Summit Debate Session 2 Practice Debates
2023 — Boston, US
PF Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI'm Suniva, I'm PF Captain at Trinity, and a current junior. I've been debating for 6 years, doing middle school parli for four of them and then mainly PF and some parli for the other two.
Add me to email chains at suniva.achuthan26@trinityschoolnyc.org.
How I evaluate rounds (the basic stuff):
- WEIGHING!!! Please have weighing on both sides of the flow. Interact with what your opponents say. Otherwise I will vote on who got the closest to analysing and comparing impacts (esp. in parli). IF that doesn't happen I will vote on whoever terminilizes their impacts. And if that doesn't happen at all, I will literally just go off of how many arguments you win on the flow.
- Warrants. Please just have a full argument. Repeating assertions doesn't make your argument believable, but warrants will. I will not think out your argument for you, and if you make me, I will drop you. :)
- Clarity. I think clarity is most important in your argument structure. Please dont make your argument complicated when in doesn't have to be (but do have nuanced arguments if you want). E.g. Dont name your argument "democracy" and then talk about climate change. Dont start with your impact. etc. Secondly, clarity is also important when your speaking, Your opponents should be able to understand what your saying, and so should I. Speaking fast is fine as long as you are clear.
- Clash. Please have it.
- Prog: Don't run it in novice, except maybe T (topicality) (but not formally, just if your opponents are super off topic with their arguments). Otherwise, im fine with any prog args. Also, no frivolous theory please + don't run theory on helpless freshman. On
Other Notes:
- Nothing new in second summary, (or for parli, in the 3rd speeches). I am flowing, so I will catch if something is new. Try me.
- Tech>Truth ... but the crazier the argument the higher threshold I have
- Feel free to dominate cross, just don't be rude.
- Please pre-flow before the round
- defense isn't sticky but also I dont care that much about this
- Be funny
- If you buy me coffee I will pick you up and give you 30 speaks
- I can follow any speed. If you're going over 250 word/minute, send a speech doc to everyone in the round. But PLEASE DON'T GO FAST FOR THE SAKE OF GOING FAST, it just makes you look stupid.
- PLEASE DON'T BE RUDE
- dont lie/misconstrue your cards. i will catch it. (I also don't care if you paraphrase slightly as long as the you don't misconstrue the card AT ALL -- i have a higher standard of accuracy though, if you paraphrase as opposed to just reading cut cards)
- I use she/her pronouns
- If you have any questions about my paradigm, feel free to ask me before round!
- if you are an all male team PLEASE DO NOT run an argument about abortion or one with a fem framing.
- In my RFDs I will misspell things.
- Also, novices especially, if any jargon confuses you, let me know and I will be happy to explain. (e.g. "pick up" means win)
- dont run disclo. i will drop you! :)
Hello, I've been doing debate for two years, so I know what's going on. With that said:
First and foremost, be respectful towards your opponents!
If you spread please send a speech doc! I don't flow cross but I think it's important. Weigh please! If you drop an argument in one speech, don't try to run it in the next one. Please call cards if necessary but don't make it excessive.
olialfe [at] nuevaschool [dot] org AND nuevadocs [at] gmail [dot] com or speechdrop
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In general, I would like to evaluate the debate you want to have. I will likely need less hand holding for policy and k arguments than phil, tricks, or theory, but my biggest in round preference is that you are happy. There are very few circumstances in which I will intervene:
1. I will award one win.
2. I will enforce speech times.
3. I will stop the round if there is a safety concern from a competitor.
4. I will flow the round to the best of my ability and cannot be convinced not to.
5. I will not meet specific requests for speaker points.
6. Excluding issues like disclosure, I will not vote on out of round behavior.
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I am fine with speed and would strongly prefer there to be an email chain. You cannot clear your opponents. All arguments must meet the same burden, and I am relatively unpersuaded by appeals to ethos or requests to "gut check." Requiring warrants and implications for every argument is likely infinitely regressive, but arguments will be easiest to win if they are complete. I will presume neg absent warrants, but have no other defaults.
I have many opinions about what is most strategic in round, but do not think it is my responsibility to enforce them in the community. Ask me pre-round if you have questions about specific arguments or strategies.
conflicts: groves high school (class of 2019), wayne state university (class of 2023, secondary ed major w/ minors in public health & gender, sexuality, and women's studies), detroit country day high school
always put me on the email chain! Literally always! if you ask i will assume you haven't read this! legit always put me on the email chain! lukebagdondebate@gmail.com
pronouns: they/them.
the abridged version:
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do you, and do it well
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don't cheat in ways that require me to intervene
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don't misgender me, or your competitors
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do not assume i am going to vote for you because you say my name a lot
some general stuff:
the more and more i do debate the less i care about what's put in front of me. when i first started debating, i cared very deeply about norms, the resolution, all that jazz. now, if you're willing to read it i'm willing to judge it. i'd rather see an in depth debate with a lot of offense and clash than anything else, and i don't care whether you do that on a T flow vs. a k aff or a cap flow vs. a policy aff.
my least favorite word in the english language (of which is not a slur) is the word "basically." i would rather listen to everyone for the rest of time describe everything as "moist" than listen to you say the word "basically." i've hated this word for years, do not use it. make of that what you will.
it should be said i at one point read a parody aff that involved my partner and i roleplaying as doctor/patient during the 1ac. i care exceedingly little what you want to do with your 8 minute constructive, 3 minute cx, and 5 minute rebuttals - but those speech times are non-negotiable (unless the tournament says otherwise). play a game, eat a salad, ask me about my cat(s), color a picture, read some evidence; but do it within the constraint of a timer.
(this "time fetish" is less of a "respect my time" thing and more of a "i need to know when i can tell tab who i voted for" thing. i take a lot of pride in getting my decision in before repko, and i wish to continue that streak.)
stuff about me as a judge:
i do not follow along in the speech doc. i try not to look at cards. be clear, be concise, be cool. debate is first and foremost a communicative activity. i will only read y'alls ev if there is serious contention, or you tell me to. i HATE DOING THIS, and this very often does not go how people think it will.
if you say "insert re-highlighting" instead of reading the re-highlighting i WILL consider that argument uncarded
bolded for emphasis: people are also saying they can 'insert a caselist' for T flows. this is not a thing. and i will not consider them part of the debate if this occurs.
i do not play poker both because i am terrible at math and because i have a hard time concealing my emotions. i do have pretty bad rbf, but i still think you should look at me to tell what i'm thinking of your speeches/cx.
speaker points:
Misgendering is bad and a voting issue (at the very least I will give you exceptionally low speaks). due to my gender identity i am hyper aware of gender (im)balances in debate. stop being sexist/transphobic jerks, y'all. it's not that hard. additionally, don't be racist. don't be sexist. don't be ableist. don't be a bad person.
Assigning speaker points comes down to: are you memorable? are you funny? are you a bad person? Did you keep my flow neat? How did you use cross?
I usually give in the 28.2-29.9 range, for reference.
ethics violations:
i consider ethics violations clipping, evidence fabrication/omission of paragraphs between the beginning and end of the card, and violence (e.g. calling Black people the n word as a non-Black person, refusing to use correct pronouns).
for clipping: a recording must be presented if a debater brings forth the challenge. if i notice it but no one brings it up, your speaker points will suffer greatly.
for evidence miscutting (this is NOT power tagging): after a debater brings it forward the round will stop. if the evidence is miscut, the team who miscut the evidence will lose with lowest speaker points possible. if the evidence is not miscut, the team who brought forth the violation will lose with the lowest speaker points possible. i will not entertain a debate on the undebatable.
for violence: i will stop the debate and the offender will receive the lowest speaker points possible and will lose. the person who is on the receiving end of the violence is not expected to give input. if you misgender me i will not stop the debate, but your speaker points will suffer.
one of these, because i love getting caught in the hype
brad hombres ------------------------------------X--banana nut brad
generic disad w/ well developed links/uq------X------------------------------------ thing you cut 30 mins before the round that you claim is a disad
read a plan--------------------X---------------------don't read a plan
case turns--X----------------------------------------generic defense
t not fw--------------X-------------------------------fw not t
"basically"-------------------------------------------X-just explaining the argument
truth over tech------------------X--------------------tech over truth
being nice-X------------------------------------------being not nice
piper meloche--------------------X--------------------brad meloche
'can i take prep'----------------------------------------X-just taking prep
explaining the alt------X--------------------------------assuming i know what buzzwords mean
process cps are cheating--------------------------X-------sometimes cheating is good
fairness--------------------------------X----------------literally any other fw impact besides iteration
impact turn-X--------------------------------------------non impact turn
fw as an impact turn------X--------------------------------fw as a procedural
green highlighting-X----------------------------------------any other color
rep---------------------------X----------------i don't know who you are and frankly i don't care to find out
asking if everyone is ready -X-----------------------------------asking if anyone isn't ready
jeff miller --------------------------------------X--- abby schirmer
PUBLIC FORUM SPECIFIC THINGS:
i find myself judging this a lot more than any other activity, and therefore have a LOT of opinions.
- time yourself. this includes prep. i'm not your mom, and i don't plan on doing it for you. the term "running prep" is becoming very popular, and i don't know what that means. just take prep.
- don't call me judge. "what should we refer to you as?" nothing! i don't know who is teaching y'all to catch judges' attentions by referring to us directly, but it's horrible, doesn't work, annoys all of us, and wastes precious time. you should be grabbing my attention in other ways: tone, argumentation, flowability, humor, sarcasm, lighting something on fire (please do not actually do this). call me by my first name (luke) if you have to, but know if you overuse it, it has the exact same affect as calling me "judge."
- PLEASE don't assume i know community norms, and saying things like "this is a community norm" doesn't automatically give you that dub. i entered PF during covid, and have a very strong policy background. this influences how i view things like disclosure or paraphrase theory.
- even more so than in policy, "post-rounding" me after a decision is incredibly common. you're allowed to fight with me all you want. just know it doesn't change my ballot, and certainly won't change it the next time around.
- i will never understand this asking for evidence after speeches. why aren't we just sending speech docs? judges are on a very strict schedule, and watching y'all spend five minutes sending evidence is both annoying and time consuming - bolding, because i continue to not get and, honestly? actively hate it when everyone spend 5-10 minutes after each speech exchanging evidence. just sent the whole speech. i don't get why this isn't the norm
- i'm fine with speed and 'unconventional arguments.' in fact, i'm probably better for them because i've found PF aff/neg contentions to be vague and poorly cut.
- PFers have a tendency to call things that aren't turns "turns." it's very odd to me. please don't do it.
- i'm not going to delay the round so you can preflow. idk who told y'all you can do that but they're wrong
- if you are using ev sending time to argue, i will interrupt you and make you start and/or i will tank your speaks. stop doing this.
- i'm very split on the idea of trigger warnings. i don't think they're necessary for non-in-depth/graphic discussions of a topic (Thing Exists and Is Bad, for example, is not an in-depth discussion in my eyes). i'm fine with trigger warning theory as an argument as long as you understand it's not an automatic W.
- flex prep is at best annoying and at worst cheating. if you start flex prepping i will yell at you and doc your speaker points.
- PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO READ THEORY:I hear some kind of theory (mostly disclosure) at least once a tournament. I usually end up voting for theory not because the theory is done well, but because the other team does not answer it properly. I do like theory an unfortunate amount, but I would prefer to watch a good "substance" debate than a poor theory debate
LINCOLN DOUGLAS SPECIFIC THINGS:
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please read my policy and pf paradigms. they have important information about me and my judging
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of all the speech activities, i know about lincoln douglas the least. this can either be to your advantage or your detriment
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apparently theory matters to a lot of y'all a lot more in this activity than in policy. i got a high threshold for voting on any sort of theory that isn't condo, and even then you're in for the uphill battle of the century. i like theory debates generally, but watching LDers run theory like RVIs has killed my confidence in LD theory debate.
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'i'm gonna take X minutes of prep' isn't needed. just say you're taking prep and take prep. i'll never understand LD or PF judges who act as if they are parents and y'all are 5 year olds asking for cookies after dinner; if you can figure out how tabroom works and how to unmute yourself, i'm pretty sure you can time your own prep.
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going fast does not mean you are good at debate, please don't rely on speed for ethos
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i hate disclosure theory and will prob vote neg 99.9% of the time (the .001% is for new affs or particularly bad answers). just put your stuff on the wiki, i genuinely don't understand why this is a debate to be had. just disclose. what year are you people living in.
things i don't care about:
- whether you keep your camera on or off (if you wanna lose free speaker points, that's up to you)
- speed. however, you should never be prioritizing speed over clarity.
hidden at the bottom: if you read the kato k and call it the "oppenheimer k" in the roadmap for the whole round i will give you a 30
neda-specific:
please use all your time. my bar for civility is much lower than most neda judges, so make of that what you will. please also use evidence.
Hello! I'm a sophomore at Walt Whitman High School! I've been debating for five years and like to consider myself a flow judge with a few quirks, but you could get away with calling me a flay judge at times.
Add me to the email chain! rsbarold@gmail.com
GENERAL NORMS
- Be nice; the worst round I ever watched was finals at Apple Valley, where it got to a point where one team was being obnoxiously rude. If you're rude, I will certainly drop your speaks, and if it gets to a point where it's too much, I won't hesitate to stop the round and drop you immediately with 25s.
- I don't care if you stand or sit for your speeches, but make sure you're projecting and you're not quiet.
- Don't talk super fast, please; it gives me a headache and annoys me. Make your max 200 wpm. If it's online, make it less. If I can't hear you, I can't evaluate what you're saying.
- Time yourself and your opponents, I will stop flowing when speech is over but it's your job to cut your opponents off after 10 seconds of overtime
- If you have a speech doc, send it, it's just good norms
- I'm usually pretty knowledgeable on the topic and the topic cards as I have likely debated it myself, so don't misconstrue cards
- Evidence ethics are IMPORTANT!!! I have miscut many a card in my middle school days, but alas, those days are behind me. Don't paraphrase, don't miscut cards, and be open about evidence
SPEAKS
I start at 28.5 and change from there
- Yet again, the number one thing is to be nice, if you're nice I'll up your speaks.
- Know your stuff in cross, if you sound and act confident about what you're saying, I'll up your speaks
- Fill up your time, don't leave me with 30 seconds on the clock, it looks bad. Just repeat what you're saying before in different words and sound confident
- On the topic of confidence, BE CONFIDENT!!! If you make me think that you know everything about anything you're talking about it looks good to me, and this is a universal thing for every judge, it will increase your speaks!
- Signpost!!! Do it too much, do it to the point where I'm annoyed. If you can annoy me by signposting so much I will give you 30 speaks.
CASE
- 600-800 words is your sweet spot, don't read some 1000 word crap on me
- Always send a speech doc in the email chain
- Nothing blippy please, just read fully fleshed out contentions
REBUTTAL
- signpost.
- 2nd rebuttal MUST frontline, if it's not frontlined I'm gonna have a REALLY low threshold for responses to it
- If you really want to impress me start weighing in rebuttal, it'll vastly increase your chance of winning.
- Turns would make me smile, I like to run them and I like to judge them
SUMMARY
- gonna say it again, signpost.
- Nothing new in 2nd summary, but do as you please in 1st summary
- If you don't weigh you're inviting me to intervene in the round
- EXTEND YOUR CASE AND ALL OFFENSE AND MAKE IT CLEAR (If you're collapsing on turns reallllly explain all your links)
- collapse. Please stop running five different arguments in summary, it's too much and you do not have the time to extend all of it
- Voters summaries are my favorite, I like to do them and they make me happy
FINAL FOCUS
- yet again, signpost.
- WEIGHHHHHHHHHHHH. If you're weighing you're already ahead in the round.
- Collapse further from summary and really hone in on what you want to extend
- Extend all offense clearly
- Final focus is the last thing I'm hearing, be perceptually dominate.
THEORY
I'll evaluate most theory, but if it's some crap like card clipping theory I will have a super low threshold for responses and anything I view ridiculous will land you with some pretty low speaks
- Only meme the round with funny theory if your opponent has agreed to it
- My threshold for theory is high, if you're running it make it good theory. Don't run some blippy crap in rebuttal and then blow it up in summary (cough cough Apple Valley finals, I really hated that round)
- My general world view is that paraphrasing is pretty bad, so paraphrasing theory wouldn't be the worst thing to run on me
- Don't run theory in the novice division please, your opponents may not even know what it is let alone how to respond. If you're running theory in novice it's gonna take a LOT of work to win
- Disclosure theory is fine, but don't go into hyper specific norms, like "disclosure can't be open source!" only run this if they fully don't disclose
PROG
I've never run a K before and may not be the greatest at judging them.
- Topical Ks I understand, and I wouldn't mind judging one
- Non-topical Ks (cough cough fem rage) I'd be less likely to enjoy judging, and I would take pretty much any response as terminal
- most Ks involve spreading, but modify your K to a point where it's not spreading.
OTHER
- I will always disclose my decision, it may take some time to decide but as a debater it makes me mad beyond belief when judges don't disclose so I won't do that to you
- Most feedback will be verbal, take notes or at least look like you're taking notes, that's a good norm for all RFDs in your future
- Have fun! Debate is a fun space and shouldn't be taken too seriously and shouldn't have hard feelings.
- Chat with your opponents before round, make friends, get people's phone numbers. Before every round I make a point to talk to my opponents and make friends, cuz that's what it's all about!
- You can post round me and ask questions, but my decision won't change. I love it when people ask question after round on how to get better, it's the best way to improve!
- Feel free to ask questions about my paradigm, I know it can be a lot
- To everyone who's read this whole paradigm, one little tip that if you use in your final focus I'll give you 30 speaks is to give 20 seconds to just giving an overview of sorts on everything in the round, just tell me whats going on. I learned it from Crawford Leavoy, and it's proved extremely helpful.
Sorry for making you all read this, but knowing your judge is a huge thing in debate !!! See you in round!
PF HS debater
elizabethchung97@gmail.com for email chain
PF
I'm fine w speed
Tech > Truth
be funny, make jokes in speech (i love those and they will get you 30's)
I will disclose my decision and RFD - Post rounding is fine, but don't be rude
in round:
preflow before round
send speech docs if ur going fast
roadmaps are fine, don't make them too long
defense is not sticky
extend through all speeches, if you don't have any offense or defense extended I have nothing to vote off
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COLLAPSE I DONT WANNA HEAR 50 CLASHING ARGUMENTS IN FINAL
comparative weighing, make it easy for me
please warrant esp if its squirrely
don't prep steal, I don't like it
i dont flow cross, do whatever
Evidence
email chains > card docs
send evidence quick, don't speed an eternity finding cards please
evidence indicts should be relevant
if it's messy then I'll check ev and decide
Para is fine for rebuttal onward
Don't micut or miscontrue cards, that's probably bad
Prog
I think disclo is generally good
I have no preference between O/S and full text
I get stock shells and k's, no tricks
Warranting's huge for me, especially if I don't understand some weird shell or prog arg
tell me how many offs ur gonna run
shells must be introduced right after the violation
A little about me:
I competed on the regional GA circuit and national circuit for 5 years in PF, and graduated in '19. I'm now a senior at Brown. This is my third year as the PF coach at Park City HS.
As a judge, I'm pretty chill:
- I'm fine with speed but, would much prefer you to not spread. If you do, you must email a speech doc.
- I don't flow cross- if something important happens, tell me in a speech or it will not be on my flow.
- Tech>truth. Obv exception is evidence ethics - if you claim that a source says something and it doesn't, I will not look kindly at that argument.
- I won't evaluate OFFENSE that is extended through ink from rebuttal to final focus- if you want me to vote for you on it, extend it through summary.
- Also- I expect the second rebuttal to respond to all of the offense in the round. Let me just add - given that y'all have four minutes, I also expect interaction with the defense read in the first rebuttal, but I'll be more lenient with accepting those responses in summary.
- On intervention - the only time I will intervene is if there is no comparative weighing, or quite honestly, weighing at all. I don't want to ever do this. So if you'd like to win or lose the debate based on the content of the round, weigh.
- additionally, meta-weighing. Especially if you and your opponents are going for different weighing mechanisms, please tell me why I should prefer your weighing mechanism!
- I understand the appeal of progressive debate, and won't automatically down-vote a team that runs it. However, I prefer judging rounds that don't involve frivolous theory. If there has been an egregious offense in the round and/or you feel very passionately about your theory shell, I will judge it. Otherwise, please don't run theory in front of me.
- Unfortunately, I am still not the best at evaluating K's and their place in PF. That's not to say you can't run a K in front of me, but I might not evaluate it in the way you'd like me to.
- For speaks - my range is normally between 27 - 29.7. I don't usually give perfect speaks, or below a 27. But if you are blatantly sexist, homophobic, or racist, that will change.
- Speech time: I will continue to flow your speech until ~10 seconds after time is up. I will stop listening/flowing past that point.
- Prep Time: I do keep track of prep in the round, and I will be a bit unhappy if you go over that time. If you end up using more than 30 seconds past your prep time, expect to lose speaks.
- Pre-flowing: please finish before the round starts.
If you have any questions or want any clarifications, you can shoot me an email or ask me before the start of round! Email is nylacrayton@gmail.com
Hi, I'm Gaby and I judge PF
I am a flay judge.
Just some basic things
Please don't spread, there will be tear drops on my flow.
Please signpost so I don't get confused.
Tech>Truth
You need to be frontlining
I won't flow cross so please bring up concessions or anything important in your next speech
Do not be overly aggressive or yell at the opponent, I will cringe at you and drop your speaks.
Time yourself, you also don't need to tell me how much prep you used, I trust you won't abuse this.
email chain: goobatroopa444@gmail.com
TL;DR: Speed is fine, tech> truth, send a speech doc, read cut cards, disclosure is good, paraphrasing is bad.
Background
I currently run the Public Forum program for Brophy Preparatory.
I debated public forum at Marist for 4 years (2019-2023). Competed in lots of rounds on the national circuit and went to TOC my junior and senior year.
I expect there to be an email chain sent up for evidence exchange every round. My email is:
General Paradigm
Outside of issues of ethics I don’t believe it is my role to tell you how to debate the round. However, it is your responsibility to tell me how you wish me to judge the round. Debate is an inherently comparative activity which means that it is your obligation as a debater to provide me with a frame of reference for how my decision should be made. Weighing is paramount. Unless both teams use the same form of weighing, you should probably be answering the meta question about why your type of weighing is preferable. For example, why does it matter that your impact is bigger if there one is more likely? You need to win offense to access your weighing, but I have never written “you weighed too much” as a reason for a losing ballot.
Big debates aren’t usually better debates. You only need to have one good path to the ballot to win the round. Condensing the round will almost always be to your benefit. Rebuttal is your chance to throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. The back half is where you need to make strategic decisions about how to win the round. The speech times shrink, so your speeches should as well.
All offenses you plan on going for along with turns must be front-lined in second rebuttal. That being said, defense is not sticky. Given that summary must mirror final that doesn't make structural sense. If a team kicks out by extending a delink, it is typically safe to assume the remaining defense on the argument is conceded. Often, defensive concessions can be taken advantage of elsewhere on the flow. You all need to be taking time to think about the round as a whole and consider how arguments interact with each other at both a practical and technical level.
Yes, I can flow speed. Debate is competitive, so you don’t need to slow down for your opponent. What you do need to do is be clear. Poor clarity is not a reason for me to flow off the doc. If you are a team that is inexperienced with speed and hit a team that goes fast, the best solution is not to try spreading for the first time in a round. Take some time to think about their arguments and try to condense the debate. Quality will always overwhelm quality. Debating smarter usually bests debating faster.
Evidence
I strongly prefer full cut cards and no paraphrasing when introducing evidence. If you don't do this, you will probably lose the theory debate.
Call out bad evidence practices! If I am on a panel where theory is not an option you can still make general arguments about rejecting the argument that I will be partial to.
Compare evidence and author quality. Teams don’t do this enough and it can give a major leg up in the round.
If you want me to call for a card, you should tell me in speech. You also need to tell me why it matters.
Verbal citations are a must and need to include author name and publication year. Otherwise it is plagiarism.
Progressive
Theory
If this is a Nat Circuit Tournament and a team is not disclosing or paraphrasing you should probably read theory :)
I default to compete interps and think rvis are largely regressive unless the shell is frivolous
If you disclose round reports may be beneficial, if not then I think they are a waste of time
Not a fan of trigger warnings unless an argument is actually graphic. My threshold for what it takes to be considered graphic has never been met thus far in debates I have either competed in or judged. Gabe Rusk’s paradigm has a long excerpt on why trigger warnings are likely bad that is worth a read and corroborates most of my admittedly less educated views.
Ks
Time constraints make Ks hard in PF, but I can’t say I don’t like a good K debate. Just make sure you understand the literature you read.
Win the K on the flow and you will be good, but don’t presume I have knowledge on the more unorthodox positions. Basically just extend and weight effectively and you are fine
If you hit a non-topical K and don’t read topicality (yes I know it is technically fw and not T) I will be disappointed. I am not biased either way but think it makes for a good debate
If you are reading an argument that talks about changing the debate space, please don't have an opt-out form, it is counter-intuitive, and potentially terminal defense on your method if you are willing to not debate an argument that aims to change the space
Speaker Points
I’ll start at a 28.5 and adjust based on a mixture of style and strategy.
Have fun, you should never not enjoy a round.
Kaitlyn Escayg 26'
I am a third year PF debater at Marist.
Add me to the email chain: kaitlynescayg26@marist.com
Tech Judge. I have a low bar for response against stupid arguments.
Be Nice
I am to be referred to as the Honorable Daniel Fink
IF you topically mention the greatest court decision of all time Apple v. Fintiv, you will be my favorite and I may or may not intervene on your behalf
Background:
Richard Montgomery High School
PF
- if possible, number your responses so i know if I missed anything
- Set up email chains/preflow during tech check. I am a big believer in sending case docs to make it easier for everyone but I won't force yall to do so. You'll get a bump in speaks if you do. daniel.a.fink@hotmail.com
- You can ask to look at ev during your partner or opponent's speech/cross. Idk why or when people started considering this as "stealing prep time".
-Quality of voters> Quantity of voters.
- Weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh.Which weigh? Dat weigh. If you don't weigh you are asking me to intervene
- Keep the round lighthearted. I think debaters are way too angry now and some humor would be appreciated. Jokes and puns are highly encouraged.
- Not a fan of super squirrelly arguments or theory (the next 2 bullets might answer your next questions). If you run a non-T K, I have a low bar for topicality arguments,but if that's what you wanna read just make sure you explain it well. If I'm confused at the end of the debate I promise you won't be happy with my decision.
- Defense is sticky :)
- Don't spread (Or spread and I will lose something on the flow)
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In re Paraphrasing
Be prepared for theory, low bar for accepting their theory.
In Re Disclosing. Same thing as paraphrasing; If someone discloses and either a) you do not and they read disclosure theory OR b) you LIE about what you've disclosed, I consider this a TKO. This means if disclosure theory is read in the round (reasonably) and it is conceded then it is basically over. Not disclosing or lying is indefensible.
In Re Final Focus
- Your final focus should be telling me what to write on my ballot. If i don’t have to spend time thinking about how im voting after the round, you and i will both be happy (half of you at least).
- Apparently this needs to be clarified now but regardless of speaking order, in the rare situation where there is no offense on either side at the end of the roundI will presume neg.
If you have any other questions feel free to email me @ daniel.a.fink@gmail.comor ask me before the round provided your opponents are present as well.Hated my decision? send all complaints to theref41216@gmail.comand hold nothing back.
In re Carded Evidence
Just because you read a card doesn't mean your argument is more true than an analytic. If your response to an analytic is "We read card they don't," you have dropped the argument. Argue about warrants
Syllabus of the Court, See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. (1906)
Bold:Collapse, weigh, signpost, don’t make me think, galaxy hoodie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VroFAx5GGFk
Fold:being mean, friv theory, no email chain/disclosure, partial quads lmao.
If you cite an American court case I will accept it as accurate. The gold standard of evidence (I don't care if its in dissent or its Obiter dictum)
If you mention a foreign court, I will laugh and ignore your argument unless it is :
A - The Starr Chamber
B - Pre-Revolution Anglo-Saxon court
C - You are actively making fun of it
Hello my name is Richard Fink.
I recently started high school and I have been debating public forum for 3 years.
A couple of rules you should follow when I'm judging.
- Don't be a jerk to your opponents. It really messes with the debate round and depending on how mean you are I might drop you. Crossfire may be very heated but don't let it get out of control.
- Don't give really bad or false evidence during the round. I will not flow the evidence and will take off a lot of your speaker points.
- Always have your evidence waiting because if your opponents ask for a piece of evidence during cross its very awkward if you spend 5 minutes sending the card.
- I will be able to get most of the things you say in your speech on my flow if you speak quickly but not everything.
- If you have any questions for me at the end of the round feel free to ask.
Good Luck, in your round with me, Richard
I have been debating for a little more than a year. You should probably consider me between a lay and a flow judge, right in the middle between tech and truth.
I am fine with spreading, as long as you send me a speech doc. However, I prefer well warranted arguments over many low-quality responses. Try to only read responses you think will win you the round or lose your opponents the round, nothing useless or time-sucking.
Please carry your arguments through. And make sure you weigh. I consider collapsing a very important strategic decision that you should be making each round; it makes my ballot much easier to write for you.
I have not yet run k's or theory, but I would be interested in hearing you run them.
I love when you gain concessions in crossfire, but make sure you bring them up in later speeches or I will not flow them.
Speaker Points:
- I will give between 26 and 30, so a large range. Speak with energy and conviction! Be passionate!
- Cross has a minimal impact on speaks, but I do factor it in
- Extra speaks for referencing the French Revolution or Roman Empire. You will make me very happy. (Honestly any historical reference will win you a marginal increase in speaks, I'm just a big history buff)
high school pf debater for nueva. add anika.su.gupta@gmail.com & nuevadocs@gmail.com to the chain.
weigh warrant extend and i am your friend
feel the rhythm, feel the ride, get ready, it’s spreading time
disclo is good, para is bad, but theory debates are boring and sad
im fine with most ks-explain ur lit and you’ll make my day
Hi, I'm Jackson. I do PF on the circuit for Nueva. I have very little judging experience.
Round preferences
I quite like K rounds. Policy rounds are fun too. Theory rounds would be fun if people had original thoughts. I have not spent much mental energy developing opinions on tricks, non-K phil, or T rounds.
Basics
Set up an email chain (ask for my email in round). Speed is good but clarity matters. I won't vote on death good, self-harm good, or bigoted/fascist arguments (basically i believe fascism is a terminal impact). Let me know if you feel unsafe.
Tech>truth. Nothing is sticky. My one goal in life is to avoid intervening.
You need to do three things: weigh, extend, and warrant. Weigh early on and keep it consistent; a brand new weighing mechanism in 2nd final is a new argument. Weigh your turns if you plan on them mattering. Don't disguise new defense as weighing (shoutout to intervening actors, my least favorite weighing mechanism). Answering weighing prob better than "metaweighing" unless youre comparing link to impact weighing.
Framework debates are hypothetically good but usually bad bc people forget to weigh and the framing debate just slowly balloons until its taken over your entire speech. I also have heard relatively few policy-round frameworks that cant just be weighing or a K.
Really important: Do what you can to create and develop the clash in the round. Extending contradictory narratives past each other with no comparison of the two is very hard to evaluate and counter-educational.
K preferences
I'll vote on anything. I have a mild preference for topical Ks. I've read cap, semiocap, deleuze+guatarri, bataille, and foucault on the circuit---but I'm absolutely not an expert in critical literature.
I strongly dislike uplayering the K with random theory violations (especially those that could just as easily be a disad to the K). There are many better places to push the K on the K sheet. I will reward a strong execution of actual responses. It is also very valuable to adapt responses to what they are saying: "perm do both" means very little without an explanation as to what "doing both" entails.
I have no strong opinions on K Affs vis-a-vis T-Framework. I prefer K Affs that interact with the topic even when they don't affirm it and clearly understand their literature base.
On language Ks: A K saying "don't use X discriminatory word" is suboptimal. The root cause of discriminatory language is discriminatory assumptions: try to kritik those assumptions at the root rather than the outcome.
Theory preferences
I think theory is a valuable way to generate norms and thus will vote on it, but most theory rounds are usually uninteresting to judge. I think disclosure is good and paraphrasing is bad, but tabula rasa still applies in theory rounds.
IVIs aren't good. Make it theory or make it a kritik.
Current Position -- I have been the head debate coach at Lincoln Southwest High School for the past 23 years. In that time I have coached and judged PF, LD and congressional debate.
Background -- I have been coaching speech and debate for the last 32 years. I have been coaching pubic forum since its inception 20 years ago. I was a high school and college competitor in speech and competed in LD in high school.
Email Chain -- theimes@lps.org
PF Paradigm --
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I believe that PF is a communication event with special emphasis on the narrative quality of the arguments. The story is important to me. Blippy argumentation or incessant reading of cards with no analysis or link back to the resolution does not hold much weight in my decision. Do the work in round -- do not make me intervene.
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Weighing mechanisms should be fully explained -- if you want me to vote using your weighing mechanism, it is your duty to actually tell me why it is a good mechanism for the round and how your side/case/argument does a better job achieving the mechanism.
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Presentation of arguments should be clear. I am not a fan of unbridled speed in this event. You need to speak clearly with a persuasive tone.
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Reading cards > paraphrasing cards
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If you must ask for cards or if you are asked for cards, you need to be prepared to ask for and present these cards in an efficient manner.
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Don’t be rude.
I debated 4th year PF debater at Marist School in Georgia.
Add me to your email chains
If you spread, send a speech doc
Tech>truth
Time your own speeches, prep, and crossfires.
I pay attention to cross solely for speaker points, if something happens that I should know about, let me know in the speech.
Please weigh and collapse in your summaries. Narrowing down the debate is important in the back half of rounds
Email me if you have any questions about rfd.
Hi, I debate at Sharon High School. Consider me a flow/tech judge.
- The faster you go, the less understandable you sound, and the messier you flow; don't spread
- I don't flow cross, bring stuff up in speeches if it's important
- Extend: If you don't extend thru all the speeches, I won't vote on it
- Weigh: I'm lazy, write the ballot for me; meta-weighing is cool too
- Don't run theory or kritiks
Prashanth SUBBIAH is the capitan of wakland highs debate team.
Bring me food and you get 30 speaks.
Hi, I am a student debater and I judge debates based off of tech over truth. extend arguments throughout or you don't have an argument.
I dont flow cross, that's for you.
I'm fine with speed but don't spread
I will not flow after 10 seconds after your time goes off
I count prep and will stop you when your time is finished.
Please pre-flow before round
For Intramural
Basic Stuff
- I presume neg
- I haven't debated in a little bit so I wouldn't get overly techy with anything
- Keep things sub 225 wpm for your and my sake, even though I debated fast I'm not that used to it anymore
roydebate2@gmail.com
People that shaped my views of life/debate- Martand Bhagavatula, Pranav Pradeep, sleazy nahas brothers, and mr gabe
Please don't bribe judges, fill out court forms, or read new guns da's in the 2ff
Hello!!
General Stuff:
1. Respect others; any discriminatory comments will result in an auto drop
2. Time yourself. I will also do it too, but it makes it way easier for me if you do it yourself
3. Do NOT sacrifice clarity for speed. If I can't understand what you are saying I won't flow
4. Tell me where you are on your flow when you give your speech
5. Use up all of your speech time if you can!! You know more than you think, and if all else fails just explain your case
Rebuttals
1. Quality > Quantity; I prefer responses that are explained, especially with how it interacts with the case
Summary
1. COLLAPSE COLLAPSE COLLAPSE down on one or two arguments. Do not give me a summary of everything
3. No new arguments or evidence should be read AFTER the first summary unless you are responding to a new response in the first summary.
4. A full extension extends the warrants and impacts. My least favorite thing to do is vote for a team that doesn't have warrants, so make sure to point it out if they don't
Final Focus
1. If it's not in summary, it can't be in the final focus.
2. Paint a narrative by the final focus speeches. EXTEND the full link chain and warrants and impact.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN
My email is sophiali00112@gmail.com. Email me any questions or add me to the email chain ☺️
Hi Debaters!
I'm a varsity debater for Mountain Brook, and this is my fourth year debating. I'm mostly tech>truth, but the key to my ballot is directly comparing your and opponents' arguments.
Everything on my flow is what is evaluated in the round.
I don’t generally vote off cross, but It will influence speaks.
It's not strategic to make an unbiased claim. Make sure every statement you make has a genuine reason that doesn't defy all logic. If you don't make the analysis, it doesn't go on my ballot.
I am a huge fan of weighing, and it's always a good way to try to win. However, it doesn't count if you just say buzzwords and claim that it makes sense. Explain why you win on probability or magnitude or whatever.
Extensions are a requirement for me to evaluate the argument at the end of the round, and if it wasn't in summary it shouldn't be in final focus.
Please keep up with norms depending on where you’re debating. Read trigger warnings, be polite, and don’t be discriminatory on any level.
For Novices:
Try your best to interact with your opponents' arguments and fill your speech times. It goes a long way to improving as a debater, and even if you run out of written stuff to say, try to keep talking off the top of your head.
Make sure to repeat arguments to keep them relevant in the round and try to respond to what your opponents said. A god 50/50 your arguments their arguments is perfect when you’re starting out.
When you’re speaking, you’re talking to the judge and not your opponent. Don’t address your opponents when you’re speaking. You’re trying to convince the judge that your arguments make sense, not your opponents. Each decision should be made thinking of the judges viewpoint, not the opponents.
Good Luck Y’all!
Hey everyone!
My name is Alice (she/her), and I am currently a sophomore and varsity PF debater at Lexington High School with 2 years of PF experience.
Please add me to the email chain: 26stu037@lexingtonma.org
Short version: Extend your arguments throughout the entire round, signpost, and weigh. Be respectful, and most of all, have fun!
More details:
- I will vote you down if you are exclusionary in any way. Respect the pronouns of everyone in the round, be kind, and do not be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.
- Speed: No spreading, but I am fine with speed as long as you are CLEAR. I vote off of my flow, so anything I do not catch on my flow because you were unclear will only harm you. Send speech docs!
- WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH, especially comparative weighing. The first place I will look at when I sign my ballot is the weighing debate. If you have extra time in your speeches, dedicate that time to weighing!
- Tech>truth/tabula rasa (blank slate). That being said, if you say anything -ist, I will drop you.
- Signpost! Again, I vote off of my flow, and if I don't know where you are, I will not be able to write your responses where you want me to.
- Extend your argument completely (including uniqueness, links, and impacts) throughout the round, as well as frontlining and extending defense.
- Cross: I may listen to crossfires, but I will not flow or vote off of them. If something important happens in cross that you want me to take note of, bring it up in your speech!
- Summary/Final Focus: The speeches in the back-half of the round should mirror each other, and no new responses in the final focus. Weighing should also be more prominent in these speeches!
- Theory/K’s/other progressive arguments: I do not think these arguments should be run in novice, so please keep the round substance-based.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me before the round. Finally, be respectful and have fun!
Hi everyone! I’m Deanna, a junior at Lexington HS, and I'm in my third year of PF. I don’t expect novices to ask for lots of evidence, but I advise starting an email chain because it’s good practice. Please add me at deannamayq@gmail.com if you do start one!
If you have any questions about my paradigm (ie. acronyms that you may not know what it stands for) or about debate in general, feel free to email me or ask before round :)
I will always disclose my decision with RFD so long as all the debaters in the room are fine with it and the tournament allows.
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If you're in a rush to round, here's a
TLDR: Bolded stuff = important stuff.
I’m tech > truthand I will evaluate any argument so long as it follows the rules of PF and doesn't end in -ism.
Adapt to me in terms of content (ie. you can run extinction impacts all you like), but don’t sacrifice your natural style of debating that makes you feel comfortable.
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--- General stuff ---
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Clarity: being clear in speech and explaining arguments is very helpful for my ballot. You can reasonably clear your opponents as well. This also includes organizing points and responses (ie. signposting).
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Speed: i can somewhat flow fast, but don’t go too fast. If you're going above 250 wpm send a speech doc and if you're going above 300 wpm, policy is in the building across :)
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Evidence:
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I’m fine with paraphrasing but have cut cards ready - if you can’t produce evidence for an argument that isn’t an analytic it’s crossed off my flow.
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Do not violate NSDA evidence rules- it’s an auto L with low speaks.
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If a round boils down to one card that is slightly miscut, (eg. to over-exaggerate impacts), but isn’t as egregious as NSDA violations, then it depends on if the other side calls it out and tells me why it is bad. If not, I will treat the rhetoric as real, but if I do notice it in round, I will give really low speaks, even if you win.
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Do evidence comparison! It is really good for shaping my ballot and remember to give a reason as to why your evidence is better.
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Tech > truth: remember to warrant your arguments well for it to win on my flow and my ballot - I will not vote off an argument that I can't explain each part of, even if it's cleanly extended.
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Time: i will stop flowing after 5 seconds past time and let you finish your sentence. However, I should add that varsity debates just about never have grace periods so it is still best practice to stay within the allocated time.
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Presumption: if I can't vote off any offense for either side, I presume whichever team that defends the status quo.
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Cross:
I love cross! I won’t flow it but I will listen to it. If there’s something important that happens, bring it up in your next speech. Remember that there is a line between being assertive and being rude, don’t cross the line because part of your speaks come from cross. I dislike hearing ranting in cross or turning it into a speech, it gets annoying.
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How I evaluate on the flow:
The round for me comes down to weighing on both sides. If you win the weighing debate, you win the round, insofar as what you weigh with have been extended throughout the round. Be comparative when you weigh, which includes meta-weighing! Saying “we outweigh on magnitude, our impact hurts 4 million people” without interaction with your opponent’s impact is not comparative. I buy that strength of link counts as probability weighing and if I don't get any weighing at all, I will probably default to that.
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Framework:
I'm more than happy to evaluate them but please warrant it well. Remember to extend the ROTB/ROTJ in every speech unless you somehow aren't going for framework anymore. Always explain why your framework matters even if it is the only framework in the round and if it isn't, tell me why your framework should be evaluated first.
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Back half (summary + final):
Please start collapsing during the summaries, you can also collapse in the rebuttals if you like. It makes the debate less messy if collapsing happens earlier than later. I advise to not go for everything.
Any new arguments or brand new responses that are brought up past second summary will not be evaluated. I see the final focus as a speech supposed to mirror and extend summary weighing and if the second summary brings new weighing, for the first speaking team to respond to that. Brand new weighing in final focus, unless responsive, in 2nd final, won’t be evaluated at all.
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My takes on debate as a high school activity:
While I do agree that PF is more of a persuasive style of debating, I think a large part of it is also strategy and how you use what you know and researched. I like seeing good strategies being executed well. This doesn’t mean that if you are more comfortable going slow with heavy rhetoric, to just switch your style, but it does mean to adapt in terms of what you say and what you leave out.
If your strategy is to have stock contentions that you can frontline very well, do that. If your strategy is to purposefully say different types of arguments in the rebuttals to force your opponents into going for a weaker argument, do that. At the end of the day, high school debate is quite literally a game and in my opinion, you should have the space to adapt to each judge without coming at the cost of throwing away who you are as a debater.
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--- Progressive Arguments ---
For any progressive arguments or pre-fiat impacts, tell me why it matters above substance/anything post-fiat and why I should look at it first on my ballot.
Theory:
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Competing interps > reasonability, you can try convincing me otherwise.
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If you’re gonna run friv, at least have some warranting in it.
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I have my own beliefs on theory shells, but I won’t let that influence the round.
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RVIs are a bit weird to me. I don’t exactly understand why someone should be voted up because they proved that they were being fair. I suppose, the shell can be a timesuck, but I feel that winning an RVI claim isn’t enough to really win the debate. Responding directly to the shell might honestly be better and more clear of a path to the ballot.
Kritks:
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I'm not really familiar with them, run at your own risk.
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If you do run them, please be slow and explain each part of the K, especially where I come in as the judge/my ballot.
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I would prefer it if you don’t try anything high lit or phil. There’s a higher chance than not that even after some explanation, I still won’t understand it.
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I somewhat understand some of the most basic ideas behind post-modernism Ks, but I honestly don't understand fully how they function in a debate round proper.
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Tricks:
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I don't see a point in them - but if you do run it, at least give me one warrant (it can be an ice spice warrant I don't care).
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If you spread through it so fast that even I don't hear it, I won't evaluate it.
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If you're gonna run tricks aimlessly with 0 warrant, LD is in the adjacent building.
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---Speaks ---
I start at 28 unless you were rude or did/said something problematic (ie. -isms)
Mostly based off strat and cross
I don't care if you sit or stand or what you wear; be comfy and that's all that matters :)
Post round me if you like! I would be more than happy to show my flow and where I voted if it isn't clear enough in my RFD. If you manage to convince me that I made a mistake in the decision, I owe you one.
Here's my partner's (Aryan Sethi) paradigm which I agree mostly with if y'all need more ideas on how I judge.
If you need to make up something mid-round, roll with it and don't hesitate.
If the other team calls you out on it, double down and good luck.
Have fun and be confident! (it goes a long way, trust)
Most important thing: please just be nice. Debate should be fun, not stressful.
I would say I'm a flay judge. I understand the topics and am tech over truth. That being said, here are my preferences. I am relatively simple in my requests:
1. Technique
a. Speed is fine, but if you have to do the double-breathing while spreading, you're probably speaking too fast. Please learn breath control.
b. SIGNPOST! Make your speeches easy for me to flow and understand. Make sure to number your responses on each section of the argument. Be clear about what you are responding to.
c. Go line-by-line and stay organized on the flow. If you are jumping around, at least be clear about where you are.
d. Weighing will win you the round! Meta-weighing is necessary if you are using different weighing mechanisms. Explain why yours is more important.
2. Flowing
a. I will time your speeches and prep. If you steal prep, you will lose speaker points. I will flow 10 seconds over speech time, but after that I will not flow or evaluate the responses.
b. I do not flow crossfire. I am listening, but if you don't bring a concession up in a speech, I will not evaluate it.
3. Evaluating the round
a. In the back half, you should be writing the ballot for me. Don't make me choose objectively what I should and shouldn't be evaluating, as it likely won't work in anyone's favor.
b. Please warrant and implicate your responses. If you don't explain why things matter in the context of the debate, I don't know how to evaluate them.
4. Kritiks and Theory
a. I love to hear debaters try to evaluate the debate space, but I'm not experienced on evaluating these arguments in round. Walk me through the process and tell me how to evaluate them.
5. Speaker points
a. As I said earlier, I will take points away for stealing prep. That being said, don't point out your opponents stealing prep, it's not a good look.
b. Keep your cool. Yelling or unnecessary aggression will come with lower speaker points.
Jeffrey Miller
Current Coach -- Marist School (2011-present)
Lab Leader -- Institute for Speech & Debate (2024-present), National Debate Forum (2015-2023), Emory University (2016), Dartmouth College (2014-2015), University of Georgia (2012-2015)
Former Coach -- Fayette County (2006-2011), Wheeler (2008-2009)
Former Debater -- Fayette County (2002-2006)
jmill126@gmail.com and maristpublicforum@gmail.com for email chains, please (no google doc sharing and no locked google docs)
Last Updated -- 10/8/2024 for 2024-2025 season
Overview
I am a high school teacher who believes in the power that speech and debate provides students. There is no another activity that provides the benefits that this activity does.
I wear a lot of hats as a debate coach - I am heavily involved in argument creation and strategy discussions with all levels of our public forum teams (middle school, novice and varsity). I work closely with our extemp students working on current events, cutting cards and listening to speeches. I work closely with our interp students on their pieces - from cutting them to blocking them. I work closely with platform students working with them to strategically think about integrating research into their messages.
I have been involved with the PF topic wording committee for the past eight years so any complaints (or compliments) about topics are probably somewhat in my area. I take my role on the committee seriously trying to let research guide topics and I have a lot of thoughts and opinions about how debates under topics should happen and while I try to not let those seep into the debates, there is a part of me that can't resist the truth of the topic lit.
As your judge, it is my job to give you the best experience possible in that round. I will work as hard in giving you that experience as I expect you are working to win the debate. I think online debate is amazing and would not be bothered if we never returned to in-person competitions again. For online debate to work, everyone should have their cameras on and be cordial with other understanding that there can be technical issues in a round.
What does a good debate look like?
In my opinion, a good debate features two well-researched teams who clash around a central thesis of the topic. Teams can demonstrate this through a variety of ways in a debate such as the use of evidence, smart questioning in cross examination and strategical thinking through the use of casing and rebuttals. In good debates, each speech answers the one that precedes it (with the second constructive being the exception in public forum). Good debates are fun for all those involved including the judge(s).
The best debates are typically smaller in nature as they can resolve key parts of the debate. The proliferation of large constructives have hindered many second halves as they decrease the amount of time students can interact with specific parts of arguments and even worse leaving judges to sort things out themselves and increasing intervention.
What role does theory play in good debates?
I've always said I prefer substance over theory. That being said, I do know theory has its place in debate rounds and I do have strong opinions on many violations. I will do my best to evaluate theory as pragmatically as possible by weighing the offense under each interpretation. For a crash course in my beliefs of theory - disclosure is good, open source is an unnecessary standard for high school public forum teams until a minimum standard of disclosure is established, paraphrasing is bad, round reports is frivolous, content warnings for graphic representations is required, content warnings over non-graphic representations is debatable and I probably err that they silence a majority of debaters.
All of this being said, I don't view myself as an autostrike for teams that don't disclose or paraphrase. However, I've judged enough this year to tell you if you are one of those teams and happen to debate someone with thoughts similar to mine, you should be prepared with answers and "our coach doesn't allow us" is not an answer.
I am not your judge if you want to read things like font theory or other frivilous items.
I am also not persauded by many IVI's. IVI's (like RVI's) are an example of bad early 2000's policy debate. Teams should just make arguments against things and not have to read an 'independent voting issue' in order for me to flag it to vote on the argument. Implicate your arguments and I will vote.
Do teams need to advocate the topic?
Like I said above, arguments work best when they are in the context of the critical thesis of the topic. Thus, if you are reading the same cards in your framing contention from the Septober topic that have zero connections to the current topic, I think you are starting a up-hill battle for yourselves.
Links of omission are not persuasive - teams need to identify real links for all of their positions.
In terms of the progressive debates I've watched, judged or talked about, it seems like there is a confusion about structural violence - and teams conflate any impact with marginalized group as a SV impact. This is disappointing to watch and if reading claims about SV - the constructive should also be explicit about what structures the aff/neg makes worse that implicate the violence.
Saying "structural violence comes first" doesn't automatically mean it does or that you win. These are debatable arguments, please debate them. I am also finding that sometimes the lack of clash isn't a problem of unprepared debaters, but rather there isn't enough time to resolve major issues in the literature. At a minimum, your evidence that is making progressive type claims in the debate should never be paraphrased and should be well warranted. I have found myself struggling to flow framing contentions that include four completely different arguments that should take 1.5 minutes to read that PF debaters are reading in 20-30 seconds (Read: your crisis politics cards should be more than one line).
How should evidence exchange work?
Evidence exchange in public forum is broken. At the beginning of COVID, I found myself thinking cases sent after the speech in order to protect flowing. However, my view on this has shifted. A lot of debates I found myself judging last season had evidence delays after case. At this point, constructives should be sent immediately prior to speeches. (If you paraphrase, you should send your narrative version with the cut cards in order).
Rebuttals should also probably be emailed in order to check evidence being read.
When you send evidence to the email chain, I prefer a cut card with a proper citation and highlighting to indicate what was read. Cards with no formatting or just links are as a good as analytics.
Evidence should be attached in a document, not in the text of an email. It is annoying to have to "view more" every single time. Just attach a document.
If you send me a locked/uneditable google doc, I will give you the lowest points available at the tournament.
What effects speaker points?
I am trying to increase my baseline for points as I've found I'm typically below average. Instead of starting at a 28, I will try to start at a 28.5 for debaters and move accordingly. Argument selection, strategy choices and smart crossfires are the best way to earn more points with me. You're probably not going to get a 30 but have a good debate with smart strategy choices, and you should get a 29+.
This only applies to tournaments that use a 0.1 metric -- tournaments that are using half points are bad.
As a judge I am tech over truth but a little more about me...
Cross: I will not flow cross
Speed: I am okay with speed but please don't spread
Evidence: Evidence should be cut and should match the card. Don't make anything up. If it's believable and warranted well I will believe you.
Speaking Times: I will listen to you for about 10 seconds after time ends
Substance > Theory
I’m a varsity PF debater at Brooklyn Tech. Add me to the email chain snash7877@bths.edu
Tech > Truth (but if you have an outlandish linkchain you’re gonna have to do some extra work to convince me of it)
Preferences:
- Frontline in second rebuttal
- Collapse LATEST by second summary
- I’ll keep times but you should be too (you can finish your sentence but I’ll cut you off after that)
- Extend all important offense into final focus
- Give warrants (don’t just read a card and not explain the reasoning behind why that’s the case)
- You don't need to tell me your name in speech, also I know the resolution so there's no need to repeat it
- WEIGH (and don’t just read buzzwords, just saying you outweigh on scope without doing some comparison isn’t weighing)
- Signpost (don’t make me do extra work trying to figure out which side of the flow/ where on the flow you are)
- Implicate what your responses mean, reading me a card without telling me why it’s important creates a messy round
- I’m fine with speed as long as you articulate and use intonation (If you’re gonna spread and you can't articulate you should probably send a speech doc)
- Don’t take up cross and be respectful to each other
- I won't flow cross so if something important is said bring it up in a speech if you want me to consider it
- Don't run progressive args in novice
- Please don't postround me ://// BUT I'm happy to answer genuine questions
If you don't understand what one of these points mean PLEASE ask me
hi yes i am real man does anybody want to go skateboards???
I AM VERY OPEN TO BRIBES
i too love ayush kumar
tetr.io is best game
tech and truth is good
e to the i*pi = -1
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. Thats why its called the present
alr fr tho theory is objectively cringe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually though:
--> Tech>Truth
--> Crossfire is important even if I'm not flowing
--> Be nice
--> Be on time, 1 speak per minute late
--> I will stop flowing 10 seconds over time
--> IMPLICATE: please write my ballot for me I don't want to work for it and whoever makes it clearer WHY they should win will win
--> Theory is still cringe
Hi I'm Malcolm Portera and I've been doing PF for six years
Tech over truth
Don't try to do anything dumb like abusive theory, tricks, or Ks that don't really have a link to the topic if you want me to vote for you, debate is for debate, not confusing your opponent by running insane args.
Regardless of what you believe in don't make fun of the other debaters or be mean-spirited in round.
Cross is important but I won't vote off of it unless you mention the points you made in an actual speech.
Speed is fine but I'd prefer you didn't spread
You should extend warrants for every arg you want offense off in every speech
Weighing needs to be comparative
I don't flow cross, if something important was brought up, mention it in a speech
Background: I actively coached from the fall of 2002 through the national tournament of 2017. I coached all events at various points, but had strong LD, PF, Congress, and Individual Events experience through the years. I was on the Board of Directors of the National Speech & Debate Association prior to joining the organization as their Director of Community Engagement. Through that work I oversaw processes related to topic writing, competition rules, publications, and National Tournament operations. I am currently the Principal of Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa.
Debate preferences:
1) Clear signposting
2) Give me clear warrants - even in extensions - with specific impacts.
3) I prefer having a framework to compare impacts to, which makes weighing important.
4) I am not against speed, however, I do not judge a lot. Therefore, I don't have the skill that I used to. Slow down for tags and analytics.
5) Theory/Kritiks - I am not inherently opposed, however, I worry about the assumptions people make about how arguments interact with one another and me having that same knowledge. I also worry about the lack of time to develop such arguments.
Marist, Atlanta, GA (2015-2019, 2020-Present)
Pace Academy, Atlanta GA (2019-2020)
Stratford Academy, Macon GA (2008-2015)
Michigan State University (2004-2008)
Pronouns- She/Her
Please use email chains. Please add me- abby.schirmer@gmail.com.
Short version- You need to read and defend a plan in front of me. I value clarity (in both a strategic and vocal sense) and strategy. A good strategic aff or neg strat will always win out over something haphazardly put together. Impact your arguments, impact them against your opponents arguments (This is just as true with a critical strategy as it is with a DA, CP, Case Strategy). I like to read evidence during the debate. I usually make decisions pretty quickly. Typically I can see the nexus question of the debate clearly by the 2nr/2ar and when (if) its resolved, its resolved. Don't take it personally.
Long Version:
Case Debate- I like specific case debate. Shows you put in the hard work it takes to research and defeat the aff. I will reward hard work if there is solid Internal link debating. I think case specific disads are also pretty good if well thought out and executed. I like impact turn debates. Cleanly executed ones will usually result in a neg ballot -- messy debates, however, will not.
Disads- Defense and offense should be present, especially in a link turn/impact turn debate. You will only win an impact turn debate if you first have defense against their original disad impacts. I'm willing to vote on defense (at least assign a relatively low probability to a DA in the presence of compelling aff defense). Defense wins championships. Impact calc is important. I think this is a debate that should start early (2ac) and shouldn't end until the debate is over. I don't think the U necessarily controls the direction of the link, but can be persuaded it does if told and explained why that true.
K's- Im better for the K now than i have been in years past. That being said, Im better for security/international relations/neolib based ks than i am for race, gender, psycho, baudrillard etc . I tend to find specific Ks (ie specific to the aff's mechanism/advantages etc) the most appealing. If you're going for a K-- 1) please don't expect me to know weird or specific ultra critical jargon... b/c i probably wont. 2) Cheat- I vote on K tricks all the time (aff don't make me do this). 3) Make the link debate as specific as possible and pull examples straight from the aff's evidence and the debate in general 4) I totally geek out for well explained historical examples that prove your link/impact args. I think getting to weigh the aff is a god given right. Role of the ballot should be a question that gets debated out. What does the ballot mean with in your framework. These debates should NOT be happening in the 2NR/2AR-- they should start as early as possible. I think debates about competing methods are fine. I think floating pics are also fine (unless told otherwise). I think epistemology debates are interesting. K debates need some discussion of an impact-- i do not know what it means to say..."the ZERO POINT OF THE Holocaust." I think having an external impact is also good - turning the case alone, or making their impacts inevitable isn't enough. There also needs to be some articulation of what the alternative does... voting neg doesn't mean that your links go away. I will vote on the perm if its articulated well and if its a reason why plan plus alt would overcome any of the link questions. Link defense needs to accompany these debates.
K affs are fine- you have to have a plan. You should defend that plan. Affs who don't will prob lose to framework. A alot.... and with that we come to:
NonTraditional Teams-
If not defending a plan is your thing, I'm not your judge. I think topical plans are good. I think the aff needs to read a topical plan and defend the action of that topical plan. I don't think using the USFG is an endorsement of its racist, sexist, homophobic or ableist ways. I think affs who debate this way tend to leave zero ground for the negative to engage which defeats the entire point of the activity. I am persuaded by T/Framework in these scenarios. I also think if you've made the good faith effort to engage, then you should be rewarded. These arguments make a little more sense on the negative but I am not compelled by arguments that claim: "you didn't talk about it, so you should lose."
CPs- Defending the SQ is a bold strat. Multiple conditional (or dispo/uncondish) CPs are also fine. Condo is probably good, but i can be persuaded otherwise. Consult away- its arbitrary to hate them in light of the fact that everything else is fine. I lean neg on CP theory. Aff's make sure you perm the CP (and all its planks). Im willing to judge kick the CP for you. If i determine that the CP is not competitive, or that its a worse option - the CP will go away and you'll be left with whatever is left (NBs or Solvency turns etc). This is only true if the AFF says nothing to the contrary. (ie. The aff has to tell me NOT to kick the CP - and win that issue in the debate). I WILL NOT VOTE ON NO NEG FIAT. That argument makes me mad. Of course the neg gets fiat. Don't be absurd.
T- I default to offense/defense type framework, but can be persuaded otherwise. Impact your reasons why I should vote neg. You need to have unique offense on T. K's of T are stupid. I think the aff has to run a topical aff, and K-ing that logic is ridiculous. T isn't racist. RVIs are never ever compelling.... ever.
Theory- I tend to lean neg on theory. Condo- Good. More than two then the aff might have a case to make as to why its bad - i've voted aff on Condo, I've voted neg on condo. Its a debate to be had. Any other theory argument I think is categorically a reason to reject the argument and not the team. I can't figure out a reason why if the aff wins international fiat is bad that means the neg loses - i just think that means the CP goes away.
Remember!!! All of this is just a guide for how you chose your args in round. I will vote on most args if they are argued well and have some sort of an impact. Evidence comparison is also good in my book-- its not done enough and i think its one of the most valuable ways to create an ethos of control with in the debate. Perception is everything, especially if you control the spin of the debate. I will read evidence if i need to-- don't volunteer it and don't give me more than i ask for. I love fun debates, i like people who are nice, i like people who are funny... i will reward you with good points if you are both. Be nice to your partner and your opponents. No need to be a jerk for no reason
ABOUT ME
Aryan Sethi: Junior at Lexington High School, MA
A good amount of National Circuit experience and Local experience
Tech>Truth: meaning the truth of an argument doesn't matter and I only evaluate what you tell me
Comfortable with speed and all types of arguments
Uncomfortable with graphic descriptions of SA
Let me know about pronouns and names before the round
IMPORTANT THINGS
No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. If this happens it will be a Tabroom issue
I have personal beliefs about norms and things. I try not to let it interfere. I might believe that climate change will cause extinction but if you read good arguments on me and win them I will just as easily buy that it doesn't cause extinction. Generally, Rules and norms are supposed to be debatable, so you won't see me giving you an L because of my out-of-round beliefs. So feel free to use this round to try things outside of your comfort zone since as a Judge it is my job to help you improve.
Debate how you feel comfortable--> This can include clothing sitting or standing during speeches and who you look at during cross. If there are any other accommodations please let me know I would love to help make this space as comfortable for you as possible.
Speaks
I follow tournament guidelines and NSDA guidelines for them however I do tend to be on the higher side and if you want on advice on how to improve feel free to ask pre-round but overall I give them based off: clarity, strategy, and most importantly if you are contributing to the fun and learning part of debate
EVIDENCE:
Don’t misconstrue evidence – paraphrasing is fine but please make sure you have good evidence ethics. I won't drop you for badly misconstrued evidence unless your opponents read args as to why I should.
I'll only look at/call cards if a team tells me to and it is important towards my decision.
When you extend evidence throughout every speech in the round, please extend the actual logic/warrant and not just the author name – I value the content over just flowing the card name and date.
SPEECH SPECIFIC
Constructive:
Please send out an email with all evidence being read in cut-card format it speeds the round-up and ensures good evidence ethics.
If you don't know what that is it is ok feel free to come up after the round and I can give resources/examples if needed.
All arguments are good except racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.
Speed is ok just maintain clarity and if it is going to be super fast just give a warning if you are debating in the novice division this should not be an issue but a heads-up is always nice
You don't have to repeat the resolution as I am always super updated on the topic.
5 sec grace period and then the pen is down
Cross
I don't flow cross but I do promise to listen if you want it to be evaluated in the decision make sure it is said in speech so that it is on my flow
First speaking team gets the first question
Please be nice to each other we are all here to have fun and learn so lets keep it that way
I get annoyed if you just rant on and on, so please don’t.
If you don't know the answer to the question try to dodge it and lie or if not you can always say I don't know but if you bring it up in speech we will respond don't just say my partner will tell you in his speech.
Please have fun and learn
Rebuttal:
Signpost, PLEASE: meaning tell me what argument and flow your own if you want an example feel free to ask pre round
2nd rebuttal does have to frontline/defend their case
Weighing isn't required but always helps
Case extensions aren't needed
Good analysis>card dump, but card dump is fine
WARRANT RESPONSES
Once again send all cards being read in cut card format
Summary
No new offense in summary.
First summary, you have to frontline.
Second summary, no new stuff except weighing/cross aps
Meta-weighing will win you a lot.
Please don’t make me weigh, but just in case I default to the cleanest link chain if it comes down to it.
COLLAPSE, PLEASE.
Go for one contention and maybe a turn, weigh both and you will win a lot more than you know.
SELL ME ON WARRANTS, not card names
FINAL FOCUS:
Just do what the summary did, but less. For example, choose to go for the turnOR contention AND WEIGH
This is what I vote off, if you want it on the ballot make sure it’s in final.
Even if you’re losing by final focus, you can still win, trust me.
Tell me why, where, and how I write my ballot.
Tell me warrants, I don’t care about cards, tell me the WHY.
Spoon feed the weighing to me.
There should be no new weighing. The first final can have a bit but the second final would be allowed to respond in that case.
Important NOTE v2
HAVE FUN and Learn
If you have any questions feel free to ask before or after the round about anything
If you disagree with a decision feel free to reach out via email and I would love to talk about it till you feel satisfied
You will always have my full attention
I am here as a tool after the round if you need help with looking over your case or anything at all just ask
debated for a year on the ms circuit for bergen and two years for ardrey kell on the nat circuit
for non varsity divisions:
none of the stuff under this will make any sense really so in general just try your best
I care much more about argumentation then presentation but if presentation is horrible it will factor into your speaks (not the decision)
give me comparisons of impacts in round please
varsity only below
tldr:
speed ok, theory ok, ks ok, tech > truth
put me on that email chain: ibdeadoboyo@gmail.com
in round:
preflow before round
spend more time explaining wonky args
if u don't send docs with cards i'll cook your speaks as low as possible :V and you should take no more than 5 minutes to prep a card doc
if you need over a minute to send a marked doc im taking it out of your prep cuz it really should not take that long - stop trying to steal prep
im ok with speed. gimme a doc and be clear if you spread.
anything not frontlined in 2nd rebuttal is conceded
defense is not sticky
turns must be implicated and weighed in rebuttal to be voted for
i have a pretty high threshold for what i consider turns - i need uniqueness, impact, and weighing. especially true on this topic - i'm not evaluating 20 blippy cartel turns.
most probability weighing is bs. it probably needs numerical analysis otherwise its just new defense
do weighing AGAINST YOUR OPPONENTS IMPACTS; please compare
i default util framing in general & presume neg in policy topics, and presume 1st on balance topics
flex prep is fine
cross:
i will be playing brawl stars in cross so no guarantees i hear everything
cross is binding but reference it in speech
chill w skipping grand for a min of prep
i like open cross
evidence:
warranted ev > uncarded warranted analysis > unwarranted carded ev > unwarranted uncarded analysis
only will call if: you give me a reason + tell me to, for educational purposes, or if i want to use it in my case!
strike me if you don't cut cards
i hate bad evidence ethics which means no brackets
speaks:
based off strategy & speaking
humor & a chill attitude will get u far
evidence challenges:
evidence challenges must be called once the card is introduced/called for
i believe ev challenges always incorporate a level of judge intervention so i prefer not adjudicating them but if it really is that egregious of a violation--you shouldn't have to worry about not picking up my ballot
Ks:
i like Ks and most of them are very interesting but also complex please do not blaze through 20 pages of random long words strung together and pretend like anyone can understand it
idk how tricks work i'll try to evaluate them
theory:
all shells need to be read in the speech directly following the violation
friv theory is really funny. pls run it
i default: disclo good, OS good, para bad, brackets bad, no rvis, CI > R, spirit > text, DTD > DTA
things i wont evaluate:
- any __ist or ___phobic arguments and no i don't care if some old guy says anything different
other stuff:
i love impact turns. i am a good judge for impact turns. you have to extend their case as part of the turn.
impact d is underrated. pls use impact d.
out of round:
i will always disclose rfd (unless tourney rules prohibit it), just ask
postrounding and being a sore loser are not mutually exclusive, im fine with the former not the latter
if you have any questions prior to the round or after feel free to email me (preferably ask me in the room, im a very lazy typer)
*side note: debate should be fun--run whatever makes you laugh (so long as your opponents are also okay with that type of round)
if you include a VCT reference i'll give you 30 speaks
--if you're not weighing you're not winning.
--interact with the other side's weighing.
--i will flow but you need to signpost or i'll stop.
--if a round gets too messy to follow, i'm voting off of who had aesthetically better arguments.
--don't spread. don't even speak that fast.
pf:
--please collapse before second summary.
--don't abuse prep time
--don't be a jerk, especially in cross.
--add me to evidence chains michael.sorgen26@trinityschoolnyc.org
parli:
-- get the coinflip done and choose fast.
-- if you are clearly hogging time before prep, that will be reflected in speaks.
-- introducing yourself and any road maps are part of your time.
-- opposition constructive has to respond to government constructive.
-- if you run any framework that isn't material net benefits for all people or a certain group, you need to thoroughly explain it to me if you want me to evaluate it at all, and even then i'm gonna be skeptical.
-- follow the nypdl rules and don't run progressive forms of argumentation (i.e. theory, k's, etc.)
--highest possible speaks if you drop 10 rupaul's drag race references in a speech.
good luck!!
Hey everyone, I'm Lilly, the captain of Trinity Public Forum. My email is lilly.spitzer26@trinityschoolnyc.org, but ask me before the round before adding me to the email chain.
Let's bring back 2016 debate! Logic and warrants are the most important part of the round :)
What I look for in a round:
-Weighing: weigh as early as possible in the round and make your weighing comparative (interact with your opponents' impacts.)
-Extensions: if you do not extend your arguments, I will not flow them.
-Signposting: please tell me where you are on the flow as you make your arguments.
-Warranting: warrant out every argument you make!
Hey
tech > truth
add me to the chain anitawei1331@gmail.com
> Extend extend extend. Extend until FF
> Weigh
> Pls use at least more than half of your speech time :(
> say something funny in cross pls ill give u 30 speaks
Hello, I'm Andrew Xin. I've been debating for over a year in local circuits for Sharon.
Don't do prog
I mow lawns
So be on time
Don't take too long
Let's keep this respectful
Speaks start at 28.
I am a judge
I have been debating for a few years (public forum)
consider me as a lay judge because I am truth over truth over tech and tech/tech=1 (I am not a tech judge do not think of me as a tech judge please no tech!!!!)I appreciate you!
I am a high schooler
Please don't bring up new arguments past first summary
speed is good with me but I don't like speed that much
if you spread you must use all 4 minutes. If you only use like 3:30 I will deduct points and I will not be a happy person throughout the round!!!!
email chain before round (my email is amyyuan918@gmail.com)
FW
I'm good with fw unless it is rly rly rly off topic (please try to avoid them)
theroy and stuff
Please try to stay away from theory debate runnignn ks thanks man
Overall
Please stay serious throughout the debate
I give extra speaker points if you make me laugh but in a serious manner
Please do not laugh in the debate
Talk quietly during prep (if in person) please don't loudly whisper
Do not be very rude during cross, I like to see many topics touched during cross. Don't spend to much time on one topic. I do not flow crossfire but I will take it into account with the rest of the debate
please be a kind soul and I will be happy