I've judged all debates, mostly novice, public forum being my favorite. 

Some preferences:

- I need easy-to-follow roadmaps/good signposting. Be organized. 

- If you're going to use fancy debate jargon be sure to clearly explain what it means/what you're doing

- Assume I know nothing of the topic and convice me that you are the expert

- if you need to speak quickly, be sure to articulate but otherwise; don't

- make your voters clear

- be passionate and enthusiastic, but at the same time remember to be respectful to your opponent and your teammate

Judging debate can be tedious at times, so any new or different way of expressing your arguments is appreciated. Don't take yourself too seriously and remember to crack a joke once in a while :)

I am a current college student with debate experience from middle and high school. 

I like seeing good clash and well reasoned arguments. Persuasiveness comes from communication, not volume. Make sure to signpost effectively, as direct clash on flow is important to me. Make it clear to me why you should win. 

Speed- I am comfortable with some spreading, but competitors should recognize that it comes with a tradeoff in persuasiveness. If the opposing team asks you to slow down and you do not, speed Ks will be effective. 

I am generally unreceptive to canned Kritiks, but they can occaisionally be effective. Theory arguments should usually be supported by direct argumentation, and need clear signposting. Muddled theory arguments will not be persuasive. 

Dropped arguments still need to be made impactful. This does not usually mean that they should be repeated without expansion. 

It is important to me that the debate itself remains meaningful and educational. If I feel you are ubstructing the purpose of the debate, I will vote accordingly. 

Background: Coached high school debate for four years, middle school debate for two years and I'm currently in my first year of college coaching.High School Competitive Experience:  Mainly in congress, impromptu, parli and duo.  Qualified to states in cong, duo, opp and TOC bid in congress.  College Competitive Experience: Parli, IPDA, Extemp, Impromptu, ADS/STE.  NPTE Qualifier, Parli 2nd seed and Semifinalist at state , 8th best Parli spkr and semifinalist at Nationals, awarded best college parli team in the country as voted on by competitors. State champ in imp/ext, finalist ads. National Finalist imp, semifinalist ads and ext.

Delvery: A. Speed       I have a fine motor skill issue that prevents me from flowing super fast. I will listen to some speed, but not full spreading. I can handle more speed than lay, but less than avg flow judge. If I call speed 3x and you don't slow down you lose the round.       B. Speaker Points. Rounds should be fun. If you make me laugh, I'll give you 30 spks no questions asked. I like puns, messed up jokes, Childish Gambino, Hamiltion and silly analogies. You won't win just for being funny, but you'll up your spks for sure.

Types of Arguments I will and won't listen to. Debate is a game so run what you want, but here is a tip sheet if you have me.

Counterplans: Make sure they aren't permable, that they are non topical and that they don't bite into your own disadvantage

Conditionality: Kick whatever you want as long as their isn't offense on them. I'll listen to condo theory

Kritik's: Will listen to them if the structure is very organized. I want to be told the role of the ballot, the framework, the link,, the impact, the alt etc... I've only voted on one k ever.

Topicality: If you're being  abused by the aff run it. I'm also okay with seeing it as time strategy. Show the articulated abuse. 

Reverse Voting Issues: They usually arent very persuasive but I will buy them more than the average flow judge.

Spreading Theory: If you're calling speed, clear and the team refuses to slow down I will probably vote for this if you do an okay job running it.

No New Points in Rebuttal Theory: I'm a fan, but you have to earn it.

Trichotomy: Bleh, you better make some really compelling arguments.

Perm: Show why both plan and cp can be done. I won't allow everything to  be permed just because it's a "test of competition"

No Neg Fiat: I'll laugh, but hey, if you can do it, good for you.

Overall: Be organized, use subpoints, number your responses, explain your impacts. I will listen to complex arguments but please explain them clearly.  Hard for me to vote for you if you don't give me voters. HAVE FUN.

I believe that all debates should be an educational activity, with inherent qualities of persuasion and logic. I want to hear debating about the topic, not technicalities of rules. I also want a persuasive, well-presented debate, and NOT speed delivery.

I prefer an old-fashioned, substantive policy debate; the more detailed and nuanced a plan is, the better. 

No spreading, no jargon, no Ks, and minimal theory. Stay away from the abstract and stick to tangible, real-world impacts.

Don't link to nuclear war unless you have a Pentagon threat assessment to definitively back it up.

Demonstrate sound public speaking skills. Show good sportsmanship and exude decorum.

Proper fluency, carefully crafted rhetoric, effective use of pauses, and oratorical delivery will all contribute to high speaker points. Alternatively, any infactual information will tank them.

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 of students in the round 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).

PARLI:

THE SHORT VERSION: Avoid speed and jargon, and in rebuttal, focus on fewer arguments and develop them rather than trying to win everything. Connect your arguments to the resolution, and where appropriate, to the standard for judging the round, and definitions of key terms. No tag team. No offtime roadmaps/thank yous. Take at least one or two POIs, and don't make that POO unless it's clear cut and important. Unreceptive to kritiks. Raise topicality if the case is legitimately outside the resolution, but do so briefly and simply, explaining the interpretation and violation then moving on. Please run other theory arguments only when necessary to protect the fairness/safety of the space, not just because they're fun or to gain a strategic advantage.

THE LONGER VERSION: I am the debate coach for Berkeley High School. I've been involved in debate (all kinds) for longer than I care to admit, and parli almost the whole time. I am now a practicing lawyer.

1. I tend to focus on where the analysis is, rather than where the drops are.

2. I dislike excessive speed (that is, faster than you would talk outside of a debate round) and jargon (any term that would be unintelligible to a non-debater). Employing either of these will hurt your chances of winning, maybe by a lot.

3. Please, please, please focus on a few key issues in rebuttal and really develop them, rather than trying to cover everything, and saying little about each point. If you don't spend much (or any) time on your key offense, you're in trouble.

4. No tag teaming. It's not your turn to speak.

5. Please don't say "Try or die." It's trite and overused. When you say "try or die," I hear "we don't have any good responses to their analysis that our plan won't solve the problem." Use your time instead to explain your causation arguments more clearly, or the lack of offense on the other side.

6. Topicality is a necessary rule and voting issue, but the cottage industry of theory that has blossomed around it is not only unnecessary but also a huge drag on substantive debate. Do not spend more than 30-90 seconds of any speech on topicality unless the round genuinely presents the most complex topicality question you've ever encountered, or unless you genuinely can't clash on any other argument in the round. If you're challenging their plan/arguments as non-topical, just explain what the Gov team is supposed to prove ("the interpretation") and why they do or don't prove it ("violation/no violation"). If you're challenging their definition, tell me their definition, the "real" definition, why yours is better, and why it matters. That's it. I don't want to hear arguments about the consequences of the violation. If the Gov doesn't affirm the resolution, they lose. If they do, I'll probably ignore topicality unless the Opp interpretation is farfetched and/or they violate the above 30-90 second rule, in which case I'll consider voting against them to deter similar topicality arguments in the future ("RVI"). But again, I will make this call based on the quality of the interpretation and violation arguments; don't waste your speech time with RVI theory. In the interest of candor and your ability to adapt, I've never heard an argument for competing interpretations that I found persuasive, so trying to convince me is not a good use of your time.

7. Please take at least one or two points of information.

8. I'm pretty loose on counterplans as long as a good debate can still be had, and I'm okay with kicking them. I have a pretty low threshold for rejecting plan inclusive counterplans, though, since they usually seem like attempts to avoid having a substantive debate.

9. Kritiks: I am generally unreceptive to them. You can use your speech time however you like, but I have a very strong default to judging the round based on arguments for and against the resolution, which you will have to persuade me to abandon. The fact that you have better K debate skills than your opponent does not inherently validate your stated justification for running the K.

10. Shadow extensions. If an argument is on my flow and unresponded to, it's yours until rebuttals. I don't need it to be extended in every speech if the other side is ignoring it. I'm also not deeply troubled by new responses in LOR that should have been made in MO, because I don't see the harm to the other team. (But I still encourage you to say it in MO when in doubt.)

11. Random things I will not penalize you for ignoring, but I will appreciate if you do read and consider:
a. You don't mean it when you say "Time starts on my first word." That was 12-17 years ago. And even if you're talking about the present, literally, "Time" was your first word. Unless you had an offtime roadmap.
b. It is wrong for me to vote mid-round, so please don't ask me to do it. In fact, I'd prefer you didn't call for the ballot at all. Just make good arguments for your side.
c. "Empirics" doesn't mean what you think it means. Neither does "Solvency."

LD/PUFO:

No plans or counterplans, please. If you run one, I will probably drop you. I prefer traditional-style LD value debate.

POLICY DEBATE

I don't judge policy debate much, but when I do, none of the above applies. I'll judge it based exclusively on the flow, and try to be as tabula rasa as I can.

Bio: I am a graduate of and debated 4 yrs of NPDA for Point Loma Nazarene University and served as Assistant Director of Debate at Grand Canyon University. I currently serve as Head Coach at iLearn Academy and still judge around the NPDA circuit.

Updated LD Philosophy: I enjoy and can keep up with spreading. But this quick whisper-mumbling stuff is nonsense. If you think a. that's really spreading b. what you're saying is intelligible, you're kidding yourself. You can go fast but you gotta up the clarity. Forcing me to read all of your cards instead of listening to the speech to understand is asking me to do way too much work and I must infer any analysis being given. It also makes it significantly harder for me to understand the nuances of how the arguments interact and I would prefer not to miss something important.

TL;DR: I strongly believe that I don't have any strong beliefs when it comes to debate rounds, I ran all types of arguments and faced all types of arguments. I see every round as an individual game and don't try to leverage my preferences into my decisions. Go for what you will. I won't complain.

Speed: Speed is usually fine depending on your clarity. I have more comments about it in the LD section. Online, depending on how fast you are maybe 80% is better in case you want me to get everything.

Theory/Framework: These are fine. I include this to say, that I don't mind your squirrely or K aff, but I'm more than willing to listen to the other side and you should be prepared to respond to framework or theory.

K's: K's are great. K's have a place in debate. I enjoy K's because I believe I can learn from them. The only issue is I am not great at being strong on critical literature bases. I believe that people who resent that type of debate altogether are stuck in an ultimately noneducational way of thinking. That being said, I'm not afraid to vote on "this doesn't make any sense". Just because it's a game doesn't mean it shouldn't be accessible.

I will say if I had to choose between the 2 I'd rather have a straight-up policy round.

CP: Just do it right if you're gonna do it? idk the goal is not to get permed right?

Condo: I don't see condo as an issue. I won't forbid myself from voting for condo bad if it's argued for well enough or the strategy really is being that abusive. Some people have ideologies, but I think that's more of a meme at this point.

I am not a big fan of RVI's at all. I will only look to vote for one if it was unresponded to or within a unique context. But my least favorite and seemingly most common is spending X amount of minutes on a frivolous T, then saying you deserve the win for wasting your own time. If it is truly frivolous then either they won't go for it or they'll lose on it if they do. I will not reward it and I find it surprising at the number of judges who don't think twice about it.

Speaker points: I'm not a fan of speaker points so I plan on being a bit of a point fairy

Former debate coach of San Dieguito Academy. Not a fan of a kritiks. 

I am currently competing in Parliamentary debate for Point Loma Nazarene University. For me, judging is all about structure and common sense. I want to see clear tag lines of where you are and I want you to expressly lay out where you are winning. Additionally, your arguments must be backed by some sort of reasonable logic/warrants-I am not going to believe you if you tell me extinction is going to happen, but give me no warrants or probable reason why. I am very okay with Kritiks and would love to see some at this tournament, but only if it ACTUALLY links in some way. Have fun! 

Summary

I'm a coach that prefers case debate. I'm generally suspicious of all of your claims, so focus on a few arguments where the logic and empirical support all line up.

My Experience

A few years of high school LD and pofo. Five years coaching pofo and parli in the bay area. I’ve judged most styles of debate off and on for over ten years, occasionally at bigger tournaments. I have never been a college debater.

Judging Philosophy

I'm not a blank slate. I speak English and understand many of the shared concepts you need to navigate being an engaged citizen. I read the news and have a decent grip on history. Treat me as an educated adult. Also treat me as someone who has seen enough debate rounds to know that many debaters lie or twist the facts constantly. I will be skeptical of your links and your impacts every step of the way. Make the case for their likelihood. No blippy, jargony taglines where you expect me to fill in what it means. Usually a round comes down to two or three points with me, so quality over quantity should be your mantra. I'm also not an interventionist. I'm here to reward the best debater and won't make arguments on your opponents' behalf. But I have no problem saying that I don't buy an argument, so even when your opponent drops the argument you have to make the case for its likelihood and importance. I am perfectly fine (in fact I encourage) you to dismiss baseless assertions as just that and not spend too much time on them.

Parli-specific Preferences

Please respect the style. Try to make the exchange of ideas work. Parli is not set up for a good spread round; it’s too messy when it’s done. Running arguments in a way that makes it difficult to understand so you can win because your opponents are unable to respond is elitist and antithetical to an activity that should improve communication skills. And prep time is limited, which means a more narrow view of topicality than policy debate (the style) to keep it fair. In practically all cases I'd prefer you just debate the darn topic. No squirrelly definitions that leave no room for the other side.

POIs are meant to be taken in the middle of your speech (I think about 1-2 POIs per constructive is a good norm) and not “saved for the end if you have time.” Also, POO when necessary, but I also see it as my job as judge to keep track of which arguments are new and not vote on them.

Partner Assist

I don’t mind when partners add a quick point either verbally or with paper, but keep it to a minimum. Do not have your partner just repeat what you say for more than a sentence or two.

Counterplans/Perms

I like them both. Tell me if your perm is an advocacy or test. I'm probably more open-minded than most about what counts as a mutually exclusive CP.

Decorum

I like passion, humor, and a no-nonsense style. Thank me once at the end; not every speech. We don’t need to touch hands. Also, read the room: don’t aggressively crush your opponent into oblivion unless they’re willing to do so too. This should be a space for people not trying to verbally body slam each other (and a place where two willing parties can too). Overall, just be polite. This is supposed to be fun.

Kritiks

Philosophy is my lifeblood. I’ve studied it plenty and would rather you not ruin it with your Ks. I can imagine good Ks being run for the right topics, but I’ve definitely never seen them at the high school level. I find them exclusionary and unacademic. However, it’s your debate and if both sides are down to pretend they understand Nietzsche or Foucault or Marx, then fine. But you need to actually explain the theory in your own words and not just with a quick card. However, if talking philosophy actually connects to the topic (instead of avoiding it) then I’m all for it! Again, you need to be able to explain the concept in your own words. I'm also going to be very skeptical of any claim that voting one way or the other will have real world impacts.

Theory

I usually don't vote on theory when the case debate has a clear winner. Sometimes I'll let theory win the round if the case debate is very close. The exception to this is when there's an egregious ground skew, when how they're debating has made things really one-sided. But you need to explain to me the actual arguments or facts that your side should be able to make but can't now because of how they're debating. I think theory arguments can be a reverse voting issue if I hear explanation as to how they are their own kind of abuse.

Overused Words

I'm not sure I know what "dehumanization" or "educationality" really mean anymore. You had better explain it to me.

Hi there, I've done 4 years of parli, one in open High School, three in the Community College Circuit, at one point or another have competed in every debate format. I enjoy clash in my debates. Run whatever you want I'm front of me as long as you take the time to impact it out. Don't make me do the work for you, Tell me why i should vote and where. Been out of the debate scene for a bit, always excited by interesting ideas and we'll thought out strategy.

For LD Debate I would prefer to see an emphasis on real world examples and connections.

I would also appreciate if debaters kept a moderate pace when speaking. If you speak too fast, I will stop following your arguments. 

The most important thing is to draw a big and clear picture to me. 

I believe that debate is a game. Play to win. Run your theory shells, specs, whatever you need to. Be strategic. Literally everything is up for debate, including the in-round rules. Keep that in mind when you decide what your voters are.

Speed is fine to a point. If it becomes too much I will make it obvious.

If you're going to run any critical arguments, clarity becomes paramount, since I likely won't be as well read on the subject as you.

Write my ballot for me. Make my job easy.

My limited debate background is in college parli and LD. Impact analysis and voters are key. I'm okay with off-time roadmaps. If you spread, make sure I can actually understand you. If not, I will not flow your arguments. I will tell you when you are going too fast two times, and then I will put down my pen.

Kritiks are okay, but make sure that they actually link and don't draw focus away from the resolution or focus of the debate.

I will vote on topicality, but I prefer not to. I don't like theory as much as actually relevant arguments. It won't be a voting issue unless there is in round abuse.

I like well thought out disads with clear warrents and a good impact scenario.

I do not disclose the winner and the RFD's will be on your ballot. Please don't be rude to your opponent, I don't want to see bad sportsmanship. Have the evidence ready to give to your opponent at the beginning of your speech. Make sure you are signposting.

Debate is a game that should be played, so play it the best you can.  By default I assume net benefits analysis weighed through timeframe, magnitude, and probability but you can honestly run whatever you are most comfortable with, so long as you give clear justification for your method and/or weighing mechanisms within the framework. Hopefully the following information allows for a more concise and enjoyable debate for everyone.

DAs, CPs, advantages:

Run them or kick them

On criticisms:

I love critical theory but please don't assume that I already know the thesis of your argument. In general, please articulate: what does the alt do, and what does a post-alt world look like?  If you are indicting the debate space or claiming real-world solvency, it is also imperative to have explanations of how the speech act of the kritik functions to affect the classroom and competitors.  Demonstrate that you know how to apply these arguments and I’m more likely to give good speaks and the ballot to you.  

*Affs, when responding to criticisms, blipping out "perm - do both" or "do plan and all mutually exclusive parts of the K" or other non-contextualized responses is not something I can vote on.  You have to explain to me how the perm functions before garnering any sort of offense/net benefit.  Executing both this and framework arguments effectively will be very strong.

*Also affs, if you are running a critical affirmative, please demonstrate how the position relates to the topic to allow for competitive equity.   Criticisms without links will lose to a perm anyways (Veal 2017).

On procedurals/theory:

I try not to presume any theory argumentation; things like condo bad/good only matter when teams bring it up.  That being said, I enjoy procedural debate, especially when it revolves around creative and educational interps.  

When it comes to T, please demonstrate articulated abuse, potential abuse is not something that I can vote on.  I will default to a competing interpretations paradigm if the topicality is not resolved.  Make offensive theory arguments with “impact” scenarios as to how fairness and education are undermined by that debate theory practice/argument and I’m pretty likely to vote there.

On reverse voting issues: if you want to leverage one, go hard and be confident.  This also means allocating less time to answering them if they are bad/intended as a time suck.  I am not necessarily predisposed against RVIs and I believe that there are some legitimate reasons for voting on them, such as checking against in-round exclusion as well as fostering better education about the resolution.  Make those arguments, though.

Speaker points:

Speaks start at 27.5 and can go up or down depending on the round (will never go below 25 though, unless something really terrible happens).  Some things that would dock your speaks include excessive POOs, running Wilderson as a non-black individual, using speed to exclude the other team, impact turning morally repugnant things like genocide/rape/racism/etc.  Don't be a jerk. Additionally, please don't group responses to arguments that require more nuanced answers and expect me to do the work, articulating your arguments is part of your responsibilities as debaters and not mine as critic and your performance will suffer.

Ways to improve speaks would be clear taglining, good args, giving me a text of your plan/CP/alt (though you should be doing that anyways), (!!) having an effective collapse (line-by-line rebuttals are a strategically bad decision anyways).  Higher speaks if it’s a gutsy collapse, but don’t take this to mean purposely kicking legitimately good offense in the rebuttals in order to get better speaks.  Just go for where you think you are winning and why they are voting issues.

I reserve the right to deviate from my judging philosophy at any time.  Though this serves as a reliable framework for evaluating debates, there are always exceptions to the rule and opportunities for me to grow as a critic that will prompt me to shift my paradigm.

Background: I didn't debate competitively in high school. I serve as an on-call judge for LACES in Los Angeles, CA. I would consider myself a somewhat lay judge, but I do know how to flow and will try my best to get arguments down

I'd prefer no spreading, but if you realy want to go for it, be prepared to get cleared a lot. I am pretty traditional. I don't care if you sit or stand during any part of the round. If you ask for my paradigm/preferences, I will refer you to my tabroom paradigm. 

I'll listen to most arguments, as well as they are well-explained and have actual weight in the round. Obscure arguments are fine, as long as they actually are topical and have direct causation. 

I judge almost exclusively traditional debate, so anything circuit-y I will listen to, but I may not fully understand.

Speaker Points: Usually correspond to ranks in the round. Confidence and assertiveness in speeches and crossfire is encouraged, but don't railroad your opponent by not letting them ask questions.

Winning the Ballot: I evaluate what's on the flow at the end of the ballot and what has been laid out to me as major voting issues. Basically, straight-forward debate with impacted points is enough to win the round.