Hello! I am parent judge with limited judging experience, but I have judged all four years that my son has done debate, so I do have good knowledge of the events. Try your best to speak clearly, and I will give high speaks.

Hello, Greetings !!!

I am a parent judge and have some experience judging public forum debate format. I am aware of incredible time & effort debaters put in for preparation and how much they value and look for judge's feedback. I would like to be fair in judging and would suggest following,

1. Speak Clear,loud, confident and concise.
2. Speed - Like medium so that i can flow. No spreading.
3. Please do not bring up new arguments in Summary and Final Focus. Extend your arguments and collapse in Summary and FF.
4. Do not personally attack or use offensive language towards your opponent. I expect this to be a sportive and enjoyable experience.
5. Stick to the time limits.
6. I expect clear evidence and warranting when supporting arguments.
7. Voters - If you want me to vote for you, please make it clear what arguments you are winning on.

Good Luck debating !!!

I am an experienced public forum debater from North Carolina and also debated on the national circuit several times.

Edit: If I am judging LD, just apply what I wrote here for PF for your LD round. I do not know the timings of speeches so please time yourself. I'd rather not focus on keeping time and would like to focus on flowing.

Things to look out/consider while debating.

- I can handle fast speaking but if it is so fast that I can't understand, I won't flow it. I would prefer speaking slower than faster

- NO SPREADING

- Anything that was said in final focus must be extended from summary otherwise I won't vote off of it.

- PLEASE GIVE ME VOTERS. I will only vote for you where you tell me to vote. Even if the argument that you want me to vote off of is absurd, I will sign the ballot for you if there is no response, conceded, or flat out won.

- Signpost where you are going, ESPECIALLY IN SUMMARY. If you are going to give me a big picture summary, let me know before you start what side of the flow the extensions are on. If you are giving me a down the flow summary, give me a roadmap on where you are starting and where you will go to.

- Evidence. When reading evidence in case, slow down while saying the author's name or publisher so I can correctly identify it when it is extended later in the round. Paraphrasing cards is ok but do not take it out of context. If a card is called and is deemed to be incorrect from what was said in round, tell me to call for the card and stress it. I will call for it if it is an important card in the round. Do not tell me to call for the card if it actually says what is said, I will drop you for wasting my time.

Please have your evidence pulled up in a timely manner when pulled up. I understand that it takes time to sort through many different files to find the right card, but if it takes way longer than it should, I will drop the card.

- WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH. If you do not tell me why your side is more important when both sides have offense extended, I will have to use my own cost-benefit analysis to determine which is the best outcome. Don't just tell me that the long term is more important than the short term, explain why. Even if you tell me that econ is more important than lives, I will buy it as long as you tell me why this is true.

- Lastly, WARRANTING. If you are not able to provide a reason to why a claim reaches its impact, I am most likely going to drop that argument. Just cause John Doe from Harvard says that something happens, it really doesn't matter to me. Explain the logic and paint a narrative of what is going to happen if I don't vote for your side.

- Frontlining in second rebuttal is not necessary but is very helpful for you as the 1st speaker will not have to frontline everything in summary. No new responses or arguments in final focus. Responses in summary can happen but only if the argument that is being responded to came in the speech just prior.

- Do not offend or personally attack anyone in the room at any point in the debate. This will most certainly make me not like you and lose speaks or potentially lose the round.

Yes I know this may seem a little bit scary but please do have fun in round as I believe that debate is an activity that is meant to be enjoyed. Even small jokes/exchanges in crossfire is enough to lighten up a heavy debate. I will give you a bump in speaks if you are seen as lighthearted and funny, but debate correctly as well.

PLEASE if you have any questions about my RFD come ask me if you see me in the hallways (even if you lost) as I will most likely give you some advice for your next round or tournament.

I am a lay judge with a kid in debate. I do flow, but at a conversational speed (no cases over 750 words preferably and definitely no spreading). Overall, the faster you go, the less content I'll be able to understand.

For crossfire, please be civil. Let someone talk, but once you've been talking for 30 seconds straight on a question, I think you should try to let the other person talk.

I prefer easily understandable cases, calm rebuttals, and pay attention to crossfire. I won't evaluate new arguments made in the final focus unless the first final focus responds to a new argument in the second summary.

Hey guys, I did PF for about 3.5 years with decent success on the local and national circuit, so I know how the debate will go. Also, you can go any speed just don't speak to the point of spreading. Don't be nervous I don't expect you to be extremely serious at all times you can crack a joke before the debate begins or comment about my Mamamoo or Playboi Carti stickers on my laptop. Let's go over each part of the debate and what I value:

General Rules

*I will disclose at a tournament if and only if they allow it but always feel free to ask me about the rules

*There are a lot of germs out so fist bumps or air fives are greatly appreciated

*Please do not cap (lie) about info and create a situation where officials need to included in

* Please have your cards ready to be called if needed because I do not enjoy spending a minute for a team trying to find a card that they have probably been using for two tournaments before this situation

* If you want to wow me knowing the in's and out's of your information i.e sources and dates is Pog ( really good ), knowing the opponent's sources and calling them out is an absolute 200 IQ/5Head play and I will be in awe of the brain waves radiating from your cranium

* Even if the debate is sloppy still fist bump, shake hands, or acknowledge the work the everyone has put in to get to this point

Debate Rules

1. The constructive

Please speak decently loud because my hearing is the best, but do not yell at me. If you want some more closure you can ask me a good pitch before the debate. Also, it is okay if you stumble on words just please recover and do not panic because of a mistake we are all human.

2.

CrossFire/Grand Cross

Please be respectful, one of my biggest pet peeve during the debate would be when someone would filibuster and complain that their opponent would not let them respond or just generally speak over there opponents in a rude manner. With the previous statement in mind do not be passive during the debate because confidence is key and is a general component for me to vote for you (remember as a judge I'm a blank canvas and you are the artist). The order for cross should be question-answer-question-answer, but if the opposition does not have a question exploit that weakness and continue on. In grand cross please don't introduce new arguments or read new cards because they will not be weighed are a waste of time.

3. Rebuttal

PLEASE SIGN POST! Although im pretty leaniant with mistakes during the debate this one of skills that I value the most because if an argument is being fed towards me during rebuttal especially without structure I might miss it or not understand it fully which would be disadvantageous towards you. Also, I like off time roadmaps even if the direction of the rebuttal is predictable because they give me a break to ingest fully what is to come. Finally just because you overload me with a lot of reasons against your opponent's case does not mean you just completely eviscerated them, unless they fail to recognize them or they are quality arguments.

4. Summary

Since I did first speaker for all of my tournaments that I competed at except for about four, I have grown to realize how important the summary is and how hard it is. You guys have a little bit of a break with 3 minutes, because back in my day we only had 2 minutes ( I wanted to have an older voice for this part but this is on a laptop and I'm not reading out loud to you and I just graduated high school this year so I thought it was funny but to be honest it was not). I really need the 1st speakers to pop off and not int (INTentionally feed/ do bad) for the summary. The summary is where I will be weighing the majority of the debate on. For the summary I need the 1st speakers to please WEIGH and show me why you win and the other team loses. ALSO, I still need you to signpost through all speeches.

5. Final Focus

For the 2nd speaking team please do not say any new arguments that can not be responded to by the opposition. Flow over the voters to which should have been introduced in the summary and generally collapse on the debate with telling me why you won. To be honest, just take a deep breath and go crazy; and I believe you will be successful.

Hello,

I am from North Carolina and have competed on the Carolina West circuit for 3 years. Thus, I can flow almost anything that I can understand. I am fine with speed but if you are excessively fast than I will gesture to slow down (don't be startled, it typically means I actually am interested in what you are saying, I just am missing key points). Moreover, this means I can pick up on the jargon that you will use in round, but if I am really lost I will give you a very confused look. Below are things I want and don't want in a round.

UPDATE: I am a sophomore in college now, so I am just a bit rusty. Please note that I am not in my prime anymore :(

UPDATE 2: I honestly do not know anything... go easy

UPDATE 3 (Oct. 8 2022): IT HAS BEEN SO LONG PLEASE HELP.

Things that will get you speaks and wins:

1. Argumentation. I will vote on arguments NOT on presentation. Please, please, please extend your arguments properly, preferably with cards and impacts, it makes them easy to vote for.

2. Weighing/Framework. If you can tell me WHY I should vote for economic benefits over lives lost with a good reason, I am fine with signing the ballot that way. However, that doesn't mean you can just tell me in final that lives don't matter and expect an easy win because you lost the lives argument.

3. Signposting/Roadmaps. Please use these techniques in order to make it easier for me to flow your speeches and apply your arguments correctly. If I have to guess on where your turn belongs than I will probably get it wrong and you won't be happy.

4. Crossfire. This is not vital to the round and will not get you a win unless it is critical to the round. If you absolutely slay your opponent in cross, great! I love a bit of humor, banter, and even satire in cross. I think it makes the round more enjoyable, and therefore will give you a bump in speaks. If something really critical comes up in crossfire and you think that I should flow it, please address the idea in the following speech.

5. Evidence. This is obviously the most important part of Public Forum. A few key issues with evidence. One, please at least tell me the last name of the author and date of the card in case and in subsequent speeches. Also, if you are trying to indict a piece of evidence, expect me to call it if it is really important to the round or if that is your only response to their entire argument. Lastly, please give me the reasoning and warranting behind the card instead of just saying "we are right because Callan Hazeldine said so"

Things that will lose you the round and get bad speaks:

1. Being A Jerk. There is a fine line between standing your ground in cross and defending your time to speak and steamrolling your opponent. Just be careful (profanity, abusive, or harsh language). Also, any racist, xenophobic, sexist, or any discriminatory remarks will almost certainly lose you the round and possibly have consequences beyond that.

2. Summary/Final Discrepancy. If your summary goes for your C1 and the final goes for C2, I may throw a fit. I know that the summary is one of the most difficult speeches in the round, but it should match the weighing/impacts given in final. If these speeches don't give me basically the same narrative, or at least FF be a part of the summary narrative, I will have a hard time signing my ballot for you.

A couple more key pieces of information:

1. Please have your evidence. I understand that it can take a minute to try and find anything that they call for but if it lasts more than 3 minutes, I will begin to become skeptical. I probably will not interfere but I will definitely not enjoy my time being wasted.

2. Timing. I may time if the round really needs it but I much rather prefer that the opponents keep each other in check with time. For prep, please take care of that as I will be evaluating the flow during that time, not counting your seconds.

3. Have Fun! Remember, this event is supposed to be enjoyable for everyone (including you!). I would love to see your passion on the topic and I know how intense a debate round can get. However, please understand this community is a second family for some. While the topics and solutions we debate are super important and have real-life consequences, I do not think that rules out enjoying the round.

4. About the decision. I will try and give my RFD at the end of every round I judge because I prefer to have it still fresh in my mind while also giving you the opportunity to ask questions. So, if you feel like I missed something or want clarification, then please feel free to ask questions, bring up concerns, or anything you feel as if you want to talk to me about. Moreover, if you want more detailed feedback (specific speeches, case ideas, etc.) then go ahead and either meet with me later in the day or get my contact info. I love this event with all my heart and all I could ask for is to see some great debate. I want to help you all learn and get better so take advantage of that.