Bradley House

Houseb1@cps.k12.ar.us

Congress:

Congress is a fun event that requires a lot of effort to speak and ask questions. I have done a handful of congress sessions and i am hoping to do more in the future. things that I like to see in congress are as follows.

~First you need to have at least 2 or 3 speeches in the congress round in order to attempt to score high.

~Second you need to ask a handful of questions. These shouldn’t be questions that are just fillers for time they should be ligenimet questions and concerns about a bill or resolution. Along with this it is fine if you don’t know an answer for a question or the question trips you up. There is always a way out.

~Also don’t use the same speech as someone else. We all know that sometimes people share things on a group drive and they tend to share speeches. I don’t care if you ask a friend for a speech. I do care about hearing the same speech 5 times.

~Lastly I do want to know sources and weather or not they are credible. If there not credible and you don’t say your source, how do i know weather it is reliable information.

~Bonus try to spread out speeches for both aff and neg. You need to learn about speaking on the other side even if you don’t agree with it. In the end you can make a speech that you don’t agree with then later vote the opposite of that speech.

Lincoln Douglas:

I have recently done a lot of LD this year. I have around 16 rounds of LD under my belt and it is a lot of fun. Things I like to see are as follows.

~Don’t have short speeches because you need every second of your speech. The only exception to me is if your opponent doesn’t have something to say and has a short speech then it is natural for you to have a shorter speech because there is not a lot to go on.

~you need to speak clear and precise. Speed doesn’t matter to me as long as you get your point across and you not stalling. I get it some of us speak slow and others fast you just need to try to find something that works for you. (If you are talking really fast just to try to impress people don’t it just makes our job harder)

~I will not judge cross exam unless it is brought up in the round. So if you have a hard question pinning you down and your opponent forgot to go off of it. Well then to me it never happened also. Don’t waste your time with questions because you might not understand at first but it is a wonderful tool to have.

~ for the arguments that you make i want to see a fight. Along with that one of the best things you can do is make a come back. To me this shows that you can deal with a situation and be able to figure out a solution.

~I am always flowing everything except questions. This is because unless i miss something i will know if you dropped a impact. When it comes down to it if you don’t repair your case and drop a impact chances are you will lose. Also if the opponent doesn’t speak on the thing dropped. Then to me it never happened.

~Tell me why you won. That way I know what I have to evaluate in the round.

~Bonus Don’t bring up contentions in you last speech or new information. This is because you should have brought it up earlier in the round.

Personal Background

As of Feb. 2023, I have competed/judged speech for 5 years and judged debate for around 3.5 years. I also participated in theatre/musical theatre and MUN in high school.

Speech

I can always give time signals and will usually ask if you would like any if I forget to, please feel free to ask for them

Generally anything goes, I never really expect you to make any significant change in speech based on a judge’s preferences.

That being said for interp my ballots often end up being highly technical(Pantomime inconsistencies, vocal inflection at key moments, etc.) as I want to give you as much actionable feedback in my comments as possible, however the ranks may not seem to match as often the more non actionable reasons of the RFD supersedes in importance for my decision.

For platform/limited prep I generally want to see some physical organization that mirrors your speech organization(walks to separate points, etc.).

Debate

• I keep time and I expect you to keep time for both yourselves and your opponents, keep everyone honest

• for speeches I generally give ~2-3 seconds of grace to finish a sentence unless in a panel, do not abuse this privilege

• Spreading is fine as long as articulation is good, although scale back some for PF such that a lay judge can fully comprehend your arguments(whatever that looks like for you)

• If a format has Cross, I generally want to see you do something more than just clarifying questions, ex. Like probing for weaknesses that will be expanded on in your next speech

• Fully realizing your impacts is very important especially in the final 1-2 speeches even if some repetition is required

• Unless instructed otherwise, feel free to run almost anything at your discretion Ks, Aff-Ks, Plans, Theory, etc.

• That being said your links need to be strong for me to vote for it

• Specifically for Ks, I often want to see a R.O.B argument to give me a reason to vote for you in the round even if I do buy the K

• Specifically for Theory, the communication of what the theory argues/shows needs to be clear

• Unless you can explain one of the above to a Lay judge with ease I would advise against running the above in PF

• At the end of the debate I will often give verbal feedback (exceptions being if a tournament runs on a tight schedule with flights, I have been double booked in the speech and debate pool and need to make it to a round, the tournament is running far behind, or I am instructed not to do so), after this verbal feedback I may if I have a clear winner(unless instructed otherwise), otherwise I will not

Clayton Kincade

Cabot High School 2021 Alumni

Hello! My name is Clayton, and I did Speech and Debate for 6 years while in high school. While I primarily did speech, my junior year onward, I did debate on the side. I qualified twice for Nationals in WSD, as well as winning best overall delegate at ACTAA Congress in 2019! This experience is where I will be basing most of my judging.

Congress:

I prefer speeches that are clearly organized with a teaser, conclusion, and roadmap. When speaking, provide credible sources (don't make claims or statements without backing it up). Try and provide new arguments not provided in the round when speaking, if possible; this helps keep the debate fresh for everyone involved. Make sure that during the questioning period, you adequately respond to questions and don't circle around what's being asked. Be kind to your fellow delegates and don't speak over them or patronize them. Overall, I value fluid speeches that are well-spoken and easy to follow.

WSD:

1. For speaking points, I value a good "public speaking" voice. Do not spread or rush through the content. Make sure speeches are well organized, follow a template, and flow from each speaker to the next. Sign-posting is ideal for organization, but treat these segments nonetheless as you're speaking a normal sentence--AKA don't fall into a policy style of speaking. Enunciate all words and have tonal inflection that helps keep me engaged.

2. For content points, I highly regard the "world" aspect of world schools. Arguments that are international, unless specifically regarded as a U.S-centric topic, will always be preferred. Respond to each point the opposing side brings up, but don't fall into the "list" trap of going through all the specific issues over having clear organization. Having a debate about framing is okay, but making it a large issue during the round ends up giving everyone involved a headache (and means I can't judge well)!. Organization is key for having a great argument, so find a structure that works well for your team and stick to it! Ultimately, remain friendly and cordial with one another. Being disrespectful or rude to your opponents during questioning or during speaks is unacceptable, and will most likely result in a loss.

If given the option, I will always disclose my decision and provide reasons why. I'm not the best at flowing, so I will mainly look for how each team responds to the broad arguments of one another and provides the most convincing argument for overall arg/content points (though I will still flow).

Email: mordenannabelle@gmail.com

Personal attacks on your opponent will result in an immediate loss. Any discriminatory language, racism, sexism, ableism or other forms of hate will not be tolerated.

Do not misgender your opponent…it is just like, rude?

LD-

Theory is meh but I'm willing to hear it out

Almost always tech>truth

K affs can be good

Disclosure good

LD-

CX: Just don’t be a jerk, it’s unprofessional and unflattering. I respect debaters who utilize CX rather than just asking shallow questions. Sarcasm is good (just don't over do it)

Speaking-

I'm cool with spreading, just don't spread unless you are experienced in that field. I will drop points for incoherent, jumbled speaking.
-Speak with intent, if you don’t understand or mean the words being read, then you have the disadvantage in the debate. Keep me intrigued, you have a better chance of winning if you are passionate about your case.

Styles-

I respect that there are many styles of debate, however I prefer progressive. I am persuaded by logical and warranted arguments, I love Ks, especially Ts if done right. If you’re going traditional, it is imperative that you provide voting issues or at least a clear reasoning behind why I should vote for you, I think it just spices up the round. Going progressive, make sure your k’s have links. Lack of link takes away from your case drastically.

No topicality arguments unless you truly and utterly believe it is essential to the debate. Otherwise, I believe topicality is abusive of your rights as neg/aff

Fw- I’ll hear anything out; even TVAs as long as it has a solid relation to the topic. Fw is about LBL and explaining why your topic mode is good. The fw debate is very important to me, drop it and I will struggle to vote on your side.

Link turns are good, impact turns to education are great when explained right

If you aren’t going to at least try and maintain clash in 1nr/2ar, don’t bother speaking at all. Clash is essential to the structure of LD, please do not disregard this

IPDA-

Speaker points-

I understand it's not easy to formulate an entire case in 30 minutes, however please try and keep things organized. A messy case will result in lower speaks. Make sure you aren't just speaking to speak, if you aren't sure what to talk about, reiterate previously made points and tell me why they matter. Speak with intent, convince me that I should vote for you; don't simply read off of a script, I could do that myself, it's your job to give meaning to those words.

Clash. If you do not respond to your opponents arguments with either logical or warranted claims, then don't expect me to flow what you said. Clash is very important, if you can provide adequate defense/offense then I'll be sure to weigh that when making my decision

Affirmative- please do not abuse your right to define, debate requires a certain extent of fairness.

Contact me if you have any further concerns, I will gladly answer any questions you may have

I’m fine with speed, and just make it an interesting debate, don’t drop contentions, and have fun during cross !!

Hello debaters,

As your judge I value clear, concise and polite speakers. Content and presentation are both equally valuable, and I will be carefully observing the quality of your speeches and questions asked. During crossfire, I expect questions and answers to be straight to the point.

I am a junior high speech and debate coach. While I do tolerate some speed please do not spread. Please make sure to signpost. Impacts are important please make sure you connect them back to your value/criterion. Have fun and be kind to each other.

General:

The key to a debate is to listen, never leave something out. When you listen to your opponent, so much can come to mind. ALWAYS weigh the arguments. I dont believe a debate should be seen as why the problem in the world is bad or good, however a debate should be about how we should either fix or not intervene on something.

Behavior:

We as a society should mantain a large amount of respect for everyone, I hope to not witness any behavior that is racist, transphobic, ableist, or violent-

-Be prepared.

-DO NOT confront agruments and rehash them.

-I value credible evidence. Statistics quotes, sources.

-On one sided debates be prepared to speak on the other side. Be different and provide a different side of things.

IDPA:

-include sources. this helps me understand that you used your thirty minutes to truly understand the your topic.

- Try and have a rebuttal.

-During the second speeches remember to always try and state your oponents points. DONT ARGUE but hash out and make me understand why youre right.

-During questioning period try and make it great

(USE ALL YOUR TIME)

Extemp:

-I truly enjoy good introductions.

-Always try and grab my attention with interesting facts and a backstory.

-Again, I value evidence and sources. Always having credible sources can backup your argument.

- Have a great structure. This is basically impromptu, remember what you are doing.

Long time coach with tons of judging experience across most events. California doesn't have OI, Prose, or Poetry so those would be exceptions.

Policy, PF, LD, and Parli you can run any argument you wish. However, you'll need to go slow and explain the position. "Politics Disad" means nothing to me....explain the argument. The default is probably for a debater to think I'm a slow judge or a traditionalist, and on some level that is true, but I'm willing to listen to most any argument if it's explained and warranted.