I am a lay judge. I have never debated before in my life, but I have judged multiple tournaments over the past couple years. My husband debated all through high school and is now coaching so I have some knowledge of the different events. I am strictly a speech judge and I vote on how well you keep me engaged. I was into theater in high school so I like it when you put a lot of emotion in your speech.

Please put me on the E-mail chain: baileybrunyer7@gmail.com

I am a debater at WSU and I have been apart of the debate community for 5 years. I have debated and/or debated against almost every argument that you have probably ever heard of. I have been switching between being the 2A and the 2N almost my whole debate career. Honestly just do whatever you want and if you win it, I will vote on it. Here is some more specific shit.

Affirmative

There are two thing that you need coming out the 1AC

1: An impact that is generated for the status quo

2: A way to solve those impacts

If you don't have both or either of these, there is very little chance that I will vote for you

FW

All of debate is a performance and all research must first require an interpretation of how debate should look or happen. I believe that the best interpretation is that there is always room for any interpretation about debate. Form there we can debate on which interp is just better, that may include predictability or it may include inclusivity.

DA

Offense is key! if you don't have this on at least one of the flows, there is very little chance that you could win. I believe that a team could win on running only defense, but no one wants to give or listen to that 2NR. I don't think that enough 2As will go for things like the theory level threshold of the link. For example, I think there is something to be said about fill-in DAs because it seems to not be an effectual consequence of the Aff but rather just something that happens after the plan. On the other side, I think that there are issues with that arguing swell. The takeaway should be that DAs should not just get away with the links that they read if they seem unfair on a meta level of any offense.

CP/Alternatives

I really like seeing unique CP/alternatives but if you don't have a net ben then there is no reason to vote for them if the Aff. teams reads a perm, duh. Even if you have a boring CP but you think it could win, then read it. With that said, I think it would be really cool to see some perm theory.

Theory

I really like seeing good theory debates but something that I would like to see more theory shells talk about voting issues that are more kritikal but I done;t mind education and fairness being the voting issues.

I have never judged or participated or formal debate before though in english classes I enjoyed being able to learn persuasive writings and judging two different sides of an argument. I am excited to get to know the structures and how the debates are formatted.

I judge the rounds based off of general who does it best. Speaker points as well as the flow, sources, and connection to personal beliefs. Professionalism is huge with me. I take speaker points due to rudeness and arrogance. Be cordial and kind and that will go a long way with me.

As I am new to formal debate I do not care for spreading. I want you to speak clearly and calmly so that I can understand and have an effective flow to judge from. I will tell you if I can not understand you twice and if you do not fix after that I will put my pen down and stop judging your speak as well as dock you speaker points.

Keep the cases so that I can understand and follow. Back up your arguments and keep things on topic.

Biggest thing is have a good professional debate and also have fun. Keep it light and understandable and Good Luck.

I am a former high school/college debate participant in policy and extemporaneous speaking. I also coached debate at the high school level back when evidence and speeches were on paper and I am currently an assistant high school coach.

Policy

Arguments should be balanced with evidence and logic. Speak clearly and road map for me. I prefer impacts or benefits to be quantifiable but I’m flexible if strong enough arguments are made.

Individual Events

Speech competitors will see a higher ranking if they are articulate and tell me why their topic is important. A strong conclusion is a must for a top ranking. Higher rankings for memorized speeches.

LD

I will judge the round based on persuasiveness of arguments. Strong connection of value to criterion is a must.

PF

Persuasiveness and ability to demonstrate an understanding of arguments is key. Please clash. Clarify voters.

Updated 10/1/20 for UK

nicholasjlassen@gmail.com please include me on the email chain- you're also welcome to email me for any other questions as well

I debated in high school and college and I am the current head coach at Bingham HS in South Jordan, UT.

College Topic: I am well versed in debate but relatively new to this topic. Please explain important acronyms the first time you use them.

High School Topic: I have several tournaments on this topic already and I am pretty familiar with the literature base.

Theory - I really enjoy a good topicality debate. However, my expectation for the negative to win is that they can clearly define the impacts of the argument i.e. how has the aff been unfair to you directly, what grounds have been lost, why is your model for education better? I dislike time suck theory that you are never going to go for-i.e. things like incredibly thin pics such as capitalize the L in the word lands and disclosure theory. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you want me to vote on theory, you have to be good at articulating the impacts.

CP's - I believe that counter plans really need to be mutually exclusive either through actor or avoidance of a DA or something or else, otherwise it's really easy to buy the affirmatives claims of the perm. The permutation should be a test of competition towards the counterplan. In the plan v counterplan debate it is important to prove why your side is net beneficial either through some DA story or winning some solvency mitigation towards the aff or the CP.

DA's - My expectation on the DA debate is really articulate the link story. I think a lot of generic da's are easy to non/unique out of. As far as the link story goes, I need a good internal link chain. Please make sure that I can see how we get from the aff to point b and then point c.

Politics - I have a strong tendency to default to more recent evidence on politics disads. This can definitely create a research burden but if you want to run politics then you should know that this means that a lot of the time, it boils down to a recency/card quality debate.

K's

Aff - I want to know that your K aff means something. I am much more likely to buy into your criticism if there is some sort of personal connection. Make sure you are ready for the framework debate. I need to know why your framework is better for education than the negative or why I should choose to recognize your role of the ballot versus theirs.

Neg - I am open to most K's on the neg. I know it practically impossible to have hyper specific link cards for every aff. But with that in mind, please articulate how the aff links through a thorough analysis. Please make sure that you articulate the alternative well if you want to go for it -I want to know what the world of the alternative looks like and what happens when I sign my ballot neg. If I am left confused about what the world of the alt looks like, it will be hard for you to win the debate.

Method v Method

The one point I want to make here is that I have a higher threshold for voting on the permutation then i do in a plan v cp debate. I hold the aff to a similar burden as the negative, I would not let them just stand up and coopt your advocacy so I most likely wont let you stand up and just say perm do both and gain 100% access to their advocacy. I want the competing ideologies weighed against each other and to know why your world is "better" then the opposing teams.

Please don't be rude, disrespectful, racist, sexist, transphobic, etc. I will doc your speaks and most likely drop you. It's not welcome in debate or in society overall.

I am a former high school debater who has experience in extemp, oratory, and informative speaking. However, I have also helped coach debate to middle schoolers, so I have a basic knowledge of nearly all speech and debate events.

I weigh both the delivery and content of your speech or piece equally, but overall will vote for the individual(s) who did best. Tell me why I should vote for your side and show me why your message or side is relevant. If I can't understand what you are saying, I won't vote for you; so please speak clearly and at a good pace. Be respectful of others who are in your round, and most of all- have fun!

If you have any questions or didn't receive any feedback please feel free to contact me: bsperschon@gmail.com

Former coach at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah.

I want to do as little work for your argument as I have to. If you're going to go fast, I want to be on the email chain. Mac.walker24@gmail.com. There is no argument that I won't vote for as long as you explain it well. If you have any specific questions before the round about my preferences, please don't be afraid to reach out to me and ask.

Debate: Debate is about clash. That being said, if you decide to run a "K" and it does not logically fit with the topic, or opponents spend the debate arguing topicality rather than the topic, this could cost points/ranking. Contentions, frameworks, plans, etc. need to be clear. Roadmaps are helpful, but not required. Be ready to show evidence and have logical connections to your contentions, reasoning.

If you are speaking too quickly for me to understand, I will give you a signal. If you continue to go too fast for me to understand, and not seem to acknowledge my signal, this will impact your scoring.

Congress: I am looking for a well-presented argument on the bill presented. Memorization is good, but not key. However, you should not be reading directly from your speech, especially further into the debate season. Evidence and logic are preferred in your speech, with references to your sources. My scoring is based on how many quality speeches are given, how many quality questions you as between speeches, and how knowledgeable you are about the topic you are presenting. Being a quality chair who is able to control the house/senate is key as well.

Speech: I am looking for a good speaker, someone I would enjoy listening to, and watching all day. Speakers should have clear voice, appropriate tone, and gestures, as well as props appropriate to topic (as event permits). Speeches should also have clear organization which matches topic and tone. Appropriate presentation and dress are a must.

In all events, be respectful and polite. Attack your opponents case, not your opponent, and always leave, if not as friends, at least acquaintances.