My Paradigm:

I am a high school counselor/teacher at Santa Fe High School in Alachua, FL. I have experience in judging some of the Debate styles, but by and large my preference is the Speech events. I earned a letter in Theater during high school which gives me an appreciation for the speech events. I also am interested in social justice concerns as well as current events, which is why I enjoy coming to these tournaments.

Things you should know about me:

1. I like for you to lay out your speech or debates in advance. I do not want to get to the end of your event and not be clear on what it was you were trying to convey. If you have three points tell me what they are and then proceed to flesh them out. If you are countering an opponent's points tell me which ones. My mind likely does not make the same assumptions that yours does so it will be helpful for you to state your logic.

2. I do not like spreading. Please don't do it. My mind is older than yours and I need more think time.

3. I like fair and respectful debate. Please don't be hostile to one another, it is unpleasant for all of us to be exposed to that.

4. I am a newer judge, please keep it topical. If you run a K I will be confused by it.

5. Lastly I love all things Disney so my heart will be warmed by any mention of anything related to the Disney Empire.

I am a very recently graduated top competitor in Georgia IEs. Having said this, I am very familiar with current popular topics and styles for OOs, Interps, and topics for Extemp. My criteria for judging each of the speech events is different, so here is a list of what I expect from top level IEs:

Impromptu: I expect Impromptus to be entertaining and non-formulaic. The topic should be analyzed in an abstract way that allows the competitor to tie outside information or ideas into the topic with a clever and creative link. However, the speaker should not ramble and make connections that can not be explained for the sake of entertainment value. Although I expect as much of the 5 minute limit to be used as possible, rambling without organization will lower the speaker's score. A general outline of the speech will greatly affect my ability to follow the speaker's ideas and thus keep me more engaged. Lastly, performance is very important to me. A speech with a vibrant and fun performance can easily bring up poor content. Essentially, a strong mix of an entertaining link and content and vibrant performance will get a high score form me.

Extemp: Although very different in style from Impropmtu, I still expect Extemp speeches to be somewhat entertaining. A mixture of good sources, interesting view points, and humor/good presentation should be used to make the speech not only engaging and fun to listen to for the judge, but helps me consider your viewpoint as valid and well thought out. I will not take my political views into account for these speeches whatsoever, so any route may be taken with your topic. DO NOT just read off statistics. I expect a clear explanation on the reason why that evidence is significant and important for me to know. I do not expect everyone to use all 7 minutes. If you can make your point quickly and concisely, no points will be taken off. Essentially, I want a speech with a clear, well explained thesis backed by evidence that is thoroughly integrated into the speaker's view while still managing to make the speech fun to listen to.

OO: Originality and a fun presentation are absolute musts for a good OO. With much more freedom to build an entertaining and original piece than the improv events, I expect these pieces to be well thought out, thought provoking, and something I've never heard before. If a speaker uses an overused topic, an interesting spin on that topic can easily save their score. I expect as much of the 10 minutes to be used as possible, as these pieces should be rehearsed and practiced to utilize ample time. A fun mix of interesting content and a truly electric performance will easily catch a top spot from me.

Interps: For the earlier tournaments, I am not expecting mastery of acting techniques, especially from novices. However, I do expect full effort to be put into the performance, whether that be blocking, accents, or emotional aspects. Simply memorizing lines will not give many points. There must be a clear attempt to make the piece personal to the speaker, thus being their interpretation. Performance will be the largest factor of scoring for me in these events. A simple slip up or forgetting one line will be a very small infraction as long as there is a smooth recovery.

Columbus High '19 and University of Georgia '23. I've done speech all four years, having success both on the local and national circuit, qualifying to both TOC and NSDA Nationals.

Though I did speech, I understand how PF flows at a general level.

Some ground rules:

1. I can handle speed just fine. However, if the argument you're trying to make is really important, slow down so it leaves more of an impact. The quality of your words is more important than the quantity.

2. Though I will be flowing, I am more on the lay side when it comes to tech. If you use terminology that I don't understand, then I will probably make a face and put it aside. If you see this, fix it by explaining it in a more "lay" fashion.

3. Everything said in Final Focus, MUST BE in Summary. Any new arguments brought up in FF that was not said in Summary will not be weighed.

4. In Summary, give me clear voters on why you won this debate. Make my job easier by explicitly telling me what should be weighed the most in the round. Fail to do this and it will be harder for you to win my ballot.

5. It's fine to be assertive, being rude isn't.

6. Puns are great. However, any discriminatory remarks made will result in a 22 for speaks and a good ol' talking to with your coach.

7. Time yourselves. I'm lazy.

8. I will make mistakes, and if I do, my b.

If you have a question or anything like that, don't be scared to ask me. I'm a pretty chill dude.

I try to judge the debate the best I can given the information the debate teams provide me in the round.

In LD if you want me to vote on Value or criterion I need to know why this is and what effect this has on the round.

If I am to look at case please clearly identify your impacts and maybe compare them to your opponents. It doesn't have to be christmas for sweet gifts like that.