My favorite event is Extemp, so I treat all debaters like I would a national finalist in Extemp. Talk at a human pace so that the audience can understand the debate, but feel free to extend your impacts as far as possible pending you keep up the warrants for each claim. Impact turns make debate more fun, try to turn them. Work to cross apply your contentions to your opponents impacts. Making voting claims that I missed during the round won't be used to judge the round. The speakers have a duty to communicate what they want the audience to hear, the judge has a duty to listen to the best of their ability and shouldn't feel burdened by advanced debaters who go beyond the judge's means. I've got a PhD in Communication Studies and embrace a qualitative perspective, values matter. Be smart, be concise, and be respectful. If you can deliver the argument well, feel free to also be creative. For what it's worth, demanding language is a peeve, as opposed to suggestive; in voters, please tell me what I should(n't) do rather than what I can't do.

I am a friendly parent or "lay" judge with almost no experience in the speech or debate world. I have been practicing law for over 25 years so I do have a professional background that will assist me in my judging. For debate, I plan to judge on argumentation and not presentation. Please make sure your arguments are clear and you have explained everything.

My name is Jodi Arozarena and I am from Newsome High School in Lithia Florida.

I am what most debaters would call a “flay” judge. I have judged a considerable amount of Public Forum Rounds over the past 4 years, most of which occurred at the national level. I can follow your arguments and I will do my best to keep track of them on my flow. It is your responsibility as the debater to speak at a moderate and clear pace so that I can effectively get your argument down, if I don’t flow it, I won’t be evaluating it with my decision at the end of the round.

Please be civil with your opponent and clear in your speaking so that I can most effectively evaluate the round.

Thanks, and Good Luck!!

//shree

I am a social studies & math teacher who is no longer involved in full-time argument coaching. I am judging this tournament because my wife, a mentor, or a former student asked me to.

I previously served as a DOD at the high school level and as a hired gun for college debate programs. During this time, I had the privilege of working with Baker Award recipients, TOC champions in CX, a NFA champion in LD, and multiple NDT First-Round teams; I was very much ‘in the cards.’ Debate used to be everything to me, and I fancied myself as a ‘lifer.’ I held the naïve view that this activity was the pinnacle of critical thinking and unequivocally produced the best and brightest scholars compared to any other curricular or extracurricular pursuit.

My perspective has shifted since I’ve reduced my competitive involvement with the community. Debate has provided me with some incredible mentors, colleagues, and friends that I would trade for nothing. However, several of the practices prevalent in modern debate risk making the activity an academically unserious echo chamber. Many in the community have traded in flowing for rehearsing scripts, critical thinking for virtue signaling, adjudication for idol worship, and research for empty posturing. I can’t pretend that I wasn’t guilty of adopting or teaching some of the trendy practices that are rapidly devolving the activity, but I am no longer willing to keep up the charade that what we do here is pedagogically sound.

This ‘get off my lawn’ ethos colors some of my idiosyncrasies if you have me in the back of the room. Here are guidelines to maximize your speaker points and win percentage:

1 – Flow. Number arguments. Answer arguments in the order that they were presented. Minimize overviews.

2 – Actually research. Most of you don’t, and it shows. Know what you are talking about and be able to use the vocabulary of your opponents. Weave theory with examples. Read a book. Being confidently clueless or dodgy in CX is annoying, not compelling.

3 – Please try. Read cards from this year when possible; be on the cutting edge. Say new and interesting things, even if they’re about old or core concepts. Adapt your arguments to make them more ‘you.’ Reading cards from before 2020 or regurgitating my old blocks will bore me.

4 – Emphasize clarity. This applies to both your thoughts and speaking. When I return, my topic knowledge will be superficial, and I will be out of practice with listening to the fastest speakers. Easy-to-transcribe soundbytes, emphasis in sentences, and pen time is a must. I cannot transcribe bots who shotgun 3-word arguments at 400wpm nor wannabe philosopher-activists who speak in delirious, winding paragraphs.

5 – Beautify your speech docs. Inconsistent, poor formatting is an eyesore. So is word salad highlighting without the semblance of sentence structure.

6 – No dumpster fires. Ad hominem is a logical fallacy. I find unnecessarily escalating CX, heckling opponents, zoom insults, authenticity tests, and screenshot insertions uncompelling. I neither have the resources nor interest in launching an investigation about outside behavior, coach indiscretions, or pref sheets.

7 – Don’t proliferate trivial voting issues. I will evaluate a well-evidenced topicality violation; conditionality can be a VI; in-round harassment and slurs are not trivial. However, I have a higher threshold than most with regards to voting issues surrounding an author’s twitter beef, poorly warranted specification arguments, trigger warnings, and abominations I classify as ‘LD tricks.’ If you are on the fence about whether your procedural or gateway issue is trivial, it probably is; unless it’s been dropped in multiple speeches, my preferred remedy is to reject the argument, not the team. Depending on how deranged it is, I may just ignore it completely. I strongly prefer substantive debates.

8 – Be well rounded. The divide between ‘policy,’ ‘critical,’ and ‘performance’ debate is artificial. Pick options that are strategic and specific to the arguments your opponents are reading.

9 – Not everything is a ‘DA.’ Topicality standards are not ‘DAs.’ Critique links are not ‘DAs’ and the alternative is not a ‘CP.’ A disadvantage requires, at a minimum, uniqueness, a link, and an impact. Describing your arguments as ‘DAs’ when they are not will do you a disservice, both in terms of your strategy and your speaker points.

10 – I’m old. I won’t know who you are, and frankly, I don’t care. Good debaters can give bad speeches, and the reverse can also be true. Rep has no correlation to the speaker points you will receive. 28.5 is average. 29 is solid. 29.5 is exceptional. 30 means you’ve restored my belief in the pedagogical value of policy debate.

Two year Parent Judge

Please identify your arguments clearly and speak slowly.

Loren Bendall, Chagrin Falls High School

I am the parent of a debater. Although I am not currently practicing, I am an attorney who specialized in contracts and tax litigation. I have judged PF tournaments for two years.

I am not wild about speed. I will follow your points and sub-points and keep track of whether they are refuted; however, I think that excessively fast talking can diminish the persuasiveness of the underlying arguments.

Generally, I will decide the round based on who makes the most persuasive arguments, not who makes the most arguments. I am not a flow judge, but I will take notes and track all arguments to determine whether they were persuasively rebutted. I value the quality and impact of the argument over the quantity of arguments raised. If an argument has an impact, and it is not rebutted, you risk losing the round.

I think evidence is important as long as it is impactful; however, I can also be persuaded by logic, especially in rebuttal. I find that prolonged evidence battles are rarely necessary or persuasive. Arguments should be extended throughout the round.

I will consider new arguments raised in grand crossfire but not final focus.

I enjoy a lively crossfire within reason. I find trading off questions and answers to be much more persuasive than prolonged speeches. Time between sides should be divided somewhat evenly.

If I determine, based on the arguments, that a contention is a plan, that contention will be dropped.

Good luck and have fun.

I am a parent judge. This is my 2nd tournament judging Public Forum.

Please talk slowly and make sure you have clear points and arguments. If you talk to fast, I may take speaker points off and I will probably not be able to understand your case. Also, provide me with background knowledge about the topic and your arguments.

Don't spread and make sure to sign post and keep your times.

And most importantly, Have Fun!

My name is Kellie Bole and this is my first year judging debate, I am a parent judge Florida. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology and a Master's in Counselor Education. I can follow most logical conversations and conflict.

Things to consider: Gracious professionalism goes a long way. Be kind and truthful. Be clear, I do not like spreading and would appreciate a speed of 7 or lower. I am a 100% lay judge and you must be clear and articulate your arguments for me to follow the round. I am not interested in joining an email chain or receiving a speech document.

Time yourself and always be KIND!

I am a parent judge, and have been for the past 7 years. I have had my fair share of judging debate rounds, Please do not spread.

Sarah Botsch-McGuinn

email: sbotschmcguinn@gmail.com

Director of Speech & Debate-Cypress Bay HS (2022-present)

Director of Speech and Debate-Cooper City HS (2018-2022)

Director of Speech and Debate-American Heritage Palm Beach (2017-2018)

Director of Forensics-Notre Dame San Jose (2009-2017)
Head Debate Coach-Notre Dame San Jose (2008-2009)



General:
I’ve been a debate coach for the past 16 years, and Director of Forensics for 9 at NDSJ, one year as Director at American Heritage, 4 years at Cooper City HS and now at Cypress Bay High School. I primarily coached Parliamentary Debate from 2008-2017, including circuit Parli debate. I've been involved in National Circuit LD pretty extensively over the last 8 years, but have judged all forms of debate at all levels from local south Florida and northern CA to national circuit.

First and foremost, I only ever judge what is presented to me in rounds. I do not extend arguments for you and I do not bring in my own bias. I am a flow judge, and I will flow the entire debate, no matter the speed, though I do appreciate being able to clearly understand all your points. I consider myself to be a gamemaker in my general philosophy, so I see debate as game. That doesn't mean that there aren't real world impacts off debate (and I tend to be convinced by 'this will impact outside the round' type of arguments). **I don't vote on defense. It's important but you won't win on a defensive answer.**

While I do appreciate fresh approaches to resolution analysis, I’m not an “anything goes” judge. I believe there should be an element of fair ground in debate-debates without clash, debates with extra topicality, etc will almost certainly see me voting against whoever tries to do so if the other side even makes an attempt at arguing it (that said, if you can’t adequately defend your right to a fair debate, I’m not going to do it for you. Don’t let a team walk all over you!). Basically, I love theoretical arguments, and feel free to run them, just make sure they have a proper shell+. *Note: when I see clear abuse in round I have a very low threshold for voting on theory. Keep that in mind-if you try to skew your opponent out of the round, I WILL vote you down if they bring it up.*

I also want to emphasize that I'm an educator first and foremost. I believe in the educational value of debate and it's ability to create critical thinkers.

+Theory shell should at minimum have: Interpretation, Violation, Standards and Voters.

Speaks:
Since quality of argument wins for me 100% of the time, I’m not afraid of the low point win. I don’t expect this to enter into the rounds much at an elite tournament where everyone is at the highest level of speaking style, but just as an emphasis that I will absolutely not vote for a team just because they SOUND better. I tend to stick to 26-29+ point range on a 30 scale, with average/low speakers getting 26s, decent speakers getting 27s, good 28s, excellent 29s, and 30 being reserved for best I’ve seen all day. I will punish rudeness/lying in speaks though, so if you’re rude or lie a lot, expect to see a 25 or less. Additionally, shouting louder doesn’t make your point any better, I can usually hear just fine.

If I gave you less than 25, you probably really made me angry. If you are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic, ableist etc I will punish you in speaks. You have been warned. I will kill your speaks if you deliberately misgender or are otherwise harmful in round. I am not going to perpetuate hate culture in debate spaces.

Speed:
I have no problem with speed, but please email me your case if you are spreading. I will call 'clear' once if you are going too fast, and put down my pen/stop typing if I can't follow. It's only happened a couple times, so you must be REALLY fast for me to give up.

PLEASE SIGN POST AND TAG, ESPECIALLY IF I'M FLOWING ON MY LAPTOP. IF I MISS WHERE AN ARGUMENT GOES BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T TAG IT, THAT'S YOUR FAULT NOT MINE.

A prioris:
Please explain why your argument is a-priori before I will consent to consider it as such. Generally I am only willing to entertain framework arguments as a-priori, but who knows, I've been surprised before.


Theory:
Theory is great, as I mentioned above, run theory all day long with me, though I am going to need to see rule violations and make sure you have a well structured shell. I should not see theory arguments after the 1AR in LD or after the MG speech in Parli. I also don't want to see theory arguments given a ten second speed/cursory explanation, when it's clear you're just trying to suck up time. My threshold is high for RVIs, but if you can show how your opponent is just sucking time, I'm open to this. Also open to condo-bad arguments on CPs/Ks, though that doesn't mean you'll automatically win on this.

Disclosure theory: I'm unlikely to vote on this if your opponent isn't reading something very strange. I think education and disclosure is good but that doesn't mean I think someone should automatically lose for not. Keep this in mind. PLEASE I DONT WANT TO HEAR DISCLOSURE LITERALLY READ ANYTHING ELSE IM BEGGING YOU.

Most other theory I evaluate in round. I don't tend to go for blippy theory arguments though!

Critical arguments:
I love the K, give me the K, again, just be structured. I don't need the whole history of the philosopher, but I haven't read everything ever, so please be very clear and give me a decent background to the argument before you start throwing impacts off it. Also, here's where I mention that impacts are VITAL to me, and I want to see terminal impacts.

I prefer to see clash of ROB/ROJ/Frameworks in K rounds. If you are going to run a K aff either make it topical or disclose so we can have a productive round. Please.

Presumption:
In general I default to competing interp. If for some reason we have gotten to the point of terribad debate, I presume Neg (Aff has burden to prove the resolution/affirm. Failure to do so is Neg win. God please don't make me do this :( )

Weighing:
I like very clear weighing in rebuttals. Give me voting issues and compare worlds, tell me why I should prefer or how you outweigh, etc. Please. I go into how I evaluate particular impacts below.


I like clear voting issues! Just because I’m flowing doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate you crystallizing and honing in on your main points of offense.

I prefer voter speeches follow a: Main points of offense-->impact calc--->world comp model. If you just do impact calc I'll be happy with it, but I like looking on my voter sheet for what you feel you're winning on. It helps me more quickly organize my ideas.

Impacts:
I put a lot of emphasis on impacts in my decisions. The team with bigger/more terminal, etc impacts generally walks away with my vote, so go to town. This goes doubly true for framework or critical arguments. Why is this destroying debate as we know it? Why is this ___ and that's horrible? Translation: I tend to weigh magnitude heaviest in round, but if you can prove pretty big probable impacts over very low probability extinction impacts I'll likely go that direction.

You should be able to articulate how your contentions support your position/value/whatever. That should go without saying, but you would be very surprised. I don't vote on blips, even if we all know what you're saying is true. So please warrant your claims and have a clear link story. This goes doubly true for critical positions or theory.

Preferences for arguments:

If you want to know what I like to see in round, here are my preferences in order:

K debate

LARP

Theory

Phil

Traditional

Tricks

This doesn't mean I won't vote for a tricks case but I will be much sadder doing it.

About me: I'm Mr. Bravim (pronounced brah-veem). 25 yrs. in speech & debate. Competed, judged, and coached all over (e.g. FL, D.C., Korea, China, Uganda).

Email: bravim@cghsfl.org

* Big Questions

No preference between real-world and philosophical evidence, but a combination is powerful! I like framing. I like big picture analysis. I like extended warrants. Pointed questioning and strong topic knowledge impress me a lot and should help you win a ballot in a close round.

Most of my experience judging BQ was in 2020 when Nationals was online. I approach BQ like a less flow-centric traditional LD round and the person who most clearly frames and resolves the "big question" will win the round, regardless of the flow. Each debater should aim to do that. I like this event and love the current topic. I wish BQ Debate were more mainstream outside of NSDA Nationals. FYI: I have above average knowledge on world religion and the history of science, but I will only use what you tell me in round.

* LD Prefs

I'm best at adjudicating traditional LD rounds. However, I will consider any warranted argument presented in round. Please weigh clearly and effectively and lay out the big issues in the round/voters. Tell me the clearest path to the ballot! I do not want to intervene. I find a quality framework debate/clash VERY interesting. If it's getting debate on fw is circular and/or the differentiation is minimal, go for something else.

Slow down on card tags, warrants, weighing, and voters. If the framework clash is a wash, I'll default to evaluating contention-level offense via the weighing analysis given to me at the end of the round. If I don't understand what you're talking about (speed, lack of clarity, lack of explanation, or warrants), there is NO CHANCE I'll vote off it. Thus, explain the argument/warrants not only in case, but throughout the round if you want me to vote off of it.

Spend time contextualizing your card/s if you're relying on it to win the round. Even if it was already done in your constructive, it's a good habit to cover it thoroughly a 2nd time in case I missed something.

Don't drop warrants in your extensions. I may not have gotten it in case and even if I did, I like to be reminded. Will not evaluate any argument in which the warrant is missing or unclear.

--<< Logos / Ethos / Pathos >>-- (please don't forget that all three are part of good debate)

Above all else, I favor clash and the resolution of clash by debaters with good overviews, weighing, and depth of topic knowledge.

In order of preference:

1.) Trad/lay 2.) Plan/CPs 3.) Ks 4.) Theory

I find most theory debates dull, but will listen to them if that's what you want to do. I've voted off theory maybe 4 times and I've judged a lot of LD rounds. I prefer you try to win anywhere else unless there is a flagrant, obvious, and clear violation of the tournament rules or NSDA rules. Above all, the quality of argument matters more to me than the style of debate. I don't mind some speed used strategically, but please don't spread throughout the round. I'd much rather you win one good argument on the flow and weigh than 10 smaller ones that I struggle to follow because of speed/clarity issues.

* PF Prefs

Overview: I remember the reasons PF was introduced as an event in 2002. I believe the spirit of PF necessitates a less technical, but ultimately more persuasive debate activity than policy or circuit LD. The idea that hyper-technical arguments would be advanced knowing the opponents will have problems even understanding what the argument is about is abhorrent to me. This ultimately lacks both in educational value and fairness. That said, I understand any event will evolve over 22 years and there are going to be different ways to gain in round advantage. I think running Ks, theory, and spreading should not be the norm in Public Forum. I think topical arguments with really good warrants and evidence are the best path for PF debaters. I think the round should be educational and accessible for teams, judges, and any observer who wishes to spectate the round. The notion that the only "good" debate is nat circuit-oriented is not only arrogant, but also wrong. I've witnessed 1,000+ debate rounds and seen poor argumentation all over the place.

I favor a lot of clash, well-developed links analysis, and an aggressive style of debate. Indicting evidence with quality arguments on why it matters in the context of the round impresses me. I enjoy pointed crossfire and will flow concessions and hold teams to them. Warrant everything. DO NOT DROP WARRANTS in your extensions. In PF, remind me of the big picture from summary onward.

Keep a consistent link story on your offense. If you have a particular lens (framework, observation, etc.) in which I should view the resolution, make sure it is well-warranted and extend throughout the round. I like clear framing mechanisms. I prefer a smaller # of voters (1 - 3) to many poorly-explained voters in FF. Weigh or risk judge intervention (I don't want to do it). You can't win on the flow if you don't tell me why the arguments matter by the end of the round.

On Speed: Moderate, occasional, and strategic use of speed in PF is OK if the other team + allthe judges can follow you. Never sacrifice clarity for speed. Don't bully your opponent with speed. That is not why PF was created. The vast majority of your speech should be understood by an ordinary person with no background in debate if you're doing it right. I much rather teams win 1 significant argument over a bunch of smaller, less-developed arguments on the flow. I dislike spreading in any debate event, but most especially in PF.

Evidence comparison is critical and a good way to impress. Please make warranted arguments why I should prefer your card over your opponent's card. There are many ways to accomplish this, I'll consider any of them so long as they make sense. FYI: One relevant, high-quality card is often better than 2 - 3 generic cards that are not contextualized. Extend card tags on every speech. Knowing your evidence really well and explaining it really well in round all but guarantees high speaks.

On theory: I've heard my share of theory arguments and find the majority of those rounds dull and the arguments thin. I much rather you win on something else, but will listen if this is your thing. : (

You can go line-by-line or be more analytical. Anything that is unclear will not get extended or weighed on the flow. Never forget that debate is foremost a PERSUASIVE activity. If you cannot persuade the average person with your case, you aren’t debating effectively. Ways to impress me as a judge: 1. Depth of Analysis, 2. Topic Knowledge, 3. Effective Advocacy, and 4. Clear Narrative. I value meaningful cross much more than most judges.

A pet peeve of mine in PF is summary treated as a 2nd rebuttal speech. That is not the point of summary! Show me the most important issues and why they favor your side, we already had 2 rebuttal speeches and summary is more than a shortened rebuttal.

--<< Logos / Ethos / Pathos >>-- (please don't forget that all 3 are part of effective argumentation)

* Congress Prefs

I despise 1-sided debate. If there's no one left on the other side, call the previous question, table the bill, or deliver an impromptu/extemp speech on the other side. If I hear the same exact points made without specific references to the arguments presented by the other side, points will be low.

I love clash in congress. I like pointed, direct questioning. I'm impressed by tactical use of parliamentary procedure. I value the role of the P.O. more than most. Don't be shy about running for P.O. If you're good at it, do it and I'll rank you fairly!

Critical evidence comparison & strong topic knowledge impress me a lot. Creative and/or funny intros make me happy.

PET PEEVES

1. Taking too long to set up for debate. (Be prepared, be punctual, be professional)

2. Taking too long to pull a called card from case (after 1 min. if the card doesn’t exist, drop the arg.)

3. Doc bots.

4. Boring me. Some have forgotten that there is a performance aspect to ALL debate events and that if you seem apathetic, I will care less about your argument if you don't appear to care about it. If you want me to vote for your argument, make the attempt to seem like you care about whatever you're running. You chose to run that. It's your baby.

Note: I don't disclose speaker points. Don't ask. I will disclose my decision if the tournament is single-flighted. If rounds are double-flighted, I will not disclose for the sake of time, but will publish my ballot.

FOR FUN

I <3 multivolume narrative nonfiction, dystopian & post-apocalyptic fiction, retro video games (mostly fighters), boxing, soccer, and cats. If you're bored at a tournament and have an interest in any of that stuff, come say hi! : )

Academic Interests:

I teach AP World History, AP European History, and AP Microeconomics on the high school level. I teach various business courses at the university level.

Topics in which I have some specialized knowledge include: world religion, modern history, organizational culture, business management, and law.

Good luck to all!

I did 4 years of PF in high school at Cypress Bay (class of 2018)

I think debate is supposed to be a fun extracurricular activity so keep the round lighthearted. I am open to all styles of debate, just be respectful of your opponents and the rules of the game. In other words, "SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT"

If you have any other questions feel free to email me andrewbriceno2000@gmail.com or ask me before the round!

I am the parent of a debater. Although I make my living crafting persuasive arguments, I am a lay judge, with limited knowledge of the technical rules of debate. I will try and give you the best judging experience I can. You can help me, and yourself, by clearly and concisely stating your position, explaining why sources support your argument, and politely pointing out the flaws in your opponent's claims.

I prefer truth over tech. Evidence ethics are paramount. If the cards I see do not say what you say they do, I will drop the argument from the round— and depending how egregious the ethics violation, I may drop you. I do not want to see your cut card, I want to see the article or source, with the portion you used highlighted. I have no tolerance for sexism, racism, and rudeness. Be civil, be kind. And try not to talk too fast- I can't give you credit for an argument I cannot understand.

For me it all comes down to Final Focus. Please make sure you include everything you want me to consider in those 2 minutes. Your job is to persuade me, through your research and arguments, that your position is right and I should vote for you. I am not well-versed on tech and the specific rules for extending arguments, however I will not credit any argument not in final focus. Signposts and numbering of arguments will be very helpful to me.

Last season, I thought debaters Anoosh Kumar, Nathaniel Yoon, Kevin Zeng, Maggie Mills, Sasha Haines (last year's Nats winners) and the Abbasi twins were excellent debaters.

Congrats to all you debaters. Your ability to articulate complex arguments and make them clear and simple is amazing. I am in awe of your ability to research, think on your feet, respond to some off the wall claims that are thrown at you without warning, and speak clearly and calmly with a skill well beyond your years.

Hello debaters!

I am currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and I did PF all four years of high school.

I really hope it goes without saying that there should be no progressive debate (Ks, theory, etc.) However, you may speak quickly if it's necessary to finish cases or respond to everything you'd like me to flow.

I don't flow cross. No need for defense in first summary. I'm a very traditional PF judge :)

In general, a loose suggestion for last speeches: summary should focus on FW, warrants, definitions, and why you've won those. Then, the FF should weigh impacts that you have access to after the summary. Don't bring up random impacts that weren't even touched upon by the summary. Even if they're mentioned for 2 seconds, that's fine.

Let me know if you have any questions pre-round, and have a great tournament!

Add me on the email chain: nilu6060@gmail.com. Please send constructives at a minimum

Short Version

American Heritage School ‘19

Georgia Tech ‘22

Any offense in final focus needs to be in summary. First summary only needs to extend defense on arguments that were frontlined in second rebuttal. Second rebuttal should answer all offense on the flow.

Tech > truth

Long Version

Presumption:

- If you want me to vote on presumption, please tell me, or else I'll probably try to find some very minimal offense on the flow that you may consider nonexistent.

- I will default neg on presumption, but you can make an argument suggesting otherwise.

Extensions:

- The warrant and impact of an offensive argument must be extended in summary and final focus in order for me to evaluate it.

- Your extensions can be very quick for parts of the debate that are clearly conceded.

Weighing:

- Good weighing will usually win you my ballot and give you a speaker point boost, but please avoid:

1. Weighing that is not comparative

2. Weighing instead of adequately answering the defense on your arguments

3. Strength of link weighing - this is just another word for probability and sometimes probability weighing is just defense that should've been read in rebuttal

4. New weighing in second final focus that isn't responding to new weighing analysis from the first ff.

Evidence:

- I will read any evidence that is contested or key to my decision at the end of the round.

- I won't drop a team on miscut evidence unless theory is read. I will drop speaks and probably drop the argument unless there's a very good reason not to.

Speed:

- Go as fast as you want but I'd prefer it if you didn't spread.

- Don't sacrifice clarity for speed. If I can't understand it, it isn't on the flow.

Progressive Argumentation:

- I have a good understanding of theory and have voted on less conventional shells albeit my threshold for a response and your speaks could go down. Please read theory as soon as the violation occurs.

- I wouldn't trust myself to correctly evaluate a K. Most of the time I find myself thinking they don't really do anything. Read at your own risk and I will try my best to properly evaluate.

- If there are multiple layers of prog. (ie theory vs K vs random IVI) do some sort of weighing between them.

- I don't evaluate 30 speaks theory. I tend to believe disclosure is good, but won't intervene.

Other things:

- I think speaks are arbitrary, but humor helps, especially sarcasm.

- Paradigm issues not mentioned here are up for debate within the round

- Reading cards > paraphrasing, but paraphrasing is fine

- Postrounding is fine

- Preflow before the round start time

- I will not vote on explicitly oppressive arguments.

Hello to all Public Forum Debaters. Hopefully you are all as excited for Sunvitational 2020 as I am.

I am aware you have all been preparing for a debate about Sanctions on Venezuela, and I am interested and excited to hear your points of view.

I am currently a Speech Language Pathologist at Colbert Elementary School. With that I bring expert knowledge on Speaking, Articulation, and Clarity. Don't fret though, I still judge based on cases.

Now I know by this point you all want to know my requirements for rounds.

1. I want an effective, but fair framework based around the resolution.

2. I need to see strong warranting for points made throughout the debate.

3. I need to hear clean, clear case extensions throughout the debate.

4. I will not flow crossfire, but if a point made is brought up in the debate, it should be responded to.

5. I understand many of you have extensive cases and need to spread, but I would appreciate if you kept it at a regular fast pace.

I understand one of the biggest problems in debate is bias. Although I do have my own personal opinion based on the matter, both teams must convince me their side is better. I will show no bias whatsoever. Additionally, I do not verbally provide my Reason for Decision, you will see my RFD/comments online.

I wish everyone the best and I hope to see some excellent debates.

I am a lay judge and a parent of a debater from Ravenwood High School. I judged PF a couple of times including 2019 Sunvitational and began judging again this year. My judging method for Public Forum is simple and based upon how convincing and supported the arguments are and how appropriate the responses are to those arguments. I appreciate clear, articulated speech at a normal speed. If I am unable to understand what you are saying, I cannot judge what argument is being made. I prefer quality over quantity. I further expect debaters to be courteous and well-mannered; to not create any disruption when the other side is speaking. Any nasty behaviors and hateful comments will not be tolerated. I'll try my best to judge fairly. Good luck and have fun.

Name: Alexander Corzo

School Affiliation: South Plantation HS

Number of Years Judging Public Forum/LD: 6 years

Number of Years Competing in Public Forum: None

Number of Years Judging Other Forensic Activities: 6 years

Number of Years Competing in Other Forensic Activities: None

If you are a coach, what events do you coach? All except policy

What is your current occupation? Debate Teacher/Coach

Please share your opinions or beliefs about how the following play into a debate round:

Speed of Delivery: Should not be spreading in PF, Ok in LD ( although I don't enjoy it) Edit for FBK2020:

Spreading is hard for me to follow and will more than likely affect my judging ( in a negative way) because I will be reading instead of listening to you speak. So, do yourself a favor and don't spread if at all possible! you can still run non-Traditional LD, as long as it's not abusive and gimmicky. (you're trying to trick and confuse your opponent)

Format of Summary Speeches Line by Line

Role of the Final Focus: Weighing

Extension of Arguments into later speeches: Required.

Topicality: Very important, don’t stray too far.

Plans: Not a PF thing, LD ok.

Kritiks: How could a lay judge follow this? So, no.

Flowing/note-taking: Essential

Do you value argument over style? Style over argument? Argument and style equally? Definitely argument over style.

If a team plans to win the debate on an argument, in your opinion does that argument have to be extended in the rebuttal or summary speeches? Yes, I don’t flow cross, if you want credit, it needs to be in a speech.

If a team is second speaking, do you require that the team cover the opponents’ case as well as answers to its opponents’ rebuttal in the rebuttal speech? It’s not mandatory, but extremely helpful. Sometimes, time doesn’t allow.

Do you vote for arguments that are first raised in the grand crossfire or final focus? Grand Cross, only under extenuating circumstances, FF, never.

I value weighing over mindless card reading. Good luck!

For LD, many of the same comments apply. I'm more of a traditional judge in LD, meaning that although I understand theory and K strategies, unless there's a really good and compelling reason to resort to these progressive strategies, I enjoy traditional LD. In other words, I find many of the "progressive strategies" to be gimmicky.

Debate is a game that's most enjoyable when two teams clash in-depth over a well-prepared topic. Succeed at engaging your opponent and I'll want to judge you and vote for you. If it looks like you don't care about the round, I won't either.

Persuade me with your excellent public speaking skills and a some empirical evidence. I am looking for a classic style debate with clear roadmap and contentions.

Speed: Be clear. I’m not good with speed. You need to articulate every single word you say. Speed is a strategic tool only insofar as I can understand what you are saying and transcribe it, in some form, onto my flow.

I did PF.

Don't read off-time roadmaps. Odds are, you won't follow them anyway. Just tell me where you're starting and signpost.

I will always evaluate the framework first and then look towards who best provides offense under the framework.

PLEASE COLLAPSE.

I will likely only vote on an argument if it’s present in both summary and final focus. That means extending BOTH the warrant and the impacts of the argument. “Extend the Smith evidence” by itself with no analysis as to what the evidence is actually about isn’t an extension. And saying "we save X amount of people" without the warranting as to how/why isn't extending an argument either. I won’t vote on blippy extensions.

Please do not spread, at all ever, especially not in the morning and if you do, bring me coffee and maybe by summary I will understand what you are saying.

Second rebuttal has to frontline.

Weigh. If neither of the teams weigh, I’ll be forced to intervene and determine what I think is more important which you might not necessarily agree with in the end.

I will vote on theory or Ks if they are thoroughly explained and warranted. However, I believe that both of these should be used as a check back on either an egregious abuse instance in the round or within the resolution itself. Senseless use of theory or a K just to waste time or to limit your opponent's ability to debate will result in less speaker points and depending on how I see it in the round might even cost you the win. I won't buy disclosure theory or paraphrasing theory or any other foolish new theory.

If someone calls for a piece of evidence, please give it to them quickly.

Racist, xenophobic, sexist, classist, homophobic, and other oppressive discourses or examples have no place in debate. 20 L.

If you have any questions, ask before the round.

I am a parent Judge.

Please try to avoid using acronyms that you don't clarify at least the first time.

You need to speak clearly. If you talk so fast that I am not able to understand you I will be dropping speaker points and it may cost you the round

Please treat your opponents with respect

CONGRESS PARADIGM IS BELOW THIS PF Paradigm

PF:

ALMOST EVERY ROUND I HAVE JUDGED IN THE LAST 8 YEARS WOULD HAVE BENEFITTED FROM 50% FEWER ARGUMENTS, AND 100% MORE ANALYSIS OF THOSE 50% FEWER ARGUMENTS. A Narrative, a Story carries so much more persuasively through a round than the summary speaker saying "we are going for Contention 2".

I am NOT a fan of speed, nor speed/spread. Please don't make me think I'm in a Policy Round!

I don't need "Off-time roadmaps", I just want to know where you are starting.

Claim/warrant/evidence/impact is NOT a debate cliche; It is an Argumentative necessity! A label and a blip card is not a developed argument!

Unless NUCLEAR WINTER OR NUCLEAR EXTINCTION HAS ALREADY OCCURED, DON'T BOTHER TO IMPACT OUT TO IT.

SAVE K'S FOR POLICY ROUNDS; RUN THEORY AT YOUR OWN RISK- I start from ma place that it is fake and abusive in PF and you are just trying for a cheap win against an unprepared team. I come to judge debates about the topic of the moment.

YOU MIGHT be able to convince me of your sincerity if you can show me that you run it in every round and are President of the local "Advocacy for that Cause" Club.

Don't just tell me that you win an argument, show me WHY you win it and what significance that has in the round.

Please NARROW the debate and WEIGH arguments in Summary and Final Focus. If you want the argument in Final Focus, be sure it was in the summary.

There is a difference between "passionate advocacy" and anger. Audio tape some of your rounds and decide if you are doing one or the other when someone says you are "aggressive".

NSDA evidence rules require authors' last name and THE DATE (minimum) so you must AT LEAST do that if you want me to accept the evidence as "legally presented". If one team notes that the other has not supplied dates, it will then become an actual issue in the round. Speaker points are at stake.

In close rounds I want to be persuaded and I may just LISTEN to both Final Focus speeches, checking off things that are extended on my flow.

I am NOT impressed by smugness, smiling sympathetically at the "stupidity" of your opponent's argument, vigorous head shaking in support of your partner's argument or opposition to your opponents'. Speaker points are DEFINITELY in play here!

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE:

1: The first thing I am looking for in every speech is ORGANIZATION AND CLARITY. 2. The second thing I am looking for is CLASH; references to other speakers & their arguments

3. The third thing I am looking for is ADVOCACY, supported by EVIDENCE

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS IS A SPEAKING EVENT, NOT A READING EVENT! I WILL NOT GIVE EVEN A "BRILLIANT" SPEECH A "6" IF IT IS READ OFF A PREPARED SHEET/TUCKED INTO THE PAD OR WRITTEN ON THE PAD ITSELF; AND, FOR CERTAIN IF IT IS READ OFF OF A COMPUTER OR TABLET.

I value a good story and humor, but Clarity and Clash are most important.

Questioning and answering factors into overall placement in the Session.

Yes, I will evaluate and include the PO, but it is NOT an automatic advancement to the next level; that has gotten a bit silly.

I am a parent judge from Nova High School. I judged PF, HI, DI and OO for four years (between 2010 and 2014) and began judging again last year. My judging method for Public Forum is simple and based upon how convincing and supported the arguments are and how appropriate the responses are to those arguments. Participants should not presume that I have any knowledge, other than common knowledge, of the topics or of the supportive evidence used to further their arguments. I appreciate clear, articulated speech at a normal speed; if I cannot understand what the debater is saying, I cannot judge what argument is being made. I further expect debaters to be courteous and well-mannered; to not create any disruption when the other side is speaking; and to not speak over each other during crossfires. Participants should feel free to ask any questions of me prior to beginning, and again afterwards, but not during the event.

Competed in public forum debate for 4 years in high school.

Put me on the email chain: keganferguson@gmail.com.

Previously ADOD at North Broward Prep for 3 years. Did policy debate at Indiana University and PF/LD/Extemp at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, IN.

***Policy***

Debate is primarily a competition. Yes it teaches us many skills and influences how we develop as people, but is still a game with a winner and a loser at its core. I believe that central truth produces debate’s best and worst outcomes.

It can result in thorough, well-researched rounds that delve into the nuances of a specific issue. Or it can produce scattershot 12-off strategies that rely on mistakes to have a chance of victory. It can make people view competitors with respect and admiration for their commitment to the activity. Or it can make us view them as our opposition, to be steamrolled and reduced to nothing whenever possible. I’ll evaluate arguments fairly regardless of the strategy used or the way you treat opponents, but will use speaks to reflect what I perceive as the quality of the round. It's not too hard to get high speaks in front of me. Have a clear strategy, execute it well, and make the debate enjoyable for all involved.

No argument is ‘too bad’ to win in front of me. If it’s truly so egregious, it’s the burden of the opposing team to explain why in the debate. I try hard not to intervene and inject personal biases, but I do still have them (listed below) and they influence the decisions I make.

All this being said – I’m an educator at the end of the day, and debate is an activity for students in an academic setting. If you do things to make the debate space feel unsafe for those involved I will intervene.

K AFFs

I prefer critiques to include research about the topic, but it’s not required. Clear impact turns to the core negative standards on framework are vital – spewing nebulous and blippy arguments titled things like ‘Plasticity DA’ to T in the 2ac is terminally unpersuasive. If you’re not contextualizing your impact turns as direct answers to fairness, clash, etc. you’re in a hole from the start. Ideally, you will also present a straightforward and well explained vision of debate and develop reasons why it can preserve a limited argumentative venue.

I’m more persuaded by presumption arguments vs. K affs than most judges. 2AR’s tend to mishandle offensive, cruel optimism-style arguments and get themselves into trouble.

T USFG

You need to explain how the aff’s C/I explodes limits and to what extent, same as you would against a policy affirmative when going for T. What style affirmative does it allow for? Why is it bad for debate, and how bad?

When I vote affirmative it’s usually because of a sequencing claim about dropped case arguments or an unclear response to the aff’s impact turns to framework impacts.

When I vote negative it’s usually because you win fairness is a priori and the only thing the ballot can resolve, that a limited model of debate internal link turns aff impacts through improved research/iterative testing, or that the Aff’s scholarship is included in your model.

Theory

Not a fan of heavy theory debates, but I’ve judged quite a few. Definitely lean neg on conditionality – but willing to vote for it if competently extended and technically won by the affirmative. As a 2a, process counterplans were not my favorite argument in debate, and I tend to lean aff on competition arguments depending on the scope of the topic + CP mechanisms. Still not afraid to vote neg quickly and easily if you’re ahead on the technical aspects in this portion of debate.

Theory debates that rely on me to fill-in arguments where you have just said random technical debate jargon - nonstarter. You should slow down on your theory analytics as well – I often find myself missing nuance when it’s extended by reading blocks as fast as possible.

*** Public Forum Debate ***

I competed in Indiana in high school, and very much understand the frustrations of losing debates on new arguments, evidence spin, ‘I just don’t believe you,’ etc. in front of lay judges. I’ll try my hardest to purely evaluate the debate off of the flow, which means giving equal weight and consideration to arguments that are not traditionally made in Public Forum. I think judges should approach debate with an open mind, and be ready to listen to students who put just as much effort and thought into their non-traditional strategies as other teams have.

Indicating an openness to theoretical and critical arguments does not mean that you should necessarily try reading these arguments in front of me for the first time. I find myself judging very poorly executed strategies in these lanes pretty often, and the speaker points reflect it. Please stick with what you’ve been practicing, as this is the best way to win my ballot. Trying to punk another team on theory if you never go for it will usually not work out well for you.

Competing in policy for 4 years in college has left me with many, somewhat negative, opinions on the pedagogical quality of argumentation in PF. Research is often not presented to me in a clear and digestible way (read: cards), and I’ve been handed a 20+ page PDF as the ‘source’ for an argument too many times to count. Saying ‘nuclear war doesn’t happen, MAD checks that’s Ferguson,’ and then handing me a piece of evidence with 2 minutes of highlighted text will not go your way. I won’t read deep into evidence that has not been explained and warranted during the debate, as I think that leads to pretty sizable judge intervention and more arbitrary decisions than one that remains flow-centric.

I’m a big advocate of disclosure in PF. The best debates are ones where one team has a thoroughly prepared strategies against a case, and the other team really knows the ins and outs of their own contentions. I’m not sympathetic at all to arguments about prep-outs – I’m terminally convinced that they’re good. I’m not convinced by arguments about how they hurt small schools – I competed at a very tiny college program that ONLY survived because of the wiki. I’m not sympathetic to arguments about people ‘stealing research,’ because it’s obviously not ‘stealing’ and lazy debaters that download wiki cases usually get beaten because they don’t know the nuances of the arguments they’re reading. If you disclose on the wiki, you will get a slight speaker bump. If you disclose pre-round, same deal. Note: this does not mean that disclosure theory is an auto-win by any means. You will have to technically execute it and win that disclosure is good during the debate – I won’t copy and paste my paradigm into the ballot.

Nitpicky other thoughts that may be helpful:

· Don’t take forever finding your evidence – especially if it’s in your own case. If it drags on too long (3-4 minutes) I will begin to run prep time. There’s clearly a reasonable window of time in which you can find a piece of evidence you claimed to have literally just read. If you can’t find it, you probably didn’t actually cut/read it.

· Don’t ever go back to your own case in first rebuttal just to ‘build it up some more.’ I will not be flowing if you are not making new arguments, and it’s a complete waste of time to rebuild a case they have not yet answered. There are some exceptions to this if you have framing arguments or whatnot – but 99% of the time you should just be answering your opponent’s case. To me, it reads as a clear sign that someone is a relative beginner in Public Forum when this occurs.

· Second rebuttal should frontline their case.

· Summary should include defensive and dropped arguments, but time should be allocated according to the other teams’ coverage.

· Impact framing arguments that are simply ‘X issue is not discussed enough, so prioritize it’ are not convincing to me in the slightest. You need to have a clear and offensive reason why not prioritizing your impact filter is bad, not just say that it’s important and people never give it notice. Ask yourself this question: what is the impact of your framing being ignored?

· Warrants beat tagline extensions of cards 99% of the time.

None of the above are ‘rules’ for how to go about earning my ballot. You could violate any one of the above and still win, but it’s likely only going to happen if your opponent is making major mistakes. Lastly, I think that topic knowledge wins just as many debates as a cleverly constructed case does. You should try your best to be the most knowledgeable person in the room on any given PF topic, because you’ll usually have what it takes to flexibly respond to unpredicted arguments and embarrass your opponents in cross.

Speaker point scale:

29.5+ - You’re debating like you’re already in the final round, and you deserve top speaker at this tournament.

29-29.5 – Debating like a quarterfinalist.

28.5 – 29 – Solid bubble/doubles team

28-28.5 – Debating like you should be around .500 or slightly below

27.5-28 – Serious room for improvement

Below 27.5 – You were disrespectful to the extreme or cheated. Probably around here if you just give up as well.

Hi I'm Gracie! (she/her)

Experience: 3 years of PF at Boca High and 3 years of experience in different debate events at Florida State (NPDA, BP, Civic/Social Justice, NFA LD literally once).

For Online Tournaments:

- Yes, add me to the email chain: gracea.findley@gmail.com

For PF:

TL;DR: Tech > Truth. Turns/DAs need to be responded to in second rebuttal. Final focus should mirror the summary. Default to cost/benefit analysis, but easily persuaded to filter the round through whatever framework you see fit. Speed is ok, but please don't spread. And please do not drop warrants (especially in the back half of the round!)

If anything is unclear in my paradigm, just ask me before the round!

Specific Thoughts on Debate

1) I default to tech > truth. Additionally, if you're winning a claim on the flow (technically), I'm more likely to evaluate it as true. But don't just assert things as random truths and expect me to vote on them. With this being said, I am a sucker for a good narrative. In the back-half of the round I love when teams re-explain their arguments, especially on the warrant level and use this as a basis to explain how they're winning. If you do this it helps make my decision much easier as I am not just voting on the flow but also on clear argumentation.

2) If you drop warrants, I drop you. Please don't make this mistake. I think warrants are the most important argument in the round, so I will evaluate this first. Lack of warrants assume I am all knowing and sometimes arguments that are clear to you are not clear to me, so ensuring I understand the premise of your argument extends from your ability to provide clear warrants. This means I expect analysis not only on the impact level but also on the link level. Assuming you are winning a warrant and going straight to impact weighing will make me unlikely to vote for you.

3) Second rebuttal is required to frontline all offensive arguments made against their case. This includes turns and DAs. It will make my flow a lot cleaner if you also begin to frontline defensive arguments in this speech, but it's not something that I require.

4) Anything you want me to vote off of NEEDS to be in the summary. Now that the summary is three minutes long, I expect first speaking teams to extend defense in summary. Please don't try to bring up things in final focus that were missing in summary.

5) Absent any framing in the round, I default to a cost/benefit analysis. In debates that don't touch heavily on framing, I tend to lean aff on risk of solvency. This also means I lean aff/non-squo went presented with "risk of offense" or "try-or-die" framing.

6) I don't have much experience competing in or evaluating theory rounds. I will try my best to evaluate it, but proceed with caution at your risk. For reference, here's what I think about some of the more popular theory arguments being read in PF.

a.) "Give us 30s" - Nope. Please, please, please don't read this in front of me. If you want a 30, follow my paradigm.

b.) Disclosure - Disclosure is good for debate, regardless of big or small school and especially for online tournaments.

7) I will not time you. Please keep track of your own time for both speeches and prep.

8) K's without policy alternatives are ok as the negative (b/c negative fiat isn't really a thing in PF), but I'm not a huge fan of non-topical affirmatives. My background is not in critical literature, so please make sure your arguments are very well explained in the back-half of the round.

9) If you are going to read an overview, there needs to be some sort of "turns case" explanation clearly flagged on the flow. I am not a fan of disads with new impacts out of the rebuttal.

10) I will call for evidence if I think it's misconstrued or if a team tells me to. I have no preference whether you give me a PDF/webpage or a cut card.

11) Don't spread, even if you offer to send a doc. I competed on the national circuit in PF though, so I can follow if you speak more quickly than conversational rate but please at least slow down for author names and dates.

For Speaker Points:

1) If author names are either dropped or not read, I will lower speaker points. Author names are the bare minimum - you should also be reading dates.

2) Weighing and really any sort of contextualization is the easiest way to boost your speaks. This is more than just claims like "we win on scope." As stated above, warrants are crucial to all argumentation; in addition to giving me a reason to prefer your analysis over anything your opponents bring up.

1. Quality over quantity

2. Frame clearly

3. Respect your opponent

4. Prioritize your time

5. Not all arguments are equal

6. Not all evidence is equal

7. Make your case clearly

8. Make my vote easy

Weigh or else I will be sad :(

I participated in public forum debate for four years in high school. I also dabbled in policy debate and extemp. After being out of the debate circuit for a few years I have come to realize that one style of debate has pervaded through all the different debate events. Namely, the style which originated in policy debate. I will not venture towards normative comments on whether this style of debate is good or bad, however, I will take a clear stance on the fact that public forum, Lincoln Douglas, and policy debate are different events. These debate events were meant to be distinct and unique. This is not the case in the status quo. That being said here is what I expect in a public forum debate round.

Public forum debate was created to allow the average person to be able to understand the topics being discussed. I believe it is the debater's job to tactfully articulate their arguments such that a layperson can follow them. Due to the severe lack of this type of debate occurring, I feel as a judge it is my responsibility to enforce certain standards upon competitors who I judge.

To be perfectly clear, I will drop you in the round if you spread or read theory shells (unless there are serious abuses occurring in the round). I do believe that different frameworks can play a role in public forum debate but I think that these should be read at the beginning of your case, not in the middle of the round. I am also much more inclined to vote for a team with a cohesive narrative that they have been pushing throughout the round. I think that in order to be fair no new evidence should be read in final focus.

Additionally, perhaps the most important speech in the round is the summary. Due to the increase in the time limit of this speech I have witnessed teams try to extend every single argument they have in the round during this speech. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. The entire point of a summary is to distill the round into its key components and start WEIGHING. If you do not do this in your summary speech I will much less inclined to vote for you.

Lastly, as I have already iterated weighing is the most important thing for a debater to do in the round. It helps to have a weighing framework established, but this is not necessary as a CBA is a standard in PF. However, even in a CBA, it is important to distinguish how different impacts can be weighed against each other, and why yours are more important than your opponents. If you do not weigh, I have to decide what's more important which is not fun for either of us.

I am a new lay judge, this is my first time.

My name is Mindy Glazer. I am a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge. I am currently assigned to the Criminal Division. I have presided over hundreds of trials and hearings over the past 20 years. In this forum, I am a parent judge with three years experience judging PF.

At the outset, please introduce yourself and inform me what position you will be arguing. Please stand when speaking. Be mindful of the time your are allotted. I may deduct points if you exceed your time.

I want to understand your argument, so please speak clearly and not too fast. Organized and well reasoned arguments supported by evidence earn points. Points will be deducted for rude and offensive behavior. Please allow your opponent to answer questions during crossfire before asking more questions.

I did PF during high school and did BP in college. Coached PF for a bit too.

I'm a pretty basic flow judge who will be open to most arguments that are brought up.

What makes me unhappy:

1) Progressive arguments like K or theories. I think those ruin the entire point of PF, which is to be at least somewhat accessible and be an actual debate. I'll evaluate them, but I'll be unhappy doing it :(

2) When debaters just spit cards with no underlying logic and expect me to vote on it. I don't care if a random professor or journalist said something. You personally need to be able to explain the logic to me of why your point is right and your opponent's is wrong.

3) Lying about/blatantly misrepresenting evidence. If you catch someone doing this, tell me to call the card at the end of the round.

4) Being rude/overly aggressive

What makes me happy:

1) Weighing your arguments as much as you can. Just tell me why your arguments are more important than your opponents, and give me legitimate logical reasons for it. If nobody does this, then I'll have to choose for myself which arguments I find the most important, and I'm sure that will make people unhappy.

2) Humor. If you throw in some entertaining quotes from Seinfeld, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, or another sitcom in a relevant way, I'll like you. No pressure though.

Lastly, remember that this is just a game. Have fun with it.

As a debate parent parent and a lawyer I care most that the arguments are carried through the round, I should not have to do to much work while judging your speeches should tell me how to judge.

I'm a parent judge. I believe in the traditional style of LD debate. I have some experience judging LD and PF. No spreading please, I must understand your arguments in order to give you the win. No theory, tech, tricks, or other types of debate as I will not understand it. I like weighing impacts and morality so that will give you extra points and make the debate more interesting. I like it when you tell me what I should vote for as it pushes your arguments further. I do not take my own bias into consideration (obviously,) so I will always vote for the debater that is able to back up their arguments. I like disads and CP's as long as they're topical. I come to the round as a blank slate so you need to make all your arguments in the case as I will not extend them for you. Public forum is a debate-style that even the most uninformed judges should be able to understand so no incomprehensible links or I will drop you.

Thank you, may the best debater win.

Experience:

4 years of PF at duPont Manual in Louisville, KY.

3 years of NFA-LD/LP at Western Kentucky University.

TLDR –

(1) Speed good.

(2) Do what you do best – I’ll do my best to adapt.

(3) Prefer fast policy-style rounds.

(4) No objections to judging the K – just less experienced.

(5) Great debate minds that heavily influenced the way I view/judge this activity: Chad Meadows, Anthony Survance, Claire Rung & Alex Rivera.

Long(ish) Version (will become more detailed as I judge more NFA rounds) –

It’s your round – I’m just here to evaluate it. Debate how you’re most comfortable. I’ll do my best to evaluate whatever’s in front of me.

I have not researched the endless wars topic.

I dislike evidence from random news outlets. Flex your author qualifications in front of me.

I like big affs that directly engage a large portion of the topic. I dislike small affs that use their tangential relation to the topic to no-link all neg ground.

Lean neg on most issues related to conditionality. Multiple condo CPs is fine if you can win the condo flow.

Not a fan of five-card DAs that take forever to get to the point.

I default drop the debater on disclosure (put your stuff on the wiki!) – drop the arg on every other theory argument. Feel free to convince me otherwise.

T is a voter. What’s “topical” is up for debate!

Don’t waste your time on RVIs in front of me.

I didn’t debate the K much, but feel free to read it. Alt solvency is really important to me. Wouldn’t suggest kicking the alt and going for the K as a DA to the aff in the 2N in front of me.

Preferences:

- Speak clearly and slowly, speed at 7 or slower

- Be clear in your contentions. Example, #1....... #2.....

- On rebuttals, clearly state which argument you are refuting

- I typically do not have extensive background on the topic. So throughly explain your contention.

- Eye contact shows confidence and knowledge of the topic vs. reading from your computer

Etiquette: Do not like bullying approach. Can be passionate but must be respectful of the other team.

Length of Judging: first year judge

Background

- 3 years national circuit PF at American Heritage-Plantation in Florida (2013-2016)

- 2 years policy debate at FSU (2016-2018)

- 2 years coaching PF for Capitol Debate (2017-current)

Paradigm

- Do anything you want to do in terms of argumentation. It is not my job as a judge in a debate community to exclude certain forms of argumentation. There are certain arguments I will heavily discourage: Ks read just to confuse your opponent and get an easy win, theory read to confuse your opponent, anything that is racist, classist, transphobic, xenophobic, sexist, ableist, etc. I will not immediately drop you for trying to confuse your opponent, I might for the latter half. The threshold for trying to confuse your opponents will be if you refuse to answer crossfire questions or give answers that everyone knows aren't legit.

- The most frequently asked questions I get are "can you handle speed?" and "how do you feel about defense in first summary/does the second speaking team need to cover responses in rebuttal?" To the first, if you are spreading to make this event in accessible to your opponents, I will give you no higher than a 20 in speaks. I am fine with spreading, but if either your opponents or I clear you, I expect you to slow down. If your opponents need to clear you 3 or more times, I expect you send them a speech doc (if you had not already done that). To the second, I do not care. It is probably strategic to have defense in first summary/ respond to first rebuttal in second rebuttal, but if you do not do that, I'm not going to say it has magically become a dropped argument.

- K's are cool, theory is cool. You need to know what you are talking about if you read these. You should be able to explain it to your opponents. If you are doing performance stuff give me a reason why. You should be prepared for the "we are doing PF, if you want to do performance why not go back to policy" debate.

- I default to whatever debaters tell me to default to. If you are in a util v structural violence framing debate, you better have reasons to defend your side. I do not default "util is trutil" unless it is won as an argument.

- Sound logic is better than crappy cards.

- The TKO is in play. If you know, you know.

- Speaker points will be reflection of your skill and my scale will remain consistent to reflect that. The average is between a 28.2-28.5. If you are an average debater, or your performance is average in round, that is what you should expect. Do not expect a 30 from me unless the tournament does not do halves.

Any questions:

email- ryleyhartwig@gmail.com

Or you can ask me before the round.

I am a parent judge, and I have judged for more than 3 years on the national circuit.

Preferences:

- Speak clearly at a conversational pace

- Have logical and well-explained arguments

- Avoid debate jargon

- Signpost clearly

- No Ks, Theory, etc.

- Be professional and civil

- Cross: I may not take notes but I pay attention

I am a parent/lay judge, with no prior judging experience.

I competed in Public Forum for Corona del Sol HS for four years, graduating in 2019. I am now only very infrequently involved with the PF debate circuit and have not watched / judged a debate round since 1H 2022.

I coached for two years after graduating with my team championing the TOC in 2022. Therefore, I have a somewhat clear understanding of how to flow and evaluate a round, but I don't frequently judge and am less acquainted with the topic than most. You should assume I have no clear picture of stock arguments or common pieces of evidence.

You can read any argument you'd like - I'll vote for anything, though I will need greater explanation on how non-traditional arguments function for my ballot.

I did public forum for 4 years in high school and I coached for 2 years. That being said, I'm now 4 years out from high school so my flowing isn't quite as fast as it used to be. Do with that information what you will.

Otherwise my paradigm is pretty simple:

The most important thing is that I will always choose the easiest/cleanest path to the ballot. 

Terminal defense does NOT have to be in first summary.

I like weighing. Judging is super hard when I have a bunch of arguments on both sides with no way to analyze them and if I'm feeling rushed I might analyze them wrong on my own. So do it for me.

Don't trust my facial expressions. You can say the best argument I've ever heard and I'll still look bored.

Don't be rude in round. I know the difference between aggressive and mean, and I'm not afraid to dock points if I see the latter.

If you have any questions feel free to ask before the round.

I used to have something on here saying "strike me if you're gonna run theory", however; it would seem that they have become so pervasive in debate that everyone would have to strike me. So now I will just say: I barely understand how progressive arguments work, I have no understanding of the rules behind them, and I really really REALLY prefer arguments that stick to the topic. So like I said at the beginning, do with that information what you will. 

I am a lay judge and have been judging speech and debate for about 6 years. I believe that debate should include a clear presentation of your arguments and evidence. I also believe your speeches should be well organized. In the end, I will value argument over style, but the way you present your arguments is important to my understanding of those arguments. If you call for evidence, please have a legitimate reason for it. I don't like spending a lot of prep time on it. I expect you to time yourselves, but I will be timing too. I like clear, organized flows with clear voters at the end. I weigh heavily on impacts so compare your impacts and convince me that yours are stronger. Please be civil and respectful to your partner and competitors.

My background is in theatre and speech. I love judging speech events and will typically vote for the presenter who has the strongest emotional connection to their piece and the audience. There must be an effective balance of design, style, and presentation. The pieces that showcase who you are as a performer as well as communicating something new and fresh are welcome.

Speaking clearly and at a speed so that I can understand your argument is imperative. I prefer a debate exhibiting quality over a debate exhibiting quantity. Be kind to your fellow debaters whether in or out of the debate room.

My background is in comparative literatures and I currently teach high school Spanish. I prefer Congress and forensic arts over Public Forum but am equipped to judge all events. I know you are passionate about debate and I seek to provide the most objective decision possible so please make sure you are speaking at a slower rate than usual. If a PF round sounds like a ping pong match and everyone is spreading, I cannot accurately flow. Regarding research, make sure the sources are credible and current. It becomes interesting when you question, challenge and re-evaluate the opponent’s sources. Sound logic, decisive language and weighing arguments are key. There are plenty of arguments out there as to why high-probability events are worse than high-magnitude ones and vice versa, so all it takes is a little effort to come up with an effective strategy. It should go without saying but professional decorum is necessitated; before, during, and after rounds.

I did 3 years of public forum at Poly Prep (2015-2018) and I'm a senior at uchicago. Email chain: sophialam@polyprep.org

- here's how i make my decision: i look at who wins the weighing/framework. I evaluate that argument. If you win the weighing/framework and the offense with a terminalized impact, you'll probably win. If no one weighs then I'm gonna go with scope or the argument with the least ink.

- I don't like frivolous theory. If you read it you better go for it. Ks are cool, but I reserve the right to intervene if I feel like you're running it in a problematic/game-y way.

- I like warrants. If they provide a warrant and your only response is "they don't have evidence for this" but it logically makes sense, I'm likely to give them some ground. I prefer your counter warrant/ev as a response rather than just their lack of supporting evidence.

- speed is fine as long as you aren't speaking unclearly.

- First summary doesn't have to extend defense from rebuttal unless second rebuttal frontlines. Turns/Offense you want me to vote on need to be in both summary and final focus.

- I don't flow crossfire. If it's important, say it in a speech

- I don't time, if your opponents are telling me time is up I'll stop flowing but give them at least 5 seconds. Don't hold up your timer .5 seconds after the speech time is over

- i default neg if there's no offense

1) Be respectful and polite. Do not disrespect your opponents in any manner.

2) I can comprehend everything you say at whatever speed you say it. However, if you speak faster than I can write, then there might be some arguments missing from my notes.

3) Do not use hyperboles and faulty logic. When assessing impact, probability is as important as the scope, so if your argument is hyperbolic and unlikely or if the logic trail leading to that end is discontinuous, you have no impact.

I have been a parent judge for the past 3 years. I prefer quality contentions vs quantity. Good content is very important to me as it shows the participants are prepared. Please try to speak clearly so I can judge effectively.

Hi, I did Public Forum debate for four years at Lake Mary Prep in Orlando, Florida.

Some things I like:

Warrants and lines of logic over evidence that is unwarranted

Weighing, the earlier the better

Front-lining in Second Rebuttal. You don't have to do this but I think it is a good idea

Narratives

Collapsing ***** 3 min summary does not mean go for more, just COLLAPSE BETTER *****

My coach always used to say "50% fewer arguments and 100% more analysis"

Some things I don't like:

Miscut Evidence. I am fine with paraphrasing but please make sure its an accurate representation of the evidence (I reserve the right to drop you if it is seriously misrepresented)

Blippy Arguments that are not weighed, warranted, or implicated

Spreading

Theory / Ks unless there is a serious issue or abuse in the topic or the round. I am also really bad at understanding these, so you should probably strike me if this is your thing.

Any bigoted argument I will immediately drop you no questions asked.

To Summarize, In the poetic words of Ozan Ergrunor:

weigh

i begged you

but

you didn’t

and you

lost

**Optional Section**

If any individual in the round would prefer these rules not be applied, let me know at the start and I'll waive them for the round, no questions asked.

1. Effective use of Kanye West lyrics and/or Frank Ocean references will bump speaker points

2. If you want walk-up music of any kind before ur rebuttal or summary or whatever lmk i'll try to play it for you

Have fun, and best of luck! Seriously. Have fun. Otherwise it's not worth it.

**end**

I debated for four years on the national circuit.

My paradigm breaks down quite simply:

1. Engage arguments constructively. Clash is so important but increasingly teams don't know what that means. When I'm given an argument and a response that just make the polar opposite claims, it becomes impossible to evaluate if both teams don't do extra analysis, so do the extra analysis. Warrants are infinitely more important than card-stacks – good logic beats bad evidence every time.

2. Weigh on the link and impact level. Don't just give me prewritten reasons your impact is large (i.e., "scope and severity"), but instead tell me why your link into the impact is explicitly stronger than any other links/turns your opponents go for, and why your impact is more significant than theirs. Direct comparison of impacts/links will take you far – one good, common sense weighing mechanism adapted to the content of the round is better than four weak pre-typed ones.

3. Be consistent. Not only between summary and final focus (first summary defense is optional but strongly encouraged if important), but also with a story throughout the round. If you read arguments that explicitly contradict each other for strategic value, I might not drop you, but you'll have a hard time establishing credibility (or high speaks). Instead, defend a cohesive worldview throughout the round – and pull that story through (extending both warrants and impacts at minimum).

The easiest way to win my ballot is to follow these three rules. Pick an issue and defend against responses constructively with more than just a re-assertion of your argument. Weigh the link against other links and the impact against other impacts. Use this issue to tell a clear story that leaves me confident when I vote.

With regards to pretty much everything else, I am non-interventionist. I won't tell you how fast to speak, or force you to answer turns in second rebuttal, or ban specific types of arguments, but exercise good judgement. If you do something that a majority of reasonable people would find unfair, abusive, rude, or prejudicial to members of any minority community, I will do something about it. Your speaks will certainly be impacted and the threshold at which I will cast a ballot for your opponent will fall. In elims, that threshold will fall faster because I can't tank your speaks. Don't risk it, and when in doubt, ask.

And on that note, ask me if you have any other questions.

I am a lay judge-- an economist by training-- and have lived overseas for 5 years. I also travel extensively for my work, around the world, so I would say my paradigm is looking for sound economic arguments as well as logic and rhetoric among debaters. I also appreciate global awareness in the debaters I judge, and those who use humor appropriately and are supportive of their teammate and opponents.

Chad Meadows (he/him)

chadwickmeadows@gmail.com

If you have interest in college debate, and would be interested in hearing about very expansive scholarship opportunities please contact me. Our program competes in two policy formats and travels to at least 4 tournaments a semester. Most of our nationally competitive students have close to zero cost of attendance because of debate specific financial support.

Debate Experience

College: I’ve been the head argument coach and/or Director of Debate for Western Kentucky University for a little over a decade. WKU primarily competes in NFA-LD, a shorter policy format. This season (2023) we are adding CEDA/NDT tournaments to our schedule.

High School: I’ve been an Assistant Coach, and primarily judge, for the Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia for several years. In this capacity I’ve judged at high school tournaments in both Policy Debate and Public Forum.

Argument Experience/Preferences

I feel comfortable evaluating the range of debates in modern policy debate (no plan affirmatives, policy, and kritik) though I am the most confident in policy rounds. My research interests tend toward more political science/international affairs/economics, though I’ve become well read in some critical areas in tandem with my students’ interests (anti-blackness/afropessimism in particular) in addition I have some cursory knowledge of the standard kritik arguments in debate, but no one would mistake me for a philosophy enthusiast. On the nuclear weapons topic, almost all of my research has been on the policy side.

I have few preferences with regard to content, but view some argumentative trends with skepticism: Counterplans that result in the plan (consult and many process counterplans), Agent counterplans, voting negative any procedural concern that isn’t topicality, reject the team counterplan theory that isn’t conditionality, some versions of politics DAs that rely on defining the process of fiat, arguments that rely on voting against the representations of the affirmative without voting against the result of the plan.

I feel very uncomfortable evaluating events that have happened outside of the debate round, especially in the CEDA/NDT community where I have limited knowledge of the context regarding community trends.

I have little experience evaluating debates with some strategies that would only be acceptable in a 2-person policy debate context - 2ac add-ons, 2nc counterplanning, 2ac intrinsicness tests on DA, etc. I’m not opposed to these strategies, and understand their strategic purpose, but I have limited exposure.

Decision Process

I tend to read more cards following the debate than most. That’s both because I’m curious, and I tend to find that debaters are informing their discussion given the evidence cited in the round, and I understand their arguments better having read the cards myself.

I give less credibility to arguments that appear unsupported by academic literature, even if the in round execution on those arguments is solid. I certainly support creativity and am open to a wide variety of arguments, but my natural disposition sides with excellent debate on arguments that are well represented in the topic literature.

To decide challenging debates I generally use two strategies: 1) write a decision for both sides and determine which reflects the in-round debating as opposed to my own intuition, and 2) list the relevant meta-issues in the round (realism vs liberal internationalism, debate is a game vs. debate should spill out, etc.) and list the supporting arguments each side highlighted for each argument and attempt to make sense of who debated the best on the issues that appear to matter most for resolving the decision.

I try to explain why I sided with the winner on each important issue, and go through each argument extended in the final rebuttal for the losing team and explain why I wasn’t persuaded by that argument.

Public Forum

Baseline expectations: introduce evidence using directly quoted sections of articles not paraphrasing, disclose arguments you plan to read in debates.

Argument preferences: no hard and fast rules, but I prefer debates that most closely resemble the academic and professional controversy posed by the topic. Debate about debate, while important in many contexts, is not the argument I'm most interested in adjudicating.

Style preferences: Argumentation not speaking style will make up the bulk of my decision making and feedback, my reflections on debate are informed by detailed note taking of the speeches, speeches should focus their time on clashing with their opponents' arguments.

I have been judging for about three years, but I am not really a flow judge I just take notes. Do not spread because if I can’t understand you I can’t write it down. Impacts are important to me as well.

Jeffrey Miller

Current Coach -- Marist School (2011-present)
Lab Leader -- National Debate Forum (2015-present), Emory University (2016), Dartmouth College (2014-2015), University of Georgia (2012-2015)
Former Coach -- Fayette County (2006-2011), Wheeler (2008-2009)
Former Debater -- Fayette County (2002-2006)

jmill126@gmail.com and maristpublicforum@gmail.com for email chains, please (no google doc sharing and no locked google docs)

Last Updated -- 2/12/2012 for the 2022 Postseason (no major updates, just being more specific on items)

I am a high school teacher who believes in the power that speech and debate provides students. There is not another activity that provides the benefits that this activity does. I am involved in topic wording with the NSDA and argument development and strategy discussion with Marist, so you can expect I am coming into the room as an informed participant about the topic. As your judge, it is my job to give you the best experience possible in that round. I will work as hard in giving you that experience as I expect you are working to win the debate. I think online debate is amazing and would not be bothered if we never returned to in-person competitions again. For online debate to work, everyone should have their cameras on and be cordial with other understanding that there can be technical issues in a round.

What does a good debate look like?

In my opinion, a good debate features two well-researched teams who clash around a central thesis of the topic. Teams can demonstrate this through a variety of ways in a debate such as the use of evidence, smart questioning in cross examination and strategical thinking through the use of casing and rebuttals. In good debates, each speech answers the one that precedes it (with the second constructive being the exception in public forum). Good debates are fun for all those involved including the judge(s).

The best debates are typically smaller in nature as they can resolve key parts of the debate. The proliferation of large constructives have hindered many second halves as they decrease the amount of time students can interact with specific parts of arguments and even worse leaving judges to sort things out themselves and increasing intervention.

What role does theory play in good debates?

I've always said I prefer substance over theory. That being said, I do know theory has its place in debate rounds and I do have strong opinions on many violations. I will do my best to evaluate theory as pragmatically as possible by weighing the offense under each interpretation. For a crash course in my beliefs of theory - disclosure is good, open source is an unnecessary standard for high school public forum teams until a minimum standard of disclosure is established, paraphrasing is bad, round reports is frivolous, content warnings for graphic representations is required, content warnings over non-graphic representations is debatable.

All of this being said, I don't view myself as an autostrike for teams that don't disclose or paraphrase. However, I've judged enough this year to tell you if you are one of those teams and happen to debate someone with thoughts similar to mine, you should be prepared with answers.

How do "progressive" arguments work in good debates?

Like I said above, arguments work best when they are in the context of the critical thesis of the topic. Thus, if you are reading the same cards in your framing contention from the Septober topic that have zero connections to the current topic, I think you are starting a up-hill battle for yourselves. I have not been entirely persuaded with the "pre-fiat" implications I have seen this year - if those pre-fiat implications were contextualized with topic literature, that would be different.

My major gripe with progressive debates this year has been a lack of clash. Saying "structural violence comes first" doesn't automatically mean it does or that you win. These are debatable arguments, please debate them. I am also finding that sometimes the lack of clash isn't a problem of unprepared debaters, but rather there isn't enough time to resolve major issues in the literature. At a minimum, your evidence that is making progressive type claims in the debate should never be paraphrased and should be well warranted. I have found myself struggling to flow framing contentions that include four completely different arguments that should take 1.5 minutes to read that PF debaters are reading in 20-30 seconds (Read: your crisis politics cards should be more than one line).

How should evidence exchange work?

Evidence exchange in public forum is broken. At the beginning of COVID, I found myself thinking cases sent after the speech in order to protect flowing. However, my view on this has shifted. A lot of debates I found myself judging last season had evidence delays after case. At this point, constructives should be sent immediately prior to speeches. (If you paraphrase, you should send your narrative version with the cut cards in order). At this stage in the game, I don't think rebuttal evidence should be emailed before but I imagine that view will shift with time as well. When you send evidence to the email chain, I prefer a cut card with a proper citation and highlighting to indicate what was read. Cards with no formatting or just links are as a good as analytics.

For what its worth, whenever I return to in-person tournaments, I do expect email chains to continue.

What effects speaker points?

I am trying to increase my baseline for points as I've found I'm typically below average. Instead of starting at a 28, I will try to start at a 28.5 for debaters and move accordingly. Argument selection, strategy choices and smart crossfires are the best way to earn more points with me. You're probably not going to get a 30 but have a good debate with smart strategy choices, and you should get a 29+.

This only applies to tournaments that use a 0.1 metric -- tournaments that are using half points are bad.

Hi, I am a mom judge who takes notes. This is my fourth year judging and I have a daughter in Public Forum. I love to judge and listen to interesting argumentation, however making a decision in a close round is often a challenge for me so it would be to your advantage if you follow my paradigm and make this cleaner and easier for me to evaluate. P.S. if you ask for my paradigm it most likely won’t be as in depth as this; follow this don’t just “do your thing”.

1. LINGO- Chances are, you all know more about the topic than me because you’ve been researching for weeks. this being said, make sure that you don’t throw around “topical lingo”. Make sure you explain to me the terms fairly clearly. Also, don’t use fancy debate rhetoric that is typically spammed for flow judges. If you say “turn” or “flow to our side” or “extend” I’m probably gonna get a little confused. Just explain to me where and how I should evaluate the argument. Also why are you giving a roadmap if it’s super complicated and you’re hopefully going to tell me where you are anyway???
2. SPEAKING- The way I look at it, debate is about adapting to whoever your judge is. For the purpose of this round, it would be strategic to just persuade me. Make eye contact and show me that you’re engaged in the activity. ..It’s okay to be aggressive to an extent but don’t be rude to your opponents. If you’re getting “beat up” fight the fire with fire though… Usually I give midstream speaks around 26-28s but a 29 is relatively easy to get if you argue effectively, professionally, fluently, and have good argumentation the whole way through. That being said, I don’t think I’ve ever given a 30 but don’t let that stop you from trying to change that. Don’t go too fast, I want to be able to understand something your saying but even perfect diction probably won’t be able to compensate for this entirely- the slower the better.
3. ANALYSIS- Please weigh. This will make both of our lives so much easier. I really don’t want to revert to being the judge who votes off of something random because it’s the only thing I remember or understand at the end of the round. Tell me why your link chain makes sense and why I should prefer it over your opponent’s. Also if both teams are weighing then tell me why to vote off of your weighing mechanisms, don’t just repeat them. When weighing, don’t just throw out random words like “scope” and “magnitude”- explain them to me and why it applies directly your argument.
4. CLASH- I like when in debate, both sides are actually debating and not just giving two completely different sides. Obviously you don’t know if your cases are going to clash but in later speeches engage in the debate, this is probably where I’ll end up voting.

Barry University School of Law (2021 - Present)

American Heritage School, Head Debate Coach (2019 - 2021)

California State University, Fresno (2017-2019)

Contact Information: My email is nickbmirza95@gmail.com. I would like to be on the email chain.

Overview

Since I'm no longer coaching, my perspectives have changed and leave it up to you how I should confront the debate, regardless of argumentation style. My experience has almost exclusively dealt with running a plan text, disdadvantage/counterplan, and framework/cap (I can count on one hand the amount of times I went for cap though). I'm not against evaluating planless affirmatives when the debaters engage with the substance of their opponents arguments. I enjoy the clash between policy and kritikal teams.

Evidence Quality

I place a high value on evidence quality. I'll evaluate arguments that address a discrepancy between what is being said and what the evidence actually says. It's important to me that you know and understand the evidence you are bringing into the round.

Speed

I'm comfortable with speed, but my advice is too slow down on important arguments so I can make sure I flow it properly. This includes any prewritten analytics that are unloaded at me.

Topicality

I'm less persuaded by topicality in a policy throw down and would prefer a debate about the implications of the plan. I default to competing interpretations. Evidence should have an intent to define.

Framework

I enjoy framework debates. There needs to be an explanation of why your model of debate is better.

Disadvantages

My favorite. The link is the most important. Evidence that doesn't talk about the specific plan of the affirmative should be addressed, but I can be persuaded if the negative can thoroughly explain the application.

Counterplans

Eh. There needs to be a net benefit. I'm inclined to believe the status quo is a viable option, so in my adverse opinion, a counterplan is best when it's essential to alleviate a disadvantage. No opinion on judge kicking, but permutations need to be answered thoroughly. Lean negative on condo.

Kritiks

I'll vote for them. The alternative explanation is important and I listen/flow attentively to how it is conveyed. Generally, I have trouble understanding how alternatives function in the real world, so you need to do that explanation for me. I evaluate debate space impacts, but would prefer an analysis of outside of the round as well. I don't read the literature and my experience in debate is pretty much exclusively answering kritiks. My familiarity with literature leans toward identity. I don't understand post modernism or high theory whatsoever.

My connection to Debate - Parent of student at Ravenwood High
Years of Experience - 3 years judging PFD

I do take my own notes/flow the debate.
Debaters should make eye contact and speak at normal speeds as opposed to read/speak as fast as possible in order to fit in the most points within their allotted time.

The factors that I usually consider when making my decision on who won/lost the debate is whether the teams made logical/cohesive arguments that reflect/impact the most important points.

AHS ‘18

UM '22

I did LD and some PF for 4 years at American Heritage School and broke at some national tournaments (Yale, Harvard, Blue Key, etc.), got a couple of bid rounds, and quartered at states, for what it’s worth. I judge at circuit tournaments when time and preference permit.

TL;DR: Read whatever, if it has a warrant I'll vote on it. That being said, below is a ranking of my comfort level in terms of being able to accurately evaluate debates involving certain arguments. For PF, just weigh properly and don't assume I know the topic and you'll be fine.

My email is eswarsmohan@gmail.com

1: FW/Tricks/Theory

2: LARP/Substance

3-4: K/High theory

5-Strike: Performance/ID Pol

This activity isn't mine anymore, so it isn't right for me to restrict what you read; just be nice to each other, don't be problematic, and have fun.

General: I don't care what you read. I would prefer you did what you were best at as opposed to trying something you're not as good at just to adapt. I wasn't amazing at flowing as a debater, so please go slow for things like interp texts, tags, plan texts, other important arguments etc. I will vote on any argument provided it has a warrant that I can understand. I don't believe in embedded clash, so I'm not going to vote off of arguments you didn't actually make. My strength as a debater was in philosophy and theory based positions, so obviously my main knowledge base is in those areas, meaning that although I feel fine voting on your random Badiou K, it will require more explanation because I am most likely not well versed in the literature.

Defaults: These are things I will default to absent an argument made regarding the issue.

- Theory is drop the argument, no RVI, competing interpretations

- Meta-theory > Theory, T and Theory are the same layer

- Truth Testing

- Presumption affirms, Permissibility Negates

- Theory > ROB

Speaks: I think that debaters win the round based off strategy, technical proficiency, and argument generation. I view speaks as a way to reward those skills, as well as a way to reward cool/unique/interesting positions that debaters read in front of me. If you want good speaks from me, do any/all of the things mentioned above.

Notes: Random thoughts I have about debate.

- Clarity and organization are your friends

- I will yell clear as many times as necessary, but if I have to yell slow more than twice then I'll lower your speaks

- For the sake of my sanity please signpost clearly

- Be efficient about flashing/emailing/etc. It's super obvious when people are stealing prep and I'll lower speaks

- I think you should flash/email/etc. pre-written analytics, if you don't I'll lower speaks

- For disclosure violations, make sure all the screenshots have time-stamps and are on one document

- Prep stops when the doc has been compiled, it should be flashed/emailed/etc. shortly after

- If you spread/read disclosure theory/read some egregiously obfuscated K arg against a novice, really just make the round inaccessible and/or alienating to an opponent drastically less experienced than you, I will NUKE your speaks (do not test me on this)

- Same note above goes for any discriminatory comments made in round

My name is Anna Moneymaker and I am a parent judge from Newsome High School in Lithia Florida. I have never judged Lincoln Douglas, however I judged a few, local level, Public Forum rounds. My preference is no spreading, theory, or technical arguments. I am a 100% lay judge and you must make slow and clearly articulated arguments for me to follow the round. I am not interested in joining an email chain or receiving a speech document. My preference at this time is to judge a slow, traditional round.
If your strategy is to use spreading, theory, or technical arguments, I suggest for you to not select me as a preferred judge.

I'm not really sure what to say here without giving too much away, however, if it helps at all to know, I study Neuroscience and Behavior, with a specialization in learning and memory, as well have both competed in and judged debate for more than 10 years. Impress me with your fancy lawyer speak, keep your aggression rhetoric, don't trust my facial expressions, I walk around when I get bored, and remember, I'm not judging you, just your arguments and how well or not you present them.

Hello. =)

I am Nicholas Murado. I'm a lawyer -- I sue debt collectors for a living.

I played LD some ~20 years ago and have judged every format at some point in my judging career. Recently I've been judging a lot of PF. This paradigm assumes I'm still judging PF.

Overall philosophy: Above all else, I am a gamer. I love strategy games. I do not like punishing a player for making a strategic decision in a debate round. I will not assume positions you advocate for in the round are positions you advocate for in real life. For example, I'm a very left-wing/progressive person in real life, but I have many times given my ballot to players who I know are also very left-wing/progressive in real life but who ran conservative positions in the round because the flow called for it and it was strategically beneficial for them to do so.

Provided you do not run afoul of the advice contained herein, run whatever arguments you want without worry.

Speed: I hate speed. I believe debate should be won by the smartest player, not the player with the most lingual dexterity. I am okay with players speaking at a faster-than-normal pace, but it should not be excessive. I did an experiment: I read some random judge's philosophy, out loud, at "slightly faster-than-normal pace." It came out to ~230 WPM for something I had never seen before. This means that if your constructive (in PF) is somewhere around 850 words, you are fine. If you get up any higher, though, that may be nearing the top-end for what I like. I tend to ask players to read me the first couple of sentences of their constructive before the round to make sure their pacing is okay if they seem worried about this. ALSO, give the card name before the card, not after, and you should wait a second or two to make sure I get it down correctly on my PC and don't fall behind on flowing. A flaw of mine is that I usually gloss over card names and tend to flow only the argument itself, and in later rounds when people refer to the argument by the card name, it can be confusing. (This was a big problem for me in law school... remembering the holdings of cases and never the case names. Meh.)

Feedback: I am a very facially-active judge. If I do not understand something, it will be clear on my face. I scrunch my forehead, I tilt my head, etc. If I like what is being said, that should be clear on my face, too. If I think you just hit a major point, I may crack a grin and nod my head.

I very often stop flowing and look up at the players during a speech. This is not always a bad thing. It usually isn't a bad thing. This can mean many things. Sometimes I realize I have not paid attention to the actual speaking style and I need some data for determining speaker points. Sometimes I have already figured out where you are going and have already flowed what you are about to say. There are many reasons for this and you should not worry when it happens while you are speaking. Generally, though, if I am focused on my flow, my face is easily readable.

Speaker points: My award of speaker points is completely and entirely separate from any substantive aspect of the debate. I award speaks based on how well you speak, nothing more. Therefore, low point wins are common in my rounds. On the rare occasion that disrespect occurs, I may deduct some speaks based on what happened and the surrounding circumstances.

Aesthetics: I do not care what you wear, how you look, whether you sit or stand, etc. This type of stuff has absolutely no bearing on my decision-making. I do prefer having AFF/PRO on my left and NEG/CON on my right, if possible... but I tend to instruct this at the start of the round anyway.

Kritiks/etc: I consider debate a game where the smartest players should win. Games need to have rules. Rules are important as they are the only way for players to prepare their strategies beforehand. At the heart of the K (and most proggy stuff) is a shirking of the main idea of this game: debating the merits of the resolution. Sometimes this can be useful... but it is very rare.

Theory: My threshold for voting on most common forms of theory is extremely high. You probably won't meet it. I don't agree with disclosure theory in general and the official PF rules already explain how to handle improper use of evidence such that reading paraphrase theory is close to superfluous. I'm also probably not going to vote on any theory relating to the peripheral content of someone's speeches (e.g. pronoun theory without actual malice/actual intentional misgendering, "you guys" theory, etc). If someone is actually abusive, and it affects the round to a sufficient extent, I'll just intervene anyway. But my idea of what "sufficient extent" means will probably change based on the circumstances.

Cross-examination: I tend to consider the CX segments as "shared speeches" insofar as comments made during the cross-examination are binding on the player and the player's case. I know some judges think the CX time "doesn't count" and only the timed individual speeches count, but I do not see it this way. That said, I'm not actively flowing CX.

PF Rules are Supreme: The rules of PF set forth very little, but they do set forth the speech times and the fact that plans and counterplans are banned. I will never change the speech times and I will never accept a plan or counterplan. Arguments that are plans but are disguised as though they are not plans will be ignored even if the other team doesn't point it out. The rules also set forth very detailed procedures on how to handle problems with evidence. I will follow those rules. You should read them if you haven't -- https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/High-School-Unified-Manual-2023-10-19.pdf starting at page 30.

Tech-Truth Spectrum: I'm probably about 70% tech, 30% truth. Where I "intervene" primarily is in three ways.

1. If you misrepresent evidence, cut cards improperly, etc., then I'm voting you down, and I'll do this even if the other team doesn't point it out, pursuant to official rule 7.4.A of the Unified Manual.

2. If you put forth claims that are objectively false ("the Constitution says X" when it doesn't, etc), then either I'm ignoring that argument or voting you down depending on how bad it is.

3. As the absurdity of your argument increases, my threshold for a response decreases. Also, I tend to try real hard not to give ballots to teams whose winning criteria involve absurd impacts. No matter how strong your link chain is, the world is not going to descend into nuclear war because of anything argued for in a debate round. Trust me. To put this another way, if you were to watch a political news show (in real life) and a politician were to argue for the same position you argued for in round, if people on all/most political sides would generally consider that politician to be irrational, then I will probably consider you to be irrational too and refuse to pick up that argument.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS: IF YOU DO NOT WEIGH AND COLLAPSE, YOU WILL LOSE. And your final focus basically should be entirely voting issues.

I am the Director for an Engineering firm since 2012 and regularly prepare marketing and project presentations on civil engineering projects and infrastructure. I have judge in speech and debate for more than six years and enjoy the opportunity to judge.

I have judged sevral categories of speech and debate, but prefer judging Public Forum, and like to see well researched smart arguments.

Presumption

I do not presume to any side. I listen to student arguments. The stronger your argument during cross-examination the better.

Speed

Be clear. Be very clear. If you are spreading politics or something that is easy to understand, then just be clear. I can understand very clear debaters at high speeds when what they are saying is easy to understand. Start off slower so I get used to your voice and I will be fine.

Slow down for analytics. If you are comparing or making analytical arguments that I need to understand, slow down for it.

Time

I am a stickler to your debate time, please be careful. Watch your time during questioning/crossfire(s).

Theory

Make it make sense and interesting.

Evidence

I want to hear the sources/cards in the evidence. Be clear when reading evidence. I penalize for quoting non-existing cards for evidence.

Do not take it out of context. I do ask for cites. Cites should be readily available. Do not cut evidence in an unclear or sloppy manner. Cut evidence ethically. Do not take evidence out of context by cutting qualifiers like "might" or "maybe".

I competed in PF at Western High School for approx. 2.5 years. The last tournament I attended was Blue Key 2017. Don't shake my hand.

I can keep up with spreading, but I have my limits. If you are spreading to the point that I cannot flow, this will only hurt you.

It's your job to request and refute evidence. I will only call for evidence if there is absolutely no choice (i.e. the whole round is dependent on 1 card).

It's not my place to tell you how to debate. That said, I value warrants and weighing. If the round lacks either of these, I have to intervene and no one will be happy.

Second speaking team should respond to turns in rebuttal. Extend your arguments in every speech.

Chill and be nice. I will vote you down if you're rude.

Most importantly: don't be offended if I have to use the bathroom mid-round (or sometimes multiple times).

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

I have judged the following:

PF(3 local tournaments)

Humurous Interp(1 local, 1 national @GMU) - I feel it has to be at least a little funny. The characters crisp.

Extemp ( 1 national @GMU) AGD has to be good, state question clearly, clear 3 points with sources.

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

Have more than one year experience in debate judge. As a senior leader in my current organization, I host and present several meetings globally. My goal is deliver right contents to the audience, demonstrate appropriate body language, keep the audience interested by not repeating the contents, have a constant eye contact, modulation of voice, using the right speed and pronunciations to deliver the contents effectively.

During the judging process, I take notes and compare the notes for providing points, my rationale and feedback. I look for passion from the students on the topics they debate. This will show their hard work and how involved in the topics.

Scientist, educator and parent.

Judging PF for two years.

Public Forum should be accessible to a general audience. Please make certain that your arguments are comprehensible. If you feel like your opponent is running an argument which is unfair or against the rules, be prepared to define the violation and explain why to discount the argument in your rebuttal, summary, and final focus. Your rationale should be clear so that your opponent can adequately address your points. I don't try to flow, but I'm listening. Leaving significant time in speeches or hogging crossfire is not flattering, or impressive.

Constructive:

Your constructive to set me up for your arguments - build your case, tell me the story.

Clarity and explanation of sources and their relationship to claim-warrant-impacts (arguments) helps my understanding of your decisions through summary and final focus, they should contribute to a coherent narrative. Generally, I only consider arguments cleanly extended through summary and final focus.

Evidence:

Cramming in loads of evidence of questionable quality with tenuous links to overwhelm your opponent is not impressive to me as a judge and is often counterproductive. When it comes to evidence, think quality over quantity. Understand your evidence. You should be able to:

- explain any expert opinion you cite (rather than just stating it),

- understand where a statistic comes from

- defend the relevance of any empirical evidence you present.

-do not misrepresenting evidence!

Knowing, engaging and re-evaluating an opponent’s sources is often compelling; however, invoking the purpose of the format and debating debate usually equates to missed opportunities to strengthen your argument. All evidence should have a clearly defined DATE, author, and credentials. Sourcing on your card should be clear and wording of the text should not be altered. Please be expeditious and honest with calls for evidence.

By the end of the round, having a coherent narrative that accounts for both teams' evidence and arguments is most persuasive to me. How your contentions bind and work together is critical.

Speaker Points:

I reward speakers - w/ higher points, who make a presentation effort: eye contact, slowing down on impact work, grouping & weighing in final speeches vs. a line by line, some humor if you're actually funny. Maintain clarity always. If you can’t speak quickly and clearly, then don’t speak quickly. I can handle some speed, but probably not full on spreading. Extreme speed, overuse of jargon, and trickery are not appreciated and could cost you the round. Win the round on the strength of your argument, the veracity of your evidence, and the clarity of your presentation.

Rebuttals:

Your rebuttals to give me reason to disagree with your opponent. Don't just attack, you need to defend. Your summaries to clean up anything vague or muddled.

Your final focus to make me vote for you.

Crossfire:

If you see me scribbling notes during cx, please know I’m not actually flowing cx. Do not take it as a sign that I think what you’re saying in that moment is important. I don’t vote off cx. That said, I do listen closely; cx is your opportunity to clarify arguments & evidence and employ strategies that will help your speeches. Please be civil during cx. Do not talk over your opponent. Follow up questions should be very limited, be courteous to your opponents' need to question you. Discourtesy will result in deducted speaker points.

Disclosure:

I will disclose ONLY if required by the tournament host.

Remember:

· I want you to convince me with your arguments, not with a bunch of PF lingo.

· If you want me to vote on something, extend it through FF.

· Quality of argument over quantity.

· Please don't dumb down because I am a "parent" judge.

· Please do not play dirty, it can cost you the round.

· Be respectful. Do not be rude or condescending.

I am an experienced lay judge. I’ll do my best to evaluate arguments, but persuasion matters as well. I’ll be much more convinced by logically-sound, well-researched arguments, so I’d encourage you all avoid reading anything untrue or overly theoretical. Most importantly, have fun. Debate should be a positive learning experience for all.

I have been judging for several years now. I don't disclose. I am okay with spreading as long as can understand your arguments. I will not give you the win if I feel you are being rude or disrespectful to your opponent. Such as attacking their personal appearance or speech, accent etcetera.

If you concede I will take it as your acceptance to defeat. My favorite parts of PF are the crossfires so bring it.

If judging LD I will give the win to the best candidate regardless of my personal opinions since LD is all about who did the best job to convince me of their points.

When judging speech events I am critical of not just your tone, but your entire performance. Emotion, range, and ability to make your feelings encapsulate me in your piece.

In Congress, delivery, the ability to argue and defend your bill is crucial. I need not only to understand but see the rationale behind your points.

—————————————————————————dededede ——————————————————————————

what's good, debaters!

what has four letters,

occasionally has twelve letter,

always has six letter,

and never has 5 letters?

—————————————————————————dededede ——————————————————————————

I am a lay judge and require all parties to be respectful, polite, and speak slowly.

Be sure to use sound logic, weigh your argumentation and of course, have fun!

I co-coached a strong south Florida team and have judged PF for 2 years going on 3. I have coached my team to many victories and have a lot of experience on how PF works. I am a medical professional who has a love of beagles and is in the process of opening a beagle rescue. I flow on my laptop and take note of cross. If I look confused I probably am, take note of that.

I am considerably lay but my two kids (debated for 2 years going on 3 and 1 year going on 2) have taught me a lot on the topics and the general PF debate style alone. Most of my preferences are based on them (in general)

I am not one to make a quick vote on lives. In order for me to consider it on my flow, I need to hear a two world analysis between the sides and weighing along with it.

General preferences-

1. I am okay with speaking speed but warn me before you start. If you are doing spreading, be prepared to give me a copy of your case. I can keep up for the most part but will not penalize your for you speed.

2. I do not disclose in round (unless mandated by the tournament) but will give generous feedback if asked about the round. I know the topics to a degree due to previous judging but as a debater it is your job to convince me. I will not vote off of previous knowledge.

3. I do ask that all crossfire be for the purposing of furthering case not combative only. Issues in cross need to be mentioned in a speech for me to evaluate them. Dominance in cross, especially in grand cross, does not mean cutting off your opponents.

4. You have a five (5) second grace period past speeches and anything said after that will not be taken into consideration. When it comes to cross, as long as the question is asked before the time, an answer is permitted.

Tournaments judged + many more...

Blue Key (2017 & 2018)

Blake (2017 & 2018)

Sunvite (2018 & 2019)

The Tradition at Cypress

Harvard (2018 & 2019)

Nova Titan 2018, TOC 2018, UK Season Opener, and many more (locals and such)

If you have specific questions that aren't answered here, please don't hesitate to ask.

*If you can logically work in how you save a beagles life in one of your speeches, you can have guaranteed 29 speaks. Does NOT need to be extended throughout the round*

(See top of paradigm for my reasoning to the above statement)

I have been a judge for 2 years. I have judged all events on the speech side at local tournaments and both nationals. I have judged PF at every local tournament for the last year. I want to hear concrete, logically connected arguments. Before you start your speech tell me which side of the flow you are starting on, stating clearly your contentions and sub-points. I have issues with spreading, if I cannot flow your arguments, you cannot win, simple as that. Please weigh at the end. I expect professionalism and good sportsmanship. Most important have fun and good luck!

My name is Neil Press. I debated for Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida from 2012-2016 in Public Forum. I am currently a graduate student at Indiana University.

I AM ALLERGIC TO SHAKING HANDS (very serious allergy could cause death for all involved)

Note: I have not judged public forum since November 2018. I have very little experience with the rule changes for 2019-2020. If you speak slower and make better arguments, I will give you higher speaker points.

If I deem your behavior in round to be excessively rude, belittling, or hateful, you will not win my ballot.

I vote off the flow. Please weigh your arguments for me or do some type of framing, otherwise I will vote off a random argument and you will not be happy. Weighing isn't just saying why something is important, it is saying why it is more important than your opponent's arguments. It requires a comparison.

I am typically tech>truth if you aren't offensive and don't go severely beyond the limits of what I should expect to hear in a Public Forum round. If you are unsure if you are crossing that line, feel free to ask me before the round.

I will only evaluate theory if it is justified, don't read it just to win. Theory needs to be necessary. As an FYI, I don’t find date theory or speaker point theory necessary. Just ask your opponents for dates before or during the round. Essentially there needs to be blatant abuse for me to even consider theory as a viable route to vote.

I can handle moderate speed, but if you go too fast I will miss arguments. I won't be mad if you go fast, just know you are taking a risk in doing so. If its not on my flow, it is your fault, not mine.

If you are going to read an overview tell me before your speech so I can flow it somewhere.

All speeches should be signposted well. If not, I will miss arguments on my flow and it will be your fault.

Summary and Final Focus parallelism is important to me. If you want me to evaluate something as an offensive argument it needs to be in the Summary. Please make it explicitly clear as to why I should be making my decision. I only vote off arguments in the final focus.

Warrants need to be extended in both the summary and the final focus. If at the end of the round I don't understand why an argument you made is true, I will not vote off of it.

Try to be respectful in crossfire as decorum in round plays a role in how I distribute speaker points. If you aggravate me enough it could affect my decision.

I refuse to vote off any type of necessary but insufficient burden structure that are topic based (Ex: In order to even consider affirming they need to prove the U.S. can be a moral actor), however a burden on a contention is fine (Ex: They have the burden to prove the probability this impact happens).

Take notes of my RFD. You have more rounds at this tournament, potentially on this topic, or later in the year. I am taking the time to give you an RFD and help you get better, you can acknowledge that by writing down what I say. I will dock your speaker points if you are disruptive or not paying attention to my RFD. Be respectful. Feel free to ask me questions about my decision, just don't be obnoxious about it.

TL;DR: I will vote off the flow. I favor heavily weighed arguments.

Competed in public forum on the national circuit when I was in high school (graduated 2017). Id be more than happy to provide a full paradigm in-round if requested.

Was in PF for 3 years and I competed on the local and national circuit. Flow judge.

I will always evaluate the framework first and then look towards who best provides offense under the framework. PLEASE COLLAPSE, going for everything in round takes away from your ability to provide a narrative for your arguments. I will only vote on an argument if it’s present in both summary and final focus. That means extending both the warrant, giving a detailed analysis, and the impacts of the argument. Extending card tags alone is not enough. Most importantly, Weigh. If neither of the teams weigh, I’ll be forced to intervene and determine what I think is more important, which you might not necessarily agree with in the end. On a final note, I'm a stickler with evidence, meaning I appreciate evidence that explicitly says what it is that you are trying to communicate in the round; I appreciate logical analysis as well, but there are some instances where having both may serve to benefit you. Probably didn't cover everything so feel free to ask any specific questions before the round.

This is my first time judging, I would appreciate for the arguments to come out as clear as possible meaning no spreading/speaking fast. I am familiar with some of the terminology such as: a turn, non-unique, and a bit more but don't rely heavily on it-- I would rather you explain your link chain step by step and when talking about the opponent's case to pick holes in their link chains. Moreover, if you try to gain offense from your opponents case and it is critical, remember to clearly extend that for me towards the end.

I debated for three years in Public Forum at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Massachusetts.

General Stuff:

• I am fine with most speeds. However, I definitely prefer the round to go at a moderate pace and I will not tolerate spreading.

• I like to think that I am tech>truth. That said, there is an inherent tradeoff with my threshold for responses on ridiculous arguments.

• You do not need defense in the first summary unless the second rebuttal frontlines.

• I do not think progressive arguments (Theory, K, Breaking Speech Times/Meta, etc.) belong in PF so I will not judge those types of rounds. On the other hand, if there is some outrageous violation, warrant the issues in a speech and I will probably give some credence to it if it is true. Just don't read like a full-blown shell on me.

• I default Neg but am willing to hear warranted arguments about why I should presume the first speaking team.

Things I Like:

• Although I do not require it, I love it when teams frontline efficiently in the second rebuttal. I think it is strategic to do so and it makes for a better debate.

• I will always prefer smart analytics over unwarranted cards. If you read some nuke war scenario and your opponents question why war has never occurred it is not enough for you to just drop evidence and say it post dates. Interact with the warrants and show me why your side is stronger.

• Weighing is super important for my ballot. If you do not show me why your arguments matter more than your opponents I will not know how to vote and I might make some heinous decisions.

• I also believe that weighing comes in tiers: you need to have a certain amount of probability your impact happens before you access the other layers of weighing like magnitude, timeframe, etc.

• I also love teams who use impact clarity well! Use it correctly, I often see this "weighing" mechanism done poorly.

Things I Do Not Like:

• I do not like second rebuttal offensive overviews or new contentions. I will evaluate the arguments but I will have a super low threshold for responses and your speaks will likely reflect this.

• A lot of teams think that if they frontline case then that just counts as an extension of it. I do not believe this is true. I prefer that there are explicit extensions made and I will not flow through arguments without good extensions.

• If you are blatantly racist, ableist, homophobic, sexist, etc. to either your opponents or within your argumentation, I will hand you an L and tank your speaks. Strike me if that's an issue.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me before the round starts.

Hello!

My name is Annie Reyes and my daughter does Varsity Extemp. That being said,I am a parent-lay judge with 3 years of experience for judging PF. I understand the rules of PF and basic procedure, however, I do not understand Tricks nor tech debate. Keep it simple, stupid. Argument development, cross-ex, and delivery are what I will be judging on the most. In addition, use proper sources for evidence and try to back up your arguments with them as much as possible. Please try to keep the round simple as I will not tolerate rudeness nor disrespect. I will also be judging on impacts and how well you are able to sell and relate your argument back to people. Also, make sure to keep your own times. Finally, NO SPREADING. You may talk fast, so long as it is understandable. If i can't understand what you're saying, then I won't be able to properly rank you.

Hope you have fun at the tournament and Good Luck!

Speaking clearly is a must. Moderate speed ideal. Summery ought to do defense. Truth over tech.

most importantly be nice and be sure to have fun

Lay.

Weigh in Summary/FF, also tell me why your impact matters. It makes it easier for me to vote.

Truth > Tech

Updated for April 2023.

Tabroom has the option to specify pronouns for a reason. If a debater specifies certain pronouns by which they identify in a live update, ensure you know them. I have ZERO tolerance for deliberate misgendering because it makes the round unsafe. If you object to this, strike me.

A note on content warnings: I have seen the proliferation of potentially triggering arguments being tagged with content warnings before rounds. This is great. If someone doesn't read such a warning, I would be extremely receptive to claims about why that should mean I drop the debater immediately. However, I notice the execution of such warnings leaves much to be desired in some cases. A CW should have three components:

A. A clear indication of the general topic which will be discussed and whether it is graphic or not.

B. A google form wherein the competitors and judges in the round can anonymously indicate discomfort. Do not ask for someone to say whether the content is triggering or not aloud, it is extremely traumatizing and difficult for survivors of trauma to have to out themselves for the sake of your debate argument. Asking for this is immoral and at best will be met by me tanking your speaks and at worst lead to me dropping you immediately.

C. If someone does indicate discomfort, simply say you understand and will read a different argument. Do not pressure or guilt trip anyone for being unwilling to discuss these arguments. Regardless of how important these issues are to debate discourse, safety is definitely more important.

Put me on the email chain: rubinmai@gmail.com.

If there's any way I can make the round more accessible, feel free to email me before the round and I will do my best.

TL;DR: Tech>truth, first speaking summary doesn't have to extend defense unless it's frontlined by second speaking rebuttal, in which case you have to respond to frontlines if you wanna go for it in FF. Second rebuttal does not have to frontline defense, but does have to frontline turns or disads. Defense isn't terminal unless you tell me why. I've been scarcely involved in debate for a few years and am rusty, adapt accordingly. Don't be more tech than you are. See point 5 if you're reading an anticapitalist argument.

Hello. I did PF for three years at Boca Raton High School ('17) and currently coach/judge circuit PF. I went to FSU until spring 2021 and am currently a third year law student at ASU. I’ve been around the national circuit, so I’ve seen my fair share of debating.

I have been much less involved in debate since 2021, however. Take all of the components of this paradigm with the caveat that I might have issues keeping up with overwhelmingly tech rounds due to being rusty.

I disclose, so if you have any questions about the round, be it the specifics of the flow or your performance as a speaker, feel free to ask me either during the disclosure or after the round if time permits on my part. If you have any questions about my paradigm or an RFD, feel free to ask before or after round (tournament permitting).

As for the paradigm:

1. Debate is a game (unless you compellingly argue otherwise in-round), call me tech>truth. I'll vote on any warranted argument insofar as it isn't unambiguously, maliciously offensive. In the latter case, you'll get an L0-20. I think intervention assassinates pedagogy and fairness because the round is decided by factors outside the control of debaters. To minimize intervention, I will presume the status quo in a scenario in a policy topic where: A. no one is accessing offense, or B. both teams are accessing offense without literally any analysis as to which args are more important and it is impossible for me to resolve the debate without intervening. In short, I presume in pretty much any scenario where it is impossible for me to resolve the round without having to introduce any of my own analysis that wasn’t in it. DO NOT ABUSE THAT. I presume first on non-policy resolutions. On that note, I believe defense is NOT terminal unless you tell me it is and why. I presume defense is mitigatory by default, and give very little weight to it if it is not implicated. This ensures people don't lose the round on presumption because of one piece of mitigation that was dropped and lacked implication.

2. First speaking summary doesn't have to extend defense, unless that defense is covered in second rebuttal, in which case, it must be frontlined in first summary and extended if you intend to go for it in FF. Likewise, if you're second speaking and frontline in second rebuttal and your opponents drop the frontline in first summary, you can extend the frontline straight to final focus without mentioning it in summary. I do not require second rebuttal frontlining for defense, but it is required for turns. However, it is probably strategic to do because defense is a lot harder to access if frontlined early. Beyond that, no new in the two. That includes new weighing in the 2FF, unless there was no prior weighing. Any argument must be responded to in the speech after it is introduced or else it is conceded, with the exception of first rebuttal defense that is not frontlined in second rebuttal. However, I do believe.

3. Regarding new applications of certain args, the way I handle them is that the part of the arg itself that was read before cannot be responded to if dropped. However, the new application can be responded to because it was never read before in the round and the other team had no way of knowing they needed to frontline. Too many teams keep pulling this super sus strat of reading entirely new applications of frontlines or defense to dropped args in the backhalf and reading entirely new implications that weren't in rebuttal. This is effectively a new argument because this articulation of the argument wasn't earlier in the round and the other team couldn't respond to it. There are two exceptions. Those are if 1FF is answering new arguments from second summary and/or if 2FF is refuting those answers. Second, if you're making a theoretical argument about some abuse committed late in the round. If it's the latter, you better spend a VERY significant chunk of your FF on the argument and warranting why the level of abuse is big enough to outweigh the fairness skew of an arg that is new in the two.

4. The only new frameworks that I feel comfortable with being introduced after summary, absent some argument telling me otherwise, are voters and reasons to prefer/weighing frameworks. Clarity of link weighing is fake news 99% of the time, I am not fooled by new attempts to read defense in FF.

5. Cool w/ progressive arguments if done properly and am tangentially familiar with stock K lit. I notice a lot of judges try to ascribe specific purposes to these types of args, like only being for checking back abuse. I think this is intervention. YOU decide and argue in round what the role of a progressive arg is and how that affects the round's outcome. Also, tell me why your args/standards are voters, especially for theory/T. Disclaimer: I have a college policy background, but a limited one, and I was also bad at it. If you're someone reading these types of args, I suggest dumbing them down by spending more time explaining/implicating them.

(NEW AS OF APRIL 2023) As an addition to the above, I have become more versed in anticapitalist literature since taking some distance from debate. With this, I have also grown disillusioned with how a lot of PFers read arguments based on that literature such as capitalism kritiks. Saying I should reject something solely because "it perpetuates capitalism" is oftentimes meaningless in the greater scheme of things within anticapitalist theory. That's not to say I won't vote on those args, because I will if they are accessed and weighed. But it is to say that I have an unavoidable internal bias against that variant of anticapitalist argumentation. However, I love capitalism arguments in PF when they're accompanied by rock solid uniqueness (i.e. reasons why capitalism is gonna collapse and the aff prevents/delays that, or reasons why the aff causes capitalism to collapse). I will do my best to restrain this bias, but it is there, and it is fair you be made aware of it.

6. Good w/ speed but notify me if you're gonna outright spread so I can flow on laptop. Send speech docs if spreading or I will not be happy. Slow on tags/authors/analytics. I will clear you.

7. Issues in CX need to be mentioned in a speech for me to evaluate them.

8. If a link turn links to a different impact than the argument it's turning, that impact MUST be weighed for me to evaluate it because these types of arguments don't inherently prevent or hijack impacts, meaning it doesn't function as defense either. Treat it like an impact from case.

9. If a card is disputed throughout the round or has something in it that spikes/responds to another arg, please extend the card name in summary and FF for clarity and signposting.

10. Please warrant new cards/arguments in summary, don't just read a claim that only ever gets warranted in FF.

11. Please weigh because it makes the round clearer and easier for me to judge. Line-by-line is important, but weighing is absolutely necessary. Most teams I've judged haven't weighed, or done so poorly. Weighing doesn't just entail saying why your link/impact is big. Tell me why it's comparatively greater than everything else in the round. Arg interaction is key. Clarity of impact/link weighing is fake news 90% of the time just because people throw those buzzwords at me and just say “we outweigh because our arg is true.” Just saying you outweigh because you access an arg is not weighing. Strength of link is fine with very good COMPARATIVE warranting rather than being a poorly veiled attempt to read new defense in FF.

12. Absent being told otherwise, I default to evaluating the round on several levels. In descending order: framework, comparative weighing, weighing, offense access. I'm open to some theoretical alternative to evaluating the round if it's proposed to me, I.e. procedural args like theory coming first.

13. If you plan on conceding an arg for strategic purposes, I like that because it’s smart. That said, such can be abusive if used at a point where it is nigh impossible for the other team to respond. I do not wanna intervene on this issue, so: it is fair to make strategic concessions, but only in the speech immediately after those args are made. For example, if someone reads terminal link defense alongside a ton of link turns in first rebuttal, your concession should be in second rebuttal. I won’t take this into account by default. This only comes into play if you argue why it’s abusive. If this happens and you do not make an arg about it, I evaluate it normally. I am VERY receptive to theory arguments on this issue, even in the final focus if and ONLY IF the abuse in question happened right before it.

14. As an extension of the above, I don't enter the round with any preconceptions about certain args being abusive. There are no abusive args unless you: A. tell me why the arg is abusive (most people are blippy on this), and B. why that means I shouldn't evaluate them, preferably grounded by some standard like education or fairness (often entirely absent). Or you could read theory, which is fine by me.

15. I tend to evaluate evidence as arguments, unless some arg in round is made that I should eval them otherwise or there is REALLY excessive abuse. That means a few things:

A. Just as I only evaluate arguments as you present them to me, I only eval ev as you present it to me. This means that the claim you present from the ev is how I eval it, and if I call the card and see some other application of the ev that wasn't articulated in round, I'm not gonna consider it.

B. I prefer not to call for cards unless I am told to. In fact, I ABSOLUTELY HATE having to do evidence comparison myself. Please do it for me, it likely won't end well for you if it comes down to this. There are exceptions to this rule for cards I deem important enough to call, and I will admit that metric is somewhat arbitrary. I think, however, that most would agree that such arbitrariness is fine if it leads to accountability. If I call your ev due to an indict, and the specific parts of the ev in question are problematic, my default response is to just drop the ev to minimize intervention. This, of course, can change if your opponents make some argument as to why this should impact the outcome of the round. I also might just call cards for clarification.

C. The only occasion in which I drop a team with the lowest speaks tab will allow for misrepresenting ev is if it is REALLY terrible and malicious, and the abuse is obviously super extreme, i.e. fabricating ev, distortion, or obvious clipping. I haven't had to do this in a round I myself have judged yet, so my threshold for this is very high, don't be alarmed.

16. The Jan 2019 topic has taught me that there are some parts of economics that I do not understand. Explain economics to me in round like I'm five, for both our sakes.

17. I evaluate embedded clash to an extremely limited extent in the absence of analysis/implication in the round itself, and I only do this when it has to be done to resolve the round. My standard for evalling embedded clash is that if the analysis/extension you read is 100% there and just not signposted in its application or is on the wrong part of the flow, I eval it. By 100% there, I mean I could literally cut and paste that verbatim statement on to the arg it clashes with and have zero issue. If I can't literally just add the phrase "On this argument..." to the analysis/extension that's there, I won't eval embedded clash in the absence of analysis. PLEASE do the analysis properly, I hate evalling embedded clash and your speaks will suffer.

18. In terms of theory, I default to competing interps, no RVI, and drop the debater, open to otherwise if argued in round. Likewise, if you read a theory shell instead of a PF-y argument about why a certain thing is abusive and shouldn't be evaluated, I will hold it to the standard of a theory shell. Extend the interp verbatim. The shell line-by-line doesn't need to be extended in rebuttal.

Speaker Points

To me, speaks aren't about presentation. I tend to give speaks based on one's strategic decisionmaking and argumentation in the context of a round. Cool strategic moves and good efficiency (especially in the backhalf) are the key to my heart. I’m not a fan of giving speaks based off stylistic performance, mostly because those tend to be informed by some pretty bad norms that disadvantage non-cishet white men. If your strategy is good, I don’t care how you speak, I will give you good speaks.

Here’s the breakdown:

30: You made the best possible strategic decisions and arguments in the context of the round.

29-29.5: You made smart strategic decisions and arguments. Only a few things you could have done better.

28-28.5: Solid argumentation and middle of the line strategic decisionmaking. What I give to the majority of decent rounds I judge.

27-27.5: Passable argumentation with several mistakes, and a noticeable absence of strategic decisionmaking. Round was way more unclear than it should be, and improvements are definitely needed.

26-26.5: Below average. Major mistakes or problems with the debate, definitely needs immediate improvement.

25-25.5: Very below average. Completely mishandled the round. Significant work needed on how the debate is handled.

<25: You probably said something quite offensive or tried to spread cards without sending a speech doc.

Hi! I debated in public forum for 4 years at Ransom Everglades a long time ago at this point.

Please keep the round clear, interact with your opponent’s arguments, and weigh. Show me the easiest and cleanest way to vote for you on the flow

Second rebuttal doesn't have to frontline, but cover turns otherwise I will consider them conceded

First summary doesn't have to extend terminal defense

Don't spread- I will miss arguments

I am not familiar with policy debate, I won't understand it, and I don't like it:)

I will call for cards if you tell me to or if they are highly contested

Feel free to ask me more questions in round!

WS

I have been a coach for over 20 years, but like most people (especially on the East Coast) I am relatively new to this event.

I will do my best follow the NDSA norms and judge with 40% content, 40% style, and 20% strategy. I believe that the debaters should provide their own warrants based on statistics and examples. Do not spit evidence. I value debaters that can think on their feet and clearly explain their arguments.

Not a fan of a team standing constantly for POIs, but a couple of well thought out and timed POIs are appreciated. Also unless otherwise noted or argued in the framework, I will assume the motion is global.

PF

Good with speed up to a point, if you go blazing and I miss it, I can't weigh it.

I need each team to tell me why they think they won the round, so I don't have to figure it out on my own.

I have no strict rules about what has to be said in summary, but I expect consistent argumentation. Something from the first four speeches should not just pop up in the final focus as a voter.

It is important that your evidence says what you say it says. If the debaters make a card(s) important to the round, I may call for evidence.

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. :-)

Hi, I’m Nicole! In high school, I did 4 years of Public Forum at West Orange High in Orlando, Florida. Currently, I’m a freshman at Florida State University where I’ve started participating in Civic and Parliamentary debate.

A few things:

1) I will flow every speech in the debate but no crossfires.

2) I’m tech > truth but may miss some points if you’re going too fast. So, please make it very clear to me what you want on my flow. I want the debaters to do the work for me (intervening sucks.)

3) Summary and final focus should align. If you want me to vote off of something, it has to be in both speeches.

4) The second rebuttal should frontline the first rebuttal.

5) Be nice to each other!

If you have any questions about anything in my paradigm, please let me know!

Convince Me..I am a parent judge for the past 4 years. The date of a source can be important, is it current up-to-date information.

I value evidence and sources as well as argument.I flow the rounds and appreciate careful and reasonably-paced speaking, good evidence and knowledge of your sources. Not all sources are created equal

Debate can get repetitive towards the end, so don't rush. Make eye contact with me and convince me with good evidence and a carefully made argument.

**ALL TOURNAMENTS: I learned of the topic the morning of the tournament. PLEASE assume I know nothing. Except Sunvite 2024, half my masters degree was section 230 so I know a decent bit.***

Background:

Competed in Public Forum @ Cypress Bay HS (2013-2017)

BA in Political Science @ University of Central Florida (2017-2021)

MA in Bioethics, Tech Ethics and Science Policy @ Duke University (2021-2022)

PF (If you have me for another event go lay) Paradigm

- Look, I know NSU is a tech school and all, but they hire me to coach lay debate i havent cut a card in maybe 6 years (but like ive been around the circuit so i sometimes know what's going on) . if you're spreading or speaking too fast i probably wont catch a lot of it and will probably look confused

- if possible, number your responses so i know if I missed anything

- Set up email chains/preflow during tech check. I am a big believer in sending case docs to make it easier for everyone but I won't force yall to do so. You'll get a bump in speaks if you do. sharansawlani@gmail.com and uschoolpf@gmail.com

- Please don’t shake my hand.

- You can ask to look at ev during your partner or opponent's speech/cross. Idk why or when people started considering this as "stealing prep time".

- Quality of voters> Quantity of voters.

- Weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh. Which weigh? Dat weigh.

- Keep the round lighthearted. I think debaters are way too angry now and some humor would be appreciated. Jokes and puns are highly encouraged.

- Not a fan of super squirrelly arguments or theory (the next 2 bullets might answer your next questions). Idk too much about K's and im not the best at evaluating them, but if that's what you wanna read just make sure you explain it well. If I'm confused at the end of the debate I promise you won't be happy with my decision.

- READ and SEND cut cards. paraphrasing is whack. i wont penalize you for it but if the other team reads theory or tells me to evaluate paraphrased evidence as analytics and not real evidence, and you dont respond, it's going to be a really uphill battle.

- Disclosure in PF is a good thing. Same thing as paraphrasing; If someone discloses and either a) you do not and they read disclosure theory OR b) you LIE about what you've disclosed, I consider this a TKO. This means if disclosure theory is read in the round (reasonably) and it is conceded then it is basically over.

- Your final focus should be telling me what to write on my ballot. If i don’t have to spend time thinking about how im voting after the round, you and i will both be happy (half of you at least).

- Apparently this needs to be clarified now but regardless of speaking order, in the rare situation where there is no offense on either side at the end of the round I will presume neg.

If you have any other questions feel free to email me sharansawlani@gmail.com or ask me before the round provided your opponents are present as well. Hated my decision? send all complaints to sophialam@uchicago.edu and hold nothing back.

TLDR:

Bold: Collapse, weigh, signpost, don’t make me think, galaxy hoodie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai3UfW-dFi8&ab_channel=HeXyaCe

Fold: being mean, friv theory, no email chain/disclosure, partial quads lmao.

*Last updated 11/7/19*

Background:

Schools Attended: Boca '16, FSU '20

Teams Coaching/Coached: Capitol, Boca

Competitive History: 4 years of PF in high school, 2 years of JV policy and 2 years of NPDA and Civic Debate in college

Public Forum Paradigm:

TL;DR: You do you.

General:

1) Tech > Truth. If you have strong warrants and links and can argue well, I'll vote off of anything. Dropped arguments are presumed true arguments. I'm open to anything as long as you do your job to construct the argument properly.

2) The first speaking team in the round needs to make sure that all offense that you want me to vote on must be in the summary and final focus. Defense in the rebuttal does not need to be extended, I will buy it as long as your opponents don't respond and it is extended in the final focus. The second speaking team needs to respond to turns in rebuttal and extend all offense and defense you want me to vote on in BOTH the summary and the final focus.

3) If you start weighing arguments in rebuttal or summary it will make your arguments a lot more convincing. Easiest way to my ballot is to warrant your weighing and tell me why your arguments are the most important and why they mean you win the round.

4) I don't vote on anything that wasn't brought up in final focus.

Framework:

Frameworks need clear warrants and reasons to prefer. Make sure to contextualize how the framework functions with the rest of the arguments in the round.

Theory:

I will listen to any theory arguments as long as a real abuse is present. Don't just use theory as a cheap way to win, give me strong warrants and label the shell clearly and it will be a voter if the violation is clear. Also, if you're going to ask me to reject the team you better give me a really good reason.

If you are running theory, such as disclosure theory, and you want it to be a voter, you need to bring it up for a fair amount of time.

Kritiks:

I was primarily a K debater when I competed in policy in college, so I am familiar with how they function in round. However, I don't know all the different K lit out there so make sure you can clearly explain and contextualize.

Offense v. Defense:

I find myself voting for a risk of offense more often than I vote on defense. If you have really strong terminal impact defense or link defense, I can still be persuaded to vote neg on presumption.

Weighing:

I hate being in a position where I have to do work to vote for a team. Tell me why your argument is better/more important than your opponents and why that means I should vote for you. Strength of link and/or impact calc is encouraged and appreciated.

Evidence Standard:

I will only call for cards if it is necessary for me to resolve a point of clash or when a team tells me to.

Speaks:

- If I find you offensive/rude I will drop your speaks relative to the severity of the offense.

- I take everything into consideration when giving speaks.

- The easier you make my decision, the more likely you are to get high speaks.

Misc:

- I'm fine with speed, but if you're going to spread send out speech docs.

- Keep your own time.

- I will disclose if the tournament allows me, and feel free to ask me any questions after my RFD.

- I only vote off of things brought up in speeches.

Bottom line: Debate is supposed to be fun! Run what you want just run it well.

If you have any questions email me at joshschulsterdebate@gmail.com or ask me before the round.

The Blake School (Minneapolis, MN) I am the director of debate where I teach communication and coach Public Forum and World Schools. I also coach the USA Development Team and Team USA in World Schools Debate.

Public Forum

Some aspects that are critical for me

1) Be nice and respectful. Try to not talk over people. Share time in crossfire periods. Words matter, think about what you say about other people. Attack their arguments and not the people you debate.

2) Arguments must be extended in each speech. This idea of "sticky defense" and not answering arguments in the second rebuttal doesn't understand how debate works. A debater can only make strategic choices about their speech if they base it on what was said in the speech previous to them.

3) Read evidence. I don't accept paraphrasing -- this is an oral activity. If you are quoting an authority, then quote the authority. A debater should not have to play "wack a mole" to find the evidence you are using poorly. Read a tag and then quote the card, that allows your opponent to figure out if you are accurately quoting the author or over-claiming the evidence.

4) Have your evidence ready. If an opponent asks for a piece of evidence you should be able to produce it in about 60 seconds. At two minutes or so, I'm going to just say the evidence doesn't count in the round because you can't produce it. If I say the card doesn't count then the card doesn't count in the round. If you say you can't produce the card then you risk losing. That is called fabrication to cite evidence and then not be able to produce it. If I ask for a card after the round and you can't produce it, again you risk losing the round. Good evidence practices are critical if this format is to rely on citing authorities.

5) I tend to be a policymaker. If there is no offense against trying a new policy then I suggest we try the new policy as it can't hurt to try. Offense is important for both sides.

6) Use voting issues format in summary and final focus. Learn that this allows a clear story and weighing. A voting issue format includes links, impacts, and weighing and provides clarity to just "our case/their case". You are still doing the voting issues on "their flow" or "our flow".

7) Lead with labels/arguments and NOT authors. Number your arguments. For example, 1) Turn UBI increases wage negotiation -- Jones in 2019 states "quote"

8) Racist, xenophobic, sexist, classist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and other oppressive discourses or examples have no place in debate.

Enjoy the debate and learn from this activity, it is a great one.

If you weigh your arguments (explain their importance in relation to your opponent's) you'll probably win the round.

Do not go for everything. Pick and choose your arguments as the round go, ideally I'd like to have only one or two arguments at the end of the round to evaluate.

All offense (arguments you want me to vote for you on) have to be in summary and final focus.

I'm a teacher, I know how hard you work and how much this means to you.

I'm a fan of decorum, professionalism, yet a sense of humor can win me over every time. Diction is extremely important to me, as is body language.

I like it when you can incorporate into your arguments why you "solve" or "win".

I flow, I follow impacts and links, and cards matter.

When teams are well matched and cases are both strong, I will often make decisions during Grand cross fire.

I am a lay judge.

Do not spread, if I can't understand you can't win.

I will vote off whoever persuades me the most.

IN THE ONLINE REALM OF SPEECH AND DEBATE - SLOW DOWN.

I am a flow judge.

I have a few things you should keep in mind:

I evaluate the rounds based on the framework provided by debaters.

When extending evidence, extend the warrant not just the author (because sometimes I don't write down the tag and just the warrant).

I do not flow crossfires. If you make an argument in crossfire or your opponent concedes an argument in crossfire, you must say it in a speech in order for me to count it.

**Although I am a flow judge, I reserve the right to forfeit my flow (and vote like a lay judge) if competitors are offensive, bullying, or just unnecessarily rude.

Jon Williamson

B.A. Political Science; M.A. Political Science; J.D. & Taxation LL.M Candidate - University of Florida Levin College of Law

Experience:

Competitor: HS Policy Debate 2001 - 2005; College Policy Debate 2005-2007; College NPDA Parli Debate 2009-2010

Coach: 2007-2020: Primarily Policy and Public Forum; but coached all events

Basic Judging Paradigm Haiku:

I will judge the flow

Weigh your impacts at the end

Don't be mean at all

Public Forum: All arguments you want me to vote on in the final focus must have had a minimum of a word breathed on them in the summary speech.

Lincoln Douglas/Policy:

I attempt to be tabula rasa, but when no decision-rule calculus is provided, I default to policymaker. I tend to see the debate in an offense/defense paradigm.

I default to competing interpretations on Topicality, and reasonability on all other theory.

I am fine with speed, but clarity is key.

I particularly enjoy critical debate like Feminism, Foucault, and Security and impact turn debates like Spark & De-development. Not a fan of nihilism but I get the argument.

I tend to avoid reading evidence if it is not necessary. I would like to be on your email chain (my name @gmail.com) so I can look at cards that you reference in cross-examination.

LD Note: I tend to view the value/value criterion debate as less important than substantive arguments. Impacting your arguments is incredibly important. Cheap shots / tricks are not the way to my ballot (because: reasonability). I also will not vote for an argument I don't understand based on your explanation. I will not read your case later to make up for a lack of clarity when you spread. If I can't flow it, it's like you never made that argument.

Clear communication with eye contact and slow speech that is direct, efficient and convincing of the point.

I prefer a clear, evidenced-based debate.

Don't let my experience fool you into thinking I like fast, jargony debates.

Use an email chain - include me (lizannwood@hotmail.com) on it, and be honest about the evidence. Paraphrasing is one of my biggest pet peeves. (Post-rounding and making me wait for endless exchanges of evidence are the others).

I will leave my camera on, so you can see me. You can trust you have my full attention, and if connectivity issues affect any of the speeches, I'll audibly interrupt you and stop the timer till connections improve (within reason, of course).

If the timer is stopped, no one is prepping.

Avoid talking over each other online -it makes it impossible for your judges to hear either of you.

Don't be rude or condescending. You can be authoritative while also being polite.

Experience:

Mountain Brook Schools Director of Speech and Debate 2013 - current

Mountain Brook High School debate coach 2012-2013

Thompson High School policy debater 1991-1995

I am a brand new public forum judge so please speak slowly and clearly. Explain all your arguments. In summary and final focus condense the round down to the final arguments. I will remove speaker points if you are rude during round examples of this would be cutting each other off during cross or not letting your opponent finish their thoughts. As for evidence, make sure its clear and well explained. Your main points should be made clear enough that I do not have to search for them.

Updated 1/7/2020:

In evaluating a debate round, there is the choice of evaluating strength of the arguments vs evaluating debate techniques. Of course one could argue that better techniques lead to stronger arguments, so they are pretty closely related. However, sometimes good techniques are deployed precisely to disguise a shaky argument. I vote based on strength of arguments as they transpire in the round.

I realize that given modern technology whatever case a team is running, pretty soon it is known to the entire circuit and every team starts running similar arguments. How do you judge when almost all teams on pro (or con) run similar arguments without being prejudiced towards one side? My focus is on how well a team responds and counter responds to opponent's arguments and counter arguments.

The following are some ways you can strengthen your case.

A) Logical link. Establish clear link(s) for your argument that opponent could not effectively overturn. Please note that merely saying there is a link between A and B or A implies B is not enough. It is up to you to establish and explain the strength of the link, based on logic, scientific theory, statistical inference or common sense. Offer clear logical explanation why opponent's links are weak.

B) Evidence. All pieces of evidence are not equal. It is up to you to explain why your evidence is strong and supportive of whatever you claim, and why your opponent' evidence is weak and non-supportive of whatever they claim. Evidence without clear explanation and context is not effective evidence.

C) Impact. You should weight impact whenever possible. I like numbers but will take them with a grain of salt, especially when you refer to large numbers of lives or huge sums of money, until you explain their plausibility. The better you explain how you arrive at the numbers and in general the better you explain the plausibility of your predicted impact, the more favorable your argument would look to me.

D) Abundant words and last words do not win the round by themselves. However, repetition does help me remember things so please feel free to repeat your key points (don't overdo it), especially in Summary and Final Focus.

More info from earlier version:

I have been judging Public Forum debate for a few years. I have a background in economics. Consider me a rigorous lay judge if that makes sense to you. Some general principles I vote on:

1. Soundness of your logic. If your logic is not clear, your evidence is likely not being used correctly.

2. Evidence. We are not talking about laws of nature. Social outcomes are rarely inevitable just because they seem logical, at least not along a predicted path. Good evidence makes their occurrences seem more likely or reasonable. Please cite your evidence clearly: who said what where and when. Explain how the evidence supports your argument.

3. Weighting impacts. To weight impacts, it often seems like you need to compare apples with oranges. It is your job to find criteria that help me compare apples with oranges. As an example, if you convince me we should only care about sweetness and nutrition of these fruits and oranges are both sweeter and more nutritious than apples, then I will accept that oranges are better than apples. Look hard for common characteristics of different impacts.

Style. It is hard for me to appreciate style if your logic is flawed or your evidence is misused. Having said that, doing somethings right will help you get more speaker points:

a. Be polite. Don’t shout. Don’t try to shut the other team down.

b. Keep your time and opponents’ time well.

c. Keep your cool and remain calm.

d. Humor can be a powerful argument…at the right moment.

Doing the opposite of a, b, c will reduce your speaker points.

Congress

My judging philosophy is fairly simple to follow.

I'm most partial to arguments that are comprehensible, yet also the most compelling with how you extend them into various impacts and use them to interact with others in the round. A good and powerful command of diction is always well appreciated.

Additionally, effortlessness and some casualness, not to the point that it undermines your professionalism, in speaking will always make a speech come off better to me. In relation to data, I enjoy hard numbers, with quantifications and substantiations being ideal. I don't want to see biased opinions from sources just being relayed in speeches, as it removes all of the critical thinking that debate should be endemic of. While exploitative rhetoric is never the best path, I have a higher tolerance for it than others. That being said, I much rather see wit and logic in how speakers convey themselves instead of effectively forcing me to appeal to some group I may be apathetic to.

At the end of the day, I need to understand your arguments. You can make them as complex as you want as long as I who is a parent judge can understand them.