MNUDL Middle School Debate Purple Conference 1
2024 — Central HS St Paul, MN/US
Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideKiernan, (she/her)
Quick little about me:
- I've been involved in debate in one form or another basically all of my life, I believe it is such an amazing opportunity and I am so glad you are participating in it!
- I’m a junior at Central High School (woo class of '26!), it will be my 3rd year debating at Central, and I debated for all 3 years in middle school at Hidden River!
- I am a coach for Hidden River MS starting in 2023!!
- My email is kiernanbaxterkauf@gmail.com if you need it for any reason, I’m always happy to answer questions, or if you need files or anything.
Middle School Judging:
- Middle school debate is for you all to have fun and learn! if you have any questions at any point just ask them and I will always try my best to help, debate can be stressful and confusing sometimes and I want as many people as possible to have a good experience, and my job is to facilitate that!! also just like a general rule of thumb, be nice to each other :)
- Yes, I am aware MS kids don't read paradigms--- it's fun to write though!
High School Judging:
- The topline is I am here to watch and judge you all, and whatever you want to run in front of me is perfectly okay. Unless you are running really obscure stuff you can assume I will know what you are talking about, and I am fine with K’s/K Affirmatives if that’s what you want to be running! I am here to support you all, you do not have to adapt to me.
- With that in mind, running racist, homophobic, or sexist arguments is not going to get you far in debates, and you are not going to win this one if that’s the path you choose to go down.
- Everything from the middle school paradigm applies here! I assume since I am a high school student that most/all the teams I judge are novices, and I am always here to help! + final not, keep in mind I am a high school student, my opinions may not always be correct and I am not set in stone on anything, but I know a fair bit about debate and I am always here to help!!
****TLDR: have fun, be nice, and try your best!****
For any questions feel free to email me at benwberger@yahoo.com
Hey! I'm Ben, a debater from St. Paul Central HS. I use He/Him pronouns. I debated in middle school for 2 years with the topics of IDEA, and Water Resources. I have debated the Economic Inequality topic in HS.
Be nice and have fun! Debate is fun activity that we chose to spend our time doing. I think anything hateful, mean, or just generally unkind things are bad for debate. This is not to try and stop from being assertive, please be, but just dont make things get mean. This of course means you should be respecting pronouns and names of everyone in the round and outside the round. Don’t be sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobia or any of the other -ist's. Also pet peeve of mine is teams saying CX was ‘embarrassing’ for the other team, so don’t say that.
My job when judging is to make sure you get the most out of every debate. If there are any concerns, issues, or something like that, please tell me so I can best help you. If you feel most comfortable emailing me then please do so. Especially if there are any accessibility issues I want to make sure everyone has the best possible experience with debate.
Tech > truth although i doubt there are many judges who would disagree on that.
Tech issues happen so just lmk if anything is going on.
Tag team/open cross-ex is fine, just make sure the person who is the intended speaker does most stuff. If your against a maverick team then no tag team. If you high five or like fist bump them before 'tagging in' during CX, ill be very happy. I don't mind if you stand or sit when giving your speeches or CX.
PLEASE try to flow every speech. It is a good habit to have early, because the later you go on in debate the harder it gets to break that habit(trust me on this, I am still trying to get out of this). Especially as the NEG, flow the 2AR because it will be very helpful to you.
Finally if anything is misspelled in my feedback its because I am awful at spelling and I can't figure out how to make spellcheck work on tabroom lol
+0.1 speaks if you mention how birds aren't real in a creative way(not in MS debate sorry y’all).
They/them--respecting each other's pronouns is not optional
My email is cbozicdebate@gmail.com I'm happy to answer any questions!
I debated for two years in middle school at Field and Justice Page
I'm a sophomore at Washburn and have debated there for two years as well
This is my first year coaching (Justice Page) and judging, so bear with me as I am still learning
The most important thing in debate is to have fun. Debates supposed to be a game/fun activity that you can learn a lot from and the best way to do that is to not take winning (and debate overall) too seriously
Run arguments you love and are genuienly (don't know how to spell that) interesting to you! I know its tough with the middle school packet but throw in jokes and fun statistics if you can! It makes debate really fun when you're passionate about what you're arguing
Please respect your opponents. they are learning how to do this with you and being rude to them or disrespecting them in any way, shape, or form not only harms the debate space but will be reflected in the rfd/speaks. The goal is to argue the evidence, not the opponents
Biggest in-round things are probably signposting (my flows are always messy. this helps a ton), timing yourself (I will have a timer with me. Will it be accurate? that is not a guarantee), speaking clearly and loud enough that I can hear you, working with your partner, and using your prep time!!! It's there to help you!
Tag team cx is completely fine, just make sure that you and your partner use time equally
Hi, I’m Nathan, I’m a Varsity debater for Central High School.
All you need to know if you’re a middle school debater is to speak as clear as you can, and to be respectful to your opponents. Bigotry / insults won’t be tolerated.
(Pronouns are he/him)
Hi! I’m James (He/Him).
I’m a current Central HS debater (2a/1n). My only rule is to have fun and be inclusive/nice to your competitors.
I will vote you down/dock points if:
- you’re sexist/homophobic/racist
- you fail to read a plan text
- fail to signpost
- not use all of your time in speech (just talk about anything)
- tag teaming is ok, don’t speak for your partner tho
- bringing up CX OUTSIDE of the next speech
My name is Veena, and I am a former high school LD debater and former middle school UDL coach. I am now also a debate mom and a lawyer as a day job.
My judging philosophy/expectations are pretty simple: be respectful, make the best arguments you can, respond to as many of the other side's arguments as you can, and at the end of the round, show me why the arguments you made are better than those made by the other side. Asked another way, show me at the end of the round why your team has shown that the world will be better if we do what your side is saying should be done.
For me, the essence of debate is increased understanding of others' viewpoints and your own. My greatest focus as a judge is supporting you in your learning, so please let me know if there is anything I can do at the tournament or beyond to support you! Additionally, learning is a two-way street, and I learn so very much from judging debate. So don't be surprised if I ask you questions and seek your feedback too!
Also, if you are interested in becoming a lawyer one day, let me know!!! I'm happy to tell you about what it's like, how to get there, and about other resources/opportunities for you in the community!
Hi!
I judge and coach middle school debate, I did 4 years of middle school debate for Yinghua and 3 years of high school debate for Highland. I'm currently a junior at Highland and coach Yinghua debate.
2 important things.
-
- In a debate round you need to attack the other teams argument, however you can not attack the other team. At the end of the day this is a educational game, and should not be an excuse to be mean. You need to show a basic respect for the topic you are debating about and the people you are debating against.
- 2 is that I cant vote on an argument I can’t hear, make sure you are projecting your voice!
In a middle school debate round (rookie) if you have won solvency that's like 90% of the battle.
For any higher level debate in middle school there is much more wiggle room.
Have fun and keep trying!
Also if you have questions don't email me because I won't see it but you can email djwhite@umn.edubecause he also coaches Yinghua and he will see it!
For High School Novice/Middle School:
basically please just have fun and be kind to each other! debate should be about learning and having a good time so don't say anything offensive and stay on topic and we should be good. i will answer basic questions like speech times and stuff during the round, but after round i'll answer just about any question you ask me. please time yourselves since it's a good habit to get into, and if there's an email chain please add me to it.
i'll give you a 0.2 boost in speaks if you add in a song title from 1989 (TV) by taylor swift
About me:
hi :) my name is eleanor (she/her) eleanorlasalle31@gmail.com
i'm a debater for central high school, though i also did two years of middle school debate for hidden river before that!
Central '19-'23
Currently coaching for Central
Hi! I’m Cayden, I use they/them pronouns, please use them! I’m generally quite a neutral judge however I think that making debate an inclusive and fun space outweighs all else.
I have bad hearing so please speak extra loud and if it’s online, make sure your mic is clear!
My email is cayd3nhock3y12@gmail.com, stpaulcentralcxdebate@gmail.com if there's an email chain I’d like to be on it for ease of everything. add
This note comes before anything in this paradigm and its at the top for a reason: Please just run whatever you feel best running. I would rather have you run something I’m generally not partial to well than something I like badly. The best debates come from people running what they know best, so do that!
MS/Nov notes-
- What I said above about having fun in debates applies even more here, I coached MS and currently coach novice and truly just want it to be a positive experience for everyone involved!
- Read a plan text! If you are going for a CP or K, read the CP text or alternative!
- At the end of the day, my role in debate is to help you learn and grow, I am more than happy to answer any questions before or after the round, please feel free to email me if you think of questions after the tournament is over!!!
Some notes:
Pls no death good args in front of me. Also if your args have TW/CW let me know before the round starts please, not before the speech.
Judge Instruction-I think debate has lost a lot of what I think is one of the most important pieces which is the story of arguments. I am down for the tech level, but you are much more likely to get my vote with good judge instruction and consistently explaining the story of your args and how they shake out by the end of the round.
Spreading- Clarity comes first. I will be on the speech doc for the ease of things however I will not flow off the speech doc. If I cannot understand your tag, date, and author I will flow it as an analytic. I firmly believe that policy debate would be a far better activity without spreading, that isn’t to say I see no purpose in spreading, I absolutely understand it, but I do think it is bad for our education. If you are reading this and worried I won't be able to understand you, just slow down on your tags a little bit for me and we are good, I can flow you I pinky promise. I will also call clear three times for each person after that, if I can't understand you I won't flow it.
In round non debate stuff: I debated online for a year+ so trust me, I fully understand that “normal” policy debate ethos has gone out of the window, that being said, I would prefer if you do whatever you can so I can hear/understand you better as my hearing is not great. I also will not tolerate being explicitly rude in round. I was a very assertive debater myself so I’m not saying don’t be assertive, but don’t just be flat out rude, especially during cross. You will be getting your speaks docked. As stated earlier, debate should be fun and inclusive and I think that this is an important part of it.
Tech v Truth- Not gonna lie, unsure who is like a true truth>tech judge these days. I'm securely tech>truth, only spot that I think is a little bit closer towards truth is on bad IL chains on DAs. I also weigh arguments as new the first time they have a warrant, analytic or ev.
T- I am down for T however my standards on T impacts are higher than the avergae natcir and lower than localcir. I default to models but am also more likely to happily pull the trigger on in round abuse.
Ks- I ran Ks on both sides and love them over most policy arguments however I’m not going to try and claim to understand your complex literature I just have not read. If you are able to explain your K literature well to me I would love to see you run your K, however if you can’t, I’m not going to try and do the work for you. I also probably buy most no link args over bad link args BUT I do tend to give alt solvency a fair bit of leniency. I am down for you link you lose good or bad debates, down for most K args, not a fan of baudy or psycho but I'll judge em fairly I just won't be the happiest camper.
PTX DAs- I kinda hate them but I totally get that they are a very legit strat especially on the topic, but please be able to defend why PC is real.
CPs- Go for it. I ran a lot of these and see they have a place, that being said I’m also very open to hearing arguments against that. I think that on perm theory I’m pretty deadset neutral but I default to test of competition (idk any judges who don't anymore). I can also be convinced that X type of CPs are bad for debate if given good education and fairness arguments.
K Affs- I ran one, go crazy, love a good planless debate, love a good framework debate. Some of my favorite rounds have been performance style but also some of my least favorite have been bad K affs. I am probably not your best judge for a fairness bad round. Also, I have only ever heard one good death of debate argument and I think nearly all of the rest are not worth it in front of me.
FWK- I go through this first if its present and it will never be a "wash" for me. I default to a policy maker but also ran basically every fw under the sun so I am happy to be convinced otherwise. Please slow down on this once you get to the rebuttals and I love techy cross applications of other flows to fw.
Condo!- I go into each round deadset neutral on condo. I've seen teams win condo v a 1 off conditional advocacy and teams win v condo running 10+ conditional advocacies. I probably am truly deadset neutral on my own opinions around the 6 condo advocacies line, slightly more likely to vote aff once you hit the 10 off mark. All of this can be 100% changed by the round in front of me (obviously) just know these are the mental lines I think I have.
Theory in general- I am sad to say I feel like I need to add this because of Central. I will vote on most theory args, I defualt to condo good but that can be easily changed in round. I also think in round abuse args are always going to be the strongest but models of debate is fine too. At the end of the day though, just because I will vote on it doesn't make me happy to and your speaks will reflect that.
Also, unless the tournament rulebook specifies disclosure, please don't run disclosure theory in front of me, I believe that if you can win on disclosure theory, you can win on something else.
Hi, my name is Elliot (he/him) and I am currently a debater at Central, and coach at Capitol Hill. I have debated for two years, and currently compete in high school varsity. I'm pretty laid back, and I think that debate (especially at the lower levels) should be about having fun, and learning a little along the way.
Middle School Debate
There isn't much to say here, I am simply here to help yall have a good time and get better at debate. As a judge I will evaluate the arguments that you as debaters make in round.
My criteria for a good round is that:
1) The affirmative should read a plan text
2) Both teams should respect each other
and 3) that's about it.
This doesn't mean you can't be assertive with your questions in cx (cross-ex) or your rebuttals, but there is a fine line between being assertive and aggressive. I always try to assume ignorance instead of malice, but just don't like cuss out your opponents.
Novice Debate
Preeeeetty much the same thing as MS, except my familiarity with the packet is probably less. Other then that, yall should be fine, but I'll update this paradigm later, so maybe somethings will come up :/
Rocky references boost speaks.
my pronouns are she/her
*my experience is in policy, if im judging you in a different category, please have patience
run whatever seems best to you, i won't automatically vote down any position (assuming you have the decency to keep things respectful - if what you're reading are arguing is harmful, that takes precedent over any debate rules)
most (not all) of the notes below are for the neg, i will vote for pretty much any aff that can prove they solve a problem that they have also proven is more important than that of the neg. i also like creativity, and am certainly not opposed to voting for a K-aff, policy gets stale sometimes anyways.
K's
you have to explain each part of your K flow for me to consider it voteable. if your alt solvency is talking about revolution, and your alt is a mental rejection, you would need to explain how those fit together.
continuing with alts, I need to know if you mean for the alt to be a fiated action like "we go anarchist sicko mode and overthrow the state" or if it's in round and you achieve solvency by spreading that K to me and the other debaters
affs who focus entirely on the link side of a K debate are generally not on top of things, obviously it can work, but its much more convincing if you can meet the K at a critical level instead of avoiding its content with a 10 foot pole. debate the whole K.
CP's
this is my favorite type of arg, especially against affs that force the neg to defend an awful status quo. your CP needs an explicit net benefit and generics such as states or actor cps are hard to do right and generally not very convincing. if your main net benefit is a solvency deficit you need to do as much work on harms as the aff did in the 1AC. teams who bring up perm theory are goated.
DA's
big stick DA's are lame. your impact should be geared towards outweighing the aff in the same world the aff lives in. big stick can only beat soft left if the aff majorly goofs it, or if you win a tech over truth debate - possible, but a lot of extra work. similarly if the aff is about preventing mass death, then your impact should shoot for something similar.
if you make me laugh, you instantly get at least a minimum of 28 speaker points.
Hello, this is my first year judging! My experience in policy debate is two years of middle school debate, and one year of high school policy debate(so far...). Topics I've debated are: Water infrastructure, fully funding IDEA, and fiscal redistribution.
As a rule of thumb, the main thing you need to know when you're being judged by me is that debate is supposed to be fun and fair for both sides, and as such I will actively vote you down if you:
-Make unwarranted attacks on the opposing team.
-Make racist, sexist, queerphobic, or any other kind of discriminatory comments
-Behave in a way that is rude or disrespectful to the other team.
Outside of that, I'm pretty much a blank slate. I am very tech over truth, so I enjoy a lot of good argumentation and responses to your opponents arguments. Overall, just have fun and participate and I am going to be happy. If you have any questions about my comments on the debate, feel free to ask! You could ask after the round, or you could send me an email at amulrooney2@gmail.com if you have any further questions after the tournament.
If you mention the panopticon during your speech, I’ll give you +1 speaks.
About me:
Hi! My name is Teddy and I am the JV/Varsity coach for Tartan High School & Head Coach for John Glenn Middle School! I've been coaching Policy in some capacity for the last 3.5 years. I've also coached/judged PF, LD, & various speech events. I debated for Farmington for 2 years (Rosemount for 1) and the University of Minnesota for 3 years.
Pronouns: He/They | Email: tmunson.debate@gmail.com
Topics debated: Arms Sales, CJR, Anti-trust, Legal Personhood, & Nukes
Topics coached: Water, NATO, Fiscal Redistro, & IPR
Paradigm:
I think that debate is probably a game that tests policy options designed to resolve problems outlined by the resolution/1AC--the AFF should identify an issue, propose a solution, and then prove that that solution resolves the issues identified. The burden of the NEG is only to test the AFFs proposal.
I generally default to tech over truth / whoever I think did the better debating (as opposed to policy-making), but can be persuaded to adopt a role of the judge/ballot that prioritizes truth. I think that education can potentially spill over and that discussion rounds are good.
I prefer when links are unique or specific to the 1AC/plan. I don't think you have to win the alt to win the K. I am probably not the best judge for theory debates or high theory Ks. Framework & theory arguments framed around education are particularly convincing to me. Rhetoric matters and has an immediate impact.
Additional notes:
If your position requires a trigger warning, don't read it in front of me. Send out long analytic blocks if you're going to spread them--otherwise you're relying on my ears alone to flow that (which is not to your benefit). I think ridiculous tech/AI impacts are really entertaining (3-D printed WMDs <3).
Try to speak loudly and clearly, I'd rather you just shout than murmur through your speech. Try to use all your speaking time especially in rebuttals. As long as your respectful of one another I'll give you good speaks.
Background
Wayzata High School 2015-2019 (4 years of policy debate)
Concordia College 2019-2020 (1 year of policy debate, program now defunct)
University of Minnesota 2020-2024 (4 years of policy debate)
Varsity Policy Coach at Edina High School 2021-Present
I wasn't the most competitively successful debater, but I did nat circuit debate in high school and qualified to the NDT twice in college, so I would like to think that experience makes me at least relatively qualified to judge your round, whatever its content may be.
I use he/him/his pronouns.
Use an email chain, not SpeechDrop, for sharing evidence - my email is prostc3@gmail.com.
Three Most Important Takeaways
1. I would be proud if people described me as a “clash judge” – while I won’t pretend that I’m free of biases, I will try to hold your arguments to an equal standard regardless of what side of the imaginary “policy”/”critical” line they fall on. I’m firmly tech over truth, so please don’t change your pre-round or in-round strategy just because you think I’ll like it more; any preference listed here can easily be overcome by good debating. “Don't overadapt, do what you do best, make complete, smart arguments, and we'll be fine.” – Rose Larson
2. Please be clear – I’m serious. I won’t flow off the doc, so I need to be able to hear every word you say (including on the text of cards) and you need to have some differentiation when you’re switching between cards, arguments and flows. I find it extremely dissuasive when people think that the person who is supposed to be evaluating their speech doesn’t need to be able to understand all of it. Despite this, please don’t get psyched out if I call clear – it doesn’t mean you’re going to lose, it just means you need to speak more clearly.
3. Please try to be kind to each other – while I won’t enforce any strict standards of decorum, debate is just so much more enjoyable as an activity when people treat each other with respect. To that end, if your strategy is based around trying to intimidate, demean, or bully your opponents or anyone else in the room, please strike me.
K Affs/Framework
My voting record is pretty even in these debates, so just explain your arguments and we’ll be good.
On K Affs proper, I tend to be skeptical of affs that, for lack of a better term, “don’t do anything” – having a clearly explained method (examples appreciated) that solves a clearly identified impact will help you a lot. If you can't do that, then I tend to find presumption quite persuasive.
On T-USFG/Framework, I tend to prefer aff strategies based around a counter-interpretation (definitions appreciated) instead of ones based solely around impact turns – explain why their model of debate is bad, not why debate in general is bad.
Is fairness an impact? It can be, but you actually need to explain why it is – just saying that it’s an “intrinsic good” isn’t going to cut it.
I tend to be most persuaded by clash impacts on T/Framework, but feel free to go for topic education, portable skills, deliberation, agonism, or whatever other impacts you want.
Both sides need to explain what debates will look like under their model.
I’m definitely a good judge for “soft” T args, like T-Tactics, if the aff actually violates your interpretation.
I can be persuaded that there’s “no perms in a method debate”, but it needs to be actually warranted.
Ks
I don’t have any issues with the K – it’s where a majority of my current research is done, but I won’t fill in gaps for you.
Explanation of your theory and contextualization of links is paramount – explain why something the aff actually did is bad.
Framework is really important on both sides, and I need judge instruction on what winning your interp actually means in the context of the debate. I won’t decide on an arbitrary middle ground between interpretations unless the two interps aren’t mutually exclusive (i.e. if the aff says “we get to weigh the aff” and the neg says “we get reps links”).
K tricks (fiat illusory, floating piks, serial policy failure, etc.) need to be more than five words in the block for me to vote for them.
Honestly not a fan of reading a K with a link of omission and calling it a procedural, but if that’s your thing go for it.
Policy Affs
I appreciate specific solvency advocates and well-explained internal link stories.
You need to at least reference the impacts you want to be evaluated when extending your advantages.
Impacts that aren't "extinction" are relevant.
Case debate that’s more than impact defense is great and people should do it more – most advantages suck, so make smart analytic arguments and your speaks will thank you.
I like impact turn debates but if you’re reading something that’s patently ridiculous (i.e. warming good) it will definitely require more technical debating to win my ballot.
CPs
Not too much to say here – I like advantage counterplans, topic counterplans, case-specific counterplans, agent counterplans – do whatever you want.
I’m capable of evaluating technical process counterplan debates but I don’t have too much experience with them – if you want to go for tricky competition args or funky perms I’m going to need a little more explanation.
DAs
Read whatever you want – I’ll evaluate a topic disad the same as a rider disad.
A good DA + Case 2NR will make me smile.
I’m not a member of the cult of turns case – those arguments can be important, but debating on the substance of a disad tends to matter more in my decision.
I’m fine with politics disads, but telling a story tends to be more important with these disads than others.
Topicality vs. Policy
I don’t have a disdain for these debates like a lot of people seem to, so feel free to go for T if I'm in the back - just make sure to weigh your standards.
No strong preference for what impact you go for – this is my way of saying I haven’t drunk the “limits over everything” Kool-Aid.
Theory
I’ll vote on any theory argument, even if I personally think it's dumb – if you win the flow on new affs bad or no neg fiat, then you’ll get my ballot.
I’ll default to reject the arg not the team on non-condo counterplan theory args unless I’m given a warrant as to why I should reject the team.
Conditionality: I’ll vote on it, but I don’t really have a strong preference on whether it’s good or bad in a vacuum – debate it out!
My feelings on judge kick are complicated. I will come back to this section when my thoughts are more fully developed, but if you're curious or think it will matter feel free to ask me before the round.
I think disclosure is an objective good, so feel free to read disclosure theory, but you still need to win the arg.
In theory debates I tend to find myself focusing a lot on the interpretations that both teams forward, so make sure to make those clear if theory is an argument you want to go for.
Ethics Stuff
If clipping occurs, I will stop the debate and give the offending team an L and the offending debater a 25. I don’t follow along on the doc, so if you want to make a clipping accusation you need a recording. If the tournament rules don't specify what is considered clipping, I will default to assuming it is when a debater skips 5 or more continuous highlighted words in a piece of evidence without verbally marking/cutting the card at the word they stopped reading the card at.
For all other evidence ethics issues, unless it’s something that is specified in the tournament rules, I will default to letting the debate play out and won’t stop the round.
I feel uncomfortable administering justice with my ballot for offenses that occurred outside of the round. However, I do care about the emotional and physical well-being of students, so if you have me in the back of a round that you would really prefer not to occur due to the out-of-round actions of an opposing debater, please talk to me before the round and we can talk to tab.
Like many judges, if something occurs that is actively harmful to students in-round (i.e. use of slurs, blatant disregard of pronouns, etc.) I will stop the round and give L 25s to the offending debater/team. If something occurs in-round that you feel should be an independent voting issue but isn't normally considered egregiously offensive, I encourage you to debate it out, but please make sure to isolate 1. What exactly the other team did, 2. Why what they did was bad, 3. Why me punishing them with the ballot is good, and 4. Why me tanking their speaks is not enough.
Miscellaneous Notes
I will probably take a while to decide if the debate was close at all. I have ADHD and my thoughts often bounce around in my head like a pinball machine, so as a result I like to type out my RFD before I give it. Even if the round wasn't very close, I will still almost always take a couple of minutes to type out my decision. This is probably better for you in the long run, as if I have to give my RFD off the top of my head I often sound pretty incoherent.
Giving a rebuttal completely off the flow is awesome and will result in higher speaker points than if you didn’t.
I like jokes and appreciate bold strategic decisions.
“Have fun, try to learn something.” – Fred Sternhagen
Hi! I was a debater for Saint Paul Central and currently coach Murray's team. You may also see me floating around MDAW and UDL tournaments.
I always try to have fidgets and earplugs/other sensory aids on me. Whether you're in my round or not, you're always welcome to ask. If you need any accommodations please talk to me before the round.
They/she. Use the right pronouns for everyone in the round or you'll lose speaker points and I'll talk to your coach. Same goes for sexism, racism, ableism, and any form of bigotry.
I do my best to be neutral, but any real life impacts are far more important. Debate should be fun, educational and inclusive.
I'm open to all types of arguments, so run what you want to. I have the most experience with standard policy affs and kritiks on neg. That being said, don't assume I know your literature. I usually don't.
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Middle School Debaters
I'm a coach before I'm a judge. My goal is for you to learn as much as possible and enjoy debate. If you have any questions for me, I'm happy to help (as long as it isn't unfair). Read the plan, I really don't want to judge rounds without them.
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Online debate/Tech
I've been on both sides of quite a few online debates now, and they're messy. I'll wait for tech issues, and will not judge the round or your speaks on video quality, microphone quality etc. Don't exploit this.
tech--x------------------truth
Email: lilyteskedebate@gmail.com
Max [Any/All]
St. Paul Central 2025
Coach at Capitol Hill Middle 23 -
Novices/ Middle Schoolers:
--Please have fun, don't be offensive, and try your hardest! I'll be more than happy to answer any questions before or after the round, and if its a question along the lines of "what speech comes next", etc, I'll be more than happy to answer it in the moment! The most important thing though is that you should have fun! Nothing about this should matter all that much and I want to help you make sure its not too stressful or competitive and let you focus on community building and learning!
--My best [two] pieces of advice/ things that can help you win more debates [this also applies to all other debates actually]
1. Try to do 'line by line' - this means answering your opponents arguments in reference to them, for example saying something like "answering their argument about the link", or "on the perm argument", it will definitely boost your speaks and probably put you in a way better position to win the debate!
2. Try and do impact calc - this just looks like comparing your impacts to your opponents impacts at the end of the round. I'm sure your coaches can give you more advice, but it can just look like "warming should outweigh economic decline because it guarantees extinction while causing resource shortages that collapse the economy in the meantime". This massively improves your odds of winning because it gives me an explicit reason to vote for you!
Main paradigm thoughts:
Tech over truth.
I'm 17 years old. I don't have the experience, qualifications, or justifications to hold strong argumentative opinions, especially to the point I'd write them down here. As long as your argument isn't offensive or harmful, I'll probably vote on it!
I'm more than comfortable flowing fast debaters, as long as you're clear!
Here's a list of people who have influenced a lot of my thoughts about debate, at least in some way/ form : Cayden Mayer, Kiernan Baxter-Kauf, Katie Baxter-Kauf, Marshall Steele, John Turner, Nick Loew, Azja Butler, DKP, Brandon Kelley, Connelly Cowan, Katie Carpenter, OTT, IGM, Jake Swede, most of the MN/MNUDL debate community.
Shannon (they/them)
Call me my name, not judge. I'm a current varsity debater at South, and I've debated three years high school and two years middle school. If you have questions after a round feel free to email me. I'm good with tag team. I have passing knowledge of the novice and middle school packets. I also definitely am generous with speaker points, so take them with a grain of salt. I tend to prefer clarity over speed, don't go faster than what you're comfortable with. If you can convince me, I'm open-minded to any aff and neg strats. Bottom line is: debate is a game!!! Be respectful and have fun. If you are mean, mock your opponent, or purposefully use offensive language, you will get low speaker points.
charlotte (they/them)
chrlttwashington@gmail.com
i'm a freshman at central, where i'm a varsity debater (+ i did a year of middle school debate) if you have any questions i'll do my best to explain :)
he/him
General
I am in my third year debating at South High school, I love debate and want to be a part of it as much as I can!
Judging
If you are a middle school debater who sees this - good job! If you refer to me as "Egyptian Diplomat Andrew Slides" in a speech I will laugh and bump your speaks +1.
I am pretty chill with whatever since these aren't super complicated debates. Just be nice to each other and try to have a good time.
However, if you do some of the following you will have a much higher chance of winning in front of me (especially since middle schoolers don't read paradigms). If some of these seem very obvious to you, you're in a good spot.
GENERAL
- directly respond to the other teams arguments ("they say this, I say this")
- refer to me when speaking; you aren't talking to the other team, you're talking to me
- make analytical arguments instead of just reading evidence; this is obviously the case for rebuttals but goes for all speeches except the 1ac and maybe the 1nc. Evidence is important, but making smart arguments that pick apart the other team's positions will make you go far
- FLOW - it's so obvious when people aren't flowing since they just read stuff without taking into account the other team's errors. If the other team drops an argument you made, POINT THAT OUT. If the aff drops the DA in the 2ac or 1ar, you're almost definitely going to win the debate. However, if you say nothing and the aff brings it up in the 2ar, I'm gonna be begrudging to do that work for you.
- use all of your speech time and all of your prep time
- SOUND CONFIDENT - let's be real, do any of us know what we're talking about? Not really, especially someone like me who's relying on you to educate me on the debate subject matter. If you sound like you know what you're talking about, you probably do, how am I supposed to know?
- start your 2ar's and 2nr's by saying something like "vote [aff or neg] on [whatever argument you're winning on]". So if you're winning on the DA, say "vote negative on the DA that outweighs case".
IF YOU WANT REALLY HIGH SPEAKER POINTS
I give speaker points with discretion; 18-20 range is reserved for those who impressed the hell out of me and need to be debating in high school ASAP
- choose the best arguments you've made and explain them in the rebuttals instead of just extending everything or responding to what the other team said. Who cares if they've won an impact to the DA if there isn't a link? This is along the lines of pointing out errors in the other team, but just because they didn't drop an argument doesn't mean their response is good. Remember, you only need to win like 1 or 2 things to win the debate, so pick those and explain them to me.
- implicate arguments - ok, you've won no link on the DA, now what? Obviously I know what it means and will vote aff on it, but if you say something like "they don't have a link to the DA, this means we can pass the plan with no consequences while solving our impacts. so even if they're 100% right about their impact, you still vote aff", now I know exactly what my decision is going to be, because you just told me.