Hi! I’m really excited to be your judge today!

A few notes:

1. Sign posting is an absolute must. If I cannot follow you, that’s a problem.

2. No spreading, this isn’t policy debate.

3. I will reward you for being clear and impacting all of your claims. Tell me why this argument matters!

4. Be civil! I will give you low speaks if you are rude and talk over the top of one another.

5. Be clear on why you believe you have won the round. Evidence, Evidence, Evidence!

I was a debater in high school, and I have loved debating ever since I started in the 9th grade. As I judge I am looking for convincing evidence and confidence. As long as your evidence is convincing, and you are confident about your case, you will get my vote.

I participated in high school debate from 2006-2010. I was involved in Policy Debate for pretty much 4 years and dabbled in Public Forum my senior year. I graduated from UCSD with a degree in Political Science. Since then I have been judging debate tournaments for the Golden Desert Speech & Debate League and now judging virtual tournaments for Millburn HS. I guess you could call me a flay judge?

You can add me to the e-mail chain: ko.christine35@gmail.com

Overall, I am open to any type of argument as long as it is well executed. Debate what you know and do well with. If I had to make a list of my preferences, it would most likely be:
1) LARP because of my policy background
1.5) Ks
2) T/FW
3) Theory
4) Phil/Tricks

I am also comfortable with speed. I will call "clear" once, and if there continues to be a problem, I will verbally tell you. I would suggest not going full speed because there can be delays in audio and mic problems with debates online. Overall, have fun and be courteous!

I'd like to start out by stating that I used to have a paradigm and now it appears to have fled. Please know that that paradigm was much better and more comprehensive than this paradigm, but this will have to do for now. Don't let this paradigm be a reflection on me as a person.

PF

Rate- As long as you enunciate and I can understand you, have at it.

Content- Some philosophy and broad application is fine, but your arguments should be grounded in real life context and specifics.

I'm a teacher-coach, in that order. Your content and the flow matters but so does your clarity, organization, tone, and decorum. If both teams have sensational arguments and it's close I have no problem giving the win to who I think are the better speakers.

Consider myself a flay judge. The RFD is going to read more like a narrative and less like you won at argument Tetris.

Please have fun. I promise I will or, at the very least, if it's late and we're worn out, I'm still going to look like I'm having fun, and I'm going to do the best I can to give you something to work with and a clear reason for my decision.

I am a flay judge. This is my second tournament judging policy; however, I am trained and familiar with the topic.

I want explicit arguments that are easy to flow.

If I can't understand your argument, I can't judge it.

Don't interrupt so much that you are abusive.

Do not say anything racist, homophobic, xenophobic, or mean.

If you want me to flow the round properly, please signpost.

I'm a simple person and that's what I enjoy watching: a simple debate. I'm not interested in your fake world where Nuclear extinction kills us all and makes the opponent's every argument moot. I like practical harms and practical solutions.

I don't put together pieces for debaters so if something goes unsaid by a team, then I don't take it into consideration, no matter how significant it may be. So don't assume that everything is "common knowledge".

I appreciate a debate with some strong clash and even stronger evidence, but I do not appreciate a strictly evidential debate. Once debaters get too carried away with whose evidence is best, I just drop the point altogether and rarely factor it into my RFD.  

Lastly, though I do love the "sassy" debater, I am not fond of the "rude" debater. Watch your tone, word choice when speaking to or about your opponent, and more importantly, your facial expressions even when you think I'm not looking.

Debate is more than evidence, it's about your entire presentation.

I am a coach for a large team.

I'm fine with both progressive and traditional debate but prefer traditional V/C and I'm usually not a fan of counterplans in LD. Either way, be sure to make your arguments and be clear. I won't make them for you and guess at what your point was supposed to be. Make all impacts clear. List your voting issues. If you run a K, it should tie to the resolution. I will flow whatever you put out there during the debate.

Enunciate if you're going to spread. Spreading is a tool. If you can't make it work in your favor (and most debaters cannot) then don't use it. If I can't understand what you're saying then I can't evaluate it and I won't try.

I'm fine with aggressive debaters. I am not okay with rudeness. It will count against you mostly because it makes you look insecure in your arguments. Your arguments should speak for themselves. If they can't and you try to overcome lousy arguments with pettiness and eye rolling then prepare to lose.

Effective cross-x counts with me. Ask good questions. Answer questions effectively. Don't spend the entire time arguing over cards. A pet peeve of mine is debaters making statements or arguments during cross instead of asking questions.

SternCH@nv.ccsd.net

My history is such that I have participated in Lincoln-Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, and Congressional debate. The vast majority of it was spent in a very traditional district in Lincoln-Douglas. That being said, I do believe that my varied background does allow for an understanding of progression in each format of debate. I am not entirely shut off to hearing anything, I might not wear a smile on my face about it... but I have voted on things like topicality and theory stuff. Now, if we want to get down to the specifics.

LD: First and foremost, Lincoln Douglas is evaluative debate. It doesn't always necessarily call for specific action, sometimes (most of the time) it just calls for justifying an action or state. I don't buy that there always has to be a plan. Additionally, I'm of the mindset that there is framework and substance. I tend to favor substance debate a lot more, that being said, if there can be a good amount of discussion on both sides of that, even better. I like to hear about the resolution, policy started to degenerate in my area to a series of Kritiks and bad topicality argumentation. I walk in expecting the resolution... I'd like to talk about things pertaining to the resolution if at all possible. The role of the ballot begins at the beginning as who was the better debater, if you want to change that let me know, but I tend to like it there. Finally, in terms of evidence, I hate calling for cards, but if it is so central and the round leaves everything riding on that piece of evidence I'll call for it. (Also if it's that key, and I for some reason miss it in my flow... Judges are human too.)

PF (UPDATED): Having judged and coached for a few years, I've learned to let a lot of the round play out. I HIGHLY value topical debate. It is possible to have critical stances while maintaining some relationship to the resolution. Additionally, I think PF is designed in such a way that there is not enough time to really argue K or T stances in a truly meaningful way. Take advantage of the back half of the round and CLARIFY the debate, what is important, why is it important and why are you winning? Tell me what I'm voting for in the final focus, make my job easier, and there's a good chance I'll make your tournament better.

One last note, please don't be mean spirited in the round, don't say that something "literally makes no sense." Don't tell me there is a flaw, show me the flaw.

In summation, run whatever you are happiest with, I might not be, but it's your show, not mine. Be great, be respectful, have fun. And if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I'm not a mean judge (Unless I am decaffeinated, or someone is being disrespectful).