2025 Blacksnake NIETOC
2025 — Pocatello, ID/US
Congress Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI look for Impacts, Framework, Flow; recent, relevant, honest Evidence as well.
Also, how you present: Are you confident, prepared, good at convincing me and defending your case?
GENERAL :
1. Speak clearly, do not speed. If you are used to speeding, learn Judge adaptation. If I can't understand your arguments, you have lost the round.
2. I like empirical evidence
3. I like a well-thought-out/planned case that makes sense logically—I like to be able to connect the dots.
SPEECH:
- Be clear: Ensure your arguments are clear and organized so the judge can follow.
- Be confident: Be confident in every speech and make it seem like you are invested in the round.
- Be respectful: Be respectful of your opponents.
- Be strategic: Consider what will be most compelling to your specific audience.
I reward speakers - w/ higher points - who make a presentation effort - (eye contact, slowing down on impact work, grouping & weighing in final speeches vs. a line-by-line, some humor helps) but will give high speaks to other kinds of debaters too
For both LD and PF:
I am a very traditional judge. Extreme speed, overuse of jargon, and trickery are not appreciated and could cost you the round. Win the round on the strength of your argument, the veracity of your evidence, and the clarity of your presentation.
This is your round so debate as you see fit. I will vote on what you tell me to vote on.
I have experience in forensics, so don't be worried about catering to a lay judge. Be good people and have a good time!
Debate:
- Quality of argument over quantity
- Evidence to back up argumentation.
- Articulate your point - you can go as fast as you want as long as I can understand you.
- Be respectful: In crossfire, don't get muddled in stupid arguments, use them intelligently to undue the other side. Please do not be rude or condescending. There is no room for that.
- Use your constructives to set me up for your arguments - build your case, tell me the story
- Use your rebuttals to give me reason to disagree with your opponent. Don't just attack, you need to defend.
- Use your summaries to clean up anything vague or muddled.
- Use your final focus to make me vote for you.
- Convince me
Congress:
- You have a limited amount of time so try and get as many speeches in as you can.
- However, just because you speak the most, doesn’t mean you will get 1st. Your speeches need to be spoken with clarity, poise, and facts.
- Be ready to back up your argument during questioning. While you are getting questioned, answer respectfully.
- While you are questioning another speaker, be respectful. I will bump you down in rank for being disrespectful
- Just because you are the P.O. does not get you ranked 1st. As a P.O. you need to be respectful of your fellow representatives. If you make faces during someone’s speech or questioning, your rank will go down. If you play favorites, your rank will go down. If you are rude, your rank will go down.
- I judge you based off of your speeches, your answers, and what you ask your fellow representatives.
- if you are down right rude, you will get a very low score. You can be competitive and still do it respectfully.
Speeches:
- Your speech needs to hold my attention as well as your audience.
- You need to engage with your audience and make them feel as though this is the only speech they ever want to listen to
- You need to speak clearly and articulate. If I can’t understand you, I am unable to evaluate you
- Your speech should have a wow factor. Make your speech so interesting that I go back to the judge’s lounge and tell everyone about how great it was.
Good (Morning, Afternoon, Evening). I debated 4 years in High School and I am currently a member of the Boise State University Speech & Debate team. I am primarily familiar with Public Forum, however I have competed in Congress and am familiar with LD.
I like rounds to be fast and efficient. Do not ask if I am ready, I am always ready. Unless your opponent specifically wants to be asked, do not ask if they are ready as well. Just don't ask if anyone is ready. Roadmaps are okay. Yes, time yourselves. I'm fine if you want to run a CP, K, T, whatever, but if it is too confusing for your opponent or used as a "power move" you will not win the round.
I do not really have much to say, debate should be about the competitors, not the judges. You can basically run whatever you want with me, just make sure you have good links. I won't tolerate any homophobia, sexism, transphobia, racism, or personal attacks. Just have a good time.
Have Fun!
Hi all!
Info- I am an assistant coach at Highland HS in ID. I competed for 2 years in highschool, LD 1st and 2nd Congress. He/Him Pronouns
I mostly parli for congress so treat me like i dont know anything about the topics(because i dont).
-I am a communications judge. I want to hear clear speech mostly! I am fine with most speeds, just try not to speed so much that you are out of breath and stumble. I will just stare at you blankly, not typing/writing anything if i cannot understand you.
-Tell me why you should win and why your opponent(s) should lose. Use voters wisely, I use these heavily in my RFD. Be confident with your speeches and crossfires. Get information out of questions. Dont be rude. You can get points across while being calm, cool and collected!
-I do not know theory and ks or speading so do it at your own risk. If your opponents doesnt do it, i would ask for you not to do it. If I do not understand what you are saying, i will not be voting in your favor. Make it make sense. Debate is to be accessible for everyone.
Congress- I want to hear good speech structures, preparedness, barely reading off of computer or paper. Project to the chamber and provide emphasis on the important parts. Provide evidence! Refute points! Pleaseee do not go up to do a speech if it has points that have already been spoken and touched upon. Time management, use up all of your time whether its to touch back on points or making a funny ATG, Make the most of it! I love making congress fun, yet serious at the same time
Hello! My name is Madison Pritchard. I debated for 3 years in high school with experience in LD, Congress, and mainly Public Forum. I have also debated in college at Idaho State University, so safe to say I am very experienced. I have organized my paradigm by events that I am familiar with, as well as some general preferences. Happy debating and good luck!
General:
Be kind! This is high school debate and at its core needs to be about respect and understanding. I love clash but you need to make sure it is respectful, clash makes the debate interesting, without clash a debate ends up being bland. Make sure you are not interrupting your opponent a lot during cross examinations. Be sure that you have all of your evidence on hand and that it is properly cited, if I catch you falsely representing evidence then you will probably get a loss, unless your opponent does something somehow worse. If you choose to run a definition argument, be completely sure you can make it work, I don't love these but sometimes they are needed, make sure it is necessary if you do run one. I am fine with spectators as long as your opponents are fine with it, and as long as they are respectful (NO BEING ON THEIR PHONES). If you have any further questions, feel free to ask in round! Good luck debaters!
Public Forum:
This was my event in high school so you will not be able to get a lot past me here. A good balance of evidence and ethics are the core of this debate. I flow, so make sure your attacks stand and not to drop any main arguments, that will lose you the debate. Do not make the whole debate about evidence, evidence validity debates are not fun for anyone. If I feel a piece of evidence needs addressed, I will take a look once the debate has concluded. Speed reading is not loved but I can follow to a degree, just remember this is not policy.
Lincoln Douglas Debate:
I have a decent amount of experience with this event, so I can follow a lot of the jargon and ideas. My main problem sometimes with this debate is when people make it solely about the value/criterion, don't forget to attack the actual case and not just the value it is based on. Remember this debate is about morality, you need to convince me that yours is the morally correct argument, I will carry these over on the flow more than solely logic arguments.
Policy:
I don't have a lot of experience participating in this one, but I have ended up judging it a lot, so I have experience in that sense. A lot of the jargon I can understand but still be sure to explain some of your terms if you think there is a chance they could not be understood. Make sure your links are very clear. When your links get muddy, especially on a counterplan, you can lose me. Topicality arguments can be great, but again, just make sure they are completely clear. I do not love speed reading; I can usually follow but tread carefully.
Congress:
I just thought I would put some things in here I like to see in congress just in case someone looks for it. Make sure your speeches have substance, I really hate throw away speeches. If you are getting up just to get a speech in, it will not get you any points with me. Everyone needs to be respectful, do not be rude or personally attack other representatives. Please do not use questioning periods to debate, use your speeches, if you do this it will not reflect greatly in your ranking.
Better than a lay judge but definitely not TOC finals panel material. I was a tech debater trapped in a trad circuit when I competed in high school.
Did IPDA in college. Was okay at it. Nothing spectacular.
Slow on taglines, authors, and sign posting. Spread on everything else. Stick to the order. If your speed exceeds my ability to follow along I will say “clear” or drop my pen.
First and foremost:
I like rounds to be fast and efficient. Do not ask if I am ready, I am always ready. Unless your opponent specifically wants to be asked, do not ask if they are ready as well. Just don't ask if anyone is ready. Roadmaps are okay. Yes time yourselves. I will probably drop you if you use the Idaho debate code as an argument. Rule violations are not to be handled during your speeches. If you use it as an argument I am just going to assume you were not prepared enough to have an actual attack.
LD: I will weigh the round based on the Value/Criterion and voters. Explain your v/c and why it is pertinent to the resolution also be sure to tell me why you win based on the v/c. I don't like to see a lot of clash on the v/c unless someone runs an abusive one. I think that good debaters are able to show how they win on both the AFF and NEG v/c. But as I said, if someone is being abusive, feel free to call that out. Please be clear with signposting. Please provide a clear voter speech (tell me how you win on the v/c and other aspects of the round.) I also love to see impacts. Plans and Counter Plans are ok with me! I think that it adds an interesting element to the debate. I am absolutely NOT OKAY with kritiks. I love to see impacts.
PF: I will weigh the round based on the Resolutional Analysis and voters. Explain your RA and why it is pertinent to the resolution also be sure to tell me why you win based on the RA. I don't like to see a lot of clash on the RA unless someone runs an abusive one. I think that good debaters are able to show how they win on both the PRO and CON RA. But as I said, if someone is being abusive, feel free to call that out. Please do not run values, that's for LD. Please be clear with signposting. Please provide a clear voter speech (tell me how you win on the RA and other aspects of the round.) I also love to see impacts and impact calc.
Policy: I am absolutely NOT OKAY with kritiks. Please don't run them if you run them. I don't care for "education in debate" args. However, If someone is being abusive feel free to explain how. I am okay with speed but do not talk so fast to the point you are wheezing. Just be understandable. Have impacts and have voters. Be consistent with your plan and counter plan. Constantly remind me why I should care about them or should not care about your opponents. I will weigh the round based on the superior plan or cp.
Please time yourself and your opponent, I would prefer not to and expect you to take responsibility, and be truthful of time passed.
Info: I am the Speech and Debate Coach at Shoshone-Bannock Jr. Sr. Highschool. I have been in the circuit for about 6 years. I have my bachelors in K-12 Special Education. I am the former president of Idaho State University's Speech and Debate team, and the former president of College of Southern Idaho Forensic team. I love progressive debate, especially gender and social justice based arguments. I am a big flow judge, if you want me to judge certain arguments at the end of your debates, they better have been brought up in every speech, if they are not I tend to consider them a dropped argument. I don't mind dropped arguments especially if they are done strategically. If you tell me why you dropped them, then I won't factor that into my decision for who won the round. Good speaking I believe is necessary for a clean flow and round, but I don't base my decision solely off who spoke the best. Accessibility is the most important thing to me, if your opponents ask you not to spread or ask you to slow down, and you choose not too. I will drop you. I am a pretty heavy tech over truth judge (which means if you tell me the sky is red in your speech and your opponent doesn't disagree with you I'll believe the sky's red) I will vote on anything except impact turns to structural violence. (IE: Racism good). Last but not least, be kind to each other. This means to your partner and your opponents. I enjoy clash, sassiness, and assertiveness because it's all part of the game, but there is a difference between these and being mean. Remember debate is a game you play with your friends. I do not care how well you have been debating, if you are mean you will lose my ballot. Most importantly don't forget to have fun.
LD Paradigm:
I default to judging on the value premise/ value Criterion debate. So, at the end of the round, I will pick the value that I believe was proved to be the best standard to judge the round off of. Then I will use the criterion for that value as the way to look at the arguments in this round. Whoever has won the most arguments that apply to that criterion will get my ballot. I can also be persuaded to judge the round different, but that's up to you if you want to do that, you just have to tell me why I should prefer judging your way. I am cool with Kritiks and Theory, and tend to vibe pretty heavily with these kind of arguments. Make sure to walk me through the arguments though, since I am usually a policy judge I am not in the know with a lot of new and upcoming arguments in LD. Also, if you do run these kind of arguments, impact them out to me and tell me why they matter. I am cool with speed as long as everyone in the round can also do speed, if not everyone can don't do it.
PF Paradigm:
Accessibility is the most important thing for me when it comes to PF. I am a pretty progressive judge and debater and tend to love K's, Theory, and speed, but only if everyone in the round can keep up with all of these. I am a pretty big flow judge so make sure to rebuttal the most important parts of the round, and answer the attacks made on your case in your next speech after the attacks are made. I believe the second rebuttal needs to both defend an attack. In the second final focus I believe it is abusive to make new arguments, so I will not flow new arguments made in these speeches, unless your opponent made new arguments and the second final focus is the only time you can answer them (this should not happen though). In your last Final Focus, I should be able to track your offense back to the speech where the argument started, if I can't do that I won't vote on it.
CX Paradigm:
I love policy debate! I tend to default to stock issues and who makes the largest impact, but I will vote on anything except impact turns to structural violence (at any point in the debate you do this, I do not care how well you were debating, you will lose my ballot). Layer the debate for me, it makes my life and your life a lot easier. In the last two rebuttals it is very important for you to collapse into your most important arguments. Also, it is essential for you to split the Neg Block. I love Kritiks, and tend to pick up Kritiks if they are done correctly, which means they need to have a clear link, impact, alternative, and framework to judge off of. I love topicality, as long as your shell comes with standards, voters and a standard to judge off of. For disadvantages I think they can be pretty necessary for the Neg to prove why we shouldn't do the aff plan, but I won't drop you if you don't have them. Disadvantages should have clear uniqueness, link, internal link(s) and impacts. I love a good theory debate, but you got to tell me why and how this impacts how I judge the round. I am a pretty heavy flow judge, so bring up every argument you want me to judge on in every speech. Also, let me know where you are at when giving rebuttals, if you are rebutting T, tell me you are talking about t. If you are not organized I might not be able to flow your argument where you want me to flow it. If it's not on my flow it wasn't said. I love counter plans, but they need to have a text, be competitive, and have a net benefit, I really enjoy perm debates, but the aff needs to be clear on why the Neg CP is not competitive. For On case debate, make sure to do more than just the generic impact defense. I do not mind analytical arguments, just tell me why you don't need evidence for it. I am cool with spreading as long as everyone in the round can also do speed, if not everyone can don't do it. I don't mind dropped arguments especially if they are done strategically. If you tell me why you dropped them, then I won't factor that into my decision for who won the round.
Don't forget to have fun ya'll, that's why we are all here :)
Public Forum
I enjoy a polite clash of ideas. However, I score highest those debaters who show courtesy to their opponents, who have a sense of humor, and who tell the truth about what they have said. Don't be a jerk or a bully. I hate it. Your scores will reflect it.
I weigh evidence higher than framework. Quality evidence should be applicable, cited, not twisted or warped to your meaning, and from a good source. Don’t tell me “our card so and so from this date is evidence against such and such”. Read me your cards. Tell me why your source is more reputable than your opponent's source. Tell me why your evidence is important. Don't tell me that you win the case if your opponent cant win your framework. You present the arguments and let me decide who should win or lose and why.
Time yourself. Don’t tell me you want to use 30 seconds of your prep time and make me tell you when that is up.
Speak clearly and at a speed that is good for your voice. Don’t push it. It is in your best interest to make sure I can understand you.
Cross-Examination is a major factor in determining my vote. This is an area where you can demonstrate that you know your case and that you can think on your feet. Ask good questions that have a point, allow your opponent to answer, and then respond completely and thoroughly. Please listen to the question that is asked and ANSWER it. If your opponent asks a question that kills your case, answer it and hope that I don't catch that it killed your case. Don’t try to sneak or bully your way around it. I WILL notice that and will judge accordingly.
Please remember that you are trying to persuade me to vote in your favor.
Policy
I enjoy a polite clash of ideas. However, I score highest those debaters who show courtesy to their opponents, who have a sense of humor, and who tell the truth about what they have said. Don't be a jerk. I hate it. I find strategies centered on shenanigans, bullying and manipulation to be annoying. Your scores will reflect it.
I can usually follow fast speaking, if it is spoken clearly. I usually am not good at flowing spreading, as such, I can’t award wins based on information that is presented that way. It is in your best interest to make sure I can understand you. Often speed is used to try to cover up poor word economy and poor arguments. Do not tell me that your opponents dropped a point if they didn’t drop it. It tells me that you actually did not understand what your opponent was saying, are trying to bully me into believing you, or trying to deceive me. Any of them reflect poorly on you. Make sure they actually did drop it before you accuse them of it.
I appreciate signposting to help me identify that your plan covers all 5 areas that it should. Make sure you cover harms, inherency, plan, solvency, and topicality.
Cross-Examination is a major factor in determining my vote. This is an area where you can demonstrate that you know your case and that you can think on your feet. Ask good questions that have a point, allow your opponent to answer, and then respond completely and thoroughly. Please listen to the question that is asked and ANSWER it. If your opponent asks a question that kills your case, answer it and hope that I don't catch that it killed your case. Don’t try to sneak or bully your way around it. I WILL notice that and will judge accordingly.
Please remember that you are trying to persuade me to vote in your favor.
Lincoln-Douglas
I enjoy a polite clash of ideas. However, I score highest those debaters who show courtesy to their opponents, who have a sense of humor, and who tell the truth about what they have said. Don't be a jerk. I hate it.
LD is a value debate. Know what your value means. The person that argues their value best wins the debate. It's that simple.
Cross-Examination is a major factor in determining my vote. This is an area where you can demonstrate that you know your case and that you can think on your feet. Ask good questions that have a point, allow your opponent to answer, and then respond completely and thoroughly. Please listen to the question that is asked and ANSWER it. Know your case. I watch for canned speeches and score them harshly. If someone else wrote your speech, at least take the time to learn what it is saying.
Time yourself. Don’t tell me you want to use 30 seconds of your prep time and make me tell you when that is up.
Speak clearly and at a speed that is good for your voice. Don’t push it. It is in your best interest to make sure I can understand you.
Please remember that you are trying to persuade me to vote in your favor.