Judge Requirements

Judge Burdens: 

There are separate judge pools for each event to maximize our ability to provide students with specialized evaluation and feedback. Please write in the judge notes if a judge is willing and qualified to judge in multiple divisions.

Public Forum: 1 judge per 3 entries or fraction thereof

Lincoln-Douglas: 1 judge per 3 entries or fraction thereof

Policy: 1 judge per 2 entries or fraction thereof

World Schools: 1 judge per 2 entries or fraction thereof

Congress: 1 judge per 5 entries or fraction thereof

No hired judges are available. Schools must supply all judges as a condition of entry.

Judge Eligibility:

Judges must be available for all four rounds on October 24. Failing to show up for judging assignments will risk forfeiture of the school's entries. Judges must have a linked Tabroom.com account. Judges may be juniors or seniors in high school with at least 250 Honor Society points. High school student judges must be flagged as such during registration. When entering judges, please think about the quality of judges you would like giving feedback to your young competitors. Ensure that your judges are committed to providing equitable, educational, and appropriate feedback. 

Judge Technology Requirements:

Judges must have a linked Tabroom.com account to access their online ballots. Rounds will be adjudicated in live NSDA Campus virtual competition rooms. Judges are required to have access to a microphone and sufficient internet access to be able to understand audio in a virtual competition room. Judges are expected to have a webcam that is turned on throughout the duration of the debate. Judges may turn off their camera if they find that enabling video affects their internet and lowers the audio quality in the competition room.

Required Culturally Competent Judging Training: 

Judges play an important role in supporting students’ educational and competitive endeavors. To help us ensure that speech and debate tournaments are a more equitable environment for students, all judges are required to complete the free Cultural Competence Training Course, created in partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations, and review the supplemental handout. Judges are also encouraged to take the full, free Adjudicating Speech and Debate course.

Additionally, judges will be asked to read this language, found on top of each ballot, prior to submitting their decision. 

“We are all influenced by implicit bias, or the stereotypes that unconsciously affect our decisions. When judging, our implicit biases negatively impact traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised students. Before writing comments or making a decision, please take a moment to reflect on any biases that may impact your decision making.

Please remember that the video quality of a student’s performance or speech may be impacted by lighting, internet, access to equipment, and other family members’ presence in the home. To ensure a more equitable experience for our participants, please be sure your decision-making process and comments are related only to the content and quality of the presentation or speech itself.”

Required Feedback on Ballots:

All judges are required to give written feedback to each debater on the online ballot before decisions are submitted. Failing to write adequate feedback on each ballot will result in an error on Tabroom.com and the inability to submit the decision. In Policy, Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and World Schools, judges may choose whether they disclose the winner of the debate; however, judges are additionally required to give oral, constructive feedback to the debaters before they leave the virtual competition room. The NSDA Springboard Series was created to give young students a low-pressure, educational competition experience to give them foundation and springboard them into additional competitive opportunities. Judge feedback is essential to student growth!