In my ~9 years being involved in Debate, I've come to understand debate as competitive storytelling. In a round, you're essentially telling me a story about the resolution: who is effected by the res, what happens when we adopt the res, and why that matters. Whichever side best articulates a world post resolution - as well as telling me why that world is good or bad in comparison to the other side's world - wins the ballot.

I want to do the least amount of work possible when making my decision. Your voter speech should make it clear to me what arguments I am voting on, and how I am weighing them in the round. The more that you leave the judge in the dark, the higher the chance the round is just a coin toss. Don't let that happen, make it crystal clear why you win. I don't want to have to sift through the flow to find your winning argument.

Generally, I'm fine with whatever arguments you want to run (Kritiks, CPs, Theory) in any format, as long as you justify that argument well enough. Love me some critical arguments, but please don't just drop "hyperreal" or some equally obscure term and expect your judges and opponents to know what that is.

Any questions before or after round, just ask!

cmcurtiss@gmail.com

In high school, I was a debater for all four years, I'm familiar with Blue Key and other circuit tournaments.

Approach to Debate

I will vote on any argument as long as they make sense and I will expect that both debaters weigh their arguments against each others. It is the debaters responsibility to explain why they won and point out any flaws in the other debaters arguments. I do not go into debates just to listen and then explain what I would have done if I was debating, then proceed to judge off of that. Every debater should understand when there are any inaccuracies in the other argument. I can judge both progressive and traditional rounds.

Kritiks

The aff should have credible solvencies in order for me to vote that way. However, the neg should also be able to prove why there is no reason to vote for the aff or why their solvencies are inaccurate.

Topicality and Theory

I will vote on both and I do enjoy both. Don't make the debate unfair though; the other side should be able to point out why the debate was made unfair, especially when they're talking about the sacrifice of education in the round. I like process CPs, but please make sure that they make sense and are relevant to the round.

Please do NOT enter the round crossing your fingers that toward the end of the debate, you can just create a speech on making a laundry list of the 25 cards that your opponent dropped, if you are going to do so, make sure that they are all accurate and relevant.

My experience includes dong every type of debate except policy. I have gone to nationals twice for Congress and once for World Schools. I have been involved in forensics since 7th grade and I love the activity.

I just want to see a good debate on both sides. Signposting is preferred so I can follow along. Agressivnesss doesnt look good on your part but I cant stop you, so keep it friendly and nice. Good Luck to everyone

Will flow

Links and warrants are essential, else your good evidence and arguments are null

I love impacts, but that doesn't mean I will blindly believe whatever you say

Competed in Congress for six years, won NSDA Senate in 2020 and won TOC on the PO track in 2020, competed in World Schools debate with the NSDA USA Dev Team. Competing in the style you're most comfortable in is what will win over any judge - all parts of the debate have value, its a matter of how you execute your speeches based on the context of the round. POs also do well as long as they're confident, accurate, and fair.

I competed for 4 years in Congress for Newton South HS in Newton, MA, graduating in 2018. I also competed in Extemp, Public Forum, and World Schools at different times.

Worlds Schools Paradigm (Specific to 2020 Nationals)

I only competed in Worlds a couple times, and I mostly forget what it's like. I have far more experience with Parli, particularly APDA format, and I'm probably going to judge the rounds similar to how I judge APDA. This means that I am going to flow the round, decide who wins, and figure out speaker points accordingly after.

Worlds is supposed to be about "big ideas," while other forms of debate are about "winning on the flow." The judge guide tells me that it's okay for me to not "vote on arguments [I] think are poorly explained/justified or wildly implausible even if the other team doesn’t explicitly respond to them."

I remember a lot of frustration with judge inconsistency when I competed at 2018 Nationals, so I want to try to be somewhat clear how I view the WSD method of judging not directly off the flow. I will try my best to vote off of "big ideas" as opposed to dropped minor arguments, but it would take an extreme circumstance for me to intervene in the round and reject a main argument. For example, I will not heavily weigh an argument because Opp didn't respond to 1 Prop warrant in the opening speech that was dropped throughout the round, if Opp adequately engaged with the argument holistically. That being said, I can't imagine a (not offensive) contention that I would drop off the flow if a team was winning it, because I thought it was poorly warranted/explained/justified.

Things you SHOULD do in WSD:

--Above all else: WEIGH in the 4th speech (and throughout the round). Highly unlikely that I would vote off any argument not clearly weighed in the 4th speech. I am a pragmatic leaning guy - you want me to vote off of a principle argument, you need to explain and weigh it well in the context of the round.

--Signposting: tell me where to flow things.

--Extending major arguments through the round. Any constructive argument that you want me to vote off of to be substantively discussed (and weighed) in all 3 speeches (or 2nd and 3rd if you introduce it in the second speech). If the other team totally drops your argument just mention it again and you can weigh it. What I will NOT vote off of is if you go for two random bad warrants from your first speech that no one addresses throughout the round (because this is worlds, not parli).

--Model: Gov should give me a clear model that's both reasonable and strategic, and include clear burdens, and should be prepared to defend their model; Opp should contest the model if need be.

Things you should NOT to do in WSD:

--Off time road maps. If it's so important, use your time for it.

--Do not try to distract the other team's speaker by rising for a million POIs. I remember this from when I competed and it sucked. Also, I probably won't flow your POI, only the response from the speaker to it, so if you bring something up in a POI you need to mention it in your speech. Also there is no need for you use a POI to just remind me of the main argument in your speech because I flowed it.

--Don't be a terrible person: racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic etc

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Congress Paradigm

I'm looking for legislators who will advance debate. This means (generally in order of importance):

ABOVE ALL ELSE:

--Know your place in the round! Early speeches should focus on constructive arguments, mid-round speeches should focus on refutation and extending arguments, and late round speeches should crystalize and weigh the debate. Do not give me a 2 point constructive in the 8th cycle. Even though I ask for clash below, don’t be afraid of speaking early - I expect less clash and I understand the important role you’re playing in the debate. This is very important and something I've found the majority of competitors are not doing in prelims at nationals. If you don't reference other speakers' arguments in the 3th cycle or later, you are almost certainly not going to be ranked.

EVERYTHING ELSE IMPORTANT:

--Clash! Starting with the first negative, every speech should be refuting and building off of previous speeches. If you don't reference other speakers sometime after the third cycle, you will almost certainly not be ranked. It's not enough to contradict someone, say their name, and then say you're right. I need you to briefly explain the aspect of the argument, and then explain why it's wrong (actually clash).

-- Interpret the bill correctly: Way too many kids debate the bill based on the title, not the text of the bill (which is written incorrectly by the author), or misconstrue the bill to make it easier to debate. Often times everyone in the room accepts the misreading because it makes the debate easier. Don't do this! If you think people are reading the bill incorrectly, point this out! I'm talking blatant mischaracterizations - obviously, there are some cases where the bill is vague and you can and should make arguments as to why your interpretation is correct.

--Clear Warrants! You need to explain the link chain behind your evidence/argument and why it's true. This advances debate because it makes it easier for other legislators to engage with your arguments, which helps you. The best debaters can simplify complex arguments and explain them powerfully, clearly, and concisely.

--Impacts! Be detailed. Explain to me how the U.S. will be better if we vote on your side of the debate. Ideally quantified (dependent on bill topic). Over the top rhetoric is wasting your time, not a substitute for logic and evidence.

--Evidence! Your evidence should actually support your argument, not tangentially related prep from a bill you debated last year.

Other Things:

--Speaking Speed:

For normal in person, I'm fine with very fast speaking, provided that: 1) You enunciate well and are understandable. 2) Speed isn't your way of getting around having bad word economy. 3) You don't start yelling whenever you speed up. On Zoom, speak slowly.

--Sponsorships: I rank sponsorships very highly if they're actually a sponsorship style speech (ie. background information to introduce bill, explain problem, how bill solves, impacts), and I'll have lower expectations if no one wants to give it. I will not rank a typical affirmative constructive highly even if no one else volunteered to give it.

--Presiding: I presided a lot during my career — I'll rank you very very highly if you do a good job but I also know when you mess up.

--Ask Questions! Not gonna lie I'm usually focusing on writing speech feedback during questioning, so with indirect questioning, I care more about how the speaker answers than how you questioner asks, but I'll notice over time who is asking good questions and staying engaged.

--Decorum: Call out the PO if they mess up, but be nice about it. The PO is doing his/her best and I likely already noticed the error. Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. comments to legislators or arguments in round will not be tolerated.

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PF Paradigm

Assume that I am up to date on widely-covered current events, but know nothing specific about the resolution.

Evidence isn't enough - explain it and give clear warrants. I'd rather a lot of good logical warranting than a card you don't explain well.

I don't care if you respond to first rebuttal in second rebuttal or if you do it in summary - just whenever you do it, signpost it clearly.

WEIGH!! - Summary and focus need weighing. Write my RFD. If no one weighs I will be very unhappy. Good weighing wins rounds and bad weighing usually beats no weighing.

Speed - fine with however fast you want as long as you enunciate and signpost.

Cross examination - don't be afraid to (politely) cut your opponent off if they're clearly spewing bs or trying to waste time, I will know they are too and be cool with it. Grand cross, don't speak over your partner.

Don't be racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic etc

In Congressional Debate, I believe in clear, concise analysis. I expect clash, cited evidence, and rebuttal. I also appreciate students who immerse themselves in the debate and act as if their votes have an importance to their constituents back home. I understand that the end result is artificial, but for the moments in which you are in session, act like it matters.

I also expect that you will treat your colleagues with respect and avoid the parliamentary games which serve to prevent them from speaking. I've been around too long and can see through such tactics.

Paradigm for Congressional Debate- David Burnett

To me, Congressional Debate is a beautiful combination of the best qualities of all things speech and debate. From the theatric element of presentation and strong, impactful delivery to excellent points of contention and clash, the skilled congressional debater must strike a balance between presentation and statistics.

What do I look for when judging?

1. Impact

Who does this bill hurt? Who does it help? Why is there a sense of urgency to pass or fail this legislation. While this may sound simple, too many speeches get bogged down with piles of fluff or dry statistics. Above all, you are there to legislate. The mark of all great legislators is the ability to strike a common tone with their audience and work together with other legislators to create solutions and lasting change.

2. Congressional Decorum

Direct questioning is not the time for PF-style shouting matches. Additionally, PF and Policy jargon take away from the 'Congressional' element of the event. Yes, we all want great attacks across the 'flow' and for the 'Affirmative' to point out the 'drops' of the 'Negative' side. While those terms certainly frame and inform congressional debate, we should still present it for what it is- super high-quality debate in the style of the United States Congress. Pass, fail, my constituents, my district, etc. all add to the charm of this wonderful event.

3. Unique and exciting information

Above all, I hope each speaker brings great information to the floor and avoids repeating anyone's point unless they intend to clash with it or expand upon it.

Have fun and be kind to one another!

Senior Executive at Payments & Blockchain startup in Santa Clara.

As a parent judge, have been judging Congress and Public Forum for last few years.

Few pointers for teams:

Do not portray anger during cross-fire; act professionally.

Macro facts are very important but personal experience or arguments at micro level enhances you claim.

Lastly make sure you shake hands with your opponents at the end of the round.

I have experience competing, judging, and coaching both Congressional Debate and Public Forum Debate and have judged a handful of Novice LD rounds.

For Congress:

60% presentation, 40% content. There MUST be refutation in every speech after the authorship. If you speak twice on the same bill I will drop you. If you refer to male competitors as 'representative' and female competitors as 'Ms.' I will drop you. Please give me impacts.

For PF:

I'm not going to time you. I'm not going to flow CX. You will not be able to speak faster than I will be able to flow. I need impacts, please, and clear taglines. It is not my job to weigh the round for you, so you need to be doing impact calculus and giving me key voters all the way through. If you are rude in CX I will give you low speaks and I will want to drop you. Also I do not care who the authors of your cards are so if you refer to cards by the author only I am not going to know what you are talking about.

For NLD:

I'm new to this, so please speak clearly, give me impacts, and use your value and criterion throughout the round. I won't flow CX and I won't be able to keep up if you go full spread on me. Weigh impacts and condense the debate for me more and more every speech so it is clear what the main issues are.

My paradigm is to see healthy, high school debate in action which embodies the concepts of two different extreme perspectives being articulated and, through discussion, a meeting of the minds being established through compromise and reasonable interchange.

In style, I appreciate decorum over grandstanding or gamesmanship.

In casing, I prefer clear, well-mapped, and consistently-defended cases. While debate is not a round of rock-paper-scissors with a magical selection automatically leading to a winning case, it is better as a clash of one-to-one with points won or lost at each stage. Points made should never fail to be raised in the final speech for tallying. I respect the admission of a lost point over raising and championing something which has already been debunked.

First and foremost:

I like rounds to be fast and efficient. Do not ask if I am ready, I am always ready. Unless your opponent specifically wants to be asked, do not ask if they are ready as well. Just don't ask if anyone is ready. Roadmaps are okay. Yes time yourselves. I will probably drop you if you use the Idaho debate code as an argument. Rule violations are not to be handled during your speeches. If you use it as an argument I am just going to assume you were not prepared enough to have an actual attack.

LD: I will weigh the round based on the Value/Criterion and voters. Explain your v/c and why it is pertinent to the resolution also be sure to tell me why you win based on the v/c. I don't like to see a lot of clash on the v/c unless someone runs an abusive one. I think that good debaters are able to show how they win on both the AFF and NEG v/c. But as I said, if someone is being abusive, feel free to call that out. Please be clear with signposting. Please provide a clear voter speech (tell me how you win on the v/c and other aspects of the round.) I also love to see impacts. Plans and Counter Plans are ok with me! I think that it adds an interesting element to the debate. I am absolutely NOT OKAY with kritiks. I love to see impacts.

PF: I will weigh the round based on the Resolutional Analysis and voters. Explain your RA and why it is pertinent to the resolution also be sure to tell me why you win based on the RA. I don't like to see a lot of clash on the RA unless someone runs an abusive one. I think that good debaters are able to show how they win on both the PRO and CON RA. But as I said, if someone is being abusive, feel free to call that out. Please do not run values, that's for LD. Please be clear with signposting. Please provide a clear voter speech (tell me how you win on the RA and other aspects of the round.) I also love to see impacts and impact calc.

Policy: I am absolutely NOT OKAY with kritiks. Please don't run them if you run them. I don't care for "education in debate" args. However, If someone is being abusive feel free to explain how. I am okay with speed but do not talk so fast to the point you are wheezing. Just be understandable. Have impacts and have voters. Be consistent with your plan and counter plan. Constantly remind me why I should care about them or should not care about your opponents. I will weigh the round based on the superior plan or cp.

A debate is a search for the truth. That's why, along with voting, debating is at the heart of America's democratic process.

So please call out people who just make things up.

Also important:

* Intros that are directly about the topic always beat generic intros that could apply to any topic.

* Quotations always beat paraphrase.

* Fully-cited evidence I can hunt down always beats "The New York Times tells us that . . ." (Remember: NSDA-minimum is name or publication and year. That's an absurdly low standard that makes zero sense for the new-resolution-every-hour world of Congress. Many Congress debaters still fail to meet it.) The challenge posed by AI will make attention to sources even more important.

* An authorship without an expert solvency advocate--a credentialed source who advocates what's in Section 1 of the bill or the Resolved clause--is cursed. An authorship which has an expert solvency advocate is blessed. I hold cursed bills against their authors/sponsors and reward blessed authors/sponsors. It's considered rude to point out that the only people in the whole world who think the bill is a good idea happen to be the handful of AFF speakers, but that argument is an automatic winner for NEG. A great nation doesn't make policy based on a random hunch. If you can't quote an expert who says "We should spend X billion on Y program" (for instance) then your bill is cursed. I won't, of course, hold cursed first-AFFs against speakers, because someone has to kick off. TL;DR: Find your Section 1 in your research. Don't just wing it.

* Giving the right kind of speech (constructive, rebuttal, summative/"crystallization") at the right time always beats giving the kind of speech you're best at without thinking about what the debate needs. I think I can tell an "oops, thought I'd PO" crystal from one that groups and clinches the best arguments in the round.

* Rehash is a venial, not a mortal, sin. And if you're a novice, always give the speech. That said, giving a third- or fourth-in-a-row is an admission of under-preparation.

* The assumption that everyone is going to give two speeches in a round seems fair, but it has pernicious effects. It discourages folks from speaking early. That in turn results in several "please, someone give a speech" moments in the round. It also discourages people from prepping the full agenda. I have mixed feelings about people ruthlessly taking speeches whenever they can. It's not friendly, but neither is stonewalling until some novice buckles and agrees to kick off the debate, and it's hard to blame someone who grabs a speech opportunity that's just sitting there.

* POs start at 1 on my ballot and lose ranks from errors. They can also be displaced by truly excellent speakers. The PO starts at 1 because the PO is the only indispensable contestant in the round. Can't have a round without the PO. The more people there are who run for PO, the faster the winning PO loses ranks from errors, because you're claiming you're better than everyone else who wanted it.

* Congress is speech *and* debate, so be sure you're listening and responding (debate) and keeping me focused on what you're saying (speech). Congress is getting too fast and burdened with jargon. The ideal Congress speaker is perfectly intelligible to someone who wandered into the room. A conversational pace is a supreme sign of confidence, and if your arguments are also the ones the round needs, you get the one.

* Respect the role-play, which is the only thing that has kept Congress from joining the long list of last decade's big new debate event that will solve everything but which is now moribund because the college kids got hold of it.

* My feedback more often plays the doubting game than the believing game. For instance, I often suggest arguments I think would be better. I do this to help debaters, which helps Congress, which is something I love. Anyone who spends a perfectly good weekend trying to honestly hash out trade policy etc. is a hero, and I encourage everyone to be their best, which is why my feedback is more full of "grows" than "glows." But you're glowing just by playing.

My primary coaching event is Congressional Debate. Don't freak out, I prefer the debate portion of the event as my high school background is in PF/LD.

For CD: I’ll always consider a balance of presentation, argumentation, and refutation. If you happen to drop the ball on one of those traits during a speech, it won’t ruin your rank on my ballot. I look for consistency across the board and most importantly: What is your speech doing for the debate? Speaking of which, pay attention to the round. If you're the third speaker in the row on the same side, your speech isn't doing anything for the debate. I definitely reward kids who will switch kids or speak before their ideal time for the sake of the debate, even if it's not the best speech in the world.

For both PF/LD: As long as you're clear/do the work for me, I have no preference for/against what you run/do in the round. I'll vote off of what you give me. With that, I really stress the latter portion of that paradigm, "I'll vote off of what you give me". I refuse to intervene on the flow, so if you're not doing the work for me, I'm gonna end up voting on the tiniest, ickiest place that I should not be voting off of. Please don't make me do that. Respect the flow and its links.

PF specific: I love theory. I don't prefer theory in PF, but again I'll vote off of where the round ends up...it'd be cool if it didn't head in that direction as a good majority of the time you can still engage in/ win the debate without it.

I don't time roadmaps, take a breather and get yourself together.

Speed isn't an issue for me in either event.

Avoid flex prep.

I prefer googledocs to email for evidence sharing (brittanystanchik@gmail.com).

Hi! I'm a parent judge of a Bronx Science debater. I AM A LAY JUDGE.

I am going to be flowing but PLEASE speak slow so that I can do so. Around 700ish word cases is a good speed

Email: klyellen@yahoo.com

My daughter helped me write this:

What will help me flow your side better:
Don't blip over tags.
- When Front-lining: Quickly re-explain their response and which of your contentions it is on before front-lining it.
- When Extending: Please re-explain your argument in a style that will help a layperson better understand it (it sometimes takes me hearing the argument explained more than once to completely understand it)

I will not vote off on anything said in cross but I will be listening, Explaining something well in cross could make or break whether I understand your argument in other words cross will help me better understand the arguments made in round.

I will only call for evidence if you tell me to in speech or if it is important to my decision

I will not evaluate K’s or Theory such as paraphrase or disclosure. However, If something makes you feel unsafe in the round that would normally require theory, tell me in a speech and tell me how I should evaluate it

Let me know if there are any accommodations you need, this should be a safe space for all!

Most of all Have Fun :)