I competed in policy debate in high school, parliamentary debate in college, and I have been coaching since 2001. I would consider myself a tabula rasa judge, as much as that is possible. I feel comfortable with any line of argumentation, but expect clear articulation of said argumentation. I want you to provide me with compelling reasons why you should win the debate. Generic argumentation, weak links, and time sucks are not appreciated. I don't judge a ton (in my local circuit I am in tab a lot), but I did judge at NSDA Nationals in 2020 including some late Elim rounds. I keep a detailed flow so staying organized is key to winning my ballot. Pronouns: she/her/hers. If you have questions, feel free to ask before the round starts. Email for the chain: amdahl-masona@nclack.k12.or.us.

I like well-reasoned and effectively articulated arguments. Quality over quantity. Do not spread. Be civil.

I value clear communication, clash of ideas (but not of personalities), and argumentation of the topic (not of the rules of debate). While I understand debate jargon, I do not find it useful in a debate.

I like the spirited debates where teams listen to the arguments presented and provide intellectual challenges in the round. I’m the type of judge that appreciates politeness. If you find yourself being condescending, check in on whether your arguments are truly good. A better intellectual path will stand on its own.

Experience: I debated in both High School and College and coached for a few years. I was never the top debater on a team, but I appreciate the time and focus it takes to research, write and practice this art. If you run a good kritik or a creative case, explain it well and I’ll recognize it as just as legit as a traditional approach.

I prefer roadmaps and off time is fine, as is signposting throughout your speech. I appreciate a clear analysis of why you should win my vote in this particular round. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll win every Contention, so, synthesize the impacts and share your logic with me in your final speech.

Background
I have been coaching speech and debate for five years, focusing primarily on speech events. However, please do not assume that means I can't follow your complicated and technical debate styles as I have been judging for years and I use more complicated arguments daily at my job (I'm an attorney).

Paradigms
I am a logic-driven thinker and want well-thought-out arguments without any gaps in your links. GIVE ME VOTERS IN YOUR REBUTTAL SPEECHES! Please give me clash above anything. Know which debate event you're in; don't be arrogant in LD or too reserved in CX.

What Makes Me Smile
Turns and Perms are two of my favorite techniques and impress me greatly. I love humor when you can give it to me, but don't sacrifice logic for jokes. One of my favorite debate rounds ended up running a Kanye 2020 position in a debate on executive orders and it thrilled me to no end.

Speed
If I can't flow it because you're going to fast, I will drop my pen or cross my arms.

K's and T's
I do not like Kritiks. I will listen to them and weigh them against other arguments on the flow, but overall am not a big fan. If you run a K, please make it 100% logical. I find most T's to be annoying and whiney. Please do not run a T unless you know you can do it really well.

FlashTime and Off-Time Roadmaps
I don't count flash time as prep time, unless it becomes ridiculous. Fine with them but don't give me too much detail or I'll start your time.

For all debate formats- Run whatever you want, but for the love of all that's good and right, please, please respond to what your opponent runs, explain your clash analysis, and give me a weighing mechanism.

AND...

LD- Not only should V/VC be defined, I'd like to know your rationale why they are superior over other V/VC you could have chosen. ALSO, have clarity on how the VC gets you to the V. And of course, contrast how your V is superior. In the event your opponent has the same V, and/or tries to claim your advantages through his/her V, clarity of comparison analysis, and reinforcement, are pretty darn important. All too often I'm seeing debaters essentially referring to an opponents position, as if that somehow provides clash. I need analysis of opponents arguments to give me a reason to flow to your side.

CX- I like on-case arguments, T is fine. Not huge fan of Theory when all you know is how to read the canned script of your Theory argument w/o understanding or being able to explain your own argument, same goes for K.

PF/Parli- Comparative Impacts! Logical pace w/o spread- breathe and just explain ideas and clash.

I am a communication judge. I like students to clearly communicate, give real-world examples and have clear clash. Structure and organization are very important and will help me flow the round. I don't like progressive LD. I don't enjoy a definition debate in any form of debate but I will vote on topicality. I want civility, persuasion, and a clash. I generally vote on stock issues in Policy and I am not a fan of K's.

Parli/POFO: Just ask me in round, I don't have much to say about either of these even though I did them the most. Basic things are: I like signposting, impact calc, plans/cps, coherent policy solutions, and mutual respect. Things I don't like: K's (never ever ever ever run a K in parli with me, if you do, it's a guaranteed loss.) Seriously, I will mark the ballot for the other team the second I hear one. theory, and PICs.

LD: Here are some basic things that I want to see/ don't want to see. But first, my philosphy as a judge. I am a policy making judge plain and simple. Take that as you will. If you think that your out of the box policy solution will work, then by all means run it. If you can convince me, past my better judgement, that nuking China will provide solvency, then you kind of deserve to win. I have been convinced by things like that, and I've run them myself. NO K's. Not now, not ever. You don't need to run a K if your opponent is being racist, I can probably tell. Just make sure to make it known how you feel, and I will weigh that. It doesn't need to be a completely formal arg. Theory is ok if you know how to do it. It's unlikely that it'll be weighed heavily on my ballot. Not a flow judge. I flow, but it isn't a huge part of my ballot. Just make sure to sign post and do some impact calc. If you do no impact calc, I'll go with whatever the most likely impact is, not the greatest magntitude. Please do some clear values and criterion, they're important.

TLDR;

I don’t like progressive debate (I won’t drop someone on this alone, but you run a severe risk with me if you choose to go off the rails.)

I do like traditional debate (take that as you will) and policy making. I’m a policy making judge and nothing would make me happier than if you accommodate. I do have a stomach for outlandish policy if you can prove to me it’s the most advantageous vote in your specific round. Want to nuke the moon? Fine, just prove to me that it is the best option in THIS round.

I DON’T LIKE K’s AND I WON’T WEIGH THEM

I do like proper decorum. Adjust to your round though if it’s an outlandish topic, I will be more inclined to accept outlandish behavior in those situations. In fact, I’d prefer it. Keep it respectful and NEVER get personal or even give the impression of a personal issue being formed. All debate happens in hypothetical spaces, keep that in mind if you start to feel strongly during a round.

If you have any questions after a round or if you want to threaten me after I drop you, email me. kanenmcreynolds@gmail.com

GENERALLY

I’ve judged a decent number of debates - around 500 or so. I was a policy (CX) debater in college. Recently I’ve focused on PoFo but have experience judging LD, BQD, and Parliamentary as well. I’m a political moderate and consider myself fairly open-minded. I try not to intervene in debates and won’t interject my own political or philosophical point of view. One possible exception is that your argument has to make some degree of sense. For example, if you argue that President Trump is a tomato and that this is a reason to vote for you, I’m unlikely to vote on that even if it’s dropped by your opponent.

I’m fine with off-time roadmaps and you can time yourself. Being organized is important to me - I want to know what argument you’re addressing. It also helps to number your arguments. I like final speeches that clearly explain and weigh key arguments. Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees - that is, don’t get so mired in detail you lose the big picture - particularly at the end. Don’t get too serious - have fun with it. Smile. Have a sense of humor. It’s possible to be funny and persuasive. Be polite. These things will help your speaker points and persuasion.

PUBLIC FORUM

Keep in mind it’s Public Forum - a style of debate designed to be presented to a random public. Anyway that’s my mindset as a PoFo judge - I pretend to be John/Jane Q Public. Therefore talk like a normal human being - not a robotic chipmunk. Be clear. Don’t just throw out high-level terms and labels - explain, particularly in the last speech. Probably the single most important way to win my ballot is to explain clearly why your points are more persuasive than your opponents’ and why those particular arguments are the key to winning the debate. To use a cheesy war analogy, it’s not about winning every “battle” (argument/contention) but winning the overall “war” and that requires direct clash on key positions and, towards the end of the debate, weighing them. I used to focus primarily on the flow. I still flow, but now I focus more on understanding your points and that is going to require an investment of your time to explain your position. Don’t assume I get it and don’t be afraid to invest what little time you have on the essential arguments. I have to actually understand them and that’s a challenging thing to do well given the time constraints.

POLICY/LD

Please don’t go too fast. I understand that going faster lets you introduce more arguments, but I don’t want to vote for a team simply because they’ve introduced more arguments than their opponent can sanely answer. In fact, I personally feel speed is currently a flaw in LD and Policy and partly explains the decline in the number of teams participating in Policy debate and rise of a PoFo. Quality over quantity. I’m pretty good at flowing but I won’t flow what you don’t clearly articulate, or vote for a position I don’t understand, even if it’s technically extended on my flow. Understanding is key and it’s a heck of a lot more challenging for me to understand complex theory delivered at warp speed. Finally, I’m not a big fan of Kritiks. I prefer that we debate what the voters chose for us to debate. Additionally, I don’t think it’s realistic to mentally process the exceedingly intellectual content of most Kritiks given 1) the speed at which they are delivered and 2) the time constraints in the debate. My opinion is that there’s a place for that sort of deep thinking/exploration of fundamental assumptions and it’s an awesome form of debate called BQD.

PARLI

First, choose the topic carefully, eliminating topics obviously slanted towards your opponent. In my experience, Parli topics are often inadvertently slanted towards one side. It’s not easy generating topics perfectly weighted for Pro and Con. Worry less about your knowledge of the topic. Worry more about eliminating slanted topics. I won’t intervene but why make things hard on yourself by choosing a steeper mountain to climb?

Give me more than just conclusions - explain logically how you arrive at those conclusions. I like clear analysis. Stay organized as far as what arguments you’re addressing so I can flow the debate well. In your last speech please don’t get overly detailed- the line-by-line debate is more important in constructives. In your last speech slow things down and focus on the major points. Too many teams get lost in too many details in their final speech. Weigh the round and don’t waste time on arguments that don’t matter. Recognizing what is most important and focusing on that in sufficient depth is very important to me. Don’t go too fast - especially in your last speech. I’m a former policy/CX debater but I’ve fallen out of love with speed. Talk normal person conversation level speed or just slightly faster. Imagine what speed a grandparent would expect and if this imaginary grandparent would likely ask “why are those crazy youngsters talking so fast?” then please slow down. I call it the “Annoyed Grandparent” paradigm. 👴🏻 I think the trend is that speed is falling out of favor and I’m a fan.

You may time yourselves and I’m fine with off-time roadmaps. I’m not aware of any other particular pet-peeves.

I have been debating and doing IE's as a competitor and judge since the 1970's with a long break in the 90's and 2000's while working in the private sector. I have been coaching a team that does primarily Oregon-style parli and Public Forum debate, but I did NDT and CEDA as a college competitor and understand all formats.

I judge as a policy maker looking for justification to adopt the resolution, and will accept well-justified arguments on both substance (the issues of the resolution) and procedure (framework, theory). In policy rounds I have a bias against affirmative K's, because I believe the Aff prima facie burden requires that I be given a reason to adopt the resolution by the end of the first Aff constructive in order to give the Aff the ballot. Arguments founded in social justice approaches are fine as long as they lead to a justification for adopting the resolution and changing the status quo.

I can handle speed but remember I'm not seeing your documentation--a warrant read 600 words a minute at the pitch of a piece of lawn equipment might as well not be read from the judge's seat. You flash each other, but not me, so make sure I understand why your evidence supports your argument. I won't debate for you, and I don't flow cross-ex/crossfire. If you want me to consider an argument, introduce it during one of your speeches. In formats other than policy, particularly in Public Forum, I expect a slower rate and more emphasis on persuasion with your argumentation as befits the purpose of those other formats. In LD, I expect arguments to be grounded in values, not "imitation policy."

I will automatically drop any debater who engages in ad hominem attacks--arguments may be claimed to have, for example, racist impacts, but if you call your opponents "racists," you lose--we have too much of that in the contemporary world now, and we are trying to teach you better approaches to argument and critical thinking.

Above all else, I like good argumentation, clash, and respectful conduct. No personal attacks, no snark. Humor welcome. Let's have some fun.

First things first, I am a parent judge. That does not, however, mean that I am an incompetent judge, but it will mean that you will want to avoid cutting corners with clarity and explanation if you want your points to hit home with me. I have two years of judging experience in debate, and have judged LD, PF, and Congress, so I am familiar with the characteristics of these different events. I always flow the round, however I am not an expert at flowing, especially speed, so at the end of the day the ballot will go to the team who truly convinced me, not the one with the most points on the flow. That being said, the flow is the main tool I use to guide my decision, especially in tight rounds.

More specifics:

1. Courtesy: I expect a respectful, professional* debate. I have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of bullying or discriminatory behavior (ex: purposefully misgendering an opponent, etc.) that makes the debate space unsafe for it's participants.

*I won't drop debaters based on rudeness if they are running something performative, or based on dress. I am referring to the manner in which you interact with your opponent and your judge.

2. Progressive Arguments: As I said before, I am a parent judge. I am open-minded to any strategy or type of argument you want to run, but I most likely will not be familiar with more progressive strategies. If you are running progressive arguments or strategies, be sure to explain what the intent of the argument is and why I should vote for it. I am smart enough to understand these strategies if you take the brief time to introduce me to it. I understand topical Ks, Plans and Counterplans, and theory. If you're running anything beyond that, you may want to help me understand what it is your doing and it's purpose.

3. Speed: I can't flow speed, however I understand that at some tournaments it is the norm. If you are going to spread, I need to be able to view your case in order to flow it, whether that be done through speech drop or an email chain etc. Anything that I can't read, nor can I understand and keep up with won't be flowed, most likely won't be processed, and will essentially go to waste when it is time for me to decide who has won.

4. Theory: I won't weigh frivolous theory. This means if I don't believe that the theory argument is addressing something within the debate that seriously harms the nature of the debate space, it is not going to help you in a round that I am judging. To me, theory should be reserved for instances in which A) a debater is way out of line in their conduct, or B) standards of fairness come into questions (topicality, switch-side debate, time skew). Voting on theory for me is rare, the harm would have to be something big, but if you convince me that something that is happening is bad for debate and that my ballot should not encourage that behavior I will weigh your theory argument.

Background
I was a high school and college policy debater in the 1980's. I have taught policy debate for 21 years both in California and Oregon. I have coached several policy teams to nationals. I love this form of debate.
Paradigm
I am a real world policy maker judge, who is somewhat traditional. I look to see who advocates for most viable and beneficial policy. I am a recovering stock issues judge.
What Makes Me Smile
I like to see an organized flow, with lots of analysis connecting evidence to claims. I also like to see a fun spirited debate, where debaters are polite to one another and are in this activity to learn, not just to win.
Speed
I can flow a fast debate, but prefer communication over speed. I find that most policy debaters who spew, can't really handle the speed they are attempting and therefore lose their judge and opponents, ultimately rendering this communication event moot. However, if you must race through your arguments, at least be slow and clear on the tags. 
K's
I do not like Kritiks. I will listen to them and weigh them against other arguments on the flow, but overall am not a big fan. If you run a K, make sure to fully explain your philosophical position and don't run positions that will bite your K. 
T
I will vote on T if not used as a time suck. "If you run it, go for it, don't kick out of 4 T's in your last rebuttal."
Tag Team CX
I don't mind tag team cx; however, I award speaker points based on your ability to ask and answer questions, so if one partner is "tooling" another, then one of you will suffer point wise. I like to see that both partners are knowledgable about the topic and debate theory and get disgruntled when one partner will not allow the other partner a chance to answer any questions.
Flex Prep
What? Really? No!
Flashtime
I don't count flash time as prep time, unless it becomes ridiculous.

Hello folks,

I am a former head coach--and current assistant coach--of West Linn High School's Speech and Debate team.

In my mind, debate is fundamentally a way for you (both teams) and I to engage substantively with a complex topic. I like intellectual rigor and good-faith clash with your opponents. I am really turned off by the debate being turned into a game, rather than a debate, so take that as you will.

In terms of speed, you can go at a brisk conversational speed, but if your speed interferes with my ability to understand you (or if you are not particularly articulate), then I will stop flowing.

Background: I teach AP Lang and Comp. I've been an English teacher for 15 years. I have a PhD in Educational Studies - Curriculum Theory. I am comfortable with critical theory and welcome its appropriate/creative use in debate.