if you get me in LD somehow god help you

(on a serious note just explain things well and everything will be okay)

I prefer debate that is suitable for a courtroom. Professional, clear, and well organized. Usually frameworks are a waste of time.

Speed

Rapid conversational

I prefer quality arguments over quantity of arguments. Debate is educational; if your strategy is to spread the other team in the rebuttal, that doesn't seem like you are trying to promote education. Being able to talk faster does not equate to being a better debater. That being said, I am not unreasonable; if you have to speak faster in the summaries to cover everything the other team put out, that is acceptable. If you are going to use speed as part of a strategy, I would rather you use the extra time you save to go more in-depth on fewer arguments rather than creating more, not as well-fleshed-out arguments.

Theory/Kritik

I am a teacher, and debate is for education. I am predisposed to believe that debating issues that are intentionally (not just a loose link to the resolution or a bad interpretation of a definition) outside of the resolution can harm the fairness of the debate and the opponent's education. That said, I welcome you to use your speech time to advocate for any issues you believe in and educate the people in the round; I am just not likely to give you the ballot.

Framework

If two competing frameworks offer substantially different views of the round, I will evaluate it based on whichever team persuades me to use their framing. So, yes, I will vote on a framework and mentally adopt that framing to evaluate the impacts of the round. Strategically, it would be best to tell me how you win under both frameworks if you are unsure which framework is more persuasive to me. If the framing is fairly similar, I would hope the debaters would recognize that sooner rather than later and mutually agree so there is more time to focus on the core issues of the topic.

Tips

(I don't expect you to follow this strictly. You debate how you feel best. These are just the styles I am more likely to understand, appreciate, and ultimately vote for because it is how I teach my students. You utilize this information however you like.)

I like to flow as much as I possibly can. So, if I am not writing anything down during your speeches, you are either not being clear in your argumentation or have spent too much time covering the point; it is best to move on. Because I like to keep a detailed flow, I also appreciate a debater who is well organized in their signposting. Also, I have found debaters more successful when they can cross-apply evidence or arguments from their own contentions to attack the opponent's case. It seems to make things more organized because less evidence is being brought in, and thus, the debate becomes more focused on the quality of the argumentation.

When I am thinking, I often make a very grumpy-looking face. Don’t think I disagree with what you are saying because of this.

In public forum, I believe that most summary speeches drop excessive amounts of arguments against their case. If you can defend your case and respond to what the other team said in the previous speeches, you are much more likely to win. I want a line-by-line of both cases in the summary speech if you can. On the same note, if the other team does drop critical arguments on the case, these are easy wins in my book; please bring them up.

You should select two or three main voting issues for the final focus. The speech's last 15-20 seconds should be spent giving me impact calc and telling me what the Pro world vs. the Con world looks like. I also don't mind an overview at the top if that suits you.

Roadmaps are off the clock for me.

I will evaluate the evidence if you ask me to call for the evidence. But, if the evidence does not change my decision, I may not call for it.

Please don't try to avoid giving the other team evidence by saying your partner will do it after the cross. Evidence transparency is a huge part of the debate. Try to be as upfront as possible.

I can tell the difference between someone who is confident and standing their ground and someone who uses rudeness to make it look like they know more than they do. If being rude is part of your pathos as a debater, I don't think you're doing it right.

As a general observation, conceding a few arguments that might legitimately be untrue puts you in a better position to win than trying to defend every aspect and piece of evidence of your case. The energy it takes to defend legitimately untrue arguments is not worth the time you potentially lose to develop other, more substantial arguments. Just pick and choose wisely.

Policy-I- I have debated it before. I do not judge it often. I do not coach it. Most likely, I am not familiar with the topic. Policymaker.

LD- I have not debated it before. I do not judge it often. I do not coach it. Most likely, I am not familiar with the topic. Good luck.

This is my second year judging,

I don't really like topicality--I'll vote on reasonability.

DA's, CP's, K's are good.

I don't really like theory.

Speed: 6/10

I did Public Forum debate at Harrisburg High School and I participated in all 4 years of high school. I didn't really participate in any other event, so if I'm judging you in speech or a different debate event I won't be as great a judge. I have limited experience with LD and Extemp, but not much else. Feel free to ask me any questions before the round. In short, speak clearly, be nice, and follow the rules.

--PF--

Speaking:Being concise and well-spoken is important, but being respectful is equally important. I won't hesitate to drop speaker points if you are blatantly condescending or use insulting language.

Flowing: I flow pretty well and will vote off the flow most of the time. Other factors like speaking matter somewhat but the flow and pulling your arguments through are super important to me. Often times when cards are brought up in quick succession I don't write the card's names down as I am more focused on flowing the content of the card, so telling me what the card says in later speeches is key to keeping it on my flow. Cards are important, but big ideas and refuting the actual arguments your opponents make matters to me.

Evidence: I expect both teams to come to the round prepared with all possible evidence. If you use a card in the case please have the uncut article available, preferably with the used section highlighted. If you cannot produce the evidence promptly (within a minute or two) I will assume you don't have the evidence and evaluate the round as such. I will adhere to the rules, meaning if you do your own math, misconstrue an author's intention, or do anything else in violation of evidence rules I will not weigh the evidence in my decision.

Prep time: When you call for cards, I will start YOUR prep once you have received the article/card you requested. I will end prep time when you return it. I will start prep before you are given the requested card if you are prepping while you wait.

Framework: If a framework is given I will vote on it as long as it's not refuted effectively enough and is carried through. If you drop your framework in the summary and then bring it up in FF I won't be voting on it. If you can't adhere to their framework then give me another weighing mechanism or another framework. If a framework is abusive, tell me it's abusive and why. Don't get too deep into the framework debate.

Summaries: I prefer line-by-line when it comes to summaries as it's easier to follow in the flow, but using voters or another mechanism won't kill you by any means. Whatever you do, always signpost as much as you can, and don't go too fast. If an argument is important in the round, be sure to talk about it in summary, because if it's dropped in summary I won't be voting on it.

Final Focuses: Don't lie about what people said in the second FF to try to win the round.

--LD--

I have judged two rounds of LD debate in my life, one novice and one varsity. Do with that information as you will.

I competed for 4 years in speech and debate in Nebraska (I participated in Policy and PF primarily, with some Extemp). I am now the head debate coach at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, SD. I was primarily a K debater and have experience with performance affs, however, I adapted to traditional debate circuits in SD, so if you have a K you have been waiting to pull out, now is your time. Using K's as timesucks, however, is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you are running a K, I assume you care about the issue at hand and not just trying to be performative.

-I'm more than willing to listen to any argument you are willing to make, as long as it's done fairly. I love to see creativity in argument and believe that such types of thinking are fundamental to society, so if you want to run something a bit out there, I will hear you out. However, if it's clear that you are primarily using these types of arguments to confuse your opponent, I will automatically drop speaker points.

-I am okay with speed as long as you enunciate! I cannot stress this enough.

-I will be paying attention to what is said, but if there's something you think was said that is important to winning the round, I would mention it in a subsequent speech.

-If your opponents don't attack a point of yours, make sure you extend that in either summary or final focus (if not both) if you want me to consider it. In LD, it has to make it into your rebuttals.

- Weigh!!! As a former debater, I know how hard this can be to do well. Always remember that what makes sense to you and what you see as obvious may not be how others (including your judge) see things! Use your rebuttals and especially your final focus to really paint me a clear picture of why you won the round. I love voters. I'm typically a big picture thinker, so meta level questions and framing args are critical to instructing my ballot.

-Be polite to each other and have fun! Also, I have found I am very expressive in round, so if something does not make sense or I am confused, you will be able to tell. This usually means I need you to really sell me on the link story.

-IF YOU ARE GOING TO CALL FOR CARDS, KEEP SPEECHES GOING UNLESS YOU ARE USING PREP TIME. There is no reason we should be stopping rounds after just 1 constructive speech to wait for 5 cards. If you are waiting on evidence sharing, your partner can still read case while you wait. I don't mind short stops to glance at a card, however, I will dock speaks if I have to wait too long because you abuse time. Too many people are doing this, essentially creating a second untimed prep time for their team.

If you all have any specific questions this didn't cover or want any other additional information about my judging I encourage you to ask me before the round! :)

Email: mercado.angelicaarely@gmail.com

If you prove to me that you're winning on the flow, then I'll vote for you. Framework is important if it's carried throughout the round and given sufficient justification. I like when teams have clash on big points of contention in the round. Don't read so fast that it becomes a detriment to your ability to articulate your words. Respect each other, please.

Affiliations

Debated for Watertown HS (SD) 2014-2018

TL:DR

If you want ill give time to read before round, just ask. Here is a quick rundown:

I debated PF all four years of high school with some success. I prefer warranted debates, extensions, and clash. Speed is okay, but I will say clear if I can't keep up.

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BACKGROUND

Former 4-year varsity debater and extemper at Watertown HS. I qualified for NSDA Nationals in PF in 2017 and I was a state quarterfinalist in 2017 and 2018 in PF. I also qualified for NSDA nationals in 2018 for IX and placed 3rd at state in 2018. I have also helped coach a couple of teams to a couple of state finals in PF and one state champion in DX. I now work in public policy full-time

Contact for any further clarification: vlasmanaaron@gmail.com

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PF:

Tech>Truth

Warrants>Empirics

Warrants are essential. Please explain the logic behind every card - reading the tag and highlight isn't enough.

Theory:

I would prefer you to stay away from theory in PF. I have sat in on a few theory debates but never debated or judged it myself. I'm pretty open to some T but I think in PF that argument can come somewhere naturally in the rebuttal and not in a theory shell. Please make it well warranted, don't just read T for offense.

Interp:

I'm okay with weird or more obscure interpretations just make them warranted. If a team is running an abusive interp then, by all means, call them out. Again, make a warranted argument as to why the interp is abusive or I will allow the interp. Please, do not confuse/blur interps with framework - they are very different.

Framework:

I will default CBA

Framework should clearly define what I am weighing in the round. If you are going to run a FW then it is crucial you extend it in every speech or I will drop it. Please, make your FW pertain to the narrative of your case or the overall weighing of the round. If there is competing FW I'll judge which to use based on debate. I don't want to use two frameworks but I will if need be. If your FW does not relate to the resolution, your narrative, or any aspect of the round then this is one place where I will not flow it. No throwaway FW. As always, warrants matter. I won't frame the round how you tell me to without warrants.

Case Debate:

I am fine with just about any type of case - as long as it is warranted. I once ran that lifting the Cuban embargo would lead Cuba to drill for oil off US shores which stops Venezuelan corruption on the AFF - so go nuts. Interesting and different arguments are encouraged as long as they are well warranted and defended.

Crossfire:

I'm seeing this less and less but please don't take time during cross to find a card - your time is much better spent questioning. I don't have any problems with folks being aggressive in cross but be mindful of all competitors and their experience in the round. Do not yell, I promise your argument does not get better based on volume. Do not speak over debaters. Do not be condescending or make ad hominem arguments in cross. Crossfire is binding.

In Round:

I enjoy and prefer clash. Debates without clash arent educational and become very boring very fast. The 2nd rebuttal must respond to turns or it is conceded. Extend every argument you are going for. If something is not extended it is dropped from the flow. Weighing is incredibly important - if you don't weigh then I will have to intervene and weigh myself. I prefer every speech other than the FF to be line by line.

Prep Time:

DO NOT STEAL PREP. I am okay with everyone keeping their own prep but I will also keep prep to cross-check. You are encouraged to call for cards before and after speeches. If you are the team calling for a card or the partner not looking for a card, just set your pen down and look up from your computer so there is no confusion about stealing prep. I will start prep once a team gets the card. I will stop prep once you are done with the card and continue/restart prep when need be.

Speaks:

I'm not that stingy with speaks unless you give me a reason to give out low speaks. Low speaks will be given out if you are abusive in round, commit an evidence violation, overly mean, etc. As long as you debate well do not worry ab speaks.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you have any other questions about my paradigm on something not listed above please ask!

I will disclose after the round if you would like. If time permits, I will give a full RFD. If timing does not permit feel free to find me in the halls.

Best of luck!

Background

I did Policy debate for three years, Public Forum for one year, and Domestic Extemp for 4 years at Watertown, SD High School, graduating in 2009. I've judged a few tournaments each season for 10+ years at Minnesota and South Dakota high school debate tournaments. Professionally I'm a Certified Public Accountant, and I continue to judge debate because I think the activity teaches students many soft skills, especially public speaking and critical thinking, they will use in their professional career. At tournaments, I'm impressed by students who present themselves as educated on their topics, prepared, and professional.

Public Forum Paradigm

I debated Public Forum while Policy debate was still an event at South Dakota tournaments. Therefore, I approach Public Forum debate that it is the debaters' job to educate and persuade any judge, especially a lay judge, that they have the better case and can provide strong analysis as to why they should win the ballot. I can keep up with speed, evidence, policy speak, etc., but I want to give my ballot to the team who has the strongest case and who did the best job keeping their case and the round organized so the judges know what to vote on.

I enjoy it when there is good, legitimate clash. Impact things out for me. If you are going to be reading framework in the round relate your contention level arguments back to your framework. Weigh your framework against theirs and tell me why I should prefer yours. Ideally this is done in the 3rd & 4th speeches.

Use crossfire to make anything ambiguous in your case crystal clear. In my opinion, crossfire is where the judge will learn who the stronger debaters are. They will know what questions to ask, and they will know what parts of their opponents' case to destroy. Ask the opponents early what big voters they are going for. You can easily win the round using your time wisely in crossfire.

If I've judged a great round, 95% of my ballots are going to be won in the final focus. There is a good chance I have a lot of great arguments on the flow and a strong case to vote for either team. Therefore, I'm anticipating the final speeches to be a concise explanation from each side what they feel is the main voter(s) in the round and why they have won it. Give me 1-2 big picture, analytical arguments/voters and relate it back to your original case. If your final focus is a run-down of the flow and you have about 6-7 voters hitting on both your case and your opponent's case contentions, it appears you haven't provided enough reasons to me to vote yet and big picture you haven't won (and its too late).

In the end I prefer good solid arguments that are fleshed out well. Explain to me how you've won the round - tell me what is important.

Be confident, but have manners. There is no room for arrogance or rudeness in rounds. I won't vote you down for these reasons, but if your attitudes turn me off, there is a good chance I'm less engaged during your speeches and your arguments are probably not going to get flowed or weighed the way you want them to.

LD Paradigm

I started judging LD after graduating and judging at more tournaments. I don't have a super deep understanding of all the philosophy, but I do generally understand most of the frameworks I've heard. For me, I prefer a good framework debate backed up with solid contention level arguments. If you can put those two things together I am usually pretty happy. I prefer debate with clash. If you plan on both agreeing to the same framework you will need some good offense on the contention level.

In the end I prefer good solid arguments that are fleshed out well. Explain to me how you've won the round - tell me what is important.

Be confident, but have manners. There is no room for arrogance or rudeness in rounds. I won't vote you down for these reasons, but if your attitudes turn me off, there is a good chance I'm less engaged during your speeches and your arguments are probably not going to get flowed or weighed the way you want them to.

Policy Paradigm

Speed/Flowing- I only evaluate what I have flowed, and if I can’t understand it chances are it’s not flowed. I like when a debater says "write this down" - it tells me this is something very important you want me to pay attention to. My opinion is a good policy debater has enough speech time to slow down when they want an argument to be added to the flow, and then speed up when reading evidence or providing the analytical arguments. I don’t need a copy of the speeches, I will ask for cards at the end of the round if I need to look at something.

Cross-X - Ask clarifying questions and flush out the important parts of the case. I prefer minimal tag-teaming of cross-x. Your partner can provide you with evidence or write things down for you, but I'm very turned off is your partner is a distraction during your cross-x.

Prep- As the judge, I have the official time in the round. I will more than likely not stop prep when you ask me to, so beware of that. If you tell me to end prep, and you are still talking and typing on your computer, prep will keep going.

T- Don’t run it as a time suck. My view is that T is all or nothing, so if you’re going to close for it, you had better be doing nearly 5 minutes of T in the 2NR. Aff is presumed topical until shown otherwise. That being said, if they are truly not within the resolution—I will be more likely to vote on T.

Disadvantages- If you are not reading a DA on the neg you better have something to blow them out of the water. I tend to be very easily persuaded by no link analytical arguments and uniqueness overwhelms the link claims made by the affirmative. I think that there needs to be a clear link between affirmative action and the scenario that the neg is proposing. Use the DA as leverage against the aff’s advantages. I am a huge fan of disad solves case arguments.

Kritik- Not a fan.

Counterplans- I think that CP’s should challenge the aff’s advocacy or provide a better method of solving the impacts in the aff case. The counterplan must be non-topical, otherwise I will almost immediately vote aff on the perm. In the same fashion as K’s I will be weighing the CP against the aff case in terms of comparative solvency. The CP must solve the impacts of the 1AC—otherwise running the CP is pointless in my mind. CP has to have a clear Net benefit that is not “It’s better than the aff”. You need to have something bad that the aff plan would trigger, but the CP avoids, this is where your generic disads come into play.

In the end I prefer good solid arguments that are fleshed out well. Explain to me how you've won the round - tell me what is important.

Be confident, but have manners. There is no room for arrogance or rudeness in rounds. I won't vote you down for these reasons, but if your attitudes turn me off, there is a good chance I'm less engaged during your speeches and your arguments are probably not going to get flowed or weighed the way you want them to.

LD

I am in my third season of judging LD, so I am still learning. I will admit that I am leaning on my Public Forum experience to a degree during the learning process. I have so far developed two rules about judging LD:

1.) Defend your value statement, especially if your opponent attacks it. If your opponent is able to negate your value statement, your case goes away and it becomes extremely difficult to win at that point.

2.) If you and your opponent agree upon or merge your value statements and your criterion, then to me it becomes a PF round.

PUBLIC FORUM - READ TO THE END FOR AN UPDATE ON THE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 TOPIC.

Introduction

The best thing about Public Forum Debate is that anyone can judge it, and the worst thing about Public Forum Debate is that anyone can judge it. If you don't read this before a round, ESPECIALLY IN THESE DAYS OF ONLINE DEBATE, don't complain to your coach about what is said on my ballot after you lose.

How I vote/Framework

You can present your framework if you want, but I really don't pay any attention to it, especially with resolutions that are Yes/No. I am more interested in hearing the contents of your case, and I don't start flowing until I hear you say "Contention 1". I vote based on the cases, their contents, the attacks made on the cases and the responses to those attacks. Whoever has the majority of their case left standing at the end of the round wins. I value evidence over opinion, but not exclusively so. If you are presenting a morality-based case, you do so at your peril. It is my opinion that morality arguments are best done in LD. If you present a morality-based case AND you tell me I'm immoral if I vote you down, you are officially done at that point (it's happened, that's why it's included).

Argumentation
First and foremost, I expect professional conduct during the entirety of the round. While I haven’t yet decided a round based on arrogance, rudeness or condescension, I also have no qualms awarding a low-point win if the tournament rules allow.

Case speakers – I would like to think that I have a pretty good idea of what has to be proven by whom during a debate round, especially toward the end of a topic period. Therefore, I don’t want to hear the Webster definition of 3 or 4 of the words in the resolution unless your definition differs from your opponent's. You may present framework if you want, but refer to the above as to how I treat it. As stated above in "How I vote", I very rarely start flowing until I hear "Our first contention is...…"

Rebuttal speakers – I value your responses to your opponent’s case more than I do getting back to your own, especially if all you’re doing is re-reading it. In addition, PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU ARE ATTACKING YOUR OPPONENT'S CASE OR ARE SUPPLEMENTING YOUR OWN WITH WHAT YOU ARE PRESENTING. If you don't, it doesn't get flowed, and what doesn't get flowed doesn't get judged. I also like rebuttal speakers who are skilled enough to be able to attack their opponent’s rebuttal if you are speaking second. Finally, be very careful if you're attacking your opponent's case with points from your own. If your attack point gets damaged or negated, the opponents points you attacked will more than likely pull through intact.

Crossfire – It is very difficult to win a round during crossfire, but it is very easy to lose a round during crossfire. I’ll let you interpret that however you want. I consider CX to be for my benefit, not yours. I'm not real crazy about interruptions or talking over one another. Let your opponent finish an answer before you ask a follow-up question. I do reserve the right (and I have done it) to cut off a CX round if all you're doing is continuing the debate rather than doing Q&A. My rule at the buzzer - an answer may finish, a question may not.

Summary - The third minute of summary that was added last year has been interesting in how teams have approached it. I will say this: If you are speaking first, you can go back and attack your opponent's rebuttal, but don't spend more than 90-seconds on it. If you spend the entire time in attack, I'm going to assume you think you're losing. You should be introducing voters and giving me your introductory analysis of how the round is going.

Final Focus – You should be telling me why you won the round. I do not object if you figuratively take me by the hand and walk me through your analysis of how the round went. If you spend more than half your time continuing to attack your opponent's case, I will again assume that you're not confident about the success of your own.

Delivery
As far as speed goes, this is not policy. While I do flow with a spreadsheet on a laptop, there are even speeds that I can’t follow. If you see me put my hands behind my head, you are talking too fast, and what does not get flowed does not get judged. Please slow down a notch when presenting main points and sub points.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 TOPIC - If you are going to run Climate Change on the Pro, or Remittances on the Con, you had better be able to connect it back to the resolution. If you don't, and your opponent argues that either of these points are non-resolutional, I will agree with them.

Questions? Feel free to send an email to either wilsonbl@sio.midco.net or blaine@ucctcm.org