I am an experienced coach and judge of about 10 years but have no experience actually debating myself. As a person who comes to debate as an educator first, I am predisposed to argumentation that open spaces for youth to explore real ideas and their relationships to them. This translates into a few concrete implications for preferences:

1. I don't like spreading, which is not to say I can't deal with moderately fast talking, but the idea of fitting in as many arguments as possible to get your opponent to drop something, to me, is not the point of debate.

2. I don't like debates about the definitions of words in a resolution, so if you are going to run topicality on the neg, it better be good. As long as the aff does a minimally competent job answering T, I'm not voting for it. In the age of electronic disclosure and Open Ev, I'm not into the sob stories about fairness and being unable to prep. However, theory debates about why resolutions and being topical are good/not good for debate I think are a lot more worthwhile.

3. I like kritiks and critical affs, but make sure you understand what you are talking about and didn't just download a file that you think has a cool title. Make it your own if you are going to run it, otherwise we end up with bad debates where two sides don't understand each other.

4. I think that it is important that we bring our whole selves into the debate space and value argumentation that actually connects to debater's identities and experiences. Along with that, I will hold everyone to a high standard of mutual respect for each other's backgrounds and perspectives.

All that being said, I'm open to any style and will listen to any argument. Even though I may not like certain types of arguments, I will vote based on what I hear in the round. I expect debaters to do the work for me of sorting through the flow and telling me why they won. Unless something is blatantly sexist/racist/homophobic/violent, I'm not voting against it unless I'm told to vote against it. Good impact calculus goes a really long way for me!

Hi!

My name in Matheno. I have been a participant of this activity for about over 17 years. I started to debate in High School out of the DKC Urban Debate League. I emerged onto the national circuit my novice year in 2004. I have attended debate camps at University of Iowa, University of Missouri Kansas City as well as the University of Louisville. "Performance" debate is mostly how I approached debate as a framework. Do not call it Performance debate. Debate itself is a performance. I do understand what many call "traditional debate." It's how I got introduce to this activity. I just felt better equipped as a debater dozing into what felt more authentic for me. I judge my debates on what is on the flow sheets. If its not on the flow then I cannot evaluate it. Speed does not mean to forfeit persuasion. I will listen to mostly everything. I like new and different arguments. I was a big fan of K arguments and of course ran many Kritiks. I am now a staff member at the Bay Area Urban Debate League as a Program Manager. I have been a judge every single year since I left debate as a competitor. I love this activity! I have assisted BUDL, DKC and also Atlanta Urban Debate League. Write the ballot for me. If I have to do a lot of framing and impact calculus myself then I don't think you did much coverage of handling the flow. Write the RFD for the judge. Who knows what may happen if you leave it in my hands. I have a very queer mind.

Email thread: bfandbo@gmail.com

I am the type of judge that will be giving feedback based on what I was taught about Public Speaking, I also value the historical points of view of the topic. For example, I am a History major and Spanish Teacher and will be looking for facts and dates and also examples of historical past history. I also will be looking for specific information that will be adheareing to the actual topic this year of Artificial Intelligence. The aff I will be looking for a continuance of the plan and also will be looking for specific details and dates and facts to past history. The Neg I will be looking for the best counter argument possible with leads into K's and also different topics to further enhance their argument against the plan. I want to see Artificial Intelligence in the forefront of where the world is going and also using past history to further establish how and why Artificial Intelligence can be a detriment to the plan.

I also believe that the inflection and the voice of the team and the Cross x questions I will also take into consideration in my judgement of the rounds that I will be judging for. I am excited to be judging on a National Debate scale and this will be very meaningful for me to bring back to my school and learn how to judge rounds as a judge for BAUDL as well.

Lastly, I would prefer to be able to judge the continuation of the argument rather than the speed of the debate. I feel that if I can understand what the team is saying and with their inflection and the best arguments come from their evidence rather than from the speed of the debate. I want to understand what someone is saying and not so concerned about how fast that they can speak. I come from a Public Speaking background with FFA and that the best argument and ability to connect the dots with their evidence is key rather than how fast they get facts out.

    My basic preference is for well explained and impacted arguments over techie line-by-line tricks. Basically, if you want me to vote on an argument, then the argument should be a substantial chunk of your speech and not a one liner on the flow. Slow it down and explain your arg. I'm not saying I won't listen to speed; I am saying in most debates fast doesn't equal better. Debate isn't Costco - More Cards/Arguments are Not Necessarily Desirable.

The Specifics: Topicality & Theory - I am ok with some T debate. Make sure the violation is clear and the substance of the debate is worthy of the time you are putting into it. Other theory is mostly a non-starter for me. I don't vote on the specs. If you are going for theory (not topicality), then you probably aren't winning this round.

Disads - The key to a good DA debate is impact calculus.

Counter-plans - Sure, why not? I'm a policy maker at heart.I err neg on all counter-plan theory. Basically, Counter-plan theory, for the most part, is a non-starter with me.

Kritiks - I'm not a fan of generic kritiks and rarely vote for a kritik without a plan specific link. If your idea of a good argument is Zizek, Nietzsche, or any generic K, then I'm not your judge. In terms of framework, I err negative. The K is part of debate - accept this and debate it. Use your aff against it.

Performance Aff's - I believe the aff should defend a clear USFG should policy. I am a policy maker.

Hello, debaters! I am an 11/12 English teacher at Richmond High School within the Internationals' Academy. I love well-explained evidence and extensive vocabulary!

Pronouns: (she/her)

I did not debate in high school, but I was involved with supporting the debate program at Cal during college!

I am currently the policy debate coach for Richmond High School.

Add me to your email chain please - I want to see your evidence: shelliewharton@berkeley.edu

Don’t be afraid to ask me questions before or after the round! I’m not one of those “read my paradigm and then don’t speak to me” judges, and I am happy to answer any questions you might have. I do my best to minimize judge intervention and base my decisions heavily on the flow. Do your best to stay organized. Your disorganization means I have to fight to stay organized, rather than focusing entirely on your argumentation. I’m very open to nontraditional arguments and K affs!

I'm a pretty flexible judge - just make sure that you stay organized, explain your arguments well, and help me understand why I should vote for you. I flow the whole round, and I want to focus to give you good feedback. I will give you most of the feedback in round, but I’ll still write notes on the rfd if I miss something.

However, everyone has biases so here are mine:

General:

1. Tag-teaming in cross-x is fine. Prompting during a speech is fine. Neither should be excessive. That being said, if two people are talking over each other, I can't flow/hear anything.
2. Be nice to other people in the round. Being condescending, rude, mean, etc. will impact your speaker points.
3. Speed is not as important as clarity: I need to be able to understand you read your arguments in order to vote on them.
4. Finally, have fun!