So I have debated high school debate two years and college for one so far.

I have read all forms of literature and understand basically any argument topical or kritikal

I can follow most arguments regarless of style but I do require you give me reasons to vote for you

basically I am ok with speed and willing to vote on anything. just do you and I will let you tell me where to vote

I run relatively loose rounds so perform if you want

I do like to give critics and disclose in round

I will answer any questions in round

John Shackelford

Policy Coach: Park City, UT

***ONLINE DEBATE***

I keep my camera on as often as I can. I still try to look at faces during CX and rebuttals. Extra decimals if you try to put analytics in doc.

I end prep once the doc has been sent.

GO SLOWER

****TLDR IN BOLD****

Please include me in email chains during the debate (johnshackelf[at]gmail). I do not follow along with the speech doc during a speech, but sometimes I will follow along to check clipping and cross-ex questions about specific pieces of evidence.

Here is what an ideal debate looks like. (Heads up! I can be a silly goose, so the more you do this, the better I can judge you)

- Line by Line (Do it in order)

- Extending > reading a new card (Your better cards are in your first speech anyway. Tell me how the card is and how it frames the debate in your future analysis)

- More content >Less Jargon (avoid talking about the judge, another team, flows, yourselves. Focus on the substance. Avoid saying: special metaphors, Turns back, check back, the link check, Pulling or extending across, Voting up or down. They don’t exist.)

- Great Cross-examination (I am okay with tag team, I just find it unstrategic)

- Compare > description (Compare more, describe less)

- Overviews/Impact Calc (Focus on the core controversy of the debate. Offense wins)

- Engage > Exclude

- Clarity > Speed

- Making generics specific to the round

- Researched T Shells (Do work before reading T. I love T, but I have a standard on what is a good T debate)

- Arguments you can only read on this topic!!

Popular Q&A

- K/FW: More sympathetic to Ks that are unique to the topic. But I dig the 1 off FW strat or 9 off vs a K.

- Theory: Perfcon theory is a thing, condo theory is not a thing. I like cheating strats. I like it when people read theory against cheating strats too.

- Prep time: I stop prep time when you eject your jump drive or when you hit send for the email. I am probably the most annoying judge about this, but I am tired of teams stealing prep and I want to keep this round moving

- I flow on my computer

Want extra decimals?

Do what I say above, and have fun with it. I reward self-awareness, clash, sound research, humor, and bold decisions. It is all about how you play the game.

Cite like Michigan State and open source like Kentucky

Speaker Points-Scale - I'll do my best to adhere to the following unless otherwise instructed by a tournament's invite:

30-99%perfect

29.5-This is the best speech I will hear at this tournament, and probably at the following one as well.

29-I expect you to get a speaker award.

28.5-You're clearly in the top third of the speakers at the tournament.

28-You're around the upper middle (ish area)

27.5-You need some work, but generally, you're doing pretty well

27-You need some work

26.5-You don't know what you're doing at all

26 and lower-you've done something ethically wrong or obscenely offensive that is explained on the ballot.

All in all, debate in front of me if your panel was Mike Bausch, Mike Shackelford, Hannah Shoell, Catherine Shackelford, and Ian Beier

If you have any questions, then I would be more than happy to answer them

I was in forensics all four years of high school (mid-1980's) and debated Cross-Ex (policy) with the same partner all four years. By the end we became quite good and made it to semifinals in state our junior and senior years (but sadly never won). It is fun to be associated with debate again, now as an assistant coach and judge, but my how things have changed! Between spewing, spreading, flashing, even using computers instead of 4x6-inch evidence cards, policy is a totally different animal. I feel that arguments and discussions are more "wide and shallow" than "narrow and deep" these days. That's fine, but I rarely give the win to a team whose strategy is to "shotgun" and overwhelm the other team with so many (arguably superficial) arguments that they cannot counter them all. I much prefer a debate where there is actual thought and good arguments and clash over key issues/weaknesses (aff or neg) than both teams hitting the search button on their computers to find some pre-baked counter to each point. Good thinking, respectful clash, and killer non-BS arguments make for an enjoyable, satisfying debate.

Specific aspects of my judging philosophy/paradigm:

Stock issues: I think these are important, but they are not the sole determiner of my vote, and neg needs to bring up the weaknesses, of course. Solvency is an important one. The aff can show significant harms but if they cannot show (with evidence) that their plan will reduce or remove these harms, then it is hard to support the plan. But, the neg needs to point that out and maintain that throughout the debate. CPs etc will also be evaluated through the lens of policy stock issues to the extent that is appropriate. Keep things on-topic with the resolutions, as well.

Kritiks: You are welcome to run Ks, and I recognize that it is common that people have stock generic Ks they run against every aff case, but they will have to be very, very good to win with them; I prefer policy debate that sticks to real, pragmatic issues and... policy!

Speech sharing/flashing: I guess this has become the norm. Philosophically, I don't like flashing because it removes the burden of *listening*, which decreases the quality of the debate. You are free to flash, but try to be efficient. Most importantly, remember that as the judge, I do not have access to the files that you are flashing (and I don't want them). So, make it clear to me what you are discussing and referring to. If you say, "the card at the top of page three," I will have no idea what you are talking about.

Spreading/spewing:ItisfineifyouwanttospreadduringtheconstructivespeechesbutIaskthatyouspreadonlywhenreadingthecardandthatyouslowdownatinybitandsignpostwhereyouareinthestructureofthedebateandalsospeakclearlywhenindicatingthesource(authorandyear)ofyourevidencecardsifyouspreadthroughtheentirespeechthenitwillbehardformyoldearstokeepupandmyflowwillgetmessyandifIamnotflowingwhatyouaresayingthenitwillworkagainsyouIpreferthatteamsspendmoreenergythinkinganddevelopinggoodarguementsanddevelopatacticalstrategythantryingtoradtheequivalentofthebibleineightminutes.

Nuclear war: A few years ago I judged a debate in which the neg said that the aff's case to train dolphins to swim stretches of ocean with advanced sensors on their backs will lead to nuclear war. Really? Really?? Fortunately, the aff said, "Ok, folks, let's take a step back and acknowledge the absurdity of what the neg is postulating." The policy topic certain years might involve geopolitics and under certain circumstances nuclear war might indeed be a possible outcome. But please keep it real and reasonable.

Games, hypersensitivity, BS: The worst round I ever judged was actually at a state tournament. A female participant pretended(?) to take issue with a member of the other team using the term "you guys" during cross ex, saying that it was a manifestation of gender bias engrained in today's society and that her team was disadvantaged from the start because of this denigration of women. The other team should have ignored it, but instead tried to explain that historically cavemen were the food gatherers while the women stayed at home with the kids, and that helped establish today's societal hierarchy. It went downhill from there. Participants were crying, apologizing, another judge became upset with the frame of the arguments and huffed out of the room. I wish I could have given a loss to all involved. My requests: please stick to the debate issues and don't try to play games.

I'll close with this postscript to my high school debate experience: I graduated from high school over 30 years ago and today in my career I find myself working closely with and having to convince individuals, committees, national governmental agencies and international organizations to agree with my point of view and adopt policies or direct money towards the causes I am championing for. I'm pretty successful at that and credit the training I learned during cross-ex debate. It all comes down to listening, digesting, considering the others' perspectives and presenting arguments in a way that are digestible and enthusiasm-generating. Professionals have low tolerance for BS or insincere arguments, and the real world does not involve kritiks. (Imagine if the bank loan officer you were asking for a loan responded, "No, I will not grant your loan because that is supportive of capitalism that is the root cause of many of today's problems in the world.) As a debater, I encourage you to learn listening and critical thinkng skills, to not race through things and to step back and look objectively at the situation you are dealing with.

Thanks for reading.

I currently serve as the head coach for Park City High School.

In-round Preferences:

• Weigh.
• Collapse.
• Weigh.
• Please signpost — it makes it much easier to flow
• I appreciate critical arguments, but keep them accessible to people who aren’t terribly familiar with K debate or literature
• Weigh.
• Please be consistent with your warranting.
• Offense must be in summary and final focus.
• Weigh
• Because I coach, I am very familiar with the resolution you are debating.
• Do not say racist, homophobic, xenophobic or sexist things. Pay attention to the language you use, and know that I will, too.
• A sense of humor is always appreciated. Have fun. Don't take yourselves too seriously. Please do not be condescending to your opponent during cross.
• Weigh.
• I am an experienced coach and judge. I know the rules. Win the round fairly (because your arguments/analytics are better). It's that simple.

• I have been involved in debate with Park City High School since 2017. I respect and admire students who are committed to learning about and engaging in academic conversations. Thank you for being a part of debate.

Make this your best round possible. I look forward to judging, and hope you share the same enthusiasm for competing.

Finally, should I judge something other than PF: In terms of theory, I don't like it. If you insist upon running it, I will listen/judge begrudgingly and choose truth over tech. I hate frivolous or abusive theory - only run it if it's a true violation.

My email (for questions): awilliams@pcschools.us