Judge Info

*If you need assistance with anything related to judging, please contact the tournament.

*In-person judges training will also occur at the tournament for those with additional questions.

FOR JUDGES:

Judge Accreditation: All judges will be expected to follow the UDCA Judging Code of Ethics. Judges should also be trained and accredited. Judge training resources are available at the UDCA Judges Corner. Judges can become accredited by completing NSDA Courses.

Bring Your Own Device: All judges must have a smart device with them. Ballots will be assigned and submitted electronically using the tabroom platform so having a laptop, iPad, or smart phone is essential.

Debate Paradigms: All judges in the Open debate pool are required to have a paradigm published on tabroom (created in their own account). Coaches, please ensure judge paradigms are uploaded prior to the tournament. Failure to upload a paradigm to Tabroom will result in an uncovered judge fee.

Judge Assignments & Missed Judging Fees: Judge assignments and ballots will be distributed electronically via tabroom before each round. All judges will be in the “reserve pool” until 15 minutes after the beginning of each round to account for “no-shows.” Judges who fail to pick up their ballots or to appear in the reserve pool will be fined $25 per round. Fees will be assessed to the school they represent. Coaches will be notified and invoices will be provided in the event that fees are assessed. We will be strictly enforcing this policy to ensure that participants receive a high-quality tournament experience.

FOR COACHES:

Coverage Requirements: One judge can cover up to 6 IE slots or 2 debate teams. We will assume every entered judge is available for a full judging commitment, please provide early notification of judges with irregular availability. Debate judges are committed through quarter-finals and one round beyond their team’s/debater’s elimination. An I.E. judge is committed through finals. Meeting this commitment is essential in order for the tournament to run effectively.

Judge Pools: Because buildings are spaced out and in the interest of timeliness and wellness, judges may not be cross-entered in the speech and debate pools. The only exception is Congress judges who are also available to judge Saturday.

FOR STUDENTS & COACHES:

Judge Prefs & Strikes: We will be using a "mutual preference" judging (MPJ) system for Open CX and LD. Open PF will have a limited number of "strikes." Preference sheets will be available on tabroom on 9/29 and will be due 10/2 at 10am (MST).

Here's a video explaining what MPJ is and why it matters.

Here is a useful guide on how to complete judge preference ratings.

Completing "prefs" for your entries is optional. You do not have to fill out a pref sheet if you don't want to but it can improve your students' experience if they care about the kind of judge they receive.

You must have all your judging covered (with paradigms) to have access to the pref sheets.