About me: I began coaching high school debate in the US in 2017, after coaching 2 years in Japan. In that time I have judged PF and LD debate from local novice rounds up to the final round of LD at NCFL Grand Nationals. While not a high school debater myself, I learned the value of debate in college, where I publicly debated my thesis on a potential war in Iraq (this was shortly before the 2nd war). A poll of the lay audience suggested that I "won" on my solid arguments, evidence and impacts... But the poll also showed the majority disagreed with my proposed course of action. So could that really be considered a "win"? Turns out, I had barely touched an underlying value debate that neither I nor the lay audience had recognized was needed. This is just one reason I find great value in both impact-oriented PF and value-oriented LD debate (the two styles I have most experience coaching and judging). Below are things I value when judging a round.

What I value as a judge:

Do the most important work for me. I expect to debaters to do the core work of linking claims to evidence to framework, etc., highlighting key points of clash, and weighing. If reasoning seems to be vague or missing, I will not fill it in for you. For example, don't tell me to cross-apply an argument and assume that I will know how you expect me to cross-apply it--explain how it applies and why it matters.

Speak so I can flow. If debaters speak too fast or use too much jargon, I cannot flow it. When I make the final decision, I refer to my flow. You want your arguments to be on my flow! PF is aimed at educating the public, so make sure a layman can follow along. Even LD should be flowable for opponents and judges. There is no excuse for obfuscation.

Be clear and concise. Use signposts to refer to framework, contentions and sub-points. If a debater has to speak fast to fit all the arguments in, they likely have not distilled their speeches down to the most critical issues. Puns are fun, but my RFD is based on argumentative powers, not added "flowers".

Use Cross-Ex/Crossfire to clarify. Ask questions to reveal and clarify key issues, and answer opponents' questions in good faith. Be sure that both sides get the opportunity clarify the key issues. CX is not an opportunity for one side to extend its own points according to its own prerogative. I frown upon cases that blatantly expect Side A to use their CX time so that Side B can finish laying out a case that Side B couldn't fit within their own allotted time.

Maintain decorum. Be careful not to lose temper in the heat of the round. Do not abuse CX by excessively cutting off or talking over the opposing team. Avoid gestures and comments that would be considered rude in an academic or professional setting. I may down-vote teams that break these rules.

Don't linger on rule violations. I do appreciate teams letting me know when they think an opponent has violated the rules, but don't spend too much time on it. Summarize how the rules appear to have been violated and then move on. Lingering too long on a rule violation runs the risk of leaving other important issues unaddressed, which I may weigh more heavily than the perceived violation.

Relevance and # of points :

Evidence to support points:

Presentation style:

Collaboration/chemistry with team member when appropriate:

Closing argument:

Confidant:

NAME: William Bryant

SCHOOL AFFILIATION: Muhlenberg County High School

NUMBER OF YEARS JUDGING PUBLIC FORUM: 1

NUMBER OF YEARS COMPETING IN PUBLIC FORUM: 1

NUMBER OF YEARS JUDGING OTHER FORENSIC ACTIVITIES: 0

NUMBER OF YEARS COMPETING IN OTHER FORENSIC ACTIVITIES: 0

IF YOU ARE A COACH, WHAT EVENTS DO YOU COACH? Public Forum

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OCCUPATION? Teacher for Muhlenberg County High School

In response to the sharing opinions and beliefs about how the criteria listed fits into a debate round, I am currently still getting my feet wet in the field of debate. When judging, the speed of delivery is only important to the extent that the debaters have prepared their arguments well and have much to say about the subject of the debate. Knowledge of the proposition and the ability to answer the arguments of the opponents are a top priority for me. I would value argument over style and be looking for good responses to the opposing teams arguments. So, my answer would be yes to the question: "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?"

From the beginning to the end of the debate, I try to listen to the arguments and rebuttals and award the win to the team who has argued their point well. From watching the two young debaters from my high school who are entering the competition, they put in hours and hours of preparation. If the team has put in the work, it becomes apparent in how they argue. I am not an experienced debater - nor have I been judging long enough to become a seasoned judge. I will do my absolute best to judge a competition fairly on the basis of merit and not arbitrarily.

I know a lot of judges pontificate for 1000+ words and detail every element of their judging philosophy. I'm not one of those judges. For one thing, I have a life. For another, my philosophy when it comes to judging is actually pretty simple.

Debate is a competition about COMMUNICATION. It's an argument about ideas. That means that the arguments you make matter and the way you make them matters just as much. I'm a flow judge and will penalize debaters who drop points altogether. Extending an argument by reference or even within the context of clash doesn't take much time. Even if it just seems like you ran out of time, who am I to know whether you actually just have no good evidence to refute your opponent? At the end of the day, if both contestants make good arguments but one has points that they extend that were never addressed, those contentions flow in their direction and may determine the ballot. It's only fair.

But the way you make the argument is often overlooked but SO important. This is particularly true in L/D, which after all is an event steeped in the history of the Lincoln/Douglas debates of the mid-19th century and Public Forum, which traces its roots to Ted Turner's frustration with the deterioration of debate as a contest of communication. Can you imagine Abraham Lincoln spreading? Me neither. I respect your ability to spread, but the cacophony of words issuing from your mouth isn't communication, it's a gimmick, substituting quantity over quality. I can't award you wins on arguments if my flow can't keep up with your rate of speech. And if two debaters clash and each make good points, and I can't quite decide who won the argument of ideas, I'll use speaking ability and persuasiveness to break ties and award victories. I also reserve the right to award higher speaker points to the losing debater. After all, sometimes the better speaker has worse arguments.

I'm not a fan of theory debates. Disclosure Theory, in particular, seems like a very lame way to frame a debate and go for a win. I came for a debate on the merits pro/con on a matter of public policy. That's what this whole exercise is about. I am very likely to judge the round based on who makes the best arguments on that front. I've never considered a theory argument an RFD. It's not to say that I never will... it's just to say that I never have previously.

Professionally, I served for nearly five years as Secretary of the Senate for the State of Nevada and for three years as Director of the Kentucky Legislature. I see facilitating speech and debate as fundamental to the health of our democracy, which let's face it could use more cogent well-reasoned well-informed debates.

I missed my high school graduation in order to go to NSDA Nationals in my senior year of high school, over 25 years ago. Speech and Debate runs in my blood. I love being a part of this and hope you find as much fulfillment out of it as I do. Good luck.

tl;dr Debate is a contest of communications. Speak well, make good arguments, earn my ballot!

My debating experience is national circuit LD, but before it went to spreading. I have a basic understanding of PF, but may not follow you if you're going fast and using a lot of jargon. I like to hear clearly reasoned and articulated arguments from respectful opponents. This will be especially important in the online format. Slow down and make your best case rather than going fast and ticking through every argument / card. Obviously, I'm not saying drop contentions on purpose. But distill your reasoning into a coherent, persuasive speech rather than a laundry list of points.

I am a volunteer parent judge with experience in the Wilson Wyatt Debate League and the Kentucky Debate League.

I look for strong arguments, contentions, supported by logic and facts. Quality and clarity are more important than quantity with respect to factual support. I look for strong rebuttals and lively exchanges. Strong command of the issue and preparedness are readily apparent.

I am a relatively new judge to debate, and as such wouldn't count on a technical debate strategy benefitting you (jargon such as front lining, terminal impact, bright line, etc.) unless you are able to explain what it means. That being said, I will not disqualify a Tech>Truth argument so long as it is not absolutely ridiculous to the point of comical or insulting. THIS ALSO MEANS SPREADING. If I can't understand it, I can't and won't flow it. I don't mind defense in the summary, so long as you tell me what I am going to be weighing in the final focus.

As I am new, I am not hyperaware of the implicit meaning of "dropping cards" or such. YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHY THESE THINGS MATTER IN-ROUND IN REAL-WORLD TERMS.

Please be clear, well-paced, and moderate in your speaking, logical, thorough, and respectful in your case and in argument, and I shouldn't be a hard judge to sway.

I always try to make my decision based on debaters performance without my personal opinions involved. The debaters performance will be graded per clearly organized contentions, persuasive arguments, good cross exam performance, and convincing presentation.

Please speak not too fast, watch your time, and show respects to your opponents.

Hope everyone enjoys the events.

I am parent judge of Lincoln Douglas debater that's still in high school. I have judged indeed some national circuit debate for Public Form and Lincoln Douglas. I am open to two types of debate cases but prefer judging public forum . I try to have a very open mind when I hear these debaters discuss controversial issues , but there are things like racism, genocide, sexual-assault and other controversial issues that do tend to appear every so often in order to illustrate the my point , but I only tell him to do so without being offensive.

I have judged Public Forum and Lincoln Douglas in the past. I am an engineer by profession. Following are a few areas I pay closer attention to while judging.

1. Preparation - knowledge of the subject
2. Presentation
3. Confidence
4. Clarity
5. Organization
6. Time management
7. Conviction
8. Respect
9. Empathy
10. Kindness
11. Humility
12. Listening skills
13. Convincing skills
14. Reasoning skills
15. Persuasion skills

If competitors are doing an email chain for evidence; Sanchez-villa@trinityrocks.com

Competed in the Louisville, Kentucky Circuit in high school for three years. Graduated with a major in Political Science from the University of Louisville. I am an assistant coach of Trinity High School for the Speech & Debate team and have held that role for four years now. I say this to highlight that I have years of experience in this event and am familiar with many debate styles, philosophies, frameworks and am aware of changing trends in the debate world, that being said Debate is an educational tool and a time for students to practice analytical thinking and persuasive skills in a unique environment unlike school, so please do not spread at a rate that is so fast that it can never be repeated in a public environment, dont go so fast that the only way to flow is off a speech doc because I will ignore it. Evidence calling is a new thing with the advent of technology post-covid but do not make the evidence calling period so long that it delays the debate and ends up being wasted, call for cards that matter to the judge, not your team. Great debate, for me, is one where both sides are understanding of what the other person's case is stating and evaluating and clashing at that crucial point. There are a lot of debates where people run past each others points and do not actually attack the meat of what is being debated causing me to weigh two worlds that have very little to differentiate from. Competitors should be critical of evidence (yes please do stake the round on thats not what your evidence says, and I will read evidence of contention if I believe there is merit to it not claiming what it means, bad card cutting happens to everyone) and claims being made and any connection that they do not make for me as a judge I will not flow. Make my decision for me with your final speech.

Background:

I debated 4 years of PF at duPont Manual High School and graduated in May 2020.

My preferences:

TL;DR pretty standard flow judge, just make sure to warrant your arguments and don't try to read blippy arguments with a plan to blow them up later.

- I will try to disclose whenever I can.

- Frontline offense in 2nd rebuttal. If you want to fully frontline a contention in 2nd rebuttal and go for it, I'd love that. But at the very least, frontline offense.

- Quality >>>>>> quantity. I much prefer a small number of well-developed arguments over a large number of blippy arguments.

- Warranting is everything for me. I'll always prefer a well-warranted argument without evidence over an unwarranted argument that has evidence (but obviously having both evidence and a warrant is the best).

- Moderate speed is fine with me. However, I prefer a more understandable debate.

- If I judge that there is no offense by the end of the round, I will default to voting for the first speaking team. I think the second speaking team has a significant advantage in PF, so the burden is on them to convince me that they have won.

- I love to hear warranted weighing arguments. The more frequently you reiterate these, the more likely I am to vote for you.

- I do not like it when teams read 1 or 2 blippy sentences about an argument in their case (or rebuttal for that matter) and then blow it up in summary/FF. I think that's almost impossible for the other team to properly handle that, especially with PF's time constraints. If your entire second half strat is entirely based on a warrant that was just 1-2 sentences of your case, I'm not going to be happy about it and that will play into my decision.

- If you want to run theory or Kritiks, that's fine with me, but you should know that I have no idea how to evaluate them. You'll have to explain your argument simply and clearly, along with telling me why I should vote on the argument.

- If you're going to make an argument about sensitive issues like suicide, PTSD, or sexual assault, please provide a trigger warning before you start. Before engaging in that type of discussion, we should make sure that everybody is prepared for the conversation.

Feel free to ask me questions about the round, I'm always happy to provide any insight I can. And if you have questions about my paradigm or other preferences, feel free to ask them before the round starts.

Speak at an appropriate speed. Make clear, concise, and logical arguments.