My daughter wrote this to help the debaters:

I’m a lay parent judge but have judged a decent amount of PF. I don’t know debate jargon.

I allow off-time road maps. I don’t have many other preferences.

Adapt and convince me that your arguments are better and tell me you should win the round (give me voters).

Hi I am Malcolm. I went to college at Swarthmore. I am an assistant debate coach with Nueva. I have previously been affiliated with Newton South, Strath Haven, Hunter College HS, and Edgemont. I have been judging pretty actively since 2017. I very much enjoy debates, and I love a good joke!

I think debates should be fun and I enjoy when debaters engage their opponents arguments in good faith. I can flow things very fast and would like to be on the email chain if you make one! malcolmcdavis@gmail.com

In general I flow (on paper) (if you find me flowing on my laptop, know that I am sad and desire paper) primarily by listening rather than following along on the doc, but do not let me slow you down. DO let your opponents slow you down respect clears from them more than from me. I believe I have a baseline obligation as an educator to ensure the round is safe for all participants. I also have an obligation to the tournament to make sure we have the round in a timely fashion. I shan't be convinced to act against these obligations.

if you aren't ready to send the evidence in your speech to the email chain, you are not done preparing for your speech, please take prep time to prepare docs. (Prep time ends when you click send on the email, not before).

---| Notes on speech , updated in advance of NSDA nationals 24

Speech is very cool, I am new to judging this, I will do my best to follow tournament guidelines.

I enjoy humor a lot, and unless the event is called "dramatic ______" or something that seems to explicitly exclude humor, it will only help you in front of me, word play tends to be my favorite form of humor in speeches.

Remember to include some humanity in your more analytic speeches, I tend to rank extemp or impromptu speeches that make effective use of candor (especially in the face of real ambiguities) above those that remain solidly formal and convey unreasonable levels of certitude.

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pref shortcuts:

Phil / High Theory 1

K 1/2

LARP/policy/T 1/2

Tricks/Theory strike

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PF Paradigm (updated for toc 2024):

I will do my best to evaluate the debate based only what is explained in the round during speech time (this is what ends up on my flow). Clear analysis of the way arguments interact is important. I really enjoy creative argumentation, do what makes you happy in debate.

email chains are good, but DO send your evidence BEFORE the speech. I am EXTREMELY easily frustrated by time wasted off-clock calling for evidence you probably don't need to see. This is super-charged in PF where there is scarcely prep time anyways, and I know you are stealing prep. I am a rather jovial fellow, but when things start to drag I become quite a grouch.

I am happy to evaluate the k. In general I think more of these arguments are a good thing. LD paradigm has more thoughts here. The more important an argument purports to be, the more robust its explanation ought to be

Theory debates sometimes set good norms. That said, I am increasingly uninterested in theory. I am no crusader for disclosure. I will vote on any convincingly won position. Please give reasons why these arguments should be round winning. Every argument I have heard called an "IVI" would be better as a theory shell or a link into a critical position.

I think debates are best when debaters focus on fewer arguments in order to delve more deeply into those arguments. It is always more strategic to make fewer arguments with more reasoning. This is super-charged in PF where there is scarcely time to fully develop even a single argument. Make strategic choices, and explain them fully!

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LD: updated for PFI 24.

philosophy debate is good and I really like evaluating well developed framework debates in LD. That said, I don't mind a 'policy' style util debate, they are often good debates; and I do really love judging a k. The more well developed your link and framing arguments, the more I will like your critical position.

I studied philosophy and history in college, and love evaluating arguments that engage things from that angle. Specific passions/familiarities in Hegel's PdG (Kojeve, Pinkard, Hyppolite, and Taylor's readings are most familiar in that order), Bataille, Descartes, Kristeva, Braudel, Lacan, and scholars writing about them. Know, however, that I encountered these thinkers in different contexts than debaters often approach them in. In short, Yes PoMo, yes german philosophy, yes politics of the body and pre-linguistic communication, yes to Atlantic History grounded criticisms, yes to the sea as subject and object.

Good judge for your exciting new frameworks, and I'd definitely enjoy a more plausible util warrant than 'pleasure good because of science'. 'robust neuroscience' certainly does not prove the AC framework, I regret to say.
If your approach to philosophy debate is closer to what we might call 'tricks' , I am less enthusiastic.

Every argument I have heard called an "IVI" would be better if it were a theory shell, or a link into a critical position.

I really don't like judging theory debates, although I do see their value when in round abuse is demonstrable. probably a bad judge for disclosure or other somewhat trivial interps.

Put me on the email chain.

Happy to answer questions !

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Parli Paradigm updated for 2023 NPDL TOC

Hi! I am new-ish to judging high school parli, but have lots and lots of college (apda) judging and competing experience. Open to all kinds of arguments, but unlikely to understand format norms / arguments based thereupon. Err on the side of overexplaining your arguments and the way they interact with things in the debate

Be creative ! Feel free to ask any questions before the round.

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Policy Paradigm

I really enjoy judging policy. I have an originally PF background but started judging and helping out with this event some years ago now. My LD paradigm is somewhat more current and likely covers similar things.

The policy team I have worked most closely with was primarily a policy / politics DA sort of team, but I do enjoy judging K rounds a lot.

Do add me to the email chain: malcolmcdavis@gmail.com

I studied philosophy and history in college, and love evaluating arguments that engage things from that angle.

I aim for tab rasa. I often fall short, and am happy to answer more specific questions.

If you have more specific questions, ask me before the round or shoot me an email.

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What used to exist in this text box was a principled stand on my beliefs about what debate ought and ought not to be, what good argumentation looks like, and how the value of this activity as an educational exercise is of paramount importance. Then, after fourteen years involved in debate, I finally learned - debaters will do what they want regardless of my paradigm. So now, rather than list the intricacies of how to win my ballot, I have finally reached a position where I grudgingly accept the fact that debate has changed - I'm not sure for the better - but it's changed nonetheless. As a result, I am open to nearly any and all forms of argumentation, but I will die on the following three hills:

1) Do not spread. Seriously, don't do it. I refuse to move off the concept of debate as an educational activity which develops the rhetorical skills of students. At no point in your life will you need to employ the skill of cramming as many words as possible into a scarce amount of time in order to obfuscate the truth and confuse your listener - unless of course you plan to run for a major elected office. The day I judge a tournament and run into spreading in every single round is the day I leave the speech and debate world forever.

2) The round is won on the strength of your arguments as opposed to the strength of your evidence. Anyone can find any information out there to confirm a perspective. I will not vote for you because your evidence is three months more recent or because your survey sampled ten more people than your opponent's. Please don't get bogged down in the evidence clash - it's boring.

3) Give me specific reasons to vote for you. Literally number them. At the end of a round, judges are expected to render a quick decision with reasons for that decision and turn that reasoning over to Tab to keep the proverbial trains moving. It's a lot easier to do my job when you isolate the key issues in a round and explain why you've won them. Crystallize the debate down to its most essential elements and narrow my view of the round to what matters.

Other than that - it's 2020. In a weird year, feel free to run some weird arguments.

I am best described as a lay judge. I will flow the round, however more often than not the winner will be whoever persuades me the best. My son competes in PF and I read the news so I know a little about the topic, but don't expect me to know all of the arguments by heart. Please speak slowly and explain; I cannot vote for you if I do not understand your argument.

I judged PF and Congress last year and am doing LD judging this year. As a parent judge, I really enjoy and value the professionalism and courtesy displayed by the debaters at such a young age. For me, a lot of arguments are not necessarily a clincher. I would rather have lesser arguments, but argued clearly, passionately and with authority. Needless to say, keeping civility through the debate is a must.

I am a novice judge.

I competed in speech and debate in high school (many years ago).

I prefer to hear clear reasoning over the stretching of obscure evidence.

Please listen and respond specifically rather than forge ahead without reference to others' arguments.

Please be personable, authentic, and respectful.

Be specific!

I do pf at strath haven. I'm a flow judge.

My name is RJ Tischler, and I've been volunteering as a judge for speech & debate since 2016. Consider me a lay judge with a lot of experience — I’ve heard that the term “fl-ay” matches my judging style.

For debate:

Clarity is key.

Don't speak too fast (aka, no spreading. Aim for ~200 WPM or fewer).

Weigh the impacts at the end of the round for me.

Explicitly state what your voters are.

Not very familiar with kritiks/theory, but willing to hear them.

If you'd like, feel free to send me your case to read along: email rtischler@phillyasap.org

(JV/Novice debate)
Prioritize clash. That is the purpose of a debate. I am not inclined to buy arguments that "the opponents didn't respond" to contentions that you neglected to revisit & therefore didn't result in clash. If your opponent truly doesn't respond to an important contention, be sure to point that out in rebuttal or crossfire. Don't wait until summary (in PF).