Question: Am I a bad judge?
Answer: Maybe? Probably. I'm either dumb or just slow.

Disclaimer: I have not judged since 2021. Go easy on me

Experience: I debated policy three years for Neenah High School (WI) and have been judging/coaching since 2016. I was an ok (subpar) debater with some nationals experience, but I was double 1s so evaluate that however you want. Most of my judging these days is LD but don't expect me to be an expert on the topic. I have judged maybe once this season.

Paradigm: Tabs. I'm good with speed, if I can't understand you I guess I'll say something. I will vote for anything well run in a debate round. I am pretty good at following K proper flows. I can have a hard time with heavy theory debates. That being said, feel free to run whatever you are comfortable with.

In Round stuff: I really really really would prefer you to time your own speeches/prep/cross. I am very disorganized and absent-minded so I will probably forget to write down the prep usage or start speech times late if at all. Its also just good practice to be mindful of time in a round.

If its allowed at the tournament put me on the email chain.

Special Notes: You are responsible for the language that you use in the debate round; racist, sexist, queerphobic, ableist, or any other discriminatory speech will not be tolerated.

-Anything Else-

Feel free to ask me before a round. Chances are you know more than I do, I generally think I know what I'm talking about but I probably don't.

My email is isaacdorn@gmail.com

Email me if you have any questions about your ballot or my paradigm, I'm happy to reply!

-More Detail-

-Affirmatives-

Policy affs with a plantext: Go for it.

Plantext affs with K impacts: Go for it

Non Traditional Affs (advocacy, narratives, performance, kritikal, etc.): Go for it, but make sure to clearly extend case. Also I need a clear ROB so that I know what I'm voting for at the end of the round.

-Negatives-

DAs: Go for it.

CPs (Consult, Process, Agent, etc.): Go for it, make sure there is a clear net benefit. I tend to grant affs a bit more leeway when it comes to solvency as long as there isn't a competitive fiat debate. I also appreciate good explanations of the perm on both sides (i.e. whether there is functional severance, redundancy, works/doesn't work etc.). Some caveats; I have a history of defaulting affirmative on counterplans that I am unclear on or if the permutation debate seemed muddled to me (I am, however, beginning to shift my mindset on this towards tech>truth)

Ks (any kind): Go for it. Love em'. Like I said, I can keep up with K proper flows. Make sure your alt and link are clearly explained. While I like kritiks, I prefer for them to be educational rather than strategically ambiguous. Although I'm comfortable with my literature base, I will not do the conceptual work for you. You must adequately explain the content of your kritik.

T - Let me preface this by saying I have never voted on T. That being said, there are a few things you need to do to win a T debate in front of me. 1) Clear and present standards AND voters 2) In round abuse (which could be strategically planned) or a compelling reason for me to vote on potential abuse 3) Commitment in the 2NR, the argument is theoretically that you can't engage with a non-topical aff, if you spend half the 2NR with offense on the aff that makes your argument less compelling. IMO Topicality is a tool to keep affirmatives in check, I am much more Truth>Tech on the T flow.

-Theory-

Most of my squirreling on panels is usually because my understanding of theory. I didn't really get it as a debater, so most of my knowledge comes from my experience as a judge/coach/just thinking about it. I think my biggest problem with theory is that it is often presented as a series of quick one-liners that don't have a ton of substance. Seeing that I've never been great at flowing my preference is depth over breadth on theory.

(Update) I will not retract my previous statement, however I have developed my thought process some more. When you are engaged in a theory debate in front of me, make sure you have two things. 1) A sufficient claim that you meet your interpretation of debate better than your opponent. 2) Comparative offense calculus so that I as a judge understand why I should care about your interpretation of debate.

I will for sure vote for theory arguments in a debate, if I can understand them.

IN LD:

The WDCA requires that I add the following to my paradigm

Apply all of the above and...

Framework: Framework is an important aspect of your case and should not be neglected. Don't ignore offense on your FW.

V/VC: I don't need to see a Value/Value criterion in your case in order for me to vote for you. But you are responsible for making a cohesive argument as to why it is important for you to ignore this structure.

Plantexts: Go for it. I come from policy so honestly I would prefer a plantext.

CP: I think a CP is a fundamental part of your offensive toolkit on the negative and you should take advantage of this as much as you can.

Kritik: Kritiks are great. Don't expect me to do the legwork for you though, see above for specifics. Extend your evidence.

What I vote for in LD: Generally I will be voting for the team which understands their case more. Refer to my paradigm for what I like to see in a round.

I’m a very simple judge, not many presences or bias towards different types of arguments. I am good with understanding theory or T. My decisions are made simply based on what arguments are won on the flow. Technicalities are a big thing for me, if you make drops or fail to properly extend arguments I will not consider them. I have over 5 years of judging experience in Policy, LD. PF.

Short Version

I have ten+ years of debate experience and will buy any argument, as long as it is well structured and fair. I am known to be a very progressive judge in Wisconsin, however on Nat circuit level it might be better to treat me as a Flay judge. I do love a good traditional debate, but do like progressive debate. Most importantly have fun in a round!

Long version

Event Preferences

PF: Tech>truth within reason.

speed>collapsing: Share a doc and go for everything, yes even if that means spreading. I generally HATE time suck contentions, like don't waste my time flowing something you know you are going to drop. Provide more education to the round by running quality arguments, or end your speech early.

full case>paraphrasing: In general the more you can take the good file sharing habits of LD and CX and use them, the quick and better the round will go.

LD: LARP (Policy-style arguments i.e. Plans, CPs, Disads, Topicality) > Trad/Phil (Standard LD case) > Ks/Performance > Theory > Tricks> Disclosure Theory

CX Neg: Disads>T>Specs>CP>K>Theory > Tricks> Disclosure Theory

CX Aff: traditional cases>aff Ks>Disclosure Theory

Thoughts on certain topics

Framework: Please tell me how the framework contextualizes your offense / defense in relation to the ballot and/or the round. I require framework to also contextualize how your opponents arguments are implicated by your Framework arguments.

Argument Resolution: I reward debaters who clearly articulate and provide reasons why their warrants, impacts, sources are stronger in this round – Impact calc and voters are great ways to do this. Debaters who provide well warranted arguments on the flow that are developed early and throughout the debate get both high speaks from me and my ballot.

Theory: I vote on well developed procedurals, I do not vote on blipped shells that blow up later in the debate so have voters and standards don’t just give me an interp and violation - this isn't to say don't run T in front of me but rather that you need to provide me a well developed justification for why to prefer your side. Focus on impacts through a education/fairness filter will be the easiest way to my ballot on this issue. I do hate it when teams use theory as a time suck.

K debate: I have read and actively coach a lot of critical debate but you should not however assume I know the literature base you will be pulling from, feel free to ask prior to the start of the round about my familiarity. The more specific your argument is to the round or issue at hand then the easier route you will have to my ballot. I usually am not a fan of Perm because it can make the debate muddy. I do love conditionality debate.

Tricks: If is one thing you should not run with me, it is tricks, I like a clean and fair Debate.

Disadvantages: Disads are my favorite off case argument. I evaluate Disads first on the risk of intrinsic link to the AFF before questions of uniqueness and the way this implicates the affirmative, this isn't to say questions of uniqueness don't implicate the link but questions of link comes first and then are determined to be strengthened / weakened by the uniqueness. - Work done on the impact level to have strong warrants as well as good weighing are an easy way to my ballot.

Counter Plan: My second favorite off case argument to see. Make sure they are mutually exclusive and AFF can’t perm. Also I hate Perm debate usually on CP because it is either an easy win or waste of my time. I think overall Cp play well with Disads and are a easy way for NEG to win my ballot.

Speed: I am perfectly fine with speed usually I will only yell clear once and it is because you are not speaking clearly.DO NOT SPREAD ANALYTICS WITHOUT A DOC.

Flashing: Add me to the email chain, my RFD will be better if you do.

justinflynn190@gmail.com

I am a former policy debater, who did a little LD in high school (early 90s). I coached policy for three years when I was in college and law school. Between 2000 and 2018, I occasionally judged CX, LD, and PF. I have judged PF and LD at several tournaments in the 2019-20 school year. I intend to judge some Congress in the 2019-20 school year.

See below for PF/LD and Congress.

PF/LD

General: A debate should (with rare exceptions) begin with the first speech and end with the last speech. I don't want to be on any email chains. I don't want to see any evidence after the round. I will keep track of prep time, but I would prefer if you kept track of your speech times.

I want to keep the round moving, so be ready to speak when it is your turn. If you want prep time, use it. Yes, it takes a few seconds to get to the place where you will speak. But this is not the point to take 5 minutes to get your laptop ready, etc.

You don't need to ask if I am ready. I will let you know if I am not. You can ask if your opponents are ready, but you should assume that your partner is ready. If your opponents are ready, you should give the untimed road map described in the Flow section.

Speed: I prefer a normal rate of speed and will flow a slightly faster rate.

Flow: For LD/PF, I usually flow on two, or three, pieces of paper. It will usually be one sheet for each side's case, and sometimes one sheet for voters. Before your constructive speeches, you should provide an untimed 10-second road map so that I can get my flow in order. This is usually simply saying, e.g., my case, my opponent's case, voters. I don't want to hear your specific arguments.

Constructive Speeches: I prefer a quick overview at or near the beginning of the constructive speech and a quick summary at the end of the constructive speech (this can vary given the lengths of certain constructive speeches). There is a reason behind the adage: tell them what you will say, say it, tell them what you said. This is not a mystery novel. When you get to a contention, I like already having a general sense of how it fits into the bigger picture of your case.

There should be clash and weighing. It seems strange to need to say this, but debates too often simply devolve to conclusory statements (e.g., pro argues that jobs will be created, con argues that jobs will be lost). You should explain why your position, on the whole, is superior. I tend to prefer analysis and examples over expert evidence. For example, you should explain why an example is representative of the whole, rather than just identifying the example. I suspect the other side can cite a counter example, and then I, as a judge, have no ability to determine why one example is better than the other.

I generally prefer a wholistic approach rather than a line-by-line. As a result, drops of entire arguments are much more important than drops of a specific point. If an opponent drops an entire argument, you should not simply say that your opponent dropped it. You should still take 15-30 seconds to explain why this drop is important. And don't oversell the drop. If the dropped argument was not the focus of most the round, you won't win on the drop, but it might be the tiebreaker. If an opponent drops a specific point in the line-by-line, it won't hurt you to mention it. If it is a critical point, then you should take some time to explain the importance of the drop. But if the drop is simply item 5 of a 6-item line-by-line, then the drop probably will have little effect on the round.

Cross Examination/Crossfire: I feel that CX/CF is usually poorly used. I don't flow CX/CF, but I will recognize when a debater effectively uses CX/CF. A good CX/CF can take out arguments (sometimes to such an extent that it is clear who will win the round) or reduce your opponent's credibility. If you show that your opponent does not understand their case, then I am less likely to accept their arguments in the later constructive speeches. If I don't know what you accomplished at the end of CX/CF, then it was probably a wasted opportunity.

CX/CF is for asking questions to clarify information you missed (to a lesser extent) and to poke holes in your opponent's case or to lock them into a position (to a greater extent). These periods are not for asking a question for the purpose of giving a 30-second argument about your case (which happens so often in PF). Before you start CX/CF, you should have one or two goals that you want to accomplish by the end of CX/CF. A good CX/CF will usually feature a line of questioning, rather than a single question.

LD: I prefer a traditional value-focused round. Although I have voted for more "policy" issues, such as kritiks, I am disinclined to vote on these issues. For example, if the debaters are of equal quality, I will generally vote for the traditional LD debater over the "policy" debater.

I find that the actual values are generally less important in the reason for decision than which debater better achieves their (and/or their opponent's) value. When the values are identical or similar, the debaters can simply say as much. When the values are different, you will probably want to spend a little time explaining why your value is superior. But, even in these rounds, you will generally want to focus on achieving the value.

PF: Because PF is supposed to be accessible to lay judges, I don't really have any specific preference on the arguments made in the round.

One additional comment about crossfire. I hate when half of CF is wasted with the debaters simply asking if they can ask a question. Unless the rules at a specific tournament dictate otherwise, the person who gave the first speech should ask the first question without asking if they can ask the first question. The debaters should assume that they will alternate questions. If it is a debater's turn to ask a question but does not have one, the debater should indicate that so that the opponent can ask a question. If a debater wants to ask a two-part question, they should mention it before asking the first question. The debater should then ask the first question, get the response, ask the second question, and get the response. As mentioned above, a debater should not use CF to give a short speech.

Disclosure and Oral Critiques: Unless required by the tournament, I will not disclose the result or provide an oral critique.

Congress

Speeches: When scoring a speech on a 1-6 scale, the lowest score I will give is a 3. This is generally a speech that is very short or contributes next to nothing in the session. I will rarely give a score of 6. Most speeches will receive a score of 4 or 4.5.

Because authorship speeches can be written prior to the tournament, I expect a very good authorship speech and will give a score of 5 or more.

As the number of speakers increases on a piece of legislation, I expect that the speeches to become more responsive to earlier speeches. In other words, if you are the last speaker on the bill and you add very little to the session, then the highest score you will receive is a 4.

Barring an amendment, I do not like when speakers give a speech and then vote the other way. I don't pay particular attention to this, but if I see it (and I have on rare occasions), I wonder what was the purpose of your speech. This is an easy way for me to move you down in the session ranks (or off the ranks entirely).

Questions: I generally do not score questions, but the speaker should be able to effectively answer questions. In rare circumstances, I might increase or decrease a speech score by .5 if the speaker is exceptionally good or bad at responding to questions.

Presiding Officer: If you want to be the PO, I expect that you take it seriously, know the rules, and keep the chamber running smoothly.

Session Ranks: I base session ranks on how much the speaker added to the session. Speeches will generally guide session ranks, but questions (both in terms of asking and answering) and other factors could be tiebreakers. I generally give a higher rank to individuals who give more speeches. For example, an individual who gave two speeches of 4 (or 4.5) will generally get a higher rank in the session than an individual who gave one speech of 5. Given that the PO is involved the entire session, I generally will include the PO in the session ranks. If you follow the advice above, I will rank you higher on the session ranks. If you do not follow the advice, I will rank you low on the session ranks, and possibly not include you at all.

I’m a newer judge with two year’s experience. I value clarity of argument and sound logic. It is important for your judge to be able to hear and understand your speech in order to give you effective feedback about your performance. If you go too fast, I will stop flowing and may not consider all of your argument. I will take frameworks into consideration and do my best to weigh impacts this way. I have a working understanding of counterplans but would prefer that you avoid kritiks and other progressive argumentation.

TL;DR: I'm cool with whatever as long as you understand it and explain it so that I do too. If you run something complex and don't explain it well, that's your fault because I won't understand it either. I've got a decent background with progressive debate so it should be fine, but if it's super philosophical pls explain it well. I don't particularly like theory or t unless there's a valid reason for running it. Don't run anything offensive or I'll automatically drop you. Provide a trigger warning (if needed) out of respect for everyone in the round. Speed is fine.

put me on the email chain!: kmperez555@gmail.com

Background: I debated for Golda Meir for four years in LD. I am a current student at UW-Madison majoring in Legal Studies and Chicane/Latine Studies, with certificates in Public Policy and Criminal Justice. My debate experience ranges from local circuit to national circuit tournaments. I've judged a multiple of tournaments, so please treat me like any other past debater! I don't judge that frequently anymore so I might ask what the resolution is.

General In-Round Things:

Speed: Speed is fine. Slow down on tags and anything else important that you really want on my flow. I'll say clear as much as I can. Be mindful and do it with purpose.

Framework: You should have at least some form of it. Whether that's a value/value criterion or a role of the ballot, there should be something telling me from what lense I should look at for what you're saying. If you end up running a very philosophical fw, articulate it well for me in round. Do not just say that both of your fw's are a wash, that's not true. You still need to evaluate it and stress it within case.

Theory/T: I'll evaluate it only if I need to and only if there is something inherently abusive in round. Don't just run it because you think its fun or want to do for time constraints. I'm not a big fan of T but if it's necessary I'll evaluate it!

Kritiks: These are great, but be sure to explain it well for me especially if it is super philosophical/technical or out of the box. Be sure to tell me how the alt solves!

Performance: I have not heard this in a long time, but I love this! Explain in round impacts clearly!

Plans/CPs/PICS: I'll listen to them but I just don't there is enough time to really go through it. I'll vote for it but you have to do a really good job at explaining why the rest is bad/how the resolution is a worse alternative. I think CPs only work if there's a plan but I will evaluate them!

DAs: These are great, but just be clear and explain in round impacts well!

Other things: Clear voters. Tell me exactly what I need to vote on and why. Please and I can not stress this enough but please tell me why your impacts matter and weigh them throughout the round, not just at the end. Tell me why your competitor's world is innately bad. Don't just extend your warrants but explain to me why they matter in your world or how you do it better than your opponents world. If I had to evaluate the round on my own and you leave room for me to analyze it, then it puts a ton of work on my end, so please weigh everything.

Miscellaneous:

- I typically time each speech but I do forget so please time yourselves. Open prep is fine with me as long as both debaters agree with it.

- I don't really care whether you sit or stand in round unless it's like an elim round. If its a virtual tournament, I have no preference for having your cameras on. Do what's most comfortable to you.

- I love when competitors clash especially during CX, so just generally clash but don't be rude about it. It will ruin your speaks if you are out-right rude to your opponent.

- I will listen to outrageous (out of the box cases) and I find them fun. So if you are willing to do it and take the risk, go for it!

- Any -phobias or -isms will absolutely not be tolerated. You'll get the lowest speaks I can give and I'll automatically drop you. Debate is meant to be inclusive, not hurtful.

- I'll give you pretty high speaks unless you're rude or offensive. Just don't be a dick please especially when competing with opponents that have a lower skill difference.

- Have fun. If you have any questions or comments, please email me! (same one as above)

Congressional Debate

TL;DR: I value the overall content of the speech and your points, rather than the quality. However, since it is a Speech activity, I do like it when debaters are very clear about their points following a long list of extensions as to why one should or should not be able to pass/fail a particular bill. It provides a ton of clash! Don't run or say anything offensive, or I'll give you the lowest speaks I can give! Any further questions, just ask me before session!

andrea.peterson-longmore@neenah.k12.wi.us thats my email before you ask.

I have sections below specific to each category, so just scroll and look for the bolded section you are interested in.

Experience: I am currently the head coach for Neenah high school Speech & Debate (but currently only assisting in LD/PF... if that makes sense? I do all the other things) and have been a coach for the last 6 years. I have students who compete locally as well as nationally- we had the national champion at NSDA in Congress, and a Quarterfinalist in LD, a national competitor in Speech, middle school nats nationa runner up....so I have judged all over the place. This is my ninth year as a judge ('22-'23). I judge all categories, except varsity policy. I was not a debater in school, so I have a more basic understanding of the more obscure things that go on in debate.

"I have 5 minutes and wanted to check your paradigm quick, whats the headlines?"

*******Update for Yale- I broke my dominant hand, and can't write. I take short notes by typing, but be as clear as you can about your points since I have to do this from memory =(

Congress is my JAM. I love it and I prefer to see that level of enthusiasm/preparation from the participants.

I wasn't a debater- explain things clearly or I drop arguments I don't understand. ***note on that- I understand the terms of debate (link, turn, impact, etc), just not more niche philosophies and less popular arguments***

Be nice to each other- respect will get you far with me

Impact calc and weighing of final arguments is the best strat with me

Don't argue with me in RFD. If I drop you and you think you should have won, explain it better next time.

I can handle spreading, but if you can't... don't. It's awkward to have to tell you that you don't make sense.

Use a timer, and stick to it- I hate it when kids go over time. I stop flowing within 5 seconds of the end of your time. I will not warn you about this- you know your time limits.

Okay, I love these little things I have seen on other paradigms, so hopefully this helps.

For your pref sheets: (1 being top pref, just to be clear)

K's 1<-------------------------------X------>5 (I like them, but I feel like I am not a good judge for them)

Policy – 1<----X--------------------------------->5 /strike

Phil – 1<-------------------X------------------>5

T/Theory- 1<-------------------------------X------>5

Tricks – 1<-------------------------------------X>5 Actually... X. <== I HATE them. Please don't run them.

Trad – 1<--X----------------------------------->5

See below for more in-depth explanations divided by category

Congress

Behavior: You are acting as a member of congress- keep that in mind in how you behave! Please make sure to respect the rules of your parli and PO. For the love all that is good, please pay attention to the round. This is far more fun when everyone participates! If I see you on your phone for more than a minute at a time I will be annoyed. Obviously you can answer a text or check the time quick, but if you are disengaged I will notice and I will not be happy.

Speeches: I LOVE *actually* extemporaneous speeches. Please breathe some life into your words- you are trying to make your fellow congresspeople vote for or against the bill! Make sure you include stats, citations, and some analysis of other speaker's points. I believe that if legislation is up for debate, there is current research to be read about it, thus I expect you are only using sources from AT MOST the last 5 years. Better if they are from the last 3. A good, weird AGD is fun. Please avoid the common Taylor Swift/Disney/over used quote choices though. Bonus if you can make me a crack a smile with it! (not really a "bonus," but I remember them when I am doing my rankings- which helps your placement)

PO's: Have a CLEAR sheet for people to follow, keep it updated. If you make a mistake, fix it and move on quickly. LEARN your chamber's names. It is so awkward to hear POs continually mess up the names in the chamber. If you need it, but a phonetic pronunciation spot in your sheet and ask them to put their name in that way for you. I tend to rank PO's high, as long as they are engaged and well versed in the congress rules, (or at least learning them!) if they are not engaged and EFFICIENT, they can expect a low ranking. I can't stand it when a PO says a whole 30 second thing after every speech and questioning block.

Questioning: Ask short, clear questions. Don't have a ton of lead up. I don't mind if you need to argue with each other a bit, but keep it civil and don't cut each other off unless its clear they are wasting your time or are not answering the question. It drives me insane to have a silent room for questions and no opposition to a bill, please ask lots of questions! It plays into my ranking- great speeches will only get you so far with me! If you don't ask any questions in a bill cycle, don't expect a rank of over 6 from me. This hold true even if you didn't speak on the bill. It doesn't require research to think critically and ask thoughtful questions.

Recesses: Keep them short. Do not ask for more than 5 minutes between bills- I am not willing to extend the end of the session to accommodate the chamber wasting time during the session.

Overall Preferences: I can't stand it when kids want to break cycle to just give a speech. I realize this isn't your fault, but that means the debate is stale and we need to move on. Unless you are giving a whole new perspective on the bill, you are far better off moving on to a new bill and giving a speech there. I am especially critical of these speeches in terms of quality of content and sources, because if you are insisting we listen to your extra speech, it must be REALLY good and worth not moving on.

Public Forum

Preferences: Please be clear and professional in round. I hate that the attitudes and behaviors seen in other styles is seeping into PF. As noted in other sections, I was not a debater, so don't expect me to know every single term you share. Generally, if I make a somewhat confused face, define your term.

A few things I love to see: Please, collapse arguments. It's so awesome to watch a veteran team (or even a novice team) weigh arguments and determine the largest impacts and points in the round and weigh them against each other, rather than slowly increase their speed in through the debate to try and get every single argument in to the last speech. Spreading has no place in PF- stop trying to make it happen, its not going to happen.

A few things I hate in rounds: Veteran debaters being overly hard on novices- we want to keep them in the activity, don't discourage them by running super dense over the top arguments- you will probably win if you just run a standard argument simply by being more experienced. "Stealing" prep- if you need prep take it, don't make me sit for 35 seconds and then tell me you're taking prep. If you want cards, fine... but ask for them all at once and get it over with quickly. It is super annoying to go through CX and then have a 15 minute "card trade" before getting back into debate.

Lincoln Douglas

Preferences: This is what the majority of my students do. I will flow everything and I will say clear if necessary, but only once before I stop flowing you. I was not a debater, so my knowledge of really weird arguments is lacking. Let me say that again. I WAS NOT A DEBATER- EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEAN. It has become more and more common to use really dense philosophies in your framing- this is something I have little experience with. Make sure to explain your super specialized philosophy carefully or I can't use it as a weighing mechanism. I encourage you to run whatever you like, but explain it very well, especially if it is not something common. Err on the side of caution if you are not sure if it is common- like I said I am not well versed in most of the different arguments. In terms of speed I judge a lot of policy, so I would say I am comfortable with most speeds seen in LD.

A few things I love to see in round: Please weigh & tell me how to vote so I don’t have to intervene in any capacity. I also like to see super high respect for your opponent. This is such an underrated part of PF that is not nearly as present in LD or Policy, and it totally should be. Signpost clearly- I love hearing you tell me exactly what the "uniqueness" is, the "link" and the "impact. It makes it much easier for me to organize my flow. If you have nearly identical frames, I love to see kids recognize that and show how they can fit into each other's frame, rather than making the round about whether I should weigh using "limiting suffering" or "increasing societal welfare." Let's be honest, those are pretty similar, and if you fit in one you probably can fit in the other.

A few things I hate in rounds: Swearing- This seems like an obvious one, but is lacks professionalism if it is not needed to actually make the points. "Stealing" prep- if you need prep take it, don't make me sit for 35 seconds and then tell me you're taking prep. Veteran debaters being overly hard on novices- we want to keep them in the activity, don't discourage them by running super dense over the top arguments- you will probably win if you just run a standard argument simply by being more experienced. Last thing: if you run a "fairness" argument that you couldn't prep against your opponent and then you have a case against your opponent, expect me to completely drop your fairness argument. You just proved that you lied about the fairness since you prepped that argument. Use your time to prepare blocks and responses instead of wasteful and lazy theory shells.

Policy

Preferences: I do not like any tricks or unprofessional behavior in round, but snark is always okay. I prefer not to hear teams talking to each other while their opponents are presenting, as it is distracting to me as a judge. Open speeches are a no-go. If you don't have your own stuff ready, then take prep time. If you're out of prep time, organize yourself better next time. I generally only judge novice policy once in a while, so be aware you might be my only round this year, and I probably don't have a comprehensive knowledge of the subject area.

I am fine with spreading, (probably a 6/10 for speed) however if you are not understandable, I will only tell you clear once before I stop flowing you. Please be aware of your own speaking issues- for example, if you have braces and rubber bands, you probably should not spread, since you will be almost unintelligible. On the topic of spreading- I understand it is a strategy to get as many arguments in as possible, but be aware that a large breadth of arguments you do not understand is basically useless.

Impact calc is huge for me. If I don't clearly hear you explain why your impacts are bigger or more important, I judge completely by what is on my flow. DA's and CP's are fine in a round, and good experience for a novice/Post nov. I always flow cross x, and keep track of questions asked. I do not want to see a framework in novice policy.

Misc. Stuff for any style debate:

-I am not about speaker points- I think its a really biased system, but I do it because its required. I would not consider myself generous with points, but I try to be fair with the way the system is set up. That said, if you’re mean to your opponent I will substantially dock your speaks. If you can’t control your round without being disrespectful there is something wrong. Since I have been asked, I average about 28 for speaks.

-I don't flow things from CX unless I am told to. I find it to be one of the more telling parts of any round about who has stronger arguments and better understands the content, but if you want it to weigh in to my decision, you need to bring it up in speeches.

-Please understand whatever you’re running before you run it in front of me- it is super frustrating to hear kids hem and haw about defining terms when they didn't take time to understand what they are saying.

-I dislike timing rounds and I've found I'm extremely inaccurate. I will keep time, but it is best if we have multiple timers going to ensure accuracy. Please time yourselves and hold your opponent accountable so that I don't have to. I HATE having to cut people off because they are over time- I actually prefer if their opponent has a timer that goes off so I can hear it.

TLDR: Be respectful, know & define your stuff, use current sources, watch your time.

I debated policy and LD in high school in the mid to late nineties. Then I coached at Marquette High School, only LD, for about 7 years during and after college. I do prefer a slower debate but can definitely handle speed if it's clear and enunciated. In the LD world, I really like a good and solid value debate and prefer the philosophical over the practical. I have judged PF for the past 2 years. I prefer debaters give me voters by the end of the round. Dropped arguments matter to me and I like a lot of organization on the flow so it's easy to follow.

I am the head debate coach at James Madison Memorial HS (2002 - present)
I am the head debate coach at Madison West HS (2014 - present)
I was formerly an assistant at Appleton East (1999-2002)
I competed for 3 years (2 in LD) at Appleton East (1993-1996)

I am a plaintiff's employment/civil rights lawyer in real life. I coach (or coached, depending on the year) every event in both debate and IE, with most of my recent focus on PF, Congress, and Extemp. Politically I'm pretty close to what you'd presume about someone from Madison, WI.

Congress at the bottom.

PF

(For online touraments) Send me case/speech docs at the start please (timscheff@aol.com) email or sharing a google doc is fine, I don't much care if I don't have access to it after the round if you delink me or if you ask me to delete it from my inbox. I have a little trouble picking up finer details in rounds where connections are fuzzy and would rather not have to ask mid round to finish my flow.
(WDCA if a team is uncomfortable sharing up front that's fine, but any called evidence should then be shared).

If your ev is misleading as cut/paraphrased or is cited contrary to the body of the evidence, I get unhappy. If I notice a problem independently there is a chance I will intervene and ignore the ev, even without an argument by your opponent. My first role has to be an educator maintaining academic honesty standards. You could still pick up if there is a path to a ballot elsewhere. If your opponents call it out and it's meaningful I will entertain voting for a theory type argument that justifies a ballot.

I prefer a team that continues to tell a consistent story/advocacy through the round. I do not believe a first speaking team's rebuttal needs to do more than refute the opposition's case and deal with framework issues. The second speaking team ideally should start to rebuild in the rebuttal; I don't hold it to be mandatory but I find it much harder to vote for a team that doesn't absent an incredible summary. What is near mandatory is that if you are going to go for it in the Final Focus, it should probably be extended in the Summary. I will give cross-x enough weight that if your opponents open the door to bringing the argument back in the grand cross, I'll still consider it.

Rate wise going quick is fine but there should be discernible variations in rate and/or tone to still emphasize the important things. If you plan on referring to arguments by author be very sure the citations are clear and articulated well enough for me to get it on my flow.

I'm a fairly staunch proponent of paraphrasing. It's an academically more realistic exercise. It also means you need to have put in the work to understand the source (hopefully) and have to be organized enough to pull it up on demand and show what you've analyzed (or else). A really good quotation used in full (or close to it) is still a great device to use. In my experience as a coach I've run into more evidence ethics, by far, with carded evidence, especially when teams only have a card, or they've done horrible Frankenstein chop-jobs on the evidence, forcing it into the quotation a team wants rather than what the author said. Carded evidence also seems to encourage increases in speed of delivery to get around the fact that an author with no page limit's argument is trying to be crammed into 4 min of speech time. Unless its an accommodation for a debater, if you need to share speech docs before a speech, something's probably gone a bit wrong with the world.
On this vein, I've developed a fairly keen annoyance with judges who outright say "no paraphrasing." It's simply not something any team can reasonably adapt to in the context of a tournament. I'm not sure how much the teams of the judges or coaches taking this position would be pleased with me saying I don't listen to cards or I won't listen to a card unless it's read 100% in full (If you line down anything, I call it invalid). It's the #1 thing where I'm getting tempted to pull the trigger on a reciprocity paradigm.

Exchange of evidence is not optional if it is asked for. I will follow the direction of a tournament on the exchange timing, however, absent knowledge of a specific rule, I will not run prep for either side when a reasonable number of sources are requested. Debaters can prep during this time as you should be able to produce sources in a reasonable amount of time and "not prepping" is a bit of a fiction and/or breaks up the flow of the round.

Citations should include a date when presented if that date will be important to the framing of the issue/solution, though it's not a bad practice to include them anyhow. More important, sources should be by author name if they are academic, or publication if journalistic (with the exception of columnists hired for their expertise). This means "Harvard says" is probably incorrect because it's doubtful the institution has an official position on the policy, similarly an academic journal/law review publishes the work of academics who own their advocacy, not the journal. I will usually ask for sources if during the course of the round the claims appear to be presented inconsistently to me or something doesn't sound right, regardless of a challenge, and if the evidence is not presented accurately, act on it.

Speaker points. Factors lending to increased points: Speaking with inflection to emphasize important things, clear organization, c-x used to create ground and/or focus the clash in the round, and telling a very clear story (or under/over view) that adapts to the actual arguments made. Factors leading to decreased points: unclear speaking, prep time theft (if you say end prep, that doesn't mean end prep and do another 10 seconds), making statements/answering answers in c-x, straw-man-ing opponents arguments, claiming opponent drops when answers were made, and, the fastest way for points to plummet, incivility during c-x. Because speaker points are meaningless in out rounds, the only way I can think of addressing incivility is to simply stop flowing the offending team(s) for the rest of the round.

Finally, I flow as completely as I can, generally in enough detail that I could debate with it. However, I'm continually temped to follow a "judge a team as they are judging yours" versus a "judge a team as you would want yours judged" rule. Particularly at high-stakes tournaments, including the TOC, I've had my teams judged by a judge who makes little or no effort to flow. I can't imagine any team at one of those tournaments happy with that type of experience yet those judges still represent them. I think lay-sourced judges and the adaptation required is a good skill and check on the event, but a minimum training and expectation of norms should be communicated to them with an attempt to comply with them. To a certain degree this problem creates a competitive inequity - other teams face the extreme randomness imposed by a judge who does not track arguments as they are made and answered - yet that judge's team avoids it. I've yet to hit the right confluence of events where I'd actually adopt "untrained lay" as a paradigm, but it may happen sometime. [UPDATE: I've gotten to do a few no-real-flow lay judging rounds this year thanks to the increase in lay judges at online tournaments]. Bottom line, if you are bringing judges that are lay, you should probably be debating as if they are your audience.

CONGRESS
The later in the cycle you speak, the more rebuttal your speech should include. Repeating the same points as a prior speaker is probably not your best use of time.

If you speak on a side, vote on that side if there wasn't an amendment. If you abstain, I should understand why you are abstaining (like a subsequent amendment contrary to your position).

I'm not opposed to hearing friendly questions in c-x as a way to advance your side's position if they are done smartly. If your compatriot handles it well, points to you both. If they fumble it, no harm to you and negative for them. C-x doesn't usually factor heavily into my rankings, often just being a tie breaker for people I see as roughly equal in their performance.

For the love of God, if it's not a scenario/morning hour/etc. where full participation on a single issue is expected, call to question already. With expanded questioning now standard, you don't need to speak on everything to stay on my mind. Late cycle speeches rarely offer something new and it's far more likely you will harm yourself with a late speech than help. If you are speaking on the same side in succession it's almost certain you will harm yourself, and opposing a motion to call to question to allow successive speeches on only one side will also reflect as a non-positive.

A good sponsorship speech, particularly one that clarifies vagueness and lays out solvency vs. vaguely talking about the general issue (because, yeah, we know climate change is bad, what about this bill helps fix it), is the easiest speech for me to score well. You have the power to frame the debate because you are establishing the legislative intent of the bill, sometimes in ways that actually move the debate away from people's initially prepped positions.

In a chamber where no one has wanted to sponsor or first negate a bill, especially given you all were able to set a docket, few things make me want to give a total round loss, than getting no speakers and someone moving for a prep-time recess. This happened in the TOC finals two years ago, on every bill. My top ranks went to the people who accepted the responsibility to the debate and their side to give those early speeches.

Schools judged for: Marquette University High School, Rufus King High School, Ronald Reagan College Prep High School

Did not compete in high school

Style of debate judged: Lincoln Douglas (Often), Public Forum (Often), Novice Policy (3-4 times)

Speaking Speed: Students may go as fast or slow as they would like as long as their points can be easily heard and understood. If a crowd of people would be unable to understand you, you are speaking too fast.

Framework: I like a solid framework and a clear understood framework. Please make sure your value, value criterion, and contentions flow with you debate. I expect to see a value and value criterion in your constructive.

Reading plans, counterplans, or Kritiks are acceptable to debate.

Most important to a win: Strong framework, cross-ex to be able to defend and poke holes in the other debates framework, and strong rebuttal outlining your points.

TL;DR: Do what you gotta do. I'm cool with whatever as long as you understand it and explain it so that I do too. I've got a decent background with progressive debate. Don't run anything bigoted or offensive, and don't be mean or rude to your opponent. Speed is fine & I'll say clear as much as I need to. If it isn't against tournament rules, please do go into the room before I get there to set up.

put me on the email chain: simsajaya@gmail.com

Longer version:

Background: I debated for Golda Meir for four years, policy for one year and LD for three. Currently the head coach at Homestead HS in Wisconsin.

Debate Stuff:

Preflow before you come into the round. Do not make us wait for you; it's very annoying.

Speed - Speed is fine, but do it well. Slow down on tags and anything else important. I'll say "clear" as much as I need to, but it'll hurt your speaks if I have to too much.

Framework (LD) - You should have at least some form of it. Whether that's a value/value criterion or a role of the ballot, there should be something telling me from what lens I should look at what you're saying. If you're running a plan and don't think you need one, at least try to fit under your opponents.

Theory - I'll listen to it, especially in the event of legitimate in-round abuse. Just make it make sense and have all the necessary components.

Kritiks - I like them! As I said, if they're very complex explain it well, but generally speaking, I like K's. I will like them even more if it's something you are passionate about and really enjoy reading. Do not run a K if you don't understand what you're running. I like kaffs a lot too.

Performance - Yes, please. The performance needs to be something you care about and you need to have a purpose. You should also explain in round impacts. I very much like performance and I very much like its purpose in the debate space.

Plans/CPs/PICS - I like plans and CPs in LD, but I don't enjoy PICs. I'll listen to them, but I generally find them abusive.

Impacts and stuff - I expect very clear voters. Tell me exactly what I need to vote on and why. I also expect that you show me what the aff world and the neg world both look like. Have clear impacts and always pull them through.

Other things:

- Don't be mean.

- Sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, and any other negative -phobias or -isms will absolutely not be tolerated. Debate is meant to be inclusive, not hurtful.

- I'll give you pretty high speaks unless you're rude or offensive.

- If there is an obvious skill difference between the debaters, I expect the more experienced debater to not make the round obnoxiously hard or discouraging. You should be able to win without scaring someone.

she/her(s) | snyder.3562@gmail.com | (920) 891-5190 | last updated 1/19/2024

conflict/ish: neenah

tl;dr

-happy with virtually everything but usually prefer more progressive material, happy with speed, like to be on email chains (snyder.3562@gmail.com)

-i default to offense/defense/util; your impact calc should be adjusted to suit the standard (you can tell me to evaluate otherwise!)

-i eval by 1) looking at independent voters that you articulate to me, 2) identifying the winning fwk (or ROB, ROJ, standard, etc.), which you should be telling me about 3) look at relevant offense for either side under winning fwk, obvi considering rebuttals and esp. turns 4) weigh that offense based on your impact calc

ld paradigm

-TECH/TRUTH :)

-speaks: 26-27: ill-prepared or very new; 28: average, probably a winning record; 29: i think you should advance; 30: i think you should get to semis or further.

-happiest to saddest: kritiks, k affs, plans & LARP, phil affs, theory stuff, traditional stuff

-as a debater I went for phil args locally (kant/deont, progressivism, baudrillard, etc.) and more kritikal stuff on the circuit (fem, cap, neo-col)., plans intermittently, and theory absolutely never lol

-always be doing impact calculus.... rank your voting issues.

experience/background

-debating experience: semi-competitive LD debater in high school, cleared at a handful of lowkey nat tournaments but nothing past quarters, won some local tournaments, didn't go to camp, graduated in 2016

-coaching experience: coached at neenah, wisconsin 2016-2022, mostly LD

-judging experience: judged mainly LD a lot 2016-2022 - on the circuit 5 times a year before covid and 12 after. currently judge 1-2 times a year

-real life: in undergrad i studied secondary ed, english, and french. currently i work in local government and study public administration, expecting to graduate with an MPA this spring

email me w qs: snyder.3562@gmail.com

Background:

I debated PF for four years, went to NCFL three times in PF. I debated LD for a month and have primarily judged LD the previous years.

I've been judging pretty consistently since Fall 2017.

I'm currently a Political Science PhD candidate, so I have an extensive background in a lot of theories and the current events in the world. If you want to run some political theory- beautiful.

LD:

I am a mostly traditional judge. I am not a huge fan of Ks and Theory, but I will pick it up if it is run really, really well.

And by really, really well, I mean God-Tier. There is nothing worse than underdeveloped theory. Ks can be fun and interesting, but only if run right.

Honestly, I kinda hate T Shells. Debate about the topic at hand, don't debate about debate.

FOR NCFLS: LD is NOT ALLOWED to use a plan or counter-plan. I WILL be following this, as per NCFL rules.

PF:

I like weighing and cost-benefit analysis. Body count is something that I weigh heavily in rounds. Make sure you have evidence to back up your points!

Also, I'm rather strict on the rule of not being allowed to bring up new evidence or points in final focus.

Time:

I will keep track of time. Please use your time wisely. If you go over, you can finish your sentence/thought, but anything more than that I will stop flowing.

Speed:

I can handle speed, but not a fan of spreading. It doesn't belong in LD/PF. "How do you know you are spreading?" you ask. Are you hyperventilating or foaming at the mouth? Yes? That is spreading. Calm down, please. No need to die mid-debate.

How I calculate Speaks:

Organization in speeches (Line by lines or clear signposting are beautiful)

Good, thought-provoking questions in cross

Speed and annunciation are balanced (don't talk so fast that you cannot get words out properly)

Being civil (this is debate, you don't need to be your opponent's friend. But please do not yell, scream, insult, threaten, etc. Also don't be racist, homophobic, sexist, etc.)

I don't exactly care if you swear (some judges are sticklers on that), but don't drop f-bombs every other second.

Oral Critiques/Disclosing:

I will usually give oral critiques if both teams want me to. If you ask me to give you feedback, feel free to ask a question, but please don't yell at me if you disagree. Thanks.

I'll disclose if both teams want me to, unless I need more time to re-look over my flow and organize thoughts or if the tournament does not allow disclosing. If any person does not want me to disclose, I will not, unless required by the tournament directors.

FOR NCFLS: Oral critiques and disclosing are not permitted at NCFLS.