Cupertino '23, copped a bid or two

abhayacharya1@gmail.com

Regular flow judge I guess, I'll evaluate basically anything if it's warranted. Tabula rasa to a reasonable extent.

Dont's:

- Extend through ink

- be racist/xenophobic/homophobic etc

- Bring up new stuff in FF (Unless it's directly responsive to the prior speech)

- Disguise delinks and turns as wEiGHiNg in FFs (e.g. saying "they never give you a brightline so prefer us on probability")

- Go over 250WPM, especially if your opponents can't keep up

Do's:

- Extend with warrants in every speech (besides rebuttal obv)

- Link comparisons, fire weighing, metaweighing

- postround me as much as you want

- Signpost specifically (stuff like "on their c2 about drones, go to their link about perception")

- Number your responses pls :)

- Clear your opponents as much as you need

- Call out abuse

Prog Debate:

Not much to explain here, but I default yes RVIs and reasonability. DON'T be exclusionary and read theory for the easy W against teams who have no clue what you're saying. I'll probably still vote for you, but I will hate you forever and probably give you bad speaks.

IF YOU ARE RUNNING A KRITIK OR REALLY ANY APRIORI THAT HAS A DISCOURSE IMPACT, MAKE IT AT LEAST SEEM LIKE YOU CARE. If I get the feeling you're commodifying the ballot, my threshold for voting on it will be significantly higher, and you'll probably get low speaks no matter who wins.

But most importantly, have fun y'all. Debate is a game, so play to win.

Speaks:

+1 if you read clever impact turns (dedev, death good, ice age, etc)

+1 if you sing/play music/read a poem/ etc

Auto 30 if you bring me food/coffee

-1 if you read evidence indicts more than one speech after you call for the card

Hey :)

First-year out, did OO for 1 year and extemp for 3 years in HS. SVUDL is my first time judging, so humor me if I have any questions.

Usual auto L and 20s if you're racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Debate is a safe space so please lmk before the round if there's anything you need me to do to accommodate y'all.

Misc:

WORLDSTAR rule https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?search_first=Hebron&search_last=Daniel

I am the head Speech, Debate, and Congress coach at Horace High School, ND.

I have a background in English, Speech, and Theatre Education.

Debate:

Decorum matters, so be polite to your opponents, including in the questioning period. You can be firm in cross while being polite, but there is a line that you shouldn't cross during cross.

Make my job of flowing easy, signpost accordingly and don't rush through your contention taglines.

If you speak so fast that I can't understand your argument and flow your argument, I will have a hard time giving you the win.

I will not make links for you.

If you open your speech with a preview of what you are talking about, I expect the preview to be reflective of what you talk about. Example, if you say you are giving voters, you should give clear voters instead of just talking down the flow.

PF: PF isn't Policy. Also, I'm not sure why people keep trying to add frameworks into PF cases, but they won't play into how the round is weighed on the ballot unless both teams willingly accept the framework.

A good first neg in LD will use their time equally between attacking the Aff case and setting up the neg case; 5:30 setting up the Neg case and 1:30 attacking the Aff case is not using time equally in my eyes. The same idea goes for PF.

I like to hear the voters. Don't just say that something flows to your side though, give the rational and link it for me.

Congress:

Delivery and presentation are musts for me: eye contact, conversational tone, posture, and not just reading off computer or notepad.

I will flow your argument, but I will not make the links for you unless they are incredibly obvious.

Be brave and have fun in the session; this is a social activity. I want to see students willing to get up for authorship. If no one is willing to speak or run for PO that's your cue to be a leader.

Even the second aff/ first neg can, and often should, have elements of refutation in there. For the first 2/3-3/4 of speeches, I expect to see clash, but also new arguments being brought in. This is an activity that requires not only research, but also depth of research. Don't get up there and say that the aff or neg has already brought up a point, but not explored it enough, unless you can back it up with new analysis or additional research. The last few speeches should wrap up the debate, especially if debate has been limited and you know that you are one of the last speeches.

Don't play games and try and make the PO look bad unless they have actually made a mistake. Decorum is at the heart of congressional debate and must be respected. Do not be rude or belittling to your competition; you may be the best speaker in the room, but you will lose favor quickly by not respecting your competition and the activity.

Speech number is irrelevant; however, you had better have a good reason for not speaking on each piece of legislation. Quality of speeches, quality of questions, and quality of overall interaction in the chamber is what will get you the ballot from me.

hey all, i have four years experience competing in traditional LD (some nat circ LD, competed at congress quals and watched a few pf rounds). i am a 2021 graduate from chanhassen high school in mn and i use she/her pronouns.

questions, comments, concerns, speech docs: sarahaspelin@gmail.com

TLDR: flay, be nice, have fun!!

yall take notes when i give feedback

please make the round a safe place. if you feel unsafe in the round, please just let me know (you can send me a separate email, chat, or mention it in the round, or however makes you feel most comfortable), and i will intervene.

if you are discussing a serious topic please provide a trigger warning in the form of a question, and have a backup case. do not feel bad if u want to opt out of your opponents trigger warning.

(unless their tabroom account specifies pronouns) only refer to your opponent as “my opponent”, “aff/neg” or “they/them”, one time I heard “my enemy” so that's a fun way to get docked in speaks.

i've decided that i'm going to stop evaluating spreading. now that tournaments are online, how well i can understand you is dependent on whether or not you can afford high-speed internet access and a nice microphone in addition to how skilled you are, which is bad. considering this, i don't think i can justify trying to keep up with anything beyond a fast conversational pace - if you exceed what i see as reasonable i'll stop flowing and say "clear" until you slow down. if you don't slow down, i'll eventually just give up and stop listening to your arguments altogether.

if you're a progressive/circuit debater and you're debating a traditional debater/someone who is significantly less experienced than you, you should adjust your style so that there can be an actual debate (spreaders should always have an alternative case). you're going to have to use your best judgment here, but if you read arguments that your opponent clearly won't be prepared to engage with, i'm likely to drop your speaks or intervene against you.

you can time yourselves, finish your sentence after time, if your opponent is going over let me know by flashing ur hand or showing ur timer

general substantive preferences:

• cx is binding, anything you say during cx can and should come back during rebuttals. it doesn't get flowed but i'm listening.

• please link back to framework. please please please. if you don't link, i can't weigh. write my ballot for me. however, winning the framework is not a voting issue.

• i LOVE framework debates. love love love them. if you can give me a really good, clean, well thought out framework debate from both debaters, expect a double 30

• i hate hate hate value debates and i honestly don’t even care if you link to a value in rebuttal. if it were up to me everyone would be running standards only

• tech stuff; SIGNPOST, roadmap, extend, number your responses, voting issues, world comparison, crystallization, dont drop turns etc.

• your counterplan needs competition- why it is mutually exclusive to the neg.

• a lot of phil debates in LD seem like they have a large number of very underdeveloped arguments. i think you're better off making fewer, better-explained arguments in front of me. (i'd prefer 3 well justified and implicated reasons why util is bad over 7 one-sentence calc indicts)

• i do not believe in deontology so simple responses will do it for me (as long as you cover everything on their fw flow)

• extinction is probably bad, any impact turns like racism good etc will result in L20, conversation after round, and email to your coach

speaker points

• diction, fluidity, passion, cx and overall knowledge of ur case and the topic

• be respectful otherwise automatic 26 or lower speaks

• 27 fine, 28 good, 29 very good, 30 wow

nat circ

• kritiks, counterplans, aff plans, spikes, theory, multiple offs etc. are all things i can understand, however if you run a conditional off i am likely to vote with your opponent if their argument is simply that having too many is unfair.

• i'm probably not familiar with your specific lit on a K, so make sure that you can explain your arguments in terms that a normal person can understand.

• K affs should make it very clear what their advocacy is and why it does something other than say that the thing they critique is bad.

• not a fan of voting on spikes/tricks because u hid them throughout and your opponent didn't have enough time. also also i know you did not write them yourself. do not try to act like you did.

• i am a fan of deep rooted philosophy, just explain it to me well

• flexprep is gucci for clarification

evidence standards

• i get some methodology is hard to find but you should at least have something prepared if your opponent asks for it

• if you don't have the full cite or can't pull up the original doc i will not count it in the debate simply tell me there is no proof of evidence and ill drop it

public forum

• you can mostly apply the stuff above

• your evidence standards for studies are probably higher than mine, i see a lot of pf that is just about methodology, that is important but shouldn't be all of your voting issues

congress

overall:

• Address every member as Senator or Representative (if I hear you call a femme-presenting member of the chamber "ma'am," while masculine-presenting members are "Senator," you will be ranked down.)

• I pay attention to your questions (my favorite thing in LD)- ask ones that advance the round, not just because you haven't given a speech recently

• Please coordinate a docket before round that you know people have speeches somewhat prepped... no one likes awkward silence when the PO asks for speakers. *Covid-update* if you're pitching a docket and haven't had the ability to chat pre-round, put some thought into what has the most obvious clash and pref those bills

Speeches:

• Organization. Know when it's time to move on to crystallizations. I want at least two solid points with rebuttals throughout.

• Content. If you're one of those kids who hates when people refer to Congress as a speech category, do your part and implement clash. Starting at the first neg, you should be refuting previous speaker's points with each successive speech. I would even appreciate procatalepsis in the first aff. It's painful when we're 8 speeches in and someone stands up to give a speech will all new points and no sense of a rebuttal. I would rather a somewhat rushed/couple stumbles with amazing content than a flawless presentation with no substance.

• Delivery. Have passion. Show me you care. When you mention statistics, act like you care about the people they're representing. I want to see variety in hand gestures. *Covid-update* please still give extemporaneous speeches. I shouldn't be able to tell you're reading a pre-written speech verbatim from another screen.

• Time. Be mindful of time, but if you're under 3:15, I'm not going to penalize you a full point or anything. Timing also helps in the organization of your speech--2:30 on your first point and 0:30 on your second? :/

POs:

• I firmly believe in ranking the PO, unless there have been a number of mistakes made! You set the tone and energy of the round, so please keep the vibe up and don't condescend to the members of the chamber. Keep track of your precedence and recency, including questioning/direct. Make your time signals noticeable. There will be additional consideration for POs who ask the name pronunciation of each speaker before the session. Be aware of potential needs of the chamber (seating, mobility, volume level, visual time signals, etc.)

Speech:

Debate:

I have some competitive experience in lay debate, though not much. I'm the judge you'll definitely complain about if you're a tech-heavy debater. Spreading is definitely a no-go. I won't vote entirely on fluency because that's not how debate works, but if you're talking so fast I can't understand your case, I won't be able to tell if you're making better arguments. If it's possible, cut the debate jargon down as much as you can and focus on the meat of the argument. I will flow, so again, speak slowly so I have time to follow along and write.

Congress:

For the past thirty years, I have been judging individual events.

For interpretation events and duo, I value natural, motivated, and believable characterizations. All movement should be motivated, not just visually stimulating without real purpose. The key to believable characterization is an internalization of the motivations that manifest themselves through the nonverbal communication channels. Performances that cause me to reflect upon what I have seen/ heard long after the event are indicative of a great, mature performer. (This should be applied to both humorous and dramatic pieces.)

When evaluating public address and limited prep events, I believe the content of the speech with credible sources should be paramount; however, the delivery and connection to the audience must also be present in order to captivate the audience. Support should delve beyond a superficial quotation or secondary source rendering; consequently, I find the unified approach to be far more powerful since it allows the speaker to develop the arguments further than a three part line of reasoning approach (especially in extemporaneous and impromptu speaking). Again, the speaker needs to cultivate a relationship with the audience in order for the content to be effective.

When evaluating debate, the focus should be the strength and depth of both sides of the argument. Fallacies and flawed policies should be exposed. A skilled speaker/ team can conduct himself or herself professionally and analytically without the rapid fire of spreading. The argument should not be made at the expense of the relationship with the audience. I follow a leader who inspires and talks to/ with me, not at me. Points that are hard to flow are not points at all.

I am parent/lay judge. So, please do not rush through your speech. Spreading is NOT ok with me - I cannot offer my opinion if I do not understand you. I don't like when debaters are rude to one another and I will take speaker points off so please keep the round civil.

I also will pay special attention to cross ex as that provides a good insight into your knowledge and confidence regarding the topic. However, just remember to stay respectful during cross examination too.

Explain all abbreviations/jargon so that I know what you are talking about.

Voting issues: Not entirely necessary but its helpful.

Experience: Competed in LD, Congress & Policy in MS & HS; LD for two years in college. On the IE side, competed in pretty much the entire range of interp and original events, both prepared & extemporaneous, in HS and college. Have judged in middle school, high school, and college circuits off and on over the past 20 years.

For all formats of debate: Remember that at its core, debate is the art of convincing your audience, through civil discourse, that your position on the resolution (aff/neg) should be upheld. Don't be condescending (to your opponent or your audience), but don't expect the audience (and the judge) to do the analysis work for you. Clear arguments in support of your position, with appropriately connected and explained supporting material, will win over simply bombarding me (and your opponents) with a mountain of potential arguments and piles of evidence. Quality can be more important than quantity; you may extend if your opponent drops an argument, but don't necessarily assume a dropped thread or two wins you the round. Speed is fine, but clarity is more important. I need to be able to understand, follow, and flow; I can't give you credit for points I don't catch as you go along, and the art of debate, as a speech activity, is in the oral delivery of your speeches and arguments--not me reading the text [technical issues that may occur in online rounds excepted]. I don't enter any round looking for specific arguments or issues to be addressed; it is up to you to convince me that your argument/proposal/approach/perspective is superior, within the general expectations and framework of the event format.

LD: I'm a flow judge when it comes to LD. The arguments made in round, the clash between those arguments, and how well you support your position and connect your arguments typically weigh heavily in my decision--value clash is an area I find can be key to the overall debate. Ks and CP arguments are fine by me, though I find it is most effective if you can make very clear links when doing so. I will consider theory arguments, but be sure they do in fact specifically connect to what is going on in the round. I'm not a fan of spreading in LD; I won't drop or mark down a debater if they can do it effectively, but I defer to the quality can be more important than quantity idea in this respect. Bear in mind that, at its core, LD debate should be framed through the lens of values and what ought to be. The side that can most effectively argue for their position as a general principle through a compelling value framework is likely to get my vote.

Policy: I take essentially a tabula rasa approach when judging policy/CX debates. While stock issues, disads, etc., can (and very often do) all play a role in making my decision, I am open to hearing from both sides what issues should be weighed most heavily in determining the outcome of the round--as I recognize the importance of each can change not only based on the resolution but also based on the issues that are raised in the course of the round itself. I will entertain theory arguments, but be careful that they don't end up obscuring the arguments you are presenting in support of your side of the resolution or your plan/counterplan/advantages/disadvantages.

PF: I am open to considering any type of argument (progressive is fine), as long as you clearly link it to the resolution. PF is meant to focus on advocating for a position, so don't get bogged down in specific plans or counterplans for implementation. I generally find it hard to consider completely new arguments in summary or final focus. In my experience, I tend to decide rounds based on impacts, so be clear with those and be prepared to convince me that your impacts weigh more heavily than those on the other side. Clash is important. I will consider theory arguments (see first sentence of this section), but I find they can muddle the overall debate if not executed well--just sharing that so you're aware of my perspective.

Hey guys,

LD

I’m a parent judge, but I have some familiarity with more progressive argumentation. I’m going to do everything I can to make it a productive round for you, but please make sure you do everything you can to make sure that I’m able to do that.If you get put in front of me for a round, please make sure you do the following:

-Send a speech doc WITH basic analytics. I don’t need your speech word for word, but make sure it’s organized, in the right order, and make sure I can follow along.

-Send me a speech doc of the 1ac before the round. I will flow it and read it to understand.

-Don’t spread outside of contentions. If you go anything faster than conversational in the rebuttal, I will be unable to flow you. I will call clear if you’re unclear.

-I strongly recommend that you stick to utilitarian arguments, as those are the most logically true and easy for me to adjudicate. Make sure that you do a ton of impact calculus, as that’s what determines the round. Tell me why your side is more likely to cause extinction/is going to cause it faster, etc.

-If you HAVE to read another type of argument, do so at your own risk - it is entirely possible that I misunderstand an argument and can’t vote off of it. But here’s my thoughts:

-K - From my understanding, a kritik can function like a normal contention, but with different framework and impact. If you run something really bizarre and weird, I may not be able to understand it - something critiquing capitalism or racism might be easier to understand.

-Theory/Topicality - Don’t unnecessarily use this. I find it very difficult to judge this type of debate. If something actually happened, go ahead, but try your very best to avoid it as I don't know much about these arguments.

-Philosophy - I do not know how to judge this

-Tricks - I do not know how to judge this


EXTEMP

I don’t know if paradigms for Extemp is the norm, but I have one anyway in case you wanted to take a look.

I’m going to weigh both performance and substance quite highly. A well delivered speech full of awful analysis is just as bad as a badly delivered speech with good analytics. I will say that I have the most experience with Interp events, so I do enjoy a speech which is delivered in an upbeat, confident manner over a more monotonous dump of facts.

I’ll default to the following time signals
-down from 5 every minute
-C at 30,
-Count down from 10

Please give me at least 2-3 solid pieces of evidence per argument. Please don’t make blatantly false statements or give me a speech with fabricated data/analysis. A very well delivered speech talking about Barack Obama the Republican is not going to go over well!

As we’re online, I’m going to be very lenient to those with technology issues. If you drop out or cut out, I’ll do everything I can to make sure you get to give your speech in it’s entirety, at least as much as the tournament permits.

Please do not cheat! It is VERY obvious if you’re looking at your outline during your speech. I’ll give you a LOT of leeway, given that you’ll inevitably have to look at the timer, have your eyes stray from the camera, etc, but make sure that you just look somewhere near the computer for the entirety of your speech. Cheating on that helps nobody and certainly won’t help you grow.

Overall, just do your best, good luck, and most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

1) I like watching debates that would inspire an average student who doesn't do debate to join the activity, or an average parent/guardian judge to urge their student to join.

2) Everybody in the round should be able to watch back a recording of the round and be able to understand what was going on. In other words, don't intentionally run arguments that your opponents won't understand.

3) While developing the skills to win the game on the circuit is certainly laudable--because of debate, I now listen to everything on x2 speed--I don't enjoy watching most circuit debates. I prefer debaters to hover around 200-250 words per minute. Choose quality arguments instead of gish galloping around the flow, and collapse on your one or two best pieces of offense. Weigh those key arguments against your opponent's, taking them at their highest ground.

3) Don't make claims that your evidence doesn't support. Powertagging is bad scholarship. If I call for a piece of evidence and see that it is powertagged, I will intervene.

4) I am more likely to intervene in a theory-level debate than a case-level debate. If you tell me that your opponents' practices are making the activity worse, I will consider their practices in the context of what I know about the activity. I am open to my mind being changed on these issues; my knowledge of the activity is limited. However, I am biased against evaluating what I see as frivolous theory arguments or tricks.

5) Tell me where I should be flowing at all times. If you don't tell me, I may mess up.

6) I don't find rudeness to be a persuasive rhetorical tool. You can be an incredibly effective debater and advocate while focusing on your opponent's arguments, not their personal deficiencies.

7) It's helpful to acknowledge where your opponents may be winning. Give me a permission structure to believe some of their arguments but still vote for you. "Even if..." "The tiebreaker is..."

* I am a parent judge

* refer no spreading (just normal speed)

* refer Good Sportsmanship

I am considered a “sister judge,” since my brother has been involved in the speech and debate community for nearly four years. As such, I have observed/judged many IE and debate rounds. At the ARIZONA STATE HDSHC INVITATIONAL, I will be judging PUFO, and here are my preferences.

(1) In addition to common knowledge and logical reasoning, please be sure to provide evidence to back up your claims.

(2) During Crossfires, please let your opponent finish asking the question before you provide substantive answers. Etiquette matters, so please do not interrupt your opponents while they are speaking.

(3) Please do not spread! If I cannot understand you, you will not win the round.

(4) I don’t keep track of prep time, and prefer to keep that between the competitors.

(5) Quality > Quantity

(6) Truth > Tech

For other questions and concerns, please feel free to ask me before round begins. I love open discourse, and appreciate your perspectives. HAVE FUN! :)

About Me

Hey, my name is Gift (he/him). I competed in high school for three years at Valley International Prep/iLead Noho. During that time, I did both debate and speech. For debate I went to a couple LD, PF, and CX tournaments but mostly did Parli. I also did a bunch of congress. As a speech kid I mostly did OO and DI. Since high school, I've judged here and there and taught both speech and debate. I graduated college with a degree in Geography so bonus points if you appeal to the geography nerd in me. 

Debate (General)

• Make sure to explain your framework AND why I should prefer yours over your opponent's. 
• Structure is very important for me, please signpost. The easier you make it for me to flow your case, the better I can judge you.
• Please impact out and weigh your arguments.
• It'll likely be better for you if you explain the clash to me rather than letting me try to figure it out during the 5-10 minutes I'm walking to the judge's room and getting yelled at to finish my ballot. 
• I'm okay with a little speed, not great with spreading. If you go faster, please make sure you have very clear structure and signposting or you risk me missing your favorite arguments
• I like a concise off-time roadmap
• I think theory can be fun and compelling if it is well explained and justified. If you want it to be a voter, you better have a really good explanation for why it should be. 
• I don't flow cross ex
• I won't tolerate any bigotry 
• Please be friendly and polite to your opponents. 

Email: annesmith@lclark.edu.

Experience: Currently, I'm a third year competitor in NFA-LD at Lewis & Clark College. In high school, I did congress, parli and extemp in Southern California.

TL/DR: I like disads, case arguments, probable impacts, and smart analytics. I tend to be less willing to vote on frivolous theory or T and have a higher threshold for K solvency than most judges. I don't like progressive arguments in PF, extemp debate, and big questions. I'm okay with spreading in policy and prog LD.

General: I tend to lean in the direction of tech over truth, but if an argument is super blippy and blatantly factually untrue (eg a one sentence analytic about the sky being green) or I feel that at the end of the round I don't understand it well enough to explain it to another person, I'm not voting for it even if it was conceded. I vote for the winner of key arguments in the round and lean in the direction of preferring the quality of arguments over quantity of arguments.

Speed: I do a fast format. I'm okay with spreading in formats where it is standard practice (Policy and prog LD). I'll call "clear" or "slow" if you are being unclear or I can't keep up, which doesn't happen too often. If you spread, I appreciate it if you make it clear when one card ends and a new one begins (eg saying NEXT or AND between each card, going slower on tags, etc). I'm very willing to vote on speed theory if there is a genuine accessibility need (a novice in a collapsed division, disability impacting ability to understand fast speech, etc) or it's a format like PF; otherwise I tend to find "get good" to be a valid response.

In formats were spreading isn't standard practice, I don't have a problem people who talk faster than they would in a normal conversation, as long as a lay person could understand your rate of delivery.

Impact stuff: Like most judges, I love it when the debaters in all formats do impact calculus and explain why their impacts matter more under their framework. When this doesn't happen, I default to weighing probability over magnitude and scoop and using reversibility and timeframe as tiebreakers. I’m open to voting on impact turns (eg. democracy bad, CO2 emissions good), as long as you aren't say, impact turing racism.

Evidence: I care about the quality and relevance of evidence over the quantity. I'm more willing to vote on analytics in evidentiary debate than most judges and I honestly would prefer a good analytic link to a DA or K over a bad generic carded one. I'm willing to vote your opponets down if you call them on egregious powertagging.

Plans and case debate: In formats with plans, I love a good case debate. I will vote on presumption, but like all judges I prefer having some offense to vote on. I'm more willing to buy aff durable fiat arguments (for example, SCOTUS not overturning is part of durable fiat) than most judges. Unless a debater argues otherwise, presumption flips to whoever's advocacy changes the squo the least.

CPs: If you want to read multiple CPs, I prefer quality over quantity. I consider the perm to be a test of competition, rather than an advocacy. I’m more willing than most judges to vote on CP theory (for example, multi-plank CPs bad, PICs bad, no non-topical CPs, etc).

Kritiks: I'm willing to vote on Ks in policy, prog LD, and parli, but I think I'm less inclined to than most. I like it when kritiks have specific links and strong, at least somewhat feasible alternatives. I'm not super familiar with K lit outside of cap, neolib, and SetCol; hence, I appreciate clear and thorough explanations. I'm more willing to vote on no solves, perms, and no links than most judges. I think I’m more likely to vote for anti-K theory (utopian fiat bad, alt vagueness, etc) and perms more than most judges.

I'm not dogmatically opposed to voting on K affs, but I tend to find the standard theory arguments read against them persuasive. If you do read a K aff, I like specific links to the topic and a clear, at least somewhat specific advocacy.

Theory and T: Unless one of the debaters argues otherwise, I default to reasonability, rejecting the team, and voting on potential or proven abuse when evaluating theory and T. I do tend find arguments in favor of only voting on proven abuse convincing. I don’t like voting on most spec, and topicality based on wording technicalities, but sometimes it happens. Trying to win a frivolous theory sheet (for example, if we win our coach will let us go to the beach, e-spec when your opponent specified in cross, etc) in front of me is an uphill battle. I’ll vote on RVIs in very rare circumstances, as long as you explain why the sheet’s unfairness was particularly egregious. I'm less willing to vote on disclosure theory than most, but I'm very willing to consider "this case wasn't disclosed, therefore you should give analytics extra weight" type arguments.

Format specific stuff:

High school LD: I'm okay with plans, CP, spreading, theory, and Ks in LD if both participants in the round are or if you're in a specific prog LD division. In prog LD, I tend to error aff on 1AR theory because of the time trade off. One condo CP is probably fine, anything more than that and I'll find condo bad pretty persuasive.

Talking about philosophy in trad LD is great; just make sure you explain the basics behind the theories you are using (I’m not a philosophy major for a reason). In trad LD, I think it's fine (and strategic) to agree with your opponent's framework if it was basically what you were going to use as framework anyway.

Policy: I’m mostly a policymaker judge. On condo, I'm more likely to side with the neg if they read 1 or 2 condo counter advocacies and more likely to side with the aff if they read a bunch or are super contradictory.

PF: I tend not to like Ks in PF; the speech times are too short. PF was designed to be accessible to lay audiences, so I dislike it when debaters use jargon or speed to exclude opponents, but if you both want to debate that way, I won't penalise you.

Parli:I believe that parli is primarily a debate event about making logical arguments and mostly writing your case in prep. As such, I'm very willing to consider analytics and dislike hyper-generic arguments (generic impact statistics and positions that link to multiple things in the topic area are fine, just don't run a case that would apply to most resolutions). I almost never vote for generic Ks in Parli, especially if they are read by the aff. Topic specific Ks that clearly link are okay. While I get a little annoyed by people abuse Point of Order in the rebuttals, please call POO if it is warranted (I don’t protect the flow unless you call them out). Unless there is a rule against it, tag teaming is totally fine, but I only consider arguments given by the person giving that speech.

I did policy debate in highschool, Parli and IPDA in college and I teach MS LD and PF. However, with that said, I mainly coach speech so I'm definitely not as proficient in flow as I was years ago. I am familiar with circuit rules. In terms of debate, I like sign posting, clear turns and impact calc. Basically, don't make me do your work for you. In terms of solvency presses, mmm its LD so not really. Kritiks, I'm really not a fan of them (unless its legitimate) but if dropped or not addressed I'll take it into voters. Finally watch cp language I'm using CHSA rules this tournament so no go. Also not a fan of evidence battles but will hear out framework debates. Basically, run it more trad and all will be well.

I was a former competitor in Original Oratory, Congress, Commentary, and Impromptu. I have also made it to the State Tournament for Impromptu advancing to the quarterfinals round. Also, I was the previous president of the Speech and Debate team at Deer Lakes High School. I have judged for numerous years in the Pittsburgh District and other online tournaments after high school. In 2019-2020, I was the coach for the Deer Lakes High School Speech and Debate team.

Judging Experience

I am very familiar with all of the types of speech events. For debate events, I have judged as a parliamentarian in Congress as well as judged numerous rounds of Public Form debate and Lincoln Douglas. My main area of interest in judging is primarily speech events.