e-Ballots - Step by Step

Judging / Balloting Step-By-Step Procedure

E-balloting procedures for all Debate events are straightforward, but when technology is involved, we feel it prudent to provide a detailed procedure.

1. Getting your Notification/Assignment: There is no need to check in with the tournament when you arrive. You may have to check in with your program coach, but that is different for each program. When we publish the pairings, you will get an email and/or a text message indicating which room you are scheduled for, and the entries that are debating. A typical text/email notification looks like this:

[Your Last Name] / Judging Round 1 in PSY 101

Aff: Blue School WX
Neg: Red School HM

At 8:00 A PDT

[Short message from Staff]

2. Getting to the Room: This means that you should go to PSY 101, the round is scheduled to start at 8:00 AM, and the affirmative will be Blue School. In some events you will get 2 texts back to back. This means that there are two debates scheduled for that classroom, and we are asking you to judge both of them. We will try to send notices around 20-30 minutes before round start time so everyone has ample time to arrive at the room.

3. Starting the Round: After you arrive, please open your laptop/tablet, and log into your account. If you are already logged in, please scroll to the very top of the screen and click on your email address. You will see a screen with your active ballots and a green “Start” button. Once all 2 or 4 participants in the debate have arrived, please press that green “Start” button. When you press this button, it sends a signal to the staff that the round is started. If you are missing a competitor, do not press the Start button. Someone from our staff will come by to assist you with the irregularity. After pressing the “Start” button, the screen will turn into your ballot. You will see the names of the competitors, some basic instructions for that event and the fields for you to submit your decision and feedback. If you are judging 2 debates in the room, please only press “Start” for one, and press the other “Start” button immediately prior to the 2nd set of competitors.

4. Submitting the Ballot: At the conclusion of the debate, you will be asked to select a winner, assign speaker points for each speaker, and submit the ballot decision. First, you should consider who, in your opinion, won the debate. After determining that, please assign points using the scale on the right side of your e-ballot. Our point scale is from 24.0 to 30.0 in increments of 0.1 points. It may help to think of it as a 100 point scale. i.e. a student you want to rate a B+ at 89% will become a 28.9/30. This would be an above-average debater. Points below 25.0 or 50% are for you to send a signal that the debater was rude or unprofessional.  Once you’ve entered points for all speakers. Please refrain from giving a 30.0 or 100%. We like to send a message that there is always room for improvement. Once you’ve entered this data, please press the blue “Submit Ballot” button, and confirm your decision. You will then be given the option to go back to the home screen.

5. Writing Feedback: After the ballot decision is recorded, and you’re back at the home screen, there is a blue button to the right of your screen that says “Current Ballots and Panels”. You can also get to this screen using this link: https://www.tabroom.com/user/judge/panels.mhtml

Here, you will find your ballot, and an “Edit Feedback” button where you can type remarks to the debaters. We recommend keeping a word processor open to type your notes, and pasting them into the feedback field. You can continue to update the feedback for any round until Saturday night.