Debated 4 years in HS (grad 2015) and I've judged occasionally since then but no rounds this season. I'm a policy maker, please don't read any critical stuff (if you HAVE to then do some extra work explaining in the overview and underview). I like rounds that have lots of actual clash on the arguments, so engage with what the other team says rather than just repeating your arguments. I am not super in practice flowing so you probably want to slow down a bit. I love good clash on T, but slow it down a bit so I can flow it. Ask questions before the round if you want to know more.

Baine Dikeman

Eisenhower High School

Head Coach

Previously Mulvane High School

Assistant Coach

Debating experience

3 Years High School Policy

2 Years HS Lincoln-Douglas

1 Year HS PFD

I typically fall within the tabula rasa archetype with some caveats.

Flash Time/Email Chain Time should be OFF Time

I expect every debater to keep track of everyone’s prep time.

I would prefer to be included in all email chains and sharing of evidence to ensure best practices.

I will typically take speaker points away for jumping around on the flow haphazardly, or disrespect in CX or in speeches. There’s a fine line between aggressive and rude.

I can handle all speeds, but I would like you to slow down on tags and cites a bit.

I will not interrupt you during a debate round. However, if you are unclear, I may miss something on the flow. Make sure you annunciate tags and cites well.

I really don't like new Off Case in the 2NC. So, unless AFF does something pretty scummy in the 2AC, please don't run new in the 2.

On T: This is a valid strategy for the negative. I treat it with equal voting power as a DA or CP.

On CPs: CPs can be conditional or unconditional.

On DAs: Generic DAs are fine, but I do tend to vote on DAs with strong, specific links.

On the K: I will only vote on a K if it is unconditional. The K debate is the one argument that I do not believe should be gamified. If you run a K or K AFF, believe in it. This means that Ks NEED specific links. NO GENERIC K’s.

Ask me any questions for clarification.

Debated for 4 years at Washburn Rural High School from 2013-2017.

I mainly competed in the DCI circuit here in Kansas with a couple of limited out of state experiences my senior year. I only got seriously involved in debate as a senior but debated at a relatively high level during that season. Since then I have pretty much only judged once a year at WaRu so it might take me a second to adjust to your speed. I would suggest slowing down a bit for tags and when you're extending your evidence in the block if you want me to catch your warrants.

Topicality: I evaluate this as a question of competing interpretations but I am not super familiar with topic definitions or resolutional limits since I don't coach or judge a ton. A hyper technical T argument is probably not your best argumentative choice since I don't know the literature that well.

CP/DA: This is probably the strategy that I am the most comfortable with, although process counterplans are an uphill battle in many situations. I will default to rejecting the argument and not the team.

Case: Underutilized part of the debate. Neg teams can easily win my ballot by thoroughly debating the case and also winning a risk of a disadvantage.

K: Not very familiar with the literature, especially on the topic since I do not coach. I am more familiar with your run of the mill kritiks than postmodernist nonsense. I will evaluate your kritik if you read it, but specific links would be helpful and I might not just recognize your K trick intrinsically, which means you will need to explain it if you want a chance at me voting for it. Probably not the 2NR I would suggest in front of me.

Please don't be rude to each other or otherwise make my time judging unenjoyable. I judge every year because I like it, not because I am being paid or otherwise obligated to do so, so please do your best to make me enjoy coming back and evaluating debates.

Put me on the email chain: sandwiches95@gmail.com (yes I know).

Coach and former debater at Wichita State. I debated at Kapaun Mt. Carmel (2018) in high school.

They/Them

This will be my first year judging college. When I debated I was pretty much exclusively reading policy things. I think that my judging is probably a lot more middle of the road. I really don't care that much what kind of debate you wanna have I just hope it is interesting.

This is both a research and a communicative activity. I will reward well executed rhetoric and good research. I will probably read most cards over the course of the debate but will likely care about specific pieces of evidence only as much as I am instructed to by you all. Judge instruction above everything else.

Fine judge for silly impact turns. I am not asking for you to read bad arguments, but I am expecting you to be able to answer bad arguments.

Be bold and make decisions in the debate. Confidence is valuable. Straight turning things is highly underrated.

I am frustrated by the amount of debates I judge that consist of huge walls of cards and nearly no comparative analysis nor judge instruction. If the 2nr/ 2ar does not begin with an explanation of why you have won the debate, something has gone critically wrong. Good final rebuttals know what they are winning and what they are losing. Reading 10 cards on the link, then listing as many warrants as you can at max speed in the 2nr is not good link debating for me. Please have a "big picture" moment. If you think at the end of the debate I should go read every one of your cards, you probably did something wrong.

Disads

- Aff offense is usually really helpful on disads and can get you out of a jam. Trying to diminish the risk of a disad with a bunch of small arguments is usually less effective than a big defensive argument in the 2ar. Obviously the 2ac should have some diversity.

- Link/ internal link turns case is a big deal. My nuclear war also causes your nuclear war is not a big deal.

- Believing that there is always a risk of DAs/ advantages assumes that A) big mistakes are never made OR B) you can't just be "right" about something. I think both of those are possibilities. Just because you said the word "impact" does not mean there is a risk of an impact. Zero risk is still rare.

Counterplans

- Now I am just going to default to judge kick, but can certainly be convinced its bad if the 1ar says it. If you are a 2N you might want to remind me that it's an option by the 2nr, ideally the 2nc. I really don't want to be put in a position where kicking the counterplan wins the debate for the neg and the 2nr did not tell me I could.

- Conditionality bad is an argument and needs to be answered properly. Barring a big mistake from the neg, you probably need to spend a decent part of the 1ar flushing it out.

- I don't mind big counterplan competition debates on face, but typically 2Ns don't do a lot of debating and just throw as many definitions at the wall as possible. I just want some comparative analysis about why someone's evidence is better or creates better debates.

- "they have conceded sufficiency framing" grandstanding in the 2nr is about as useful as saying that they have conceded the neg gets fiat.

T

- I tend to care more than most about what cards in T debates actually say. I feel like 80% of the time that a T card is good, I have to read a lot of the unhighlighted parts for it to make sense. I tend to care more about evidence quality on T than most other pages. I am a sucker for precision.

Ks vs policy affs

- If the round is just going to be a framework debate that's fine but I do like it when when a case debate happens. If reading 4 minutes of impact defense on case gets you nothing, then don't do it?

- I think that a lot of "soft left" affs are very bad at answering policy arguments and they are banking on you not being willing to read them. It is really cool if you prove them wrong.

- Making you link arguments interact with/turn case can be a rounding winning strategy. This is when actually debating the case will get you far and will probably be more difficult for the aff to answer than another 2nr that is 3 minutes of framework.

- the only stylistic thing I will say is if the 2nc is just gonna be straight down reading text you are gonna have to slow down a bit and make sure I get words like the name of the link down, even if you are pretty clear.

K affs

Framework

- I probably default to thinking about these debates in terms of models, but that seems to be less of the trend from the neg these days. I think it can be interesting when the aff defines some words and goes for a we meet but it usually doesn't get you across the finish line unless the neg messes it up. I am okay with the 2ac going all in on impact turns. These debates typically get hard to decide for me when both sides have very different types of offense and don't instruct me on how to weigh them. Tell me how to judge the debate and you will probably win.

K v K

- Offense is always important but it is at a premium when the disagreements between the aff and the neg get even more narrow. Just give me lots of judge instruction in these debates because I will have less generic dispositions about how to weigh certain arguments. The aff probably should get a perm but who knows what exactly it means to compete.

MISC

- I will not consider inserted re-highlighting of the other team's evidence. Text must actually be READ if you want it to matter. If you read a line of a card in CX and then send it out in the next speech doc, that seems reasonable. If a 1nc on case is just inserting rehighlighting I will be very unhappy.

- Quick note about speaks. I try to give points that will reflect the outcomes you deserve and I adjust based on the tournament I am judging. I try to consider if the quality of the speeches you gave was what I would expect of a team that was in elimination rounds or an individual that I thought was worthy of a speaker award and adjust to what I think would be required for that outcome. Speaker points are somewhat subjective but I try to give points that are somewhat reflective of how everyone else does them. You can ask for a 30 but I won't give it to you.

Nick Schroeder

Assistant coach at Blue Valley North High School

Debated at Washburn Rural High School

Updated 8/24/18

Email chain: schroedernick12@gmail.com

Feel free to ask questions before the round if you need clarification or detail on anything.

I debated for 4 years in high and 1 year in college. I usually judge around 20-30 rounds on each topic and gain more familiar with topic literature as the year progresses. In high school I debated mostly an offense/defense policy style with disads, CPs, case turns, and T. That said, I think debate should be an open intellectual space and am open to at least considering most argumentative positions.

T: My default is to competing interpretations. I believe winning reasonability still requires a resolution of the standards debate to prove the interpretation reasonable. That said, it could be effective in cases that the neg interp is arbitrary or if the aff justifies some interpretive flexibility. I like T debates that have a nuanced discussion of the standards and do a good job of impacting out why a certain interpretation creates a fairer and more educational world to debate in. Emphasizing how each standard internal links to an impact is important. Tying arguments such as precision, grammar, and source credibility to the way those things impact case lists, the research process, and ground division is the most effective way to win my ballot.

Theory: I don’t like deciding debates on small technical concessions on theory but could be persuaded to do so if there is a particularly egregious lack of contestation. I’m usually persuaded by reject the argument not the team but will vote otherwise in cases such as condo where a team successfully argues that the larger debate has been skewed.

K: Not my favorite argument form but not something you should feel apprehensive reading in front of me either. A lot of the K rounds I’ve judged I voted aff because the negative went for framing, link, and impact arguments without advancing much of the alternative. While I understand how the aff’s perpetuation of an immoral system is a form of negative offense, I’m generally persuaded by affirmatives that point to the aff as a method to solve a material problem anyway given the inevitability of whatever structure the negative is critiquing without an alternative. I find that I generally have a high degree of skepticism in the alt’s ability to rupture the status quo, so that is a good place to start for affirmatives. In the same sense, I think it is important that the 2NR on the K doesn’t abandon contesting the truth of the 1AC’s internal links or impact scenarios. In most debates where the block focuses heavily on the K and abandons any ambition of beating back the case, I tend to vote that the aff outweighs. I should say I have limited exposure to critical literature but should follow pretty well regardless. I enjoy framework debates that aren’t arbitrary and self-serving. Also, a good cx on the K from either side is nice to see.

Disad/CP/Case

I am most familiar with these arguments. I am easily convinced that delay, conditions, and consult CPs are cheating without specific solvency advocates to justify them. Solvency advocates in general are important to have when running theoretically questionable CPs in front of me. I think internal link defense is underutilized, and really enjoy seeing a discussion of the affirmative/DA’s logic in CX and rebuttals. If you think something doesn’t make sense, I probably think it doesn’t either. I think responsible scholarship is important, and sometimes entire flows can be defeated with a good CX and a few strong analytics.

Have fun and be nice.

Blue Valley North 2014-2018

General: I debated for Blue Valley North for four years as primarily a 1A/2N. I haven't judged a lot of rounds on this topic so when using topic specific acronyms or phrases please break them down for me and then I’ll catch on. In terms of argumentation feel free to do whatever you want, just know that I am probably not the best judge for super K oriented debates but if that’s your thing then I will do my best to keep up. I default to tech over truth so dropped arguments have lots of merit and points of contest require specific warrant comparison/analysis rather than surface level claims. Evidence quality is important for winning debates. I will default to how the debaters spin the evidence, but under highlighted cards that don’t really say anything will generally not be persuasive, especially if your opponent calls you out for that. Don't be rude during CX.

Overall, I try not to intervene at all as a judge, so your arguments should write my RFD for me. Make it clear what is important and set a clear framing for what I should consider important.

email chain - avanyish@gmail.com

Topicality: competing interpretations is probably a better framing for T debates than reasonability, however, I can be convinced otherwise if the affirmative has a robust explanation of why I should prefer reasonability. The negative team should have specific impacts to their limits or ground arguments. Specific instances of abuse are greater than general potential abuse. FYI don’t spread your t-blocks at me top speed because that’s not ideal.

Framework/Planless Affs: I am down to listen to planless affirmatives, but this is definitely an area where explanations of how the affirmative functions and why the deviation from policy action is beneficial to solvency need to be fleshed out for me. For framework debates I think the negative should have a TVA and specific examples of how the aff hinders fairness or education rather than just generic “policy education good” arguments.

DA: Intricate DA debates are super cool, link turns and internal link turns are things I would encourage (offense is always good). For disadvantages I am down for whatever, but make sure that the cards in the 1NC shell have real warrants and aren’t under highlighted and then blown up in the 2NC because then I will be sympathetic to 1AR spin. Recent UQ cards will always be more advantageous than older cards and specific links to the affirmative should be present at some point in the debate. Try to avoid ridiculous internal link chains, but if your opponent doesn’t call you out for it then… last thought is that specific impact calculus will help you a lot especially with turns case arguments.

CP: Do whatever you want here. Advantage CPs and PICs are smart. The more specific the CP is to the aff the better so I am all about that.

Case: Big fan of good case debates. Impact turns and smart warranted defense on the affirmative can go a long way in assigning zero probability to the affirmative.

K: You can read any K you want and a win is possible, but you should be specifically explaining the links and should have specific links to the aff. The most important thing for me is alt solvency. Please explain how the alt is able to resolve the links of the affirmative prevent the impact. Buzz words and k tricks are probably not the best strategy when I am, in the back of the room, but if you logically explain your argument then I can probably follow it. I am relatively familiar with arguments about Cap/Neolib and biopower and even with those arguments you should be explaining the specifics of how the K functions. Framework on the K goes a long way for both the affirmative and negative team and if the aff has disads to the alt then I find that particularly persuasive. Links of omission are fake.

Theory: My default is to reject the argument not the team. Theory debates are similar to T debates for me so have specific instances of abuse and what the implications of X theory violation are and why that is a reason to reject argument or even team.

TLDR---

Speed: Yes

Condo: Good

Counterplans: tech counterplans are cheaty but fun, convince me otherwise

DAs: Yes

Ks: Outside of Neolib, Security, Afropess, you'll have to do a lot more work

T: Competing interps, limits are good

K Affs: I like T-USFG a lot, don't lose hope though

Framing: internal link defense matters

Top Level---

Rounds judged on immigration topic: 0

Put me on the email chain: dkvasudevan25@gmail.com

I debated policy 4 years, 2014-2018, at BVW

I will not be debating in college

I was primarily a 2A/1N but was 1A/2N many times as well

Speed is fine — being unclear after being cleared however will affect speaks or I won’t be able to flow cause I simply don’t know what you’re saying

Tech over truth

Condo is a good thing I won’t vote on it unless dropped

Debate your best, have fun, and a lot of this stuff won’t matter!

Case---

1. I will always reward a team that does research and preps out an aff — I won’t get mad at you for going 8 off but spending 6 minutes ripping apart case is cool

2. Impact turns are fun but also silly — these definitely interact with the rest of the debate

3. Presumption IS a thing I will vote on and if you can accurately convince me of it then you did a good thing

Framing Aff’s---

They aight

1. I think no war arguments don't make much sense but will vote on it if not answered in the 1NC

2. Svio can outweigh extinction and vice versa — to win this you have to win internal link defense

3. Cohn is probably true but doesn’t necessarily make for fun debate

4. Winning a CP that sufficiently solves the aff in combination with a DA winning turns case argument probably means framing goes away

T---

1. T is a voter and never a reverse voter

2. Discussion of the aff does not outweigh T

3. I default to competing interpretations over reasonability

4. Reasonability should not be articulated as the aff is reasonable but rather the aff’s counter interp is reasonable

5. Limits are good but teams can make the debate easier for them by contextualizing quantity vs quality under their interp and why a certain one matters

T — USFG---

1. I default to viewing debate as a game as opposed to portable skills — HOWEVER I can be convinced otherwise

2. I think affirmatives should defend the resolution

3. I will lean towards interpretations that establish a topic limit for the basis of debate being a game

4. The neg should read a TVA and the aff should answer this

5. I think most DA’s to the neg’s interp have impacts that aren’t articulated clearly enough

6. I primarily read plan aff's however I do have experience reading planless

DA---

This will always be the GOAT strat to me

1. I do not frown upon topic generic DA’s because of the proliferation of tiny aff’s, however the more contextual the link is the easier the ballot is — good spin goes a long way

2. The politics DA was my best friend — that being said I also realize how silly it is

3. Logical arguments>spamming cards — many DA’s can severely be mitigated by smart thinking

4. The top of the block should make turns case and outweighs arguments — the more contextualized a turns case argument is the more weight I’m willing to give it — eg. Econ collapse wrecks the green tech sector that prevents solving warming > econ collapse=war=nukes=co2

5. The 1AR should answer turns case arguments

6. Extinction and Svio are both impacts — good impact calc and a solid internal link will have me leaning one way or the other

7. The block shouldn’t read a bunch of new ev if the 2ac didn’t answer a part of the DA

8. I don't need a story overview just put it on the line by line

CP---

I love them, read them almost every round

1. The cheatier a CP the more fun it is — HOWEVER I will reward a team that takes the challenge and finds a nuanced way to beat them eg. Strategic aff’s, impact turning net benefits, etc.

2. Outside of Condo, theory is almost always a reason to reject the argument

3. Links to net benefits arguments significantly boost your chances of winning a perm

4. I will default to not judge kicking unless told otherwise

5. My base line for “it competes” is same agent, solvency advocate, and competition based of a mandate

6. In reality I don’t think any counterplan solves 100% of the aff but I think they’re great arguments

K---

Literature I am familiar with and/or have read

- - Neolib

- - Security

- - Afro-pessimism (Kinda familiar)

- - K’s regarding presumption

I am not very familiar with anything else but I will try my hardest to understand whats going on.

1. In general I think the philosophy and literature any kritik is derived from is always really interesting

2. I appreciate when a team doesn’t have a paragraph long tag — 7-10 words for a tag make me your friend

3. Alt debating and explanation is crucial both sides can really miss or hit the mark here and significantly sway my vote — the block should make arguments about why the alt solves the case otherwise I am much more willing to assign a higher risk of the aff as a DA to the alt

4. The aff MUST answer K tricks

5. I will default to weight the aff unless convinced otherwise — I think if the neg get’s some form of offense based on the aff’s reps then so should the aff

Extra/Speaker Points---

Good line by lines make me happy

The more disclosure the better, if you tell me you open sourced your side during the debate for the whole year I will give you +0.2 speaks (I'll check)

Good jokes are good, bad jokes are bad

Caught clipping is an auto loss

Discrimination is an auto loss

Aesthetically appealing speech docs make me happy

Debated at the University of Kansas (3 years) | Assistant at Shawnee Mission South

TL;DR:

I'm fine with speed. K affs are a legitimate strategy, but I do find myself having a bias for framework (i.e. should things break even - which hardly happens - I would probably vote for framework). K's are fine, but links to plan action are preferable (unless your framework convinces me otherwise). I strongly dislike it when you're being a jerk and your speaker points will reflect this if you are being one.

Email: dyates@usd313.org

I prefer speechdrop but do what you must.

Experience:

Head Coach @ Buhler High School

- Former Head Coach @ Nickerson HS 2019-2023

- Assistant Coach @ Salina South 2017-2018

- College: 4 Years Parli Debate, NFA-LD, and Limited Prep @ Kansas Wesleyan University from 2014-2018.

- High School: 4 Years Debate/Forensics at El Dorado HS (2010-2014). Did pretty much everything.

I am a huge advocate in you doing you. I will list my preferences, but know that I do find myself open to nearly any argument/strategy/style within reason. Please do not feel like my paradigm below should constrain you from doing arguments that you believe in.

• Be respectful and debate with integrity. Overt rudeness and exclusionary/offensive language and/or rhetoric will lose you my ballot.

• Substantive arguments and clear clash/organization is a must. I will not vote for unethical arguments (e.g. racism good). Please weigh arguments clearly and have a nice technical debate. Clean flows make happy ballots.

• Tech first, but not only tech. Immoral arguments will not win my ballot even if they are won 'on the flow'. Please provide a FW for weighing and evaluating the round. Don't make me have to decide why you won - you may or may not agree with my conclusions.

• I am receptive to framework and theory. I do not usually vote on procedural arguments on violations alone - extend and weigh your impacts on the procedural if you go for it in the 2R

• Kritikal arguments are good. I guarantee I like them more than you think I do. Explain your alt to me. RotB arguments take a second for my brain to process because I am a big ol' dummy, so I will want clear warrants for how and why the claim is true that my ballot does something.

• Alternative approaches (Performative Affs, K Affs) are okay but I am in all honesty less familiar with these approaches. Please explain to me the reasoning/justification for your methodology in plain-ish language if you go this route. Like the K, I like these arguments more than you might think. Please don't take my lack of exposure as a lack of willingness to vote on it.

• Please be clear on the flow. Also, please flow.