If you have any questions, you can contact me at tannercronce@gmail.com. This is also how you add me to the email chain. Let me know when you do it.

Please don't try to judge-adjust too much... this should serve more as a guideline to introduce yourself to me.

What am I good for?:

Good For:

--K Affs

--K on the negs

--DA-case debates

--Politics/elections debates

--T (If you feel you can argue this competently, do it, but most people don't)

--Anything, honestly... I am not a fan of conditionality for negs, though, unless it's just for one item.

--I will vote on disclosure theory

More In-Depth Background (Before Round Version After):

SQUO: I'm not going to pretend like I don't know anything about the status quo, so don't act or pretend like something is happening that isn't or vice versa. (e.g., If an opponent has a slightly dated card about a poll and you cross-ex and say, "Well, aren't these cards outdated?" and try to imply like there's been any radical difference between then and now in terms of poll numbers, I'm not going to care for that unless you have something crazy or radical to back it up that would be substantial to the debate. Don't cross-ex dumb questions.)

TLDR: Explain what you're saying, actually respond to the other team, and do good link/internal link work and you'll probably be fine.

SPEED: Go as fast as you want but Read LOUD and CLEAR. If you are mumbling through your evidence, I will not hear you...

I have an auditory disability that makes it hard to hear soft sounds. Clear and loud is the best way for me to comprehend evidence, but again, you don't have to be slow.

Things of note before your round starts:

If you are trying to be mean simply for the purpose of being mean because you want to overwhelm the other team and make them look bad, I will see right through it.

Flashing:

Add me to the email chain

Road-Mapping is cool

Voting:

I vote off the flow (tabs judge) so I'll really listen to any argument as long as you wrap up the round and give me a reason to vote for you and why your impacts outweigh the other team's impacts. Clash is important, and I consider warranted analysis something that's vital and is often missing from high school debate rounds. Unexplained arguments and shadow extending is a frequent reason for me voting down teams that could have otherwise very well won. Additionally, I think internal link/link is probably the most important part of most arguments, so keep that in mind. If you try to confuse the other team instead of debating the specifics of your policy, I will vote down your team more than likely.

SPEAKER POINTS FOR ALL:

Some things that are just generally annoying to me/could get speaker points docked...

1.) Being an a-hole in your speeches towards someone or cross-x or being overbearing to your partner, I will have more leniency when it comes to those who may be discriminated against for being “too aggressive”, so don’t worry (I’m talking more about people who usually identify as women who have this issue)
2.) Personally rambling to me during your speech ("Judge, you have to vote for this judge" over and over). I understand it's a habit for some, but avoid it if possible.
3.) Trying to be clever by asking questions like "How's it going" in Cross-X
4.) Sucking up to me... for the love of God, do not do this. I debated for years, and you don't need to pretend you like me or the other team. Be mean to me if you want, I do not care, just don’t pretend like I’m any different than you in the round.
5.) Saying "this card is on fire" or equally absurd buzzwords
6.) Not Road Mapping In-Round (Just say onto ___) Trying to trick the other team by not listing your advantages by name only hurts my flow for you. Just do it.
7.) DO NOT walk around the room during your speech or someone else's speech unless it's to grab evidence. I will heavily dock you.
8.) I will not dock you for speaking for your partner in the middle of their speech if you need to include something... I will listen to you. Your partner doesn't need to repeat it. Just know that I will take that into consideration if you're doing massive chunks of a speech and the negs run an education T argument.

IN-ROUND STUFF

K Affs

I'll listen to any K aff and will vote on them if you give me a reason to, but just remember you need to explain what your advocacy is pretty well since I only debated policy in high school. Explaining your advocacy is a must, and not having a good grasp of what you're arguing probably won't do very well with me as a judge, and neither will relying on ridiculously lengthy overviews and blocks through the 2NR. I will vote on either a Policy or critical Framework, but you need to argue it well from both sides and should probably spend a bit more time on it than usual in front of me. Also, I like a thorough explanation of how the alt functions; otherwise, it's pretty hard to say the K has any solvency.

Okay with identity args, high-theory, soft-left, just explain how the advocacy functions and solves

Make sure you are not name-dropping and assuming everyone knows who or what you are talking about.

Just make sure if you run a K Aff, tell me what your connection to FMS or DCS is.

Ks

Links: I'm not as persuaded by links of omission or links to the status quo unless you can explain how the aff furthers the harms you've isolated. Specific links are the best, but I'm persuaded by both links to the plan text and links to the advantages/impacts/representations of the aff.

Impacts: I'll evaluate the pre-fiat and post-fiat impacts of the k. Framing is important to tell me what kinds of impacts I should evaluate and whether theory should come first.

Alts/litbase: I probably don't know your theories or your authors, so be sure to explain how the alt functions and try to minimize jargon and name-dropping at every level of the flow. I'll vote on all kinds of alts as long as you explain how they function and win solvency of something (not necessarily the case, depending on the round and how impacts are weighed.)

Perm: I won't vote on a perm that wasn't clearly articulated in the 2AC. You need to explain how it functions so that I can evaluate it weighed against the alt as a stand-alone.

If you have any questions, you can contact me at tannercronce@gmail.com. This is also how you add me to the email chain. Tell me when you do it.

Cross-Ex

I don’t flow cross-ex unless it’s clarifying for me, which means that you need to point out anything you find out during cross-ex during your speech.

No statements during cross-x questioning. Period. I will not flow statements and will disregard a response to the statement unless I feel it clarifies those who are being cx'd, not the ones making the statement. I also will not flow anything that has nothing to do with their evidence or anything I feel does not connect to the debate itself.

Inform me clearly when you are done with your time, aka when your 1AC is over, when cross-x is over, when your prep is done, etc.

If you feel that the author has specific biases, point them out and explain. I want to know that you know authors and how to identify credible sources. Okay with Open Cross ex as long as you don't dominate your partner's cross-ex

Disadvantages

I'll enjoy a DA debate if it's something relevant with a strong link. Solid impact calc and link analysis from both sides is a must to win in these debates. I hold a fairly high standard for internal links and internal link analysis. Too often, teams don't spend nearly enough time on the specific clash for any of these components, and I'll probably default affirmative if it's lacking from both sides.

Topicality

Just make sure if you run a K Aff, tell me what your connection to FMS or DCS is.

Topicality is a great position and one of the most important for me and unfortunately, hardly anyone goes for it. It has to be run well, though… I get a lot of people who will go for T but do not actually have a fleshed-out reason for me to vote for T. I'll vote on potential abuse. For the love of God, don't read reverse voters on T.

Framework

Framework is often the only option for a debater versed in policy and is a valid strategy. Have internal links to fairness, education, etc.

Counterplans

Competition is important, and if a CP isn't competitive, a perm is a great strategy to go for as long as a reasonable amount is done in the 2AR. That said, I'm most easily convinced by solvency deficit arguments and the negative needs to spend a fair amount of time answering these arguments in the block and 2NR to win on the CP, in addition to warranted analysis on how they solve their net benefit. Additionally, specific solvency advocates are a lot more likely to win you the round with me.

I'm not likely to vote on a CP unless it is actually argued well. I won’t if it’s abusive. I'm definitely not likely to vote on it unless a lot of time is spent on it in the 2NR/2AR. I will vote for it if it is argued exceptionally well without simply reading off blocks.

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Short Version

I have ten+ years of debate experience and will buy any argument, as long as it is well structured and fair. I am known to be a very progressive judge in Wisconsin, however on Nat circuit level it might be better to treat me as a Flay judge. I do love a good traditional debate, but do like progressive debate. Most importantly have fun in a round!

Long version

Event Preferences

PF: Tech>truth within reason.

speed>collapsing: Share a doc and go for everything, yes even if that means spreading. I generally HATE time suck contentions, like don't waste my time flowing something you know you are going to drop. Provide more education to the round by running quality arguments, or end your speech early.

full case>paraphrasing: In general the more you can take the good file sharing habits of LD and CX and use them, the quick and better the round will go.

LD: LARP (Policy-style arguments i.e. Plans, CPs, Disads, Topicality) > Trad/Phil (Standard LD case) > Ks/Performance > Theory > Tricks> Disclosure Theory

CX Neg: Disads>T>Specs>CP>K>Theory > Tricks> Disclosure Theory

CX Aff: traditional cases>aff Ks>Disclosure Theory

Thoughts on certain topics

Framework: Please tell me how the framework contextualizes your offense / defense in relation to the ballot and/or the round. I require framework to also contextualize how your opponents arguments are implicated by your Framework arguments.

Argument Resolution: I reward debaters who clearly articulate and provide reasons why their warrants, impacts, sources are stronger in this round – Impact calc and voters are great ways to do this. Debaters who provide well warranted arguments on the flow that are developed early and throughout the debate get both high speaks from me and my ballot.

Theory: I vote on well developed procedurals, I do not vote on blipped shells that blow up later in the debate so have voters and standards don’t just give me an interp and violation - this isn't to say don't run T in front of me but rather that you need to provide me a well developed justification for why to prefer your side. Focus on impacts through a education/fairness filter will be the easiest way to my ballot on this issue. I do hate it when teams use theory as a time suck.

K debate: I have read and actively coach a lot of critical debate but you should not however assume I know the literature base you will be pulling from, feel free to ask prior to the start of the round about my familiarity. The more specific your argument is to the round or issue at hand then the easier route you will have to my ballot. I usually am not a fan of Perm because it can make the debate muddy. I do love conditionality debate.

Tricks: If is one thing you should not run with me, it is tricks, I like a clean and fair Debate.

Disadvantages: Disads are my favorite off case argument. I evaluate Disads first on the risk of intrinsic link to the AFF before questions of uniqueness and the way this implicates the affirmative, this isn't to say questions of uniqueness don't implicate the link but questions of link comes first and then are determined to be strengthened / weakened by the uniqueness. - Work done on the impact level to have strong warrants as well as good weighing are an easy way to my ballot.

Counter Plan: My second favorite off case argument to see. Make sure they are mutually exclusive and AFF can’t perm. Also I hate Perm debate usually on CP because it is either an easy win or waste of my time. I think overall Cp play well with Disads and are a easy way for NEG to win my ballot.

Speed: I am perfectly fine with speed usually I will only yell clear once and it is because you are not speaking clearly.DO NOT SPREAD ANALYTICS WITHOUT A DOC.

Flashing: Add me to the email chain, my RFD will be better if you do.

justinflynn190@gmail.com

My email is johnson@muhs.edu

LD

I am a debate coach who was a competitor at Nationals in World Schools and Congressional Debate, and was mainly a PF debater when competing. That being said, I have coached and judged LD extensively in the past year.

Please ensure that we are debating the LD format, not Policy-lite. That means a few things.

1. Values and Value Criterions are extremely important and are central to who will win this round. If you do not keep these well-connected to your arguments, it will be difficult for me to weigh your arguments as strongly if they do not connect back into your VC.

2. All-out spreading is not necessary or appreciated. If you are speaking so fast that it is impossible to flow your arguments, then I cannot weigh them in good faith. Win on the strength of your arguments and analysis, not by trying to overwhelm the opponent. Quality over quantity.

3. If you choose to use them, run K’s well. If they are not run in well, it ends up muddying the waters of the debate and taking time away from other approaches you could probably use more effectively. K’s are complex strategies- explain your points clearly and tie them into the larger debate.

4. LD debates involve morals, values, philosophy. Please use these things that make this format distinct.

As for more general points, here are some preferences I have as a judge.

Signposting and roadmaps, both in the introduction and throughout the speeches, are greatly appreciated. Keep your points clear and well-organized. Just because something is clear in your head does not automatically mean you are communicating it effectively.

I am not a fan of T-Shells in general. I would prefer to see a debate about the topic at hand, not a debate about the format in a general sense. This does not mean it is impossible to win with one, but please engage with the topic and with your opponent.

Ask good questions, and build off of them in your speeches. In the same sense, try not to waste time on rambling, disorganized answers. Keep CX dynamic and fast, and make it valuable. If something is conceded in CX, don’t just ignore that it happened. I certainly won’t.

Be ethical. No racism, homophobia, ad hominem attacks, or anything of that sort will be tolerated. You are all capable of good decorum, so show it! Approach the round with good faith, and debate as such.

Please use weighing and voters in your later speeches. Analyze the round and show me why you win.

I work for MPS - Rufus King High School

I did 4 years of policy debates in high school, what is now called "traditional debate".

I've judged mostly novice debate for a few years.

Speaking

How fast can students speak during speeches? Medium Speed

If a student is speaking too fast or unclear, will you give any cues to them? Usually I will say slow/slow down or clear

List stylistic items you like debaters to do.

1. Debaters should start with a roadmap and include signposts during their speech.

2. Debaters should do a line by line refuting the opponents arguments

3. Debaters should include an impact calc in the final speeches

List stylistic items you do not like debaters to do.

1. I do not like rudeness

2. I do not like partners to talk to the speaker during their partners speech excessively

Arguments

List types of arguments you prefer to listen to/evaluate.

1. Disadvantages are important to the negative attack

2. I’m open to inherency and solvency attacks

3. I’m open to counter plans

List types of arguments that you prefer not to listen to.

1. I do not understand kritiks very well, it will probably be hard to get me to vote on this for you. I come from the more traditional debate mindset.

2. I rarely vote neg on topicality, it would need to be the full shell with voters that make sense. And the neg must give this sufficient time in the round but I will be swayed aff by them being reasonably topical.

Other Notes

I love clash, I love line by line. I really want debaters to take apart each other’s arguments. This is best accomplished by listening to each other.

I want the last speeches to include an impact analysis that shows why their position leads to be a better world.