluate them at the end of the round. I will not extend args for you just because they are dropped.
LD ---
I read phil and did mostly traditional LD in high school because my program was small, but I have done policy debate in college and have been judging on the circuit long enough for you to treat me like a regular tech judge.
what this means:
I judge Phil like an LDer and everything else like a policy debater. It is important that you tell me how to evaluate the round since I do not have a strong opinion on whether LD should be about, for example, testing the resolution or comparative worlds.
- Phil: while I know phil lit. bases I have not thought about them extensively in the context of debate arguments. I have a pretty good background content wise for all the very basic and generic phils (Kant, Hobbes, any other enlightenment philosopher, etc.). I prefer substantial over tricky phil
- Theory/Tricks: I am unfamiliar with a lot of LD specific theory and tricks. This means my capabilities to flow your 32 point analytical 1NC shell significantly decreases.
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Spreading: I don’t care how fast you go if you're clear, but if I don't hear you it's your fault. I will say clear if I cannot understand you.
Speaks --- I'll start at 28 and move up or down from there.
Speaks + : make good strategic decisions, creative, show good understanding of the topic/args, are efficient, organized. I reward the most speaks to debaters who are kind and make debate an enjoyable and welcoming space
Speaks - : Make personal attacks, are unorganized, don’t clash, waste time/steal prep