I am a debate coach in Georgia. I also competed in LD and Policy out west. Take that for whatever you think it means.

• LD - Value/Value Criterion (Framework, Standard, etc,) - this is what separates us from the animals (or at least the policy debaters). It is the unique feature of LD Debate. Have a good value and criterion and link your arguments back to it. I am open to all arguments but present them well, know them, and, above all, Clash - this is a debate not a tea party.
• PF - I side on the traditional side of PF. Don't throw a lot of jargon at me or simply read cards... this isn't Policy Jr., 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 - Debate is a SPEAKING event. I like speed but not spreading. Speak as fast as is necessary but keep it intelligible. There aren't a lot of jobs for speed readers after high school (auctioneers and pharmaceutical disclaimer commercials) so make sure you are using speed for a purpose. If you spread - it better be clear, I will not yell clear or slow down or quit mumbling, I will just stop listening. If the only way I can understand your case is to read it, you have already lost. If you are PRESENTING and ARGUING and PERSUADING then I need to understand the words coming out of your mouth! NEW for ONLINE DEBATE - I need you to speak slower and clearer, pay attention to where your mike is. On speed in-person, I am a 7-8. Online, make it a 5-6.
• Email Chains Please include me on email chains if it is used in the round, but don't expect me to sit there reading your case to understand your arguments - pchildress@gocats.org **Do not email me outside of the round unless you include your coach in the email.
• 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.
• Casing - Love traditional but I am game for kritiks, counterplans, theory - but perform them well, KNOW them, I won't do the links for you. I am a student of Toulmin - claim-evidence-warrant/impacts. I don't make the links and don't just throw evidence cards at me with no analysis. It is really hard for you to win with an AFF K with me - it better be stellar. I am not a big fan of Theory shells that are not actually linked in to the topic - if you are going to run Afro-Pes or Feminism you better have STRONG links to the topic at hand, if the links aren't there... Also don't just throw debate terms out, use them for a purpose and if you don't need them, don't use them.
• 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, I don't either), who made the most successful arguments and used evidence and reasoning to back up those arguments.
• Speaker Points are awarded to the best speaker - I end up with a rare low point win each season. I am fairly generous on speaker points. I disclose winner but not speaker points. Even is you are losing a round or not feeling it during the round, don't quit on yourself or your opponent! You may not like the way your opponent set up their case or you may not like a certain style of debate but don't quit in a round.
• Don't browbeat less experienced debaters; you should aim to win off of argumentation skill against less experienced opponents, not smoke screens or jargon. 7 off against a first-year may get you the win, but it kills the educational and ethical debate space you should strive for. As an experienced debater, you should hope to EDUCATE them not run them out of the event.
• 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.
• Rule of Debate Life. Sometimes you will be told you are the winner when you believe you didn't win the round - accept it as a gift from the debate gods and move on. Sometimes you will be told you lost a round that you KNOW you won - accept that this is life and move on. Sometimes judges base a decision on something that you considered insignificant or irrelevant and sometimes judges get it wrong, it sucks but that is life. However, if the judge is inappropriate - get your advocate, your coach, to address the issue. Arguing with the judge in the round or badmouthing them in the hall or cafeteria won't solve the issue.
• Immediate losers for me - be disparaging to the other team or make racist, homophobic, sexist arguments or comments. Essentially, be kind and respectful if you want to win.
• Questions? - if you have a question ask me.

I began coaching and judging in 2010. I retired from teaching in 2020. I enjoy judging for my former team.

I am a traditional judge.

Do not spread because I want to clearly hear your arguments.

Civility is essential.

I value clear communication. Signposts and voters are excellent tools.

I value clash. So, listen to your opponent and tell me why they are wrong, and your side is better.

Give weight to the most important arguments and tell me why they are the most important.

Write the reason for decision for me.

About Me: I debated in Varsity LD for three years of my high school career, and I love this activity more than anything else I did during those three years. I was also the captain of the Houston County High School LD Debate Team. However, I also competed in novice PF for half of my novice year, and even won a tournament in it. I love philosophy and read it regularly. My top three are: Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and John Rawls. My favorite politician of all history is Bobby Kennedy. I am liberal, but that just means that if you convince me that a conservative policy is even slightly desirable, I will see it as a major accomplishment. I am also part of the LGBT+ community, and take discrimination very seriously. I have no problem voting a debater down for ethical reasons if they say something blatantly discriminatory.

Debate Preferences: I am okay with spreading, but either use voice inflection or slow down while stating contention titles and sources. I judge rounds tabula-rasa style, so if your opponent doesn't counter your claims, as long as your claims aren't obviously false through observation/logic, then your claims still stand. If an argument is not made, it does not exist. PLEASE GIVE VOTERS. I like progressive-style debate (Frameworks, Theory, Kritiks, etc.), but if you are doing PF, plans are prohibited. You are not required to debate in this style, and I would much rather hear a good traditional-style debate than a poor progressive-style debate. Do not assume, if you go the philosophical route, that I know all philosophies, but it is safe to assume that I know how to evaluate standardized, premise-conclusion style arguments. Claim-data-warrant-impact always applies, unless you run that data is meaningless and provide reasoning for that claim. If you provide framework and your opponent turns your case to work against your own framework, you lose. If your opponent supplies framework and you successfully argue that your case better fulfills their framework, you win. Impacts will always be the main RFD unless you successfully run a philosophy stating that impacts are bs. One large impact is better than a few negligible impacts. Snowball effects are still effects as long as you argue why the effect is probable. Education will always be assumed as the main purpose of debate unless otherwise stated. Theory should be in the proper format of A: Interpretation, B: Violation, C: Standard, and D: Voter. Finally, CITATIONS ARE REQUIRED. IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE CITATIONS, YOU ARE BREAKING THE RULES AND I CANNOT VOTE FOR YOU. I RESERVE EVERY RIGHT TO READ YOUR CASE AFTER THE ROUND IS OVER.

Speaker Points: I do not care if you look at me or not while you speak, but I will count off speaker points if it's obvious that you haven't practiced debating with your case. Three things are very important to me when calculating speaker points. The first is whether you act like you want to be there or not. The second is whether you keep going even if you feel like your losing. The third is whether you are respectful to everyone involved. I do not like quitters, I do not like apathy, and I do not like disrespect. Your attitude towards debate has an effect on other debaters and judges. You should convince them that debate is valuable.

Prep Time: Prep is for prep, not for extra cross. You may ask to read your opponents case during YOUR prep. If you ask for a specific part of the case, then the prep will not start until your opponent finds that part. If you take more than 5 minutes looking for a specific piece of your case asked for by your opponent, I am going to ask you to stop, and that specific piece will not be weighed in round.

LD-Specific: Everything previously stated about framework apllies to values. I love a good value debate as long as it's run well. If you run progressive-style cases, make sure you ACTUALLY know how to run them. Philosophers are not values. You must justify your value and value criterion. Your value criterion should be a more specific idea within your value, and it should serve as the link between your value and your contentions. If your value and value criterion are completely unrelated, I will not vote for you. Value turns are always good, when you run them well. Values and value criterions are not technically required, but some sort of framework always makes a case stronger. Kritiks do not require values, and are sometimes better without them. Plans and CPs require an actor and an impacted party, and agency is very important.

sophomore public policy major at georgia state, debated LD my sophomore year of high school & PF my freshman, junior & senior years.

prefer if you stand during AC & the rest is up to you

big fan of clearly hearing voters toward the end of the round

morality is NOT a value for LD

please don’t spread (present a multitude of contentions in AC rather than 2-4 with a couple sub points if need be). however, i’m okay with you speaking fast in order to fit all your info/cards into your speech :-)

* I prefer a conversational-paced debate. If you are going to spread, do it well. I do not judge what I do not clearly understand.

* I prefer solvency to be used together with philosophy.

* I have been judging for four years, but I am a parent judge. If you are running complicated cases, do not assume I have background to understand all debate terminology or philosophy. Please "unpack" what you mean into language a lay person is sure to understand.

* I generally prefer more traditional debate to very progressive debate. With that said there have been times I've voted for a more progressive case, if it was explained well and the debater made the best argument.

* I do not tolerate discrimination (sexism, racism, etc.). You will not win a case I am judging by using philosophical, moral or any other arguments to promote discrimination.

* I do consider cross-X to be part of the judged debate for speaker points. I generally do not judge cross-X for the winner or loser of the debate - therefore, be sure to flow any important points into the round. I do NOT care if you look at each other during cross-X or not.

* Please keep your own time and time your opponent. I do use a timer as well, but have occasionally had a glitch and we want a fair round. Within reason, feel free to complete your sentence once time is up. If an opponent asks a question during cross-X and then time is up, it is your choice if you want to answer that question or not.

* Expect things like eye contact with the judge, voice intonation, covering your face with paper or computer while speaking, nervous habits such as clicking pens/rocking to all be factored into your speaker points.

* I do prefer that you ask if the judge and opponent are ready before beginning. Also, I prefer you give an off-time road map in rounds where it is appropriate.

* Normally, I will vote for any argument if it not addressed by the opponent and is flowed through the rounds. However, if your facts are blatantly false and easily confirmable as false, I will not weigh the argument. Please make sure your research is warranted and accurate.

* I do NOT have preferences on if you debate standing or sitting or if you sit on a particular side.

* If you want to email your cards or constructive to your opponent that is your choice. However, I will not accept emails and only judge what I hear and understand from the actual debate. The one exception is if I feel I need to ask for cases or cards after the round is complete to double check my understanding of key points in order to make the best decision.

ffiliation: Houston County High School, Mercer University

"I'm not a cop" was what one of my favorite coaches told me when I asked him how he evaluated round. I'd like to think that I can function under the same paradigm. Usually if I'm judging you or someone you know, I would like to think that I'm not here to save any fictional lives, rather I would like to think that for the two hours we have together maybe we can have a discussion that a accomplishes a little more than the heg/ptx debate that you've probably had for like the last four years. That being said, if you are a fan of that then you do you, I'll try my best to evaluate the arguments but you should probably know that I'll be very lenient on the K and my threshold for policy framework may not be where you want it.

If you didn't know I am currently a project debater and I would like to think that I care for this activity and hope to see it grow. That being said, I think that I've been told for so long that my job in the back of the room was simply to evaluate arguments but I think as debaters we can evolve past that simple game and maybe do something productive with the time we have together? I know quite a few people that have gotten scholarships from their work in debate, and that's great for them but I'd like to think that if anyone were dedicating this much time to an activity then maybe we can make it count. 

But in general do what you want to do for the next two hours or so, but I think it would just be fair to warn you that my ability to evaluate the case v. ptx debate isn't that great because my ballots in those rounds just feel really ironic. 

Also, I reserve the right to vote you down on racist, sexist, and/or homophobic language. Elijah Smith does the same thing, and I think having that rule is probably good for the activity.