About me:
- I use He/Him pronouns
- email (for email chains, etc.): kalinahmad@gmail.com
- 2 years of policy debate experience, currently a British Parliamentary debater at UW Madison

Public Forum Paradigm:
First, it should be noted that I do not have any experience debating in PF. Thus, I will not necessarily know niche rules and theory arguments specific to the format, so I would advise that you not rely on those. I enjoy hearing unconventional arguments, however - so long as you do the work to explain them and show that they are relevant. PF was made to be judged by the average person, so write niche arguments in a way that would make sense to someone uninitiated.
In rounds without that kind of argument, I'll generally vote based on impact analysis. I typically find myself defaulting to a somewhat deontological mindset, but I would always prefer to see arguments on impact framing in round as opposed to relying my personal biases.
Despite being a former policy debater, I do not think speed is a good thing in debate - especially not in PF. The speaking speed I would prefer to hear would be a little faster than normal speaking speed. And, one last thing that really shouldn't need to be said - don't be rude in round. I don't want to hear insults, nor language that is harmful to minorities.

Hello! I am a former policy debater, but I have minimal experience with PF and LD. I don't have much experience as a judge, but I think I can keep up. The main thing to keep in mind is that regardless of what is being debated or how, I value 3 things:

1. I will do my best to keep time, but I always recommend teams keep their own time as well. It always better to have backup, right?

2. Please be very clear on reading your tags, cites, and summaries. These are what I am really looking at during a round.

3. I DO NOT VALUE SPEED (looking at you policy). I would much better prefer a clear well articulated argument, using a few good pieces of evidence than a wall of words I need to parse through. If you come at me reading 5 million words per minute, I will be sad :(

Please send speech docs to sameer.bhatt421@gmail.com.

I am a debate coach who has judged all types of debate for nearly 30 years. In recent years, I have focused mainly on public forum and occasionally Lincoln Douglas.

When judging public forum, I adopt the point of view of someone who is conversant in basic terminology and concepts but without any preconceived opinions on the merits of the resolution. The team that is more effective in using evidence and argumentation to convince me that their side should prevail gets the win.

I value clarity and precision in argumentation. While I can flow and comprehend more rapid delivery (I have coached policy), I think that public forum is not well suited to speed. If you are speaking rapidly because there is a lot you really need to cover, I am ok with that. If you are speaking rapidly because you feel it will confuse the other team, I will be annoyed. If you are speaking rapidly because you think it will impress me, it will not.

Since time is so limited, keep it simple and straightforward. Direct refutation, line by line responses and precise attacks are easiest for me to weigh, so why not do that?

The summary is an important speech because it tells me how your side sees the entire round now that constructives and rebuttals are on the flow. The final focus is best spent weighing the round and telling me why your side prevails.

Crossfires are not speeches, so anything from a crossfire that you want on the flow must still be mentioned in a subsequent speech. However, I listen carefully to all crossfires, so I will be aware of whether their contents are being accurately characterized.

In Lincoln-Douglas, I prefer clarity and quality over speed and quantity. I appreciate direct refutation and line by line analysis. My preference is for a reasonable and straightforward interpretation of the resolution. If given a choice, I would like a round that had fewer but better arguments rather than a spread of arguments that all lack decent development.

I do value the traditional role of LD as the more philosophical type of debate, and the value and value criterion play a unique and helpful role in this. However, I am mindful of the fact that not all resolutions lend themselves to this tradition as well as others do, so I am ok with making adjustments accordingly. If I don't feel I've been given clear reasons why I should vote the way you want me to, I will tend to default to a traditional approach, so having the value and value criterion in place still serves a purpose.

Evidence is important in LD to back up your basic claims, but I'd rather have you give me a couple great cards along with excellent analysis then many cards without it.

In your last speech, please make it very clear to me why I should be convinced by what is on the flow to vote for your side.

I look forward to hearing you debate!

Table of Contents: PF, MS Parli, Congress, Policy/LD, BQ

If you remind me, I'll give you my email in round for email chains or feedback.

Coaches: Tim Scheffler, Ben Morris

(Former) PF Partner: Sorin Caldararu

Schools: Madison West '22, Swarthmore College '26 (econ/math), judging for Strath Haven now.

Qualifications: 3 TOC gold bids in PF, doubles at TOC, won Dowling, broke 3x at Wisconsin PF State (made finals once), finals in state Congress twice, almost competed in extemp a couple of times, judged a few MSPDP and BQ rounds, judged a lot of PF rounds.

Varsity PF (JV/Novice/Middle School is Below):

TL;DR: Standard flow judge. Tech over truth but I admire appeals to truth when done well. Proud hack for evidence ethics. Below are some areas where I may deviate from circuit norms.

- Fairness > Education > Winning. Anything you do that is discriminatory will get you dropped and get your speaks tanked. PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE.

- LOCAL CIRCUIT: Disclo and parahrasing theory are not norms, so I'm going to need a pretty high bar of in-round abuse for me to justify a ballot. This is especially the case since local circuits tend to have much more extensive rules, including about evidence ethics, which could cover disclosure and paraphrasing if necessary. It is much easier to make rule changes in the local circuit. Thus, I need to know why the round, not coach meetings in the summer, should be where disclosure is made a norm.

- Now you know the wiki exists: https://opencaselist.com/hspf22. Not disclosing is now your choice. If you don't know what that means, ask me.

- If you're a small school and you're up against a team from a big prep school, I am a judge you want. I debated a lot on the national circuit, but I went to a public school that barely funds its debate program. Unlike a lot of judges who consider themselves "flow," I don't care if you use the same useless circuit buzzwords I use and I'm really not impressed by people that read 5 poorly warranted turns in rebuttal that one of their 15 coaches wrote for them in a prepout.

- If you go to a privileged school, are facing an underprivileged school, and spend the round commodifying the issues of underprivileged schools in an unnuanced disclosure/paraphrasing shell, your speaks will be capped at a 26 and I will be very tempted to drop you for it. If your entire strategy for winning rounds is to weigh extinction impacts over everything else, your speaks will be capped at a 28.5 unless you present some type of interesting nuance in the weighing debate. If I have to flow you off a speech doc, your speaks are capped at 28.5.

- I don't care if you provide an "alternative" in framework/theory debates (you need one in K’s though). I don't think second case ever needs to interact with first case, even in progressive debate.

- I reserve the right to intervene if I dislike your theory. That said, prefiat impacts almost always outweigh postfiat impacts. If prefiat debate is initiated, generally we're not gonna be debating substance. That doesn't make theory abusive – if you hit theory you can win by responding to it.

- Norms that DEFINITELY should be enforced through the ballot: not being ___ist, not misrepresenting evidence, not being rude. Norms that should be enforced through the ballot: disclosure, having cut cards, being able to share evidence efficiently, not stealing prep time, trigger warnings. Norm that should be encouraged through word of mouth but not the ballot: reading cards.

- Weighing should be done early. Don't wait until final focus. Metaweigh, too.

- Frontline in 2nd rebuttal. No sticky defense.

- I don't flow author names.

- Collapse early. To that end, don't read a whole new contention in rebuttal for no reason.

- If I have no offense on the flow, I default to the team that would win if I were a lay judge.

- You can ask me to call for evidence (from your side or your opponents' side) after the round in one of your speeches (or cross-ex if that floats your boat). I will probably not remember. After the round, say "remember when I asked you to look at the Caldararu card?" and I will look at it.

- Don’t misrepresent who wrote your evidence. If the article comes from the opinion section or is an academic study, you cannot cite it solely by institution. The New York Times does not publicly agree or disagree with what Ross Douthat or Bret Stephens writes for them (and I’m sure it would often vehemently disagree, as would I), so citing his op-eds by saying “the New York Times says...” is incorrect. You should say "Douthat of the New York Times says..." or "Douthat says..."

- "If you pronounce “Reuters” as 'rooters' or "nuclear" as 'nook-you-ler' I will be sad." –Sorin Caldararu, my brilliant debate partner.

- I'm going to Swarthmore College (one of the most left-leaning colleges in America), I live in Madison, Wisconsin (one of the most left-leaning cities in America), and my debate coach was a civil rights lawyer. This should give you a sense of my political views.

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JV/Novice/Middle School Paradigm:

I have judged some Middle School Parliamentary rounds before, and I have a lot of experience in novice/JV public forum.

- There are essentially three parts of debating: making arguments, responding to arguments, and weighing arguments (i.e. comparing your arguments and with those of your opponent). Ideally, you should start by mostly making arguments, and by the end you should mostly be weighing arguments that have already been made. You can make that very clear to me by saying things like "now I'm going to respond to my opponent's argument about ______."

- An argument usually has to involve saying something will cause something else. Say we're debating whether the government should create a single-payer healthcare system. If you are on the proposition, saying "healthcare is a right" isn't really an argument. Rather, it's a catchphrase that hints at a different argument: by making healthcare single-payer, the cost doesn't change whether you go to the doctor or not, making people more likely to get care that improves their quality of life and could even save lives. The difference between the first argument and the second is pretty subtle, but it's important for me as a judge: saying "healthcare is a right" doesn't tell me how single-payer gets people healthcare, and it also doesn't tell me who I'm actually helping by voting in favor of single-payer. The second argument answers those questions and puts those answers front and center. And that makes it much easier for me, as a judge, to vote for you.

- To that end, I'm not a fan of new arguments in late speeches. It makes the debate feel like whack-a-mole: a team makes one argument, but once it's rebutted, they present another argument, which then gets rebutted, and so on.

- Generally, I find logic to be more compelling than moral grandstanding. For example, if we're debating if it should be legal to feed kids McDonalds and you argue that it shouldn't because McDonalds is unhealthy, it doesn't help to say stuff like "they're basically stepping over the bodies of dead children" in a speech. It sounds like overkill and makes me not want to vote for you as much.

- Tell me your favorite animal to show me you've read this for an extra speaker point. The WDCA hates fun, so I sadly cannot give you your extra speaker point if you are in Wisconsin.

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Congress:

Short and sweet:

- I probably would rather judge PF. Try to change my mind. (just kidding)

- I was a huge fan of really weird yet hilarious intros, and had one for just about every speech freshman year. It was then squeezed out of me by a combination of tremendous willpower and coaching. (I once said that Saudi Arabia was acting like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes).

- Don’t re-word a speech someone else just gave two minutes ago.

- I shouldn’t be able to tell if you have a background in policy or PF debate. Don’t speak like you would in a PF or policy round.

- If you give a late-cycle speech, you should have something valuable to say. If you don’t have something valuable to say, don’t speak.

- You should vote to call the question, but not if it will prevent someone who needs to speak from speaking. Basically, if you are bored of debating a given bill, call the question. If you believe that calling the question would be a good underhand ploy to prevent somebody from speaking, don't call the question.

- Don’t speak right after someone spoke on your side, unless you absolutely have to (you probably don't have to).

- Don’t use precedence/recency to give the first pro speech if the writer of the bill is in the chamber and wants to speak. I have no idea if writing a bill allows you to give the first pro speech regardless of precedence and recency, but that should be a rule. This should give you an indication of my level of experience with Congress.

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Policy/LD: If I am judging you in policy or LD, I might have a slight bias towards a more PF style of debate. Read my PF paradigm since most things will apply. I find the ideas and concepts in policy and LD interesting and worthwhile even though I'm not inclined to participate in those styles of debate. Just keep it under 300wpm, use PF-level lingo, and keep in mind I can flow spreading but I can't flow it as well as an actual policy or LD debater. I'm probably more down for progressive debate than most PF judges, especially in those events. I know I can be a hard judge to adapt to for circuit policy and LD, so I'll cut you some slack with speed and clear you like 10 times before I stop trying to flow.

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BQ:

I judge BQ exactly like I judge PF, but obviously framework matters more because it's philosophy. Just read the PF section. It all applies.

I was a PF debater in high school, have been judging for years and have recently started coaching.

PF: I am a flow judge and like to see a clean line-by-line in rebuttal. Be sure you are not only responding to the argument your opponents' present but also the impact. Tell me why they can't access their impact in rebuttal. In summary, you should begin tying up any loose ends and begin to weigh. Tell me why your opponents can't access their impacts or why your impacts are bigger and better. Lives are a good default impact that is easy to compare. Final focus should be almost entirely voters. Give me 2 or 3 good reasons why I should vote for you. Don't make final focus a mini rebuttal. A good final focus does go over the entire round or every argument. Only focus on what you think you're winning. In terms of framework, unless one is proposed by either team I will default to util. In summary and final focus, tell me how your arguments/impacts align with the framework and why your opponents aren't meeting the framework.

LD: I have less experience in LD but will be able to follow more complex arguments. Be sure to talk about impacts explicitly and how they align to your value and criterion. Focus on the topic at hand, not the nature of debate or how your opponent is debating, except if they are being discriminatory. I am a flow judge through and through. Spend time developing clear answers to values and impacts that your opponent brings up and counter any arguments brough up against your case. A lot of LD arguments can become convoluted so take time to be clear so I have a clear understanding of what you are trying to say.

Speed: I can understand speed, but the faster you talk the less I will write down. As a flow judge, talking incomprehensibly or too fast could be detrimental to your success in the round.

Roadmaps: I won't time your roadmaps as long as you identify them as roadmaps before you start talking. Keep them brief. Don't waste time by saying that the order will be con then pro during first rebuttal. If you are going to talk about specific arguments identify those in your roadmap.

Also if it sounds like you can't breath, you're talking too fast.

Overall: Be civil. Don't yell at your opponents, partner or me.

Hello, I am a new judge, I vote on the flow. I debated for 4 years in LD in high school on the local and nat circuit, I only evaluate the flow and I value clash and lbl, otherwise you wont get my vote

I like arguments to be clear and structured, thanks

I primarily ran Util when I was on the traditional circuit, which is what I presume most of NCFLs will be, I value strategic use of time and crossex. Speaks are determined by strategic moves such as collapsing.

Email me at: davidjia39@gmail.com

Please send speech docs to artiekrishnan@gmail.com.

I debated in highschool but have not interacted with the event in 2 years. Enter every round assuming I have absolutely 0 background knowledge on the topic.

If there are 4 things to take from my paradigm, here they are:

1. Read what you want. Don't change your year-long strategies for what I may or may not like - assuming the argument is not outright offensive, I will evaluate it. My paradigm gives my preferences on each argument, but you should debate the way you are most comfortable with.

2. Don't lie about evidence. I've seen enough shitty evidence this year to feel comfortable intervening on egregiously bad evidence ethics. I won't call for evidence unless the round feel impossible to decide or I have been told to call for evidence, but if it is heavily misconstrued, you will lose.

3. Be respectful. This should be a safe space to read the arguments you enjoy. If someone if offensive or violent in any way, the round will be stopped and you will lose.

4. Extend, warrant, weigh. Applicable to whatever event you're in - easiest way to win any argument is to do these 3 things better than the other team and you'll win my ballot.

PF Overview:

All arguments should be responded to in the next speech outside of 1st constructive. If is isn't, the argument is dropped.Theory, framing, ROBs are the exception to this as they have to be responded to in the next speech.

Every argument in final focus should be warranted, extended, and weighed in summary/FF to win you the round. Missing any one of these 3 components is likely to lose you the round. Frontlining in 2nd rebuttal is required. I don't get the whole "frontline offense but not defense" - collapse, frontline the argument, and move on. Defense isn't sticky - extend everything you want in the ballot in summary, including dropped defense.

K's/Theory:I have not interacted with debate in a while and forgot how to flow both of these. If you choose to run these arguments with me do not expect me to make the correct decision.

Email: liuaugustus@gmail.com I would prefer an email chain be set up before we start the round please include me in it. Also don't hesitate to send me any questions you have or accommodation requests.

I will also ask for any evidence I think is important for me to make a decision after the round if a) it seems too good to be true or b) it's hotly contested and conflicting claims are being made

PF:

Few things, I did PF in high school so I have a general idea.

However, I only have limited topic knowledge, so please explain your arguments well.

Speed - I'm okay with speed, but don't talk so fast that you spread your opponents out of the round debate is supposed to be competitive not an auction.

I will flow the round and will vote mostly off the flow. That said if I can't understand you, or can't figure out where to put it on my flow, this may cause me to miss arguments. Signpost please I am actually begging you!

Side note on signposting I love funny 1 liners

Evidence- please please please do not ask for evidence in cross, rather ask for evidence before cross and talk about the evidence during cross, this makes the round so much more nuanced.

Weighing - I will find it very hard to vote for you if you do not weigh. To that point barring a complete catastrophe from your opponents I will not vote for you. This weighing should also be interactive, for example, if your opponents weigh on scope and you plan to weigh on probability, explain to me why we prefer probability weighing over scope weighing. If there is no weighing on the flow, I have no reason to vote for you, all I have is a bunch of links and impacts and nothing that compares them. The sooner the weighing the better, but it should at least be in Summary and definitely Final Focus. If you're going to read a turn, please please please flesh it out do not just put a billion turns on your opponents' case without warranting it, contextualizing it, impacting it, and weighing it.

Theory / K's- I had very limited exposure to Theories but I get the general idea, if you wish to run theory against your opponents go for it. K's I didn't experience any K's during my time in debate, that said if you still want to argue it go for it I will do my best.

Make your path to the ballot clear! The easier you make it for me to see your path to the ballot, the more likely I am to vote for you.

One last thing that I think should go without saying..., but if you have me in multiple rounds, especially in the same tournament, and I give you feedback along the lines of something you need to be doing, and you don't do it with me as a judge... maybe I won't vote for you... just maybe :).

Other than that have fun, debate is supposed to be enjoyable. Grow as a person, and learn about the world.

If you have any questions before the round don't hesitate to ask.

congrats on reading my entire paradigm :)

Daniel Montalvo - Ronald Reagan HS head coach

AFF/NEG split - 2/12

Quick Facts:

• Speed is fine, just be clear and enunciate (I’ll only allot 2 “clears” before I stop flowing)

• No such thing as a tabs judge, you know this, but I will keep it close

• Do what you do best. I’ll vote on anything just tell me why (impact calc, analysis, what outweighs what, etc.)

• Most of my background is in policy until recently. Fairly newer to LD but still pretty progressive and can appreciate a clash heavy and meaningful debate

Long Version

Background: I debated policy for Ronald Reagan all four years at the city/state/national level. Currently studying hospitality + revenue management at Cornell and head coach for Ronald Reagan HS. I’ve seen all sorts of arguments and am pretty well-versed with policy strats and arguments all around.

P O L I C Y

Case: “What is left on both sides? Is there enough to move on to off case positions if the case is held?” is usually my line of thinking.

DA’s: Go for it. Not a fan of base/politics disads but I’ll vote on them.

CP’s: Make sure they are competitive. Don’t be abusive. Consult CP’s are not my favorite...

Topicality: I like T. Author debates, counter-interps, reasonability, K-T, and framing all play their roles and can make great argumentation if executed well. Ensure there is in-round abuse and do the work to get me to vote on it. If you aren't going 5 minutes of T in the 2nr that means it was probably a time suck and not well developed enough for the ballot.

K’s: My personal favorite, go for it. I’m well versed in cap, abolition, and race/identity K’s, but I will not do the work for you. I love the idea of epistemological dangers the aff may overlook or perpetuate. Don't assume I know what you're talking about, though. I will be as objective as possible and still expect decent analysis and contextualization of your arguments.

K Affs/Performance: K affs/performance have been dying down on the Wisconsin circuits but I have seen them at nat circuit tournaments. Not my area of expertise so do enough work on the aff and display why your advocacy, performance, and/or negation of the resolution effectively challenges the implications you argue for.

Theory: Blow it up. If the other team does something inherently damaging or abusive in the round, you have every right to point it out for the ballot. I can handle high level theory, though these debates can get muddy in their development so please keep them as organized as possible. I won’t vote your way just because you shout “that was abusive!”

L D

** most of my judging philosophies from policy apply to LD. some key things to note:

FWK/VC: I understand a ton of framework shells get reused as topics change but there can be dozens of the same ideology/epistemology shells with key nuances that differentiate between sides and can make for a very intricate flow. Always evaluate these differences before collapsing into your opponent's framework to maintain clash on the flow.

M I S C

• Keep the round clean and organized. Poor/sloppy structure that impacts my flow will be reflected on your speaker points

• Loud/gaspy spreading gets really annoying, especially in smaller classrooms and through computer audio so be cautious before you do it

• Any -isms or -phobias “good” arguments and I’ll drop you

• You know the drill -- have fun and don’t stop learning!

• Also, put me on the email chain and feel free to contact me if you have any questions montalvodaniel51@gmail.com

Background: 4 years Brookfield East PF, nsda, ncfl, gold toc.

Email stuff to: akashmoorching17@gmail.com

FW Prefs (Wisco heavy):

I think that local circuit frameworks like minimizing oppression, maximizing freedom, and the way Kant/other phil is read on the Wisconsin circuit are incredibly nonstrategic. These frameworks offer you very little offensive flexibility. If you want to run it, you'll need to dedicate a lot of time on the framework layer and have strong FW justifications, preferably with a syllogism/metaethics, which you can't really do without spreading.

Realistically, Util justifications are a lot more time-efficient. Again, I vote off the flow, but if you run a fundamentally weak strategy in a game revolving around strategy, then that's probably not a good idea. One thing that I've noticed after judging in Wisconsin is that there's no skill discrepancy between the schools that are winning versus the ones that are losing. The only difference is that the ones who are winning are adapting their strategy to the times, while the ones who are losing continue to run the same weak arguments.

All the debate schools in Wisconsin are small. Learn how to wiki mine. Understand the basics of progressive debate here: https://circuitdebater.org/w/index.php/Main_Page. You can adapt or you can continue to lose.

I vote primarily on the clear presentation of arguments, supported by quality evidence, that are linked throughout the debate.

It helps to explain any acronyms or details that one might assume a judge with limited experience on the topic would understand.

Speed is fine if it is clear and persuasive. I can flow each team well throughout the debate, but speed sometimes limits the impact the speaker is trying to make.

I don’t vote on things not in the final focus or summary.

As for speaker points, I put an emphasis on speaking persuasively over speed, spreading, and heavy reliance on evidence alone.

Thanks for debating! Hopefully we can have a fun, enjoyable round =)

Stuff about me:

You can probably think of me as a lazy flow judge - I can usually keep up, but I'm not going to get everything if its 10000 per min

I did four years of PF and spent the last year on the nat circuit (did alr with a couple bid, but nothing crazy). Currently Icompete in BP in college (who knows why) and its going pretty solidly

Yes, I like email chain, and yes, pls add me (pasikanti@wisc.edu)

I hated adapting to judges, so for the most part, I'll try to adapt to you instead. So just debate how you want and as long as its not crazy, I'll follow along and we can have a better round!

Now onto the debate stuff

PF:

I've had a lot of experience with this, and a lot of different styles going from wisco to the nat circ, so I'm probably good here

Speed doesn't really matter (again, be reasonable with that and make sure your actually speaking words)

For most things, I'll probably understand what your talking about, but it doesn't hurt for you to explain it anyways

Signposting is good, pls do it

Don't need to extend card names --- speech docs are especially helpful though

I also hated extending warranting and impacts, but thats also why i lost round so you should do it if im your judge

Weighing is good, i would recommend you do a lot of it, especially in summary and FF

Frontline in 2nd rebuttal or 1st summary --- depends if your first or second obviously

Prolly nothing new after first summary, and if there is you get new responses in first final or just say that its new lol (or be safe and respond)

Pls cut your cards, and I mean don't just send a link of text - have the card cut with highlighting, etc...

If you're going for Ks, T, theory, etc.... I have a bit of experience with this, but just in case, make sure you get the warranting it as best as possible

Nothing racist, homophobic, sexist, promoting self-harm, etc... etc.. Y'all know what I mean, just don't be that person

Anything Other Format:

Skim the pf section for generic info, but I will try my best to judge whatever event this is. Speech docs are usually particularly helpful for events that are faster, and ev based (ld, policy, etc..)

Ks, T, theory, etc... is bigger in other events, so a little bit more here:

Theory - I'm pretty solidly versed in (just don't run it on people who clearly have no idea what your talking about, it makes the round less fun, it truly doesn't educate anyone in the round, and most importantly, I will hate you for it) (I also like disclosure)

Ks - I've only really read cap, so that's about the the extent of my experience on this. That said, I do have the generics of most of the literature bases, however, this isn't a get out of jail free card - make sure you explain and warrant everything and do it as slow as possible for me (pls and ty) I'm also a fan of performance, although the brightline for winning is a bit higher

For policy, my friend says that DAs are the best and should be in every 1NC.

Again because it's important, nothing racist, homophobic, sexist, promoting self-harm, etc... etc.. Y'all know what I mean, just don't be that person

Literally just have a good time, at the end of the day, it's just a game

prakash.dhruv26@gmail.com --- add me to the chain AND please ask questions about anything

Background: 4 yrs of PF at Middleton (WI); state champ + qualled to TOC/nats; studying international affairs and data science at gwu; name pronounced “droov” (rhymes with move)

*If there is anything in my paradigm that is unclear please ask me before the round*

- Tech > truth and i’ll flow the whole round (except cross)

- Best way to win is to signpost, go line-by-line, and weigh

- Probably don’t go above like 300wpm without sending a doc

- You need cards for everything (with citations and highlighting)

- Please extend args and impacts into summary/final but give me the warrant, don’t just say author/year

- If it’s not in summary/final I won’t be voting on it

- Don’t be mean and have fun for good speaks

- Trigger warnings are very important (if ur not sure just ask or play it safe)

- Good with theory, ok with Ks, no tricks

If you want more detail: I judge similarly to this guy, him, and her

I suspect that I will revise my paradigm as I learn and gain more experience.

I am affiliated with Middleton High School.

I was not involved with debate while I was in high school. I have become involved to support my son and his team.

I have only begun this year to judge PF. I look forward to learning through experience.

I prefer that students speak on the slower side. I generally make that announcement in the beginning. However, I realize that nerves tend to make people speak faster.

To date, I tend to prefer arguments a bit to style. And, arguments that are obviously stated. That being said, a large part of debate is style as well as preparing the arguments.

The Final Focus is very helpful to me if done correctly. The idea is close the debate and provide the key reasons why I should vote for your team.

If a team plans to win the debate on an argument (that you so clearly stated earlier), should that argument be extended to the rebuttal or summary speeches? I think that it is more important that this occurs in the summary.

TL;DR: Do what you gotta do. I'm cool with whatever as long as you understand it and explain it so that I do too. I've got a decent background with progressive debate. Don't run anything bigoted or offensive, and don't be mean or rude to your opponent. Speed is fine & I'll say clear as much as I need to. If it isn't against tournament rules, please do go into the room before I get there to set up.

put me on the email chain: simsajaya@gmail.com

Longer version:

Background: I debated for Golda Meir for four years, policy for one year and LD for three. Currently the head coach at Homestead HS in Wisconsin.

Debate Stuff:

Preflow before you come into the round - don't make us wait for you.

Speed - Speed is fine, but do it well. Slow down on tags and anything else important. I'll say "clear" as much as I need to, but it'll hurt your speaks if I have to too much.

Framework (LD) - You should have at least some form of it. Whether that's a value/value criterion or a role of the ballot, there should be something telling me from what lens I should look at what you're saying. If you're running a plan and don't think you need one, at least try to fit under your opponents.

Theory - I'll listen to it, especially in the event of legitimate in-round abuse. Just make it make sense and have all the necessary components.

Kritiks - I like them! As I said, if they're very complex explain it well, but generally speaking, I like K's. I will like them even more if it's something you are passionate about and really enjoy reading. Do not run a K if you don't understand what you're running. I like kaffs a lot too.

Performance - Cool w/ me! The performance needs to be something you care about and you need to have a purpose. You should also explain in round impacts. I very much like performance and I very much like its purpose in the debate space.

Plans/CPs/PICS - I like plans and CPs in LD, but I don't enjoy PICs. I'll listen to them, but I generally find them abusive. I'd be very receptive to PIC theory.

Impacts and stuff - I expect very clear voters. Tell me exactly what I need to vote on and why. I also expect that you show me what the aff world and the neg world both look like. Have clear impacts and always pull them through.

Other things:

- Don't be mean.

- Sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, and any other negative -phobias or -isms will absolutely not be tolerated. Debate is meant to be inclusive, not hurtful.

- I'll give you pretty high speaks unless you're rude or offensive.

- If there is an obvious skill difference between the debaters, I expect the more experienced debater to not make the round obnoxiously hard or discouraging. You should be able to win without scaring someone.

Personal Background: I debated four years in Wisconsin. I competed at NCFLs and NSDAs 4 times each. Most of my experience is in PF, Congress, and extemp but I have some experience with other events.

Include me on Email Chains please: rspors25@gmail.com

The vast majority of the rounds I have judged this year are policy rounds. That being said, don't spread in front of me. If you are spreading, share a speech doc, but just please don't. If you are running a K, T, or CP, you better be ready to explain it well (For example if you are running a T don't just rattle off the tags Education, Time abuse etc. Explain these arguments to me well). I tend to prefer 1 or 2 well reasoned arguments over 15 tags with no links or warrants.

TLDR: Have good ethics, Trust the Flow, Don't be a jerk.

Policy:

If you have received a blast and I am your policy judge, please know my experience is in PF/LD in a very traditional district. A fairly low level of Speed is okay but if I can't hear you I can't flow you. I will keep a flow and I will vote on the flow. If you are running a theory or a K it will take work to convince me but I am not against these types of arguments. Topicality or Framework arguments are things I am far more familiar with and I also tend to find them more relevant to the round than other theory arguments. In essence, convince me that your plan would work, and is the best solution. If you are the neg, Convince me they are wrong.

PF: Constructive: Speed is fine as long as you are clear. If you are unclear I will stop flowing and if it isn't on my flow it isn't on my ballot. I competed in a very traditional district so that is what I am most familiar with. If you are running some sort of progressive debate, make it a strong case. I think progressive arguments are overused in PF. If you are running something weird, explain it well and convince me. I think debate is ultimately an event based in convincing your opponents and judge. Convince me your argument isn't so weird.

Rebuttal: I want a line by line. 2nd rebuttal should include responses to 1st rebuttal otherwise it is dropped. That being said, don't be toxic and attempt to spread people out of rounds by arguing you should win the round based on a dropped third subpoint on your sixth response to their observation. Win the round via solid argumentation not some trick.

Summary: Summary is the hardest speech in a round. As a general rule, if something isn't in your summary it better not be in your final focus. Summary is a speech for crystalizing your arguments into something that can be used in your final focus and weighing. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WEIGH. If you don't weigh, you make me weigh. You will be sad because I may not weigh your voters favorably, I will be sad because you made me do more work. Don't make everyone sad. Weigh! Also don't just say "we win on timeframe and scope and yada yada yada" I can do that. Tell me why, under the established framework you are winning in a way that means you must win the round. If you want to use all those fancy weighing words, don't just shout the buzzwords at me. Tell me why I should be deciding the round in terms of timeframe, magnitude etc.

Final Focus: Give me the voters. Tell me why you're winning the important points of the round and tell me why that means you're winning the round. The final focus is not "Rebuttal: Reprise" (nor is the summary for that matter). Please do not just word vomit every card your side read the whole round. Tell me why you won.

LD:

Values and Criterions are important. Treat them like they are important. Whichever value wins out is how I am going to weigh the round. Make your arguments in terms of the values and weigh under the criteria.

Lincoln Douglas is a debate of values and morals. Keep that in mind.

Progressive debate is fine just make it make sense.

Everything I said above about speed, argumentation and weighing remains true for LD.

Congress:

1. This event is called congressional DEBATE, not congressional speech giving. Use your speech times to advance an argument, to directly clash with other speakers, and to persuade the audience to your side. That being said while I do want a well-reasoned debate, you are also essentially cosplaying as senators so there is some room for theatrics and if done well, this can add to your speech. A boring speech is not very persuasive.
2. SPEED! Speed does not belong in this event whatsoever. You are senators persuading the body to vote one way or another on a bill not policy debaters.
3. I would rather you give no speech at all than a repetitive, pre-written speech that takes time from other debaters who want to bring up new points.
4. Questioning periods, points, and motions weigh heavily on my ballot. Use these to your advantage. Answering questions well is HUGE for me. Effective use of parli pro is impressive to see, but incorrect use is a big disadvantage.
5. I will rank the PO as we are instructed to do. If you are an excellent PO you are likely in the running for the top spot in my rankings. If you are a poor PO you will likely find yourself near the bottom. Being a good PO is about running a fair and efficient chamber. I want that chamber to run like a well oiled machine.
6. Evidence, Follow the same ethics and evidence things I have stated below.

General Things for Everyone:

The Flow: In this round the flow is going to be king. If I can't understand you I can't flow you and if it isn't on my flow it isn't on my ballot.

Critique: I will disclose if they let me. I will give a oral critique if they let me. Everything will be on the ballot. I know how valuable that feedback is to coaches and competitors alike. If you are unhappy with my oral critique, look to my ballot for more information. If you have any questions, ask them. I am more than happy to give more advice/feedback. If you are just postrounding trying to argue about my decision. Don't, that's annoying.

Evidence Ethics:IMPORTANT There is nothing that irritates me more than shoddy evidence standards. This is an educational activity and if there is a card to which the content is in question it is possible I will call for said card. Be prepared. I want to be included in your email chains (rspors25@gmail.com).

Cross: Don't be abusive. Be assertive. I think cross is one of the most informative parts of a debate round. I will be actively listening but not actively flowing. If something is conceded in cross, it is conceded. That being said, it still needs to be brought up in speeches to make my ballot. If something important happens during cross, explicitly tell me "Judge write that down" I will but then I will expect you to elaborate in a speech.

Speaker points: I will probably be pretty generous with speaks. If you are racist, homophobic, sexist, Antisemitic, or anything else bad, expect the speaks to reflect that. Cross is a really good way to impress me and show me that you are a 30 pt speaker.

I competed in pf on the nat circ for brookfield east for 3ish years and I’m now a freshman in college.

tech>truth

debate’s a game do whatever you want but don’t be rude or annoying

I liked to run unique cases/args in highschool so I might give you higher speaks if you run one well

don't call me "judge", its corny

idrk which teams are good anymore so if you want, tell me how experienced you are when you come so i have somewhat of a gauge on what to expect.

For PF:

anything second rebuttal doesn’t frontline is conceded

please collapse at some point

defense isn’t sticky

My threshold for extensions in summary and final are pretty low, but they still need to be there. just go uq, link, impact and you’ll be fine. i don’t really care about or flow card names.

framings cool but please have actual warrants as to why to prioritize your impact over all others not just reasons why your impact is objectively important, because it’s not comparative

probability weighing is a scam, it’s usually just new responses phrased as weighing so my threshold for responses to it is very low, but if it’s conceded I’m not gonna intervene

i prob won’t call for ev unless there’s a dispute between teams as to what it says. If there’s two different cards that contradict pls weigh them bc i don't want to intervene and do it for you

call tkos please but if you’re blatantly wrong, L 20s

im cool with speed as long as it’s comprehensible, but if I need a doc to understand you, then slow down

theory, ks, tricks are cool but don’t count on me to evaluate extremely technical ks properly. If there’s a lot of random jargon just treat me like a lay

for LD and POLICY:

treat me as a lay

other stuff:

I’ll be pretty nice with speaks as long as you’re not unbearable. (28+) I don’t really care if you swear in speech, it’s pretty funny as long as it’s not directed toward your opponents.

feel free to post round, it’s educational but don’t be annoying

if you have any questions ab anything here, just ask me before round

I debated in the Wisconsin and national circuits for 3 years in LD. That being said, it's been four years since I last debated and 2 years since I last judged. I'm a little rusty with progressive so try sticking to lay cases - however I won't fault you if you feel the need to run a progressive case.

Attitude:

Be aggressive, not rude. I think this is obvious.

Timing:

I expect you to time yourselves and make sure you're sticking to the limits. I'll be keeping track of your prep time and will confirm how much you have left. Be wise.

Argumentation:

Don't bring up new arguments in the 2AR or 2NR, but you should know this.

If you're making non-topical/untopical arguments, I'll stop flowing.

Don't forget impacting - this will help show the magnitude of your arguments (mostly important when you have similar frameworks).

That being said, don't drop framework, especially if it's different to your opponent's. It's hard to vote for a debater who can't argue their case within FW. (I also really like seeing unique frameworks, not just regular util, but you need to make it work well)

Cases:

Email me your cases so I can follow along: tariknavya@gmail.com

Like I said earlier, it's best if you stick to traditional cases but I'm fine with Kritiks and CPs. (please make sure they're good though)

Don't be abusive.

Speaking:

Speak fast if you want, don't slur your words though.

You can spread, but don't do it just to get an upper hand for no reason. If you're being a jerk - auto drop.

If you're incomprehensible, I'll let you know max 2 times to fix it.

Language:

If you're being homophobic, racist, sexist, xenophobic, etc, I'll auto drop you.

Decisions:

You can give me about 5 to 10 minutes after a round to make my decision. I will disclose and give you the RFD - this is going to be constructive criticism that I hope will help you in the following rounds.

Good luck in the round, and may the best debater win!

traasatae@yahoo.com

I am a retired debate coach (also coached speech and theatre), who for over 25 years coached Policy Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, and once it became a debate event Public Forum debate. It can be assumed that simply due to my longevity that I am just a dinosaur judge… but I do not think that completely articulates the type of judge that you will have in the back of this round.

My first premise is to always attempt be a tabula rasa adjudicator, given the constraints of sound debate theory. That being said, I will not be drawn into some absurd games-playing paradigm by debaters attempting to belittle the educational expectations of this academic activity. Bottom line – I believe this is still the best activity any student can be involved in to best prepare themselves to be a better citizen.

Public Forum – I still feel that this style of debate should be accessible to anyone and everyone. Thus, I would expect it to be understandable, organized and cordial. Also, I feel it should be free of what I call blip arguments. (ex. I despise one-word framework blips like “Framework – Util”) I am sorry, but if you want me to specifically exercise my decision process through a specific framework – you certainly need to define and develop that concept. I also believe Public Forum debaters and the debate itself benefit from good ethos. So, what am I looking for in a good round of PF? Sound argument(s), clash, good refutation and solid summation. In the end, if there are good standing impacts on both sides of the debate – I expect the final focuses do a thorough impact calculus. (Don’t make me do the work, that is your responsibility as a debater, not mine as the judge.) Do not be afraid to ask me questions before you start, I am willing to clarify anything that you may have questions about.

Lincoln Douglas – I have always loved value-based debates! That being said, I am not sure that LD is still this type of debate. So, understand that when I become grumpy when an LD round turns into a policy debate – I am not grumpy with you the debaters, but more so the direction that this high-speed vehicle is headed. (Believe it or not, back when this style of debate was introduced, it also was meant to be an accessible style of academic debate for the public.) More than anything else, I dislike the incorporation of policy debate language, but not necessarily defined the same in LD. I am often still shocked with plantext in LD, specifically when the resolution does not specifically demand or require action. I do understand that over these decades LD resolutions have moved to more policy-oriented proposals but bear with this old man and understand that I still appreciate weighing an LD round through value-premise based arguments. Additionally, I have always felt that most legitimate arguments in LD are critical at their fundamental level, thus I am often unsure how a “K” is to be weighed in the round but do expect to be informed by the debaters. (once more, I expect the debaters to do the work, not to leave it to me) Again, do not be afraid to ask me questions before you start, I am willing to clarify anything that you may have questions about.

- At this point, let me explain… I think the greatest sin that a judge can commit is to intervene. As a judge, I will keep a thorough flowchart, and will make my decision based on what is on my flow. If it is not on my flow, that is not my fault. I will not do the work for you. I NEVER flow CX or crossfire. If you want it on my flow, it better be in a speech proper. As far as rate of delivery, I believe that as long as you are understandable, I will be able to follow you. If I find you incomprehensible, I will tell you so (oftentimes in the form of vocally shouting “clearer”), but if I have to do that, you can bet that you are losing ethos points on my flow. My non-verbal language is pretty loud and clear, thus making sure that I am following your logic or argumentation is still your part of this communication process. Therefore, keep an eye on me, and you should be able to tell that I am following you. I find it silly when debaters tell me before they begin to speak – “I will now give you a non-timed roadmap” in Public Forum or LD. My PF and LD flows are on a single piece of paper… I have always equated “roadmap” in debate with Policy debate and placing the 5 to 8 pages of the full flow in the correct order for the speech that I am about to hear. And then I still expected to be told when to move from one page of a flow to another. Thus – a roadmap in PF or LD, I would expect to take less than a couple of seconds and find it just silly that I need to be told that the roadmap is to be non-timed. (all 3 to 5 seconds of it.) I feel awkward and uncomfortable about the “additional tech time”. (Until organizations identify specific “tech time” to include into the round, I often feel it is still using someone’s prep time, and am uncomfortable just adding additional time to the round and making sure it is fully applicable to everyone involved.)

Policy - It has been a while since I have judged policy debate, and that time makes me feel inadequate to judge a good VCX round. But if the situation arises, I will do my best to be a quality judge. In policy world, I am much more a policymaker than stock judge. I appreciate theory and believe it can still be the mechanism to weigh all issues in a policy round. I am a bit of a purist, in the fact that I still expect anyone running a critical argument or a performative position, to be fully committed to that argument or position. (I WILL vote for a performative contradiction). Otherwise, making sure it is on my flow and that I understand the argument will go a long way to winning my ballot. I do not like reading evidence, that is not my job, if you require me to read the ev, you are not fully doing your job. Everything else… just ask me before you start, I am willing to clarify anything that you may have questions about.

I am a PF judge for Fort Atkinson, although I have judged policy in the past. I judged policy from a traditional policy-maker position and tend to prefer cases that are on-topic and had a course of action that I could take. While we are not looking for a plan from Public Forum debaters, arguing the topic directly plays right into my preferences, so it will be tough for PF debaters to go wrong with me.

Speed should not be an issue for public forum debaters, however I know that some students compete in several formats. Having judged policy in the past, I am comfortable with a novice-to-varsity level of speed, however, if I think that you are speaking too quickly for a public forum setting, I will say "clear" up to 3 times. If you speed up again, I will merely start to take off speaker points. If you are speaking so quickly that I cannot flow the debate (which should never happen in PF; this isn't policy!), that will simply be to the detriment of your case. I will not judge what I cannot flow.

I judge primarily base on the arguments/analytics that are presented in the round. I feel that speaker points are best suited to reward debaters for style. In other words, while arguments, facts, and logical deductions are the bread and butter of any debate, if you make it look good or convince me that you know your case backward and forward, that will be reflected in speaker points.

If you are arguing from a moral high ground, please be sure to emphasize that I should be considering moral obligations before considering other aspects (such as utilitarianism) and why. For example, I need something in your arguments telling me why I should value human lives above, say, dollars and cents, but from there on, this can be referred back to as a moral imperative without having to re-argue the original moral argument. Just be sure to include something in your summary or final focus that mentions that I should vote based on moral obligation above all other considerations.

When you are wrapping up the debate, please indicate clearly which arguments you think are the most important for me to consider and why. If there are flaws in the opposing argument, or if you want to toss some analytics, I am fine with this. Analytics are the application of logic to draw a conclusion based on the evidence at hand and they indicate to me that you've been seriously considering the side of the argument that you are presenting.

On my ballot, I try to indicate areas of improvement for everyone along with what was done well. If I indicate a mispronunciation, it is only to improve your debate for the next round, not to embarrass you. While a large vocabulary is desirable, nobody can claim to be perfectly familiar with every single word. English is far too large of a language and it can be terribly inconsistent.

You should also know that I am an Air Force Brat. I grew up on an Air Force Base, near a naval station, that housed Navy personnel and Marines. I am familiar with military equipment of various kinds, how they function, and the role they play in current and past military strategies. Tactical maneuvering for military and political advantage are not unknown to me and I have a good grasp of recent conflicts and their history. Please don't quote conflicts and dates unless you are certain because I will not find it convincing if it's incorrect.