Hello,

I've been in debate as a whole for about 8 years. Last debated in '20 (just before rona lol) . I've coached various formats of debate (Policy, LD, Parli, Public Forum) along with being a participant in those formats also. Here's my view: Debate is a space to challenge ideologies and come to the best way of making a change. That may look like a plan text that has an econ and heg or, it's an advocacy that talks about discourse in the debate space. I'm here for you as an educator so tell me where and how to vote. Impact Magnitude in the later speeches will help you and me a lot.

Add me on the Email doc:3offncase@gmail.com

Here's my view on certain arguments:

T and Framework and theory in general: I'll listen and adjudicate the round based on the information that you frame my ballot.

Counterplans: Gotta prove the Mutual Exclusivity of said CP. Not really a preference or style choice on this.

D/A's: Uniqueness has got to be relatively recent or the debate is gonna be a tough one to win. If paired with a C/P you must prove how you avoid said D/A or perm is gonna be super cheezy here. Again don't let that stop you from running it in front of me.

K's: I'm good with whatever you desire to run but if its some super high level (D&G or around that lit base) stuff you gotta explain what that means. Also, please be sure to know your author's lit bases here. Perm debates against K's have to prove the accessibility of the Perm along with the net benefits of the perm. Also, Impact Framing the K is gonna make your job along with mine a lot easier.

K Aff's: You do you. Tell me where to frame the ballot and how to view any performances within the round. You do you. Solvency is gonna be the point of clash along with framing.

Update for '21: My internet at my house is absolute garbage so PLEASE: start at 80% speed, I'm always ready for your speech and I'll give a reaction in zoom if I'm not.

Two things: (1) Do NOT speak too quickly and (2) signpost.

Hello, this is my second year judging as a parent judge.

I borrowed this from Jessica Jung/Trevor Greenan, but I find that I vote in this order:
1. conceded arguments
2. arguments with warrants and substantive analysis
3. arguments with in-round weighing/framing
4. arguments with implicit clash/framing

Please speak clearly and not too fast. As you can see from my voting order, clear articulation of arguments along with a good and clear clash of ideas is central in gaining my ballot. Which means if you spread and I can't follow your arguments, you may not get the benefit of your argument.

I've basic familiarity with theoretical arguments (in the form of a theory shell). Having said that I've enough familiarity so that you don't have to spend time explaining how theory shell works -- or how to weight it - get straight into the substance of the abuse. Please only run it if you believe there are genuine grounds to do so. No friv theory.

I generally do not disclose after rounds unless required by tournament (elimination rounds etc.)

Overall, debate is about ideas, and I would love to hear yours. Have fun!

I am a parent judge and prefer things to be warranted and impacted out clearly. Please do not spread and make well thought out arguments.

Signpost so that I can keep track of where arguments go on the flow.

I will reference a paragraph from Stanford University's “A Guide to American Parliamentary Debate” as a tool for my understanding of best practices.

A high premium is placed on quick thinking and logical, rigorous analysis. APDA debate is audience-centered; speaking skills learned on APDA can be directly appreciated by the general public, not only specially-trained judges. By focusing on argumentation and rhetoric rather than rapid recitation of evidence and technical rule-based strategies, parliamentary debate is an activity which is easily learned, extremely adaptable, and widely accessible, yet still rigorous, intellectually demanding, and rewarding.

https://web.stanford.edu/group/debate/pages/parli-guide

I am a lay judge. I have been judging for around 3 - 4 years for parliamentary debate.

I am a parent judge with some experience in this event. Assume I have no background knowledge about the topic you are discussing.

I'm a parent judge with a few years of experience. That being said, treat me as you would any other lay judge: refrain from speed, jargon etc.

I am a parent judge and my child has been debating for a few years so I am familiar with the basics of debate. I have an open mind and keep my biases (which are humanly unavoidable) outside of the door while I am judging. I intend to be tabula rasa.

What matters to me?

I like POIs.

No heckling. I don't think it is necessary. If you have something, mention it in your speech.

Don't spread please, you have enough time to get your point across. Spreading decreases your speaker points.

Tech > truth- the details of which I just learned recently from my child. I am a lay judge still.

Please explain complex debate jargon in a way that's intuitive. If it makes sense to me, I will buy it.

Theory shells are OK. Please take the time to explain all the parts. If you can convince me that there was genuine abuse in the round, I will buy it. No friv theory.

The purpose of debate is education but any theory shells that I buy will be considered first.

.No Ks. I don't know many Ks and likely will not be able to judge to my full ability if you bring one up.

Stay topical.

Weigh your impacts well so that I don't have to do the thinking for my ballot. Define the weighing mechanism clearly and if there is conflict, prove that you win under both. Don't make the whole debate about it.

Make sure to signpost and stick to your order. Keep structure in mind during your speeches so that my flow is organized. It will make it easier to decide the ballot.

Please respect your opponents' pronouns and don't assume anything that they have not confirmed themselves. I expect a civil yet passionate debate.

Have fun debating!

Most important: No spreading. Be respectful to your opponents.

I am not a former debater or a technical judge. As such, if you use technical terms of debate, please briefly define them. I have two years experience judging high school debate.

Regarding my background, I am a marriage and family therapist. Before that I worked as an editor at a legal magazine. Prior to that I got my doctorate in English literature. All of this is to say I have spent my life listening to and analyzing language and argument/story structure. I will base my decision on how coherent your argument is, how well you support it, and how well counter your opponent's arguments. I take careful notes during each speaker's speech and pay attention to flow and dropped arguments.

I am a lay judge, i have been judging for 3 years. My preferences:

1) Speak clearly and slowly to build and argue your contentions

2) Prefer No Theory or Ks

Be courteous in your questioning and speaking.

Parent judge here so please steer away from theory unless you really think the other team is being abusive (so that means you should not be running frivolous theory in a round where I am the judge) and you'll have to explain it super clearly-- so don't use jargon in terms of theory. I'm also not super familiar with kritiks so don't run those!

Basically: don't run super techy arguments. keep it simple. stick to case debate if you can. if you veer off case debate there should be a REALLY good reason why.

I'm also not too comfortable with speed, so please be clear when speaking and DO NOT SPREAD.

Most importantly, have a fun debate! Don't be mean or bigoted or else I definitely won't vote for you :D

Have a great debate!

-Ana

David Chamberlain
English Teacher and Director of Forensics - Claremont High School, CA
20 years coaching forensics. I usually judge Parliamentary debate at tournaments.

In Parli debate I don't like being bogged down in meta debating. Nor do I appreciate frivolous claims of abuse. I always hope for a clean, fun and spirited debate. I trust in the framer's intent and believe the debaters should too! Logic, wit and style are rewarded.

In PF debate I certainly do not appreciate speed and believe debaters must choose positions carefully being thoughtful of the time constraints of the event. This is the peoples' debate and should be presented as such.

In LD debate I prefer a more traditional debate round with a Value + Value Criterion/Standard that center around philosophical discussions of competing moral imperatives. I understand the trend now is for LD Debaters to advocate plans. I don't know if this is good for the activity. There's already a debate format that exclusively deals with plan debate. LD is not one-person policy debate.

Speed:
I can flow speed debate, but prefer that debate be an oratorical activity.

Theory/T:
I enjoy Theory debates. I don't know that I always understand them. I do count on the debaters being able to clearly understand and articulate any theory arguments to me so that I can be comfortable with my vote. I prefer rounds to be centered on substance, but there is a place for theory. I usually default to reasonability, and don't prefer the competing interpretations model. It takes something egregious for me to vote on T.

Points:
I usually start at a 27.0 and work my way up or down from there. Usually you have to be rude or unprepared to dip below the 27.0.

Counterplans:
I don't think it makes sense to operate a counterplan unless the Aff has presented a plan. If the Aff does go with a Plan debate, then a Counterplan is probably a good strategy. If not, then I don't understand how you can counter a plan that doesn't exist. If this is the debate you want to have, try Policy debate.

Critical Arguments:
The biggest problem with these is that often debaters don't understand their own message / criticism / literature. I feel they are arguments to be run almost exclusively on the Negative, must have a clear link, and a stable alternative that is more substantial than "do nothing", "vote neg", or "examine our ontology/epistemology".

Politics / DAs:
I really enjoy Political discussions, but again, LD is probably the wrong format of debate for the "political implications" of the "plan" that result in impacts to the "status quo" to be discussed.

I am a lay parent judge. Please do not talk fast or spread. Please be clear. Time yourselves. I am fairly new to debate.

I am a parent judge for Dublin High School. I expect the debaters to self-govern and adherence to time limits.

Speaking Requirements

- Speak very clearly (enunciation) and slowly. Do not speak too fast and emphasize important words, use pauses effectively.

- Speak confidently. If something is important, make sure you make that very clear. Refer to me as judge if you want my attention especially during your speech.

- Give eye contact during every speech.

- I take your body language into consideration.

- Be polite and respectful to me, your opponents and your partner

Content Requirements

- Stay on the topic. I will not vote for you if you go off topic.

- Make your arguments very clear to follow and understand, especially if you are advancing them. If your opponents do not respond, make sure to mention that in your next speech.

- Don't be disorganized. In rebuttal or summary, tell me if you're addressing their case or their refutations in crossfire. Also, give me an off time brief roadmap before the rebuttal, summary, and final focus speeches.

- In final focus, tell me the voter issues (main arguments in today's debate), why you won, why they lost, and why your impact outweighs theirs. The easier you make it for me to know why you won, the more likely you will win.

Have judged Parli for 5 years, also some policy and LD rounds.

No preference to speak rate.

Please articulate slowly and clearly. Ensure you have a civil argument. Don't use theory arguments. Good luck.

This is my 2nd year as a judge. Please adhere to the following:

1. Speak with clarity. Spreading is discouraged.

2. If you run kritiks or theory, please explain thoroughly during the round.

I am a lay parent judge.

I evaluate arguments based on logic (tech > truth).

I prefer that participants speak at a conversational rate rather than spreading. It is important for me to understand the arguments and all the finer points should be highlighted so that my flow reflects that.

I have been judging since mid-2015 and have judged LD (mostly), Speech, Impromptu, and Pofo. I am not a novice but not a pro either; if you are good, you are good (no matter the judge)! Here's what you should know:

- Start with ABC - Always Be Courteous ... respect each other. Remember to SMILE more.

- I take decent notes, provide comprehensive and objective feedback; prefer not to announce results at the end of the round.

- I like clarity in framework - clarity of thought, content and flow in your value, criterion and contentions. Best if you state these explicitly specially your cards to support your arguments. CLARITY AND ORGANIZATION OF CONTENT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE.  I believe x-exam questioning and responses are critical and supports or weakens your case. 

- Speed is ok but don't be supersonic - avoid spreading; you could muffle your own words and speech. Remember clarity??? 

- Your cards / evidence / stats are very critical in supporting your contentions and rebuttal. 

Don't sweat the results - have fun!!!

Hello Parli debaters,

I’m a parent (lay) judge. I’ve been judging for a few years.

Please speak clearly and not too fast. I can only write so fast.

Please be mindful of the time allotted for your speech in order to keep the rounds on time. I’ll give you a 15 second grace period, but after that I’ll stop flowing.

I prefer straight up case debate, and like good clash. Reasonable counterplans are fine. I like facts, scientific data, and logic. I may fact check and it will factor into my round decision.

One of my pet peeves is raising POIs in the protected time. Please be mindful of debate rules.

Call POOs but not for frivolous purposes. The person calling a POO will have 15 seconds to explain why it was raised, and the other person will have 15 seconds to respond. Assume my decision is “point well taken under consideration” and move on. I’ll go back to my flow later to determine if it’s indeed a new argument, and will discard the new argument or consider the argument in my decision if I deem it not new.

I will need time to deliberate and will only disclose my decision in the elimination round as required.

Looking forward to hearing some interesting debates.

Yes I want to be on the email chain mattconraddebate@gmail.com. Pronouns are he/him.

My judging philosophy should ultimately be considered a statement of biases, any of which can be overcome by good debating. The round is yours.

I’m a USC debate alum and have had kids in policy finals of the TOC, a number of nationally ranked LDers, and state champions in LD, Original Oratory, and Original Prose & Poetry while judging about a dozen California state championship final rounds across a variety of events and the Informative final at NIETOC. Outside of speech and debate, I write in Hollywood and have worked on the business side of show business, which is a nice way of saying that I care more about concrete impacts than I do about esoteric notions of “reframing our discourse.” No matter what you’re arguing, tell me what it is and why it matters in terms of dollars and lives.

Politically, I’m a moderate Clinton Democrat and try to be tabula rasa but I don’t really believe that such a thing is possible.

2022

Similar preferences to those below. I still value clarity and clash. For Congress, I value presentation, delivery, and style as well. Most of all, be your authentic self. Make passionate arguments you care about. Discuss the real-world impacts. Be respectful of your opponents and have fun!

Stanford 2020 and 2021

Here are some preferences:

I prefer traditional NSDA LD debate. If you spread, run theory, and/or kritiks, I will do my best to keep track but I do not yet have the experience to judge it yet. I'm getting better at it, though, so if you have more "circuit-type" argumentation, be sure to signpost and explain.

It is also my belief that skilled circuit debaters can be just as skilled at traditional debate (take a look at NSDA Nationals 2011 and 2018). And this year's NSDA National Champion competed at this same tournament a couple years ago. So there is lots of crossover.

Signpost. I will flow, but you can help by keeping the debate organized.

Crystallize. Break down the debate. Tell me what you think are the most important voting issues. Weigh arguments and impacts.

Have fun debating the big ideas of this resolution. It matters and your opinions matter, so challenge everyone in the room to consider this topic both philosophically and practically.

Stanford 2019

Please put me on the email chain: hcorkery@eduhsd.k12.ca.us

English teacher. Long time baseball coach; first year debate coach!

Here are some preferences:

Stay with traditional NSDA LD debate. If you are on the circuit, I respect your skill set; I’m just not ready for it yet. If you spread, run theory, and/or kritiks, I will do my best to keep track but I do not yet have the experience to judge it yet. And it is my belief that skilled circuit debaters can be just as skilled at traditional debate (take a look at NSDA Nationals 2011 and 2018).

Signpost. I will flow, but you can help by keeping the debate organized.

Crystallize. Break down the debate. Tell me what you think are the most important voting issues. Weigh arguments and impacts.

Have fun debating the big ideas of this very important resolution. I am a Marine Corps veteran and I understand the real-world impacts of foreign policy decisions. Your opinions matter so challenge everyone in the room to consider this topic both philosophically and practically.

Stanford 2018

Public Forum debate was designed with both the public and the lay judge in mind. For this reason, I'll judge your round based on the side that presents the clearest, best-supported, most logical argument that convinces the public and the public's policy makers to vote one way or another on a resolution.

I appreciate it when you explicitly state when you are establishing a "framework," making a "contention" or claim, providing a "warrant" or "evidence" and analyzing an "impact."

For speaker points, I value poise, eye contact, gestures, and pacing (changing your voice and speed to make effective points).

Finally, since this is JV Public Forum, we need to have a "growth mindset" and understand that this level of debating is developmental. JV Public Forum debaters are trying to improve and ultimately become varsity debaters. Winning is obviously important (I've coached sports for 20 years), but in my mind there is a clear distinction between JV and Varsity levels in any activity. JV is developmental competition. Varsity is the highest level competition.

I prefer to listen and judge a debate on its merits, not technicalities, rules gimmicks or rapid-fire delivery.

I love a good speaker -- anyone who speaks clearly, at a moderate speed, and with a minimum of snark and self-importance. A veteran policy debater (from back in the day) and retired journalist, I appreciate well-sourced facts and well-spoken argumentation of the facts.

I have not judged debate in dozens of years (OK, boomer) but was an assistant coach for the Maine East High School Team (policy debate) in Illinois to help pay for attending Northwestern. I'm fine with counter-plans by the Neg but not when they steal most of the Aff's ground and needle around some small edges.

I'm more interested in the actual topic. Debate on the merits, please... no kritiks or deep dives into theory.

Have fun, and good luck!

I am a parent/lay judge with a few years of experience. I do not recommend spreading or using kritiks, and I appreciate when speeches are well organized and clearly defended.

I am a parent judge. I appreciate well-spoken and confident debaters. Speak slowly and be logical. Signpost your evidence clearly. Tell me exactly what I'm voting on. Keep your arguments simple. Ask me any further questions about my judging preferences right before the round begins.

Hello contestants,

I am a parent judge of high school debaters and an engineer by training. An avid follower of news and current events, I always enjoy participating in or watching lively debates. It's reasonable to assume I have some background knowledge about the topics - be it current events, politics and policies, science or technologies - you are debating. It's therefore incumbent upon you to present your debate position that informs, is fact-based and logical. Personally, I value substantive and persuasive contentions over claims that are without merit. I appreciate clarity over speed, a selective and thoughtful presentation of points of contention over a rambling data dump, and believe we can have informative debates and fun at the same time.

Best wishes to all, I look forward to meeting you throughout this tournament.

TD

1. my judging background:

1. I have judged twice before so relatively a novice judge (no pun intended), but I have participated and won Extempore and debate competitions in High school days and have a good public speaking skills. I like eloquence.
2. What do I value most in debate rounds:
1. I value facts and its clear/concise delivery. No lengthy explanations. To the point-crisp and clear facts with reasonable speed. Cannot grasp fast speakers.

3. Speaker Speed

1. Normal speed ..meaning - as long as words are separated, I am okay. If you feel you are running while speaking, you are fast for me. You may jog, I will try to lower my hand to indicate to slow down.

4. Do you understand debate jargon, or should students be careful to spell things out for you?

1. Please do spell out for me for now. May be I will get a hang of it soon.

5. How do you view speaker points?

1. Speaker points are judging your abilities as speaker so if you are eloquent, clear and concise - you get it. On the other side, too much repetitive stuff or too fast in speed (to the point, I cannot understand what you are saying) goes against. Using effective use of time is important. I view negatively, going over time limit or underutilizing time (more than a minute of time not used)

6. How do you view cross-examination time?

1. It is an important segment as other way to put across your point.

she/her

Experience: I've been involved in debate for 10 years. Four years of National Circuit and Local Circuit High School LD at Chatfield Senior; four years of College NPDA/NPTE Open Parli for Parliamentary Debate at Berkeley; three years of coaching experience for Parliamentary Debate at Berkeley and Campolindo High School.

TL;DR: The short version is that I strive to evaluate the round as technically and objectively as possible. Read whatever arguments you want (provided they are not rhetorically violent), win them on the flow, and don't be oppressive/violent. Ks and k affs are great, theory is great, CPs are great, disads are great, case affs are great. Never worry about me auto-rejecting an argument because it's 'blippy' or 'frivolous', just make sure it's sufficiently weighed.

______________________________________________________________

Long version: The following details apply to both parli and LD, and if there's a paradigmatic difference between the two events, I will make note of it.

Philosophy: The principle that guides my judge philosophy is that judge intervention, while inevitable to some degree, is generally bad and should be minimized whenever possible. Paradigms that welcome judge intervention open the door for judges to make decisions (sometimes subconsciously; sometimes explicitly) on arbitrary criteria like presentation and rhetorical appeal. Evaluation of these criteria frequently comes down to race and gender, as well as being unfair and uneducational to the debaters in the round, so it should be avoided as much as possible. I do believe there can be instances of judges intervening in rounds for good, but on whole, as a general model for how debate ought to operate, I think judge intervention does more harm than good.

Three immediate implications of this:

[1] I default to strength of link to determine the truth value of arguments, warrants, empirics, etc. That means I don't care how "blippy" an argument seems, only whether it is contested; if an argument is conceded, then it has 100% strength of link and therefore is true. I will not intervene on the truth value of arguments, warrants, and empirics, for the reasons explained above (intervening on whether arguments are "true" sets a bad precedent about what the role of the judge is in debate rounds), and because I don't trust myself to know enough about the world to be able to verify the minutia of your arguments.

[2] I generally use paradigms that prioritize 'tech' over 'truth.' To this day, I am still confused about what 'truth' means as the opposite of 'tech.' How does the judge evaluate a round "truthfully"? Does that just mean the judge intervenes on the truth value of arguments (see point 1)? How does the competitive nature of debate factor in to 'truth' paradigms? If there are some arguments that are not open to debate ('true' arguments), wouldn't the more 'true' side have a massive advantage over the other? As a result, I think tech debate paradigms are more fair and educational, so I default to them.

[3] I use speaker points to reward good strategic calls and execution, rather than performance or rhetorical appeal. I don't like evaluating elements of debaters' in-round performances, such as persuasion, affect, rhetoric, speaking style, etc (again for the reasons above). However, if you are rhetorically violent in round, your speaks will be far lower.

All of the other details of my paradigm stem from these three points.

General:

- I have no preferences about the following: rejecting the resolution, conditionality/multicondo, 'cheater' CPs, PICs, Ks, 'frivolous' theory, etc. I am more than happy to evaluate these strats, but I think your opponents get to at least try to read theory in response.

- Personally, in order of most to least enjoyed, I prefer Ks, then theory, then case/advantages/disadvantages debates. However, my preferences will never factor into my decision, and I am more than comfortable evaluating any of these types of arguments.

Delivery/Speaks:

- I'm very comfortable with speed, but I know it can be a barrier to teams as well. I will default to evaluating speed but if your opponent asks your to slow or clear, please listen to them. I also don't think tech debate is intrinsically tied to speed; it's possible to have a technical debate that is not fast if speed is a barrier to teams. This means a) tech is not a reason why speed is good, and b) speed is not a reason why tech is bad or inaccessible.

- Don't worry about "performing well" in front of me. As previously mentioned, I will not give speaks based on performance.

- I will say clear as much as I need and I won't penalize speaks for clarity.

- I will not lower your speaks for calling points of order/information, so call away!

Policy/Case stuff:

- I default to believing in durable fiat.

- I default to evaluating your advantages through net benefits and util/some other form of consequentialism unless you specify otherwise.

- Specificity is good! I would much rather vote on your super specific investment bubble disad than your generic government spending disad.

Counterplans:

- I like CPs, especially well-constructed/creative advantage CPs.

- From the general section: I have no disposition for or against condo of 'cheater' CPs. Feel free to read them, but assume your opponents get to try reading theory about them.

- I default to evaluating perms as tests of competitions, but I will evaluate them as advocacies if you give me a reason why.

- I prefer arguments about functional competition and competition through net benefits to arguments about textual competition.

- I default to no judge kick, but I will evaluate it if you make the arguments.

Theory:

- I love theory :)

- I default to potential abuse over proven abuse, but feel free to do weighing between the two in round.

- I have a relatively low threshold for what counts as abuse on theory. Since I default to potential abuse, I vote for the better norm for debate between the interp and the counter interp. This means I am very comfortable voting on 'frivolous' theory and potential abuse.

- I default to competing interpretations over reasonability. I think it's hard to evaluate reasonability without a brightline for what is considered to be 'reasonable.' I also don't know how to decide what is reasonable without being interventionist (see the judge intervention section).

- I default to dropping the team on theory, but I have no disposition between dropping the team or the argument.

- I default to theory being a priori to the rest of the debate.

- I default to fairness and education not being voters. This means you have to explicitly read fairness and education as voters in order for me to vote on theory; I will not "assume" they are there.

- I have an extremely high threshold for 2AR/PMR theory.

- I have an extremely high threshold for reasons why case impacts (advantages or disadvantages) should come before theory.

- I default to no RVIs. That means you have to make the argument that theory is a reverse voting issue, I won't just assume that it is. However, I love RVIs and think they're underutilized right now in parli.

Kritiks:

- I love Ks and K affs. I see myself as primarily a K debater, judge, and coach.

- I have a good understanding of most foundational critical theory, so don't be afraid of reading your arguments in front of me. Read your pomo nonsense; read your more structuralist positions.

- As a debater, I tended to reject the resolution more than I defend it, but I am perfectly happy evaluating rounds either way. From above: I think you're probably able to reject the resolution, but your opponents probably get to try reading theory against it. For what it's worth, all else held equal, I think I probably err towards the kritik on the question of weighing k impacts vs fairness and education (55-45), but I think the reason why is because teams frequently fail to explain why concepts like 'fairness' and 'education' matter in the context of the framework/impacts of the K, thus losing if the aff frames out the interp. If you can read framework and with this debate, you will probably win my ballot.

- I default to epistemic modesty over confidence. This means without any in-depth explanation, I'll evaluate your frameout as a reason why your impacts are more probable than your opponents, and why your opponents have a lower probability of solving their impacts. If you want me to evaluate your frameout as terminal defense, or a reason the k is sequentially a prior question to the aff, you need to do the technical extensions of why that is necessarily the case.

- I evaluate the alt like a CP in reference to competition and the perm; if I should evaluate the alt as more of a performance instead, please let me know and explain what this means in the context of the round.

- I don't love reject alts. I'd prefer your alt to be specific, concrete, and actionable.

- I default to theory being a priori to the K, but I'm extremely sympathetic to arguments that the K should come first for a litany of reasons.

Other:

-Non-Black debaters should not read afro-pess, I will drop you if you do. Read: https://thedrinkinggourd.home.blog/2019/12/29/on-non-black-afropessimism/

- I default to presumption flowing neg unless the neg reads (and goes for) an advocacy other than the status quo, but I want this to be debated out in the round.

- I tend to have a high threshold for what counts as "contradictory" arguments; or at least, I think conditionality probably resolves a large degree of contradictions. So, I'm sympathetic to the argument that contradictions don't matter if you kick out of one half of the contradiction. However, if you're uncondo, you do need to be careful not to double turn yourself (for example, by reading an uncondo cap K and an econ DA).

- I will do my best to protect against new arguments in the rebuttals, but it's always better to call points of order just to be safe. There's always a chance I misevaluate whether an argument is new or not, so play it safe and point it out to me. I won't lower speaks or anything for calling points of order, so there's no perceptual risk.

- I will vote on IVIs, but to be transparent I'm not the biggest fan if they're read frivolously. Specificity is necessary here. If you do go for an IVI, you need to do the technical work of explaining why this piece of offense functions independently of the rest of the flow. Absent some justification, I will evaluate IVIs as a piece of offense on the layer it was read. If you want me to evaluate it as an a priori voting issue, I need framing that justifies this. This isn't to say that I won't evaluate IVIs, but it means that you need to do the work of explaining why it's a priori.

- (Parli) The LOR doesn't have to extend every word of the MO. I think the LOR can largely do whatever it wants to, as long as it's not new. The LOR can never really lose the round, but it definitely can win it.

- (LD) Please include me in the speech doc or email chain if there is one.

- If you have other questions I haven't answered, please ask me before the round!

My name is Vijay, and I have judged 8 tournaments before this. Prior to this year, all judging was in person. This year it has been on Zoom. I have judged Parlimentary and Open Spar formats.

Hi, this is my second year judging parliamentary debate, last year I judged parliamentary novice for my twins. I don't have prior parliamentary debate experience (like in high school), but I do understand many world topics that might be discussed in the debate round. I also have picked up knowledge of debate terminology when discussing them with my sons. Here is my stance on certain parliamentary debate aspects:

Theory: I understand the fundamental steps of the theory shell, but it needs to be well explained for me to flow it through in a debate round. I don't have any issue with a team running theory, but it just has to be well structured and explained.

K's: I do not have much knowledge of K's so you would have to explain it well to me if I am going to flow it through in a debate round. I am always open to learning new things so if you can explain it well I might vote on it.

Permutations: I understand what a permutation is, and the idea of mutually exclusive plans. You don't have to explain in large detail what a perm is, just explain to me why you can perm it.

PICs: I understand the idea of a Plan Inclusive Counterplan, you might go into a little detail on what it is, but then again like permutations, I understand the basics.

Overall I am not going to vote against you just because I don't like that you are running theory, K's, etc. I am open to any aspects of parliamentary debate being run in a round, they just need to be logical and well explained for me to vote on them.

Ok, moving on to other things I like debaters to do in a round:

I tend to give feedback on how well a debater can address something to me. For instance, if a debater is moving around a lot or making other distracting gestures, I definitely tell them this in my feedback (harder to do online though), but it won't have any real bearing on my flow. Overall the main things debate has to offer in life is knowledge of world events and practice articulating your point of view. If a speaker cannot speak in an orderly and smooth fashion this will definitely be considered in my flow. I am ok with debaters talking a little bit fast, but if you are spreading I might not catch all your points. I would suggest talking at a moderate pace and taking up most (if not all) of the allotted time.

Overall have positive energy in the round and act like you want to be in the debate round. I know 4-5 rounds can be a lot of debating so don't stress it.

Hello, I am a parent judge. Please go slow and explain. Ask me any questions before the round starts.

Hello debaters. Though I've had a few rounds of judging under my belt, I'm still very much a lay judge. Jargon will lose you the round.

Things I Don't Like:

Spreading, theory shells that rely heavily on structure, kritics, arguments that rely heavily on philosophical ideologies, assuming that I know what you're talking about (because chances are I don't!), being rude to your opponents, unclear speaking, monotone speaking.

I'm pretty tabula rasa, but that doesn't mean you can falsify information and get away with it. I don't vote on POOs or POIs unless something said in them was really abusive. No frivolous theory, if you run it, stick with it. Same goes for conditional CPs. Don't drop your arguments halfway through the round just because it's not working out.

Things I Do Like:

Well explained arguments -- not just in terms of logic, but explaining the argument in a way that the average, non-debate experienced person would understand. Be aggressive, have good clash, but don't overstep your boundary as opponents. I also like emphasis in speech and confidence. Crack a joke, lighten the mood. Nothing is worse than a tense, boring, hour-long debate that makes me want to yawn at the end. If you can golden turn in your last speech, I'm going to vote on it -- but this doesn't mean that you can let that argument slip through the cracks until the end of the round.

Give me an interesting round, but stick to the basics. You'll lose me with the complicated stuff. This paradigm was written by my daughter :)

Spread is a cancer on the body of debate which must be excised. If I can’t understand what you are saying, how can I vote for you?

If you run a lot of theory, you need to convince me why I should care - I am not an expert. The last time I took a debate class, you weren't born yet.

Skeptical of Kritik, but if you can persuasively tie to the actual topic, it could work with me.

I want to see engagement and clash more than anything else. This should not be two teams talking about two worlds. To win, you need to address what the other team is saying. This is a simple point, but sometimes overlooked. This happens most frequently when the negative team has a Kritik that they have clearly practised and polished. If you can't relate it persuasively to the actual topic and what your opponents are saying, it's not going to work no matter how smooth your canned speech is.

I strive to be a tabula rasa. If you tell me the moon is made of green cheese, it is, until the other team refutes it. However, the blatantly fabricated statistics in use by some teams are tiresome. Once you get into "pants on fire" territory, I am going to start docking speaker points even if I have to give you the win. FYI, for the team faced with the "pants on fire" argument, you have to point it out to me. It may not take a lot of evidence to refute an argument postualted without warrants, but you still have to call your opponents on it. If you don't, they win the point by default.

I am basically a "flay" judge, meaning I am a lay judge who attempts to keep a flow chart. If you help me by making your arguments easy to flow, you are more likely to win.

I am a parent judge. I have been judging for 3 years.

Please speak at moderate pace and with clarity. Be respectful to your opponents and keep track of your time so you can end your arguments. When I am judging, I look for:

- Critical thinking about the arguments and supporting your arguments

- Rebut your opponents

- Don't go in circles and keep repeating

- Be logical and realistic with your arguments

- Eloquent communication of your arguments

Good luck and have fun.

I judge many different formats, see the bottom of my paradigm for more details of my specific judging preferences in different formats. I debated for five years in NPDA and three years in NFA-LD, and I've judged HS policy, parli, LD, and PF. I love good weighing/layering - tell me where to vote and why you are winning - I am less likely to vote for you if you make me do work. I enjoy technical/progressive/circuit-style debates and I'm cool with speed - I don't evaluate your delivery style. I love theory and T and I'll vote on anything.

Please include me on the email chain if there is one. a.fishman2249@gmail.com

Also, speechdrop.net is even better than email chains if you are comfortable using it, it is much faster and more efficient.

CARDED DEBATE: Please send the texts of interps, plans, counterplans, and unusually long or complicated counterinterps in the speech doc or the Zoom chat.

TL:DR for Parli: Tech over truth. I prefer policy and kritikal debate to traditional fact and value debate and don't believe in the trichotomy (though I do vote on it lol), please read a plan or other stable advocacy text if you can. Plans and CP's are just as legitimate in "value" or "fact" rounds as in "policy" rounds. I prefer theory, K's, and disads with big-stick or critically framed impacts to traditional debate, but I'll listen to whatever debate you want to have. Don't make arguments in POI's - only use them for clarification. If you are a spectator, be neutral - do not applaud, heckle, knock on desks, or glare at the other team. I will kick any disruptive spectators out and also protect the right of both teams to decline spectators.

TL:DR for High School LD: 1 - Theory, 2 - LARP, 3 - K, 4 - Tricks, 5 - Phil, 99 - Trad. I enjoy highly technical and creative argumentation. I try to evaluate the round objectively from a tech over truth perspective. I love circuit-style debate and I appreciate good weighing/uplayering. I enjoy seeing strategies that combine normal and "weird" arguments in creative and strategic ways. Tricks/aprioris/paradoxes are cool but I prefer you put them in the doc to be inclusive to your opponents

TL:DR for IPDA: I judge it just like parli. I don't believe in the IPDA rules and I refuse to evaluate your delivery. Try to win the debate on the flow, and don't treat it like a speech/IE event. I will vote on theory and K's in IPDA just as eagerly as in any other event. Also PLEASE strike the fact topics if there are any, I'm terrible at judging fact rounds. I will give high speaks to anyone who interprets a fact topic as policy. I try to avoid judging IPDA but sometimes tournaments force me into it, but when that happens, I will not roleplay as a lay judge. I will still judge based on the flow as I am incapable of judging any other way. It is like the inverse of having a speech judge in more technical formats. I'm also down to vote on "collapse of IPDA good" arguments bc I don't think the event should exist - I think college tournaments that want a less tech format should do PF instead

TL:DR for NFA-LD - I don't like the rules but I will vote on them if you give if you give me a reason why they're good. I give equal weight to rules bad arguments, and I will be happiest if you treat the event like one-person policy or HS circuit LD. I prefer T, theory, DA's, and K's to stock issues debate, and I will rarely vote on solvency defense unless the neg has some offense of their own to weigh against it. I think you should disclose but I try not to intervene in disclosure debates

CASE/DA: Be sure to signpost well and explain how the argument functions in the debate. I like strong terminalized impacts - don't just say that you help the economy, tell me why it matters. I think generic disads are great as long as you have good links to the aff - I love a well-researched tix or bizcon scenario. I believe in risk of solvency/risk of the disad and I rarely vote on terminal defense if the other team has an answer to show that there is still some risk of offense. I do not particularly like deciding the debate on solvency alone. Uniqueness controls the direction of the link.

SPEED: I can handle spreading and I like fast debates. I am uncomfortable policing the way people talk, which means that if I am to vote on speed theory, you should have a genuine accessibility need for your opponents to slow down (such as having a disability that impacts auditory processing or being entered in novice at a tournament with collapsed divisions) and you should be able to prove that engagement is not possible. Otherwise I am very likely to vote on the we meet. I think that while there are instances where speed theory is necessary, there are also times when it is weaponized and commodified to win ballots by people who could engage with speed. However, I do think you should slow down when asked, I would really prefer if I don't have to evaluate speed theory

THEORY/T: I love theory debates - I will vote on any theory position if you win the argument even if it seems frivolous or unnecessary - I do vote on the flow and try not to intervene. I'll even vote on trichot despite my own feelings about it. I default to fairness over education in non-K rounds but I have voted on critical impact turns to fairness before. Be sure to signpost your We Meet and Counter Interpretation.

I do care a lot about the specific text of interps, especially if you point out why I should. For example, I love spec shells with good brightlines but I am likely to buy a we meet if you say the plan shouldn't be vague but don't define how specific it should be. RVI's are fine as long as you can justify them. I am also happy to vote on OCI's, and I think a "you violate/you bite" argument is a voter on bidirectional interps such as "debaters must pass advocacy texts" even if you don't win RVI's are good

I default to competing interpretations with no RVI's but I'm fine with reasonability if I hear arguments for it in the round. However, I would like a definition of reasonability because if you don't define it, I think it just collapses back to competing interps. I default to drop the debater on shell theory and drop the argument on paragraph theory. I am perfectly willing to vote on potential abuse - I think competing interps implies potential abuse should be weighed in the round. I think extra-T should be drop the debater.

Rules are NOT a voter by themselves - If I am going to vote on the rules rather than on fairness and education, tell me why following rules in general or following this particular rule is good. I will enforce speaking times but any rule as to what you can actually say in the round is potentially up for debate.

COUNTERPLANS: I am willing to vote for cheater CP's (like delay or object fiat) unless theory is read against them. PIC's are fine as long as you can win that they are theoretically legitimate, at least in this particular instance. I believe that whether a PIC is abusive depends on how much of the plan it severs out of, whether there is only one topical aff, and whether that part of the plan is ethically defensible ground for the aff. If you're going to be dispo, please define during your speech what dispo means. I will not judge kick unless you ask me to. Perms are tests of competition, not advocacies, and they are also good at making your hair look curly.

PERFORMANCE: I have voted on these arguments before and I find them interesting and powerful, but if you are going to read them in front of me, it is important to be aware that the way that my brain works can only evaluate the debate on the flow. A dropped argument is still a true argument, and if you give me a way of framing the debate that is not based on the flow, I will try to evaluate that way if you win that I should, but I am not sure if I will be able to.

IMPACT CALCULUS: I default to magnitude because it is the least interventionist way to compare impacts, but I'm very open to arguments about why probability is more important, particularly if you argue that favoring magnitude perpetuates oppression. I like direct and explicit comparison between impacts - when doing impact calc, it's good to assume that your no link isn't as good as you think and your opponent still gets access to their impact. In debates over pre fiat or a priori issues, I prefer preclusive weighing (what comes first) to comparative weighing (magnitude/probability).

KRITIKS: I'm down for K's of any type on either the AFF or the NEG. The K's I'm most familiar with include security, ableism, Baudrillard, rhetoric K's, and cap/neolib. I am fine with letting arguments that you win on the K dictate how I should view the round. I think that the framework of the K informs which impacts are allowed in the debate, and "no link" or "no solvency" arguments are generally not very effective for answering the K - the aff needs some sort of offense. Whether K or T comes first is up to the debaters to decide, but if you want me to care more about your theory shell than about the oppression the K is trying to solve I want to hear something better than the lack of fairness collapsing debate, such as arguments about why fairness skews evaluation. If you want to read theory successfully against a K regardless of what side of the debate you are on, I need reasons why it comes first or matters more than the impacts of the K.

REBUTTALS: Give me reasons to vote for you. Be sure to explain how the different arguments in the debate relate to one another and show that the arguments you are winning are more important. I would rather hear about why you win than why the other team doesn't win. In parli, I do not protect the flow except in online debate (and even then, I appreciate POO's when possible). I also like to see a good collapse in both the NEG block and the PMR. I think it is important that the LOR and the MOC agree on what arguments to go for.

PRESUMPTION: I rarely vote on presumption if it is not deliberately triggered because I think terminal defense is rare. If I do vote on presumption, I will always presume neg unless the aff gives me a reason to flip presumption. I am definitely willing to vote on the argument that reading a counterplan or a K alt flips presumption, but the aff has to make that argument in order for me to consider it. Also, I enjoy presumption triggers and paradoxes and I am happy to vote for them if you win them.

SPEAKER POINTS: I give speaker points based on technical skill not delivery, and will reduce speaks if someone uses language that is discriminatory towards a marginalized group

If you have any questions about my judging philosophy that are not covered here, feel free to ask me before the round.

RECORDINGS/LIVESTREAMS/SPECTATORS: I think they are a great education tool if and only if every party gives free and enthusiastic consent - even if jurisdictions where it is not legally required. I had a terrible experience with being livestreamed once so for the sake of making debate more accessible, I will always defend all students' right to say no to recordings, spectators, or livestreams for any reason. I don't see debate as a spectator sport and the benefit and safety of the competitors always comes first. If you are uncomfortable with spectators/recordings/livestreams and prefer to express that privately you can email me before the round and I will advocate for you without saying which debater said no. Also, while I am not comfortable with audio recordings of my RFD's being published, I am always happy to answer questions about rounds I judged that were recorded if you contact me by email or Facebook messenger. Also, if you are spectating a round, please do not applaud, knock on tables, say "hear, hear", or show support for either side in any way, regardless of your event or circuit's norms. If you do I will kick you out.

PARLI ONLY:

If there is no flex time you should take one POI per constructive speech - I don't think multiple POI's are necessary and if you use POI's to make arguments I will not only refuse to flow the argument I will take away a speaker point. If there is flex, don't ask POI's except to ask the status of an advocacy, ask where they are on the flow, or ask the other team to slow down.

I believe trichotomy should just be a T shell. I don't think there are clear cut boundaries between "fact", "value", and "policy" rounds, but I think most of the arguments we think of as trichot work fine as a T or extra-T shell.

PUBLIC FORUM ONLY:

I judge PF on the flow. I do acknowledge that the second constructive doesn't have to refute the first constructive directly though. Dropped arguments are still true arguments. I care as much about delivery in PF as I do in parli (which means I don't care at all). I DO allow technical parli/policy style arguments like plans, counterplans, theory, and kritiks. I am very open to claims that those arguments should not be in PF but you have to make them yourself - I won't intervene against them if the other team raises no objection, but I personally don't believe PF is the right place to read arguments like plans, theory, and K's

Speed is totally fine with me in PF, unless you are using it to exclude the other team. However, if you do choose to go fast (especially in an online round) please send a speech doc to me and your opponents if you are reading evidence, for the sake of accessibility

POLICY ONLY:

I think policy is an excellent format of debate but I am more familiar with parli and LD and I rarely judge policy, so I am not aware of all policy norms. Therefore, when evaluating theory arguments I do not take into account what is generally considered theoretically legitimate in policy. I am okay with any level of speed, but I do appreciate speech docs. Please be sure to remind me of norms that are specific to what is or isn't allowed in a particular speech

NFA-LD ONLY:

I am not fond of the rules or stock issues and it would make me happiest if you pretend they don’t know exist and act like you are in one-person policy or high school circuit LD. However, I will adjudicate arguments based on the rules and I won’t intervene against them if you win that following the rules is good. However, "it's a rule" is not an impact I can vote on unless you say why following the rules is an internal link to some other impact like fairness and education. Also, if you threaten to report me to tab for not enforcing the rules, I will automatically vote you down, whether or not I think the rules were broken.

I think the wording of the speed rule is very problematic and is not about accessibility but about forcing people to talk a certain way, so while I will vote on speed theory if you win it, I'd prefer you not use the rules as a justification for it. Do not threaten to report to tab for allowing speed, I'll vote you down instantly if you do. I also don't like the rule that is often interpreted as prohibiting K's, I think it's arbitrary and I think there are much better ways to argue that K's are bad.

I am very open to theory arguments that go beyond the rules, and while I do like spec arguments, I do not like the vague vagueness shell a lot of people read - any vagueness/spec shell should have a brightline for how much the aff should specify.

Also, while solvency presses are great in combination with offense, I will rarely vote on solvency alone because if the aff has a risk of solvency and there's no DA to the aff, then they are net beneficial. Even if you do win that I should operate in a stock issues paradigm, I am really not sure how much solvency the aff needs to meet that stock issue, so I default to "greater than zero risk of solvency".

IPDA ONLY:

I personally don't think IPDA should exist and if I have to judge it I will not vote on your delivery even if the rules say I should, and I will ignore all IPDA rules except for speech times. Please debate like it is LD without cards or one-person parli. I am happy to vote on theory and K's and I think most IPDA topics are so bad that we get more education from K's and theory anyway. I'll even let debaters debate a topic not on the IPDA topic list if they both agree.

Director of Forensics at Bentley School, Lafayette
High school and college experience

I flow the round, but I promise there is a high probability that I will get lost if you go too fast or jump around with your arguments. You’ll benefit from signposting and staying organized. I prefer fleshed out arguments and not blips. Don’t assume I know theory. If something is a voting issue, explain it to me. Always tell me "why".

I’ve spent many years coaching speech events and I appreciate quality public speaking skills, along with respect towards your teammate and opponents.

By the end of the round, you need to tell me why I should be voting for you over your opponent. What are the voting issues and how do your impacts outweigh your opponent's impacts?

I'm a parent judge with four years of experience. I keep track of flow and will buy dropped arguments. Neg, make sure you explain why the aff plan causes more harm than good, not just why it won't work. If your main argument is solvency I will probably vote aff if they make it clear there is a problem in the status quo. CPs are great just make sure they are mutually exclusive. I will always vote lives over econ, so if your main argument is econ make sure you terminalize impacts.

Flowy debate judge. Values concise and orderly substantive clash (on warrants, links, and impacts), good time management, consistent strategy, effective use of cross ex, and signposting. Mostly tabula rasa but dings for gross fantasy and adds points for good argumentative use of accurate knowledge of real world. No speaks given for extensive use of debate jargon. Spreading fine as long as the diction is crystalline.

Each team member who speak for first time please say your name.

First speaker from each team, please states clearly the Topic to be debated and also shows good understanding of the keywords in the topic.

Demonstrate good debate skills and not digress from the Topics.

Good luck!

Last update: 8 November, 2023 for NPDI

I have mostly retired from judging but pop back in every once in a while. My familiarity with events is as follows: Parli > PF > Policy > LD > others. With that in mind, please be clear with the framework with which you would like me to evaluate the round. I will hold myself to the evaluative method defined within the context of each round. Absent one, expect that I will make whatever minimum number of assumptions necessary to be able to evaluate the round. If I find that I cannot evaluate the round... well just don't let it get there. Have fun!

Pronouns: he/him/his

Background:

-Coaching history: The Nueva School (2 yrs), Berkeley High School (2 yrs)

-Competition history: Campolindo (4 yrs, 2x TOC)

•TLDR: read what you want and don't be a bad person.

-If you do not understand the terminology contained in this paradigm, I encourage you to ask me before and/or after the round for clarification

-Please read: Be inclusive to everyone in the debate space - I will drop teams who impede others from accessing it or making it a hostile environment. Structural violence in debate is real and bad. I reserve any and every right to believe that if you have made this space violent for others, you should lose the round because of it. If you believe your opponents have made the round inaccessible to you, give me a reason to drop them for it (ie. theory). Respect content warnings. Ignoring them is an auto-loss. Respect pronouns. Deliberately ignoring them / misgendering is an auto-loss. Outing people purposefully / threatening to do so is an auto-loss. Intentional deadnaming is an auto loss. I am willing to intervene against the flow as I see fit to resolve these harms. I am prepared and willing to defend any decision to tab. If there is any way that I can help you be more comfortable in this space let me know and I will see what I can do :)

•Case

-Terminalize and weigh impacts

-Uniqueness must be in the right direction

-Most familiar with UQ/L/IL/I structure, but open to other formats as long as its organized and logical

-Read good, specific links

-No impacts, no offense

-Counterplan strats are cool. do CP things, defend the squo, do whatever you want

-Use warrants

•Theory and the such

-Competing interps > reasonability, if you read reasonability it better have a brightline / a way for me to evaluate reasonability

-Friv T, NIB, or presumption triggers: not my preferred strat but if explained and justified, I have and will vote on it

-Read your RVI, justify why you get access to it

-Drop the team, but I am easily convinced otherwise given justification

-Weigh standards, voters

-No preference for articulated vs potential abuse, have that debate and justify

•Kritik

-I won't fill in your blanks, the K must explain itself through its articulation, not its clarification

-Beware of reading identity based arguments that you are not a constituent of

-I'll listen to your K aff, justify not defending the resolution or lmk how your K aff defends the res

-Your alt/advocacy/performance better do something (or not! justify it!)

-Links must be specific, link of omission/generic links <<<<< specific links

•Misc:

-I am not a points fairy.

-if you want me to flow things well, tagline everything and signpost well

-have a strategy, read offense, collapse, justify your impact framing

-Have the condo debate, I don't default

-a thing with explanation and a warrant > a thing with no warrant but an explanation > a thing with no warrant and no explanation

-Default layering is T>=FW>K>Case, but I am easily convinced otherwise given justification

-I can flow your speed (300+ is a bit much for online, but if i can hear it, its fine), "clear" means clear, "slow" means slow

-Speak any way you would like, so long as I can hear your speech you're fine I don't mind what else you do

-I by default track if arguments in rebuttals are new, but if you are unsure if I have flowed it as new, call the POO. When in doubt, call the POO - I will identify whether or not the POO defines an argument that is new.

-Presumption flows neg unless neg reads an advocacy, in which case presumption flows aff, i will vote on presumption but it makes me sad

-tag teaming is fine, but I only flow what the speaker says

-I don't flow POI answers, but they are binding

-if you have texts to pass, do so quickly and within the speech or during flex

-high threshold for intervening in the debate, but I will do so if justified and is the last resort

-i flow speeches, not cross, but again cross is binding

-please time yourselves. i will not time you. if you go egregiously over time I will stop you and tank your speaks

-don't be rude in cross

-i will not call for a card unless the validity of the argument it warrants determines the debate

-don't paraphrase your card or powertag, if you feel like you have to paraphrase, you probably can find a better card

-read offense, I'll only vote on things in the last speech, so if you want me to vote on it, it better be extended through the other speeches explicitly

-put me on the email chain, dgomezsiu [at] berkeley [dot] edu

-if you want extra feedback or have questions, email ^ or facebook messenger is a good place to reach me

He/him/his

My email is jrogers31395@gmail.com if you have questions, or if I'm judging Policy/LD/PF

On general argumentation:

I have a fairly nihilistic approach to impact calculus, but assume that death is bad.

Analyzed evidence > evidence > reasoning > claims.

On delivery:

Talk as fast as needed. "Slow" means slow down; "clear" means enunciate more.

If you exclude others, they can argue that you should lose for it.

I reserve the right to drop you if you're an asshole.

On Theory:

I default to reasonability, and would much rather judge either substantive policy or critical debate -- don't choose not to run theory if you actually feel like the other team is being abusive. I understand the strategic utility/necessity of theory, and have run/voted for a few garbagey theory shells before.

The aff should probably be topical, but if you don't want to be, just justify why that should be allowed.

On Kritiks:

I enjoy good Kritik vs policy or K vs K debate -- I personally have the greatest degree of familiarity with Marxist anti-capitalist stuff, and I've got a decent working knowledge of most of the popular kritikal lit bases I've seen recently.

If you can't clearly connect the theory/structure you critique to material harm and present an alternative that can solve it, I don't know why I should vote for you.

For carded debate:

Please slow and emphasize the author, date, and tag - it makes extensions much cleaner if I actually know what cards you're talking about

I only call for cards if the other team says you're lying/powertagging, or if one card becomes the fulcrum for most/all terminal offense in the round.

Parent judge, assume I know little or nothing about the topic.

Sixth year parent judge for New Roads, which is my only debate experience. I am, however, familiar with argument as an attorney for more than 30 years with lots of trials, arbitrations, administrative hearings and oral arguments in appellate courts. You could say I argue for a living.

I am most familiar with Parli and LD. I’m old, with slow ears, so don’t spread. Speak clearly and enunciate. Theory, Kritik and other more technical forms of debate are fine, but only if you really explain your position. All too often the punch of these arguments is lost without a full, complete and thorough explanation truly supporting the point being made. Don’t rely on debate jargon or buzzwords. Likewise, explain why your proposed framework for how I should decide the round makes sense.

Over all I am looking for the most compelling argument. This can be several smaller points, or one or two very strong points. Most of all, always explain how your arguments relate to the topic in question.

Hello,

I'm a lay judge who flows on-case arguments. Please avoid running Ts or theory (if you do feel the need, explain and spend time explaining it to me); do not run Kritiks. I have a minor hearing problem (I wear a hearing aid), but please speak loudly and enunciate so I can understand your points. Sign post, and tagline as frequently as possible with case debate, but don't worry about the actual structure. Be courteous to your opponents, and please write the resolution and speakers on the whiteboard if possible.

I am a lay judge who has judged tournaments for almost 5 years.

Kritiks: Please don't run them.

Speed: Don't spread.

Theory: Don't run friv t. Topicality is okay if you explain it well.

Speaks: Speak with clarity, passion, and respect. Structure is very important so make sure to sign post.

POI's: It looks better if you take POI's and answer them well. Try to take and ask at least a few per speech.

POO's: Call them out, but make sure you clearly explain what is new and why it matters. When responding, clearly show me where you said it.

Tag Teaming: Play to your strengths. If you understand something and your partner doesn't or you just want to help them, by all means tag team. Just make sure it's in the spirit of teamwork, not because you don't trust your partner.

Weighing: I value strong last speeches and debaters who can clearly write my ballot for me. Always link back to the criterion.

Be respectful and have fun. Debate is a competition, but make sure you don't take yourself too seriously. Mistakes are okay!

Good luck!

I am a parent judge with some past experience of judging debate and speech, but I still consider myself as a lay judge. I generally decide debates on the following criteria:

Understanding of the resolution;

Reliability of the sources used;

Relevance of examples to the argument;

Logic of argument based on the facts/sources;

Overall organization of presentation/speech skill;

You don't need to ask me to vote for you; I will make the call based on what you have presented to me.

I'm a parent (lay) judge with several years of experience at tournaments.

Not a fan of spreading, especially if you can't be understood. Prefer teams to win on the quality of the arguments versus throwing procedure and interruptions at your opponents. That means please limit points of order. Explain any jargon you use (i.e. uniqueness, link).

I do my best to follow and track the flow, and my job is easier if you clearly signpost and organize your speeches.

-Debated 4 years LD, graduating in 2013; qualified to TOC twice and reached Quarterfinals my senior year.

-Have coached for 10 years; am currently the Head Debate Coach at Lynbrook High School.

The biggest thing in front of me is to weigh and do judge instruction. Most judges say this -- that's because debaters rarely do enough of it.

Am a very good judge for phil debate.

Am not a good judge for policy v policy -- to me most of the time these debates just look like wars of competing assertions and evidence and I find myself unable to sift through them effectively. Someone asked me recently, 'didn't you read policy arguments in high school?' -- yes, I did sometimes, but that was before LD became completely like policy. The majority of the debates I had usually revolved around whether util was true and not about the contention.

I went for theory on both sides a lot in high school. However, nowadays I find myself not voting for affs that go for theory. This isn't because I'm opposed to it, it's because most of the time the 2AR sounds brand new.

I don't often read ev at the end of debates. If there's something about evidence that's important, point it out to me.

I've never voted on disclosure theory.

Most important items if you have limited reading time:

PREF CHEAT SHEET (what I am a good judge for)--strategy-focused case debate, legitimated theory/topicality, resolutional/tightly linked Ks > project Ks > rhetoric-focused case debate > friv theory > other Ks not mentioned >>> the policy K shell you found on the wiki and didn't adapt to your event > phil > tricks

IN-PERSON POST-COVID: I live with people who are vulnerable to Covid-19. I do wish people would be respectful of that, but ya know. You do you.

ONLINE DEBATE: My internet quality has trouble with spreading, so if I'm adjudicating you at an online tournament and you plan to spread, please make sure we work out a signal so I can let you know if you're cutting out. NSDA Campus stability is usually slightly better than Zoom stability. You probably won't see me on Zoom because that consistently causes my audio to cut out.

Be good to each other (but you don't need to shake my hand or use speech time to thank me--I'm here because I want to be).

I will never, ever answer any variations on the question, "Do you have any preferences we should know about?" right before round, because I want the tournament to run on time, so be specific with what you want to know if something is missing here.

PREP THEFT: I hate it so much. If it takes you >30 sec to find a piece of evidence, I'm starting your prep timer. Share speech docs before the round. Reading someone's evidence AND any time you take to ask questions about it (not including time they use to answer) counts as prep. If you take more than your allotted prep time, I will decrease your speaks by one point for every 10 seconds until I get to the tournament points floor, after which you will get the L. No LD or PF round should take over 60 minutes.

***

Background

I'm currently DOF for the MVLA school district (2015-present) and Parli Director at Nueva (new this year!). My role at this point is predominantly administrative, and most of my direct coaching interactions are with novice, elementary, and middle school students, so it takes a few months for new metas and terminologies to get to me in non-parli events. PF/LD should assume I have limited contact with the topic even if it's late in the cycle. I have eight years of personal competition experience in CHSSA parliamentary debate and impromptu speaking in high school and NPDA in college, albeit for relatively casual/non-circuit teams. My own high school experience was at a small school, so I tend to be sympathetic to arguments about resource-based exclusion. A current student asked me if I was a progressive or traditional debater in high school, which wasn't vocab on my radar at that time (or, honestly, a split that really existed in HS parli in those years). I did definitively come up in the time when "This House would not go gently into that good night" was a totally normal, one-in-every-four-rounds kind of resolution. Do with that what you will.

Approach to judging

-The framework and how it is leveraged to include/exclude impacts is absolutely the most important part of the round.

-It's impossible to be a true "blank slate" judge. I will never add arguments to the flow for you or throw out arguments that I don’t like, but I do have a low tolerance for buying into blatant falsehoods, and I fully acknowledge that everyone has different, somewhat arbitrary thresholds for "buying" certain arguments. I tend to be skeptical of generic K solvency/insufficiently unique Ks.

-My personal experience with circuit LD, circuit policy, Congress, and interp speech events is minimal.

-I am emphatically NOT a games/tricks/whatever-we're-calling-it-these-days judge. Debate is an educational activity that takes place in a communal context, not a game that can be separated from sociocultural influences. Students who have public speaking abilities have unique responsibilities that constrain how they should and should not argue. I will not hesitate to penalize speaker points for rhetoric that reifies oppressive ideologies.

Speaker point ranges

Sorry, I am the exact opposite of a points fairy. I will do my best to follow point floors and ceilings issued by each tournament. 30s are reserved for a speech that is literally the best one I have seen to date. Anything above a 29 is extremely rare. I will strongly advocate to tab to allow me to go below the tournament point floor in cases of overt cruelty, physical aggression, or extremely disrespectful address toward anyone in the round.

Argument preferences

Evaluation order/methods: These are defaults. If I am presented with a different framework for assessment by either team, I will use that framework instead. In cases of a “tie” or total wash, I vote neg unless there is a textual neg advocacy flowed through, in which case I vote aff. I vote on prefiat before postfiat, with the order being K theory/framework questions, pre-fiat K implications, other theory (T, etc), post-fiat. I default to net benefits both prefiat and postfiat. I generally assume the judge is allowed to evaluate anything that happens in the round as part of the decision, which sometimes includes rhetorical artifacts about out-of-round behavior. Evaluation skews are probably a wash in a round where more than one is presented, and I assume I can evaluate the round better than a coinflip in the majority of cases.

Impacts: Have them. Terminalize them. Weigh them. I assume that death and dehumanization are the only truly terminal impacts unless you tell me otherwise. "Economy goes up" is meaningless to me without elaboration as to how it impacts actual people.

Counterplans: Pretty down for whatever here. If you want to have a solid plan/CP debate in LD or PF, far be it from me to stop you. Plan/CP debate is just a method of framing, and if we all agree to do it that way and understand the implications, it's fine.

Theory/Topicality: You need to format your theory shells in a manner that gives me a way to vote on them (ie, they possess some kind of pre- or post-fiat impact). I will listen to any kind of theory argument, but I genuinely don't enjoy theory as a strategic tool. I err neg on theory (or rather, I err toward voting to maintain my sense of "real-world" fairness/education). I will vote on RVIs in cases of genuine critical turns on theory where the PMR collapses to the turn or cases of clearly demonstrated time skew (not the possibility of skew).

Kritiks/"Progressive" Argumentation: I have a lot of feelings, so here's the rapid-fire/bullet-point version: I don't buy into the idea that Ks are inherently elitist, but I think they can be read/performed in elitist ways. I strongly believe in the K as a tool of resistance and much less so as a purely strategic choice when not tightly linked to the resolution or a specific in-round act by the opposing team. I am open to most Ks as long as they are clearly linked and/or disclosed within the first 2-3 minutes of prep. Affirmatives have a higher burden for linking to the resolution, or clearly disclosing if not. If you're not in policy, you probably shouldn't just be reading policy files. Write Ks that fit the norms of your event. If you want to read them in front of me, you shouldn’t just drop names of cards, as I am not conversant at a high level with most of the lit. Please don’t use your K to troll. Please do signpost your K. On framework, I err toward evaluating prefiat arguments first but am willing to weigh discursive implications of postfiat arguments against them. The framework debate is so underrated. If you are facing a K in front of me, you need to put in a good-faith effort to engage with it. Truly I will give you a ton of credit for a cautious and thorough line-by-line even if you don't know all that much about K structural elements. Ks that weaponize identities and ask me to use the ballot to endorse some personal narrative or element of your identity, in my in-round and judging experience, have been 15% liberatory and 85% deeply upsetting for everyone in the round. Please don't feel compelled to out yourself to get my vote. Finally, I am pretty sure it's only possible for me to performatively embrace/reject something once, so if your alt is straight "vote to reject/embrace X," you're going to need some arguments about what repeatedly embracing/rejecting does for me. I have seen VERY few alts that don't boil down to "vote to reject/embrace X."

"New" Arguments: Anything that could count as a block/position/contention, in addition to evidence (examples, analytics, analogies, cites) not previously articulated will be considered "new" if they come out in the last speech for either side UNLESS they are made in response to a clear line of clash that has continued throughout the round. I'll consider shadow extensions from the constructives that were not extended or contended in intervening speeches new as well. The only exception to this rule is for the 2N in LD, which I give substantial leeway to make points that would otherwise be considered "new." I will generally protect against new arguments to the best of my ability, but call the POI if the round is fast/complex. Voters, crystallization, impact calculus and framing are fine.

Presentation preferences

Formatting: I will follow any method of formatting as long as it is signposted, but I am most conversant with advantage/disadvantage uniqueness/link/impact format. Paragraph theory is both confusing to your opponent AND to me. Please include some kind of framing or weighing mechanism in the first speech and impact calculus, comparative weighing, or some kind of crystallization/voters in the final speeches, as that is the cleanest way for me to make a decision on the flow.

Extensions: I do like for you to strategically extend points you want to go for that the opponent has dropped. Especially in partner events, this is a good way to telegraph that you and your partner are strategically and narratively aligned. Restating your original point is not a response to a rebuttal and won't be treated as an answer unless you explain how the extension specifically interacts with the opponent's response. The point will be considered dropped if you don't engage with the substance of the counterargument.

Tag-teaming: It's fine but I won’t flow anything your partner says during your speech--you will need to fully repeat it. If it happens repeatedly, especially in a way that interrupts the flow of the speech, it may impact the speaker points of the current speaker.

Questions/Cross-ex: I will stop flowing, but CX is binding. I stop time for Points of Order (and NPDL - Points of Clarification) in parli, and you must take them unless tournament rules explicitly forbid them. Don't let them take more than 30 seconds total. I really don't enjoy when Parli debaters default to yelling "POI" without trying to get the speaker's attention in a less disruptive way first and will probably dock speaker points about it.

Speed: I tolerate spreading but don't love it. If your opponent has a high level of difficulty with your speed and makes the impacted argument that you are excluding them, I will be open to voting on that. If I cannot follow your speed, I will stop writing and put my pen down (or stop typing) and stare at you really awkwardly. I drop off precipitously in my flowing functionality above the 275 wpm zone (in person--online, you should go slower to account for internet cutouts).

Speech Docs/Card Calling: Conceptually they make me tired, but I generally want to be on chains because I think sharing docs increases the likelihood of debaters trying to leverage extremely specific case references. If you're in the type of round where evidence needs to be shared, I prefer you share all of it prior to the round beginning so we can waste as little time as possible between speeches. If I didn't hear something in the round/it confused me enough that I need to read the card, you probably didn't do a good enough job talking about it or selling it to me to deserve the win, but I'll call for cards if everyone collapses to main points that hinge on me reading them. If someone makes a claim of card misuse/misrepresentation, I'll ask for the card/speech doc as warranted by the situation and then escalate to the tournament officials if needed.

Miscellaneous: If your opponent asks for a written text of your plan/CP/K thesis/theory interp, you are expected to provide it as expeditiously as possible (e.g. in partner formats, your partner should write it down and pass it while you continue talking).

From the origin of my debate career, I have been a parent judge. Therefore, I really like it when you stand up straight, look me in the eye, and pay attention to the other speakers and your partner. If you think those things don't matter, you may be surprised in the future. I absolutely believe that debate, and especially Parliamentary Debate, is a fantastic endeavor. I will honor that and I will expect you to as well.

My experience spans about 13 years as I squired my two youths to as many tournaments as we all could attend and judged many rounds. Those two are coaches now and I have remained active because I believe in what the community is doing. So show me what you, and they, have gotten from this activity, such as:

· Critical thinking about the arguments you propose from great use of prep time

· The ability to cogently rebut your opponents case

· Eloquent communication of those arguments

· Tactical elements of argumentation

Speed: It’s fine if you can continue to enunciate appropriately so your opponents and I can hear your arguments. If a case is made but we don't hear it, then it doesn’t exist. If this judge doesn’t hear it it's a sure bet the case does not exist.

Pet peeve: Most plans cost money. It will be beneficial if you have a relatively good idea of how much is needed and where you intend to get it.

Tactics: K’s, Perms and Theory arguments are clever when done well and lose when done badly. Plan Inclusive Counterplans almost always work against you. If an opponent makes an argument that is unfair, you still have to call them out for it. Otherwise, like unchallenged contentions, it will flow through.

There has been quite a bit of change in the debate community and improvement in tournament activity. You should be proud of your participation. Everyone is in the room because they respect the activity of debate. We can demonstrate that and show our respect for each other. I will listen intently and try to deliver a lucid decision. Sometimes RFD’s delivered quickly can sound abrupt. Please don’t be offended. You are great competitors and often significant academic achievers. Getting better requires understanding why votes go against you, not how wonderful you are. I want to walk away better for hearing your arguments. Good luck and thanks for the opportunity.

Case > Theory >>> Kritiks, acceptable for T-shell at appropriate times, okay with Kritiks but they are dumb

Prefer speaking slowly and clearly, no spreading please

Clear tag lines, well-organized structure, and off-time road maps are recommended

Watch your speaking time, my timer will annoy you when your time is up

Be nice to each other ;) I will yeet you out of the room if you abuse your opponent physically or mentally

Emphasize your impact and weighing mechanism, state your sources and connect your evidence with your contentions

Feel free to ask me any questions you have before the round

Good luckkk and have funnn, you are awesome for who you are!

I have judged various divisions of parliamentary debate for one year. I like good organization, interesting arguments, and clear impacts for cases. Refrain from running theory, and remember to signpost. It is important to speak well, but arguments will be prioritized over how well you speak.

I have been judging Parli rounds for 2 years and enjoy the diverse topics I hear during the tournaments and how students bring their viewpoint to convince me to give their arguments maximum weightage.

I have been impressed by data driven arguments as that gives evidence versus just empty statements made to prove your opponents wrong. Sometimes these evidences are the winning factor for events I have judged without any bias in my decision.

Good eye contact, voice modulation to stress important points and body movement can help to justify the points as needed. You don't have to have a shouting match to win an argument but rather prove it based on evidence stats. I don't prefer theory or K arguments, although I will acknowledge any valid points given.

Good luck to all participants and continue to keep learning and improving as you debate your peer students.

In a debate round, I like to see unique arguments that have solid logic and links to impacts, as well as organized presentation. Please explain clearly if you'd like to run technical arguments or counters. You'll get higher speaker points (my average ranges from 27-28) if you give clear and persuasive arguments and go over the flow. Most importantly, have fun!

I have been judging debate rounds for the last 7 years, and high school debate rounds for the last 3 years.

I judge by deliberating on the overall presentation of the debaters, including arguments and delivery.

I prefer a slower round of debate, that allows for a more involved, persuasive style of debate.

I prefer less debate technicalities, and more common sense arguments to make your points.

I'm a "lay judge". But you may not be out of luck because I try very hard to be objective and fair. Not all flow judges do that. I need you to do one thing to help me help you: never spread! Slow down so that I can track your flow more easily.

Yes I do track your flow. And I have a specially-purposed spreadsheet for that. I'm pretty good at analytical thinking. Impacts work only if you show me a clear link. As a matter of fact, if you try to "impact" me too hard with un-sustained contentions, I will disregard the point entirely.

I use common sense to judge. I don't have particular philosophy around tech-over-truth or truth-over-tech, because I don't believe competitive debate is a sport only debaters can understand and do. In fact, Debate is our daily life. 99% of the audience who watch presidential debates know nothing about T, K, POO or POI. But at the end of the day, it is the debater's job to use common sense to convince the "lay audience" to vote for him/her. You will be much better off with me if you think "how can I convince a stranger I meet in the coffee shop to vote for me?", instead of "how can I convince a national debate champion to vote for me?".

Now you know what principles I use when I judge a debate. Specifically:

- Point Of Order. I know what it is. You don't need to explain it to me. If you think you hear a POO, briefly explain to me why you think this is a POO. The debater who is accused of POO can briefly contest that. But don't spend too much time arguing about it. Leave the call to me.

- Dropping points. You actually can drop points without being penalized by me. Before you laugh at me, here are more details: if your opponent has a well-sustained contention and you drop it, you get penalized - pretty badly. If your opponent has a very weak contention and you pick it up and attack hard, you score. If your opponent has a weak contention and you drop it, I don't care. I actually find boring and tasteless if you go over all your points and your opponent's points just to "cover all the bases" without any depths. Again think about how presidential candidates win a debate. They don't do it by saying "hey you dropped one of my points that barely matters". They win a debate by focusing on a few contentions and sufficiently sustain them, or pick out a weak contention of the opponent and attack hard.

- Point of Information. I in general follow the rule of 2 for POIs. The speaker is expected to take 2 POIs. It's ok if you take less but it would be a slight negative sign to me, especially if you are running a weak flow that leaves quite a few holes to plug. The opposing team is expected to offer no more than 2 POIs. You can offer more if the speakers take them (they don't have to). Offer and accept POIs with proper etiquette please. It not only shows you are a professional debater, but also gives you extra time to phrase your point or response more concisely.

- About Kritik. I don't mind K's. As a matter of fact I like them. But don't expect me to have been trained on all different kinds of K's. And I don't care all the links, impacts, and alternatives. I only care about if you can explain it in a way that any reasonably intelligent person can understand, and clearly state why it matters. Again, think about common sense. If you think you can run an anthropocentrism K successfully in front of a group of audience who know nothing about debate (yes you can if you do it right!), you have a good chance to run it with me.

Finally - I know you will feel (who doesn't!) that I'm a great judge if you win and I'm a lame one if you lose. And I do make mistakes. However please be assured that I'm trying very hard to be fair and objective, because I know all of you are trying very hard to be good at debate too! Debate is fun. So just try to have fun and don't give up. All of us will get better as long as we try hard and we don't give up.

I am a parent judge and I have mostly judged Parli rounds at these tournaments. I prefer that debaters speak slowly and clearly so that I can follow the arguments and flow.

I am a "lay" judge who has been judging for several years. No spreading. Run theory only when necessary. The clear and powerful presentation of your argument can be as important as its content. Always have a broader awareness of how your points matter. I don't shake hands. Good luck and have fun!

I am a lay, parent judge.

For debate, do not do technical debate (Theory is only accepted if the opposition is being very abusive). I would like clear and coherent arguments, and I would like clash, as that is what debate is for. When you make your arguments, I want you to walk me through the argument and make sure I understand. Keep speed to an understandable level. You have a 10 second grace period to finish your speech, but do your best to stay within time.

For Speech judging, I judge simply and on the performance, and speaking ability. The Rule for timing is a 30 second grace period and I will enforce that. However, it is best to stay within the time, as the tournament needs to keep going, and many people tend to be double entered.

I am a first time parent judge. I competed in speech in high school but will try to decide on the winner based on the arguments of each side.

Relatively Tabula Rasa. Explain arguments well and don't assume things in your argumentation.

Background:

Competed in Public Forum and Parliamentary style debate in high school, along with entering in DI, TI, Duo, and Impromptu. Went to States in TI (semi-finalist) and Nationals in TI and World Schools.

Debate Preferences:

I want on-case debate. If you come into Aff constructive rejecting the resolution, I am going to be heavily inclined to give you the loss. Likewise, if your Neg theory shell is non-topical, it will count against you. Do not run a K, do not spread, and do not be extratopical unless you want an L.

I dislike the strategy of throwing as many statistics in an argument as humanly possible and letting them speak for themselves. Explain why your numbers are important, don't just throw them at me. I will value a better explained and nuanced argument over one comprised of only statistics.

Most importantly, remember that debate exists to discuss policy and understand foreign perspectives, whether that be your motivation to participate or not. Treat your opponent with respect. You don't know their social, economic, or educational background, nor is it your (or anyone's) place to disrespect it. You can have fun in the round and still create thoughtful, argumentative discussion. Please keep this in mind in-round.

Bonus speaker point if you can make me laugh :P

Speech Preferences:

Not too much to say here. I know that speech rounds can be tedious and repetitive. That doesn't mean every single speaker isn't deserving of your attention and respect. Clap for speakers, be encouraging. Don't be afraid to laugh or react to a speech because it might elevate their ranking above yours; it won't. If anything, it will make you look more attentive and supportive. You can compete without being toxic. We're all spending a lot of time and money to be here, might as well have fun with it :)

I am a lay parent judge. Please present your case clearly and enunciate your words.

Last Updated

11/10/2021

Background

Former coach at Washington HS and New Roads School. Circuit Parli debater at Prospect (2013-17). Former BP debater at USC.

General Ballot

I will vote for mostly anything as long as you explain it well. Please give content warnings pre-roadmap so that strat changes can be made accordingly. Deliberately misgendering a competitor in the round will result in an auto-loss and a not so pleasant conversation with me and a member of tournament staff. As a judge, I’ll vote for the single team that has the clearest path to the ballot. While warranted extensions can be helpful in terms of voting, I very much dislike when teams rely on "extend ___ uniqueness/argument". Chances are, there aren't as many "conceded" arguments as you think there are - don't be lazy on the line-by-line. My default on dropped arguments is that they are true and I will evaluate them as such. If you have questions on presumption, message me. I want it to be easy to vote, so do that for me. Debate is a game (unfortunately?) and as such, everyone is reading arguments in order to either increase and/or secure their chances of a W. Therefore, I find it hard to be convinced that any particular argument ought be banned or norm ought be forgone (e.g., banning the use of back files, shaming speed, disallowing Ks). That DOES NOT mean that I believe that we should abandon common human decency and practices of kindness.

Speed

I will call clear if I have to, but speed generally isn’t a problem. That being said, if your opponents are not able to compete with your speed, I expect that you will adjust accordingly. Please do not read Speed Theory if you are not going to give your opponents the opportunity to slow down (by calling 'slow' or 'clear') in previous speeches. I find it difficult to identify a bright line between conversational, fast and very fast speaking and unless you tell me where the bright line is, therefore it is incredibly difficult for me to evaluate Speed Theory. Keep tag-lines slow just for the sake of me keeping a clean flow. The more signposting you do, the faster I can flow.

Kritiks

I’m down for them as long as they have a link and they aren't being read purely to deny your opponents equitable access to the debate space. Parli generally has larger K frameworks than policy, so I’m down with that default. Please avoid making generalizations about society. In the same vein, I'm inclined to vote against root cause claims without warrants. I think the aff has the ability to leverage the 1AC/plan as offense versus the alt. I find that the debates that are most engaging/convincing, are ones where kritikal teams engage with case and where case teams engage with the criticism.

K affs are all good in policy, but are sketch in parli unless they have a policy alt. If you feel so inclined to read a kritikal affirmative, I expect that you will disclose within 10 minutes of prep. I never read performance Ks, but am down to listen to them. I’ll flow as well as I can, but be ready to explain how you give the neg ground. Very low threshold on offense against truth testing framework. The lit-bases that I am reasonably well-read on include cap, whiteness, neolib, fem and setcol.

Framework debates are my jam.

I am a firm believer that good case/theory debates are more valuable than bad K debates so don't be cheaty just because you have a backfile.

DAs/CP

Make sure to explain how the CP functions in the 1NC. I am not a stickler on CPs being ME so have fun with that. If you choose to read a perm (in most cases, you should), I'd prefer you read a perm text and an explanation for how the permutation has solvency/functions. "Perm, do both" is not a perm text. I am very unlikely to vote on a Delay CP because I have yet to hear a good justification for why delay resolves the harms in squo better than the plan and doesn't bite the DA(s).

Theory

Default to competing interps and no RVIs, and theory coming first. I don’t need articulated abuse to vote on theory, but if it is there, point it out and your speaks will go up. If you are going for theory, you better actually go for it. I probably won’t vote on it if it is 30 seconds in the 2NR/AR. That being said, I really don't expect you to go for every theory arg you read. High threshold for PICs bad and Condo bad. I will not vote for Ks Bad if it is used as an out from actually engaging with critical positions. I also find that generalizing that all Ks are bad does very little to improve the quality of the debate space. If you choose to read a generalized Ks Bar argument, I will need warranting for why the argument you are attempting to mitigate is specifically exclusionary to your team in the round.

Tricks

I'm going to be completely honest and say that tricks go completely over my head. That's not to say they are bad arguments or ineffective but rather that they are often inadequately explained and I fail to find a way to evaluate how they interact with other args on the flow. Riley Shahar is a much better judge for such args.

Weighing

Generally default to probability over magnitude unless you give me a reason otherwise. Weighing is your job, not mine. I need clear impact scenarios to vote for an argument.

Speaker Points -- I will vote on 30 speaks theory

25 - Please take a moment to rethink what you are about to say (P.S stop being racist, sexist, homophobic etc etc)

...

28~28.4 - Some strategic errors but they weren't devastating

28.5~28.9 - Meh, average

29~29.3 - Definitely know what you're doing

29.4~29.9 - Your round vision and strategy was on point

30 - WOOO I SPY A WINNER

General School-Wide Conflicts

New Roads, Prospect, Washington

Miscellaneous

Off-time road maps PLEASE.

Tag-teaming is all good, but don’t be 'that kid' who tag teams the whole time. I'll be rather disgruntled and take it out on your speaks.

Speaks are more based on strategy than anything else. I think that speaker points are pretty bogus considering that style preferences are quite subjective.

Shadow extensions are awful.

I will more than likely be okay with my RFD being recorded for learning purposes. It's generally a more efficient alternative to repeating portions that you didn't manage to write down on your flow. Please ask before you record, I don't want being "on record" to deter other debaters from asking questions.

**Feel free to email with any questions - keskar@usc.edu

or FB message me

Parent judge. Paradigm was written by my daughter [Maya Khodabakchian] so even if there is flow jargon in it, doesn't mean I understand it.

I read the Economist for 2 hours every day, don't think you can lie to me about domestic or foreign policy. I'm highly skeptical of low probability link chains. This may seem harsh, but don't suddenly pretend that you are a professional in whatever topic you were given. We all know you were given 20 minutes to research the topic.

Use warrants, outline solvency, explain links.

I take extensive notes, but not in the flow format. I don't protect the flow, but honestly, a million POOs is excessive and annoying. Figure out what will actually hurt you and what is an irrelevant POO.

I can handle speed. Don't explain things to me as if I am a child and get to the point. I would love a nuanced and interesting debate.

I will buy paragraph theory if it's legitimate... but you are going to have to tell me why I should vote your opponents down. In general though, just debate around the minor abuses.

And of course, be kind. Absolutely no ad hominem insults (or any insults at all in general). Relax and have fun!

I have little judging experience. I will judge based on how logically concise your debate is and how the person decides to refute their opponent's contentions. The final decision will be based upon my own personal opinion of who has constructed the most logically sound argument and has well accounted for the opponent's contentions in their speech.

I expect the Debaters to enunciate clearly and straight to the point without beating around the Bush. Be respectful to other opponents.

ask in person

I am a lay judge or am I ?

I am a flay judge.

I look for clear statement of the topics, understand the flow you will take for the debate.
No critics please.

Make sure to have good impacts and solid evidence.

Don’t drop any refutes or contentions.

Background: Parent judge, corporate executive, PhD scientist, life-long learner, tabula rasa

Email Chain: cglee50@gmail.com

Speed: No spreading in general, clarity over speed. I love it when debaters spend more time thinking on their own feet and communicating clearly than regurgitating information that I can read in the e-mail chain (please do send).

Flowing: I will flow all your arguments. Dropped arguments: "silence is compliance"

Time: Please keep your own time and opponent's time. I'd rather focus on the flow of your ideas and arguments.

Stock Issues: All equally important. However, I weigh each round in the following order: solvency, inherency, harms, significance, topicality. Why? Because our world needs real people who can solve real problems. "We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them." - Albert Einstein. So, fire away your plan/counterplan/solvency. Harms - I love learning from you. I learn the most listening to harms. If I (or your audience) became enlightened about your issue, it is a big plus.

Recycling: Same arguments floating around debate tournaments over and over again. Recycled ideas and arguments make me fall asleep... zzz.

You all are winners because you are not afraid of failure. Keep debating!

General: I am a lay parent judge. Speak as if you were explaining your case to your grandma. I will try my best to be tabula rasa.

Case/ Theory: Have strong, believable links and expand on your impacts. I like impact analysis in the voter speeches. If you are going to run theory arguments, EXPLAIN THEM WELL. No Ks.

Speaking: Do not spread. Please articulate and speak clearly. Also, be respectful when your partner/ opponents are speaking. If you talk loudly or act rude during speeches, I will decrease your speaks.

Always be respectful of your opponent. Use your knowledge, intellect and reasoning skills. Not intimidation or mockery.

If you're reading more than 250-300 words per minute, you're probably going too fast. Also, you will probably lose.

I am relatively new to judging parliamentary debate. Please speak at a reasonable rate, define your terms, and make clear links from policy to impacts. Avoid complicated debate jargon and Kritiks. Use theory only if you believe that there has been an abusive definition, or that your opposition has gone off topic. Don’t abuse POIs or POOs. Neg. Counterplans are acceptable. The team that educates me on the topic and makes their case clearly and respectfully will get my ballot.

I am a parent judge with some experience judging parlimentary debates in the last five of years. Starting with a road map is helpful for me to follow your round. I value clarify over speed. I appreciate strong reasoning and data/facts-supported analysis to make it clear for me to decide who wins the round. It is also important for me to see you are respectful to your opponents.

I am a lay judge, so I will decide based on my understanding of your arguments. If you use jargon, please explain. Explain your case clearly; your warrants should include what it means and what the impacts are. If I cannot understand you (spreading), I will be not be able give you credit for your arguments. Please be respectful, speak clearly, number your arguments, and provide organized, logical arguments. Good luck!

I am a parent judge for parliamentary debate. I am still new and learning. Generally I shall try to judge tabula rasa. Please make good arguments and follow the rules and showcase your debating skills.

POI: Please do take and ask POI's . However please do not get excessive

Tag Teaming: Very short tag teaming for important points are ok

Speed: slightly faster is Ok but no spreading

Please be respectful to each other.

Please ask if you have questions.

Good luck and have fun!

TL;DR - Parent judge who was a national circuit policy debater in high school and college long ago (see experience at very bottom of paradigm). Judged mostly open/varsity parli Fall 2018 - Spring 2022 with increasing amounts of PF in the last year or two and occasional LD & Policy judging throughout . Sections below for Parli, PF, and Policy.

General Overview: I will evaluate framework/criteria/theory/role of the ballot issues first. Unless argued/won otherwise, I default to judging as a policy maker weighing aff plan/world against status quo or neg counterplan/world using net benefits and treat debate as an educational game. I will ignore new arguments in rebuttals (summary/final focus in PF) even if you don't call a POO (Parli). I'm fine with tag teaming (but only flow what the actual speaker says). Speak from anywhere you prefer as long as everyone can hear you. When speech time expires, you can finish your thought, but I will not flow any new arguments started after time expires (no new args in grace period). Cross-ex/crossfire will not be considered in my decision unless you reference it in a speech (that will bring it into the round). You can go fast but probably not full speed (not 200+ wpm). I will call clear or slow as needed. If you run K's, please clearly link them to the resolution/aff plan/aff arguments and explain (K's post-date my debate experience). Signpost. Clearly justify/link theory arguments (high bar for you to win frivolous theory). Don't care about your attire. I rarely look up from my flow during rounds. No need to shake my hand.

If allowed by the tournament rules, please add me to your email chain (if applicable) using edlingo13 [at] gmail.com

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PF Debate Notes:

I am familiar with the basic structure of PF and have extensive experience judging and competing in other forms of debate. But I am still learning some of the PF-specific terminology. Even though I have only judged perhaps a dozen PF rounds before, here's a few notes I hope will help you.

- Because I am flowing, I don't need you to do a whole lot to extend dropped arguments. If you are pressed for time, and, for example, an entire contention is dropped by the other team, you can just say "extend contention 2 which is dropped". It can help to reiterate the arguments to help fill in details I may not have gotten right on my flow or to draw my attention to particular impacts, but there is no need to individually extend every element of the contention. You can save the analysis for weighing.

- Please do your best to clearly weigh impacts in final focus. I know time is short. However, if you leave it up to me to weigh the advantages of both sides against each other, you are taking a big risk. Best to explain to me why you believe your impacts (harms/benefits) outweigh those presented by the other team. Though not required, I am fine with some weighing also happening in earlier speeches (summary, even rebuttal). For example, if after constructives you think you clearly outweigh, no need to wait until final focus to point that out.

- I don't flow crossfire, but do pay attention and will use it to help clarify my understanding of issues/positions in the round. Bring it up in a speech if you want something said in crossfire to be part of my flow/input to my decision.

- Where there are evidence conflicts (each side has evidence saying the opposite), please do your best to explain why I should prefer your evidence over that of your opponents (study vs. opinion, better author credentials, recency, etc.).

- In general, do what you can to provide clash. If each side just reiterates and defends their own case, that leaves a lot up to the judge. If you want my decision to go your way, best to provide that clash/analysis so I know why you believe you should win the round.

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Parli Debate Notes (though much is applicable to all forms of debate):

** Note to Tournament Directors - Please add Flex Time to High School Parli debate (see sections 4.C. & 4.H. of the NDPA rules for a definition of Flex Time). I think it will increase the quality of debates/clash in the round, give judges a bit of time to clean up their flows & make notes for later feedback to debaters, and ensure fairness in how much time is taken for each speaker to start.

Default Framework:

In the absence of a contrary framework argued/won in the round, I will make my decision as a policy maker comparing the aff plan/world against the status quo or neg counterplan/world.

Unless argued/won in the round otherwise, I think debate is an educational game. I believe the educational part is primarily for the debaters and only secondarily (at most) for the judge(s) and/or audience. This is one of the reasons I have trouble with K's that are loosely, if at all, related to the resolution being debated. The game aspect of debate implies a need for fairness/balance/equity between aff & neg sides.

With the above defaults (and realistically biases) in mind, I will try to come into the round tabula rasa ("blank slate"). Certainly I won't intentionally bring my political biases into the round. I will try to minimize using any outside knowledge of the topic, but realistically some of that may creep in unless background information is clearly explained in the round.

Especially if you don't like the above framework, please do provide your own in the round. I'm far more likely to make the decision you expect if I'm using framework/weighing criteria that you know (above) or have argued/won in the round.

Theory:

Fine by me. But as with everything else, please explain/justify the theory arguments you make. Don't like blippy theory you toss out in hopes the other side will drop your one line VI/RVI or, similarly, some pre-canned, high speed theory block that even you don't understand (and I can barely flow, if at all).

Speed:

As long as you can still be clear, I am fine with any speed. I will call "slow" or "clear" as needed during the round. But, it's still best to slow down on tags and issues you believe are critical in deciding the round. Especially in the first tournament or two of the year and the first round in the morning, best to go a little slower for me. If you want me to get a clean flow, keep things to a max of perhaps 200 or 250 wpm rather than 350 or 400. Don't spread in a monotone. I know from experience that it is possible to add (brief) pauses where there is a period, slow down on tags, and vary your speed while still averaging 300+ wpm. If you are going to go very fast, it is your responsibility to practice it until you can do so with clarity and in a way that can be flowed.

Kritiks:

K's post-date my competitive debate experience. I have read up a bit on them and seen them used in a few rounds (parli and policy rounds). If you run one (or more), make sure you have a clear link to the resolution/aff plan/aff args. It's also important that you clearly explain the K to me and to the other team (including why it applies in this round and why it should be a voting issue). Just spreading through a K that even you don't understand in the hopes I will understand it and your opponents will mishandle it is very unlikely to be successful. On the other hand, if you understand it, clearly explain it, and answer POI's from your opponents if they seem confused by it, I will seriously consider it in my decision. If you plan to run a K-aff, please disclose to your opponents at the start of prep (or earlier). If you don't, a theory argument by the neg that you should have done so is very likely to win.

Counterplans:

Counterplans seem like a natural fit for Parli to me. Especially with a topic that gives the aff broad leeway to choose a somewhat narrow plan, CPs are a good way to make the round fair for the neg side.

Dropped Arguments:

I will extend arguments that your opponents dropped for you (I think this is now called protecting the flow), but it's still best for you to extend them yourself so that you can explain to me why/how those dropped arguments should factor into my decision. When you extend, I don't need you to re-explain your arguments or extend every individual point in a block that is entirely dropped (though no harm in doing so). How you believe the dropped arguments should impact the overall round is more important to me.

New Arguments in Rebuttals/POO's:

I will ignore what I believe to be a new argument in a rebuttal speech, so you don't have to call a POO. However, I do understand the general POO process. So if you want to make certain that I will be treating something as a new argument in rebuttals (and therefore excluding it from my decision making process), go ahead and call the POO. I'd prefer that you don't call a lot of POO's (more than 3), but certainly won't count it against you if you feel the need to call each one out. Though odds are if you are calling that many, I already get that we've got a rebuttal speaker who doesn't realize I will ignore new arguments in rebuttals.

Tag Teaming:

Fine by me. I will, of course, only include what the actual current speaker says in my flow.

Speaker Location:

Stay sitting, stand up, or go to a podium. It's all fine by me. However, if you are a quiet speaker in a noisy room and/or I or the opposing team call out "clear", "louder", etc. please speak in a direction/location that you can be heard by all. I'm fine with taking some time before a speech or stopping time during a speech if we need to adjust everyone's location so all speakers can be clearly heard. If someone can't hear the current speaker, I'm fine with them calling out "louder". If the speaker can't easily adjust so everyone can hear them, go ahead and stop time and we will take time to rearrange so you can be heard without having to shout.

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Policy Debate Notes:

- Debated 4 years of policy in high school (in CFL/California Coast district, went to State & Nationals, won State), but that was long, long ago.

- Defaults: I will default to judging based on stock issues as a policy maker. For theory issues, I will default to treating debate as an educational game (game implies fairness/equity). On both counts, I am open to alternative frameworks/roles of the ballot.

- Theory, framework, K's need to be developed/clearly explained to me and your competitors or you will have an uphill battle trying to win them (doesn't mean you won't if the other teams drops it or grossly mishandles it, but I do need a basic understanding of your argument in order to vote on it). Likewise, calling something a voting issue doesn't make it one unless you explain why it should be a voting issue.

- I know very little K literature.

- I won't be able to keep up with a full speed/invitational/tech debate these days. But you can certainly speak at a rate that the "person on the street" would think of as quite fast. I will call clear/slow if I'm having trouble keeping up.

- I don't flow cross-ex, but do pay attention and will use it to help clarify my understanding of issues/positions in the round. Bring it up in a speech if you want something said in cross-ex to be part of my flow/input to my decision.

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Experience:

My competitive experience is almost exclusively policy debate from the late 70's and early to mid-80's. Four years in high school policy debate (1 yr Bellarmine followed by 3 yrs Los Gatos High). Quarters or better at many national invitational tournaments (e.g. Berkeley & Harvard back when they weren't on the same weekend ;-). 1st Place California (CHSSA) State Championships. Invites to national level round robins (Glenbrook, Harvard, UCLA/USC, Georgetown) -- back then the tournament director invited those teams they believed to be the top 9 in the country (perhaps a few more if some teams couldn't attend). In high school I briefly experimented with LD. During my senior year in college (UC Berkeley), I debated one year of CEDA debate. Went to perhaps a half dozen tournaments. Won a couple of them, made it to quarters/semis at some others. Helped the Cal team reach #2 in the national CEDA rankings.

Email: andrewjlopez120@gmail.com

TL;DR If you run Ks in anything other than LD, you probably want to strike me. If you run performances or non-topical Affs in any debate event, you definitely want to strike me.

Background: Debated for 4 years at Claremont High School (PF, circuit Parli, Congress, and, very briefly, LD). Currently coaching Parli, PF, and LD at my alma mater.

General: I try to be as non-interventionist as possible, so tech > truth. Although I list several argument preferences here, I won’t automatically disregard an argument just because I’m biased against it. If you run it well, I’ve got no problem voting on it. Just know that I’ll be more sympathetic to stock responses against certain arguments.

Evidence: Ev ethics still matter! If I find that you are deliberately fabricating or misrepresenting a piece of evidence, I'll give you the loss and the lowest speaks the tournament will allow. Yes, this applies to ALL debate events. No, I won't wait for your opponent to call you out on it.

Lincoln-Douglas Note: In LD, I maintain the style preferences I list below. On substance, however, I’m far more receptive to Ks and Theory/Topicality. I’m also fine with all LD-specific strats (phil, skep, tricks, etc.).

Style: Keep roadmaps short and off-time. I can’t handle TOC-level speed, but feel free to speak much faster with me than you would with any lay judge. I'll shout "clear" if necessary. If I have to do this more than twice, you lose speaks. Using excessive speed to confuse or exclude your opponents will cost you the round. Racist, sexist, queerphobic, or other bigoted remarks will do the same. If you start shouting at your opponents, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Speaker Points: I reward you for

- signposting THOROUGHLY

- impact and warrant comparisons

- being courteous

- being strategic

- being efficient

- being witty/humorous

Cross-Examination: Cross-ex is binding. PLEASE know when to end a line of questioning. Know when to cut somebody off and how to do it politely. Don’t tag-team and don’t use cross-ex time for prep. If nobody has anything left to say, it’s over. Time to start the prep clock.

Theory/Topicality: I rarely vote on either. I default to reasonability. With theory, I usually buy Drop the Argument, Not the Debater. I believe fairness is the gateway to education. I don't like RVIs, but I detest any strategy that involves regularly running Theory/Topicality as a means of just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. These arguments exist as last-resort checks on in-round abuse. Please keep it that way. Also condo is good; winning Condo Bad in front of me is very difficult.

Kritiks: Unlikely to vote for most, as it's hard to woo me away from a policymaking framework. I will not usually vote for kritiks with "reject the aff" as the only alt; rhetoric/discourse Ks are an exception. I prefer specific kritiks with tight links to the aff and CPs as alts. Performance/Kritikal Affs hurt debate in my opinion, and I'm very sympathetic to arguments against them. If you’re blatantly using Ks to exclude debaters with a more traditional style, you’re going to lose.

Counterplans: Go for it. I love almost all types of counterplans. Consult/study CPs are a notable exception; throw theory at them all day. Aside from that, I am far more receptive to a wider array of CPs than most judges you’ll find. Multi-actor fiat, non-institutional fiat, PICs, delay CPs, and agent/actor CPs are all fine by me. I assume conditionality and reserve the right to "judge kick" unless someone tells me otherwise. If you sever out of the 1AC, you’re going to lose.

Politics Disads: Not a big fan. I think fiat precludes any process-oriented disads (eg political capital), but results-oriented disads are fair game, though I find most high school debaters don’t construct or defend them well.

Impact Calc: Do it early and often. I default to util unless you tell me otherwise. Please weigh on the internal link level too, especially if you're going for the same impacts as your opponents. If neither side does proper impact calc, I’m left to do it for you. So for your sake and mine, please be thorough with warrants and impact calc at every point in the debate.

Other

- Please make copies of your plan text, CP text, T interp, and/or Alt available to your opponents and to me. Saves us all a ton of grief.

- I will not extend your arguments for you, but all you need to do to extend them in my mind is say "extend *insert tagline here*"

- I keep a poker face on and usually look down at my flow the whole time, so don’t stress.

- I’ll disclose at every tournament where it’s allowed. If it’s not allowed, I’ll still give oral critiques after the round, if time permits. Whether I’m giving an RFD or not, don’t be afraid to challenge me on anything I say. We can’t learn if we can’t have a discussion.

TLDR; I debated parli in high school for 3 years and have been coaching PF, LD, and Parli for the last 9 years since then with state and national champions. I try do be as tabula rasa as possible. Refer to specifics below

Follow the NSDA debate rules for properly formatting your evidence for PF and LD.

If paraphrasing is used in a debate, the debater will be held to the same standard of citation and accuracy as if the entire text of the evidence were read for the purpose of distinguishing between which parts of each piece of evidence are and are not read in a particular round. In all debate events, The written text must be marked to clearly indicate the portions read or paraphrased in the debate. If a student paraphrases from a book, study, or any other source, the specific lines or section from which the paraphrase is taken must be highlighted or otherwise formatted for identification in the round

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR PF: Burden of proof is on the side which proposes a change. I presume the side of the status quo. The minimum threshold needed for me to evaluate an argument is

1) A terminalized and quantifiable impact
2) A measurable or direct cause and effect from the internal link
3) A topical external link
4) Uniqueness

If you do not have all of these things, you have an incomplete and unproven argument. Voting on incomplete or unproven arguments demands judge intervention. If you don't know what these things mean ask.

Philosophy of Debate:

Debate is an activity to show off the intelligence, hard work, and creativity of students with the ultimate goal of promoting education, sportsmanship, and personal advocacy. Each side in the round must demonstrate why they are the better debater, and thus, why they should receive my vote. This entails all aspects of debate including speaking ability, case rhetoric, in-and-out-of round decorum, and most importantly the overall argumentation of each speaker. Also, remember to have fun too.

I am practically a Tabula Rasa judge. “Tab” judges claim to begin the debate with no assumptions on what is proper to vote on. "Tab" judges expect teams to show why arguments should be voted on, instead of assuming a certain paradigm. Although I will default all theory to upholding education unless otherwise told

Judge preferences: When reading a constructive case or rebutting on the flow, debaters should signpost every argument and every response. You should have voter issues in your last speech. Make my job as a judge easier by telling me verbatim, why I should vote for you.

Depending on the burdens implied within the resolution, I will default neg if I have nothing to vote on. (presumption)

Kritiks. I believe a “K” is an important tool that debater’s should have within their power to use when it is deemed necessary. That being said, I would strongly suggest that you not throw a “K” in a round simply because you think it’s the best way to win the round. It should be used with meaning and genuinity to fight actually oppressive, misogynistic, dehumanizing, and explicitly exploitative arguments made by your opponents. When reading a "K" it will be more beneficial for you to slow down and explain its content rather than read faster to get more lines off. It's pretty crucial that I actually understand what I'm voting on if It's something you're telling me "I'm morally obligated to do." I am open to hearing K's but it has been a year since I judged one so I would be a little rusty.

Most Ks I vote on do a really good job of explaining how their solvency actually changes things outside of the debate space. At the point where you can’t or don't explain how voting on the K makes a tangible difference in the world, there really isn't a difference between pre and post fiat impacts. I implore you to take note of this when running or defending against a K.

Theory is fine. It should have a proper shell and is read intelligibly. Even if no shell is present I may still vote on it.

Speed is generally fine. I am not great with spreading though. If your opponents say “slow down” you probably should. If I can’t understand you I will raise my hands and not attempt to flow.

I will only agree to 30 speaker point theory if it’s warranted with a reason for norms of abuse that is applicable to the debaters in the round. I will not extend it automatically to everyone just because you all agree to it.

Parli specifics:

I give almost no credence on whether or not your warrants or arguments are backed by “cited” evidence. Since this is parliamentary debate, I will most certainly will not be fact-checking in or after round. Do not argue that your opponents do not have evidence, or any argument in this nature because it would be impossible for them to prove anything in this debate.

Due to the nature of parli, to me the judge has an implicit role in the engagement of truth testing in the debate round. Because each side’s warrants are not backed by a hard cited piece of evidence, the realism or actual truth in those arguments must be not only weighed and investigated by the debaters but also the judge. The goal, however, is to reduce the amount of truth testing the judge must do on each side's arguments. The more terminalization, explanation, and warranting each side does, the less intervention the judge might need to do. For example if the negative says our argument is true because the moon is made of cheese and the affirmative says no it's made of space dust and it makes our argument right. I obviously will truth test this argument and not accept the warrant that the moon is made of cheese.

Tag teaming is ok but the person speaking must say the words themself if I am going to flow it. It also hurts speaker points.

Public Forum specifics:

I have no requirement for a 2-2 split. Take whatever rebuttal strategy you think will maximize your chance of winning. However note that offense generated from contentions in your case must be extended in second rebuttal or they are considered dropped. Same goes for first summary.

I will not accept any K in Public Forum. Theory may still be run. Critical impacts and meta weighing is fine. No pre-fiat impacts.

Your offense must be extended through each speech in the debate round for me to vote on it in your final focus. If you forget to extend offense in second rebuttal or in summary, then I will also not allow it in final focus. This means you must ALWAYS extend your own impact cards in second rebuttal and first summary if you want to go for them.

Having voter issues in final focus is one of the easiest ways you can win the round. Tell me verbatim why winning the arguments on the flow means you win the round. Relate it back to the standard.

Lincoln Douglass and Policy:

I am an experienced circuit parliamentary debate coach and am very tabula rasa so basically almost any argument you want to go for is fine. Please note the rest of my paradigm for specifics. If you are going to spread you must flash me everything going to be read.

Email is Markmabie20@gmail.com

I am a judge who has some prior experience judging parliamentary debate.

Courtesy: Please be respectful to everyone at the debate.

Overall Judging: I am fine with any type of argument, but encourage you to not speak super fast. I will be taking notes and while I can write fast to keep up, as long as you go reasonably fast I can keep track of the debate's arguments.

Reasoning: I am also willing to fact check evidence if points are raised about the credibility of evidence during the round. I will keep argumentative points at a lower regard if they are shown to be wholly or majorly sustained by wrong evidence. I encourage debaters to use strong and solid evidence and reasoning to validate their arguments.

Road Maps are fine, and I even encourage them since they help me keep track of your arguments in my notes. However, road maps won't improve or decrease your chances of earning my ballot, so don't feel inclined to use or not use them.

Have fun, be nice to your competitors, and try to learn more about complex topics during preparation and during the debate!

I am a parent judge who has judged one for one year in parliamentary.

Overview:

- I do take notes, so articulate your arguments to make it easier for me to flow.

- Most important thing to do is organize your arguments, signpost, and, in final speeches, emphasize why you should win. You are convincing me, not your opponents.

- I dislike spreading. I need to keep up with my flowing - if you go too fast I won't hear your arguments and be able to write them down.

- Don't ask POI's in protected time unless the tournament rules say that protected time isn't allowed.

- I've judged Theory but don't run unless you can properly explain why the other team has made a violation.

- No K's.

I am a lay judge

I am a lay judge and try to look for the logic in points. I strongly prefer you to talk slowly and thoroughly explain your points. Please signpost and let me know when you’re starting a new point. DEFINE EVERYTHING, keep the debate simple to understand, and define any key terms. Try to avoid excessively large words. Stay on case and impact and let me know why your points matter.

Experience:

I competed in Public Forum and Parliamentary debate in the high school league. I did DI and TI for my main speech events. I went to States and Nationals in TI.

Debate Preferences:

I would like to stick to case debates in round. Please avoid using a K in the debate round, and do not spread. Provide your own analysis for the cards you provide in your speech. Don’t just attempt to provide as many cards as you can without proper explanation to its importance in your argument. I tend to place higher praise on those who are able to provide clear, logical reasoning behind their arguments while using their cards as backing to their claims, not the groundwork. Be respectful to your opponents while creating insightful argumentation.

Speech Preferences:

Every speaker deserves your attention and respect. Feel free to react to your opponent’s speeches. It won’t help your own speech ranking if you try to refrain from reacting to the other speeches. Ultimately just have fun because everyone has worked hard to get their speech to where it is.

I am a parent judge so please speak slowly and articulate your arguments clearly.

I will try my best to keep track but use numbered responses and label your contentions.

List voter issues in summary and final focus for why I should vote for you.

Please be respectful and have fun!

I am a lay judge with little judging experience. I am quite a logical person and would appreciate if your points were laid out clearly in a structured manner so I can clearly follow your line of reasoning. I would prefer if you had warrants to back up all of your points and flesh everything out as much as you can.

No spreading please. You can speak quickly, but it may be hard for me to keep up.

I will not vote on T's or K's as I have very little experience in that realm as well. However, if there is abuse in the round, you can just point it out to me without running a T.

Other than that, I hope that we can all have a fun debate and I look forward to judging you!

Hi! I have been judging debate for the past 5 years and I would consider myself a flay judge. I look at the warranting behind an argument and how it all links together. Weighing impacts is really important to me and should be done throughout the debate. I also believe you should be a good speaker. Confidence is key because it shows me that you know what you are saying and are well prepared. Good luck! --

This is my first time judging. Go slowly, and don't be too fancy.

A little about my preference for rounds. I do not tolerate any form of discrimination, inappropriate and bullying. I prefer debates which are respectful to each other. Second, I prefer students to go speak clearly and not fast where speed makes the argument no longer understandable. I would also encourage students to not make assumptions in their arguments, think about how so you know what’s happened in the past will happen again. I am a strong believer in connecting the dots and in scientific evidence.

In addition, I do expect cards to be shared with teams and me. I also expect teams to manage their own time and call out if time is mishandled.

My best wishes for the debates!

tl/dr: i'll make my decision off the flow; weigh your impacts

Current Varsity Parli debater for Evergreen Valley.

Expectations:

- I expect all debaters to be courteous and respectful at all times in round.

- I expect you to adhere to the speech time limits (if a grace period is agreed upon in the round then that can be added to your time)

- Any racist, sexist, ableist, etc. things said during a round and not part of an argument, will lead to your speaks being tanked and the automatic loss of the round.

- Most importantly, the debate round is all about education and learning. Yes, we all like to win, but we are here to learn. Take something away from each round and have fun!

Aff:

- Stick to your ground or tell me why you should be able to deviate from the res.

- Talk to me as if I have no knowledge of the topic whatsoever; provide a good framework for the round, definitions, etc.

- Make sure your uniqueness is relevant and recent.

Neg:

- CP: You have to prove the mutual exclusivity of the CP.

- D/As: Make sure your D/As have relevant and recent uniqueness. Don't link your D/As into your CP.

Theory:

- If the other team is genuinely skewing you out of the round, then run theory. Don't run unnecessary theory shells because theory debates bore me. If there is genuine abuse in the round and you win the theory shell, I will vote on it.

Constructive Speeches:

- There is no such thing as protected time, you can call POIs whenever.

- Make sure you take 1-2 POIs per speech; if time is left at the bottom of the speech I will allow questions to be asked.

- Tag teaming is completely fine as long as it does not become excessive.

- Please signpost so I know where you are and can flow down the stuff you're saying.

Voters:

- If a new argument is brought up in the PMR or LOR, call the POO. The speaking side has a chance to defend the POO and should tell me in which speech they brought up the argument so I can cross-reference my notes. If it is something blatantly new, I will not consider the argument, but if it is close I expect the POO to be called. Don't be excessive with your POOs; try not to exceed 3.

- Make sure you weigh your impacts; don't make me do the weighing for you because I won't.

- Clearly show me why you have won in the LOR and PMR.

Speaks:

- I'll start everyone off at a 27; good arguments raise your speaks; bad arguments and racist, sexist, ableist things said will drop them.

- If the other team says slow or clear, then slow down or speak more clearly. I can handle most speeds but if you're going too fast I probably won't be able to understand what you're saying and won't be able to flow it down.

Post-Round Disclosure

- I will be a tabula rasa judge, and the decision will come based on the flow.

- I will disclose and give an RFD after the round, barring time constraints. I obviously can't change my decision, but feel free to discuss the round with me and ask me any questions if you have them.

Hi, I am a first time parent judge.

When in a round, please speak clearly, slowly, and confidently. Do not overly complicate the round and explain your plan so it is easier to understand. I will do my best to judge.

I try to approach each debate as a blank slate. My position as a judge is not to impose my own idiosyncratic beliefs about "what debate should be" onto the round. Speed is not typically an issue, and if it is, I will say "clear." I am open to kritiks, counterplans, and whatever else you have, but I would observe that the most creative (or to be less generous, outlandish) argument is not always the most effective one.

Also, be polite.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please let me know before the round.

1. Please make sure you signpost your contentions.

2. I like to follow logical and clearly structured arguments.

3. I expect to see good engagement and effective rebuttal of your opponent’s arguments.

4. I’m open to Kritik- take whatever rebuttal strategy you think will maximize your chance of winning. But, as I mentioned earlier, my decisions are based exclusively on the arguments and counter arguments presented with strongly backed-up concrete facts or examples.

5. No Spreading, be respectful of your allotted time, your audience and have fun!!

I did Parli and PF in high school for 3 years. I am a Software Engineer and studied Software Engineering at San Jose State University.

Add me to the email chain before the round starts: pothuruaneesh23@gmail.com

Before I begin, I want to credit my friend and debate partner, Vishnu for a very articulate and concise paradigm.

Don't spread. That would be ideal.

It will serve you best to think of me as a deeply experienced flay judge rather than a circuit judge.

Preflow before the round. When you walk into the room you should be ready to start ASAP.

I will NOT entertain post-rounding from coaches. This is absolutely embarrassing and if it is egregious I will report you to tab. Postrounding from competitors must be respectful and brief.

I do not view debate as a game, I view it almost like math class or science class as it carries tremendous educational value. I generally dislike how gamified debate has become, especially LD. There are a lot of inequities in debate and treating it like a game deepens those inequities. Progressive argumentation is a practice that big schools utilize to extend the prep gap between them and small schools. Hence, I believe that traditional debate is the MOST educational way to go about this activity.

Your job as a competitor is to make my job AS EASY as possible. The easier you make it, the greater the likelihood of getting my ballot. The less truthful the argument, the more work you have to do to convince me that your argument is true. I am tech over truth generally but I cannot buy egregiously unreasonable arguments. Good warrants and link chains are key to convincing me that your arguments are indeed reasonable.

I'll accept theory on the condition that there's real demonstrated abuse in the round. Norms are fake and breaking norms in most cases is not abuse. I'll go by what is in the explicit CHSSA/NSDA rules. Besides, how do you expect a debater to know about these norms at their first invitational?

I generally dislike theory shells like Nebel or hyperspecific stuff. Like I said earlier, you have to do a lot of work to convince me in these shells that there was abuse so you're better off not going down that route. Not a big fan of disclosure either. I think performance Ks, K Affs, RVIs and tricks are a byproduct of debaters seeking to win this "game" of debate. You win not by utilizing ridiculous strategies but by genuinely convincing me of your argument. You're better off not even going down this route. If you are running a K, explain your author and phil thoroughly. You can't expect me to know your author and what your K is.

Thus, my threshold for progressive debate is high.

Generally in LD, the arguments in which you will have to do the least work to convince me are substance debate and policy debate. I also like how traditional debaters debate philosophy as well. Framework debate is good but I'm not a huge fan of value/VC debate.

In all events, I don't really care about cross since it's an opportunity for you to set up future arguments. I usually know who's won by the second to last speech (1NR in LD and negative summary) so unless the round is particularly close I don’t flow the last speech.

My paradigm, borrowed from Mandy Lau:

I am a lay judge with little judging experience. I will flow and take notes. I prefer the students to be the primary timekeepers for rounds, and I will adjudicate any conflicts.

Please signpost.

No spreading, please.

Be courteous to each other and to me. No profanity. Please do not make up any facts either.

Make well-explained arguments that are warranted and have clear impacts.

Give me a clear reason to vote for you (weigh in your last speech).

You can try theory but it must be very well explained or I am not voting on it. Please no Kritiks.

I'm an ER doctor but will try to keep any antecedent health-related opinions I have out of my judging.

I am also very impressed by all of you student debaters: You are far better at this than I ever was or am now, so I'll try to keep up. :-)

Well-made, well signposted, well impacted arguments are what I will vote on. Kritiks and theory should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Speak at a human pace. Be polite and have fun.

About me: I was a former member of Parliamentary Debate at Berkeley, and ranked 3rd in the nation at NPTE. I used to be a public health major and now work in health care.

For Parli: Super down for spreading/speed, I'll clear or slow you if necessary but I seriously doubt I'll need to. I'm usually a K debater so I'm down to hear anything you want to read assuming it's not gross or prejudiced in any way. I'm cool with non-topical affirmatives, but I will evaluate FW-T in response, so be ready for that to play out. I also enjoy case debate if it's well fleshed out, and am more likely to prefer well-done or detailed affirmatives over generics. Theory is fine, I'll evaluate any theory you put forward. I default to competing interpretations unless you have specific warrants for reasonability; if you give me the warrants for reasonability, I'll absolutely evaluate that.

Tl;dr: I'm down for anything. It's your debate, not mine. I know some people say they're down for anything and really just want case debate, but bring me your crazy rounds and I'm very down to evaluate. I'm a flow judge that doesn't care about presentation unless your performance is specifically affective or you want me to evaluate your in-round rhetoric, so my speaks usually just hover around a 28.

PLEASE DON'T SHAKE MY HAND; not super down for that

Parent judge, first year judging:

Please speak clearly and do not spread. If I cannot understand an argument, I will not flow it through.

I am a volunteer judge for Wilcox HS.

Please speak slowly and clearly. Spreading will not help

Please keep your own time; off time roadmaps and sign posting preferred for clear and logical flow

Overly technical, jargon filled, incendiary comments are not helpful

Clearly state standard, contentions, evidence and make strong tie to impacts; and clearly concisely state voting issues in final statement.

Please keep points of information brief (15 seconds or less) and frame as concise statement, or a pointed question.

For parliamentary debate, the guidance from http://debate.uvm.edu/meanyparli.html is helpful:

"Good parliamentary debaters speak at a rate of speech comprehensible to the layperson untrained in debate. Physical and vocal delivery, humor, passion and persuasiveness are important elements of parliamentary debating. A parliamentary debater should maintain eye contact with the audience and develop a speaking style that is fluent and expressive.

Parliamentary debaters do not read written speeches, briefs, or evidence. Instead, parliamentary debaters speak from a few notes that record the arguments that other speakers have made in the debate and outline their own main points. Each of these points should be signposted, explained, supported by relevant facts and examples, and given impact."

I am a flay judge and will not accommodate spreading. Speak articulately and not too fast; with that said I have judged before so keep the debate interesting and don't spend too much time with over explaining- I'd prefer a balance.

Main points:

I will vote on anything, but it's impossible to be completely Tabula Rasa.

I like interesting logic and dislike generic arguments. I will try to filter for these biases but you should be aware of them.

Please read all plans, counter-plans, alternatives, other advocacies, and roles of the ballot twice and slowly.

I believe that I have to personally believe real-world impacts are good or non-existent to vote for them (more on this below).

I assign speaker points based on persuasiveness.

Call the POO, I don't protect the flow.

I default to competing interpretations, but am very open to reasonability arguments.

Experience:

I competed in middle school MSPSD for three years, high school policy for one year, and high school (California) Parli for three years. I went to TOC, did well at invitationals, etc. I also debated in APDA/BP at Stanford for three years and coached Sequoia High School's parli team for four years.

Case Debate:

Case was my bread and butter as a competitor. I don't have any particularly hot takes about it. Structure is useful. I find generic arguments a bit tedious, though I acknowledge their strategic utility.

Kritiks:

I generally dislike the generic way people use kritiks to gain competitive edge. That being said, I will still vote for one if you win it, and if you have a relevant Kritik, please deploy it just as you would any other argument. I only ran one kritik ever in high school debate, and it was an argument of my teammate's and my own creation, so I am not familiar with any of the lit bases. (I also think completely original Ks are interesting.) If I don't understand your argument, I will have a hard time voting for it.

Theory/T:

My partner and I almost exclusively ran theory when our opponents were actually abusive. That being said, I will vote for frivolous theory if you win it. I default to competing interpretations, but am less anti-reasonability than most judges. I don't believe you absolutely must give me a specific set of criteria that define reasonability, and I think that the debate doesn't have to end when one team says "reasonability leads to judge intervention." (If it does end there, though, I will vote on that argument.) I think potential for abuse is a real thing, though of course you have to warrant it in round like anything else. I don't care if you're condo unless the other team does.

Speed:

I'm fine with speed up to a point, and will shout "clear" or "slow" if you're unclear or too fast. I am willing to vote on speed theory, just like any other argument. Please also shout "clear" or "slow" during your opponents' speeches if you need to.

Points of Order/Protecting the flow:

I don't protect the flow (meaning I won't discount new arguments in the rebuttals unless you call a Point of Order). Please call as many POOs as you think necessary. There were several times as a competitor when I didn't call POOs because I was worried about the judge getting annoyed, and I don't want you to feel that way. If you think they're making a new point, let me know. I will rule on every POO as "well-taken," "not well-taken," or "under consideration." After maybe the 5th well-taken POO, I will just ask you to stop calling them and announce that I am going to start protecting the flow for that speech, in order to save time. The exception is on panels, in which case I will not rule verbally on POOs.

Non-Technical Debate:

I am absolutely willing to hear a non-technical round, as long as this doesn't mean it's an unorganized round. I don't want you to feel like I will be biased against you if you don't have technical debate experience. If you are a non-technical debater and feel intimidated by theory, kritiks, and spreading, I encourage you to watch this round in which a team of non-technical debaters beat a team spreading and running a kritik, just with logic and good argumentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoQ9kiCi1ho

Real-World Impacts:

If you win any real-world impacts in the round, one of two things has to happen for me to vote on them. Tl;dr at the bottom.

1. If you win in-round that voting for you will affect the real world, and I believe personally that voting for you will affect the real world, then I have to personally believe your impacts are good to vote for them. This is because if I believe that voting for you will actually affect the world in a negative way, the result of the round matters less than the negative effects that voting for you creates. So, for example, if you argue that voting for you increases the chances of a Marxist revolution, and I believe that is true, I will vote against you because I personally think a Marxist revolution would be bad, and I can't let my ballot increase the chances of that, even if you win the argument in round. Just as you would argue that actual good done to the outside world comes before in-round or in-debate impacts, actual bad done to the outside world comes before in-round and in-debate impacts, and I have to do what I believe is best for the world first.

2. If you win in-round that voting for you will affect the real world, but I don't personally believe that voting for you will affect the real world, then I will just vote on the flow, because there's no moral imperative for me to affect the real world if I don't actually think voting for you will affect the real world. So, for example, if you argue that voting for you increases the chances of a Marxist revolution, and I don't believe that's true, but you win that it's true in-round, I will vote for you even though I think a Marxist revolution would be bad, since I don't actually think that voting for you will cause one.

Tl;dr: So basically, if you want to win a real-world impact argument, you need to either:

1. convince me personally that you have real-world solvency and convince me personally that your impacts are good, or...

2. Win real-world solvency in round, but fail to convince me personally that you affect the real world.

Political Spectrum:

I highly value viewpoint diversity. I think that there's a lot more room in debate for politically diverse arguments than we usually hear. I encourage you to make arguments from political perspectives different than your own.

Non-verbals in round:

I'm a somewhat reactive judge. If I'm nodding when you're talking, you're doing well. If I look confused, please explain further until I nod or otherwise indicate that I understand you. If you talk really fast, I will have to sacrifice some or all reactiveness to focus on flowing. I will also be less reactive when I'm on a panel.

Speaker Points:

I assign speaker points based on persuasive speaking abilities. This doesn't mean don't spread, I've seen many people maintain persuasiveness while speaking fast, but if spreading causes a detriment to your persuasiveness, then it will be reflected in your speaker points. What is persuasiveness? Hard to define, but it includes smart argumentation and the effective delivery of that argumentation. I know this is subjective, but I don't know how it's any more fuzzy than whatever standards most flow judges use. If I'm nodding my head a lot while you speak, you're probably doing a good job. Major points for humor.

I won't intentionally doc you speaker points or the win for making racist, sexist, etc. arguments unless the other team gives me a reason to...I think it's pretty weird that this is a norm since it is clearly judge intervention. I will, however, doc speaker points for being rude or demeaning to your opponents in round.

If you speak exclusively in double and triple negatives, I will give you a 30 and personally seek out your other judges for the rest of the tournament and encourage them to give you 30s as well.

I am a parent judge (my son tells me I am a flay judge - experienced lay judge), and I'm in my fourth year of judging. I appreciate clear sign posts and logical arguments: tell me what you're going to say (roadmaps are nice), then say it, and finally remind me what you've said. I also appreciate debaters who do not speak so quickly that I cannot absorb their arguments or understand their individual words. I believe that clear, well-paced speaking communicates the debater's confidence in their argument.

I can tolerate theory but not unless you use it judiciously. If I feel like you're using trivial theory shells for strategic purposes, rather than to do what theory is meant for (encourage a fair and educational debate), I will count it against you. If you do run theory, explain it well so I understand.

POOs are allowed and I will discern whether it's reasonable. I expect POIs to be used fairly, and not just to disrupt the flow of your opponent.

No K's, be civil, good luck!

I am a first-year judge, and am not experienced with technical debate. Please explain your arguments very clearly. Provide logic, evidence, and analysis for each argument. Please be courteous .Look forward to a fun learning experience! :)

I don't really judge anymore. If you are a debater and want to see my paradigm for some reason, email me firstname dot lastname at gmail.

I am a parent judge. Here are my preferences for the round.

-Avoid technical terms (like the TULI format). Instead, just guide me through your case and explain the points.

-Speak slowly. If I cannot understand you, I cannot flow what you are saying and I will just end up ignoring what you said.

-Avoid running Theory or Ks. If you chose to, be as clear as possible or just explain it without the technical terms. Perms are 100% okay, but still explain without the technical terms.

-I will vote on whichever side provides the best logical arguments + warrants to back it up!

-Enjoy and Have Fun during the tournaments !

I have been judging debates (mostly parliamentary debates) for over 8 years, as a lay (parent) volunteer judge.

If possible, please avoid speaking too fast (so that I can follow and track your arguments in my mind).

Also, if you are going to use any "technical" terms from the debating vocabulary, please don't assume I would be familiar with them. It would be appreciate if you explain any such terms to me.

I am familiar with the Parliamentary Debate format and its general rules. You will not need to explain those to me.

Usually I like to take a few minutes after the round has ended, to enter my feedback and the results, so please do not expect me to disclose the results or provide you judge's feedback immediately.

I have been judging Parli tournaments for 2 years now and I love the energy that the students bring into the debate.

I am a logical person and like to see figures and statistics to back up your claims. I don't like speakers who speak at breakneck speed because it's hard for me or their opponents to understand what they are trying to convince us about. Eight minutes are enough to make your point.

I am not a fan of theory but I will honor any valid points around theory, given that you explain each point. Sometimes it's unavoidable but don't run theory just to distract your opponents or eat into their time. You don't have to take all POIs, but I would suggest you take at least one. You are not obligated to take it right away, you can say you will take it in a bit, that's fine.

Speak at a normal pace, make good use of hand gestures and body language. Make eye contact, don't just bury your head into your notes. Be respectful of your opponents even though you are "fighting" them.

Good luck, and don't forget to enjoy your time!

I have done 4 years of HS Varsity LD Debate

1. Tabula Rasa: I will attempt to remain as fair as possible and only judge based on the information brought up during the round
2. Spreading: I am okay with speed and am able to follow generally. However, I will not go out of my way to understand you if you are not articulate and will expect you to slow down for your argument taglines.
3. Theory: If there is abuse and the debate moves towards theory I will judge on it. I prefer not to have a theory debate though.
4. Weigh: make sure to weigh the debate and provides links for your impacts.

I am a parent judge judging for the last 3 years. I have been mainly judging LD but have occasionally done other forms as well. I take a lot of notes so please do speak at moderate speeds and explain your arguments logically. I like powerful speakers but please be courteous to other contestants and provide appropriate evidence to substantiate your contentions. Please do not stretch the truth since that could count against you. Have lots of fun!

I am second year judging parliamentary type debates. I judge the debate outcome purely based on what is presented to me. I value debating with solid arguments and impact analysis instead of just buzzwords and technicality/process. The most important for me is that debaters bring their passion, persuasiveness and confidence to the table. To get my full attention and to help me judge the debate with clarity, please layout your plan, clearly articulate your points and speak with reasonable speed. For me a great speech has great organization and clarity of thoughts.

This is my fourth year as a parent judge. I am inspired by spirited, intelligent conversation.

I look for well constructed, persuasive arguments based on supporting facts (state your sources) that address the resolution. Outline your points upfront and signpost them as you go. I am rarely persuaded by public benefit arguments that end in a dooms-day scenario.

I prefer substantive argument over tactics. No spreading – speak clearly and in a reasonable cadence.

Point of order objections must be timely and the objector must raise a legitimate (good faith) objection, or I may consider the objection a failed tactical move and score accordingly.

If you run a critique (“K”), it should be a coherent and relevant argument challenging the premise of the resolution, or I may assume you are just trying to avoid substantive argument on the resolution.

Be courteous to the opposing team. Racist, misogynist, or otherwise offensive comments or personal insults will earn the speaker low points.

Humor is appreciated, creativity and wit will be rewarded. Have fun.

Hello!

I am a parent judge with 3 years of judging experience in parliamentary debate.

Case Debate:

Please clearly articulate your arguments so I can understand them. I love impact analysis in 3rd speeches, especially if you've extended them through all 3 speeches. Please do PMT analysis (probability, magnitude, timeframe). Call POOs if you spot them, but do not be excessive since it is disruptive to the speaker. I protect the flow. If there are any topics with necessary background information or context, please provide it for me at the beginning.

K or T:

If you are running any technical arguments, please explain them so I can understand. I do not like kritiks since they are very difficult for me to understand. I understand theory on a very basic level, so please only run it if you really must (I do not like frivolous theory), and even then, explain every aspect clearly and slowly. I appreciate strong reasoning and analysis to make it clear for me to decide who wins the round. Good luck, and I look forward to a great debate!

I am a parent judge. Please do not spread, run theory or kritiks. If you need to run theory please explain it clearly and thoroughly. Explain all debate terms/jargon as well. Allow me to judge your round with a proper understanding of what your case actually is, but most importantly have fun :)

When you get into the zoom meeting, please send a message in the chat stating your code, school, preferred pronouns, and anything else you think I may need to know.

I graduated in 2019 competing in LD and have judged LD, PF, and Parli many times before. I am open to lay or circuit debating styles, however, please agree on a style with your opponent before the round begins. I don't like seeing circuit debaters rolling over lay debaters just because they can. It isn't educational; it isn't fun; don't do it. If you are going to spread, please send me and your opponent what you will be reading before your first speech. Especially over zoom, audio can drop out and I'd hate to miss something important.

For Parli, if you have a POI, please raize the zoom hand to (hopefully) be more clear.

I will do my best to stay on video, however, if the circumstances wherever you are debating from don't favor you being on camera, please do not be pressured to share your video - regardless of what the tournament rules are.

PLEASE COME PREPARED. I have linked a couple of resources below to aid you in your 2020 tournament preparation. This year has proved anything can happen so I'm open to whatever terminal impacts you have.

2020 end of the world prep:

What to do if there's an earthquake: https://www.tripsavvy.com/earthquake-safety-tips-in-los-angeles-1586562

What to do if there's a tsunami: https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/how-to-survive-a-tsunami

What to do if there's a raging wildfire: https://prevent-lss.com/blog/theres-wildfire-near-home/

What to do if an asteroid is headed towards the earth: https://anonhq.com/what-can-we-do-if-an-asteroid-hits-us/

What to do if you encounter aliens: https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/xenology/appA.htm

I am a parent judge.

-Speak slowly.

-Avoid running Theory or Ks. If you chose to, be as clear as possible or just explain it without the technical terms.

-Make sure to signpost, and both sides should have offense as well as defense (if your case just has defense then I will prefer the opponent's case)

-Explain links clearly and include warrants to back it up!

-I will vote on whichever side provides the best logical arguments.

Lastly... make sure to have fun! (I don't mind a joke or two!)

Hello,

I am a fairly new judge to parliamentary debate. Please go slow and clearly. Thanks

Judged Parli before.

My preferences are

1. Content aligning to the case/topic

2. Speaker Quality - How clearly you are able to elucidate and put forth your point

No spreading. I do take notes and flow your arguments, please speak at a speed with which I can do so.

I do not support plan-plus-counterplan strategy.

Be very fastidious with your arguments when using PIC.

I pay attention to Point of Order in rebuttals.

I am familiar with Kritik, Theory, and Topicality.

Please be courteous with one another.

I expect the debaters to time themselves.

Pronouns: He/Him/His.

* note for TOC * judge paradigms that include things like "I will drop you if you run a kritik," you just don't want black, indigenous, and students of color to access this space and it shows.

Specifics for Parli:

I am the Head Coach of Parliamentary Debate at the Nueva School.

ON THE LAY VS. FLOW/ TECH FIGHT: Both Lay (Rhetorical, APDA, BP, Lay) and Tech (Flow, NPDA, Tech) can be called persuasive for different reasons. That is, the notion that Lay is persuasive and Tech is something else or tech is inherently exclusionary because it is too narrowly focused on the minutiae of arguments is frankly non-sense, irksome, and dismissive of those who don’t like what the accuser does. I think the mudslinging is counter-productive. Those who do debate and teach it are a community. I believe we ought to start acting like it. I have voted for tech teams over lay teams and lay teams over tech teams numerous times. One might say that I do both regularly. Both teams have the responsibility to persuade me. I have assumptions which are laid out in this paradigm. I am always happy to answer specific or broad questions before the round and I am certain that I ask each team if they would like to pose such questions before EVERY round. I do not want to hear complaints about arguments being inaccessible just because they are Ks or theoretical. Likewise, I do not want to hear complaints that just because a team didn’t structure their speeches in the Inherency, Link, Internal Link, Impact format those arguments shouldn’t be allowed in the round.

Resolution Complications: Parli is tough partly because it is hard to write hundreds of resolutions per year. A very small number of people do the bulk of this for the community, myself being one of them. I am sympathetic to both the debaters and the topic writers. If the resolution is skewed, the debater has to deal with the skew in some fashion. This can mean running theory or a K. It can also mean building a very narrow affirmative and going for high probability impacts or solvency and just winning that level of the debate. There are ways to win in most cases, I don’t believe that the Aff should be guaranteed all of the specific ground they could be. Often times these complaints are demands to debate what one is already familiar with and avoid the challenge of unexplored intellectual territory. Instead, skew should be treated as a strategic thinking challenge. I say this because I don’t have the power to change the resolution for you. My solution is to be generous to K Affs, Ks, and theory arguments if there is clear skew in one direction or another.

Tech over truth. I will not intervene. Consistent logic and completed arguments these are the things which are important to me. Rhetorical questions are neither warrants nor evidence. Ethos is great and I’ll mark you on the speaker points part of the ballot for that, but the debate will be won and lost on who did the better debating.

Evidence Complications: All evidence is non-verifiable in Parli. So, I can’t be sure if someone is being dishonest. I would not waste your time complaining about another teams’ evidence. I would just indict it and win the debate elsewhere on the flow. However, there are things that I can tell you aren’t good evidence: WIKIPEDIA, for example. Marking and naming the credentials of your sources is doable and I will listen to you.

Impacts are important and solvency is important. I think aff cases, CPs, Ks should have these things for me to vote on them. If the debate has gone poorly, I highly advise debaters to complete (terminalize) an impact argument. This will be the first place I go when I start evaluating after the debate. Likewise, inherency is important. If you don’t paint me a picture of a problem(s) that need solving, should I vote for you? No, I shouldn’t. Make sure you are doing the right sorts of storytelling to win the round.

If there is time, I ALWAYS give an oral RFD which teams are ALWAYS free to record unless I say otherwise. I will do my best to also provide written feedback, but my hope is that the recorded oral will be better. I do not disclose in prelims unless the tournament makes me.

My presumption is that theory comes first unless you tell me otherwise. I’m more than happy to vote on K Framework vs. Theory first debates in both directions.

I flow POI answers.

Basically, I will vote for anything if it’s a completed argument. But, I don’t like voting on technicalities. If your opponent clearly won the holistic flow, I’m not going to vote on a blippy extension that I don’t’ understand or couldn’t summarize back to you simply.

Speaker points:

BE NICE AND PROFESSIONAL. Debate is not a competitive, verbal abuse match. Debaters WILL be punished on speaker points for being rude (beyond the normal flare of intense speeches) or abusive. Example: saying your opponent is wrong or is misguided is fine. Saying they are stupid is not. Laughing at opponents is bullying and unprofessional. Don’t do it.

Theory:

I’m more than happy to evaluate anything. I prefer education voters to fairness voters. It is “reject the argument” unless you tell me otherwise. Tell me what competing interpretations and reasonability mean. I’m not confident most know what it means. So, I’m not going to guess. Theory should not be used as a tool of exclusion. I don’t like Friv-theory in principle although I will vote on it. I would vastly prefer links that are real, interps that are real, and a nuanced discussion of scenarios which bad norms create. Just saying “neg always loses” isn’t enough. Tell me why and how that would play out.

Counter Plans:

Delay CPs and Consult CPs are evil, but I will vote for them.

The CP needs to be actually competitive. You also need a clear CP text. Actual solvency arguments will be much rewarded and comparative solvency arguments between the CP and the Plan will be richly rewarded.

DAs:

Uniqueness does actually matter. Simplicity is your friend. Signpost what is what and have legitimate links. Give me a clear internal link story. TERMINALIZE IMPACTS. This means someone has to die, be dehumanized, etc.. If the other team has terminalized impacts and you don’t, very often, you are going to lose.

Kritiques:

I was a K debater in college, but I have come around to be more of a Case, DA, Theory coach. I also have a Ph.D in History and wrote a dissertation on the History of Capitalism. What does that mean? It means, I can understand your K and I am absolutely behind the specific sort of education that Ks provide. That being said a few caveats.

Out of round discussion is a false argument and I really don’t want to vote for it. Please don’t make me.

Performances are totally fine and encouraged. But, they had better be real. Being in the round talking isn’t enough, you need warrants as to why the specific discussion we are having in the debate on XYZ topic is uniquely fruitful. Personal narratives are fine. If you are going to speak in a language other than English, please provide warrants as to why that is productive for me AND your opponents. I speak Japanese, I will not flow arguments given in that language.

I would prefer that you actually have a rough understanding of what you are reading. I don't think you should get to win because you read the right buzzwords.

Alternatives:

Alternatives need to be real. If they put offense on the Alt, you are stuck with that offense and have to answer it. Perms probably link into the K, please don’t make me vote for a bad perm.

Impacts:

I am less likely to vote against an aff on a K for something they might do. I am very likely to vote on rhetoric turns, i.e. stuff they did do. That is, if you are calling them racist and they say something racist, please point it out. Your impacts compete, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to answer their theory arguments or make your own. I would encourage you to show how your impacts compete pre- and post-fiat. Fiat isn’t illusory unless you make it so and extend it.

There is also a difference between calling the aff bad or it’s ideology bad and the debater a bad person. In general, debaters should proceed as if everyone is acting in good faith. That doesn’t mean that rhetoric links don’t function or that I won’t vote on the K if you accuse your opponent of promoting bad norms--intellectual, ideological, social, cultural, political, etc.. However, if one takes the pedagogical and ethical assumptions of the K seriously, Ks should not be used as a weapon of exclusion. No one has more of a right to debate than another. To argue otherwise is to weaponize the K. We want to exclude those norms and that knowledge which are violent and destructive to communities and individuals. We also probably want to exclude those who intentionally spread bad norms and ideology. However, I severely doubt that a 15-year-old in a high school debate round in 2022 is guaranteed to understand the full theoretical implications of a given K or their actions. As such, attacking the norms and ideology (e.g. the aff or res or debate) is a much better idea. It opens the door to educate others rather than just beating them. It creates healthy norms wherein we can become a stronger and more diverse community.

Framework:

I love clean framework debates. I hate sloppy ones. If you are running a K, you probably need to put out a framework block. I would love to have that on a separate sheet of paper.

Links:

Links of omission are vexing. There is almost always a way to generate a link to your K based on something specifically in the aff case. Please put the work in on this front.

Case:

I love case debate, a lot. Terminal defense usually isn’t enough to win you the debate. But defensive arguments are necessary to build up offensive ones in many cases. Think hard about whether what you’re running as a DA might be better served as a single case turn. Please be organized. I flow top of case and the advantages on a separate sheet.

Specifics for Public Forum:

Please give me overviews and tell me what the most important arguments are in the round.

Evidence:

Unless we are in Finals or Semis, I'm not going to read your evidence. I'm evaluating the debate, not the research that you did before the debate. If the round is really tight and everyone did a good job, I am willing to use quality of evidence as a tie-breaker. However, in general, I'm not going to do the work for you by reading the evidence after the round. It's your responsibility to narrate what's going on for me and to collapse down appropriately so that you have time to do that. If you feel like you don't have time to tell me a complete story, especially on the impact level, you are probably going for too much.

Refutation consistency:

I don't have strong opinions regarding whether you start refutation or defense in the second or third speech. However, if things are tight, I will reward consistent argumentation and denser argumentation. That means the earlier you start an argument in the debate, the higher the likelihood that I will vote on it. Brand new arguments in the 4th round of speeches are not going to get much weight.

Thresholds for voting on solvency:

PF has evidence and for good reason. But, that doesn't mean that you can just extend a few buzzwords on your case if you are going for solvency and win. You have to tell me what your key terms mean. I don't know what things like "inclusive growth" or "economic equity" or "social justice" mean in the context of your case unless you tell me. You have 4 speeches to give me these definitions. Take the time to spell this stuff out. Probably best to do this in the first speech. Remember, I'm not going to read your evidence after the round except in extreme circumstances and even then...don't count on it. So, you need to tell me what the world looks like if I vote Pro or Con both in terms of good and bad outcomes.

Theory:

I haven't come across any theory in PF yet that made any sense. I'm experienced in theory for Policy and Parli. If there are unique variations of theory for PF, take the time to explain them to me.

Kritiques:

There isn't really enough speaking time to properly develop a fleshed out K in PF. However, I would be more than happen to just vote on impact turns like Cap Bad, for example. If you want to run K arguments, I would encourage you to do things of that sort rather than a fully shelled out K.

Specifics for Circuit Policy:

Evidence: I'm not going to read your cards, it's on you to read them clearly enough for me to understand them. You need to extend specific warrants from the cards and tell me what they say. Blippy extensions of tag lines aren't enough to get access to cards.

Speed:

Go nuts. I can keep up with any speed as long as you are clear.

For all other issues see my parli paradigm, it's probably going to give you whatever you want to know.

Specifics for Lay Policy:

I do not understand the norm distinctions between what you do and circuit policy.

As such, I'm going to judge your rounds just like I would any Policy round --> Evidence matters, offense matters more than defense, rhetoric doesn't matter much. Rhetorical questions or other forms of unwarranted analysis will not be flowed. You need to extend arguments and explain them. If you have specific questions, please ask.

I am a parent.

Do not shake my hand.

Keep a distance from me.

I have judged parli debate since 2016, and public forum later on as a parent judge. As a software engineer, I'd like to judge simply and mainly based on the core of the delivered speech, in other words, its logic quality, clearness, tightness and creativity of the argument itself rather than any superficial words of politeness or mediocre prologue...(but it does not mean that speaker can totally disregard of the basic manners when speaking or listening).

How speaker is clear, straight, detailed, well-organized, strong, creative and rich in their contentions and in proving opponent's flaw and weakness in their arguments is what I'd like to judge on.

So debaters should be relaxed, respectful and stay focus on your speech as well as listening well and carefully to the other side to create a strong, creative debate to win the round.

For each of young debaters today, gradually building good debate skill either from winning or losing a round is building for yourself a precious asset for your success in the future. Like other judges, I hope to contribute somehow to this process of your development.

Have fun and enjoy debate!

Hiep Tran

I'm a parent judge with about two years of experience. With a PhD in English and a career at a policy institute (PPIC), I'm very familiar with analyzing arguments, weighing evidence, and maintaining an objective outlook. I will flow the debate, and I won't insert my own views or knowledge into my decisions.

I'm not that swayed by piles of statistics, especially if you can't explain why they matter. I'll consider any well articulated argument or point of view, but do your best to be sensitive -- and please don't weaponize the suffering of others to make a point. Trigger warnings are a good habit.

Peeves: spreading, unexplained jargon, and unnecessary use of theory. Also ploys like, "Their argument is clearly absurd!" Don't tell me something is wrong -- show me.

Be clear, courteous, and have fun!

Background: PF @ Mountain House High School '19, Economics @ UC Berkeley '22, Berkeley Law '26. This is my 5th year judging.

THREE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF MY PARADIGM:

Due to the fast paced nature of debate nowadays and potential technical difficulties with online tournaments, I would really appreciate if you could send me the doc you're reading off of before each speech to my email write2zaid@gmail.com. If you can use Speech Drop, that's even better.

Preflow before the round. When you walk into the room you should be ready to start ASAP.

I will NOT entertain postrounding from coaches. This is absolutely embarrassing and if it is egregious I will report you to tab. Postrounding from competitors must be respectful and brief.

JUDGING PREFERENCES:

I am a former PF debater and I still think like one. That means I highly value simple, coherent argumentation that is articulated at at least a somewhat conversational speed.

In my view, debate is an activity that at the end of the day is supposed to help you be able to persuade the average person into agreeing with your viewpoints and ideas. I really dislike how debate nowadays, especially LD, has become completely gamified and is completely detached from real life. Because of this, I am not partial to spread, questionable link chains that we both know won’t happen, theory (unless there is actual abuse) or whatever debate meta is in vogue. I care more about facts and logic than anything else. You are better served thinking me of a good lay judge than a standard circuit judge. NOTE: I also am strongly skeptical of K AFFs and will almost always vote NEG if they run topicality.

That doesn’t mean I do not judge on the merits of arguments or their meaning, but how you present them certainly matters to me because my attention level is at or slightly above the average person (my brain is broken because of chronic internet and social media usage, so keep that in mind).

I will say tech over truth, but truth can make everyone’s life easier. The less truth there is, the more work you have to do to convince me. And when it’s very close, I’m probably going to default to my own biases (subconscious or not), so it’s in your best interest to err on the side of reality. This means that you should make arguments with historical and empirical context in mind, which as a college educated person, I’m pretty familiar with and can sus out things that are not really applicable in real life. But if you run something wild and for whatever reason your opponent does not address those arguments as I have just described, I will grant you the argument.

You should weigh, give me good impact calculus (probability, magnitude, scope, timeframe, etc), and most importantly, TELL ME HOW TO VOTE AND WHY! Do not trust me to understand things between the lines.

More points that I agree with from my friend Vishnu's paradigm:

"I do not view debate as a game, I view it almost like math class or science class as it carries tremendous educational value. There are a lot of inequities in debate and treating it like a game deepens those inequities.

Other than this, have fun, crack jokes, reference anecdotes and be creative.

There is honestly almost 0 real world application to most progressive argumentation, it bars accessibility to this event and enriches already rich schools.

Basically: debate like it's trad LD."

SPEAKER POINT SCALE

Was too lazy to make my own so I stole from the 2020 Yale Tournament. I will use this if the tournament does not provide me with one:

29.5 to 30.0 - WOW; You should win this tournament

29.1 to 29.4 - NICE!; You should be in Late Elims

28.8 to 29.0 - GOOD!; You should be in Elim Rounds

28.3 to 28.7 - OK!; You could or couldn't break

27.8 to 28.2 - MEH; You are struggling a little

27.3 to 27.7 - OUCH; You are struggling a lot

27.0 to 27.2 - UM; You have a lot of learning to do

below 27/lowest speaks possible - OH MY; You did something very bad or very wrong

Parent judge.

Speaking skills/communications

I am a parent Judge and this is my 2nd year of Judging.

* Speak slowly and clearly

* Keep your own time

* Stay away from overly technical, high-leveled debate jargon

* I will take notes throughout the debate

Explain any complex debate terms/rules

Speak at a moderate pace

• Speak loudly and clearly. Avoid spreading.
• A few strong points are better than many weak ones.
• Logical arguments are better than bickering about technicalities.

I am a parent judge with some experience judging parlimentary debates in the last couple of years. Starting with a road map is helpful for me to follow your round. I value clarify over speed. It is also important for me to see you are respectful to your opponents.

I expect clear and full arguments. Please don’t spread, and if running theory explain thoroughly.

I'm a parent judge. My biggest pet peeve is overuse and misuse of "like", like when someone starts every sentence with "like".

I'm kind of a history buff so I can tell when someone's doling out bs when giving historical facts. Because I'm a history buff, I do appreciate arguments that are logically tied to historical perspectives.

Speak at a normal speed and enunciate so that I can accurately record your points on the flow sheet.

I expect everyone to be professional and treat each other with respect. That includes starting the round on time, properly greeting each other at the beginning and end of the round, and using the proper tone when addressing each other.

I'm a parent judge who strongly prefers standard case debates.

I am a parent judge this means that I am very lay. Please speak clearly and slowly. No spreading. Be sure to signpost so I can flow the round better. I don't know too much about high school debate so please walk me through your points. When I weigh, I weigh not only on the quality of the evidence but also why it matters so be sure to show me why your evidence matters in the round.

No Theory and/or Kritiks. I do not know what they are and I will vote you down if you run them

General

To me, debate is truly about the knowledge that can you gain while being a safe space. Regardless of the round, you should feel accommodated for and come out of the round gaining education. If a debate is not fulfilling this duty, please feel free to contact me at any point and I am more than happy to discuss with you any issues and steps to take to resolve them.

I will try to be as tabula rosa as much as possible, but I am human. :( Therefore I am tech>truth, but I personally have always believed that debate is the most fun when tech is truth.

Please give me the path of least resistance to vote. This means COLLAPSING. Layer. Tell me how to write my ballot.

Please also include content warnings if possible. I would greatly greatly appreciate them <3

Case

I spent most of my high school debate career case debating, so this is definitely where I am most comfortable. Please warrant everything out. I prefer listening to fewer arguments that are well fleshed out over a litany of small blippy arguments.

Love CPs. Pretty low threshold for CPs (actor, consult, delay, etc are all fair game) but I am also super down to vote on theory on CPs so tread carefully

Theory

I don't like friv. I will vote on it but I will try to find any other way to vote before I vote on friv. However, I personally care a lot about accessibility in debate, so if you are trying to skew your opponents out of the round, I am more than happy to vote on theory.

RVI's are cool w me. I will vote on them, ESP when run against friv. also down for meta

Kritik

Currently most comfortable with cap, setcol, Baudrillard, biopower, fem, Nietzsche, and Kant (only the bare minimum though). If you would like to read anything specific, please make sure to explain it to me very very well.

Make sure to have SPECIFIC links to the debate. Your K should not be canned and reread verbatim every round.

Pass text (thesis & alt).

Please refrain from reading an identity-based K if you do not identify with that community.

Defaults (more than happy to vote another way if told in round to do so)

- Perms are a test of comp

- Magnitude >Probability >Timeframe

- Competing interps before reasonability

- Kritik > T > Case

- Pre-fiat before post-fiat

- I default to policy/net bens

Miscellaneous

- Speed: fine w it, if your opponents ask for you to slow/clear, you better

- Please ask for status. please

- I try my best to protect, but I am human so call it

- Grace period: finish your last thought, I stop flowing beyond that.

- Speaks: I start at 27 and go up from there. If you manage to incorporate Biscoff into your speech, you'll get an extra 0.5 points. Please run 30 speaks theory! I will most definitely tank your speaks if you are rude or toxic (please don't be homophobic, sexist, etc)

- Try to make it a habit to ask for status, i promise it'll save you (or not)

- Please provide content warnings before your speech.

- Rhetorical questions in debate are one of my pet peeves. It won't hurt your speaks or win/loss, but if you can, please try to keep them out.

- I always disclose unless I'm not allowed to so stick around

- Sometimes my straight face looks mad, please don't take that to heart, I am not mad at you I promise :))

- If you ever need someone to talk to outside of round about debate or anything else, I'm always here to talk. I struggled with mental health a lot when I was competing so I am always down to help out. You can reach me at carolinxxin@gmail.com or on Messenger.

Background

I experimented in various events and ended up landing in Parli. Spent 4 years in high school Parli, ended my senior year with quarters at toc and 10th. I now coach PF and speech.

Overall, have fun and be confident. Every win and loss is a new step that is so worth it!

Greetings, debaters!

Since my entry into middle/high school debate in 2018, I've cultivated a profound appreciation for the art of argumentation. Here's a brief overview of my judging paradigm:

1. Debate Style:

• I am comfortable with various debate styles, including Parliamentary, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum. I hold a particular regard for well-structured and organized arguments.

2. Speed and Clarity:

• I can navigate a debate at a brisk pace, but clarity is paramount. Fast speech is acceptable, provided it doesn't compromise the clarity of your arguments.

3. Framework and Resolution:

• A robust framework is crucial to guide the debate. In Parliamentary debates, I value a clear plan with well-supported advantages. In Public Forum, a sturdy value criterion and well-linked contentions are essential.

4. Evidence Quality:

• I prioritize well-researched and credible evidence. Clear citations and the ability to explain the significance of evidence are of utmost importance.

5. Creativity and Innovation:

• I actively encourage creative arguments and unique approaches to cases. Thinking outside the box can be a valuable asset in securing my ballot.

6. Cross-Examination:

• I value effective cross-examination that seeks to clarify and challenge key points. Be respectful and focused during the crossfire.

7. Adjudication Approach:

• Debates are approached with an open mind. Convince me with the strength of your arguments, clarity, and strategic thinking.

8. Topicality and Fairness:

• I expect debaters to engage with the topic and uphold fairness. Avoid strategies that compromise the integrity of the debate.

9. Speaker Points:

• Speaker points are awarded based on clarity, persuasiveness, and strategic acumen. Being well-prepared and engaging is pivotal.

10. Flexibility:

• I am open to different debate styles and arguments. Adaptability is key, and I appreciate debaters who can adjust their strategies based on the flow of the round.

Remember, my goal is to fairly evaluate the round, and I look forward to witnessing your skills in action. Best of luck!

I am a lay judge--debate parent--and have done parli judging at several tournaments.

I am not fluent in theory and it's best not to spread or give me kritiks. I look for persuasive, organized arguments. Impact is key for me.

Good luck!

No spreading, theory, or kritiks please.

I am a parent judge with a limited amount of judging experience – don't go too fast and weigh your impacts for me.