I am retired now after coaching debate for over thirty years. I also debated in high school and college. I coached all events but always focused on debate before anything else in my program. I have taken students to nationals in all events so I know my way around a flow sheet and rely heavily on it to make my decision in a debate round. If I look confused or stop flowing it means arguments are not clearly labeled or coming too fast and I can't get them down. If that happens, those arguments won't be a part of my final decision.

I like to see the round start on time and good manners all around. I expect students in LD and PF to be good speakers but will not punish them for speed.

Please don't ask me tho shake hands at the end of the round. It's just not what I do.

LD - I am a traditional judge, I do not favor progressive LD. I look for clash and a good morality debate. I also favor good communication. If I can't understand you, I can't flow.

PF - I am a traditional judge, do not favor progressive PF. See above.

ghadashehab321@gmail.com (Start an email chain right away please)

FOR LD:
Basically, I'm familiar with most progressive/traditional arguments. So feel free to run whatever you want.

If you have questions, please ask before round.


Techniciality before anything, I judge that first.
Theory is fine, but break it down and tell me why its a voting issue. I don't do RVIs. Counter-interp's are better than "we-meet". But go about it whatever way you want.
I feel very strongly about calling your opponent a "cheater". I think there are better ways/words to show that you are being put at a disadvantage during the debate round.


Some dropped arguments are honestly useless for the whole picture of the debate. Just because you extended a dropped argument that does nothing for you doesn't mean I'll vote it up.


Topicality is also fine and I will evaluate it first if I think your opponent is being unfair. I do strongly believe that for fair engagement inside of the debate space, the affirmative should be somewhat topical. However, this is up to you to convince me how to vote off of that.

K's are great. I'm familiar with most of the K's circulating around, and with a lot of the literature of K's. But if you're going to be reading something out of the ordinary, articulate and explain it to me.
(I will say this; however, most people that run structural violence K's tend to group minorities in hierarchies and solve for the "most oppressed"; this strategy is wrong and offensive).


Philosophical arguments are also very cool. I love Philosophy. However, you will need to explain it to me if its out of the ordinary.

Traditional LD is also awesome. If you're going to do Traditional LD, then i'll put a little emphasis on the V/VC debate. I love good framework debates! I HATE cross-benefit/cost-benefit analysis frameworks, if you do read that, just know i'm disappointed.


I've seen a few performance cases and I loved them, if that's what you do, go for it.


I don't flow Cross-Ex, but I listen. If there is something that you want on your flow, bring it up in your speech.


SPEED - Speed is great, go as fast as you want BUT taglines, plan texts and/or advocacies should always be conversation speed. If I don't hear it, i won't flow it.
Intensity is fine, just don't be rude.
Speaker Points - I never give 26 or lower, if I do, you're super offensive and/or rude.
& Always give voters.

-If you wanna transfer CX time to prep; go for it.

I also call for evidence a lot.

If I don't understand something, you will know from my face expressions. I will expect you to explain it to me if you notice that I don't understand your argument. I can't vote on something that doesn't make sense to me.

Things I hate:
-Males talking over Females in CX is a pet peeve of mine.
-Being a Male and being over-aggressive to your female opponent will earn you a 25 or lower.
-Knowing that your opponent is traditional and then reading like 2 K's or 8 off is also un-educational and unhelpful. A good debater knows how to adjust and win off of that. I'm not saying I won't vote off of it, I'm just saying its unproductive inside of the given debate space.
-K's with no alts aren't K's.. Seriously.

-- i'm EXTREMELY tired of progressive vs. traditional debates. If your opponent is traditional, adjust. That's what good debaters do.

I want to be able to hear and process the information presented. I expect arguments to be clearly spoken and substantiated with solid evidence.  Quality of information trumps irrelevant quantity.  Clearly and directly respond to your opponents arguments. I am not interested in any non topical arguments.

In short, I'm a flow judge. I don't care what you put on my flow (types of arguments) or how it gets there (delivery and speed). I want a clear and consistent story on the flow to vote on.

I usually judge LD, but I often judge CX and PF as well. I don't care about your style of debate. I just want a clear reason to vote for you.

I flow and vote from the flow. I want to be able to look at the flow and see a simple, clear, and unbroken story about why you win based on the framework that you provide. Crystallization is important throughout to give me this story. Overviews are often effective. Your last speech should probably include voters if you want to win my ballot.

My experience with T and theory debates are more limited than circuit judges. It doesn't mean that I won't vote for them, as I often do. A blippy T or theory argument is unlikely to get my vote, however. I want the "abuse" clearly explained.

I enjoy good k debates. If you're clear about your k's thesis, its connection to the topic or an argument that your opponent made, and explain how the alternative works, then they're fun and interesting. That also doesn't mean that you should run a k. If you like them and want to run one, go for it. I think that the philosophical ideas in a k can add a lot to discussions of topics. I doubt that I know a ton about your literature on the k, however, so don't expect me to have a lot of background. Of course, usually you just pulled up someone else's k file to write the k anyways.

Framework for why your impacts matter is vital. You can win deontological positions, but you need to give offense under those frameworks too! I default to a cost-benefit analysis if no framework is provided. What else am I supposed to do? I'm open to suggestions, but I'd prefer that you give me a clear framework.

Special note for PF: Please, crossfire time starts when the first person asks the first question that is not, "Do you want the first question?" or "Can I have the first question?" just like we give off-time roadmaps for the order you're going on the flow.