National Speech and Debate Tournament
2022 — Louisville, KY/US
Brett Harvey Paradigm
Lincoln Douglas
Lincoln Douglas Debate Judge Philosophy
Your experience with LD Debate (check all that apply)
Former LD coachFormer LD competitor
Experienced LD judge
How many years have you judged LD debate?
20How many LD rounds have you judged this year?
21-30What is your preferred rate of delivery?
5/91 = Slow conversational style9 = Rapid conversation speed
Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision?
NWill you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed?
YHow important is the criterion in making your decision?
It may be a factor depending on its use in the roundDo you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case?
NRebuttals and Crystallization
Voting issues should be given:
Either is acceptableThe use of jargon or technical language ("extend", "cross-apply", "turn", etc.) during rebuttals:
Should be kept to a minimumFinal rebuttals should include:
BothVoting issues are:
Not necessaryHow do you decide the winner of the round?
I decide who is the person who persuaded me more of their positionHow necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round?
9/91 = Not necessary9 = Always necessary
Please describe your personal note-taking during the round
I keep a rigorous flowGenerally, I think efforts to cater to the preferences of "elite" students, coaches, or other insiders are actively harmful. The availability of debate to people who need it has been badly impaired by insiders setting esoteric, self-serving norms. Elaborate logic games that rely on jargon might be fun, but they shouldn't take up the space and funding for an activity called "debate".
In other words, while I'm very familiar with theory, K's and related tactics, I'm much, much more likely to vote for complete, logical, accessible argument explained clearly. Because the alternative is about 50 high schools nationwide hoarding major accolades and gatekeeping the activity with silly made up rules.
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