Norwood Invitational
2024 — Bethesda, MD/US
Debate Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideFor email chains, please use kevin@civis.org
Debate background: I debated both LD and policy in high school and both CEDA and NDT in college. I also coached high school debate while in college and coached college debate while in graduate school. I have also directed several tournaments of a public forum nature for embassies in Washington, DC. I now coach and judge for my daughter's high school public forum team, so I have probably done at least some research and thinking about the topic. In my day job I design and publish historical board games.
My ballot is either an endorsement or rejection of the affirmative based on its (a) anticipated outcomes and (b) philosophical underpinnings. If the affirmative is not (reasonably) topical, then I lack jurisdiction to evaluate it and must vote negative.
I have a very strong preference for the probability of impacts over the magnitude of impacts. This is not to say I dislike big impacts, but you need a good link story to access those impacts. I am willing to assign zero risk to a disad if the links are just not there. I also find affirmative solvency to often be lacking - with the proper analytical and evidentiary presses, I am very willing to vote negative on "zero solvency."
I am very fond of counterplans but find that I lean affirmative on most theoretical issues. I find "counterplan solves better" a very compelling argument and can be in itself the net benefit.
As I noted above, the philosophical underpinnings of the plan are also an important consideration. An on-point criticism that engages with the plan can be very compelling to me. I am less interested in some kind of magical "alternative" that wishes away all the cares in the world.
junior at mclean hs (lms alumni). debated at gtoc if it means anything to you. add me to the email chain lisahu.kaboom@gmail.com
generally tech>truth though mickey args = will believe equally mickey responses
No prog experience, run at ur own risk
spreading/card dumping/docbotting will tank ur speaks
please EXTEND and WEIGH and fill up ur speech time pls!
dont be rude or obnoxious
tl:dr try ur best, hf and be sensible
if u have any questions, dont hesitate to ask b4 the round
MSPDP:
haven't debated this in years so the rules r rusty. although im p chill as long as u try ur best
assume i have zero topic knowledge
if frameworks are read there better be top level clash otherwise i'll default the aff fw
will evaluate counterplans on neg although you will have burden of proof to explain why ur counterplan is likely to happen
i love love love good pois so try to make some though its ok if u cant answer them (dont pull a sneaky on protected time)
my speaker point range is generally 10-14 (with exceptions on both ends). i'll usually be pretty generous.
PF:
extend anything you want me to evaluate through second half. if its not in both summary and final i wont be looking at it
please please please weigh and do the impact calculus for me otherwise i'll have to do it myself which may not end well for you
defense is NOT sticky please frontline in 2nd reb
i wont flow cross xd but i will up speaks if ur funni
default 30 speaks in bubble round for both teams
Extra:
debate is fun, don't stress too much
+0.5 speaks if u spin in a circle while reading a turn
Experience: competing on natcirc in hs (pf), also 1 yr of ms parli debate at lms
Tell me before round starts if you have any questions about my paradigm
- Fine w/ speed, just speak clearly and take into account your opponents
- have good contextualization
- be dominant and persuasive
- No excessive POIs.. if you do, get ready to say bye bye to your speaks
- please please please weigh everything youre going for (Tell me why your argument is more important than your opponent's)
- extend anything you want me to evaluate in 3rd speech (summarize your reasonings)
- terminalize your impacts ("40% gdp" is not an impact)
- please signpost (say what youre responding to or where youre gonna go next in your speech) clearly, be organized when responding!
- be respectful,
Don't do bad stuff - Anything that could have an -ist at the end of it is obviously not ok and I will consider dropping you based on my judgement of the round.
Finally, make these rounds interesting. Debate is a game, have fun with it.
Extra speaks if you bring me food !! (auto +1) also extra speaks if you say objection!!! then point and laugh theatrically with no elaboration at all
If you have any questions about my RFD(reason for decision) tell me after round and I will do my best to be helpful
I am a policy debate coach by background. I have been debating, coaching, and judging for over 30 years. I am comfortable with any arguments teams would like to present. When judging, I look to the work that debaters have done to reach a decision. In public forum, there are many ideas and norms that I see through the lens of my experience in policy debate and I'm fine with them (theory, topicality, CPS, kritiks, etc). I am most interested in voting for well-warranted, explained arguments. I also give higher speaker points to teams that build developed warrants into speeches. I am also most interested in understanding how teams view arguments clashing in the round. Explaining your thinking around this will also contribute to higher speaker points and wins.
Hey competitors,
I am a parent judge, although I have a lot of public forum experience. I know the structure very well and will cut you off after the time has elapsed. I care heavily about impact. Make sure you outweigh the opponents in summary and final focus. Use terms delink, turn, non-unique, etc.
MAKE SURE YOU SPEAK FOR THE WHOLE TIME! - even if you speak total gibberish, please make sure you speak for the whole time period.
I also care about presentation and how well you persuade me. I will award speaker points with more emotion and pathos.
I prefer global impacts over US centric impacts.
Make sure crossfire is respectful, and make sure each side gets questions.
In grand cross, if only one person from each team is talking, then the person that is not talking has speaker points go down.
Don't bring up random stuff that has not been brought up in the debate in the last speech (final focus).
Make it a fun and competitive round. Speak fluently, and try to minimize stuttering.
hey, i'm harrison (he/him), and i debated for 3 years at Walt Whitman High School in PF.
*THIS WAS MADE WITH HIGH SCHOOL PF IN MIND; IF ANYTHING DOESN’T MAKE SENSE OR ISN’T TYPICAL MIDDLE SCHOOL PROCEDURE, ASK ME BEFORE ROUND*
add me to the chain: hjwalley2006@gmail.com
i prefer a google doc w/ rhetoric and cards, but you can also send a PDF. if any of this isn't accessible for you, it's 100% fine if you don't send. maybe disclose on the wiki if you're not able to send evidence during round
*seeing as there's no place on OpenCaseList to disclose for middle school, middle schoolers do NOT have to disclose*
**NATS NOTE: i'm apparently not allowed to disclose, but don't let that stop you from asking for feedback after the round; i'm not gonna talk much about general speaking skills or anything, but i'm always happy to talk strategy**
ask me about anything confusing in the paradigm if you have questions
TLDR:
this is probably the most standard tech paradigm you'll ever read; literally debate like you're doing any other tech round and it'll be good
tech>truth, run whatever you want as long as it's not exclusionary
defense isn't sticky
PLEASE STRIKE ME IF YOU DON'T READ CUT CARDS
i guess you can do new weighing in 1st final; definitely nothing new in 2nd (i’d much prefer solid weighing in first summary)
extend at least uniqueness, link, and impact
comparative weighing please
prob not the best person for prog; i can maybe evaluate theory, but k's are probably a no-go (april 2024 update: i can evaluate really well implicated, fairly stock k’s, but if you get screwed bc i was never a prog debater, please don’t blame me)
let me know if i can make your experience better; if both teams agree that my paradigm sucks, you can ask me to change it for the round
General Debate Stuff:
i think that judge intervention is really bad for debate. don't make me intervene; do comparative weighing, extend your args, leave defense on your opponent's case. you, your speaks, and i will all be happier if you do that
if it's not on the flow, i'm not voting on it
collapse - it makes the round really messy when someone goes for 4 blippy arguments
signpost - please help me know where i should flow...
Evidence:
i won't call for cards unless someone explicitly tells me to
if you send cards, i might look because i'm interested, but i won't intervene on bad evidence. the other team has to explicitly tell me that it's fabricated to the point i can't evaluate it, or just run an IVI or do an ev challenge
if you take like 2+ minutes to pull up a card, i'll probably tank your speaks and will take it as an analytic
Speeches:
constructive:
i'm probably not the best judge for speed. if i can't understand you, i'll say "clear" three times before i just stop flowing. not gonna flow off of a doc, so just make sure that you're actually speaking in a way that i can understand
2nd constructive can respond to 1st if they want. just make sure to at least say, "onto their case" or something to just let me know (but like probably just don’t; i don’t see many scenarios where it’s actually strategic)
rebuttal:
if you're able to, send any cards (or a speech doc) you're reading for rebuttal before your speech
i think it's smart to weigh in rebuttal, but not necessary obviously
2nd rebuttal needs to frontline
strategic collapses in 2nd will result in a happy judge and happy speaks
summary:
extend
if the other team does a really bad extension, call it out and tell me why i can't vote for them (if there's no extension at all, i won't vote on it)
at least give me uniqueness, link, and impact; internal links and warrants are nice, but at least have that
definitely weigh (i'm of the opinion that probability weighing is usually bad and just new defense, but i guess it's a weighing mechanism, so utilize it)
final:
needs to mirror summary
extend, again
if your opponents are using different weighing mechanisms than you, it's probably strategic to tell me which mechanism to prefer (metaweigh, anyone?)
if your partner didn't weigh in 1st summary, 1st final can do new weighing (no new prereqs or link-ins; that's just abusive)
no new implications or args from 2nd final; i won't flow them
cross:
i'll listen, definitely won't flow it
if there's something important, bring it up in the next speech
Prog:
theory:
i guess i understand theory. if you have to know, i think paraphrasing is really bad, disclosure is probably good. i default text over spirit, RVI's, and Competing Interps (reasonability for TW theory). all of that can change if you just... give me warrants for why it should
read the shell the speech directly after the abuse happened. out-of-round abuses need to be in constructive
also, i want shell>substance layering at the very least in summary and final; if you're reading a shell in constructive, it's probably smart to do it in rebuttal
extend the shell every speech after it's read
don't read friv on novices; that's just dumb
april 2024 update:
middle schoolers can read theory that’s fine (still steer clear of friv)
it’s been a while since i’ve even thought about theory, but i’ll catch up on it before the tournament
k's:
i don't know too much about non-T k's, but i kinda get the gist of topical stuff. if you HAVE to read a k, just implicate it well and tell me why you win off of it
april 2024 update:
it's been a while since i've thought about k's too... if you have to read one, just don't spread it 300 wpm or more
tricks:
no, except for roko's. i like roko's (don't read tricks please)
i like what other people have said about tricks - if someone reads tricks on you, saying “tricks are for kids” is adequate and terminal defense
framework:
sure. framework should be extended in every speech after it's read. 2nd constructive should respond to framework in 1st
speaks:
speaks will probably be good
i'll start at 28.5, and go up or down from there depending on strategy
not gonna dock speaks bc of the way you dress, how you talk (unless you're spreading and you're incoherent), etc
L25 if you do something exclusionary
few ways to up your speaks:
a. read a funny impact turn
b. be nice
c. disclose on the wiki (ask me before round if you don't know how - i won't dock your speaks if you don't disclose) +0.5 speaks if you do
d. do smart prereq stuff
e. actually engage in substantive clash in a cool and strategic way
other stuff:
i'll disclose if i'm allowed to; ask me privately to disclose speaks if you want
postround if you want, but be nice about it
be funny if you want, but there's a line between being funny and being a jerk