I coach debate as an extracurricular, but I teach AP Lit during the day. Your ability to clearly communicate your argument is as important as the argument itself. Speed is fine, but spreading is ineffective.

Great logic is just as important as great evidence. Avoid card dumping.

If a convincing framework is not provided, I default to cost-benefit analysis. If you have a framework, be sure to explain why it's important.

Extend your arguments, please.

I will the flow the round. Please signpost.

If you must do an off-time road map to calm your nerves before you begin your actual speech, I get it. But it's really not necessary unless you're doing something atypical.

You guys have put a lot of work into preparing for this tournament, and you're now here on a Saturday working hard and putting yourselves out there. Regardless of how the round goes, you have earned my respect.

she/her

Can put me on the email chain: lauren [dot] burdt [at] gmail.com

Would prefer Tabroom's anonymized docs sharing if enabled

Background: I coached national circuit LD in Iowa and Nebraska until 2018. Have coached students to late elims of the TOC and NSDA Nats. I've mostly been in tab rooms and judging locally since then, so my threshold for speed and recognition of new arg trends has gone down since then. Debate's your game; I'm happy to be in the back of the room for whatever you prefer to do as long as we're all safe and having fun. In general, if you communicate clearly, are well-researched, show depth of understanding in the literature you are reading, and bring passion to the debate, I will enjoy whatever you have to present.

Couple specific things:

-Speed: Probably not keeping up with your top speed these days. Will yell slow and clear. If you're debating someone who asks you to slow down, I expect you to make your best efforts to ensure they can follow the debate.

-Theory/phil: Sure. This is how I debated. I enjoy framing-heavy debates that compare the applications of different ethical frameworks. Engagement > evasion; extensions of a dropped sentence fragment buried within a paragraph of analytics do not particularly excite me.

-T: Substantive topicality debates ("T as a turn to aff's method") typically fare better with me in the back of the room than "aff must read plan", but I'm down for whatever floats your boat.

-K: Sure. This is primarily what I coached. Feel like these debates have gotten more buzzwordy these days which is not a great strategy to pick up my ballot. I'm uninterested in imposing my own ideological preferences as a judge, and I'm open to experimentation with what debate can/should be. I judge a lot of clash debates.

-General: I'm not following along in the doc. I flow speeches straight down and I evaluate debates holistically. Explanation matters, judge instruction important, big picture storytelling good.

-Happy! I like it when debaters are nice to each other. The friends you make in debate will last much longer than your memory of Ws and Ls. Personality is fun, sass is fun, but I have a pretty low threshold for being frustrated with actions and behaviors that work against building community. Have fun, be smart, and I'll do my best to evaluate rounds the way you tell me to.

SOOOOOOO TRAD.

State Update: I'm sick, please don't get mad at me for coughing and sneezing.

Vestavia Hills High School '18

Auburn University '22

Email Chain: joeycompton17@gmail.com

Judge Philosophy: I feel like my job as a judge is to be as objective as possible and evaluate the round solely on the merits of the arguments presented.

General Debate Predilections/Requests That You'll Inevitably Ignore:

-I like debates about the topic. The stupider your interp is, the more annoyed I get.

-Tech over truth. Notwithstanding, if your "technical concession" took two seconds it probably doesn't matter.

-I really, really enjoy impact turn debates. They will be rewarded with higher speaks if done correctly.

-I hate, hate, hate long overviews. Just do it on the line by line.

-I care a lot about evidence. More on that below.

-You don't have to shake my hand, lol.

PF:

-You can have a framework debate if you want. I really don't care. That being said, if it's useless, your speaks will go down. Strategy, and using your time wisely, is key. Also, I need effective warrant analysis to evaluate voters under the framework - so, please do that.

-I don't care about speed. If you are *actually* going to spread, I'm cool with an email chain (email is below). If you are incomprehensible, I'll yell "clear" twice. After that, I'm done.

-I don't care whether you read the card straight up or summarize. But keep in mind, if you get called out for miscutting, I will call for the card at the end of the round. If I find you have grossly misrepresented the evidence, I'll probs drop you. It's up to you. I used to summarize, and it helped with the flow of the case, but if you want to play it safe, just read the card.

-I like effective warrant analysis. I will be sad if you don't do this. If you want to concede links for strategic purposes, I'm completely fine with it, just make sure you do it in the immediate speech from which the turn was read.

-I don't flow crossfire, but I really enjoy it. Ask strategic, nuanced questions and you will potentially be rewarded with higher speaks. Don't make arguments - that's for your speeches. Don't be rude.

-I think it's advantageous for the second-speaking team (2) to cover the first-speaking team's (1) offense on Team 2's case. It won't hurt your chances at winning my ballot and I won't require it, but it could potentially hurt your speaks. I like this because it makes for a cleaner summary and somewhat evens the playing field between Team 1 and Team 2.

-I hope you have your evidence! I used to call for a lot of cards, and I think it's cool when debaters actually try to directly interact with the evidence. As soon as you receive the evidence, I'll start prep. After a significant portion of time, if a team can't find a card or evidence, I will just start your prep until you concede the argument. You should have your evidence - no excuses. If a team or debater asks me to call for a card, I'll look at it after the round. I also reserve the right to call for cards even if I am not prompted to. I often do this if I'm making my decision off of one or two pieces of evidence. If I call for a card, I will never insert argument into the debate based on what the evidence implies, but I do reserve the right to drop you if it is miscut or you misread/misinterpreted it.

-As of recent, I've gotten really tired of keeping time. I've decided the best way to deal with this, as a judge, is to give lower speaks to teams who irresponsibly keep time. It's not that hard and it bothers me a lot. C'mon.

-Strategy, competitiveness, and good crystallization will get you good speaks. +.5 if you say Kanye lyrics, exclaim "War Eagle," or say a funny joke/pun during the round. Both teams can do it. UPDATE: Quite a good bit of debaters have been saying "War Eagle" to me. That's great and all, but the sentence above says "during the round" - thus, it should be in a speech.

-Rudeness, offensive behavior, wasted time/inefficiency, etc. will give you low speaks.

-I'm good with progressive args. I like disad-esque arguments with solid links. If you think it's necessary to run theory, please run it in shell form. I've never been too high on K debate. I'll vote on them, but I'm unfamiliar with most of the literature. I never really ran these when I debated, but if you feel as if you can explain it well, go for it. Don't pref me too high if this is what you do - I wouldn't be able to give you due diligence. It's not you, it's me.

-I'm more tech over truth. I'm willing to vote on a bad argument if it is won on the flow. I'm going to hate myself for doing it, but as much as I dislike dumb arguments, I dislike arbitrary judge intervention more.

-Meme cases? I'm listening. Don't throw away the round and run these if you can break, though. I don't want to take this opportunity away from you like John Scanlon did with me. You probably won't win, but it'll be fun.

-No matter your record, keep your head up and your mind open. Every tournament, and every round, is a learning experience. Don't let your record define you. Have fun with it, and don't be afraid to come talk to me before/after the round or over email if you have any questions.

-Email: joeycompton17@gmail.com.

LD:

-I'm open to really anything in a round, and I'm generally familiar with most styles of argumentation. I've only judged one LD tournament this year, so, depending on how good you are, I may be a tad rusty.

-I feel like my job as a judge is to be as objective as possible and evaluate the round solely on the merits of the arguments presented. I will vote on anything as long as it is: A) clearly explained, B) well defended, and C) weighed against other arguments. Basically: you do you.

-I'll vote on less-than-stellar args like NIBs or frivolous theory. You can definitely pick up my ballot if you do that, but I probably won't give you good speaks. As much as I dislike dumb arguments, I dislike arbitrary judge intervention more.

-Speed is fine, slow down for tags and authors, though. If you're going too fast, I'll yell "clear" twice. After that, I'm done. Keep in mind, if I can't understand you, I can't vote for you.

-I may call for cards after the round if need be.

-I won't flow cross but make it enjoyable - I was a huge cross guy. Make sure you're asking strategic questions. I don't want to be bored.

-I'm fine with progressive strategies such as Theory, DAs, T, etc.

-I'll vote on disclosure theory but your speaks will reflect how upset I am about voting on it.

-If you're gonna have an email chain, add me to it.

-Adding stuff to a speech doc counts as prep, but the physical act of emailing or giving a flash-drive to your opponent does not.

-I'm usually glued to my flow during the round, so if I'm not looking at you don't panic.

-Don't pref me high if you're a K debater. I'm unfamiliar with most of the literature and never really ran these when I debated. I wouldn't be able to give you due diligence. It's not you, it's me.

-Speaks: I'll dock points if you're obscenely rude or do cheap/tricky args. If you say a funny joke, drop some Kanye lyrics, or exclaim "War Eagle" during the round or cross I'll add .5 points to your speaks - both debaters can do it.

-Email me before the round (or after idc) if you have any questions: joeycompton17@gmail.com

....

Things I default to (not my preferences, just what I'll default to if you fail to address the issue).

-Competing interps

-No RVIs

-Drop the arg

-The resolution is a statement that is to be proven true by the Aff

-Theory comes before Ks and T

-Fairness / education are theoretically legitimate reasons to exclude certain practices

Big Questions Preferences:

Lol.

Dr. Carrie Crenshaw

Director, SpeakFirst

Birmingham, AL

24 Years of Debate Experience at Middle School, High School and Collegiate Debate Level

Philosophy:
I love debate. My high school coach Patti Edwards first gave me the gift of debate in 1979. I am happy to be here to listen to your arguments and will carefully consider all you have to say. I appreciate your hard work and courage in speaking out and learning to argue well and think critically.

I have always considered myself an argument critic. I will vote for the team who makes the best arguments backed by high quality reasoning and evidence. I expect you to be tight in the line by line meeting your burden of rejoinder while also weighing the arguments, issues and evidence in a solid explanation of why you win the debate as a whole.

Do
-Speak clearly and persuasively. I don't mind a rapid rate of speaking but I have found that very few are actually able to speak rapidly and clearly at the same time.
-Use high quality evidence and make clear arguments about why your evidence is good.
-Be strategic and smart.
-Be kind.

Don't
-Be obnoxious or rude. I expect everyone to be treated with respect.
-Expect me to read volumes of evidence after the debate is over. If a card is highly contested, I may occasionally ask to see it but, in general, I expect you to clearly read and refer to your evidence in your speeches.
-Speak fast if you can't do it clearly.

Alyssa Gregory (alyssa.g.gregory@gmail.com yes put me on the email chain).

I was on the Policy Debate Team at Samford University where I qualified for the national debate tournament twice. All of my debate experience has been in policy but I still feel like I have a good understanding of LD and PF.

A brief overview: I lean towards aff on theory, tech over truth, and love impact calc. The better line by line the better speaker points. Debaters have an incentive to lie so you need evidence to support your claims.

Other thoughts:

Tech v. Truth: I definitely lean more toward tech. There are a lot of true arguments in debate (probably on both sides) so if an arg is dropped and you point it out, it will be a true argument for me. However, if your opponent runs a really out there argument and you effectively argue against it I'll take this into consideration.

Speed: Go the fastest you can while being clear. As a debater, I've always hated when judges said clear so I'll probably only say it to you if you're excessively unclear. If I look confused that's a sign you need to change.

Kicking Arguments: Unless it’s a theory arg, you should be formally kicking out of things. I will kick a cp for the negative automatically if they respond to “status of the cp” in cx with “status quo is always an option” unless the aff tells me not to. Otherwise, I won’t kick anything unless explicitly told to by the negative.

This is true for all args except args that have no business in debate (see impact turns below)

Non-topical affs: I believe debate is a fun game students do for fun on the weekend. Like any game, debate has binding rules I will hold you to. You need to either affirm or negate the year's topic.

Traditional v. Progressive: I lean progressive. I have run and hit a few K's. The more far-fetched the K the less likely I will vote for you. I've also been in and witnessed some clash debates where people were overly rude to their opponents. If I witness you taunting, bullying, or acting in an excessively rude manner I will severely dock your speaker points. With all arguments, but especially Ks it is necessary to explain in simple terms what you are advocating for.

T: I'm very comfortable with these args. If you do go for T make sure you have a definition of an exact word from the resolution. You also need evidence to support this claim and more evidence to show the aff does not fall under your interpretation. And explain standards (especially if there is a counter interp) - If you don't tell me why to prefer your interp, I probably will give aff more wiggle room on being T. Standards need to have an impact. Why should I care about limiting the resolution? Also, make sure you present a Topical Version of the aff.

Theory More Broadly: Condo is a reason to reject the team or reject the arg, and everything else is just reject the arg. Debate is a game and theory arguments tell the judge when someone has broken a rule. I lean pretty far negative on theory like PICs, Conditional, etc. However, I find 3 Cps to be excessive (2 is fine). The more condo you have, the more persuasive the reject the team arg becomes and the more wiggle room I will give the aff. I think conditional planks are sketchy and unfair to the aff.

K: You cannot win a K without an alternative and need to have a solvency advocate.

CP: I love a good counterplan that is textually and functionally competitive with the plan, a credible solvency advocate, and a net benefit. I’m good with any reasonable cp as long as the negative is ready to defend it theoretically or kick out of it.

DA: Uniqueness determines the direction of the link.

Impacts: Do impact calculus and turns/solves case arguments at least in the 2NR/2AR. If the debate comes down to impact calculus and neither team has done any, I can’t tell you how I personally would evaluate the impacts. Please just make my life easier and do the impact calc

Impact Turns: If you impact turn anything like discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. you’re going to lose and get 0 speaker points.

I flow rounds. Alerting me to clear contentions and off time road maps assists me in completing my flows. I am absolutely not capable of flowing if you SPREAD, in fact, if you choose to SPREAD, I will stop flowing and listen. I prefer to hear you present your arguments verses reading your prepared material. The documents will provide me the name of your source when I review before making a final decision. I favor up to date resources as changes happen daily, when presenting your argument I focus on the year of the evidence to include in my flow. Cross fires should be civil. I generally look to typical speech characteristics when determining speaker points, such as speaking with clarity and articulation. I also consider the general characteristics of giving a speech such as how you present yourself through your demeanor both individually and as a team, as well as with your opponents.

Email: willhaynes11@gmail.com

Background: I debated for four years at Spain Park High School in Hoover, AL: national circuit LD my first two years and national circuit PF for the remainder. I recently graduated from Auburn University with a BS in Biomedical Sciences and minors in Spanish and Philosophy. I am currently a first year medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I spent 4 years coaching and judging PF for Auburn High School, mostly on the local Alabama circuit.

Lincoln-Douglass Paradigm

I typically judge PF, but as I stated above, do have experience debating circuit LD. Therefore, I'm pretty flexible when it comes to how you would like to debate. Traditional is probably your safest bet, but I'm not going to disregard your arguments because they are too progressive. Just recognize that since I am a PF coach, I may not evaluate all of your arguments in the same way as an LD circuit judge would.

Flow/Speed: I am a standard flow judge. I can tolerate a brisk pace, but please do not spread.

Theory: I'm good with anything you would like to run. Competing interps>reasonability

K's: I don't particularly like K's. I'm most sympathetic to K's that are using the round to make structural change within the debate community.

Framework: Feel free to run any fun/interesting/non-standard criterions as long as you provide solid justifications.

Public Forum Paradigm

Flow/Speed: I am a typical flow judge. In rebuttals and summaries, please make it clear what argument you're responding to. All turns must be addressed in the following speech, so if you are the second speaker, and your opponent makes a case turn in their rebuttal, you must address it in your rebuttal or else it is dropped. Frontlining can be done in either the rebuttal or summary. I can flow 8/10 on speed. Do not spread. The summary and final focus must be consistent.

Evidence: I will call for cards at the end of the round if I am unclear on the intentions of the author or I have reason to believe it is mis-cut. I will not call for evidence due to washes or lack of weighing.

Crossfire: I do not flow new arguments in crossfire, nor does it have any effect in how I judge the round unless someone is rude, in which case I will deduct speaker points.

Framework: I default to CBA unless another empirically justified framework is offered at the top of the constructive. I enjoy a good framework debate, so do not hesitate to propose a deontological value.

Offense: Under CBA, I only weigh quantifiable and empirically justified impacts as offense. If you do not quantify, there is no objective way for me to compare impacts at the end of the debate.

Fiat: If the resolution is framed in terms of a moral obligation (should, ought ect.), then I judge the debate based off the costs/benefits of the resolution actually taking effect. Therefore, I do not evaluate feasibility claims that have to do with the inabilities of laws or policies to pass through Congress or any other governmental actor unless I am provided with compelling analytical justifications for doing so.

Theory: I believe theory is the best way to correct abuse in a debate round. It is much easier for me to flow theory if it is run in the standard format (A: Interpretation, B: Violation, C:Standards, D:Voters), but I am fine with paragraph theory as long as it is clear and well justified.

Kritiks: I very rarely vote for them, mainly just because I don't believe PF is the most conducive for such arguments so just keep that in mind before you take that risk.

Presumption: In the event that the round ends up with a wash, I will default to the first speaking team.

Email: caitlynajones1@gmail.com

Pronouns: (she/her)

Berkeley:

I have done no topic research. Assume I know nothing

I debated PF for 4 years

• If you want me to vote on it, it needs to be in the summary and the final focus

• Please don’t just yell cards at me. Some analysis please

• If there’s an evidence misconduct problem, I’d rather you point out the issues with your opponent’s interpretation of evidence during your speeches, but I’ll call for a card if you tell me to.

• Any concessions in cross need to be in a speech for me to flow it

• Don't Spread at me. If I need a case doc to follow you, it's too fast.

• I'm not flowing anything after the 10-second grace period

My experience in debate is primarily based in coaching. I have coached with both Middle School and High School teams in public forum. For me every part of a round is important, although I weigh the rebuttal, summary, and final focus speeches above the constructive. I particularly look for the ability to create strong clash between the strengths of your case and the weaknesses of your opponent's case throughout the round. I do not flow crossfires; however, I will note how well you defend your case or attack your opponent in crossfire.

I'm what my students call "flay." Be nice, be logical, speak clearly. I don’t like excessive terminology.

Experience/Background: I coached at Columbus HS from 2013-2021, primarily Public Forum, and now coach at Carrollton HS (2021-present). I did not debate in high school or college, but I have been coaching and judging PF, a little LD, and IEs since 2013, both locally (Georgia) and on the national circuit, including TOC and NSDA Nationals. I spent several years (2017-2022) as a senior staff member with Summit Debate and previously led labs at Emory (2016-2019).

Judging Preferences:

If you have specific questions about me as a judge that are not answered below (or need clarification), please feel free to ask them. Some general guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions are below:

1. Speed: I can flow a reasonably fast speed when I'm at the top of my game, but I am human. If it's late in the day/tournament, I am likely tired, and my capacity for speed drops accordingly. I will not be offended if you ask me about this before the round. For online rounds, I prefer that you speak at a more moderate speed. I will tell you "clear" if I need you to slow down. If I am flowing on paper, you should err on the slower side of speed than if I am flowing on my laptop.

2. Signposting and Roadmaps: Signposting is good. Please do it. It makes my job easier. Off-time roadmaps aren't really needed if you're just going "their case, our case", but do give a roadmap if there's a more complex structure to your speech.

3. Consistency of Arguments/Making Decisions: Anything you expect me to vote on should be in summary and final focus. Defense is not "sticky" -- meaning you cannot extend it from rebuttal to final focus. Please weigh. I love voters in summary, but I am fine if you do a line-by-line summary.

4. Prep (in-round and pre-round): Please pre-flow before you enter the round. Monitor your own prep time. If you and your opponents want to time each other to keep yourselves honest, go for it. Do not steal prep time - if you have called for a card and your opponents are looking for it, you should not be writing/prepping unless you are also running your prep time. (If a tournament has specific rules that state otherwise, I will defer to tournament policy.) On that note, have your evidence ready. It should not take you longer than 20-30 seconds to pull up a piece of evidence when asked. If you delay the round by taking forever to find a card, your speaker points will probably reflect it.

5. Overviews in second rebuttal: In general, I think a short observation or weighing mechanism is probably more okay than a full-fledged contention that you're trying to sneak in as an "overview". Tread lightly.

6. Frontlines: Second speaking team should answer turns and frontline in rebuttal. I don't need a 2-2 split, but I do think you need to address the speech that preceded yours.

7. Theory, Kritiks, and Progressive Arguments: I prefer not judging theory debates. Strongly prefer not judging theory debates. If you are checking back against a truly abusive practice, I will listen to and evaluate the argument. If you are using theory/Ks/etc. in a way intended to overwhelm/intimidate an opponent who has no idea what's going on, I am not going to respond well to that.

8. Crossfire: I do not flow crossfire. If it comes up in cross and you expect it to serve a role in my decision-making process, I expect you to bring it up in a later speech.

9. Speaker points: I basically never give 30s, so you should not expect them from me. My range is usually from 28-29.7.

Experience: 2004 - Present - Speech and Debate director for Spain Park High School, Birmingham, AL

Events I Enjoy Coaching and Judging: Public Forum / Limited Lincoln Douglas / Most IE events

Major Concerns: If I call for a card and determine it is miscut, I will immediately drop your team. I will also report the violation to the tournament director and your coach or sponsor. All evidence should have a clearly defined DATE, author, and credentials. Sourcing on your card should be clear and wording of the text should not be altered. I should be quickly able to determine the veracity of the information presented in the round.

How I weigh PF: Standards should be clearly established. I find a framework at the top of the case useful. Please make an effort to argue your framework/standard. I will weigh all arguments based on the winning standard. Clearly compare both sides of the argument and explain why your side outweighs based on clear links to the framework. Deliver clear voters in the Final Focus. Usually, I only consider arguments cleanly extended through summary and final focus.

Kritiks/Counterplans/Theory in PF: Different tournaments have different rules on these matters. I will abide by the rules or philosophy in the tournament handbook. Public Forum should be accessible to a general audience. Please make certain that your arguments are comprehensible. If you feel like your opponent is running an argument which is unfair or against the rules, be prepared to define the violation and explain why to discount the argument in your rebuttal, summary, and final focus. If you are running these types of arguments, be prepared to establish why you are departing from the norms. Your rationale should be clear so that your opponent can adequately address your points.

Crossfire: Do not talk over your opponent. Follow up questions can be useful, but be courteous to your opponents' need to question you. Discourtesy will result in deducted speaker points.

Speaker Points: Your level of courtesy is my primary concern here. BUT ALSO - Dress professionally. Be self-aware of your demeanor. Enunciate. Signpost your arguments/rebuttals. Each speech should have evidence of organization. Use all your time.

Email contact: jrr289@msstate.edu - please add me to any email chains being used in the round

Background: I competed in speech and debate for three years in high school. I primarily participated in public forum debate and international and domestic extemporaneous speaking, but I occasionally competed in LD, congress, and various other limited prep speech events. I attended the NSDA tournament twice in international extemporaneous speaking. I competed at the CFL National tournament three times: once in extemporaneous speaking, once in public forum, and once in congress. I have stayed active in speech and debate by judging a few tournaments a year and helping coach public forum debate teams on the high school level.

Speeches and case organization

I have a fundamental aversion to jargon and unexplained abbreviations or acronyms in debate. Explain and define everything.

The best constructive speeches contain at least some background information on the resolution. Many teams overlook this, perhaps due to time constraints, but this is a critical step. In other words, you need to answer this question up front: how have we arrived at the topic before us?

Organized speeches with clear signposting are an absolute must. Evidence is obviously important, but I will pay special attention to how it is woven throughout your speeches. Are you making it clear why this evidence is important? Why I should trust it? What is its impact? Do you have multiple levels of evidence to support every argument you plan on making?

Crossfire

I will pay attention to everything said during crossfire. While a debate may not be won solely by the crossfire performance, it can quickly be lost. A great debater is one who does not lose their persuasiveness even when they have to think fast on their feet. You should be able to defend all your arguments and evidence without hesitation during crossfire. What I believe to be an extremely effective communication strategy during crossfire that you may want to consider is not forgetting to make eye contact and speak to the judge. Do not limit your focus during crossfire to your opponent or your papers in front of you. Engaging me in crossfire and making me feel included will absolutely earn you some extra speaker points.

Miscellaneous

I will flow each debate carefully, but I do not consider myself a technical judge. You are free to run whatever arguments or strategies you choose; if you can sell it well, I will probably buy it. At the end of the round, my decision is usually for the team who wows me the most. Sometimes that is the team who I think wins the most number of arguments. Sometimes that is the team who wins the strongest arguments. Sometimes it is the team that had the best delivery and persuasiveness.

Please feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions.

This will be my 5rd year serving as a judge (12th tournament). I have a child who is involved in debate with a focus on PF. I have judged mostly PF but also a number of LD rounds. I understand that speed is important to presenting all of your ideas on the topic, however, speed without clarity may lead to confusion or my inability to evaluate the argument. I also feel like all competitions should reflect good sportsmanship and be civil in nature. I prefer to have factual information to substantiate your case and support your argument. Please weigh in summary and final focus and make sure to present all of your arguments and analysis prior to the final focus. Finally, while many of these topics are serious discussions, remember to have fun. See you in round!

I only have one suggestion: assume I know nothing. All of these topics are nuanced and if you assume I know all of the details and think I know what you’re talking about, you are sadly mistaken.

I debated in Houston Tx. in high school and college. I was a policy debater. I have coached and taught debate for 30 years now; Policy, Public Forum, and Lincoln Douglas. I have coached and taught at Langham Creek HS in Houston, Tx., Hanover HS and Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH., Wayland HS in Grand Rapids, MI. and now finally at Auburn HS, in Auburn Alabama.

Emory 2020:

I haven’t judged many circuit level rounds this year, I coach one circuit debater and don’t get to see many high level plan debates. This means that in your first speech you should start slow for the first 5 seconds and speed up as you wish from there

Pref chain:

- Plan debate, policy, LARP: 1

- Traditional debate: 1

- Theory: 3

- K debate: 4

- Tricks: 5

- Performance: 5

I am a very flow judge!!! Tech should be true, otherwise you’re lying… So Truth > Tech.

I cannot stress this enough!!! NO TRICKS, NO SPIKES, NO FRIV THEORY!!! IT IS BAD DEBATE AND ITS GOING TO MAKE ME VERY UNHAPPY!!!

Add me to the email chain: donna.yeager@gmail.com

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THEN ASK!!! If you aren’t sure you can run something or have a question about my paradigm defaults then asking is the best way to be safe.

I am ok with good spreading, I flow from your speech and will refer to the doc if I missed something or am confused, but clear taglines and authors are important.

I default to the following:

- Neg wins on presumption unless otherwise argued

- Consequentialism for impact calc

Give an off-time road map!!! Every new off case argument will be flowed on a separate sheet of paper!!!

Things I liked in a round:

- Well-developed plans

- Fully linked out DA’s

- Good CP’s

- Proper decorum

- Good FW debate (Rawls, Kant, Hobbes, Locke)

Things I don’t like:

- Performative debate

- High theory K’s

- Spikes, Tricks

- Disclosure theory

- Friv theory

- Bad T/theory shells

- Incoherent spreading

- Speaking for others

- Ptx DA’s

- After round disrespect

- PICs

Disclosure:

I don’t disclose for double-flighted rounds, not that hard of a rule, if there is extra time, I might be able to give an RFD. I don’t disclose speaks.

Speaks:

30: I expect you to win the tournament or be in finals (rarely given)

29.5: Finals or high break rounds, I enjoyed this debate and learned something

29: Good debate, should break, close round with one of the above ^

28.5: Good job, room to improve, well executed arg on my do not like list.

28: You weren’t as clear as you could’ve been, the weighing wasn’t the best

27.5: Same as 28 but worse

27: Worse than 27.5 😊

26.5: You made some serious errors, ran something I don’t like or was hard to judge, you spoke awful

26: Worse than 26.5

25.5-25: You shouldn’t go above 3-3, you made a critical mistake and deserve to lose, you were racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, or ableist

My Public Forum judging philosophy will be the same as my asst. coach, Mr. Will Haynes. So thank you Will!

Flow/Speed: I am a typical flow judge. In rebuttals and summaries, please make it clear what argument you're responding to. All turns must be addressed in the following speech, so if you are the second speaker, and your opponent makes a case turn in their rebuttal, you must address this in your rebuttal or else it is dropped. Frontlining can be done in either the rebuttal or summary. I can flow 8/10 on speed. Do not spread. The summary and final focus must be consistent.

Evidence: If an opponent asks for a card, you get one minute to produce it. After one minute, I strike the card from my flow. I will call for cards at the end of the round if I am unclear on the intentions of the author or I have reason to believe it is mis-cut. I will not call for evidence due to washes or lack of weighing.

Crossfire: I do not flow new arguments in crossfire, nor does it have any effect in how I judge the round unless someone is rude, in which case I will deduct speaker points.

Framework: I default to utilitarianism unless another empirically justified framework is offered at the top of the constructive. I enjoy a good framework debate, so do not hesitate to propose a deontological value.

Offense: Under util, I only weigh quantifiable and empirically justified impacts as offense. If you do not quantify, there is no objective way for me to compare impacts at the end of the debate.

Fiat: If the resolution is framed in terms of a moral obligation (should, ought ect.), then I judge the debate based off the costs/benefits of the resolution actually taking effect. Therefore, I do not evaluate feasibility claims that have to do with the inabilities of laws or policies to pass through congress or any other governmental actor unless I am provided with compelling analytical justifications for doing so.

Theory: I believe theory is the best way to correct abuse in a debate round. It is much easier for me to flow theory if it is run in the standard format (A: Interpretation, B: Violation, C:Standards, D:Voters), but I am fine with paragraph theory as long as it is clear and well justified.

Kritiks: I very rarely vote for them, so just keep that in mind before you take that risk.

Speaker Point Scale: These are the criteria I use for determining speaker points. Everyone starts out with a 26. Do these things well to get up to 30.

Come to the round prepared and on time.

Remain calm during crossfire and speeches. Aggression and agitation are not compelling.

Give speeches with a minimal number of "ums" and "likes"

Have a clear organizational structure for your speeches. Signpost and don't jump all over the place on the flow.

Weigh arguments in your rebuttals, summaries, and final focuses. Don't just read a block.