As an experienced edebater who splecialized in Public Forum, I like evaluating a round based on key arguments, stock issues and impacts. Contentions should be clear, concise, and supported by evidence when applicable. Speeches should be organized and coherent. Courtesy is also key, which includes the avoidance of yelling or spreading. Overall, I like to see speakers who know what they're doing, are comfortable, and having fun. 

Yo whaddup I'm Drew. I'm currently a political science major at UCLA and a member of their Mock Trial team but I debated for West Ranch High School for 4 years. I've got experience in I.E.'s and experience in LD and Parli both at a technical and at a traditional level. I went to Parli TOC and have qualed for CHSSA state champs in both Parli and Impromptu. If you have questions about things not listed here email me at drewashlock2002@gmail.com for any further questions. Id be happy to answer.

TL:DR: If you both want a lay round, cool I'll evaluate like a lay round. But if either of you want to go tech, im game. Completely tech over truth. I'll vote on anything. Like anything as long as it isn't blatantly racist, homophobic, or sexist. For LD just send your speech docs to me cause although im game for spreading ive got a pretty bad ear for it.

Speed: Speed is fine in both parli and LD for me. Obviously LD speed is significantly faster cause its carded evidence you are reading from so Id very much appreciate it if you sent me the speech doc. For the most part though you can zoom through evidence just slow down on taglines and say your plan text and interps twice. Same goes for parli. That being said, if your opponent is ultra trad and can't keep up make sure to take ultra POIs for parli and for LD make sure to send them the speech docs and be kind in CX. If I need you to clear up, I will yell clear.

Theory: Im game for pretty much everything on Theory. JUST PLEASE FOR PARLI READ YOUR INTERP TWICE. PLEASE. Often times I flow parli rounds and get everything but the interp because the kid was incoherently spreading through the first part. Make sure to link your standards down to whatever voters you are running though. If you are saying fairness comes first, thats rad, just tell me how whatever your standard is that they are violating specifically links to fairness. On the issue of voters, I default competing interps and no RVI but that is easily subject to change depending on how the round goes. If for some reason I do end up being forced to vote on reasonability, Im very receptive to disclosure good, Nebel, PICS bad, and Condo bad. I also default weighing theory before everything. If your opponent is running theory, and doesn't explicitly state that their shells are a priori, dont expect to auto win on them by saying weigh theory against case in the next speech. That being said, if you say weigh theory against case, and they don't respond, then I'll do as you say.

Kritiks: Like I said, open to anything. Aff or Neg I dont really care tbh. I will tell you this though: I have never been a huge K debater myself. That means im not ultra familiar with the lit. Basic stuff like Cap, Security, Neolib I know but if you are running something obscure you better explain it well. Also parli kids i know you dont have to cite evidence but at least reference who founded the ideology. YOU ARE NOT DELUZE DONT ACT LIKE YOU ARE. Other than that just read your alt text twice and be clear on alt solvency and internal links. Also I weigh theory before K unless told otherwise but you probs got that from the theory section.

CP: Cp's are a solid neg strat in some good ole larp debate. Just pls pls pls make sure it is competitive. I hate when a non competitive CP gets run cause then 99% of the time the round just comes down to whether or not I buy the perm. Even if it is a PIC or a delay CP or agent CP just do something that means the Aff doesn't have access. That being said, if Im voting reasonability I will most likely drop those CPs listed above. Just make sure to read some good ole CP text and explicitly outline how it doesn't link into your DA's, how it solves for the AC, and its own net benefits.

DA's and Advantages: Yeah they are cool. Im always down for some good ole Larping. Just give me uniqueness impact solvency with some links in between for advantages and squo link impact for DA and we have ourselves a good time.

Impact Calc: Make sure to do this in the final speech, especially if both sides have offense left. Weigh mainly on magnitude, scope, timeframe and reversibility. If one of your impacts is heavy on any of those, then tell me why that is the most important component of calculation. Otherwise I default magnitude.

Rebuttals: Turns are always optimal. That being said they are hard to do in certain cases. The more you can make offensive rebuttals the better.

Spikes, Truth Testing, Tricks in general: YEET. I love running these, and would love to hear them. That being said they are very susceptible to theory and Kritiks so watch out my dudes.

Speaks: I don't really give speaker points off of how well you spoke. And I also don't really give below 27 speaker points unless you are either repugnant in round or just a debater who needs to work on a lot. That being said, I also dont give 30 speaks unless you either blow me out of the water with how incredible your skills are, have built an extremely intricate and beautiful case, make me laugh in round, or bring me a donut.

LD specifics: I don't flow CX. Just use it as a time to clarify stuff for you and your opponent. Also, be sure to collapse to something. Pls don't try to go for everything on the flow in the 2AR cause then it turns into a big ugly mess. Also if you want to get into a "whose source is more valid debate" pls don't because its dumb but if you for some reason YOU HAVE TO then give me solid reasons why to prefer your source.

Parli specifics: I have no issue with tag teaming. Just make sure if it is your speech that you say whatever your partner tells you to say. Also be courteous and take at least 1-2 POIS per speech. Use POO's wisely. I will protect the flow for the most part but if I miss something you need to be there to catch it.

Other than that, have fun guys. Debate is a phenomenal game to play and an even better community to be a part of.

I debated in high school LD and PF and was a college Parli debater, so I have a good amount of experience. I was a quarter finalist in CA for LD and a TCFL State Qualifier in LD (if that matters).

LD is first and foremost a value debate. Be sure to keep that in mind.

- Be cordial to each other. There is no reason to be rude to your fellow competitors. For zoom competitors, that means no giggling or whispering when your mics are off. Treat it just like a normal round.

- Time yourselves and each other, please.

- I am fine with speed, but I do not like spreading. I can keep up but I think that it's poor practice and your speaks will be reduced.

- Sign posting is extremely important to me. Always tell me what contention you are talking about or responding to.

- It’s extremely important that you show a good understanding of the topic and you are not simply throwing out arguments that you think fit and reiterating them.

- While I am more of a traditional judge, I am open to progressive debate (K, T, Theory, ect.) but give substantial explanation.

- I love clash. Be sure to actually respond to your opponents arguments rather than just say they don't matter.

- Apologies for any weird faces, I am processing and writing notes!

For speech competitors:

- Do your thing, I have no strong preferences!

Yes I want to be on the email chain mattconraddebate@gmail.com. Pronouns are he/him.

My judging philosophy should ultimately be considered a statement of biases, any of which can be overcome by good debating. The round is yours.

I’m a USC debate alum and have had kids in policy finals of the TOC, a number of nationally ranked LDers, and state champions in LD, Original Oratory, and Original Prose & Poetry while judging about a dozen California state championship final rounds across a variety of events and the Informative final at NIETOC. Outside of speech and debate, I write in Hollywood and have worked on the business side of show business, which is a nice way of saying that I care more about concrete impacts than I do about esoteric notions of “reframing our discourse.” No matter what you’re arguing, tell me what it is and why it matters in terms of dollars and lives.

Politically, I’m a moderate Clinton Democrat and try to be tabula rasa but I don’t really believe that such a thing is possible.

Updated 3/25/22

TLDR; I believe that true tab judges don't exist, but I will listen to any argument and evaluate it within the context of the round. I debated policy and public forum in high school and did NPDA in college.

I competed in debate throughout middle school, high school, and college for a combined total of 8 years of competitive experience. I graduated from a small high school program where I primarily competed in policy and national circuit PF, including the TOC. In college, I competed in NPDA at California Lutheran University. I have done every style of debate at some point, so I am familiar with and ready to listen to anything. For my first year and a half of debate, I was relatively traditional (think politics DA every round), but I became increasingly progressive as my career progressed (i.e. I ran critical race theory on the PF circuit).

Kritiks: I'm familiar with the literature base of most and can comprehend anything. Structure is very important to me here because it is very easy to get bogged down in a poorly structured K debate. If you're reading something kritikal, please explain your K whether I know it or not. If you can't explain your K, I'm probably not going to be super compelled by it. I am a firm believer that debate should be accessible to everyone, which means that your poorly articulated BwO arguments will lose to me every time (especially if you can't answer questions about it). All that being said, I was the kid that read genealogical interrogations in PF, so I will be happy with just about anything.

CPs: AFF has to read a perm. It takes less time to say "perm: do both" than it will take your opponent to respond no matter their WPM. CPs should have solvency to be compelling.

Theory: I love a good theory debate, but make sure you have all parts of a shell and give me reasons why the T matters. If you're answering theory, I prefer line by line down the shell than a blanket response. I don't think RVIs are the best strategy against theory, but I am willing to listen to and vote on them if the teams feel it is necessary.

DAs: Before reading the DA you are considering, ask yourself "does this make sense?" If the answer is no, try again. As long as you can articulate uniqueness, links, internals, and impacts, the DA should make sense. I have heard and voted on some out there DAs, but my threshold for explanation remains high here.

Speaker Points: I think they are useless and generally exclusionary, but I will assign them as the tournament requires. 30 speaks theory takes 10 seconds... do with that what you will.

Everything else: Give me solid impacts and tell me why you're winning. Good impact calc is the fastest path to my ballot. I am fine with any speed and can flow whatever. I recognize that CX is binding, but I don't flow it, so say it in a speech if you want it on my flow.

My general philosophy is that debate should be accessible and equitable. That means a couple of things that could help or hurt you. For one, I am receptive to arguments with an impact in the debate space. It also means I am sensitive to things like gendered language, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. I believe that you should not run an argument that you are not passionate about, and likewise that if you are passionate about something that you should run it no matter how strong your coach thinks it is.

If you have questions, please ask in round!

If I judged you and you have more questions for me that you didn't get to ask in round, email me at kdhenin@callutheran.edu. I will do my best to get back to you before your next tournament with anything that might help you, and I am happy to send you my flows if you think they will be helpful to you.

I am a parent judge and usually a blank slate. I would prefer that debaters follow through with their arguments, especially emphasizing the impacts of their arguments. I am not a fan of spreading.

Please send me your case at kaijund@yahoo.com if you like.

I look forward to listening to a good debate.

Good luck!

Flowy debate judge. Values concise and orderly substantive clash (on warrants, links, and impacts), good time management, consistent strategy, effective use of cross ex, and signposting. Mostly tabula rasa but dings for gross fantasy and adds points for good argumentative use of accurate knowledge of real world. No speaks given for extensive use of debate jargon. Spreading fine as long as the diction is crystalline.

I am a former high school LD, PuFo, and Parli debater, I also did Parli in college and am a member of Pi Kappa Delta. I have a BA Degree in Sociology with minors in History, Political Science, and Economics. I am the NFA-LD(1 vs 1 Policy) debate coach at Simpson College and the Assistant Director of Speech and Debate at Kent Denver School. I also have a Masters Degree.

If you want to read a nicer version of my paradigm please look up my good friend David Sylva's page it is basically mine written much nicer =)

I have been involved in speech and debate for 10 years on and off, and I am a mix of Tabula Rasa and Game judging. I am a flow heavy judge, so reefer back to the flow. Make my job as easy as possible tell me what's happening.

Please put me on the email chain: scgdebate@aol.com.. or: Just create a speechdrop (https://speechdrop.net/)

Spreading- Don't care, however if your opponent or another judge does not want spreading then DO NOT spread. But, read as fast or as slow as you want. I can hear and understand around 350-450 wpm, it honestly depends on my mood and attention that day, PLEASE ASK BEFORE ROUND STARTS!!

Signposting- VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Make my job as easy as possible tell me where you're at on the flow and where you're going, you have 15-30 sec for an off-time roadmap USE IT!!!

K's- Make sure you run them correctly, appropriately, and make sure they apply (Links Matter). You can K a K. Honestly it's your round just run it. I am familiar with a lot of K literature but I need and want you to explain it to me.

Topicality's- I am unsure about topicality still. I will vote on proven abuse... But I will vote on potential abuse sometimes.. Honestly just convince me your are correct.

Theory- Love it, I coached a theory hack at Simpson and I find theory very very fun =). Again just convince me you are correct.

Framework Debate- Love it, as a former LDer.

Definitions Debate- Love it, once again as a former LDer

Voting issues- Very important, TELL ME WHY YOU WIN!!!!!!!!!

Like I said I am TOTALLY open to anything, 100% Tabula Rasa and Game, whatever I have on my flow is what I use to decide who wins. Sometimes I make weird facial expressions just ignore them, I might be thinking about how and why I'm writing the way I am or thinking about my pen's smooth writing, or anything weird so just ignore my face lol.

Side note: the most important part of this activity is the educational value YOU'RE getting out of this. NO MEME cases, and nothing stupid, I am on Discord and Reddit DAILY so I do know what's going on in the community. Stock issues are VERY important you should know them and refer back to them whenever possible. IF you can prove your opponents are de-valuing the education of the debate that's a big plus(On that note it is important to PROVE that they are de-valuing the education of the debate. DO NOT just tell me they are you MUST PROVE IT). I can't stress this enough DON'T make me do work for you, yes I know all about Kant and Marx and Butler and all the big-wig philosophers and I know how they link to everything but YOU must tell me explicitly your links AND your impacts, they are literally the most important thing in round don't forget to do some Impact Calc/weighing in round. Have fun though everyone, this is an amazing and rewarding activity and do your best. =)

TLDR;

I like K’s; i believe they have an important place in debate when done right. Don’t be mean. You do you honestly. Read anything and warrant it well, I’ll probably vote for it.

About Me

pronouns: she/her

I am a junior at Stanford.

put me on the email chain: torihoge@stanford.edu

events i have competed in from most frequently to least: policy, ld, parli, pofo, congress, impromptu (at heart, i am a policy kid)

I coach nationally all levels of policy, LD, and public forum. Do with that what you will.

PET PEEVES:

1. is everybody ready. Say is anyone not ready and begin 2. my timer starts now. Just hit start 3. (for online debate) please turn your camera on when you are speaking 4. don't decide your roadmap while you are talking. at least sound certain of what order you are going in

IMPORTANT READ:

• If there is anything I can do to accommodate your needs, please do not hesitate to let me know.
• Do not read a K just because you saw I like k’s. Do not use other’s oppression for a ballot. This is not okay. You must be well versed in the literature and have a genuine understanding and care for the argument you read, or don’t bother. I don’t like performative activism or reading things just for a ballot. I would rather do a lot of things than watch a bad k debate. If k’s are your thing and you are knowledgeable, then go for it, it’s my favorite kind of debate.
• Also include trigger warnings for graphic depictions of racial/settler/ableist/anti-queer/gender-based violence and anything to do with sexual assault or suicide.
• My philosophy: if you can explain a very complex topic in simple enough words to explain to a grandparent, then you are a very good debater
• If you do anything of the -ists or -ics (think racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic, etc.) you will receive an L-25
• email me before or after if you wanna talk about literally anything or if you have any questions about my paradigm or about the round

I’m a great judge for you if:

• you like k debate or read mostly critical arguments
• you like technical, high speed debate
• you have fun, quirky arguments that demonstrate a lot of personality
• you are amazing at T
• you have a well-researched stock case

K’s

I was a k debater in high school. This is not an invitation to read any k ever. I do not know or understand the premise of every single k that exists. For reference k’s I have debated are neolib/cap, fem ir, queer ir, security, imperialism, setcol, and speaking for others. At least, that is what I can remember off the top of my head. Even if you are reading a k that I have read, explain it and warrant it as if I have no idea what is going on. K’s need some alt or a very good explanation of why defense is enough and why you don’t need one. K’s need a specific link otherwise they don’t work. What you’re talking about may be important, but if it does not link, then it is not part of the conversation.

Nontopical/K-affs

I don’t really care if they are in the direction of the topic or not. I think that it is stupid that some judges are like at least run a K in the direction of the affirmative, like no that’s quite literally not the point of k-affs. Also, I read my fair share of k-affs in high school primarily fem killjoy and open borders. I am ok with k-affs, but again do not just read them for a ballot, and do them right.

Topicality (not theory)

I like (and can even love) topicality debates when they are done right. However, if T is not your forte, DO NOT RUN IT IN FRONT OF ME. I despise bad T debates.

Theory (distinct from topicality)

Sometimes can be justified, but it has never been a voting issue for me. Run it if you want, but it better be warranted.

CPs

I think they’re great for stock debate. I think they help generate offense. However, I need a very clear explanation of why the perm cannot work, or else I am prompted to vote on the perm. I default to the perm if the explanation does not make sense, if I do not follow, or if it is contradictory. Perm work here is very important for me. Also this should be obvious but I’m putting it in because I see it wayyyyy too many times. YOUR DA SHOULD NOT LINK TO THE CP. that’s the point of a cp.

DAs

Also good for stock debate. Warrant well. Connect to a terminal impact. I think that they need some sort of CP or K with them.

CHSSA/Lay debate

• I really don’t care what the “rules” are or whatever the handbook says. If your only strategy is to complain that they are cheating or aren’t following the rules, then get better at debate: learn how to debate substance.
• Don’t try any mind tricks. I am flowing. I know when your opponent dropped something or when they did not. Do not claim they dropped something when they did not.

I was very heavily influenced by Andrea Chow. Andrea is the goat and was also my partner in high school. Check out her paradigm for more context as I generally agree with all of her philosophies.

My preferences are:

- State your contentions clearly

- Speak clearly and slowly, don't spread. You will know you are speaking too quickly if I drop my pen. I cannot follow you if you speak too quickly so pay attention to this preference.

- Be polite, if you are rude and disrespectful to your opponent or to me, you will lose the round.

-Track your own time and your opponent should track their time.

-I like sign-posting

-I like quick off time road maps

I judge based on the flow. Solid clash and preponderance of evidence is what really does It for me. Dropped arguments and unaddressed points are usually the deciding factors of my rounds but they need to be pointed out to be considered. A priori arguments and Kritiks usually don't work in PoFo so please don't stray from the topic just to derail the conversation. Spreading is frowned upon, but speak at whatever pace you want. If I cannot understand you I will let you know.  

1) I like watching debates that would inspire an average student who doesn't do debate to join the activity, or an average parent/guardian judge to urge their student to join.

2) Everybody in the round should be able to watch back a recording of the round and be able to understand what was going on. In other words, don't intentionally run arguments that your opponents won't understand.

3) While developing the skills to win the game on the circuit is certainly laudable--because of debate, I now listen to everything on x2 speed--I don't enjoy watching most circuit debates. I prefer debaters to hover around 200-250 words per minute. Choose quality arguments instead of gish galloping around the flow, and collapse on your one or two best pieces of offense. Weigh those key arguments against your opponent's, taking them at their highest ground.

3) Don't make claims that your evidence doesn't support. Powertagging is bad scholarship. If I call for a piece of evidence and see that it is powertagged, I will intervene.

4) I am more likely to intervene in a theory-level debate than a case-level debate. If you tell me that your opponents' practices are making the activity worse, I will consider their practices in the context of what I know about the activity. I am open to my mind being changed on these issues; my knowledge of the activity is limited. However, I am biased against evaluating what I see as frivolous theory arguments or tricks.

5) Tell me where I should be flowing at all times. If you don't tell me, I may mess up.

6) I don't find rudeness to be a persuasive rhetorical tool. You can be an incredibly effective debater and advocate while focusing on your opponent's arguments, not their personal deficiencies.

7) It's helpful to acknowledge where your opponents may be winning. Give me a permission structure to believe some of their arguments but still vote for you. "Even if..." "The tiebreaker is..."

Hi! I'm Alex Martin, a former La Reina High School LD debater based in Denver, CO. I'm currently in my junior year of University.

I competed for 5 years and attended local and national tournaments. I also did some college debate in my freshman year of college.

I'm experienced in flowing both slow and fast rounds. Progressive debate is okay as long as both competitors are comfortable with fast speeches and are willing to share cases.

I prefer evidence/case sharing to occur in the NSDA campus file share but email is okay too as long as you ask. My email is Alex.Martin@du.edu

Please be respectful. Bigoted behavior will not be tolerated. I'm pretty fair with speaker points as long as you put in your best effort.

Feel free to ask about more specifics during the round.

Tournaments: I usually reserve my weekends for debate related gigs/activities. If you are looking for hires, definitely consider me.

email chain pls: emma.martin2021@lrregents.com

she/her pronouns

la reina '21, carnegie mellon english and philosophy '25

previously a varsity CX debater on the nat. circuit (La Reina HM), primarily a k debater. familiar with a decent amount of k lit, ones im especially well versed on would be neolib/cap, security, and fem/queer ir. did varsity nat. circuit LD too. with that being said, if you're going to run some obscure or intricate K and assume i just know the lit so you can wormhole your way out of actually creating clash and debating the plan, you probably will not fair very well :/. you're always gonna have a better shot running a K you truly understand, and therefore can adequately explain to others.

if u can run a good t debate and absolutely smash a 2nr that's just t, i'll vote on that.

love k affs; run them all the time. i wanna know why your model of debate is good, not just why the other team's is bad.

in non-lay rounds, i typically don't consider myself a policy maker in the round unless you explicitly tell me to be

all speed is fine, put me on the chain though

i appreciate a well-split block, doing that in an effective way will help ur speaks as well as the debate obvs.

im gonna be real i've run maybe 2 policy negs in my whole life so im probably not incredibly well-versed on your 8 off case positions. it's not my area of expertise, so be clear, go in the order you say ur gonna go in, and don't assume i know your authors or all politics updates

dont be a jerk. ill literally just drop u and go on twitter for the rest of the round if ur racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.

tech>truth

tabula rasa

no cap K

I default mag>prob>timeframe but idk

weigh or lose the round your choice

no 30 speaks theory

Lincoln Douglas Debate

General:

- Don't be rude.

- Do not attack the opponent.

- Respect opponents Cross-examination time.

- Be clear.

- Tech > Truth

- Speaking points 27.5-28.5 on average.

Framework:

Framework debate is the most important part of LD for me. I want a clear PV and VC. When it comes to Framework debate, clash the VC since most PV's advocate for the same goal. Link case back to the Framework.

Contention Level:

I'm looking for clear signposting, clear links between warrant and impact, and impact weighing. It makes the round more clear.

End:

End with voters. Summarize the round to me:

Tell me what you did well. Tell me what the opponent didn't do well. Tell me why it matters.

Postrounding:

- Feel free to ask questions after RFD.

- It's ok to not agree to the decision that judges have made. This does not mean you have the right to yell at your judge or other competitors.

- Feel free to email me.

Speed:

- If both debaters are ok with spreading. Feel free. 

A. I hate spreading.

A Case against Spreading in LD

B. I appreciate good turns.

What Exactly Is a Good Turn?

C. I judge you on 5 things.

5 Keys to Success

I was a national HS circuit debater in the 1980s (policy) and did a little coaching at the college level in policy as well. As a parent volunteer the last couple years, I’ve judged most events and genuinely enjoy these rounds . . . so have fun when you’re debating in front of me!  

A few specifics/preferences:  

*    I start out with Tabula Rosa paradigm unless/until I’m persuaded to bring a different model to the debate. I’m open to all sorts of arguments, just make sure that you explain to me why something should be a voter — it’s not enough to win an arcane argument, it needs to make sense to me why it should win you the ballot.  

*    In spite of the above, I’m pre-disposed to treat the “stock issues” (especially Topicality) with reverence.  

*    I’m all about the flow. It’s not only the road map that I use to keep my brain organized throughout the debate, it’s also my record of the debate for post-round decision making. You’ll make things a lot easier on me (and therefore yourself) if you sign-post clearly before your constructives/rebuttals and make sure I stay on the same page with you during each speech.  

*    I’m comfortable with speed and will flow whatever I can hear. But one word of caution: I’m more impressed by smart arguments than I am by quantity of arguments.  

*    I’m old school when it comes to speaker points (let’s just say that 30s were a lot more rare in my day) but I’ll work hard to award them as close as I can to the current points scale. Fastest way to get dinged by me, though, is to be a jerk to other competitors — no matter how good you are. No excuse for rudeness.  

*    I like to call for evidence after rounds, from obscure definitions of terms in the resolution to cards buried in the middle of contentions. Don’t read anything into the stuff I ask to see, sometimes it’s crucial to my RFD and other times I’m just curious about a source citation.  

Last thing to understand about my judging philosophy: I was away from debate for many years, so some of the progressive arguments (e.g., Kritiks) are new to me. I’m open to them, but just be forewarned that you’ll need to explain the theory of your argument and how I should weigh it in the round.  

Competitive debate is awesome and will help you in every aspect of your academics, but it also teaches you skills that will be a competitive advantage for you in your professional careers. Have fun!

cwilson@rialtousd.org

I am currently the head coach for Carter High School. Our team excels in speech events, so that is where most of my expertise is, but I also have extensive experience in coaching Public Forum, Congress, and Lincoln Douglas.

My philosophy on debate is fairly simple: I want a round that is educational. I try not to limit what debaters will try in a round. Just do it well, and you can win my vote. Make sure you understand what you are trying to do. If you are being slaughtered in cross examination because someone else wrote your case and you don’t understand it, you probably aren’t winning the round.

Just because I coach debate, don’t assume I know all of your terminology you learned in camp this summer; it’s definitely worth your time to make sure you explain your terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. Keep me focused on your tactics and argument and not trying to figure out your fancy debate vocabulary.

The affirmative wins by upholding the resolution. The negative wins by proving the resolution to be untrue in a general sense, or by attacking the affirmative's arguments point by point. I generally look to the value or framework first, then to contentions.

A good cross examination really impresses me. I tend to award high speaks to great cross examinations, cross examination responses may be part of my flow.

I am operating under the idea that you have done a lot of research to write your cases. I haven’t done as much topic research. Please educate me on your topic, and don’t leave blanks for me to assume things. I won’t.

I am old-school when it comes to LD. I don’t expect, nor do I respond well to, spreading. As a coach, I don’t see the real-world value in talking as fast you can. If your strategy is to be incoherent so your opponent drops contentions, know that I will absolutely drop contentions as well. No, I will not tell you if you're going too fast. If I didn't understand an argument I can't vote on it. It doesn't matter if my inability to understand you is because you are going too fast or just making incoherent arguments at a leisurely pace. It is never my responsibility to tell you during the round that I can't understand your arguments.

In LD debate I prefer a more traditional debate round with a Value + Value Criterion/Standard that center around philosophical discussions of competing moral imperatives. I understand the trend now is for LD Debaters to advocate plans, but I am convinced this is not good for the activity. There's already a debate format that exclusively deals with plan debate. LD is not one-person policy debate.

I don’t typically enjoy Theory debates. I prefer rounds to be centered on substance, but there is a place for theory. In rare cases I would vote for a well-reasoned theory or abuse argument. Fairness is a voting issue.

I generally dislike kritiks in LD. A committee of very smart people spent a lot of time and energy writing the resolution. You should debate the resolution.

Finish with clear, concise voting issues. Talk me through the flow. Tell me why you win.

Lastly, don’t be rude to your opponent. You are better than that. But debate is intellectual/verbal combat. Go for the kill, but be nice about it. I won’t respond well to any rude, disrespectful behavior, or bad language. Keep me interested, though. I want to be entertained and I often respond well to tasteful sarcasm.

I have 6+ years of experience judging at many local tournaments, CHSSA and NSDA Nationals. Have judged all events (congress, all forms of debate, all forms of IE). I value both content and style. Do not particularly appreciate spreading.

Do not like speeding or spreading unless debater is clear and concise with enunciating their words and there is evidence to support all point. I expect the value to support the case and carry throughout as this is a values debate. I do appreciate off time road maps and sign posting though they of course do not weigh in any decision and only stand to assist in helping keep up with the case.