Judge Policy

Novice Division

Each school must provide one full commitment judge per team. Therefore, each school owes 5 rounds of judging for each team entered in the division. This means schools must have a qualified individual available for all preliminary rounds and for any elimination rounds for which the program is obligated.

Students in their third or fourth year of competitive policy debate may judge in the novice division. Any student judge placed in the novice pool will only be used in this division. We will not move them into the JV judge pool.

Junior Varsity Division

Each school must provide one full commitment judge per two teams entered. This means 5 rounds of preliminary judging and availablility for all elimination rounds for which the program is obligated.

Students who are in their fourth year of competitive policy debate may judge in this division only if they are brought as "extra" judges. Please see the description below for clarification.

"Extra Judges," Divisions, and Strikes

Programs are encouraged to bring experienced fourth year debaters to evaluate JV debates. However, an experienced senior is considered to be an "extra" judge and may not fulfill any portion of the program's judging obligation for junior varsity or novice.

A fourth year debater fulfilling a portion of a school's commitment in novice will not be used in the JV pool. "Extra judges" in the JV division could be used in the novice pool. 

We trust that if there are any conflicts between a particular student judge and a JV debater, each coach will use their discretion and strike that judge. 

For tabulation purposes, if a senior judge is entered in the JV division, coaches must mark them as a "first year out" - this is the easiest way for us to accommodate electronic strikes. 

Programs may strike fourth year seniors as they would like in the JV division, but not in Novice. If a program does not strike a fourth year senior judge in the JV division, then that judge is eligible to evaluate the school's debaters. 

Hired Judging

We strongly encourage schools to fulfill their tournament judging obligations. There will be a very limited number of judges available for hire. The cost to hire a full judge commitment is $375. 

Obligations

All judges are required to judge one round beyond their team's elimination.

Ballots

All judges must have a functional Tabroom account. All ballots and pairings will be distributed electronically. Please make sure that your judges and students are familiar with this process. This is especially important in Novice where student judges will need an understanding of how to submit their ballots via Tabroom.

Post Round Disclosure

Oral critiques/disclosure is encouraged after each debate. We believe that judge accountability and the educational value of a post round discussion strengthens the quality of debate and maximizes the value for students, coaches, and judges. 

Please instruct your judges to fill out, submit, and confirm their ballots prior to giving their oral critiques.