The MOST Important Thing: Speech and Debate should be a safe space for ALL so respect is key.

General Debate: Your job as a debater is to persuade me as the judge to vote for you. That means that just because you run an argument that does not mean you will be able to persuade me on that argument (Just because you run it does not mean I buy it)

Debate is a communication event, speaker points hold value, I repeat SPEAKER POINTS DO HOLD VALUE. Every speaker will start in the middle of the range and either move up or down depending on communication ability argumentation, and presentation; YES presentation does matter.

LD Debate: First of all, your round should include 3 things: 1) Respect. 2) Clash. If there is no clash then you did not do your job, and nobody is ENJOYING the round. 3) Voters! Tell me what I should focus on and why I should believe what you are saying. I am a traditional judge when it comes to LD debate aka do NOT run a plan. It will be hard for me to get behind an Affirmative who advocates for a plan when they shouldn’t be advocating for a plan. Aff, you must uphold the resolution, do not try to spike out of it. I believe that observations are not voting issues, however, if ran correctly they may frame the round correctly to influence my vote. If an observation is not refuted or a counter observation is not proposed, and you bring this back up then that is how I will view the round.

Neg, for all that is good CLASH WITH THE AFF. I want you to make arguments against the Aff and PROVE why they are wrong.

When it comes to FW, this is not the holy grail argument that will win the round, but it is a pretty good one to make. If you cannot uphold either VC then why would I vote for you? I do not find it abusive to absorb your opponent’s VC while also advocating for yours.

However, just because you win the VC does not mean the round flows to you, if you can remove the opponent’s case, whether it be through removing impacts or attacking their warrants, then your opponent doesn’t really have ground to stand on.

GIVE ME VOTERS!

Policy Debate: First of all, your round should have 3 things: 1) Respect. 2) Clash. IF there is no clash then you did not do your job, and nobody is enjoying the round. 3) Voters! Tell me what I should focus on and why I should believe what you are saying. Similar to LD I am a traditional judge. I normally do not pref, but AFF it is your job to prove that SQ is not preferred, so read into that what you will. Constructive are used to construct any new arguments, do not run anything new in the rebuttals. If you wish to bring supporting evidence or extensions that is fine, but you better be sure that it is 100% not new or I will not flow it. (This won’t cost you the round, but I won’t be happy with it as it is abusive).

YES, the neg block does exist. NO Aff, just because they split it, that does not mean you get to. You are more than welcome to run an argument against this if you wish, but you see my philosophy on the matter.

In regards to. Neg strat, I will vote for generic arguments, but DON’T want to. Aff you have every right to refute with NON-uniqueness, but that does not mean the argument just goes away, it is your job to argue why this matters and why the non-uniq should be a VOTING issue. Also, Topicality is NEVER theory, it IS a stock issue, which is one of the foundations of this event. However, if you argue topicality be careful that you do not contradict yourself.

Below is a little more detail about different strategies and approaches to the event to help each team out, but full disclosure the easiest way for the Neg to get my ballot is to prove the Aff has no Inherency:

Closed Cross Examination preferred.

Policy------X--------------------------------------K

(If you run a K and then On-Case without kicking OR playing scenarios, you are risking losing my ballot)

Tech-----------------------X------------Truth
(This is a tough one for me as I have seen both sides unfairly cost someone the round. I will listen to arguments, but as I stated earlier you need to persuade me on it, just because there is a card that says x that does not necessarily make it true. For example there are "cards" that argue the Holocaust never happened. So basically I do my best to keep my knowledge or understanding out of the round, but there are just some things that I cannot let slide. Essentially, just make sure your arguments hold validity and warrants to them, don't tell me that Haiti will cause nuclear war when it's the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere...no one should accept that argument)

Read no cards------------------------X-----------Read all the cards

(Analytical arguments can 100% be used against cards)

Quality ----------X--------------------------Quantity

(I do tend to lean more on quality, but this is tough for me. Here's why, if you can layer arguments then do so, but if you run 5 different arguments and the opposing team can group and refute/disprove with one card then kudos to them!)

Conditionality good---------X---------------------Conditionality bad

(Just give me a reason to buy either argument)

States CP good----------------X------------------States CP bad

(MAKE IT MAKE SENSE)

Politics DA is a thing-------X----------------------Politics DA not a thing

UQ matters most--------------------------X-------Link matters most

Clarity X---------------------------------------------Um...who doesn't like clarity

Limits------------X----------------------------------Aff ground

Presumption-----------------------------X---------Never votes on presumption

Longer ev---------------------------X---------------More ev
(Please do not read me a novel)

I’m a bookworm ---------------------X------I only read what you read

(I will only flow what you said/what can be understood, but be aware 9 times out of 8 [yes you read that correctly] during prep,I will read the evidence in your card that you didn’t read to ensure you are not misrepresenting or power tagging. Depending on the severity, this may cost you the round without an opponent call-out. Don't think this is fair, then you should have cut the card correctly and fairly. If you did Powertag and your opp calls you out, good luck getting my ballot)

Fiat anything you desire--------------X----------Let's be realistic about this

CX about impacts--------------X------------------CX about links and solvency

DA’s -----------------------X----------------------On Case

Theory -----------------------------------X---------- Traditional (The more believable the chain link the more likely I am to to buy the impacts. It is hard for me to imagine sending Smallpox Vaccines to SSA will lead to Nuclear War)

Dash from Zootopia ------------------------------X-----------------Amateur Auctioneer

(I am fine with speed, debate should be faster than conversational, but not a race. I hate spreading/rapid fire because let’s be honest no one is good at it, you sound horrible, and it’s not impressive)

Quantity of Arguments ----------------------------------------------X-Quality of Arguments

(I could vote on a round because of T, despite the AFF having a 12-page case)

The default is 27 unless you are truly impressive or the opposite.

Interp:

Do NOT try to read me. Don't try to read me to determine how you are doing, you can be giving a performance of a lifetime and I may look disinterested, even though I am fully captivated. Or I may react to the literature, but that does not mean the performance is on par with the strength of the piece. I have heard many funny pieces that were not performed well and heard very powerful lines that were just thrown away.

There is no magic/secret thing to do to win my ballot, except give the best performance. I know super helpful, right? I consider multiple different aspects when judging: polished (holding and mastery of the manuscript), presence in the room, delivery style, performer connection to selection, audience connection, did I get drawn into the performance, etc.

I do realize that because you are interpreting you have to be extra big, but I do look for realism in the performance. Ex: Should someone be sobbing because they spilled milk? Why is someone smiling when the love of their life just died? Remember, this performance is all about highs and lows, if everything is delivered the same, or on one level, then nothing is important and nothing stands out to me. If I am convinced that the performer is actually experiencing the piece, that is the best way to win my ballot, because it will draw me in. If I am not drawn in then I don't believe you really interpreted the piece. Make me care about the characters, if something is supposed to be sad I want to be sad with the character. If you don't draw me in/I don't make a connection with a character, then "I won't care that your sister died".

In introductions, I like to get to see you as a person. I want the intro to sound natural and not like a memorized piece of information. Let me see/hear YOU

Congressional Debate: If you just read out loud to me do not expect a speech ranking higher than a 3 or to be ranked in the room. The purpose of this event is to make extemporaneous speeches, yes research is key, NO do not have a pre-written speech. The students that deliver the best speeches, while also showing they are aware of the debate in the chamber will win my ballot.

PF Debate: Don’t have me judge PF.

WSD Debate: I have no idea what I'm doing here.

Hi everyone! I'm Emma (they/them)

I'm a freshman debater at UNT and have competed in ld, cx, and pf in high school, and currently compete in NFA LD.

yes, I would like to be on the email chain- emmajean1904@gmail.com

every type of argument is perfectly fine, just go in depth on the k and tell me why I should really care about this in terms of debate.

T- MAKE SURE YOUR T IS ACTUALLY APPLICABLE TO THE CASE AT HAND, a t that doesn't link is a t that I will never vote on, please make sure theres a violation. but other than that I love t!

cp- these are fine as long as they are competitive

therory- most of these are fine but ones like "professional dress" or "no tie on" will not recieve any recignition on the ballot from me.

da- please make sure these link, and you EXPLAIN why they link

im good with any type of speed!! but please say actually words and dont just mumble

write the ballot for me, i do not want to sit there for 30 min just looking at my flow to decide the round

Andrew Gibson
Director of Forensics at The Woodlands College Park High School
Speech Drop Preffered




Before the round/ During the round logistics
A big thing for me is staying on time at any tournament therefore I will be starting the round when both teams are present. Please pre-flow before the round starts. I should not be waiting long periods of time to actually start the round. I am the same way with prep time during a round I believe this has becomes extremely abused in todays circuits. Do not tell me "I will take 1.5 minutes of prep and then the timer goes off and you take another 5 minutes to get to the podium. It is always running prep When a speech ends and you are taking prep simply say starting prep now and keep a running clock. Once you are at the podium ready to speak say cease prep and start your roadmap. Sharing Speeches is INCLUDED in speech time


Policy (UPDATED FOR TFA STATE)

I am a more Traditional Style of Judge. Speed doesnt bother me too much as long as you are clear and dont spread tags/analytics.

T - I love Topicality debates if they are ran correctly make sure there is clash on standards and abuse is shown. Paint the story as to why this skewed the round in any capacity.

Theory -I am good with theory debate if true abuse is shown within the round. Make sure you show the abuse that exists and what was loss by this happening

DA/CP/Case Debate - This is probably the easiest way to my ballot. Impact calculus is very important for me paint a picture as to what the affirmative plan looks like and what the world looks like either in SQ or Counterplan world.

Kritik -I am not a K judge this will be a tough way to my ballot. if you are going to run it I prefer case specfic not generic K's just to the topic not the case.

Role of ballot is big for me tell me what my ballot does and why I should use my power as judge to pull the trigger.

Any questions please feel free to ask!

Hello, my name is Tommie Sanders, I debated (CX) at Columbia HS (TX). I currently teach Art at Klein HS.

CX/Policy

Please include me on the email chain - tjsanders1@kleinisd.net - just put KISD first in the subject line to get past spam filters.

Overview

I debated in HS back in the stone age before everyone had a laptop. I write fast, and I type fast, however I need to be able to understand what your saying in order to write it down. Your speech and argumentation needs to be 100% clear throughout the round. If you give a roadmap please follow it, arguments need evidence and must be impactful to win. I do not have a preference as to the type of arguments you run, as long as you can back them up with evidence. 

Kritiks

Kritiks are fine as long as they are not vague or inexplicit. 

Counterplans

Counterplans are fabulous when they are unique and provide a creative point of view compared to the AFF.  AFF is responsible for determining if/why a counterplan should not be allowed, and providing adequate information to this respect. 

Speed

Speed is fine, but I need to be able to understand what you are saying. You must be clear. 

Demeanor

This is an academic environment, respect is a must. If you feel your opponent is not abiding by this, explain your position adequately and why you believe it is a voting issue for the round.