Firstly, let me say how much I respect young debaters. More than most, I understand the struggles and triumphs associated with doing speech and debate in middle and high school. No matter what, know your team and community supports you and you are building invaluable skills which will likely be useful for the rest of your life.

Now, to get into my background. I have done speech and/or debate since the 6th grade, where I debated for Becker Middle School in Las Vegas, NV. This began a lifelong passion not only for public speaking, but for intelligent discussion of the issues that matter. I have debated on the state and national level in PF and LD, going to nationals both in NSDA and CFL for PF in 2017.

Now I am a junior at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN pursuing a career in education policy. Ultimately, the ability to make deliberate change in your community will be the highest use of the skills you gain through this process. Be mindful of that as you are formulating and delivering your arguments.

I have a passion for this activity because it means something. I don’t stand for fancy rhetoric or elaborate k’s. I want to see you make your argument effectively and courteously. If you speak too quickly for me to understand you, I cannot give you the W. If you are rude to your opponents, I will not give you the W. If you do not effectively argue your point while addressing the opponent’s assertions, I cannot give you the W.

Exchange ideas effectively and expand my understanding of both sides of the argument. That’s how you win my ballot.

Good luck!

I competed in extemp for 6 years (3 in high school, 3 in college) along with doing Congress and some PF in HS and have since coached pretty much every speech event and world schools debate for the past 2 years. For reference, I'm a school-affiliated judge but work at a government contracting company doing work for the Marine Corps, so be warned that national security is my niche area of expertise.

WORLDS: I specifically look for students who use this style of debate to persuade (read: talk at a normal pace. Worlds was created to counter the trend of debates turning technical, and I'm going to try and uphold that as best I can).

PF: I look for logical consistency of arguments and general plausibility. Do not run Ks or anything else wild with me. I will not be persuaded by arguments like "because we use the word 'the' that means the world will end in nuclear war so vote pro" which I have seen run. Also, I can handle speed so long as you work up to it but I tend to deduct a few tenths of a speaker point for excessive speed since PF was never designed to be a technical debate event and I feel like that's going against the event standard as written by the NSDA. But if you want to spread then I will not automatically preclude you from winning the round and I will be perfectly capable of following along.

BOTH: Show me you care about your arguments, and show me why I should vote for you. I see plenty of debates where there's clash, but tell me why your side comes out on top at the end of the day. If both sides have the same position some clash will get declared a wash, and there's never a wash in debate because one side always does a better job fulfilling the value or criterion or impact better than the other side. Just saying you're winning an argument does not make it true, show me why you're winning and trace the progress of that clash for me. I do flow, but I'm not a fan of teams saying "extend contention ___" and then providing no reason why I should do that. Again, tell me why the opponent's response or lack thereof is sufficient to warrant extending something.

Other than that, have fun! I definitely notice when students are enjoying themselves and tend to give an extra style point (or speaker points in speech and PF) or two for that.

I have been judging Speech and Debate for over ten years.

As far as speed goes with regard to debate- spread at your own risk. If I can understand you, there is no problem. If I can't understand what you are saying, it makes no difference how good your argument was. I have to be able to hear and understand what you are saying to win.

I'm not nit-picky when it comes to the intricate details. It's very simple- whichever team makes the better argument and defends it better will win. Present an articulate, well researched, well reasoned argument and you'll be fine.

the quickest way to lose a debate with me is to be flippant, dismissive, or disrespectful of the other team.

I evaluate based on flow. Stay topical and be respectful, but also provide clash. Jokes are appreciated. 

I prefer clear, concise, easy to follow debates. Please sign post and clearly reference both your previous points and your competitors. Make it clear why I should vote for you. Avoid dropping arguments but highlight those that have been dropped by your opponent. Stay respectful to your competitor. I take this point very seriously :). I have been judging since 2008 but still consider myself less technical/more lay person.

For congressional debate judging, I would pay attention to the contents, the logics of evidence and how it supports the argument. In later rounds of delivery, I am emphasized on rebuttal to previous representatives, which is critical as we are in a congress debate. Most importantly, please enjoy your debate!

For email chain: yilin@modernbrain.com

1. I did not compete in speech and debate but have been involved in speech and debate since 2016. I’ve Judged and watched a fair amount of rounds, mostly in speech, with some in Congress and PF. Also judged a few rounds in LD and other form of debates.
2. Speech and debate are such amazing activities, enjoy yourself and do your best!
3. Please be respectful and kind.
4. If you see me in a speech round, know that I care about authenticity, evidence, creativity, and presentation.
5. If you see me in a debate round, please don’t spread, and be clear so I can understand you. Tell me where I should be flowing. Tell me why you are winning. Tell me why should I vote for you.
6. Have FUN!

My paradigm boils down to four points:

1. Please provide me with a framework/weighing mechanism for the round.

2. Do not spread. I will put my pen down if you're going too quickly for me to understand.

3. Tag your points and subpoints––as a judge, I like to be able to strike through these points as the other team tackles them, or else to draw them through several speeches. That way, it's very clear who won and who lost, and little is left up to my own biases/personal paradigm.

4. Be nice to each other :)

Mostly a flow judge who appreciates, in cross, civility, clear questions, and direct answers to said questions—experienced in Worlds, PF, LD and Congress. Speak clearly; don't play stupid evidence games. I'm not into K's or attempting to win a round on things not topical to the round. Sometimes in PF I won't flow all the way through focusing more on who wins the offense of the round.=

Congress specific: Advance arguments, challenge one another and know procedure. I will vote up great POs, great congressional-style speakers, and those who are functioning in debate mode (not just speech mode).

General Experience and Views

I've been participating in debate, as either a coach, judge, or competitor since 2017. Most of my competitive experience is in Congressional Debate, but I have ample experience with PF and LD as well. For all events, I will weigh heavily against students who spread in their speeches. I don't want to be shared on your cases, it should be able to speak for itself and you should be articulate enough for me to be able to flow everything.

Congress

Clash is my number one priority for congress, this is what makes or breaks a round. If you do not incorporate clash with other students in your speech (with the exception of authorship and first negative speakers), then you are not going to do well. You should also be clashing during questioning by asking hard-hitters, not softballs or fluff.

I prefer for there to be some signposting during a congress speech, although you have limited time so I won't be too harsh on this. At the very least there needs to be some organizational structure.

As a congress judge, I DO FLOW. This means that I will be weighing not just on individual speeches, but how you are able to defend yourself in your own questioning period and how you respond to clash with your arguments in other student's questioning periods. If someone clashes with a point you made and you have no response in questioning or in another followup/crystallization speech, this will reflect poorly on your ballot.

A final score for a congress round is not supposed to be equal to your average speech score (though it can be and often works out that way), it is an indicator of your overall performance in the round, including factors like questioning, decorum, chamber presence, etc.

For POs, you do not need to stand out or be the most visible person in the room. In fact, it is often better for you to do your job as unimposingly as possible. As the leader of the student congress, you have a responsibility to uphold all rules and procedures and you should not rely too heavily on your parli or other students to help you fulfill that role. Make sure you are calling out prefacing and not unfairly prioritize certain people during questioning. Otherwise, you should not seek to impress me all that much. If the round runs smoothly and there are no major conflicts or hiccups, you will do well as PO. Finally, I really really really don't want to see any POs state the number of speeches and questions given during the round and I don't want to hear about which bills passed and failed. Orders of the Day is clearly defined in the rule book as a calling back of any tabled bills that have yet to be voted on, nothing more.

PF and LD

These debate events are much more independent so as your judge, I don't want to have to hold your hand or walk you through the round at all. I will be keeping time but I expect you do the same. Don't spread in your constructive, don't be abusive in questioning, be mindful of your decorum while your opponent is speaking, and I'll be happy.

For how I weigh rounds, it will vary depending on the content of the debate. I'm not always going to favor the side that wins on framework if their case is simply worse and they lost on most contentions. Similarly, I'm not always going to favor the side that had the greatest number of contentions extend if that speaker was spreading or their framework was inadequate. Make voting issues clear and convincing in your FF/NR2/AR2 and if your voters match the extended framework, that's how I'll weigh most rounds.

During CX, don't waste your opponent's time by bringing in new arguments. You can make arguments in questioning, but don't sit there and just pre-flow your case during CX, that's annoying.

I am a parent judge and Sunvite 2020 is my first-time judging LD. I am interested in politics, philosophy, and economics, and as such I appreciate substantive debate about the topic. Please debate at a reasonable speed. I will do my best to flow, but if you spread, I cannot guarantee I will get all your arguments down. Please avoid Ks, Theory Shells, CPs, and confusing NCs & Tricks.

Yes to the email chain: hannah.wilson@harker.org

It's important to me that judges act like educators (and by that I mean that I understand it's about the debaters and not me + professional boundaries are important). Debate is hard and we're all learning. My goal is to help make the experience as educationally valuable and fun as possible.

My debate experience: I did one year of PF in high school, one year of policy in high school, and three years of policy in college (2 at Weber and 1 at Concordia). I was an assistant coach at Copper Hills High School for 2 years, and a speech/congress coach at The Harker School for 4 years. I am now the head of the middle school program at The Harker School, coaching all the speech and debate events.

Policy & LD:

-I'm a competent person, but don't assume I have deep topic knowledge (especially with LD topics changing so often!). Don't assume I know what an acronym means. Don't assume I already know the link chain for the generic topic args. Don't assume I know about your aff. Even if I already do know about all of the things already, I think good debate requires painting the picture every time instead of just jumping to the end.

-Speed: Slow down and be clear on your analytics!!!!!! It seems like judges are just flowing off of docs, which is incentivizing people to spread theory/t/framework to get through more, but I am not that judge. I haven't judged a debate yet where I felt someone went too fast in the cards for me to keep up and follow. It's the keeping that same speed throughout all your analytics + lack of clarity and emphasis on the things you think are important that becomes the problem.

-I think signposting is so important! I'd much prefer a speech that says things like "on the circumvention debate" "on the link debate" "they say x we say y" than speeches that read as one big essay/overview. I'll still flow it, but the chances I miss a little thing that you decide to blow up later go up when your signposting is poor.

-While I've coached and judged LD, I never did it so some of the quirks are still foreign. I've heard the word tricks, but don't know what that is. The brief explanations I've received have me skeptical, but I'll listen to any arg with warrants and an impact.

-Theory: I have a high threshold for theory. I'm fine with debates about debate, but I don't know if I've ever seen a theory speech that goes in depth enough to do that well. If your theory shell was a full and cohesive argument in the constructive (i.e. the violation was specific and clear + the impact was specific and clear) and it's conceded entirely I'll vote for it. If it's like a one sentence just incase thing in the constructive, I probably don't think it was a full argument so even if they conceded it I might not buy it. Condo will be hard to win. If they are really reading *that* many off case, those arguments are probably very underdeveloped and some could even be answered by a few reasonable analytics. Do not read disclosure theory in front of me if it's the first debate on a new topic. The theory I'm most likely to be persuaded by is perf con.

-Framework: I'll happily vote for framework. Be specific about what ground you've lost and why it matters. Education > Fairness impacts. Affs need to prove their reps are desirable before weighing extinction against Ks.

-Ks: Make sure your link is specific to the aff. Be specific about how and what your alt solves. If it's an epistemology alt that's fine, but I need you to do thorough explanation of why that's the preferable way to debate and a sufficient enough reason to get my ballot. Don't assume I have a background in your specific K.

-Disads: Got a soft spot for a good politics disad. I'd prefer to watch a debate with core topic disads and a strong link than a new disad that might have a weaker link. Will still vote on it if they don't have answers, but I prefer watching a debate with clash. Don't assume I have background on your disads. Explain the story clearly.

Public Forum:

-Y'all should just start sending all of your evidence. It's a waste of my time and yours to wait for evidence to be called to slowly send over things card by card. It will also hold everyone to higher evidence standards if the community starts evidence sharing and debates will get better.

-I know there is some division on this, but I do think the first rebuttal speech should still talk about their case. It's good to start filtering the debate through your impacts right away.

Congress:

Honestly, y'all don't need paradigms. This is a speech event and if you're thinking of it as a debate event you should reorient your strategy. That said, I know people want to read paradigms anyways so... I really value rebuttals. Constructives can do well in front of me, but if you give more than one speech in a round and both are constructives I'll feel like that's because you don't know how to be off script. Remember you are in a room with a bunch of other students... it's hard for your judges to remember all of you. Be an active participant in questioning and the house to help yourself stand out. Cheesy, but I think of the round in terms of who I would want to be my representative. Not necessarily because they agree with all the things I already think, but because they are actively engaged in questioning, are good at responding to opposing arguments, and have a nice balance between pathos and logos. Greatest speeches might not get my 1 if they are disengaged from every other part of the round.

I have been either competing, coaching, & judging for 20 years. My coaching expertise is primarily in Congress, Original Oratory, & Informative Speaking, though I have experience with any/all events. I am a coach at Flintridge Preparatory & The Westridge School, and Curriculum Director of OO/Info at the Institute for Speech & Debate (ISD). I believe that the Speech & Debate events are far more complementary than we acknowledge, & that they’re all working toward the same pedagogical goals. Because debate is constantly changing, I value versatility & a willingness to adapt.

PF: I'd rather not need to read any docs/evidence in order to decide how I'm voting, but if it comes down to that, I will (begrudgingly) scrutinize your evidence. Feel free to run any experimental/non-traditional arguments you want, but please make these decisions IN GOOD FAITH. Don't shoehorn theory in where it doesn't apply & don't run it manipulatively. I am admittedly not techy-tech girl, but I am always listening comprehensively & flowing.

In Congress rounds, I judge based on a competitor’s skill in the following areas: argumentation, ethicality, presentation, & participation.

Argumentation: Your line of reasoning should be clear & concise; in your speeches & your CX, you should answer the questions at hand. Don’t sacrifice clarity for extra content – there should be no confusion regarding why the bill / resolution results in what you’re saying. You can make links without evidence, but they must be logically or empirically sound.

Ethicality: Evidence is borrowed credibility; borrow honestly. A source should necessarily include its date & the publication in which it appeared, & should not be fabricated. No evidence is better than falsified evidence. Additionally, competitors should remember that although you may not be debating real legislation, the issues at hand are very real, as are the people they affect. An ethical debater does not exploit real world tragedy, death, or disaster in order to “win” rounds.

Presentation: Congressional Debate is the best blend of speech skills & debate ability; what you say is just as important as how you say it. The best speakers will maintain a balance of pathos, ethos, & logos in both their content & delivery style. Rhetoric is useful, but only if its delivery feels authentic & purposeful.

Participation: Tracking precedence & recency is a good way to participate – it helps keep the PO accountable, & demonstrates your knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure. Questioning is an integral part of Congress; I like thoughtful, incisive questioning that doesn’t become adversarial or malicious. Both your questions & your answers should be pertinent & succinct. Above all, I am a big fan of competitors who are as invested in making the chamber better as they are in bettering their own ranks. The round can only be as engaging, lively, and competitive as you make it - pettiness brings everyone down.