MacLean Andrews—Gonzaga Prep

I debated policy in high school and NPDA/NPTE parli at Point Loma. I then coached NPDA/NPTE at PLNU. I am now the Director of Forensics at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, WA. I mostly coach and judge high school CX and LD now. I see debate as an academic game and that’s how I will judge the round. Please feel free to ask me any questions before the round or email me if you have questions while filling out pref sheets (first initial last name at gprep.com)

1.Speaker points

1. 28-29.9 usually.

2.Critical Arguments

1. I think there are critical implications to every speech act. Affirmative cases, topicalities, procedurals, kritiks, and performances can all be critically analyzed if the teams take the debate there. I am more than willing to listen to any type/kind of arguments but nothing will make me cringe more than a bad K debate. In the end it is up to the debaters in the round to tell me what framework I am to use to evaluate the round.

3.Topicality.

1. I tend to see T through a competing interpretations framework unless told so otherwise. I used to say that I have a fairly high threshold for T but I am finding myself voting for it more and more. If it is the best strategy you have to win the round go for it.

4.Theory

1. I am willing to listen to all theory arguments as long as a team can give me a reason to vote on the position. Theory positions should have a framework/interp, arguments for your position, and voters/impacts. Simply stating fairness or education as voting issues usually isn’t enough to win. Impact out why fairness or education or (insert voter) is important.

5.Weighing Arguments

1. I will default to Net Bens…but if you want to use an alternative weighing mechanism please explain and provide justification for it.
2. I appreciate it when weighing is done in the speeches. The last thing you want is for me to have to weigh your arguments for you.

7.Random Thoughts

1. Speed is great if clear.
2. The round is for the debaters, do what you have to do to win. I will try to adapt to you instead of you adapting to me.
3. Impact calc wins debates
4. Debate should be fun.

1. I ask that your argument be specifically related to the resolution for me to consider it as a strong case. If your points, contentions, etc., could equally be applied to a hundred other resolutions, I will generally consider you to be running a generic argument and to not have done any specific research on the resolution at hand. Of course, you are welcome to run such general contentions; I am just less likely to see them as strong points if they're not specific to the resolution.

2. Likewise, you are welcome to speak too fast and get out of breath if you feel it will help you make your case. However, I don't have your notes and it's neither my job nor your opponent's job to decipher what you are saying. So, if I or your opponent can't make out what you're saying due to speed, that's on you. If you can combine speed and clarity, I'm fine, but I have found that combination is generally rare.

3. In LD, I would prefer to see contentions clearly tied back to values etc. as much as possible.

In short: keep contentions specific to the resolution at hand as much as possible, make clear the relation of contentions to values, and speak clearly.

Arguments should be delivered slowly with emphasis on communication delivery. Arguments may be grouped in order to address all of them. A few well-developed arguments prove more persuasive than a larger quantity of arguments. Rebuttals should provide voters to address the important issues advanced in constructive speeches. Debaters should time themselves so they can stay in the allotted time. Clash should be done civilly, please never attack your opponent. Remember it is your job to convince me to be on your side. Evidence should be cited, arguments/evidence should extend the v/c, and signpost – make it easy for me to follow. Let me know you are going off case - be sure your very clear in your delivery - slow down and make sure I'm understanding your case.

I have been a coach in Idaho since 2013 with students competing in Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas and Policy style debate. In general I prefer clear articulation, solid logic, and in depth analysis. I will add style specific details below.

Public Forum

I believe that public forum should remain the most accessible format of debate and should strive to avoid over reliance on Debate Theory or jargon. I prefer a few in depth and detailed arguments over a larger quantity of superficial arguments. Final Focus should include key voters on both sides.

Lincoln Douglas

I am on the progressive side of traditional for LD debate. I believe the value debate is the key to Lincoln Douglas debate and expect clash on the value level as well as the argument level. I like the inclusion of philosophical arguments and may vote only on philosophy if it is warranted. I enjoy definition and theory debate but you'll have to work very hard to get me to vote on a K.

Policy

I am a traditionalist in Policy debate. I vote almost exclusively on the stock issues, I believe that the Affirmative must sufficiently address each of the major stock issues and have never voted on a kritical Aff. I believe T is a voter, but that the default assumption is that the Aff is topical. I don't like topical CP's and you will have to work pretty hard to get me to vote on a K. I default to Condo Bad so the neg will need to justify any conditional positions. I am not a fan of high speed "spreading" or any rate of speed which inhibits clarity of arguments or speech. I want to be able to flow the warrants and links as well as taglines and impacts.

The paradigm with which I use to judge is primarily based on the educational value of any given round. What this means in practice for instance is that I view the institution of "spreading" to be antithetical to the educational goals of a round. I believe the goal of debate ought in major part to be to demonstrate and hone one's ability to both articulate themselves such as to be easily understood and to create and defend arguments. My preference always is depth over breadth, and to that end, I prefer students to spend time making cogent arguments rather than simply rehashing evidence that has already been presented. If a debater is capable of competently pointing out logical inconsistencies or holes in their opponent's arguments with recourse even entirely to pure analysis, this will almost guarantee a victory against an opponent who is only capable of reading large amounts of evidence. As far as critiques of the fundamental conceptual structure within which the debate topic is contextualized go, I am biased against these as there are theoretically infinite potential means of critiquing the assumptions made in framing a given question in debate, and therefore it is impossible and unreasonable to ask a debater to be prepared to counter all of them. This is to say that a debate topic is intrinsically a tool for limiting the domain of argumentation in a given round and to attempt to overly delimit that scope of argumentation is to put an unfair burden on one's opponent. If this argument is coherently made against an opponent running a critique, I will most likely accept it as at least borderline round-winning unless the person running the critique proves highly capable of dealing with this line of argumentation.

I consider myself a traditionalist. Lincoln-Douglas debate was created for a reason. The intent of debate is to facilitate communication, therefore use of speed should not be the emphasis in this activity. A good litmus test is the following...would Abraham Lincoln have used spread during his debate with Stephen Douglas? No? Then you probably shouldn't either. Exchange of ideas, discussion of which value is superior, respect and civility should be of paramount importance. Analysis and organization is extremely important. The debater in front of me should explain why their analysis is superior and why their value defeats the opposition.

As I noted above, the intent of debate is to facilitate communication. Speakers need to remember, and this is extremely important, that communication is not only about speaking, but it is also about listening. I have seen it happen more times than I can count, that your opponent will give you information to flip against them in the round, and that flip is not utilized. The tough part is identifying that information. Do not be constrained by what is obvious, meaning do not be afraid to ask "what if". Lateral thinking therefore, is incredibly important to consider.

Further, I consider myself a pragmatist. Originally, Lincoln-Douglas debate was designed as a values-oriented platform. This has evolved into a policy-values hybrid so while I will look at a round from a purely values perspective, the values and values criteria have become more of a means/end assertion. The use of real world links and impacts should support your decision. If you are able to demonstrate why your real world analysis/evidence supports your values/values criteria and you set that parameter up front, I will strongly consider that as a voter. I would however note the following:: the links to your impacts are absolutely critical to establish in the round. Off time roadmaps are also important. Organization is absolutely critical. It is your responsibility to tell me where you are on the flow.

Impact calculus is one of the major concepts I will weigh in your round. That is an incredibly huge point to remember where I am concerned as a judge. However, it is important to consider the nature of the impact. This is where the aforementioned links come into play. Of further note, since LD has become a hybrid, I buy off on solvency being an issue as a means to justify the resolution. Those of you who have had me before as a judge know why that statement alone can determine an entire round. In short, back to the point on the "what if" issue I broached earlier, that would be a very good place to start.

I also look at framework. If you are going to run something out of the norm...i.e. counterplan, Rights Malthus, general breakdown of society, etc., you need to make sure your links are airtight, otherwise I will not consider your impact. The two would operate separate of each other if there is no link.

I started my involvement in LD in 1982, I also debated policy from 1980 to 1982, competed in speech from 1980 to 1984, and competed at the college level in the CEDA format in 1985 and from 1988 to 1990, and have been judging since 2014 in the Spokane, WA area. I also judged policy in the Chicago, IL area in the early 1990"s.

In terms of the January/February 2024 LD topic on reducing military presence in the West Asia/North Africa region, I have very unique experience and perspective. I am retired military, retiring in 2014 and having served 4 years active duty in the Navy and 16 years in the Washington Army National Guard including a one year deployment to Iraq from 2005 to 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I saw first hand the effect of what many of you may try to argue. I also attended many briefings from subject matter experts prior to going in country, including geopolitical/economic briefings, etc. I do consider myself a bit more well versed than many judges in this field based on my personal experience. In short, examine your argumentation and analysis carefully. The bigger picture is a major area of focus and as the semester progresses, you will begin to see adjustments based on the feedback you are getting.

A couple of administrative notes. Eye contact is really important if for no other reason, to see how much time you have left. One of my biggest pet peeves is cutting off your opponent during CX. I have no problem annotating that you did so on your ballot so your coach can discuss the matter with you after the tournament. Civility and decorum are important, and I can surmise several of you have had this happen to you. I also do not have a problem with you timing yourself or sharing evidence, provided it does not detract from the overall use of time in the round.

Finally, it is extremely important to remember....this activity can be fun and it will help you in ways you can't even imagine later down the road. Everyone at this tournament, whether they are coaches, judges, your peers, etc...started as a novice. Bad rounds happen. They are a part of the landscape that is debate. This teaches an important life lesson. How do you bounce back from adversity? How do you apply what you have learned to make things better next time?

Remember that the case/argumentation you start off with at the beginning of the semester, will not be what you end up with at the end, provided you do a self assessment at the end of each round. Ask yourself what was supposed to happen. What did happen? What three things went well for you. What three things happened to you that are opportunities for improvement. If you are consistently applying these criteria, and using your coaches/opponents/peers as resources, by default your weaknesses will get shored up. Incidentally, this is a really good life skill as well and can be applied in the real world. Good luck to you going forward!

I am a traditional LD judge. A Value and Criterion centered debate is what I’m looking for. Progressive styling will be allowed as long as you verify with your opponent pre-round. The flow matters; explain why your arguements mean more to the round as it’s happening.

Welcome competitors!

LD: I am a previous coach and competitor of LD and PuFo. I am a traditional LD judge that loves V-VC debate and impact calculus. The slower you speak the more I get on my flow which means I can follow your link chains better. If you spread, you MUST slow down for tags, sources, and impacts. If you do not, I will not be able to flow your main points. File sharing is fine, but it is not my job to read your case if I can’t understand you (unless tech issues arise). Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty with evidence preference argumentation. I come from a PuFo background as well so it is a nice voter for me. I also like analysis on why your VC better suits the resolution/debate. I need preference to one side or I will have to judge it myself. I give traditional style hand signals and verbal signals when appropriate. Timing each other is preferred, but I will keep official time in case of disagreements. If you are a progressive debater, you need to let me know before round starts so I can flow correctly. Alts, K’s, CP’s, PIC’s etc welcome, but please don’t have a non interactive K on the aff. Theory can be a big voter for me, but requires a lot of time for you to explain why it should win a debate. I look heavy to On Case and off case dis-ads, and need to be convinced to look for theory debates. Be nice to each other. Spread knowledge and respect, not hate.

PuFo: Impact Calculus is a must. Tell me how to weigh everything so that I do not have to make the assumption myself, it usually ends with upset parties (me included). Make sure that you know your sources, dates, and methodologies because your evidence is not complete without them. Speed is not preferred for me in this format. Public Forum is about speaking to the public, and thus, should be clear, concise, and easy to follow. If you must speak fast, then slow down for tags, numbers, and impact statements.

Good luck and follow your heart.

I competed in speech in debate in high school, I've done every debate format, (PF, and LD are my "specialties"), as well as a variety of speech events. I am now a recent college graduate

I am mainly a flow judge. I will be flowing the entire round except during cross-examination. I don't care how fast you go as long as you clearly state the taglines, subpoints, and emphasize the main arguments. If you aren't signposting and telling me exactly where you're at on the flow, it may not end up on my flow, and my flow is what I'm judging the round on. Voters are a good way to tell me why you've won the round, so it may behoove you to give clear voters during your last speech. Ultimately, be clear in your arguments. Tell me exactly why your argument is better, has more impacts, is more feasible, or any sort of reasoning, tell me explicitly.

LD- I do consider values and criterions but they aren't the entire focus of the debate. If the v&vc are close or aren't relevant to the debate, you don't have to mention it in every speech. I'm not too familiar with theory or critiques but if they're explained clearly, you're fine.

PF- This was my main debate event, so I know how a good PF rounds should look. That being said, make sure to cover both flows in the second speech if you're the second speaker. Summary speeches can either be summarizing or line by line, I don't care, just tell me before the speech.

Ultimately, this is your round. Debate how you want and how you feel most comfortable. My last-minute tips for success when having me as a judge is:

-Signpost

-Be clear

-Voters in the final speech

-Make solid arguments (I can usually tell when something isn't sounding right.)

-Have fun and don't be rude.

GENERAL PARADIGM and NOTES - or, "I really hate speed"

Exception: I do not vary from the paradigm stated below with one exception. If both teams desire to speak fast with the understanding that doing so will deprive me of the opportunity to flow the round, they may agree in ADVANCE of beginning the round to “speed” with the understanding that I will listen to the debate, but not flow a single word.

I do not like speed. I believe that the debater’s job is to communicate to the audience. This position is reinforced by the Washington State ELAR’s which require teachers and all persons working with high school students to teach students to communicate at a rate which facilitates communication. I do not interrupt students by yelling “clear” or “slow” during a round. I simply judge the debate.

I am a strict flow judge. If I do not get it in my flow, it doesn’t exist. I don’t care how much I think that the debater meant to make a particular argument or even if I am convinced that he or she did make the argument. If I didn’t get it in my flow, I will not vote on it. Debaters should not, therefore, speak faster than I can flow.

Finally, I will not decide any debate until after the round and after I have had an opportunity to thoroughly examine my flow. I will not reveal a decision unless directed by the tournament director to do so. I will provide an oral critique if allowed by the tournament director, but I keep my critiques short and to the point. Don't expect me to have a lot to say - I'll leave notes in the ballot but I value your time too much to go on and on about the round.

I am a scientific individual, I am listening for credible facts, quotes, sources and empirical evidence.

Be knowledgeable on the topic, if a question is asked I expect some type of answer, not "I don't know".

Presentation of your argument(s) is a factor as well, your job is to persuade me to vote with you. Congress specifically, don't just read your speech, make eye contact and let us hear your passion and research that you've completed.

Elaborate on the impacts using the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where and why).

I am a former College Debater and did High School Debate All four years. I did LD (Judged the most), PF (Debated the most) and Parli. I debated for Gonzaga University but I debated in the San Francisco Bay Area for High School.

LD, PF & Parli:

I do take into account biases in the resolution and the biases in the speaker side. I don’t care about framework debate as much, if both V and VC are similar then there is no need for me to hear why yours should win, that is not much of a decision for me when voting. If the V and VC are not important, save your breath, focus more on your other arguments. If it is important, then use it to your advantage. With arguments, I prefer them to be follow topicality. The only way to run a non-topical argument is to be able to have STRONG INTERNAL LINKS. If you don’t provide strong internal links, they will be dropped. I based a good amount of my decision on the Flow. When giving your speeches, please give me a off time road map of what you will be doing so when I flow, I know where it is to benefit you. If you don’t, I will flow where I see fit and may drop a refutation that you might cover. There are two things to take into account in a debate round, the debate and in the round. You can win the debate but loose the round.

To win the debate you must do the following:

- Present a case

- Present counter arguments

- Touch on each argument made

- Impact calc (Give me reason why your impacts are worth it)

- Voting Issues (Give me voters and I will vote on them; I don’t want to make my own voters)

- Prepare CX questions

- Show Opportunity Cost for each argument in final focuses

To win the round you must do the following:

- Speak Clear

- Be concise

- Be prepared

- Be organized

- Debate the debater but convince the judge

If you do the following, you will win the debate. I may be harsh on my critique, but I am trying to elevate your skills in debate. Most of my RFD will be verbal and little on the ballot so take notes when you can or want.

If you do run a humorous case, please make sure I will laugh because I hate bad humorous cases and will vote against it.

If you read this and follow all the steps in this, you will win.

Honestly, have fun, make it enjoyable, make it a valuable learning experience and let’s hope to have a laugh.

For College Debate:

TL:DR - Don't make me think when making my decisions. You should be able to speak clear, concise, and correct. If you are clear on the flow and in your speech, you have my ballot. It is that simple.

I don't like K's but make sure they are clear when running them.

I have a business background so running econ is a slight benefit in your favor.

I did high school debate for 3 years. I did nearly every form of debate except LD. I have qualified for nationals twice and broke at the NFL tournament. I also was a City Councilman. I am by no means a lay judge, however I believe debates are won on the merits of the arguments. Evidence and facts matter. I have done and judges most forms of the debate.

Treat your opponent with respect, you will not win any points from me by belittling them.

As far as speed goes, I'd say if your max speed is 100 miles per hour, go 60 miles per hour for me, I want to flow your arguments and if you rush them I may not get them all. Quality over quantity.

Do not drop your contentions, or your opponents, I will flow them as dropped and they can decide the ballot for me.

I am not very familiar with the K but open to hearing a K case and can and will vote on it if the case is made.

The flow is important, do not drop contentions or arguments or I will flow to your opponent as a drop and a won argument. Give me voting issues.

Enjoy your time debating, its about learning, not winning.

I'm probably a flow judge. You can run anything.

I care about link chains.

I value your arguments over your eloquence but comm skills are still v important. Please don't be mean.

email: cvigil2019@gmail.com