I competed in policy debate in high school, parliamentary debate in college, and I have been coaching since 2001. I would consider myself a tabula rasa judge, as much as that is possible. I feel comfortable with any line of argumentation, but expect clear articulation of said argumentation. I want you to provide me with compelling reasons why you should win the debate. Generic argumentation, weak links, and time sucks are not appreciated. I don't judge a ton (in my local circuit I am in tab a lot), but I did judge at NSDA Nationals in 2020 including some late Elim rounds. I keep a detailed flow so staying organized is key to winning my ballot. Pronouns: she/her/hers. If you have questions, feel free to ask before the round starts. Email for the chain: amdahl-masona@nclack.k12.or.us.

Hi! I'm a college student ('26) who did 4 years of speech and debate in high school with Ida B. Wells in Portland, OR. LD was my main event but I also did Impromptu and Extemp and a little bit of Radio, Oratory, and Parli.

I mostly did traditional debate, so that's the kind I'm most used to. However, I have a baseline familiarity with some progressive stuff (plans, CPs, theory), so if that's your jam, go for it! Just be clear and inclusive to people that don't have as much experience with circuit debate. If you want to run a kritik, I'm willing to vote on it but please let me know before the round. If you have any more specific questions about this stuff, ask!

Tech over truth / tabula rosa / no judge intervention. These all mean the same thing to me: I will evaluate the round based only on what is said, rather than my preexisting knowledge or opinions about it. I won't do any of the work for you: if your opponent says something that's clearly inaccurate, or drops a point, or does something abusive, it's on you to call that out. This also means I am open to whatever you want to read. Weird or nonstandard arguments are totally fine (though of course I hold them to the same evidence standard as anything else).

Please don't spread. Speed is fine as long as it's not crazy. I might say "slow" during your speech if you're going too fast for me to flow. You have my permission to do the same to your opponent, within reason.

Stuff I like to see in round: direct clash, impact weighing, clear signposting, clear voters.

More on "clear voters:" in your voter speech, the best way to win the round is by telling me exactly why you should win it. Write my RFD for me! Line-by-line analysis in a voter speech can be important, but you'll always be better off keeping that to a minimum and focusing more on an overview of what arguments you're winning and why they are significant.

Off-time roadmaps are fine, just be reasonably concise. And please signpost in your speeches, even if you do an offtime roadmap, so I can tell where you are on the flow. "Now, onto the first neg contention" or something like that is great. I WILL get confused and just not flow if I don't know where I'm supposed to be flowing.

Organization is super important to me. Especially if you are making more than 1 response to an argument, please please please number or letter those for me so everything is neat on my flow.

I am always down for a pun or a little joke. No pressure though.

If you have any questions after the round about my decision, email me: preston.bushnell@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you :D

If you want to know more about any part of this paradigm, just ask! Happy to expand :)

Good luck! You got this!!!????

I am focused on helping student competitors improve their public speaking and presentation skills. I competed in speech events as a HS student, and have given many presentations, speeches, and public addresses in my career. I have been officiating and judging competitive events (athletic and academic) for 20 years.

The 2024-25 season is my rookie year as an assistant coach, new to judging at speech and debate tournaments.

Background: I have been coaching debate and mock trial since 2006. For over 10 years I was a teacher and coach in the Chicago Debate League, sent teams to a variety of Nat Circuit tournaments and am now in my 7th year coaching here in the PNW. Most of my debate coaching experience has been in Lincoln-Douglas with a growing emphasis in policy and IE's over the last several years.

Policy: I am not a fan of high speed spread debates. Generally prefer moderation over an ultra spread style delivery. Speed is fine if clarity matches the rate of delivery. If a competitor is going at a rate so fast that I cannot flow their arguments, then I am not able to effectively consider and weigh them for the round. Given this, I generally prefer to not be on the email chain as it is your job to communicate clearly and effectively.

Note for Oregon based tournaments: OSAA rules prohibit open/tag team cross.

https://www.osaa.org/docs/spe/CXDebateRules.pdf

For non-Oregon based tournaments, I expect you to ask your opponent for consent to open cross before the start of the round. In the end, I prefer Policy rounds that come down to clear well supported argumentation, solid clash, impact calculus, stock issues, and/or competing interpretations of the resolution. Counter Plans, Topicality, Theory arguments, Framework are great though I feel that they need to have some direct connection and relevance to the actual case, i.e. generic negative arguments are valid, but they need to have some clear and legitimate relationship to the discussion. Always open for a great kritik, though prefer that you make clear how it is directly applicable to the affirmative plan and the ideas that it represents.

abby.holland.ut@gmail.com (please add me to the email chain!)

CCHS '24 (2N all 4 years)

she/her

policy

middle school

most of this probably doesn't apply beyond the general notes. Please extend warrants and evidence from speech to speech. Impact calc and judge instruction is super important! if you're interested in high school debate I'd love to answer questions!

general

tech>truth

I'm fine with any speed just please enunciate and slow down on analytics. if I can't understand you I'll call clear twice and then stop flowing. slow down a tiny bit on online debates

please explain acronyms at least once so I know what you're talking about

I've been told its pretty easy to tell what I'm thinking based on my facial expressions, I don't know how much this translates to debate rounds

TL;DR: I'd rather watch a good round than a round that's worse because you overadapt to me, so do whatever you want just explain it well. Everything below are just my preferences and ramblings. Impact calc and judge instruction in the 2ar/2nr are really important to me, line-by-line is great, the more work you do to minimize judge intervention the easier my decision is and the less confused/frustrated you will be with my decision.

DA

DAs are great, run whatever as long as you run it well. Case-specific DAs make me very happy and super generic DAs make me sad but I understand their use.

I LOVE politics DAs! That being said I think generic links such as PC are usually poorly explained (PC is fake change my mind). I have a higher threshold for voting for vague links. Specific links are amazing here and I think you should know how key politicians would vote in the world of the DA. (bonus points if you have a CP that avoids the ptx DA with specific evidence key politicians would support the CP)

I'm not a huge fan of intrinsicness but I'll vote for it

IMPACT CALC please! zero risk is a thing, framing can take out a DA if its done well

CP

Great, you do you. Specific CPs are better. Please have solvency advocates and a net benefit. I don't like boring process CPs but I'll vote on it if you're winning the argument. Stop writing CP plan texts that are multiple paragraphs long (looking at you 2Ns).

I lean neg on most theory, except I'm aff leaning on multi-actor fiat. uniform 50-state fiat is silly. condo is good

you should debate judge kick

T

These aren't my favorite debates, but if this is your strat go for it. contextualized interps are better. Please slow down a little on analytics

I won't vote for aspec hidden at the bottom of a T-flow, label it clearly. This also means I'm more lenient on 1ar answers to hidden aspec

Case

Case debate is really underrated! Utilize in-depth case debate and case turns!

K v. Policy Aff

I love these debates, a one-off k debate against a soft left policy aff is probably my ideal debate.

I've read cap, queerness, security, and anthropocentrism. I have some knowledge of afro-pess, fem, setcol, and a little bit of baudrillard (although I really dislike baudrillard). Feel free to read other Ks, just make sure to explain them clearly!

if your K is secretly just a CP + DA in a trench coat pretending to be a K it probably loses pretty easily. I'm going to pick a framework based on the flow, not a middle ground. Line-by-line debate is better than super long, not contextualized overviews. Also please be able to actually articulate what the world of the alt looks like and how it interacts with the aff.

If you have an element of performance, make sure to link it back to your solvency (also I think performance is super cool and would love to see more of it!)

K affs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dnTLx4XQDI

I don't have much experience with K affs, but I think they're great! Just make sure to explain it well. I think they should have some link to the topic

I don't think I'm qualified to have a leaning on K affs v. FW, I'll vote for either. fairness is an impact, but I prefer it as an internal link

KvK

I have almost no experience with these debates but I think they're cool, so do what you will with that information.

Policy Affs

I love soft left affs! Please have a solid framing page

2as please make your plan text mean something, wtf are fiscal polices designed to facilitate regulated market socialism

LD

I'll probably judge this similarly to how I would a policy round, please explain how your value/criterion frames your impacts!

other events

I have less experience in speech, but I'm excited to judge all events so don't be worried!

Misc

Be a good human! Don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.

Read re-highlights don't just insert them

your off time roadmap should tell me what order my flows go it

I'll evaluate dropped arguments as true, but you still have to extend a warrant and explain why it means you win for me to vote on it

I'll probably dock 0.1 speaks if you say "I stand in the firmest of affirmations/negations"

I'll give +0.1 speaker points for mean girls or legally blonde references in context (movie or musical)

feel free to ask me anything

https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?judge_person_id=244725

I vehemently disagree with everything in this^ paradigm and if you make references to how terrible it is I'll boost your speaks

Last updated December 2023

Speeches and Debates:

I look for the simple yet important stuff. Eye contact, not having nervous movements, not having filler words, good enunciation, and good speaking speed. Even if your speech was interesting and compelling, not having these skills will hurt you when I am judging.

It is ok to have direct communication and be passionate, but don't be condescending or insulting. I will not allow a rude person or team to win a round.

Debates (some of this information might not apply to your type of debate):

1. Be clear about your argument and go point by point.

Ex for Parli. My first contention is _______. My claim is __________.
My warrant is __________. My impact is __________.

Policy and Lincoln Douglas debaters doing Parliamentary rounds: You need to debate in a parliamentary format!

2. Talk at a reasonable pace, I do not like spreading. When you are refuting make sure that you say which argument you are addressing.

3. Impacts are the make and break for me. Make me care. Tell me what super bad or super amazing things will happen and how that benefits the world. Go all the way. Don't just say "WW3" - the earth is destroyed due to nuclear radiation, there will be mass starvation and famine, no drinkable water, etc. Tell me those things. Go all the way.

4. Do not just throw debate jargon around and expect that to be considered a proper refutation. If something is non-unique tell me why. If something is non-topical you need to have a full topical argument (standard, violation, impact, alternative, voter). I will not consider debate jargon to be a proper rebuttal.

Former LD debater and I judge on flow. Framework and impact calculus are the most important--explain clearly how I should judge the round and why you won. At the end of the day, will vote on the issues you convince me to vote on, and generally open to creative arguments as well. Crystallize at the end of the round how I'm supposed to vote and why. I will assume as a default that unaddressed arguments are conceded unless you explain why they shouldn't be, and generally won't flow new arguments in rebuttals (of course refutations are fine).

In debate rounds I expect:

Organization

Sign-posting

'Clash' as needed

Professional Behavior

In debate rounds I have difficulty with:

Spread (overly rapid delivery) - Due to tintinitis (ringing in the ears) I cannot fully understand 'spread' and thus if I cannot understand what the competitor is saying, I cannot give credit for what is being said, or the ability to 'flow' my notes so that I can judge accurately.

In Individual Event rounds I expect:

To hear a 'well polished' speech.

Please include me in the email chain: josiejnorth@gmail.com

I have 5 years of experience with speech and debate (mostly with speech), I have judged both IEs and debate in the past, and I am currently on a college debate team.

• Debate

• I’m fine with speed, but I discourage spreading.

• I like organized flows, strong presentation, and signposting.

• Make sure to provide a thorough explanation of any critical, philosophical, or theoretical arguments you make, and don't assume that I know them.

• I always appreciate strong clash. When addressing your opponent's arguments, do so directly.

• When competitors clearly state what they are responding to, I like it. Please bring up any arguments your opponent makes; they won't affect my choice unless you take notice of them and take advantage of them. You will have a significant advantage if you can successfully bring this up.

• Speech

• In events where it is permitted, I like blocking and usage of space.

• You’re speech should have a clear impact/reason why your speech matters and why I should care the most about your speech.

• I discourage self-timing, your piece should be practiced enough that you are comfortable enough with time signals, though you will not lose solely because you self-time. I, or another competitor can provide time signals if you'd like.

• Inform: I am looking for a speech that has VAs which add to your speech and do not distract from it. VAs will not win you the round but it certainly adds to your overall presentation. It is great if your speech has persuasive elements but remember the main goal in this event is to inform.

• Prose/Poetry: Remember you can use slight movement but should stay primarily in one place.

Remember to respect your opponents no matter what you are competing in. This is a competition but it is also an environment where no one should be disrespected or put down, this is a learning environment that should be protected for everyone. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me at the beginning of the round! Good luck to you all!

Hello!

I am a newish judge, I competed in IE in high school and Congress in college in Illinois. So sometimes I have slightly different expectations than folks who have always been in debate in Oregon. This is my second year judging in Oregon. I am also a coach.

I try to encourage competitors to try their best to try to shape their arguments without attempting to tailor their arguments to an individual judge's paradigm. Particularly when you have several judges, it can be a challenge when their paradigms are not complementary. Nonetheless, a few general things for me

1. I try to choose the person I think won the debate. Simply because you counter or respond to an argument and say "this shouldn't flow" doesn't mean I have to agree that it doesn't flow.
2. I value organization greatly.
3. I do weigh arguments, some are more central than others, and winning on one argument is sometimes enough for me to make a decision. Winning on two smaller points is not as good as winning on the biggest point. In debate terms, I am weighing impact.
4. Stick to the resolution and the event you are in. Funding shouldn't be a key argument in LD or BQ, but it should be a central point in Policy/CX or PF. Additionally.... debate rules are not universal for all of the events. For instance... Public Forum does not have the "no no new arguments in final focus or summary" rule that exists in other styles of debate. It might be frowned on, but it isn't a DQ or anything.
5. No personal attacks. I strongly frown on inferred or direct insults. Yes "my opponent is not a good debater" is a personal attack.
6. I am generally open to people running Ks and Ts and other parts of the alphabet but I do not vote for them very often. My philosophy has always been that K's should be last resorts when neg or aff bias is unavoidable, not an excuse not to debate a resolution you don't think is cool.
7. An extension is not a new argument. Debaters on not confined to only repeating themselves in their final speech.
8. Saying "we don't have time to respond to that" is taking time to respond to it, especially if you repeat it a few times.
9. My flows/notes are often general and often messy. I am sorry, that is also just how I take notes and how I flow for myself.
10. Adding this one because I got a question about it... I will flow cross but I won't always flow like 'can you restate your 3rd sub-point" type stuff. If a question has an impact on the round or if I thought it was a good question, I will usually make a note at least.

[updated for the iowa caucus 2024]

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portland urban debate league

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please add me to the email chain - avneetsid28 [at] gmail.com

i only flow your speech but glance at the doc when questions arise (clipping, misconstrued ev, bad cites)

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i’ve been coaching for a couple of years now and really care for this activity and all the people in it, and i can only hope for the same from you. you win when you are kind, creative, and clever & i truly believe you can achieve this when you try your best.

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it is my job to adapt to you, and your job to write out my ballot exactly as you think it should be written.

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(yes, please read your k in front of me.)

frameworks that rely on excluding the k, disengaging with theoretical debate, and severing from your advocacy make me sad.

t is never an rvi, things like "limits bad" are better arguments, so please make them.

do affs have the burden to be "reasonably" topical? probably. very low threshold for what this means.

teams that convince me to reject the res have arguably clashed with the topic enough to make me believe it's bad.

I am a new judge. Just slow down, be calm, and do your best!

Thank you for reading my paradigms! And thank you for being part of speech and debate. I have a few priorities. In debate...

1. Number your contentions, advantages, disadvantages, etc.. Make it clear to me what part of your argument we are listening to, and likewise, which part of your opponent's argument you are addressing. Good road maps and sign posting help me be a better judge.
2. Rules are important, but don't hide behind them. In some events, Neg doesn't have the burden of a counterplan. That said... I expect you at least mention what kinds of plans could exist as an alternative. Saying "Aff's plan is bad" can work...but at least describe a couple alternatives that are feasible. Even the status quo can be an alternative -- just please demonstrate that there is a better alternative to aff, even if you don't flesh it out. It's totally possible your opponent's plan is terrible; what I'm asking is that you demonstrate that your opponent's plan isn't simply the least terrible option out of really, really terrible options.
3. Tone matters. Spirited, enthusiastic, even emotion-filled debate is great. But always treat your opponents and partners with enthusiastic respect. This includes non-verbals: looking at your opponent like they're crazy doesn't make me happy :)
4. I start timing when you're talking. Off-time road maps don't fly with me because everyone has a different vision of what exactly can and can't go into an off-time road map.

Last, some background about me that may help, especially for people doing Individual events or interps:

I am the West Linn Coach. That said, I am a newer coach, so particularly with LD and PF I may need greater levels of context to grasp what you're discussing. For something like POI or Poetry, don't assume I can grasp poetic abstractions immediately. Speak at a pace that gives me time to process.

I teach history. I'll be honest: an argument or speech that effectively draws on history can really catch my attention; likewise, one that messes up historical analysis can undermine a case significantly.

I also have a theater degree, and have spent a lot of time with our pal Shakespeare. I have spent a good deal of time on stage, and directing plays. Know that I appreciate a good performance, and good speaking craft.

In contrast, sports and music are weaknesses of mine. I don't know them well. While I think Taylor Swift is cool, as I write this...I can't actually give you the name of a song she has written. Though I might recognize one. Maybe. That doesn't mean you should avoid mentioning Taylor Swift or talking about music or sports -- you just have to give me context. What does that lyric you recited refer to? How does it apply? What does that sports metaphor mean? Why do these things matter to what we're discussing?

Given the background described above, when it comes to speaker points: I am in this coaching job because I want students to develop public speaking skills that will serve them throughout their lives professionally, politically, theatrically, or in whichever setting you desire. As such, speaker points for me are about quality, not quantity, of arguments and respect for the process and others. An appropriately placed pinch of dramatic flair never hurts either.

My priorities for judging any debate are

1) the use of factual evidence that shows understanding of the topic.

2) clear and organized arguments.

3) each team's ability to support their value, weighing mechanism, or other framework throughout the entire debate.

4) professionalism and appropriateness.

Hello folks,

I am a former head coach--and current assistant coach--of West Linn High School's Speech and Debate team.

In my mind, debate is fundamentally a way for you (both teams) and I to engage substantively with a complex topic. I like intellectual rigor and good-faith clash with your opponents. I am really turned off by the debate being turned into a game, rather than a debate, so take that as you will.

In terms of speed, you can go at a brisk conversational speed, but if your speed interferes with my ability to understand you (or if you are not particularly articulate), then I will stop flowing.

Background: I teach AP Lang and Comp. I've been an English teacher for 15 years. I have a PhD in Educational Studies - Curriculum Theory. I am comfortable with critical theory and welcome its appropriate/creative use in debate.