Currently serving in the United States Navy in California. Honored to participate as a judge and watch young Americans practice one of the fundamental skills of Democracy. He/Him/His are my preferred pronouns. Unless preference clarified by participants, I will use initials and gender neutral pronouns when referring to specific participants.

Judging is based on participants' ability to clearly state their position, lay out supporting claims in an organized manner, provide insightful questions that diminish strength of opponents' claims, and defend their own position when questioned by opponent. I will do my best to provide comments that help explain reasoning and give feedback for improvement.

Key points:

I will always look negatively at responses that rely on straw person attacks, cherry picking data, unsupported slippery slope, and the greatest offender of all being whataboutism- derailing debate with unrelated issues.

Most importantly, be respectful to each other.

Background:

Judged 2016-2020

Lincoln-Douglass, Congressional Debate 2012-2016

he/him/his or they/them/theirs

(I'm not nonbinary. Normalize gender neutral language!)

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Universal expectations:

* Don't be disrespectful.

* Don't promote bigotry.

* Add me to the email chain: a.bissell.siders [at] gmail [dot] com

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Lincoln-Douglass paradigm:

I believe high-school debate should have three goals:

[1] Education to improve research skills (reading and understanding articles). Therefore:

* I generally prefer truth (evidence) over tech (theory).

* I generally prefer fewer but well-warranted claims over more but poorly-warranted claims.

* Quantitative evidence & impacts often beat qualitative evidence & impacts (unless you weigh them well!).

* [Research shows that empirical evidence does change people's minds (eg, Wood and Porter 2018). Bennyboi Shapiro ain't right about much, but he's right about "facts and logic".]

[2] Competition to improve communication skills (listening and speaking). Therefore:

* If you don't say it, I don't flow it. Guide me.

* I generally prefer fair-ish rounds with roughly equally accessible ground.

* I generally prefer clarity and concision over speed.

* [Non-debaters speak around 100-200wpm and comprehend 200-300 wpm. Aim below 300 wpm! Focus on compressing your sources rather than expanding your speaking rate!]

[3] Provide an accepting and enjoyable space. Bigotry has no room here. Don't attack your opponent, attack their arguments. Four-letter words are fine. Humor is wonderful. Be yourself. Relax, you'll do fine.

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Congress paradigm:

All speeches: Debate the bill!

* Stock bad: Debate about the bill! Don't give generic introductions. Don't give generic arguments.

* Link bill to impact: Don't just say "impact X is bad" or "X is good". Do provide evidence that "bill does Y and Y causes X".

* Weigh impacts: Do give impacts for each argument. Do weigh impacts against opposition's impacts.

Negative speeches: Demonstrate harm!

* Insufficiency is not a harm: Don't just say "bill is bad because it doesn't do X" unless you provide evidence that "bill is mutually exclusive with X".

* Complacency is usually not a harm: Don't say "bill is bad because it partially solves X, which makes people complacent about X" unless you provide evidence that "partially solving X makes people complacent about X".

First affirmative and first negative speech: Provide framework!

* Provide framework: Establish the framework to weigh impacts for the debate.

Later speeches: No rehash!

* No rehash: Don't make the same arguments unless you give new evidence.

* No rehash.

* No rehash.

Presiding Officer:

* I highly rank strong POs. Efficient, knows rules of order, commands chamber.

Fourth season as parent judge; practicing attorney (19 years).

I competed in Congressional Debate for 4 years in High School and have done mock Public Forum but never competed. I have judged Congressional Debate for three years and Public Forum off and on throughout that time.

Congressional Debate

There is no reason for scripted/prewritten speeches after the Authorship/Sponsorship and the first Neg (which even this should leave room for rebuttal). A good debate will include constant rebuttal over what others have brought up within their speech. There shouldn't be repetition in argument - there are multiple angles in every piece of legislation, so find a new angle if your argument has already been talked about.

A great speech will answer both sides of the debate and address their opponents. You should have a clear structure to your argument and every claim should have sources to back it up.

You should speak at a normal pace - if you chose to speak at a fast pace it must be clear and understandable.

I don't mind motions and complex procedure but it should have a purpose and not just to play the system.

I know sometimes getting speeches in can be difficult - but if you obviously make an effort and ask logical questions I will always take that into account.

Public Forum

I prefer a slower debate, I believe it allows for clearer and stronger speaking style. It is your burden to make sure that your speech is clear and understandable and the faster you want to speak, the more clearly you must speak. If I miss an argument, then you didn't make it.

I pick a winner based off of who communicates the best and has clearest argument. I take into consideration speaking pace and your overall organization. Otherwise, I have no preferences towards any case and I am always excited to hear new cases and arguments!

I am not an intense note taker in a round - but will take notes to understand arguments and to watch basic flow. I really enjoy when teams answer both sides and address their opponents.

At this level I expect debaters to have original arguments and a solid framework that is sound and in order to win able to withstand their opponent's clash.

Hey! I competed in Congressional Debate and FX for 4 years on the local, state, and national level. I went to Lamar High School.

I believe that clash is extremely significant in different debate events, including Congressional debate. While I do value clash, it should not be rude or degrading, and should be based on evidence/warrants.

In PF/LD, I don’t mind spreading, but make sure that the arguments are clear and that you are speaking coherently and not insanely fast. I would also say that I’m tech over truth when it comes to arguments. Last, please give a roadmap before speeches so that I can properly flow.

Background: I graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) in 2016 and compete dfor the George Mason University Forensics Team until May 2020. During high school I competed in Extemp, OO, Public Forum, Congress, World Schools, even Interp a couple times. I prioritized Extemp 1st, Public Forum 2nd.

For Public Forum:

1) Speed/arguments: I am comfortable with decent amounts of speed, but don't sacrifice clarity and enunciation. If your speed causes you to fail to communicate an argument clearly enough for me to weigh or understand it, that's on you. I will flow arguments and details to the best of my ability, just remember not everybody's perfect. As such, I prefer arguments and warrants being fully fleshed out and explained throughout the entire round.

2) Rebuttals: I don't believe the 1st team's rebuttal has an obligation to respond to anything except the opposition's case. I do believe the 2nd team's rebuttal should begin to respond to the 1st team's rebuttal, but I won't consider rebuttal arguments dropped if untouched.

3) Sources: I am historically bad with understanding the pronunciations/spellings of names, so PLEASE enunciate names of authors clearly. Don't just extend cards, extend explanations.

4) Time: Keep your own prep time, hold each other accountable.

5) Speaker points: I choose points based on unclear speaking/argumentation, rudeness, fabricating evidence, quality of the round, etc.

6) Have fun!

What I'm looking for is a clear, concise argument. Humor is appreciated, but all jokes should be in good taste. I want to see good preparation from competitors as well asadaptability- if you don't have something written, and the splits are bad, switching sides shows dedication. Questioning is an essential part of debate, so you should do that. Zoning out and only speaking when necessary will not do you any favors. Decorum is also an essential part of debate. You should be not just courteous but kind to your competitors. PO's should not just be charismatic but quick as well. The most consistent issue I see across tournaments is PO's taking too long to find the next speaker, whether it be during questioning or actual speeches. Other than that, do your best and pay attention.

For the past 14 and 1/2 years I have been the head coach of the Speech and Debate Team at Huntington High School. As a Public Forum judge, I believe that hitting the key voting issues in the Final Focus is very important and helps to secure the winner. Explaining specifically why your team is winning the debate is how to finalize the win. In addition, hit the impacts clearly. Make sure the reasoning your team uses is clear and precise. Never assume that as a judge I know what you are talking about in your case, so explain the details clearly.

Speed is fine as long as I, the judge, can understand every word you and your partner say.

I'm a former Congressional debater (with some PF experience) who did debate for all four years on both the local and national circuit (including finals at nationals).

PF: While I typically judge congress, I have PF experience both in competing and judging (I have judged both on the local and national circuit). When evaluating arguments, I value clear links throughout your arguments (and for these arguments to be carried through!), direct refutation, and weight on impacts. Directly explain to me why you're correct and your opponent is not; make sure every claim you have has warrants to back it up. I don't have a preference for speed (I make sure to thoroughly flow the round), but just make sure that if you're attempting to speak at a faster pace that you enunciate clearly.

Congress: I judge based off of quality of arguments and speaking style fairly equally, but you need both to be successful. I don't want to see rehash of arguments, and students who can effectively respond to other speakers and further debate are more likely to win my ballot. I value structured speaking with lots of signposting as well, and it's really important that you're engaged throughout the round and asking good questions. Please be respectful to your competitors as well! :-)

About me: She/her pronouns. I did Congress (and some PF) for three years with Desert Vista High School, competed nationally a few times in that period.

Congress Paradigm:

- Congress is debate, and your speeches should follow debate flow. Don't give authorship speeches at the end of a round, don't try to crystalize after two speeches. If you did your research, you should be able to adapt and give a great speech no matter when you speak in the round.

- On that note, if a bill/res is super one-sided, or has few arguments, PLEASE drop it. I'd rather move on in the agenda than let stale debate continue for another hour.

- On presentation: I think the beauty of Congress is that you can give beautiful speeches and still have powerful debate at the same time!! That being said, I'll take a strong, clear argument over flowery-but-empty rhetoric any day of the week.

- Remember that even though this is make-believe congress, your words absolutely still have meaning and you can't just throw issues and impacts around like they're not real: every speech you give is an opportunity to use your platform and speak some good into the world, or whatever. Make your speeches meaningful, be creative, and be kind to others, and have fun!

- Oh also I'm not afraid to rank POs. Good POs deserve good ranks.

I enjoy working with students who display great energy and persuasion during their presentation. Listed below are a few additional items I look for in a speaker.

· Effective opening statements with solid reasoning

· Arguments that are clear and easy to follow

· Good eye contact and stage presence

· Ability to move the debate further

· Being respectful and an active participant

•Encourage clash

•Move debate forward--continue to examine impact (cause-effect relationships)

•Synthesis of prior speakers as debate rounds ensue

•Questions that probe for clarification of key terms and implications of key choices

I am what you would call "old school". I will entertain a progressive debate, but I much prefer a straight-up classic debate with value and criteria.

I am a head coach and have been coaching for thirteen years. I thoroughly enjoy all of the events that our organization sponsors and deeply appreciate the critical thinking and communication skills they promote. For debate, I can appreciate a range of styles and approaches. While I don't mind a brisk speed when it is necessary to incorporate a variety of legitimate arguments in case or rebuttal, when it is used primarily as a weapon to overwhelm an opponent with accusations of dropped cards (in particular), I admit my patience can grow thin. You also don't have to win every bit of the flow (or pretend to) to win a round for me. You may even honestly concede minor points and cards/warrants. The important thing is to win the main arguments, wherever they happen to occur in the flow. Therefore, your job is to help me weigh what the most essential arguments are towards the end of the round. That is not to say that I don't value line-by-line coverage of the flow in rebuttal, and that dropped points are of no concern. And it is possible that accidentally dropping major points (usually by poor time distribution) could result in a fairly automatic loss. It's just that all things being equal, I value winning the major points of the debate over thoroughness of coverage.

-Congress

I would say that I care about content more than delivery, but giving a good speech with relatively few fluency breaks and well written content is still important. If you are not giving an early in the round constructive then you need to engage with the speakers that came before you. Rehash is only acceptable if you add new impacts or something else fresh and spicy. It also goes a long way to show that you can give different types of speeches. Clash is important. Ask questions throughout the round if you are going to speak later on a bill and then reference your questions in your speech. This proves that your questions had a purpose.

I take notes quickly so the speed of your words will not affect your score unless it is hampering your ability to deliver the speech and engage with competitors.

-PF/ LD

I flow the round and I type quickly so don't worry about talking too fast. HOWEVER if you are talking super fast, I really appreciate when people send out those little clarification sheets so that I can double check that I did not miss a point. If you drop an argument on the flow then I will count it for the other side so try to respond to everything meaningfully. Effective weighing is very informative when I make my decision also. If you are going to say that your opponent's evidence is bad make sure you explain why it is bad and yours is better instead of just saying yours is more holistic. I need to know why your card is more holistic.

Hi everybody,

My name is Ajay Kristipati, a senior at the University of Washington. This is my first time judging, so please be patient as I am still learning how to navigate Tabroom and NSDA Campus. Being that this is one of my first times judging, and one of my first experiences with debate for that matter, please don't spread and try to debate traditionally. I'll do my best to judge fairly and accurately, and look forward to meeting you all in round :) .

Qualifications:

Competed on the nat circuit in Congressional Debate for 4 years - earned 3 bids, finalled at GMU and 2nd place at Columbia. Won multiple state and local competitions. I am also currently the President of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society at UVA.

Congressional Debate:

I will rank based on who I think is the best legislator - not the best or most convincing speaker. I believe that Congress is specifically designed to be a laypersons' debate. This means that words like "inherency" or "solvency" have no place in Congress. While they may sound intriguing, you would never catch Mitch McConnell or Nancy Pelosi using them - and you shouldn't either. That doesn't mean you shouldn't bring up what those concepts mean. You should explain the inherency and solvency behind a bill without using those terms - instead, just tell me what the problem is and how the bill solves it.

Very Important: Your speech must/should be extemped. Reading off your pad will lose you a lot of points from me.

Your speech should contain a mixture of impactful rhetoric and meaningful evidence (quantitative > qualitative), and lots of clash (I cannot emphasize this enough!!!). Attention Grabbing Device's (AGD's) in your intro and conclusion can be helpful, but make sure they are relevant. I'm unlikely to be impressed by a catchy intro that has nothing to do with the topic.

Your sourcing is also important, especially in early-round speeches. Beware, if I hear you say something I think is wrong I will attempt to find the source you cited. If it turns out you're making up sources or that you're taking things out of context I will be extremely unlikely to rank you.

I believe questioning is a huge part of being a good legislator. Make sure your questions are insightful - no softballs! I do believe it's possible to be too rude or aggressive in questioning, but my tolerance is very high. I would rather you interrupt an opponent during a direct questioning block than let them filibuster for 20 seconds. Important: I will take ranks away from you if your questioning is bad. I am not the kind of judge that is impressed by someone asking a lot of simple/easy questions. I expect you to press the speaker and make them struggle to defend their arguments (especially in direct questioning). In my mind, asking bad questions is as bad as asking no questions + you deprive someone else of the chance to ask good questions.

I will rank good PO's highly, and I'm not picky about how you use your gavel or your particular style of PO'ing.

I understand that online tournaments are new for all of us, and can present a lot of problems for Congress. I will be very flexible in adapting to online tournaments and I won't dock ranks for mistakes you make because it's an online format (ex: muting yourself, not digitally raising your hand, etc).

If you find me sometime after round I can definitely give you feedback on the spot. Alternatively, you can email me at: ak6xkt@virginia.edu for feedback or if anything I wrote on your ballot confused you.

I did Congress for four years at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in South Florida (C/O 2018), was good at it, and I now study linguistics and political science at the University of Florida and coach/judge (often) for Bronx Science in NYC.

I love POs and am looking for a reason to rank the PO high. If you mess up recency/precedence once it's not going to kill you, but if it's a consistent issue, or you mess up parliamentary procedure, you'll fall pretty quickly down my ballot.

Don't be cocky or rude (poking fun and jokes are totally cool and make things interesting). Make good arguments; if you don't have an impact, which means explaining the effect of the legislation and why it's good/bad, it doesn't count, no matter how pretty you sound. Just as importantly, you need to care about what you're saying. Finally, there needs to be some sort of clear speech structure. I'm totally cool with, and actually a fan of, speeches with alternative structures from the typical speech with two points, but you need to make that structure clear through signposting.

The most common feedback I give is about evidence. Remember, your job is to prove why a certain piece of legislation will do good or bad things for the world, so you not only need credible, relevant, and (ideally) recent data, but that data MUST be comprised of fact. Facts, as opposed to opinions, are a qualitative or quantitative assessment of either an ongoing process or something that happened. Facts may include numbers and statistics found in research, descriptions of an event or system/process, statements made by relevant government officials or organization leaders, existing/former laws or court decisions, etc. Facts are not unquantified descriptions of a numeric value; for example, statements saying something saw a "substantial increase" or was "significantly harmed" are relative and not factual. Those statements are an analysis of data rather than the data itself. If your whole speech is based on expert opinions and non-factual statements, I am left with no metric to actually weigh the importance of your impacts against those of other speakers.

Speaking well matters on my ballot, but only to the point that your presentation isn't distracting. I weigh speaking this way because a lot of metrics we traditionally use to assess speaking are pretty ableist and/or difficult for students for whom English isn't their first language or who use non-"standard" dialects.

If you say something blatantly problematic or harmful to any marginalized community, purposefully misgender someone (or continuously call them Mr./Ms. after being asked to not do so), or, as PO, clearly show bias toward any one group of people (that includes geographic prioritization, or prioritization of people from your school/district), you will be dropped.

also PLEASE refute oml

PF/LD:

Hi, I'm Jakob Lucas and I just graduated last year. I was involved in debate all 4 years of high school and did Congress for every year. I like all different types of arguments and weighing mechanisms. It's up to you to determine how I should weigh the debate, I will make the decision of how to weigh the debate myself ONLY IF no weighing mechanism is provided. Overall I think I'm pretty well-versed and you can run almost anything you'd like I just have two requests:

- Please no spreading.

- Please no kritiks (Ks).

Updated for 2020-21

Pronouns: she/her/hers

If you have questions about anything here, just ask!

Congress:

-I don't have a preference between early/mid/late round speeches - just give the best speech. I evaluate each speech for the role it needs to serve in the round. So, if you're sitting on a neg and we go to a 2-minute recess because you're insistent on doing a crystallization speech and no one else has a neg, I'll be annoyed. If you're able to show me multiple types of speeches throughout the session (especially if I'm the parli), that's great.

-I hate one-sided debate - it isn't debate. I don't have a set rule "if you speak on the same side as the previous person I'll mark you down x # of ranks," but it definitely has a negative impact on the final ranks. If you speak on the same side as the previous person, it is very, very unlikely (albeit not impossible) I will rank you in the top 3. This is even more true for a crystallization speech.

-Expectations for authorship/sponsorship/1st aff: problem/solution; identify a framework/burden/scope to evaluate debate; have a central narrative

-Expectations for mid-round speech: Refute; have a central narrative

-Expectations for late speech: Refute & boil the debate down to a main issue or 2; have a central narrative

-Have a clear, specific, and offensive thesis coming out of the introduction.

-Have clear warrants; if they stem from the legislation directly, even better. Particularly in mid/late speeches, weighing/clash is super important.

-Clear, humanized impacts are key.

-I'm not going to open the legislation packet - it's your job to bring it to life for me. If I know a detail of the leg from coaching my own students but you don't mention it, it won't help you - I'll be as tabula rasa as possible with the docket.

-No rehash. It's possible to extend something from your own side with new warrants/impacts, but new data is just rehash.

-Neg speeches can't say the leg is bad because it doesn't do something unless that thing is mutually exclusive with the action of the legislation; if the leg is that we should all eat more bananas and your neg is no we should eat more apples, unless you can prove that we can't eat apples AND bananas the point doesn't work. I also don't love points about complacency - they generally feel stock to me (unless you're talking about a social issue when the issue attention cycle is a legitimate concern). Both of these types of points (do x not y; complacency) feel like avoidance of engaging with the actual legislation - neg speeches must demonstrate the inherent harm(s) of passing.

-No stock intros/conclusions - if it could work for any piece of legislation, it's too vague. I like an attention-grabbing intro of some kind and when the conclusion ties a bow with the opening.

-I don't have a preference for being in the simulation or avoiding it. If you start talking about your constituents and your office in D.C., I will likely roll my eyes. On the other hand, talking about your current high school Bio class doesn't work either.

-Stay involved throughout the entire session. If you give an A+ speech but ask zero questions, you'll get ranked below an A- speech and strong, well-spaced questions.

-I will rank you as the PO if you're a strong PO (fast & efficient, knowledgeable about RR, clear command of chamber). Being the PO is neither a guarantee of a rank nor of a drop for me - if you do an A job as the PO, it'll be ranked the same as if you did an A job as a speaker.

PF:

-I don't flow cross; if you want me to evaluate something out of cross, you need to mention it in a later speech.

-If you want me to evaluate something from FF, it also needs to appear in the summary.

-Make sure to identify moments of clash. Don't let the two ships just pass in the night; tell me where the boats crash and why yours stays afloat.

-Make sure to weigh arguments. Tell me what the key points of the debate are so that I don't have to determine them myself.

-I won't make a decision based on politeness, but being excessively rude/abrasive in cross annoys me and will negatively impact your speaker points.

-Unless there's true abuse in the round, I won't vote on theory.

-I haven't judged circuit PF since Stanford 2019, so you're better off avoiding "progressive" PF stuff. Treat me as more flay.

ABOUT ME -

I have been judging in Speech Events (HI, DI, DUO, EXT, OO), Debate Events (LD, PF, Policy) and Congressional Debate since 2018.

I enjoy judging Congressional Debates where I can see many debaters debate on numerous topics in the student chamber.

I favor to give points and rank high upon following skills even though congressional leaders need to be successful in passing legislation.

- Assertiveness – Standing up for one’s beliefs and being able to confidently take charge of difficult situations, making tough decisions despite opposition. In a politically charged environment where everyone is vying for their opinion to be heard, being assertive is key.

- Building Alliances – Earning trust and respect from others and taking the time to build effective working relationships with individuals.

- Commitment - Passionately and enthusiastically demonstrating a dedication to the causes and beliefs you espouse.

- Conflict Resolution - Effectively resolving misunderstandings, disagreements, and disputes with other individuals. Directly addressing issues with others in a non-threatening manner. Being willing to compromise in order to maintain effective working relationships.

- Influence - Using a variety of persuasion tactics, interpersonal skills, and communication and presentation strategies to convince others to make decisions that are mutually beneficial to all parties involved.

- Presentation Skills - Using effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to clearly deliver information to a variety of audiences. Being confident and comfortable when speaking in front of groups. Making presentations that are clear, engaging and impactful.

JUDGING HISTORY-

- Barkley Forum for High Schools 1/29 - 1/31/2021

- Sunvite 2021

- Cavalier Invitational at Durham Academy 1/16 - 1/18/2021

- Florida Sunshine District Tournament 12/5

- FGCCFL December Tournament

- Glenbrooks Speech and Debate Tournament 11/21 - 11/23/2020

- FGCCFL November Tournament

- Florida Blue Key 2020 10/30 -11/1 Congress Debate

- Duke Invitational 2020 9/19 -9/20 Congressional Debate

- National Speech and Debate Season Opener Hosted by UK 2020 9/12 -9/14 Congressional Debate

- FGCCFL Grand Finals 2020 2/28 -2/29 Congress Debate

- FGCCFL February All Events 2020 2/8 IE & Congress Debate

- FGCCFL January All Events 2020 1/18 -1/18 IE & Congress Debate

- Florida Sunshine District Tournament 2019 12/14 -3/28 Congress Debate

- The Sunvitational 2020 1/10 -1/12 Congress Debate

- FGCCFL December All Events 2019 12/7 IE & Congress Debate

- Barkley Forum for High Schools 2020 1/24 -1/26

- Congressional Debate FGCCFL September All Events 2019 9/28 -9/28 IE & Congress Debate

- Florida Blue Key 2019 11/1 -11/3 Congress Debate

- Yale Invitational 2019 9/13 -9/15 Speech

- FGCCFL Grand Finals 2019 2/22 -2/23 Lincoln-Douglas

- Barkley Forum for High Schools 2019 1/25 -1/27

- Congressional Debate Florida Sunshine District Tournament 2018 12/8 -3/9

- Congressional Debate FGCCFL November All Events 2018 11/17 -11/17 IE and Congress Debate

- FGCCFL October All Events 2018 10/13 -10/13 Lincoln-Douglas

- FGCCFL September All Events 2018 9/22 -9/22 Public Forum Yale Invitational 2018 9/14 -9/16 Varsity Public Forum

BACKGROUND

Undergraduate:

- MBBS, University of Medicine, Yangon, Myanmar.

Post graduate:

- MPH, London School of Hyigene and Tropical Medicine, University London, UK

- MSc. Computer Science, Western Illinois University

- Post Doc Medical Informatics Fellowship, Health Science Technology, Harvard-MIT

General overview:

I was a high school and college debater and have been an active high school coach ever since. I am chair of my state league as well as an NSDA District Chair. Dating back to high school, I have over 35 years of experience in the activity. However, please don't consider me as "old school" or a strict traditionalist. Like any activity, speech and debate is constantly evolving and I am open to and embrace most changes. You'll clearly understand all of the rare exceptions to that as you read my paradigm.

It is very important to remember that debate is a communication activity. As such, I expect clear communication. Well articulated, supported and defended arguments, regardless of quantity, are far more important to me than who has the most cards that they can spout out in a speech. While I'm okay with a limited amount of speed, excessive speed beyond what you would use in the "real world" is not effective communication in my mind. Communicate to me effectively with well reasoned and fully supported arguments at a reasonable pace and you will win my ballot. I don't accept the "they dropped the argument so I automatically win the argument" claim. You must tell me why the dropped argument was critical in the first place and convince me that it mattered. I look at who had the most compelling arguments on balance and successfully defended them throughout the round while refuting the opponent's arguments on balance in making my decision.

Things to keep in mind about the various events I judge:

Policy debate is about policy. It has a plan. Plans have advantages and disadvantages as well as solvency or the lack thereof. Some plans also might warrant a counterplan from the negative if it is good, nontopical, and can gain solvency better than the affirmative plan. I am not a fan of "circuit style" policy debate and greatly prefer good and clear communication.

Lincoln Douglas Debate is about values. I am interested much more in values in this type of debate than any sort of policy. However, I'm not a strict traditionalist in that I don't require both a value premise and a value criterion that is explicitly stated. But I do want to hear a value debate. That said, I also want to hear some pragmatic examples of how your value structure plays out within the context of the resolution. All in all, I balance my decision between the philosophical and the pragmatic. Persuade me of your position. However, please don't present a plan or counterplan. Switch to policy debate if you want to do that. Bottom line: debate the resolution and don't stray from it.

Public Forum Debate is about current events and was intended for the lay judge. Don't give me policy or LD arguments. Clear communication is important in all forms of debate, but is the most important in this one. I am not open to rapid fire spreading. That's not communication. Please don't give me a formal plan or counterplan. Again, reserve that for policy debate. Communicate and persuade with arguments backed up by solid research and your own analysis and do this better than your opponents and you will win my PF ballot. It's that simple. Debate the resolution without straying from it in a good communicative style where you defend your arguments and attack your opponent's and do this better than they do it. Then you win. Persuade me. I am also not a fan of "circuit style" Public Forum that seems to be increasingly popular. Communicate as if I am a layperson (even though I'm not), as that is what PF was intended to be.

Congress Paradigm:
Congressional Debate is designed to be like the real Congress when it functions as it was intended. Decorum is absolutely critical. While humor may have its place in this event, you should not do or say anything that a United States congressperson of integrity would not do or say. You should also follow Congressional decorum rules and address fellow competitors with their proper titles. When judging congress, I want to see clash/refutation of previous speakers (unless, of course, you are giving the first speech of the topic). Try to avoid "canned" speeches that are largely prewritten. This is not dueling oratories. It is still debate. I look for a combination of new arguments and clash/refutation of arguments already made. I do not like rehash. If it's been said already, don't say it unless you have a uniquely fresh perspective. I am not impressed by those who jump up to make the first obvious motion for previous question or for recess. Obvious motions score no points with me, as they are obvious and can be made by anyone. It's not a race to see who can be seen the most. I am, however, impressed by those who make great speeches, regularly ask strong cross examination questions and show true leadership in the chamber. Simply making great speeches alone is not enough. If you give three perfect speeches but never really ask good cross examination questions or rarely participate proceduraly in the chamber, you might not get the ranking you were hoping for. Although speeches are very important and a major factor in my decision, they are not the complete package that I expect from a competitor. I'm looking at your total constructive participation in the chamber (in a productive sense, not a "just to be seen" sense). Finally, to reiterate what I said at the beginning, I take decorum very seriously. You should too.

Congress Presiding Officers: Keep your wording as brief and concise as possible. Avoid the obvious. Please don't use phrases like "Seeing as how that was a negative speech, we are now in line for an affirmative speech." Here is a MUCH better option: "Affirmative speakers please rise" or "We are now in line for an affirmative speech." There is no need to tell anyone that the previous speech was negative. We should know that already. Just immediately call on the next side. It is acceptable and advisable to also very quickly give the time of the previous speech for the reference of the judges, but we do not need to be reminded of what side the previous speech was on. The phrase I dislike the most in Congress is "seeing as how . . ." So how do I judge you as a P.O. in relation to the speakers in the chamber? Most (but not all) presiding officers will make my top eight ballot if they are good with no major flaws. But how do you move up the ballot to get in "break" range? I place a great deal of weight on fairness and decorum, knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the efficiency in which the chamber is conducted. I reward presiding officers who are precise and have minimal downtime. And, as mentioned earlier, it does not require a great deal of language (especially jargon and phraseology) to be an excellent presiding officer. I'm not judging you on how much I hear you speak. I'm judging you on how efficient the chamber ran under your leadership. An excellent P.O. can run a highly efficient chamber without having to say much. Keep order, know and enforce the rules, and be respected by your peers. That said, you should also be prepared to step in and be assertive anytime the chamber or decorum gets out of hand. In fact, you should step in assertively at the first minute sign of it. Finally, while it is often difficult for a P.O. to be first on the ballot, it is also not impossible if your excellence is evident. And as a side note, while this is not a voting issue for me, it is worth noting. When giving your nomination speech, you don't need to tell me (or the rest of the chamber) that you will be "fast and efficient." That phrase is overused and heard from almost every candidate I've ever seen nominated. Everyone makes that claim, but a surprising number don't actually follow through on it. Come up with original (but relevant) reasons that you should be elected.

Things to avoid in any event I judge:

"Spreading" or rapid fire delivery. Just don't.

Ad Hominem attacks of any kind. Stick to the issues, not the person. This is the first thing that will alienate me regardless of your position.

Kritiks - You must be extremely persuasive if you run them. I'll consider them and vote for them if they are excellent, but I'd rather hear other arguments. Very few kritiks are in that "excellent" category I just mentioned. These are mainly only appropriate for Policy debate. I'll reluctantly consider them in LD, but never in PF.

Debate that strays outside the resolutional area. Stick to the topic.

Lack of respect for your opponent or anyone else in the room. Disagreement and debate over that disagreement is great. That's what this activity is about. But we must always do it respectfully.

Lack of respect for public figures. It's perfectly fine to disagree with the position of anyone you quote. However, negativity toward the person is not acceptable.

Condescending tone or delivery. Please do not be condescending toward your fellow competitors, your judge or toward anyone you are referencing in your speeches.

I am a lay judge. My scoring criteria are:

1) Arguments - how strong are arguments, how well they are developed and supported by evidence.

2) Delivery - how compelling, fluent and practiced it is vs. reading from a script.

3) Engagement - how engaged is a debater in taking and giving POIs, attacking weak points of opposition and defending own arguments.

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I have previously judged debate, primarily Congress. In general, I prefer a reasonable to fast rate of delivery. I am comfortable with jargon and technical language if it is appropriate for the topic. I take notes during rounds, though I generally limit notes to writing down key arguments (and if relevant any immediate reactions). I value argument over style, in particular argument that emphasizes logic and supporting evidence. I do not react well to statements that are unsupported by evidence. I expect debaters to be thoughtful, respectful, and careful in listening to arguments from the other side. I am particularly impressed by debaters who distill the opposite side's argument fairly and accurately but nonetheless offer strong responses.

For Public Forum:

I will flow the round to the best of my ability, but I can't write that fast -- so if you spread, I may not catch everything.

I'm skeptical of evidence that defies common sense -- if you claim an impact of, say, 100 million deaths from something, it should be plausible and derived from a reputable source of evidence.

In summaries and final focus, I'm looking more for the forest than the trees. If you drop or don't sufficiently engage with an opponent's major argument, that'll definitely be a voting issue -- but in general, I'd rather hear you offer a compelling overall framework into which you fit the major points of contention in the round than a rapid-fire list of points that lack prioritization or context.

For Congressional debate:

I'm a fan of both rhetorical competence and common-sense arguments -- a unique or unusual argument is great, but only to the extent that it's also plausible/reasonable (although I might make an exception for an implausible argument that's delivered with sufficient rhetorical verve).

The longer the round goes on, the more heavily I'll weight direct engagement with the major arguments of prior speakers on *both* sides of the topic (don't neglect your own side's best arguments even if they didn't originate with you).

My default is to be generous in ranking P.O.'s who do the job well.

For Lincoln-Douglas:

I did a lot of L-D debate (and some policy) in the 1980's - but modern L-D bears very little resemblance to the 1980's version, and in the handful of rounds I've watched since 2016, I'm frequently bewildered by what's going on.

If you have the misfortune of drawing me as an L-D judge, please do not spread, as I not only can't flow it, I find it emotionally unsettling to witness.

That said, I'm willing to entertain almost any variety of argument, as long as you can explain it to me like you'd explain it to your grandparent.

Background:

I've completed in the congressional debate circuit for three years in North Carolina, I have also judged Congressional Debate for nearly three years. I'm truly passionate about Congressional Debate and love when the debate comes to life. I enjoy Foreign Policy debate the most based on my personal interests.

Congressional Debate:

Congressional Debate revolves around one singular question, "who is the most convincing and strong legislator in the room?" There is many different ways to achieve this, via strong speeches, debate, or overall control of the room. A truly strong Congressional Debater will understand all of the major characteristic required to control the room, and thus will rank the highest on my ballot.

Speeches in Congressional Debate aren't supposed to be rehearsed multiple times, after the first affirmative and negative speeches there are elements of rebuttal that should be implemented into speech. These speeches should contain sources that connect to your main arguments and have a full flow into your final argument. If you're making points - they should have a reason and an end point.

Controlling the room and POing is one of the most daunting thing for new debaters, but I also highly value these people because the debate would simply not exist without a PO.

I love listening to congressional debate, and if you ever find yourself lost don't hesitate to reach out!

• About me: 2018 NSDA National Champion: Congressional Debate - Senate. 2019 USA Debate Team Member. Currently the Assistant Coach of Congressional Debate at Taipei American School. he/him

  Congress Paradigm:

  • Tl;dr don’t try to “adapt” to me as a judge because I see value in all styles of Congress. The best part about Congress is that there are a myriad of ways to be successful in the event. I can appreciate all speaking and argumentation styles - just give the best speech in the round. I do not care if you speak early, mid-round, or late.

  • You have to give the speech that is appropriate for when you are speaking in order to get me to rank you. By this, I mean that if you give a constructive speech when you should be crystallizing or give an authorship that doesn't sufficiently explain the legislation and the main impetus for the legislation's creation, then I will not rank you. Adaptation is the name of the game in Congress.

  • PLEASE weigh! Weighing (to varying extents) should happen at every stage of the debate.

  • Name-dropping a bunch of people and half-way refuting their claim is not nearly as impressive to me as picking the most strategic argument and thoroughly refuting it (i.e. show why the warrant is untrue instead of just saying "X said this bill decreases jobs. Well, here's a statistic that says it increases jobs!)

  • Presentation vs. argumentation balance: Congress is a debate event. This means that I will prefer competitors with the best arguments. Speaking/rhetoric is a tie-breaker between students with arguments of equal quality. Obviously, if your presentation is so poor that it detracts from your argumentation then I cannot credit you for that argumentation. This means that at high-level debates (e.g. semis-bid final rounds) odds are that argumentation will be the most important thing because almost everyone will meet my bar for being a solid speaker. Rhetoric/speaking then will likely be the tie-breaker between first and second between the competitors with the smartest/most strategic arguments.

  • My biggest pet peeve is having a one-sided debate. I’d prefer you just call for the previous question and move to the next item on the agenda.

  • I’ve been in the game for awhile now, so I know all the canned intros and impacts. You should avoid using them when I’m judging you because I will notice that your content is not original. And please have the decency to not use rhetoric/intros that I came-up with. You’d be surprised how often this happens, and it is a good way for me to drop you.

  • The struggle of historically marginalized groups is not a tool for you to weaponize to win a debate trophy. If you slap on "also this helps *insert historically marginalized group here*" as an impact at the end of your point without sufficiently explaining the context and warrant, then you are guaranteed to be at the bottom of my ballot. Just be tactful and respectful and you will be fine.

  • I don’t mind if you have an untraditional speech structure as long as it is easy to follow.

  • If you’re rude I will not rank you.

  • POs: I see the value in presiding, as I know it is necessary for the event to function. Thus, if the PO does a solid job, then I am likely to rank them.

I am a sophomore at Florida State University majoring in Marketing and Management.

I competed in high school PF, including being undefeated my entire senior year.

Things I want to see in Congress Debate:

- following rules of debate

- make your arguments clear as well as your proof and reasoning

- claim, warrant, and impact need to be present and clear

I’m a previous Debate and Forensics Student turned Coach. I have 6 years of Experience. My biggest take away from being a student was to judge everyone fairly. I walk into a room and leave my personal opinions at the door.

I will judge based on the Case, Clash, and Speaking Capabilities (Don't worry accents, stutter or other out of control issues wont be counted against you). I take into account Weighing Mechanisms, Criteria, etc. I Don’t Disclose, but I do write critiques on the ballot, and I’ll never leave one blank.

One thing I will count off for is Spreading. If I can’t keep up with you then I understand why your opponent would be able to.

I like it when you speak to me, rather than just read the case. I also like when you explain your points and reasoning with me. Act as if I know nothing on the subject.

I do allow off the clock road maps, but voters should be kept in your final speech if you're providing any.

Please introduce yourself with your name and preferred pronouns.

TOC twice competing for Hawken in Congress. Now at Cornell. against offtime roadmaps. feel free to postround

I’m currently a first-year student at Duke and I competed mainly in Congressional Debate during high school and have had experience in Public Forum.

In Congress - I will be looking at strong link chains in your argument. Everything has to make sense if you want to be scored well. Argumentation will be valued over presentation (probably around 75% argumentation 25% presentation). Make sure you are respectful to your fellow competitors. I want to see a lot of clash and no rehashed arguments. If you can pull off a strong refutation/crystalization speech that will be scored better than bringing up two new points towards the end of the debate. Make sure you ask lots of good questions and are attentive throughout the debate. POs should be fair, respectful, and efficient. If I consider your behavior or your arguments as anything remotely sexist, racist, homophobic, or along the same lines of offensive will be immediately dropped.

In PF - Please no spreading or talking obnoxiously loud just to talk over your competitors. Make sure your link chains are strong and everything is as clear as possible. I'll want to see you cite from strong sources and are well prepared. If you want me to vote on your side I'll have to see a humanized impact (human reason). Presentation doesn't really matter to me I'll look at your argumentation and how you respond to your opponents mainly. If I consider your behavior or your arguments as anything remotely sexist, racist, homophobic, or along the same lines of offensive will be immediately dropped.

A quick note about myself:

Hi. My name is Jackson. I competed for Northland Christian School in Houston for four years. I have an extensive background in congress. It was my primary event. I competed in nat circuit tournaments like Berkeley, Emory, TOC, Sunvite, and others.

Congress:

-Before reading into this: don't feel like you need to change yourself as a debater. I understand people have different styles and techniques. I will equitably evaluate all of these.

- Facts first. You aren't making this activity educational by making things up.

- Relevant and captivating introductions will get even the most experienced judge's attention.

- I like hearing direct lines and quotations from your evidence. Sometimes paraphrasing is necessary. Use good judgment here.

- Cite your evidence to the full extent that you can (don't leave out author, date, etc. when that info is made available in the book or article). Make it easy for me to find your evidence!

- Think about the kind of speech you are about to give. Is it a constructive AFF/NEG, Rebuttal, Crystallization, Refutation, Combination? Remember that this is a debate event. Just as LD or PF starts the round with constructive speeches to set that debater's position, the first few aff/negs in congress do the same. As you get further along in an item, the speeches should be getting more conclusive/overviewing.

- Be careful about tautological arguments.

- As the PO, you will start at 1 and can move down with errors. Please be efficient. I'm not asking you to abbreviate parliamentary procedure but think about your word economy when calling for speakers and questioners. This could make the difference between a few more speeches happening or not. If you run against someone to get to the seat, I will expect more from you.

LD, PF, & Policy:

If you get me for these, don't spread. It would be best for you to stay topical, but if you decide to take the theory route, I will listen.

Everyone:

- Have fun :)

- Be respectful, civil, and kind

- Think of what you are about to say. Is it problematic and potentially harmful to someone? If you don't know, think of something else to say!