I did forensics in high school, but not debate. Treat me like a lay judge.

I have a bachelor's in international studies and a master's in nonprofit management, so I should be able to understand most policy ideas, but it's best to explain your arguments. Don't just read cards and assume that I will make all the mental connections for you.

I do not "flow," but I will try to take notes on the arguments I hear. Make sure that you speak clearly and slow enough for me to understand you. Please give me good reasons to vote for you.

Please be respectful to me and to each other. Please do not make new arguments in the rebuttals.

I am focused on the following key things:

1. Speaking skills (confidence, clarity, enunciation, volume, and appropriate speed).
2. Logic/reasoning (your arguments should make sense).
3. Clear impacts and reasons to vote for you.

Fine with most arguments. K's are fine, just make sure to explain them.

I dislike dropped arguments. If you intentionally drop an argument. Mention it.

I default to Stock Issues, Aff must win all Arguments to win unless I am presented with different framework.

Not the fastest at flowing so i prefer no spreading. that said you can still speak quickly but i have to have enough time to write it down

Any other clarifications or questions you have you can ask me before the round but I am generally pretty cool w/ whatever.

Flay judge

Debate experience: I debated for 1 year in high school, and currently teaching our middle school debate elective

Judging experience this season: Andover High School Debate Tournament, Wichita Southeast Debate Invitational, Nickerson Cowbell Classic, KSHSAA 321A 4 Speaker Debate Regional @ Collegiate

Which best describes your priorities in judging debates? Resolution of substantive issues is more important than communication skills.

Which best prescribes your paradigm or approach to judging debate? Stock issues emphasis, Policy maker emphasis

What speed or rate of presentation do you prefer? No preference regarding speed.

Counterplans are... Acceptable if justified, and if consistent with other elements of the negative approach

Topicality is... Very important in my decision; I consider it a paramount issue

I have judged debate and forensics off and on for the last 7 years.

Debate is, first and foremost, a communication activity. Arguments should be clearly laid out in a way that allows me to understand, but also shows that the debaters have a firm grasp on their evidence and why it is being used. Pretend I know nothing. I am not a flow judge, but I do take notes in the round.

I don't ask to see speech docs. My decisions will be made off of what is said in the round.

I encourage you to speak at a conversational pace.

Assistant Coach - Maize South High School

2 years policy debate, plus 5+ years judging policy

4 years forensics having competed in every event except LD & PFD and specializing in Oration and Informative

I try to judge in a very blank slate style though I do have some arguments or argumentative guidelines I prefer over others. For my affirmative teams I like to see cohesive arguments and a logical plan presented. However the affirmative wishes to refute negative arguments is entirely up to them as long as they follow a clear and logical path.

I expect much the same from the negative team. You may decide which avenue to take in trying to take down the affirmative plan as I put equal weight behind all potential courses of attack.

I do not like speed to be used as a weapon. I understand in debate the pace of speaking will be picked up to get all the info in, but if I ever feel that a debater is attempting to speak quickly just so that the opposing team will not hear an argument and then not be able to respond to it, I will judge that critically and penalize you for that.

I appreciate when debaters "get off the cards". I want to see debaters analyze their cards and break down their arguments and try to connect with me on a human level rather than just rattle off facts and figures for the duration of their speech.

I'm not a stock issues judge. While stocks are important to frame a debate, I do not and will not judge solely on them. Do not rely on believing you "won" inherency/solvency/etc. to lead you to a round win. Only a clear and sound argument overall will win you a round in my eyes.

I am open to Topicality arguments but I want them to be specific. Don't just run T cause you feel like it and don't argue that your definition of "the" is better than someone else's. If you run T it needs to be specific and show that the affirmative is actually harming the competitiveness of the round.

If you run DAs make sure they have specific links. I'm not a big fan of generic DAs so make sure you find some way to link to the aff directly.

For Kritiks I generally am not a fan of them but if you can present one that ties to the specific round AND you run it well then I might rule in your favor, just be aware that it might be a risky play. Not to dissuade you but just to inform you.

TL;DR - I want more on-case arguments that have real world examples. I'm fine if you go off case, it just needs to be presented well and somehow swing around to providing clash in the round.

I worked in radio for 8 years before transitioning to education so I value good communication skills in a round and being able to connect with people as I have spent a chunk of my life honing that skill. Your evidence is important but your ability to properly convey it to me is just as important. I want to see you communicate your intentions of your arguments and where you stand on the issues in the round.

As a reminder this is an educational activity and we are all people just trying to get better and learn things. I understand debate in its very nature is confrontational, but remember that your opponents are fellow human beings just like you and should be treated with respect. Try to avoid being argumentative in rounds and keep it loose.

At the end of the day just have fun!

Hello my name is Shannon Catlin. I have judged debate for the last four years, while also participating as a debater in my high school career. When I sit down to a debate I prefer to hear evidence based proof with a footprint to back your sources. I also look for if a debater understands what they are presenting, explaining in your own terms.

I like to see what your policy is and how your plan of action will work with proof and funding. I watch for confident body language and being able to make eye contact with your peers.

I will allow spectators if the participants also agree, however they will not be allowed electronic devises.

Let's have s great debate.

I am a Stock Issues judge first and foremost. That means that I hold all four (4) Stock Issues at an equal and high regard in a debate round. Inherency, Harms, Solvency, and Topicality are the biggest voting issues for me. However, that does not mean that I won't listen to DisAds, Ks, Advantages, CPs or any other argument, they just hold spots within the different Stock Issues.

Disadvantages and Advantages deal with Solvency and Harms to me as they talk about how the plan will make everything better or worse. Counter Plans deal with Solvency and Inherency, and should clash against the plan itself. As for Ks, I am not that familiar with them, however I will listen to them, and take them into consideration. The central issue is the AFFs plan, if it solves the problem (stated in the Inherency), fixes the issues caused by the Status Quo (Harms), and makes the world a better place (Solvency).

I have no problem with Topicality at all, and will listen to all T arguments. However, I do have an issue with restatement of KSHSAA rules. Unless there is an actual infraction of KSHSAA rules, please don't recite them to me. I am a coach, and I am aware of KSHSAA's debate and forensics rules.

As for Forensics. I have a history in Theatre, and will view each performance as a performance. Entertain me. Lead me into the world of the piece. The more you make me look up, and the less I'm holding my pen as a judge, the better your chances are in hitting a 1 ranking.

If it's a speech event (Extemp, Impromptu, Oration or Info), then I will listen to the presentation as if I'm judging a speech in my classroom (I am also a Speech teacher), but more because I expect more than what my Freshmen do.

Experience: Head coach for 8 years at Wichita Northwest. Assistant coach for 3 years at Topeka High. Debated 4 years in high school. I have judged at nationals in debate/speech events 15+ years.

Speed: Okay with moderate to quick pace. Spreading okay on evidence BUT, I prefer slower and more deliberate pace with analysis.

Paradigm: I default to policymaker. Please tell me how YOU would like me to weigh the round.

Positions: I evaluate Topicality roughly on par with other issues in the round. I am fine with generic DA's as long as the links are explained clearly. CP’s and K’s are acceptable as long as text/links are well explained and maintain competition in the round. I evaluate the round pretty evenly between argumentation and communication skills. You have to have both the winning arguments and the ability to communicate them clearly and persuasively.

Novice Rounds: If this is a novice round, I expect to hear case debate and explanations. Please do more than read evidence. Explain what you are reading, what it relates to in the round, and how it advances your position. You should avoid arguing a disadvantage/counterplan/K if you have never read it before or haven't at least talked to your coach about what it means. Overall, I want to see clash and a debate about substantive issues rather than about how the other side debated. Focus on the arguments not on the opponents themselves.

Baine Dikeman

Eisenhower High School

Head Coach

Previously Mulvane High School

Assistant Coach

Debating experience

3 Years High School Policy

2 Years HS Lincoln-Douglas

1 Year HS PFD

I typically fall within the tabula rasa archetype with some caveats.

Flash Time/Email Chain Time should be OFF Time

I expect every debater to keep track of everyone’s prep time.

I would prefer to be included in all email chains and sharing of evidence to ensure best practices.

I will typically take speaker points away for jumping around on the flow haphazardly, or disrespect in CX or in speeches. There’s a fine line between aggressive and rude.

I can handle all speeds, but I would like you to slow down on tags and cites a bit.

I will not interrupt you during a debate round. However, if you are unclear, I may miss something on the flow. Make sure you annunciate tags and cites well.

I really don't like new Off Case in the 2NC. So, unless AFF does something pretty scummy in the 2AC, please don't run new in the 2.

On T: This is a valid strategy for the negative. I treat it with equal voting power as a DA or CP.

On CPs: CPs can be conditional or unconditional.

On DAs: Generic DAs are fine, but I do tend to vote on DAs with strong, specific links.

On the K: I will only vote on a K if it is unconditional. The K debate is the one argument that I do not believe should be gamified. If you run a K or K AFF, believe in it. This means that Ks NEED specific links. NO GENERIC K’s.

Ask me any questions for clarification.

Hannah Erdman, Eisenhower High School, Assistant Debate Coach

Previous Experience: HS Policy Debate, Kansas State University Policy Debate

-Please keep email chains off-time, however please be time efficient and use best practices. If that means requesting I be included, please let me know.

-Keep track of your opponent's prep time. I will be giving constructive feedback and actively writing notes and flow. To keep this from being hindered, your use in timing and keeping track of prep time when there is no timekeeper is highly appreciated.

-Debate is about strategy and confidence-- while some aggression is to be expected, I do not want to hear yelling, curse words, or slurs. Do not threaten physical violence and do not insult your opponent's physical appearance or character.

-While I am able to understand most speeds, I deeply appreciate the ability to annunciate and signpost cards and arguments effectively to keep the flow as accurate as possible. If I am unable to keep the flow accurate, that may lead to my voting against your team.

-I go into each round objectively neutral and with no strong favor in either direction. My personal politics do not play into who I vote for, rather the best debate and who provided the strongest arguments all the way through. I do flow arguments to when and how they are addressed.

-On Disadvantages: I like generic DA's, but DA's with strong, specific links are more apt to be voted on, as they are better for complex, competitive debate.

-On Counterplans: CPs can be run, but believe in your counterplan and be confident!

-On Kritik: I love good K, but make it SPECIFIC. You can feel free to run generic K, but I feel as though it does not lend itself for constructive debate.

-On Topicality: I love hearing T arguments-- keep them interesting and stick with them throughout the round! T is a completely valid strategy to use in-round.

-I LOVE framework, rules, and semantics debate. Keep it fun, keep it interesting.

-If you are not flowing, I will not flow. This will ultimately hinder your team.

-Do NOT put new arguments in the 2NC-- it is unfair to the other team to try and answer in rebuttals.

herdman@usd259.net

Great communication and good form are important to me.

I do not mind speed but do not spread if you are not adept at it; I need to understand more than be impressed by your words per minute. Speaking of understanding, please make it a focus to know the correct pronunciation of difficult terms and words that are pertinent to your arguments. Thanks.

Topicality is underrated. I find it to be the bedrock of your argument. I also think impacts are important. If you bring up tools to make your opponents’ position weak such as disads, CP, etc., please be prepared to support these in detail, and develop your them to expose the weakness of your opposition.

A great k is okay but people are in love with using ks without knowing how. Don't be that person. Also, provide a good roadmap before your speech, and above all, at the end of your portion of the round, please be clear on why the judge should decide FOR you or AGAINST your opponent.

I strive to be impartial and open because I am a high school debate and forensics coach, and that’s how I want my students to be judged. However, I do not appreciate debaters who are unkind to lay judges; tournaments would be very hard to hold without them, and they are some debater's mother, grandfather, family friend, etc. Disdaining them is inappropriate.

Try hard, be polite, use language that is academic, appropriate, and unbiased; don’t attack your opponents themselves, but rather their arguments on the basis of logic, evidence, organization, and knowledge…and say thanks after to all in the room.

This paradigm is not earth-shattering, but simply common sense points to follow, and good luck to all.

Hello, my name is Rylee Lopez and I am a gradated senior who has done debate and forensics for 2 years through the state and national tournament, so I understand the format of debate and have past experience judging as well.

 Feel free to speak fast, I can understand. I vote on who has the biggest impacts in the round and who is able to explain their position better. I will vote on theory, topicality and weird obscure arguments if they are again complete, have an impact/voter. 

Aff- Make sure you clearly state your stock issues, if you want to run a K-AFF or performative Aff as well that is ok.

Neg- DA,CP, Case, T, K's, Theory, all is fine as long as you explain it thoroughly 

I will vote against you if you are being racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.

1 year of high school debate experience many years ago but I have since forgotten most of it. I have been actively judging debate since 2021 and do understand stock issues but am no overly technical. I have no preferences for the round or what argument types are used.

Hi! My name is Prakriti, she/her. Head coach at Wichita East High school.

Add me to the chain: prakriti.ravianikode@gmail.com. I'm also fine with SpeechDrop.

Policy:

General--

I will not evaluate anything that happens outside the round.

I follow along the doc - if I see you clipping its an automatic L.

Speed is fine, please add analytics to the doc if you're going fast. If I can't understand you, I will clear you! If I still cannot understand you, I will start dropping the speaks.

If you have any other questions about specific arguments please ask before the round.

I don't like case overviews. Just debate down your flow.

I flow cross-ex! I also stop paying attention to cross-ex and speeches once the timer goes off.

I'll vote for anything. Tech over truth. You should be well-versed in your arguments. Nothing annoys me more when debaters stand up for speeches after the 2ac and just read cards/analytics straight down without interacting with your opponents' arguments. Please use judge instruction and tell me exactly how I should evaluate the round.

Kritik--

More familiar with policy args, as far as K's, I'm familiar with Cap and Fem. Other than that you should over-explain. I am not the best with theory so I will need clear judge instruction and voters for K theory args. Also if you are just using jargon without explaining it, I won't understand what you mean and I cannot vote for it. I want to know what the world of the alt looks like and why I should prefer it to the aff.

Topicality--

I default to competing interps. Explain what your model/interp means for the topic. That will convince me more than generic blocks. Pls slow down on the T flow.

DA--

Impact calc is important!! I evaluate the link level of the DA first and weigh it with the impacts of the aff. I am not very familiar with economic literature. If the 2NR is the Econ DA, please give me a story on what exactly the economy will look like in the world of the aff/DA.

4 years of highschool speech and debate,

current competitor on the college circuit

policy judge

Novice:

For novice rounds I'm open to hearing any arguments DAs, CPs, Ts, On Case, etc. However the one stipulation here with novices is if you run a K, I expect it to be well explained and easy to understand, for the benefit of the other team and yourself. I love hearing any analytics or line by line from novices especially in the rebuttals. I'll judge mainly on flow, policy, and whether or not you've structured your speeches and arguments correctly.

Open/Varsity:

gen: I'm not against speed, however I will always prefer a normal speaking pace. in the event you have to spread I ask for moderate spreading speed, in addition if you spread I will absolutely have to have your evidence in front of me.

I expect to see analytics and line by line, the more the better, also stress impact calc. and voters near the end of the debate

DAs: I like DAs fairly well, if you run one I just ask you have all the parts and understand your harm's

CP: again I like them well enough, if you run one make sure your Uniqueness is strong and clear

T: I generally prefer that you don't run Ts, I find using them as a time waster on your opponent to be somewhat harmful to debate, so unless their violation is clearly egregious, I probably wouldn't recommend running one for this judge

K: I love Ks when well run, as long as you have all the parts and can understand what you're arguing for I'm down to hear almost anything, I also believe you should be able to explain your k in a very basic manner as I've encountered scenarios where explaining something simply made the debate overall better than just using complicated jargon

to wrap up JUST BE RESPECTFUL I wont tolerate any kind of hate speech, such as racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, etc. or any unsportsmanlike behavior.

Other than that I cant wait to be your judge, ask me if you have any questions or concerns, and let me know if you need anything!

See you in round!

Debate:

Experience - I am a former debate competitor and current coach. I have a degree in history with a political science minor. Treat me like a flay judge.

I will do my best to flow your speeches, but I have slight hearing damage so please do not spread. If I can't understand what you're saying, I can't agree with what you've said.

Evidence - I prefer speechdrop, but if you are using an email chain, send it benjamin.ristow@staff.usd305.com. Please upload/send your evidence before your speech starts. That makes it a lot easier for me to follow what you're saying.

Paradigm - Please be respectful to me and to each other. Feel free to make whatever arguments you want, but make sure you have good evidence and/or solid logic/reasoning. I prefer a few strong, well-explained arguments over a big pile of cards that you dumped into your speeches.

If you drop big arguments, I will generally assume that you are conceding them, but I prefer good argumentation over "Aha, they dropped one obscure piece of evidence so they lose the round, gotcha!"

The debate shouldn't be a card reading contest, I want to see more analysis and refutation. Please engage with the material that you are reading.

POLICY/CX DEBATE SPECIFIC:

I don't like new arguments in the rebuttals, and you shouldn't read any new evidence in the 2NR/2AR.

I really want the 2NR and 2AR to tell me their stories. They should write the ballot for me. I appreciate impact calculus, I appreciate clear argument analysis.

Style - I think that persuasiveness matters- especially in CX and rebuttals. Debate is a communication activity.

Professionalism also matters to me. There are boundaries to the way you should interact with your opponents. This includes abusive or personally attacking language, attitude, and tone. At a minimum, it will cost you speaker ranks and points. I don't like offensive language (f***, racial slurs, etc.), and I don't find them less offensive in the context of critical arguments.

When everyone is in the room, I want to start the debate. I am not a fan of everyone arriving, asking me some clarifying questions, disclosing arguments to each other, and then taking another 10-20 minutes before we begin.

Prep time - I kind of despise prep time thieves. If you say "end prep," and then continue typing, that's still using prep. I will be reasonable about evidence sharing time, in terms of moving the files between teams, but sharing it with your partner is part of your prep. You need to be reasonable here too. Again, this will affect speaker points and ranks.

CX - Open CX is fine IF EVERYONE AGREES TO IT. Otherwise I expect it to be closed. Ask each other before the round starts. If one partner does all the asking and answering during open CX, that debater is sending a pretty important, negative message to me about how much their colleague is valued.

As a former forensics competitor and coach, I pay a good deal of attention to delivery (you need to speak at a rate such that I can understand you!). Just rattling off info without emphasis or proper inflection damages your credibility for me. Logical arguments are important. Finally, professional and courteous conduct is always appreciated!

I am much more experienced in forensics than I am in debate.

I have been judging all types of debate for a few years now, so I know the basics, but I generally prefer to be treated as an inexperienced judge (in other words, please speak fairly slowly and assume I don't know many abbreviations for the current topic).

I care most about competitors speaking clearly, acting professionally, making logical arguments, and having solid evidence to support those arguments.

I have found that I am difficult to be persuaded on Topicality arguments. I also REALLY don't like kritiks... And if you make a ridiculous stretch to something leading to nuclear war or human extinction, you probably won't win that argument with me.

Email: dyates@usd313.org

I prefer speechdrop but do what you must.

Experience:

Head Coach @ Buhler High School

- Former Head Coach @ Nickerson HS 2019-2023

- Assistant Coach @ Salina South 2017-2018

- College: 4 Years Parli Debate, NFA-LD, and Limited Prep @ Kansas Wesleyan University from 2014-2018.

- High School: 4 Years Debate/Forensics at El Dorado HS (2010-2014). Did pretty much everything.

I am a huge advocate in you doing you. I will list my preferences, but know that I do find myself open to nearly any argument/strategy/style within reason. Please do not feel like my paradigm below should constrain you from doing arguments that you believe in.

• Be respectful and debate with integrity. Overt rudeness and exclusionary/offensive language and/or rhetoric will lose you my ballot.

• Substantive arguments and clear clash/organization is a must. I will not vote for unethical arguments (e.g. racism good). Please weigh arguments clearly and have a nice technical debate. Clean flows make happy ballots.

• Tech first, but not only tech. Immoral arguments will not win my ballot even if they are won 'on the flow'. Please provide a FW for weighing and evaluating the round. Don't make me have to decide why you won - you may or may not agree with my conclusions.

• I am receptive to framework and theory. I do not usually vote on procedural arguments on violations alone - extend and weigh your impacts on the procedural if you go for it in the 2R

• Kritikal arguments are good. I guarantee I like them more than you think I do. Explain your alt to me. RotB arguments take a second for my brain to process because I am a big ol' dummy, so I will want clear warrants for how and why the claim is true that my ballot does something.

• Alternative approaches (Performative Affs, K Affs) are okay but I am in all honesty less familiar with these approaches. Please explain to me the reasoning/justification for your methodology in plain-ish language if you go this route. Like the K, I like these arguments more than you might think. Please don't take my lack of exposure as a lack of willingness to vote on it.

• Please be clear on the flow. Also, please flow.