Neenah Invitational
2019 — Neenah, WI/US
Novice Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideIf you have any questions, you can contact me at tannercronce@gmail.com. This is also how you add me to the email chain. Let me know when you do it.
Please don't try to judge-adjust too much... this should serve more as a guideline to introduce yourself to me.
What am I good for?:
Good For:
--K Affs
--K on the negs
--DA-case debates
--Politics/elections debates
--T (If you feel you can argue this competently, do it, but most people don't)
--Anything, honestly... I am not a fan of conditionality for negs, though, unless it's just for one item.
--I will vote on disclosure theory
More In-Depth Background (Before Round Version After):
SQUO: I'm not going to pretend like I don't know anything about the status quo, so don't act or pretend like something is happening that isn't or vice versa. (e.g., If an opponent has a slightly dated card about a poll and you cross-ex and say, "Well, aren't these cards outdated?" and try to imply like there's been any radical difference between then and now in terms of poll numbers, I'm not going to care for that unless you have something crazy or radical to back it up that would be substantial to the debate. Don't cross-ex dumb questions.)
TLDR: Explain what you're saying, actually respond to the other team, and do good link/internal link work and you'll probably be fine.
SPEED: Go as fast as you want but Read LOUD and CLEAR. If you are mumbling through your evidence, I will not hear you...
I have an auditory disability that makes it hard to hear soft sounds. Clear and loud is the best way for me to comprehend evidence, but again, you don't have to be slow.
Things of note before your round starts:
If you are trying to be mean simply for the purpose of being mean because you want to overwhelm the other team and make them look bad, I will see right through it.
Flashing:
Add me to the email chain
Road-Mapping is cool
Voting:
I vote off the flow (tabs judge) so I'll really listen to any argument as long as you wrap up the round and give me a reason to vote for you and why your impacts outweigh the other team's impacts. Clash is important, and I consider warranted analysis something that's vital and is often missing from high school debate rounds. Unexplained arguments and shadow extending is a frequent reason for me voting down teams that could have otherwise very well won. Additionally, I think internal link/link is probably the most important part of most arguments, so keep that in mind. If you try to confuse the other team instead of debating the specifics of your policy, I will vote down your team more than likely.
SPEAKER POINTS FOR ALL:
Some things that are just generally annoying to me/could get speaker points docked...
1.) Being an a-hole in your speeches towards someone or cross-x or being overbearing to your partner, I will have more leniency when it comes to those who may be discriminated against for being “too aggressive”, so don’t worry (I’m talking more about people who usually identify as women who have this issue)
2.) Personally rambling to me during your speech ("Judge, you have to vote for this judge" over and over). I understand it's a habit for some, but avoid it if possible.
3.) Trying to be clever by asking questions like "How's it going" in Cross-X
4.) Sucking up to me... for the love of God, do not do this. I debated for years, and you don't need to pretend you like me or the other team. Be mean to me if you want, I do not care, just don’t pretend like I’m any different than you in the round.
5.) Saying "this card is on fire" or equally absurd buzzwords
6.) Not Road Mapping In-Round (Just say onto ___) Trying to trick the other team by not listing your advantages by name only hurts my flow for you. Just do it.
7.) DO NOT walk around the room during your speech or someone else's speech unless it's to grab evidence. I will heavily dock you.
8.) I will not dock you for speaking for your partner in the middle of their speech if you need to include something... I will listen to you. Your partner doesn't need to repeat it. Just know that I will take that into consideration if you're doing massive chunks of a speech and the negs run an education T argument.
IN-ROUND STUFF
K Affs
I'll listen to any K aff and will vote on them if you give me a reason to, but just remember you need to explain what your advocacy is pretty well since I only debated policy in high school. Explaining your advocacy is a must, and not having a good grasp of what you're arguing probably won't do very well with me as a judge, and neither will relying on ridiculously lengthy overviews and blocks through the 2NR. I will vote on either a Policy or critical Framework, but you need to argue it well from both sides and should probably spend a bit more time on it than usual in front of me. Also, I like a thorough explanation of how the alt functions; otherwise, it's pretty hard to say the K has any solvency.
Okay with identity args, high-theory, soft-left, just explain how the advocacy functions and solves
Make sure you are not name-dropping and assuming everyone knows who or what you are talking about.
Just make sure if you run a K Aff, tell me what your connection to FMS or DCS is.
Ks
Links: I'm not as persuaded by links of omission or links to the status quo unless you can explain how the aff furthers the harms you've isolated. Specific links are the best, but I'm persuaded by both links to the plan text and links to the advantages/impacts/representations of the aff.
Impacts: I'll evaluate the pre-fiat and post-fiat impacts of the k. Framing is important to tell me what kinds of impacts I should evaluate and whether theory should come first.
Alts/litbase: I probably don't know your theories or your authors, so be sure to explain how the alt functions and try to minimize jargon and name-dropping at every level of the flow. I'll vote on all kinds of alts as long as you explain how they function and win solvency of something (not necessarily the case, depending on the round and how impacts are weighed.)
Perm: I won't vote on a perm that wasn't clearly articulated in the 2AC. You need to explain how it functions so that I can evaluate it weighed against the alt as a stand-alone.
If you have any questions, you can contact me at tannercronce@gmail.com. This is also how you add me to the email chain. Tell me when you do it.
Cross-Ex
I don’t flow cross-ex unless it’s clarifying for me, which means that you need to point out anything you find out during cross-ex during your speech.
No statements during cross-x questioning. Period. I will not flow statements and will disregard a response to the statement unless I feel it clarifies those who are being cx'd, not the ones making the statement. I also will not flow anything that has nothing to do with their evidence or anything I feel does not connect to the debate itself.
Inform me clearly when you are done with your time, aka when your 1AC is over, when cross-x is over, when your prep is done, etc.
If you feel that the author has specific biases, point them out and explain. I want to know that you know authors and how to identify credible sources. Okay with Open Cross ex as long as you don't dominate your partner's cross-ex
Disadvantages
I'll enjoy a DA debate if it's something relevant with a strong link. Solid impact calc and link analysis from both sides is a must to win in these debates. I hold a fairly high standard for internal links and internal link analysis. Too often, teams don't spend nearly enough time on the specific clash for any of these components, and I'll probably default affirmative if it's lacking from both sides.
Topicality
Just make sure if you run a K Aff, tell me what your connection to FMS or DCS is.
Topicality is a great position and one of the most important for me and unfortunately, hardly anyone goes for it. It has to be run well, though… I get a lot of people who will go for T but do not actually have a fleshed-out reason for me to vote for T. I'll vote on potential abuse. For the love of God, don't read reverse voters on T.
Framework
Framework is often the only option for a debater versed in policy and is a valid strategy. Have internal links to fairness, education, etc.
Counterplans
Competition is important, and if a CP isn't competitive, a perm is a great strategy to go for as long as a reasonable amount is done in the 2AR. That said, I'm most easily convinced by solvency deficit arguments and the negative needs to spend a fair amount of time answering these arguments in the block and 2NR to win on the CP, in addition to warranted analysis on how they solve their net benefit. Additionally, specific solvency advocates are a lot more likely to win you the round with me.
I'm not likely to vote on a CP unless it is actually argued well. I won’t if it’s abusive. I'm definitely not likely to vote on it unless a lot of time is spent on it in the 2NR/2AR. I will vote for it if it is argued exceptionally well without simply reading off blocks.
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About Me
-In high school, I was a debater for all 4 years. I bounced back and forth between policy and pf every year. I graduated from high school in 2016 and have been assisting and judging every year since.
-I have mild Tourettes, so if I clear my throat or make slight odd movements it has nothing to do with you
Paradigm
--One thing I can say is that I flow impacts pretty heavily, so overall I am more of a policymaker.
Things I like
-I LOVE framework and topicality! If a plan isn't topical I have no reason to vote for it!!
-I absolutely love being told what to vote on! You could be the best debater of all time, but if you can't tell me why your ads/disads are better then I have no reason to vote for you! We all know that something like nuclear war is bad. But if the other team gives evidence saying that it's not and you don't respond, I am going to vote as if it were not a bad thing.
Things I don't like
-I am fine with Open CX, but if it's your cross you should be doing the majority of the talking, not your partner.
-Please don't talk to your partner during their speeches.
-I am fine with speed, but I am not a fan of it when it becomes excessive. And it DEFINITELY can be excessive at times. As long as I can understand you I will continue to flow. But faster debating doesn't equal better debating.
Feel free to include me on your email chain if you'd like. kinkintherope@gmail.com I rarely follow along with the speech doc though.
If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Speed- I highly suggest that you do not speed read if I cannot understand you. If I cannot understand what you are saying, then I will not be able to flow.
Kritic-Please make sure that your Kritic makes sense. Do not run an unrelated K if you cannot find a reasonable link.
DA's-Please make sure that you have a strong link. If you run a generic link then that will much more challenging to win on. Explain to me how this DA is triggered, and prove that there is a direct link between the plan and this DA.
T's-If you want to run a T then you must prove in round abuse. Personally, I don't find "potential abuse" as an effective argument. There must be a clear violation by the Affirmative that prohibits you from exercising an argument.
Affirmative-If you want to win the round you should win solvency. Prove to me that implementing your plan will solve for important problems.
Debate Experience:
Four years of high school policy debate at Rufus King High School.
I was a K debater.
Paradigm:
Tabs Judge
Preferences:
Email Chain - Please add me : winegarden9897@gmail.com
Speed - I am okay with speed, but be clear. If I can't understand you, it won't be flowed.
Clash - Every round must hav clash otherwise it would not be much of a round.
Cross Ex - Open cross ex is fine, however if one partner takes initiative when it is your cross ex, you will be penalized. Cross ex is an undervalued tool and strategy that not too many teams take advantage of.
K - I love K's, absolutely run them if you feel comfortable running them. If you don't feel comfortable running them, don't think you have to. I'll vote on any K if you prove that the K is better than the Aff.
DA - Love/hate relationship with them. I hate nuclear war DA's, I find them redundant and unrealistic. This isn't saying I won't vote on it, obviously if it beats out the Aff it will get voted on. DA's with realistic impacts is a much better alternative to Nuke War.
T - Using as a time waster is a valid strategy, however it won't get you very far. If you run T, I prefer you run it in depth and actually go for it. If you actually spent time on creating T files it'll show.
CP - Should be mutually exclusive with the Aff, otherwise, it'll be a boring round.
Affiliation: Homestead High School
I debated policy for Homestead for 4 years 2012-2015
I judge roughly once a month, my knowledge about this topic is very limited so if you're going to throw around fancy acronyms, please explain to me what they mean in the later speeches.
Please put me on the email chain, just ask me for my email before the debate starts.
Speaking
Medium speed is my preference. If you're a novice, please make sure you're not sacrificing clarity for speed.
If you're being unclear, I will say clear once or twice before I stop flowing. It's been a while so I'm not great at flowing everything especially for extremely fast debates (more applicable to varsity debaters).
Speech Preferences:
1. do effective line-by-line, organization is important.
2. Still do good and thorough impact calc especially in the 2NR/2AR
3. Tell me why I should vote for you, be persuasive!
Debate Formalities:
1. No tag-team speeches, your speaks will get hurt by it. I don’t like it when debaters talk through their partners's speeches. If it is not your speech do not talk.
2. No open cross-ex - cx is your opportunity to show me what you know about the topic.
3. I have a big pet peeve of people that blindly read blocks without understanding what arguments their opponents are making. Novices, please know what your varsity blocks are saying. Answering args that don't get brought up shows me that you're not familiar with your arguments, and decreases your ethos in round.
3. I hate it when debaters do not stand for their speeches or refuse to make any eye contact. I believe presentation is very important!
4. I will time your prep, but I can't guarantee timing your CX or speeches. It's good habit for debaters to prep speeches and prep time in most debates anyways.
Arguments
I like DA’s, K’s, Theory, Topicality (if you debate theory well in front of me, you get extra speaks).
The only thing I ask of you is to explain you arguments. For Ks, I know most generic Ks but please explain to me the link, impact, and how your alt solves the link (extend! warrants! that's good!).
Gender based/identity Ks are not my favorite - keep that in mind if that's your A-strat.
I'm also not a fan of many conditional CPs (ie 10 off of just CPs) , especially if they're all very similar. Aff, please just go for condo if that's the 1NC.
Other Notes
Good debaters are able to do effective line by lines and impact calculus. I like debates with lots of clash with persuasive speakers.
For theory debates, I AM willing to vote on RVIs especially if the neg block drops it.