General Interp Paradigm

I value creativity including very unique informative topics. I enjoy blocking; however, only if it is clear. I also hate obscene movements that don't add to the overall build of the performance. I love realistic characters and absolutely don't enjoy cartoony characters(Unless it applies to the piece). I also feel that the performance should connect to the audience. Lastly, no matter your background in competitive success (Even if you are a national champion) I rank to what your current in round performance shows me.

Greetings! I am an English teacher and I sponsor the Poetry Club at Piper High School in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I look forward to hearing your speeches.

speak clearly and loudly

About me:

Hi! I'm a very experienced parliamentarian.

My rankings as a parliamentarian tend to be pretty spot-on for the top three to five students in my prelim chambers before varying a little bit going down from there, as they should.

Try not to overthink where I rank you. I would say to focus on the feedback; I've been a part of the Congressional Debate community as a competitor, judge, and coach for over a decade now, so I certainly have some thoughts on how I think you can improve.

Prelims:

We are all aware that teammates share prep, students are using AI, and some unscrupulous coaches prep their students out. That is why I have found that I actually judge more heavily off of delivery in prelims. I'm always listening to your arguments and taking note of strong and weak ones, but I'm not exactly flowing the round like it's PF; I'm just trying to give each of you a paragraph of feedback for each speech. Here is a non-exhaustive list of things I will try to evaluate over the course of nine or so hours as your parliamentarian:

Content:

☐ Good arguments & avoid rehash

☐ Full (with the date) citations & high-quality sources

☐ Signposting your arguments/clear taglines

☐ Ability to refute

☐ Ability to crystalize

☐ Strong analysis

☐ Strong questioning

☐ Strong introductions

☐ Strong conclusions (that relate to your intro and last for longer than 5 seconds)

☐ Rhetoric & humor

☐ Appeals to pathos

Delivery:

☐ Effective hand gestures

☐ Eye contact (especially during your introduction)

☐ Volume/presence

☐ Passion, not aggression

☐ Vocal variation (tone & volume & speed)

☐ Fluency of speech

☐ Walking on points

☐ Conversational pace

☐ Ends on time/time management (this is a BIG pet peeve of mine; try to end at 3:00 please)

Style:

☐ Leadership/influence in the chamber

☐ In-round strategy (overcoming bad pre-set recency, getting a third speech in without losing the respect of your peers)

☐ Decorum

☐ Use of a legal pad or non-technological equivalent (this is part of the role-play)

☐ Maintaining the role-play (if you are a senator, that means you're pretending to be at least 30 years old)

Elimination rounds:

I'll be honest, I only occasionally judge elimination rounds because I am usually conflicted out of all of them except for at the largest tournaments (think Harvard or NSDA House quarters). However, I do watch them all the time as a spectator.

What I am really looking for in semis (or quarters) are students who have not only mastered the fundamentals, but also find a way to stand out in a room where everyone is pretty decent at speaking.

Specifically, the key things I am really looking for when I judge an elimination round are:

☐ Outstanding intros & conclusions

☐ Clear signposting & structure

☐ Authentic rhetoric & pathos

☐ Advanced argumentation & synthesis

☐ Conversational pace & stellar eye contact

☐ Strong time management throughout a speech (3:00 is the target; if both of your speeches are 3:10, that looks comparatively weak)

A note on presiding:

If you're going to be a presiding officer while competing in Congressional Debate, be a great one. Above all, time your fellow competitors accurately. If you mistime or misgavel your colleagues, I consider that to be a critical failure. Pay attention to your timer and if you make a mistake, be honest about it and come clean. I also don't like it when POs lie about speech times (saying a speech that is 3:13 is 3:10).

POs should demonstrate authority and leadership through problem-solving, managing the chamber when conflict and confusion arises.

I keep a close eye to see if a PO appears to have read the tournament-specific rules.

I highly value word economy. The more you speak as a PO, the more time you are wasting.

Dockets and agendas are not the same thing. The words are not interchangeable.

If no one wants to preside and you are genuinely taking one for the team, I will obviously recognize that and try to help you out if I'm your parli.

Finally:

Remember why we are all here: Speech and Debate is an educational activity. This is about you becoming the best, most capable version of yourself (and using those talents to make the world a better place). Five years from now, the confidence, talent, and knowledge you cultivate through this activity will be useful to you, every single day. The plaques and trophies will either still be on display at your old school or sitting in a box at home somewhere, out of sight and out of mind.

Background

It is hard to say what I'll be judging you in. I have done a little bit of a lot of things, and a lot of a few things in debate. I would say I identify first and foremost as an extemper. Though this is becoming less true the more debate I coach and judge. My primary debate knowledge base comes from time coaching and judging college parliamentary debate (NPDA). If you are looking to categorize me as one type of judge that's not a bad bet. I've dabbled in CEDA/NDT/CX. Judge a lot of IPDA in college, that's become my primary debate coaching/judging area. PF and LD at high school tournaments with the occasional college LD mixed in.

I would say I am average in theory debate, familiar enough with K's to follow and solid at flowing as long as it is clear and not incredibly fast. If I ignore you and start reading your speech doc exclusively, that's a sign to slow down.

General Philosophies on Debate

In my opinion the debate round is an educational space first. Now, how you define that can be up for debate. I will always appreciate a topical aff, but am not afraid of non-topical positions if they are justified through an educational framework and establish that there is no topical version. I can follow critical theory, and generally enjoy hearing those cases, but will also love and follow political, economic, social etc. Impacts.

As far as topicality goes, I usually lean aff. If you are neg and the aff isn't topical, run T, just make sure to prove abuse and the impacts that it had in round. You might have an alternative definition that is better, but if you don't tell me why it matters then I won't vote for it. Prove the abuse, prove the impact of that abuse. I'll consider both in round and out of round impacts. Don't ignore a T because you think I won't vote for it. I will vote for a topicality press even if I think it's bogus, if the aff just ignores it.

If it is a policy round/format, I am looking for stock issues. Aff has the burden to prove their plan solves a legitimate problem that isn't going away anytime soon. That plan ought to be topical. I am pretty flexible around different formats of debate and approaches to resolutions. But if you are running a policy case make sure your stock issues are present.

NOVICE DEBATERS... Just because it is in the/a provided packet doesn't make it topical. The packet is to help you learn debate, not to help you avoid topicality arguments. You should learn those too.

IPDA Folks... I will vote on a topicality/abuse argument if it is well run and clearly abusive. But most of the time it comes more down to which definition wins to help frame the decision. I think in all my years in IPDA I voted on T once and it was because it was reasonable and not responded to.

Specific Evaluations

These will be framed from a negative position but you can cross apply them to the aff as well.

Dis ads: I will evaluate impacts above all else. Give me something tangible and real. On the other side, if you are attacking a DA or Advantage the link chain is a good place to find offense. I am not a fan of super low probability impacts. Magnitude, timeframe, scope... good to go... low probability though are easy to dismiss for me.

The K: I like Ks. I think it is important to question all our assumptions about government, power, even debate itself. Have a good alt. I don't vote on a K because the government sucks... we all know that. I vote on a K because you provide me something else to vote for.

Counter plans: Similar to the K, I need something else to vote for. I won't vote Neg simply because you poke holes in the Aff case (stock issues being the obvious exception), I need to vote FOR the neg not AGAINST the Aff. I will buy squo arguments, but I usually prefer a counterplan. PICs are also good.

Condo: I think conditionality is stupid. Pick a position and go with it. I know the neg has the right to the squo but if you spend half the round embracing the fact that the status quo is bad for a counter plan I won't buy a sudden switch. that's not fair to the Aff and it's not fun for me if you to suddenly change your advocacy. I am aware that this is not some debate formats allow/encourage conditionality. If for some reason I am judging one of those... just remind me that that's the norm.

IPDA: I will lean on whatever judging criteria you give me. I have, on numerous occasions, voted against the better debater (or even one that won most the points) because the framework went uncontested and favors one side. I won't do work for you, so please be direct and don't just concede definitions because your worried about time.

Speaker Points

Here is how I think of speaker points. The round is won and lost off the evidence and argumentation. Speaker points are about style, execution and how what happens happens. So...

Clarity: I have to be able to understand your arguments. That means they need to be organized clearly and stated concisely. I also have to be able to understand your voice. I can listen fairly quickly but it must be articulate, clear, and have intent behind it.

Tag Development: I look for tags that are concise and direct. Tell me exactly what you are arguing. I am trying to evaluate the round, if I have to take extra time to interpret your tags that brings you down. I always tell my debaters "Don't be cute, be explicit". A cute tag is fun, but won't help your points and might confuse me.

Cross X: Cross X is extremely important in policy debate. It is the only time that there is a direct exchange. My first rule is that you must be respectful to the other debaters. If you are rude then you will be dropped. I also look for strategically used questions. What do you achieve and how do you use it. I would say a strong cross X can do more for speaker points than any one piece of case construction.

Delivery: Mostly an IPDA (sometimes parli) thing. Talk to me. Don't spit evidence and hope that I listen. Look me in the eye and explain to me how this all works. But do not think that "even, calm and indifferent" will win me over. If you are talking about sensitive topics and seem indifferent, I will assume you don't care and you will lose points. Passion is just as important as composure.

I competed in extemp for 6 years (3 in high school, 3 in college) along with doing Congress and some PF in HS and have since coached pretty much every speech event and world schools debate for the past 2 years. For reference, I'm a school-affiliated judge but work at a government contracting company doing work for the Marine Corps, so be warned that national security is my niche area of expertise.

WORLDS: I specifically look for students who use this style of debate to persuade (read: talk at a normal pace. Worlds was created to counter the trend of debates turning technical, and I'm going to try and uphold that as best I can).

PF: I look for logical consistency of arguments and general plausibility. Do not run Ks or anything else wild with me. I will not be persuaded by arguments like "because we use the word 'the' that means the world will end in nuclear war so vote pro" which I have seen run. Also, I can handle speed so long as you work up to it but I tend to deduct a few tenths of a speaker point for excessive speed since PF was never designed to be a technical debate event and I feel like that's going against the event standard as written by the NSDA. But if you want to spread then I will not automatically preclude you from winning the round and I will be perfectly capable of following along.

BOTH: Show me you care about your arguments, and show me why I should vote for you. I see plenty of debates where there's clash, but tell me why your side comes out on top at the end of the day. If both sides have the same position some clash will get declared a wash, and there's never a wash in debate because one side always does a better job fulfilling the value or criterion or impact better than the other side. Just saying you're winning an argument does not make it true, show me why you're winning and trace the progress of that clash for me. I do flow, but I'm not a fan of teams saying "extend contention ___" and then providing no reason why I should do that. Again, tell me why the opponent's response or lack thereof is sufficient to warrant extending something.

Other than that, have fun! I definitely notice when students are enjoying themselves and tend to give an extra style point (or speaker points in speech and PF) or two for that.

I am a speech coach in Georgia. I competed in IEs but I can follow debate very well.

• LD - Value/Value Criterion - This is the unique feature of LD Debate.  Have a good value and criterion and link your arguments back to it.
• PF - I side on the traditional side of PF.  Don't throw a lot of jargon at me or simply read cards. Compete in PF for the debate animal it is.  Remember debate, especially PF, is meant to persuade - use all the tools in your rhetorical toolbox: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos.  
• Speed -Since I did not debate in High School, I don't follow speed well. Speak at your own risk, but if I didn't hear it, I don't flow it.
• Know your case, like you actually did the research and wrote the case and researched the arguments from the other side.  If you present it, I expect you to know it from every angle - I want you to know the research behind the statistic and the whole article, not just the blurb on the card.
• I like clash.  Argue the cases presented, mix it up, have some fun, but remember that debate is civil discourse - don't take it personal, being the loudest speaker won't win the round, being rude to your opponent won't win you the round.
• Debating is a performance in the art of persuasion and your job is to convince me, your judge (not your opponent!!) - use the art of persuasion to win the round: eye contact, vocal variations, appropriate gestures, and know your case well enough that you don't have to read every single word hunched over a computer screen.  Keep your logical fallacies for your next round.  Rhetoric is an art.  
• Technology Woes - I will not stop the clock because your laptop just died or you can't find your case - not my problem, fix it or don't but we are going to move on.  
• Ethics - Debate is a great game when everyone plays by the rules.  Play by the rules - don't give me a reason to doubt your veracity.
• Win is decided by the flow (remember if you don't LINK it, it isn't on the flow), who made the most successful arguments and Speaker Points are awarded to the best speaker - I end up with some low point wins.  I am fairly generous on speaker points compared to some judges.  I disclose winner but not speaker points.
• Enjoy yourself.  Debate is the best sport in the world - win or lose - learn something from each round, don't gloat, don't disparage other teams, judges, or coaches, and don't try to convince me after the round is over.  Leave it in the round and realize you may have just made a friend that you will compete against and talk to for the rest of your life.  Don't be so caught up in winning that you forget to have some fun - in the round, between rounds, on the bus, and in practice.  
• Questions? - if you have a question ask me.

Core Judging Philosophy:

As a Public Forum judge I am partial to tech debate, therefore what happens or doesn't happen on the flow is the preferred basis for my decision. I find the query of my being “tech over truth” or “truth over tech” to be a reductionist question. I will vote on a clean argument on the flow before I vote on a more realistic yet poorly extended argument. Proper signposting can be a valuable tool in this endeavor.

I will avoid using prior my knowledge or experience on a topic, or from previous rounds, to come to a decision. My decisions are derived from the information provided in the round I am judging only. A consistent and clear narrative will help you when the flow is muddled.

Speed:
I am fine with speed if you have good enunciation and volume. If you are capable of “varsity LD level” spreading then let me know that pre-round. If you are concerned about being too fast or unclear to be understood by me then you are also welcome to add me to an email chain for me to follow/understand you using your documents (if you choose to do this you must also include your opponent).

Weighing:Weighing in the final speeches is extremely important. I want a clear, quantifiable, and comparative weighing of impacts. If I have to calculate for myself which impact is more significant then you may not find the result you are looking for and making a judge do the work of weighing is not something that most judges want to be burdened with. Organizing the final focus speech by voters is not required but can be very helpful to a judge.

Opinions:
I like to see well-warranted evidence comparison (evidence weighing if you will). I also will vote on evidence over analytics without exception. If you find yourself stating opinions and analysis that are your own without evidence, then you are at risk of losing the round, no matter how logical your statement may be.

Speaker Points:

My speaker points range from 25-30. Only speeches I deem to be highly offensive or abusive will be given less than 27. In my four years of judging this has yet to happen, don’t be my first. I do not deduct for more aggressive debate styles, so long as teams are evenly matched opponents and there is nothing overtly abusive about the exchanges.

Other Notations: Time yourselves and your opponents, I want my focus to be on the round. Timing exception being if I am judging a Novice team who would like me to assist.

Concise road maps before the speeches following constructive are appreciated.

I will not flow crossfire/CX. If you get an important concession in cross bring it up in your next speech if you want me to consider it.

Framework and impact framing is preferred, and when well executed will often be an important consideration in my final decision. If no framing is present then I will evaluate the round using a cost-benefit analysis of comparative worlds, as is standard.

Head coach at Plano East Senior High.

I enjoy judging IEs most.
In Extemp: at TFA State I will be randomly source checking 1 source per speech, let’s not be making up our sources plz

In LD, I’ve gotten much more progressive, but I tend to still favor traditional.

-I do not like Kritiks; they are generic and lazy debating - I will not vote for them. If you can run the same K all year on all the topics, that's a problem.

-On case attacks are important!

-Theory & CPs good.

-Do not read at me while giving voters.

-2AR does not necessarily have to be line-by-line.

-I understand spreading, but if you become unclear I will say "clear" once, and after that, if you do not clear your speaking, I will stop flowing, more than likely hurting your chances. 7/10 speed please. Slow down on tags please.

In PF, I’m traditional. I don’t like spreading in PF and there should definitely not be CPs, Theory, Kritiks, or anything like that.

In Policy, pretty much the same as LD above, except I have more tolerance for Ks in Policy because it is a year long topic and you have more time to read lit. I have a lot less experience in Policy than the other debate events, but I have some competitive UIL CX history and can cross apply progressive LD knowledge.

In all debates: I do not tolerate rudeness - especially in cx/crossfire. I love seeing passion in rounds, but being passionate about your topic does not mean you get to be rude. Excessive rudeness/terrible attitude results in lowest speaks possible.

Include me in on email chains: madison.gackenbach@pisd.edu

I look forward to hearing you speak!

PF
Public forum debate is for the PUBLIC. So I expect debate that is accessible and inclusive to all audiences. 

The speaking rate can be moderate to moderately fast; however, I don’t think you serve yourself well or the community going any quicker than that. 

All arguments must be made by summary, or I will not be able to evaluate them in the final focus.

I prefer debate to be polite. Be nice to all competitors. Using offensive language of any kind, including but not limited to racist/sexist/ableist, will result in low speaker points and an automatic loss.

I judge arguments based on the order they are presented. I will go from top to bottom of the flow at the end of the round to make my decision. Please address the speeches that came before in the round, and make sure you are responding to the other team. 

Evidence is significant to me. I want you to include the author/organization and date. Feel free to email me and competitors to start a chain. 

Ultimately, have fun. Keep it entertaining. And keep it debate!

Hello!

My name is Daniel Gamboa, Cypress Bay alumni and have competed in the S&D circuit for 5 years. I'm originally an Extemporaneous Speaker, Informative competitor, and part of the Manatee District 2017 World Schools Debate Semifinalist team. I have experience in preparation and case structure in Public Forum through relationships across the circuit and my old team as well as fundamental grasps of Policy through sustained exposure to the event and relationships spanning several college team members.

Policy paradigm: I have no quarrels with spreading, as long as both teams come to a mutual understanding that if there is any attempt to be sly and push arguments that were not extended will come with being voted down on the presumption of not upholding integrity. Kritiques while expansive are okay with me as long as the team can provide enough ground to continue the argumentation and provide solutions or minimum change in the status quo that can derive more benefit than harm. I will take K debates, Trad debates, and anything in between and beyond and provide an open mind for whatever the debaters can argue.

PF paradigm: Extensions of arguments goes the same as with policy, if there is any argument not properly extended that can be proven on flow that you are pushing, I will vote down on basis of integrity. I will not take disrespect for opponents in any way, insults or derogatory remarks in regards to solutions, argumentation or directly to the persons will not go over well. Speed is of no issue as long as I can understand where in the argument you are. I have no preference for style or rhetoric as long as the logic behind arguments and rebuttals are sound. I will judge based on whatever voting criterion is presented by either side as long as the reasoning and importance of that point is established.

Hi! Son of judge here. I would describe my dad as a flay judge that leans more towards lay. He will vote off of content (he won't drop you for speaking style) but he won't necessarily vote off the flow. If I were you I would prioritize winning the narrative debate and just having a very clear warrant story rather than winning off of technical extension. Even though he isn't a flow judge, he takes notes and tends to be pretty decent at understanding arguments even if he won't hold you accountable for extending them cleanly.

Progressive Args: He is willing to listen to anything really, but he's lay. If you run a Kritik of some kind that links to the topic, you should be fine so long as you just treat it like a normal argument and weigh it as "morality" rather than calling it a K. If you're running shells that are off topic (disclosure, paraphrasing, dates etc) or say "the resolution isn't important, debate XYZ instead" he will drop you instantly and be in a bad mood all day, so don't do that for my sake. He believes that debating a topic is about persuading him that your side of the argument is the more correct one, furthering understanding of issues and helping decision-makers make the best decisions. For him, its about the issue to be decided, not the process or game of debating.

Speed: I wouldn't go past 200 WPM, obviously if you openly spread and give him a speech doc, he won't read it and he'll just drop you. He's a smart guy but he's lay, and believes that you cannot persuade a judge who can’t understand what you are saying.

Decorum: He's one of those lawyer judges that LOVES professionalism in round. If you show any sign that you aren't taking things seriously or are not respecting the other side, he will HATE it. Wear professional, what old people would call "court room" clothes. He believes that being relaxed and humorous can be an effective form of persuasion, but be very tasteful and charismatic. Don't just go off.

Rudeness: VERY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION HERE, he loves "aggression and power" in speeches, NOT crossfires. If you're rude in cross he'll probably drop you, not even because he's offended by rudeness, he'll just assume you're losing and don’t have the better argument if you have to "resort" to being rude.

Quick paradigm- I feel I am strongest in judging interpretation. I enjoy Informative and Oratory speeches as this gives me an opportunity to learn what is important to the performer. My least favorite event to judge is extemporaneous as I am not well versed in politics.

I'm a trial attorney. I judge the overall flow and effectiveness of presentation and argument. I'm not a fan of running Ks.

I am a parent judge I have judged local tournaments.

Hello

I'm an IE judge and my son is a PF debater at Lake Highland Prep. This is my second year of judging. I have judged few local tournaments and Blue Key last year. Thank you

I will be flowing your cases. I don't mind fast delivery, but I don't appreciate spreading. You will have a hard time getting my vote if I could not flow your case due to unintelligible speech.

Weigh your arguments, especially in final focus (I appreciate voters). I expect to hear well-developed pro and con cases about the resolution. I appreciate traditional cases.

History: I am a parent judge and this will be my 4th year judging Speech and Debate. I have judged at our local tournaments, Blue Key, Isidore Newman, and at State.

I'll keep it brief, but I'll begin with some context.

I was in PF all four years of highschool to middling talent and success. It's been almost a year since I judged and over two since I competed. As such, in terms of speaks-- don't spread. I'm both not likely to catch everything on my flow due to lack of practice and prejudiced against regurgitation of cards with little analysis or concern for the average person's ability to follow-along. This isn't to discourage a voluminous debate; speak a bit faster if you need to. However, don't try to abuse the time you have by being incomprehensible.

It's my belief that PF is not LD or Policy.

In terms of what I'd like to see: clash and comparative analysis is most important. Weigh as early as possible to develop how you want me to evaluate the round. Links and narratives should be tight and clear and I should know the exact consequence chain of voting for you. Anything that feels blippy or undersubstantiated will be evaluated as a wash unless I have no other choice.

I always call for shoddy evidence or cards that are directly contradictory unless further analysis is given.

Terminal defense flows through summary, but if you want me to consider turns extend them. If you're going to run theory, have a good reason and clearly explain your shell. I despise appropriating the ballot.

Be civil to one another; all bigotry will result in at best a low-point win if not most commonly a drop.

You can always ask me questions about my paradigm before round begins.

Other than that, have fun.

General: 

-No spreading 

-I don't appreciate aggression 

-Always signpost, but no cliches 

-I don't recognize arguments composed of lengthy and convoluted link chains 

-I only call for evidence if I have reason to believe it is being misconstrued 

-Do not ask me what it takes to get a 30. A 30 means you were perfect. I have only given a 30 three times throughout my years of judging.

-I really appreciate a clear framework 

At the end of the round, the winner of the debate is the team that sustains their arguments, meaning that, I expect anything you want me to vote on to be in summary and final focus. I think that frontlines should be made as early as rebuttal (if speaking second), but will be accepted in summary. Lastly, weighing is very important to me. Please begin to weigh in summary, but seal the deal in final focus. Even if you are only winning on one argument, but you extend it into summary and final focus and explain why the impacts of that argument are the most important in that round; you will receive my ballot.  

Crawford Leavoy, Director of Speech & Debate at Durham Academy - Durham, NC

Email Chain: cleavoy@me.com

BACKGROUND
I am a former LD debater from Vestavia Hills HS. I coached LD all through college and have been coaching since graduation. I have coached programs at New Orleans Jesuit (LA) and Christ Episcopal School (LA). I am currently teaching and coaching at Durham Academy in Durham, NC. I have been judging since I graduated high school (2003).

CLIFF NOTES

- Speed is relatively fine. I'll say clear, and look at you like I'm very lost. Send me a doc, and I'll feel better about all of this.

- Run whatever you want, but the burden is on you to explain how the argument works in the round. You still have to weigh and have a ballot story. Arguments for the sake of arguments without implications don't exist.

- Theory - proceed with caution; I have a high threshold, and gut-check a lot

- Spikes that try to become 2N or 2A extensions for triggering the ballot is a poor strategy in front of me

- I don't care where you sit, or if you sit or stand; I do care that you are respectful to me and your opponent.

- If you cannot explain it in a 45 minute round, how am I supposed to understand it enough to vote on it.

- My tolerance for just reading prep in a round that you didn't write, and you don't know how it works is really low. I get cranky easily and if it isn't shown with my ballot, it will be shown with my speaker points.

SOME THOUGHTS ON PF

- The world of warranting in PF is pretty horrific. You must read warrants. There should be tags. I should be able to flow them. They must be part of extensions. If there are no warrants, they aren't tagged or they aren't extended - then that isn't an argument anymore. It's a floating claim.

- You can paraphrase. You can read cards. If there is a concern about paraphrasing, then there is an entire evidence procedure that you can use to resolve it. But arguments that "paraphrasing is bad" seems a bit of a perf con when most of what you are reading in cut cards is...paraphrasing.

- Notes on disclosure: Sure. Disclosure can be good. It can also be bad. However, telling someone else that they should disclose means that your disclosure practices should bevery good. There is definitely a world where I am open to counter arguments about the cases you've deleted from the wiki, your terrible round reports, and your disclosure of first and last only.

- Everyone should be participating in round. Nothing makes me more concerned than the partner that just sits there and converts oxygen to carbon dioxide during prep and grand cross. You can avert that moment of mental crisis for me by being participatory.

- Tech or Truth? This is a false dichotomy. You can still be a technical debater, but lose because you are running arguments that are in no way true. You can still be reading true arguments that aren't executed well on the flow and still win. It's a question of implication and narrative. Is an argument not true? Tell me that. Want to overwhelm the flow? Signpost and actually do the work to link responses to arguments.

- Speaks? I'm a fundamental believer that this activity is about education, translatable skills, and public speaking. I'm fine with you doing what you do best and being you. However, I don't do well at tolerating attitude, disrespect, grandiosity, "swag," intimidation, general ridiculousness, games, etc. A thing I would tell my own debaters before walking into the room if I were judging them is: "Go. Do your job. Be nice about it. Win convincingly. " That's all you have to do.

OTHER THINGS

- I'll give comments after every round, and if the tournament allows it, I'll disclose the decision. I don't disclose points.

- My expectation is that you keep your items out prior to the critique, and you take notes. Debaters who pack up, and refuse to use critiques as a learning experience of something they can grow from risk their speaker points. I'm happy to change points after a round based on a students willingness to listen, or unwillingness to take constructive feedback.

- Sure. Let's post round. Couple of things to remember 1) the decision is made, and 2) it won't/can't/shan't change. This activity is dead the moment we allow the 3AR/3NR or the Final Final Focus to occur. Let's talk. Let's understand. Let's educate. But let's not try to have a throwdown after round where we think a result is going to change.

I evaluate based on flow. Stay topical and be respectful, but also provide clash. Jokes are appreciated. 

I’m the Director of Speech and Debate at American Heritage Schools, Palm Beach Campus (since 2018). Formerly, I competed for Suncoast High School in Congress and Extemp, coached at multiple schools in Florida, and worked at summer institutes. I teach all events, except LD and Policy, and primarily coach Congress, Extemp, Oratory, and Info.

Congress

I’m “old fashioned” when it comes to Congress. I like solid argumentation (read: have warrants and impacts) and clash. I expect every speaker after the author/sponsor to refute. As the debate progresses, the pendulum should swing from mostly new arguments in speeches to mostly refutation in speeches. Congress is not designed to be a “fully prepared beforehand speech” event; you MUST react to what’s happening in the debate. In terms of speaking, I’m open to a variety of styles ranging from faster/more aggressive debate-y speakers to more oratorical speakers. I tend to prioritize content over speaking. The PO usually makes my top 6 and, on occasion, gets the 1.

Speech

Speech students rarely read paradigms, so I’ll keep this brief. In Extemp, Oratory, and Info, I will flow your content and will reward speakers with sound structure and clarity of thought. In the Interp events, I look for a storyline, blocking, and characterization. In all IE events, I always rank speakers who are genuine, confident, and showcase true emotion over those who are fake, overly practiced/scripted, and uncertain.

PF

I don’t judge a lot of PF, but you need not be scared if you see me in the back of a PF round. I teach PF all the time and have judged many, many rounds. I do my best to flow all speeches in the round (not CF), but only if I can understand what you’re saying. I can handle a little speed, but not a lot (I will motion for you to slow down if you’re going too fast). It will work in your favor to signpost contentions and sub points. I like line-by-line Rebuttals that clearly line up with the opponent’s Constructive. You should collapse in the Summary and weigh in the Final Focus. A few general guidelines: 1) PF is an evidence-based event, 2) don’t drop arguments, 3) don’t say outlandish things like “my opponent dropped all our arguments” when they didn’t, etc. I will always disclose unless the tournament has a strict policy against it.

LD/Policy

It’s HIGHLY unlikely (I can count on 1 hand the number of LD and Policy rounds I’ve judged in the past 11 years) that you’ll see me in an LD or Policy judge pool.

**Updated November 2021**

flow college policy debater
ex highschool extemper

I am a Lay Judge in my second full year of judging with ten tournaments from 2018 to present under my belt, covering six local and three regional tournaments. I do enjoy a good debate; I am very objective in my judging.

Debate Events

- Please, no spreading. I prefer clearly stated arguments and objectives in debate events.

- I appreciate novel approaches to the build and flow of points and counter points.

- I am a stickler for solid references; I usually only ask to see them when both sides use the same references with conflicting interpretations.

- I am a researcher, 25+ years, so I've seen a reference or two and know how to interpret them. Big hit if I discover a false reference.

- Make sure you attack the argument and not the person. Rudeness does not win me over.

- My decisions comes down to the impact of the points and the effectiveness of the counters.

Speech Events

- Speak Clearly

- Use your space well

- Use your verbal and non-verbal skills fully

- Make sure your transitions fit the event, whether they should be well defined or smoothly connected.

Above all, make sure you have fun!

I am a coach who expects Debate to be persuasive without any type of spreading. If I don't get it--you don't get it! Otherwise the team who best counters the opposition and supports their own side of the resolution wins.

I am going back to flowing in a traditional way, I now priviledge organization and technical competency alongside content depth. I am sick of the way that the speech doc is ruining the flow. I don't like reading cards after the debate, please put the important spin and quotations of the card "on the flow." Do what you do best.

I care about argumentation and analysis more than most all else. I emphasize the flow, and care about the credibility of evidence. I'm not the biggest fan of theory debate for the sake of theory debate. I prefer topic centric debate.

I have about 10 years of experience in the speech and debate world. I primarily exist in speech land, but I have judged a lot of debate and love a strong argument and good links. That being said, I enjoy when a speaker can clearly articulate their arguments, and use delivery based methods of persuasion to help sway the ballot.

I am always hopeful for a debate where there is a lot of clash, and a clear path to the ballot.

I love when debaters give me voters and a clear articulation of why they believe that they have won the ballot.

I tend to attempt tabula rasa with all debate events. No weighing, impacts, burdens, plans, solvency, etc. will be default valuable. Please extend any evidence or argumentative tools you consider outcome determinative. Quantitative evidence, which is probable, brings me joy. Please time yourself. Manners maketh the debater.

Background:

-Director of Forensics, Santa Fe High School, Gainesville, Fl

-Teacher of Debate III-V Honors, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government & Politics, and AP Human Geography

-Bachelors in History w/ emphasis on China, Minor in Mass Comm. (UCF)

-Masters in Education Leadership (UF)

-Juris Doctor in Law (USD)

Boost in speaks for the team/individual that best incorporates (pertaining to your case) a seasonally appropriate haiku, featuring a classic 5-7-5 format. :-)

Congress - Argument is well-organized, points are clearly developed and supported by a variety of credible sources, evidence is analyzed, compelling language, smooth transition between points, movements are purposeful and signal a new point, easy to follow your argument, introduction and conclusion are clearly connected, purpose is established throughout your argument. Responds to questions with confidence and clarity, responds to previous speakers' points to either refute or affirm with new arguments and evidence, speaks clearly, is active in questioning throughout the round

Have been an assistant coach for several years and has recently taken on the responsibility of head coach, has been active in speech and debate since 2009, have judged numerous local tournaments, invitational tournaments, and national tournaments.

Completed the National Speech and Debate Association Adjudicating Speech and Debate course.

Mostly a flow judge who appreciates, in cross, civility, clear questions, and direct answers to said questions—experienced in Worlds, PF, LD and Congress. Speak clearly; don't play stupid evidence games. I'm not into K's or attempting to win a round on things not topical to the round. Sometimes in PF I won't flow all the way through focusing more on who wins the offense of the round.=

Congress specific: Advance arguments, challenge one another and know procedure. I will vote up great POs, great congressional-style speakers, and those who are functioning in debate mode (not just speech mode).

I'm an assistant speech coach at the Potomac School. This is my 15th year in Speech and Debate. I graduated from George Mason University where I competed on the collegiate speech team. Before that, I went to Rosemount High School where I did LD and speech for four years. If you have any questions, email me at alekhyatallapaka@gmail.com

Speech:

Extemp and PAs, I am focused more on your content than delivery, especially in the beginning of the season. I will be flowing your speeches.

Interp Events, less focus on argumentation and more on how you interpret the author's original text/your performance choices. I will let you know if I think your performance is too triggering but I will not punish the student (I will leave a strongly worded ballot for coaches though)

Debate:

I'm a flow judge that wants to be told how to feel. Ultimately, debate is supposed to be persuasive--a 'winning' flow is not inherently persuasive. My speaker points are generally reflective of how easy I think you make my decisions.

Things to Remember…

0. The Debate Space: R E L A X. Have some fun. Breathe a little. Sit where you want, talk in the direction you want, live your BEST lives in my rounds. I'm not here to tell you what that looks like!

1. Framework: Cost/benefit unless otherwise determined.

2. Extensions: Links and impacts NEED to be in summary to be evaluated in final focus. Please don't just extend through ink--make an attempt to tell me why your arguments are comparatively more important than whatever they're saying.

3. Evidence: If you're bad at paraphrasing and do it anyway, that's a reasonable voter. See section on theory. Tell me what your evidence says and then explain its role in the round. I also prefer authors AND dates. I will not call for evidence unless suggested to in round.

4. Cross: If it's not in a speech it's not on my flow. HOWEVER: I want to pay attention to cross. Give me something to pay attention to. Just because I'm not flowing cross doesn't make it irrelevant--it's up to you to do something with the time.

5. Narrative: Narrow the 2nd half of the round down with how your case presents a cohesive story and 1-2 key answers on your opponents’ case. I like comparative analysis.

6. Theory: If an abuse happens, theory shells are an effective check. I think my role as an educator is to listen to the arguments as presented and make an evaluation based on what is argued.

Disclosure is good for debate. I think paraphrasing is good for public forum, but my opinion doesn't determine how I evaluate the paraphrasing shell. This is just to suggest that no one should feel intimidated by a paraphrasing shell in a round I am judging--make substantive responses in the line-by-line and it's ultimately just another argument I evaluate tabula rasa.

7. Critical positions: I'll evaluate Ks, but if you are speaking for someone else I need a good reason not to cap your speaks at 28.5.

8. Tech >< Truth: Make the arguments you want to make. If they aren't supported with SOME evidence my threshold for evaluating answers to them is, however, low.

9. Sign Post/Road Maps: Please.

**Do NOT give me blippy/underdeveloped extensions/arguments. I don’t know authors of evidence so go beyond that when talking about your evidence/arguments in round. I am not a calculator. Your win is still determined by your ability to persuade me on the importance of the arguments you are winning not just the sheer number of arguments you are winning. This is a communication event so do that with some humor and panache.**

She/Her

I competed for two years at West Orange HS in Florida and now compete at the college level. My competitive experience is in speech, but I have judging experience in debate events.

Most of my feedback will probably pertain to your speaking style (that doesn't mean I am discounting argumentation, I just may not be as technical as ex-debaters). I prefer if you don't speak quickly, but if you're going to speak quickly make sure you speak clearly. If I can't understand what you are saying and arguing for, I'm not going to be able to judge you fairly.

It's important that you have your cards ready if you're going to use them. If your opponent calls for a card, it shouldn't take you forever to find it. It damages your credibility and may cost you speaker points if you are unable to find a card/take an excessive amount of time to find it. I will only call for cards when asked, I'm very expressive so if it looks like I don't understand a card you should probably ask me to call for it.

Anything that's going to be in final focus should be in the summary. If your opponent drops your argument, make sure you call them on that if you plan on going for that argument.

If you say anything racist/sexist/homophobic, you will automatically lose. I use my crossfire time to write feedback, so I will be only paying a little bit of attention to you at that time. I do know what rudeness sounds like so ensure that you are always treating your opponents with respect.

I am a parent judge. I have judged local tournaments for a few years now.

For PF and LD, please speak slowly, and explain your arguments well.

This will help me to flow better during the round.

If I don't understand you, it is to your detriment.

I am a parent judge, and will try my best to be fair and evaluate the debate neutrally.

MY SCORING for PF and LD:

30: Excellent job, you demonstrate Very good analysis, evidence and speaking abilities. Ability to use creative analytical skills and humor to simplify and clarify the round.

29: Very strong ability. Good eloquence, analysis, and organization. A couple minor stumbles or drops.

28: Above average. Good speaking ability. May have made a larger drop or flaw in argumentation but speaking skills compensate. Or, very strong analysis but weaker speaking skills.

27: About average. Ability to function well in the round, however analysis may be lacking. Some errors made.

26: Is struggling to function efficiently within the round. Either lacking speaking skills or analytical skills. May have made a more important error.

25: Having difficulties following the round. May have a hard time filling the time for speeches. Large error.

Below: Extreme difficulty functioning. Very large difficulty filling time or offensive or rude behavior.

For Speech Events:

Time Limits and grace period strictly followed.

Speeches have to be well put together, have a cohesive interpretation of material, characters have to be crisp, the story line clear for Interp events.

Dramatic Interp - I tear up easily. But that does not mean I will rank the most tear jerking piece the best. I need to see emotion and depth of character in your piece. If two pieces are near equal in emotions and depth, I will then pick what appealed to me or resonated with me.

Humorous Interp - Your comedic Skills, timing, delivery, character development. I have to amused at the very least, laugh out loud would be great. I am not amused by dark pieces with zombies and killers etc. The POP between characters has to be crisp.

Duo Interp - Story line, characterization, emotions between the two of you, humor, poignant moments, depth of the characters.

Program Oral Interp - Development of the theme or argument through the use of your narrative. I should not be confused between the switch of the genres, the characters should be distinctive. The performance should be compelling.

Original Oratory - Good Structure, Catch my attention, heart moments, humor, your personality should shine through, why was this topic important to you? Evidence can be more than just data and statistics. Has to be Logical.

Declamation - The speech you picked but your personality. Articulation, emphasis, gestures, Humor and heart moments, grabs my attention.

Informative Speaking - teach me something, with - humor, heart moments, evidence, great visual aids - all these help with the rank.

Extemporaneous Speaking - Clear structure - AGD - should be just that. I had one speaker reference a pop song first in the AGD, and subsequently many times during the speech - that was overkill. I like to hear your opinion, clear points, and a great conclusion. Humor is good in moderation, since topics are usually serious.

Overall Points off - Monotone delivery, drops in fluency, tacky humor, frivolous arguments , a point cannot be rephrased and presented as a different point, noninclusive language or sentiments.

I have judged the following:

PF(8 local tournaments)

LD(2 local tournaments and @BlueKey Novice LD)

Humurous Interp(2 local, 1 national @GMU)

Extemp( 2 local, 1 national @GMU)

Oratory(3 local)

Declamation(2 local).

Duo Interp (1 National @GMU)

Yes to the email chain: hannah.wilson@harker.org

It's important to me that judges act like educators (and by that I mean that I understand it's about the debaters and not me + professional boundaries are important). Debate is hard and we're all learning. My goal is to help make the experience as educationally valuable and fun as possible.

My debate experience: I did one year of PF in high school, one year of policy in high school, and three years of policy in college (2 at Weber and 1 at Concordia). I was an assistant coach at Copper Hills High School for 2 years, and a speech/congress coach at The Harker School for 4 years. I am now the head of the middle school program at The Harker School, coaching all the speech and debate events.

Policy & LD:

-I'm a competent person, but don't assume I have deep topic knowledge (especially with LD topics changing so often!). Don't assume I know what an acronym means. Don't assume I already know the link chain for the generic topic args. Don't assume I know about your aff. Even if I already do know about all of the things already, I think good debate requires painting the picture every time instead of just jumping to the end.

-Speed: Slow down and be clear on your analytics!!!!!! It seems like judges are just flowing off of docs, which is incentivizing people to spread theory/t/framework to get through more, but I am not that judge. I haven't judged a debate yet where I felt someone went too fast in the cards for me to keep up and follow. It's the keeping that same speed throughout all your analytics + lack of clarity and emphasis on the things you think are important that becomes the problem.

-I think signposting is so important! I'd much prefer a speech that says things like "on the circumvention debate" "on the link debate" "they say x we say y" than speeches that read as one big essay/overview. I'll still flow it, but the chances I miss a little thing that you decide to blow up later go up when your signposting is poor.

-While I've coached and judged LD, I never did it so some of the quirks are still foreign. I've heard the word tricks, but don't know what that is. The brief explanations I've received have me skeptical, but I'll listen to any arg with warrants and an impact.

-Theory: I have a high threshold for theory. I'm fine with debates about debate, but I don't know if I've ever seen a theory speech that goes in depth enough to do that well. If your theory shell was a full and cohesive argument in the constructive (i.e. the violation was specific and clear + the impact was specific and clear) and it's conceded entirely I'll vote for it. If it's like a one sentence just incase thing in the constructive, I probably don't think it was a full argument so even if they conceded it I might not buy it. Condo will be hard to win. If they are really reading *that* many off case, those arguments are probably very underdeveloped and some could even be answered by a few reasonable analytics. Do not read disclosure theory in front of me if it's the first debate on a new topic. The theory I'm most likely to be persuaded by is perf con.

-Framework: I'll happily vote for framework. Be specific about what ground you've lost and why it matters. Education > Fairness impacts. Affs need to prove their reps are desirable before weighing extinction against Ks.

-Ks: Make sure your link is specific to the aff. Be specific about how and what your alt solves. If it's an epistemology alt that's fine, but I need you to do thorough explanation of why that's the preferable way to debate and a sufficient enough reason to get my ballot. Don't assume I have a background in your specific K.

-Disads: Got a soft spot for a good politics disad. I'd prefer to watch a debate with core topic disads and a strong link than a new disad that might have a weaker link. Will still vote on it if they don't have answers, but I prefer watching a debate with clash. Don't assume I have background on your disads. Explain the story clearly.

Public Forum:

-Y'all should just start sending all of your evidence. It's a waste of my time and yours to wait for evidence to be called to slowly send over things card by card. It will also hold everyone to higher evidence standards if the community starts evidence sharing and debates will get better.

-I know there is some division on this, but I do think the first rebuttal speech should still talk about their case. It's good to start filtering the debate through your impacts right away.

Congress:

Honestly, y'all don't need paradigms. This is a speech event and if you're thinking of it as a debate event you should reorient your strategy. That said, I know people want to read paradigms anyways so... I really value rebuttals. Constructives can do well in front of me, but if you give more than one speech in a round and both are constructives I'll feel like that's because you don't know how to be off script. Remember you are in a room with a bunch of other students... it's hard for your judges to remember all of you. Be an active participant in questioning and the house to help yourself stand out. Cheesy, but I think of the round in terms of who I would want to be my representative. Not necessarily because they agree with all the things I already think, but because they are actively engaged in questioning, are good at responding to opposing arguments, and have a nice balance between pathos and logos. Greatest speeches might not get my 1 if they are disengaged from every other part of the round.