Tech > Truth except on definitions

I would consider myself a traditional judge. I am generally opposed to theory or k debate unless absolutely necessary. I will dock a lot of speaker points and probably not vote for you if I feel like you are running theory or k for the sake of being progressive. Counterplans are fine.

I only weigh framework debate if it's a util vs. ethics-based framework or two ethics-based frameworks, otherwise I'll default to util. I will weigh any framework in LD, so long as it wins.

I don't like speed-- I want to enjoy watching a debate, not spend an hour struggling to keep up and searching through a shared file. I flow what I hear, so keep it slow and simple.

Comms will not make my decision in the debate, but they are a major factor in your speaker points.

Don't be racist or sexist.

Any speed is OK. Have fun! or else

I vote on confidence and who convinces me more, even if your "facts" aren't true, if you can convince me they are you'll have my vote. Don't stress and have confidence, even if it's fake, and try your best. Try not to pace and look at me instead of your opponent. Also try to show me you know your case and don't just look at your case, try to look at me. Have good questions during the questioning period, but try not to be mean because I will dock points if you're mean to your opponent. Be nice and respectful :) A big thing that counts as respect is using your opponents preferred pronouns, doesn't matter if they look like it or not, if they ask for those to be used then use them.

I want you to talk well and loud (I have hearing problems). Try and make everything you tell me convincing. nice flowing. took at the judge and not your opponent. Try not to move too much (small pacing and hand movements don't count). If your having a hard time talking/not stuttering it's okay I have the same problem, but if it happens a lot I will start take off points. Be professional (don't laugh or say anything that your coach wouldn't say while debating) Also if your opponent uses preferred pronouns please be respectful and use them.

Hello!

A little about me: This is my third year in Speech and Debate (I'm a junior). As a freshman, I went to State Debate in PF, and I was an alternate for State Speech and Nationals. Last year, I went to State Debate, State Speech, and Nationals. I have a little experience in Policy and Congress. PF is my main debate event, but whenever not PF it's LD.

My Paradigm (how I'm judging the round) is largely based on content and understanding. Speaking skills are important to me, but it's very important to me that competitors know what arguments are being made, and not saying what sounds nice. By extension, originality is important (especially in partner events). Overall, because you are all novices I will be valuing Content > Comms (Speaking skills) since that's unfair in my eyes.

Cross-questioning, in any event, can get heated, so make sure to be respectful and ask good questions (not things like "Did you know about..." or just keep speaking as if it was a speech.)

Some minor stuff: Some judges make you use prep time during evidence exchange, but I don't. Please time yourself, but always make sure to ask. Do not tell me what to do (for example: "scratch that off of your flow" or "star this"), I will do the exact opposite. Instead, say something like, "Clearly our Contention outweighs theirs" or "Their contention doesn't flow logically" and I'll decide what to do with that claim. I would avoid any analogies since they are void of evidence and can easily be confusing. Just be nice.

All and all I want all competitors to have fun, and I'm looking forward

I will flow the round and make sure to cover contentions dropped and attacks made. Cross fire questions play a big part of knowing your case and showing the flaws in your opponents. Make sure your arguments are logical and don’t contradict themselves. Having recent evidence in your case is paramount. Don’t talk over each other.

Be respectful, don't start arguments, be passionate but not agressive. Speak clearly, know your stuff and respond to everything with good sources behind. Dont't be annoying during cross.

Just follow the rules and be polite. That's the biggest one. Also, don't bring up new unprompted information during cross-ex. It's cringy and you're just not supposed to do that. That is all. :)

CONGRESS

Debate-wise, I am a congress kid first and foremost. Please be respectful to other competitors. Don't do any blanket attacks on the other side, such as "The Neg are advocating for the end of the world!" or "The Aff must be clinically insane if they believe this bill will change anything!" The only acceptable attacks are either rebuttals or small and clever attacks which aren't very serious.

Additionally, I love extremely weird and clever arguments. For example, when talking about a bill to eliminate single family zoning law, talk about the negative impacts of lawns instead of the housing crisis or structural racism.

Judging-wise, I am not a "blank slate" judge, and if you say something that displays some sort of fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. Constitution, the government, or the topic, then I will probably dock you points. Additionally, if you don't verbally cite your sources, you will not get full points. Please don't repeat points unless you can spin it to be somehow slightly different, or you really hammer in why this point is so important that it must be repeated.

Quick Speaker Point Guides; 0-1; Actively hateful/discriminatory. 4; bit below average speech. 5; Good/Average speech. 6; Great speech! For anything past prelims, I'll hold y'all to a higher standard and be a bit meaner points-wise, so watch out!

PF/LD

I am an impact judge. When judging, I often look to see which side has the most magnitude, smallest timeframe, or least reversibility. I also judge primarily based on of framework, so make sure to use it!

I am also a "Blank Slate" judge, which meant I will accept anything you competitors say even if it makes no sense (as long as you can respond and it's not about debate rules). If your opponent rebuttals your first contention by saying "Sorry, but my star-sign is Scorpio so their first contention falls apart," you better call them out in your next speech or else I'll just assume it's been properly rebutted.

Additionally, I'll flow in your feedback, and make small, little suggestions for both teams. Please look through it so you can see exactly what I'm thinking throughout the round.

POLICY

I have very little experience with policy, so please go easy on me. Aff must win all the stock issues or else they lose. Not sure what else to say. oh yeah, also, go easy on me.

Hello! First, a little on me. I did four years' worth of LD debate in high school I currently do collegiate debate. I also currently assistant coach. This being said, I tend to value traditional debate over progressive. However, this is your round, not mine, and I will flow whatever you choose to run. I'm fine with speed as long as it's accessible to everyone in the round- this includes the other judges and especially the other competitors, and it is used as a tool rather than a weapon. I'm generally tech over truth.

As for actual voting issues rather than my preferences about the round:

First and foremost, the debate is a space of inclusivity and kindness. I can and will vote on professionality. Discriminatory comments will not ever be accepted.

Secondly, I am a flow judge. Make sure you have time management so that you have plenty of time to respond to everything on the flow, including the framework. I am not a huge fan of kicking arguments and if I were you, I would stay away from this when you can. However, if you are going to kick an argument, be sure to explain to me why you are doing it. Otherwise, it's dropped on my ballot.

Finally, impact calculus is incredibly important. Tell me why your point matters more than your opponents.

Please feel free to ask me any questions as you have them.

she/her
estrella mia

I don’t have much rules but please speak clearly and respect the other side!

Hullo! I'm excited to meet you and hope you're feeling okay as you come into round.

My paradigm is pretty simplistic - I am looking for good communication, strong cases, and for you to have fun! Depending on the format, my feedback will be a little more specific. I have experience either competing or judging all of the formats here.

I'm looking for good solid arguments with good reasoning and evidence to back it up. Respect for your opponents is also important to me.

“What’s a paradigm?”

Something you should ask your judges every round to know how they judge! They’ll vote for you based on their paradigm.

NOVICE PF —

I mainly do PF, I’m a flow judge! I don’t care much about comms/communications. I believe the flow and your arguments matter most in a round, not how you sound. I won’t stop you if you’re over time, but what you say won’t be flowed!

During cross, I love clash. I care the most about questions asked rather than answers.

Time yourself. I’ll time you, but in future tournaments you’re expected to keep track of your own speeches times and prep time!

NOVICE LD —

I mainly do PF, so I have no idea what’s going on. I’m a flow judge! I don’t care much about comms/communications. I believe the flow and your arguments matter most in a round, not how you sound. I won’t stop you if you’re over time, but what you say won’t be flowed!

During cross, I love clash. I care the most about questions asked rather than answers.

Time yourself. I’ll time you, but in future tournaments you’re expected to keep track of your own speeches times and prep time!

Lincoln Douglas Debate:

I'm starting my third year of debate. I have competed in Lincoln Douglas for my novice and JV years. I am an impact, coms, and flow (house burner) judge. Impacts are one of the most important things in a debate. I need to know why your side matters and why I should care. Impacts will be the biggest deciding factor in your round. I'm a coms judge in the sense I need to understand what arguments you are making and what those arguments are. If I miss something and you try to bring it up later I'm not going to flow it. In other words, I'm fine with a little speed as long as I can understand you (I'm not a fan of spreading). The flow is not the only thing that matters to me and it will never be the deciding factor in your round, however, covering all of the arguments builds your credibility as a speaker. The Value Criterion debate is important in LD but I want to see your v&c tied into your impacts and hear about both throughout your case.

Public Forum Debate:

I've never competed in Public Forum before but I've learned about this style of debate. I am an impact, coms, and flow (house burner) judge. Impacts are one of the most important things in a debate. I need to know why your side matters and why I should care. I'm a coms judge in the sense I need to understand what arguments you are making and what those arguments are. If I miss something and you try to bring it up later I'm not going to flow it. In other words, I'm fine with a little speed as long as I can understand you (I'm not a fan of spreading). The flow is not the only thing that matters to me and it will never be the deciding factor in your round, however, covering all of the arguments builds your credibility as a speaker. Impacts are the most important thing to me as a judge and will be the biggest deciding factor.

Im pretty laid back but im very flow heavy, dropped arguments are a huge deal and you shouldn't be dropping opponents points/attacks, you should also bring up when your opponent drops your points. I judge very heavily on how cx goes, cx is where the real debating happens in my book. Also if you (or teammates) are overly aggressive and rude that will not give you my vote.

As a judge, I would like to tell you my experience I have been debating for 4 years and have experience in all events of debate and know a lot of what to look for in a speech. Regarding debate, I am comfortable with speed as long as I can still understand what you are saying. As an impact judge, I will be looking for the why in your arguments. If I can't understand why it matters then I most likely won't vote for you. To be as fair as possible I will be entering every round with a clear mind and no personal input into the arguments made. They can be as weird or outlandish as possible as long as there is a clear impact and if your opponent doesn't contest it I will consider it in the round as true and a reason to vote on. I look forward to the rounds. Good luck!

How to contact me: mcmurryl927@gmail.com

Hello! My name is Cameron and I did debate in high school. I only did it for 2 years, but I am familiar with any argument and debate/speech event, I am a Flow/Clash judge, I also take certain aspects of tech over truth into account. This means I follow and value every argument as long as you do it well and take it seriously.

HOWEVER: When it comes to clash please be beyond respectful to your opponent. I understand in debate, emotions get high sometimes, but remember, in debate, it is as important to be courteous as it is to make arguments.

I primarily did Lincoln-Douglas and competed/am competing at the state and national level. When I debated I was big on a few things, 1st was flow. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call something out if it was dropped on the flow, if you have it I will also, and that makes my ballot that much easier. 2nd is cross-ex, I believe cross ex is the way to the ballot in a close round, prove you have a better route to my ballot than your opponent, it's a great tool use it well. I will not flow cross-ex and will use it to write comments, unless you say something that catches my attention, then I may make a note of it. 3rd is frameworks, if you run any sort of framing (necessary if you are in LD(V/C)) please actually use the framing. I am a big believer in quality over quantity, anything you say should be part of the larger picture which is my ballot.

LD: LD is/was my pride and joy. Remember this is morality debate, that means I want impact calc on the reg, tell me why it matters and bens/harms to society. Framework is also important, it's like the whole point so use it well, chances are I will keep V/C on it's own piece of paper cause it really is a separate debate. Other than that, it's your debate, take it from here and impress me.

PF: I'm comfortable with anything you want to do in PF, but please include some solid warranting, I only did PF once and never again because I would not stand no one explaining WHY. Don't run counterplans, it's against the rules, however in PF, I enjoy some sort of advocacy, and if you run an advocacy have specs ready.

Policy: Policy has a special place in my heart, you can run whatever and I'll flow it, but have solid warranting and links. If I look confused that's cause I am, if you could explain something more I would appreciate it. If I will need a speech drop let me know, Although I don't love it, I understand the strat of spreading so it's cool if you have to. T's/K's are super cool, but don't run them as a time suck, all of the way or none of the way plz.

Have the most fun you have ever had in this round. One Love.

Give Me The Win and I'll Give You The Win

I am a flows judge with a heavy emphasis on impacts. That means I will weigh dropped arguments against you, but I can be swayed to vote for you if your impacts clearly outweigh your opponents. That being said, it is your job to tell me your impacts. I should not have to figure it out for you.

LD: Value/criterion debate is a huge part of LD, but winning the V/C debate doesn't mean you'll win the round, it means I'll judge based on who upholds that value better. The winner will be the better debater (no dropped arguments) with stronger impacts according to the value and criterion.

PF: Public Forum is simple. The Pro is advocating for the resolution and the Con is (usually) advocating for the status quo (no change). I expect you to analyze the impacts of both sides, and tell me which side is better. Impact calculus is your job, I should not have to find your impacts.

B.a.g.e.l.s.

I am looking for a debate where both sides are able to bring some elements to the table. In order to win you must be able to persuade me as to why I should vote for you over your competitor. 

You must be respectful and display good sportsmanship, if you are incapable of behaving as such, or you choose to not respect the rules of your event then it will not reflect too kindly upon your score. 

Again, the main focus for my decision is who was able to bring forth the best evidence, logic, and reasoning for why their side stands stronger than the oppositions, you do not need to debate that something can only be Good/Bad, factors such as a good delivery and clear voice will help but will not be the focus for my decision. 

This is a novice tournament, do not worry so much, everyone is new, please just do your best and try to have fun.

Hello there! I am super excited to judge you all! I will be judging based on the quality of the arguments as well as the number of arguments, meaning if one person has one strong argument while the other has two that person will win. If I cannot understand what you are saying I will not take what you're saying into consideration so please no speed reading. I will take also take the value-criterion debate into consideration so make sure to stay on top of that. I hope that you have a good round!

I'm primarily an Impacts and Flowjudge. Make sure your impact calculus is clear, logical, and pragmatic. That being said, if you aren't keeping track of the flow, your impacts won't stand. Good voters at the end also go a long way to solidify your case.

I'm fine with speed, but I would prefer if you demonstrate your skill as a debater, not just as a fast talker.

LD:

I very much love the Value and Criterion debate, but winning the V/C debate will not necessarily mean victory. Give me clear reasons why we should weigh the round off of your Value. Both logic and evidence-based arguments have their place in this debate. Make sure you use them accordingly. Comms aren't really that important to me but if it comes down to it, I will use it as a tiebreaker. I can follow just about any speed, just make sure that you enunciate clearly so that I can still follow what you're saying. Put a lot of weight on impacts, flow, voters, and make sure the debate is professional (i.e. avoid ad hominem, attack arguments not opponents).

PF:

Make sure to extend your partner's arguments as well. I like to see lots of clash, and cross is a tool. Weigh your impacts and don't just say them, tell me WHY it matters. I prefer a few in depth and detailed arguments over a larger quantity of superficial arguments. Final Focus should include key voters on both sides. Comms aren't really that important to me but if it comes down to it, I will use it as a tiebreaker. I can follow just about any speed, just make sure that you enunciate clearly so that I can still follow what you're saying. Put a lot of weight on impacts, flow, voters, and make sure the debate is professional (i.e. avoid ad hominem, attack arguments not opponents).

I shouldn't have to say this, but be a good human: Remember that there is a fine line between being assertive and being aggressive. You can be confident in your resolutions but, that does not mean you should be arrogant or conceited. Be respectful no matter your opponent’s background, experience level, or argumentation style. Most of all, have fun and be proud of the work you do! I'm sure you'll do great!

I want to see a good, clean debate. I will be mainly focussing on good arguments and good comms. First and foremost, I want to see a complete flow. Dropping something doesn't mean an automatic loss, but it will reflect in your speaker points and possibly the winner of the round. If both flows are complete, I'd rather see quality over quantity. If someone has one really good argument and someone else has two mid-arguments, the one good argument would win. I also want to see a confident speaker. I want you to convince me with logic, evidence, and confidence.

Some things I don't want to see in round: Disrespect. If you are a disrespectful debater, you will see this reflected in your score. Also, while I am good with speed, I would rather you don't. It just makes it easier for me as your judge to follow everything if you talk slowly and make sure I'm judging the round accurately.

Overall, I want to see a good debate, and I want you to have fun! Debate is meant to be a hobby and a sport! Have fun with it!

My Paradigm in debate is that I want to see your evidence, this is what I will base my decision off of. I will also want to see how you do on your feet, in the rebuttal and summary speeches. I also need you to sing post in order to be able to follow your train of thought. I hope that you have a good round. Be nice when necessary. Have a great round.

If you run extinction… I will extinct your chances at winning.

WHOOOOOOS READY TO PARTAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!? Hey guys i freaking love speech and debate! Im so excited you are here! Have lots of fun! dont do dumb. dumb is lame. yall are smart! enjoy this cuz its a party! lot of love, your fav (hopefully) judge.

I want to see a respectful and interesting debate. I also want to see good rebuttals. Speak clearly and confidently, spreading will lose you points.

Don't stress to much, have fun!