CONGRESS

Content

This form of debate is based around specific legislative solutions to problems. If you're on the Aff, you must demonstrate that there is a problem that is worth addressing, that the legislation at hand addresses said problem, and that this specific solution is the best one available. If you're on the Neg, you must either demonstrate that the problem doesn't exist, that the problem isn't worth solving, or that the legislation at hand will fail to fix the problem. Basically, you should be debating the legislation, not just the idea behind it.

Adapt to the round as best you can. If you give a constructive speech halfway through a bill or if you give the 4th consecutive Aff speech, I will get upset. Related to that, clash is vital. If you're giving anything other than the authorship speech, your speech should contain references to others.

Procedure

Congress is the only event in all of Speech & Debate where not everyone is guaranteed equal time, which is something I hate. As such, I try to run fast and efficient rounds to maximize the number of speeches. In a perfect world, everyone would get to give the same number of speeches. If I'm the Parli, don't ask if I'm ready. I am.

I only judge your speech and your performance on both sides of cross-ex. Everything else is just noise unless it's offensively bad. I judge PO's based on efficiency and strength in controlling the chamber. I don't need flair from the PO, but I do need a fast round.

On that note, don't run for PO unless you're good at it, not just because you think it'll help you break. I rank good PO's highly, but I tank the heck out of bad ones. In the interest of time, the PO should write the names and codes of the speakers on the wall (if we're doing that) after the speech starts instead of taking the time to make the speakers do it.

Do NOT use parliamentary procedure to gain an unfair advantage over your opponents. If the PO screws up and awards you a speech you're not supposed to get, yield. The worst offense is when someone tries to kill time with unnecessary motions to prevent someone from getting to speak.

Presentation

If you watch C-Span, I guarantee you're not going to see Chuck Schumer yelling and spreading about the need to "fail" legislation. This event is first and foremost about your debate content, but don't discount the value of professional and refined presentation. As a speech coach, I'll have a hard time paying attention to your content if I can't stop noticing how you trail off at the ends of sentences.

Clarity is very important -- guide me through each step of the analysis. Solid, clear structure with a confident delivery.

Hey y’all. My name’s Matt, I competed in congress for 2 years in high school and I’ve been judging tournaments for about the same amount of time. Basically I’ve been in a lot of congress rounds so don’t worry, I know how this works. When I’m judging a round, I’m mainly looking for who can advance the debate the most or otherwise contribute the most to the round as a whole. Whoever can give me the most solid, impactful, well explained point and contextualize it to the round is going to stand out to me the most. That means if you’re speaking early, set the framework for your side to follow and for the debate as a whole to follow. If you can effectively do this, you’ll get ranked well. If you’re speaking later in the round, make share you make your arguments more responsive so the debate can be furthered, incorporate refutation so I know why your points are better, and are your point make sense in the context of other points I’ve heard in the round so far so it’s easy for me to understand. Clean, professional speaking will benefit you but it’s not the deciding factor for your rank. Important to note, I also appreciate a good presiding officer. If you are well versed in procedures and run the round smoothly, you’ll rank well with me, and if I feel you’ve contributed more than anyone else, you’ll rank REALLY well with me. That about does it for me, great luck in round everyone, I look forward to seeing you all compete.

School affiliation: Dougherty Valley High School

Judging/Event types: Extemporaneous, Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Congress, Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, Original Advocacy, Original Poetry/Prose

Years in judging: 5

Both of my children started Speech and Debate since they were in 8th grade. So, it has been about 5 years now, and I have improved a lot as a judge. I am looking for an overall performance with emphasis on confidence, creativity/uniqueness, smooth transition in your ideas, eye contact, and voice projection. I love it when you can explain complex ideas in simple terms using examples and analogies. Please do not speak too fast. If I can't follow your thoughts, I cannot award you for it. I am an emotional person, so if you see me tearing up or laughing, it is because I am touched by your performance. I am very open minded, and I take my job as a judge very seriously. I try to take lots of notes so I can write meaningful feedback for your performance.

My weakness is understanding political terms. Please help define some uncommon vocabularies so that I am not lost for the rest of your presentation (example, quid pro quo). It needs to be clear in the beginning so that I understand your persuasion throughout your presentation.

I look forward to your performances and feel very blessed to have this opportunity to watch you shine!

Having adjudicated a handful of congress speech debate competitions as a parent judge, here are a few factors I generally consider for evaluating participants:

* content and delivery (equal weightage)

* thoughtfully laid out and well researched arguments with strong analysis

* refutations in every speech after the first affirmative

* participation in CrossX and raise valid logical questions to challenge opposing arguments and strengthening their own argument.

Good luck and thank you for your time and effort!

I've done congress throughout high school at Harker, and am now back working as a coach while I'm an undergrad at the University of Michigan. If you manage to subtly include the phrase "go blue" in your speech, you'll probably get the win from me.

However, if multiple people are able to accomplish this task, or none at all, I will rank competitors in the round based on the following criteria:

1. Giving the right content at the right time.

This is extremely important for me. It means that if you're one of the first few people to speak, I would like to see fresh new arguments that can set the stage for the debate. Strong impact analysis matters too. Try not to spend more than a minute refuting in an early speech, just because many arguments you refute may never even come up later in the debate, and I don't want you to waste your speaking time.

If you're speaking after the first 2 cycles, you'll want to shift to refutation-based speeches. These should continue on until the last 1 or 2 cycles. I need to see clash. I need to see some amount of impact weighing. I need to see actual debate. I especially like arguments that show the unintended (helpful or harmful) consequences of the bill.

Finally, the last couple of speeches should be well-planned crystal speeches. Give me a summary of a couple points from your side of the debate that I should care about, and refute the strongest standing arguments from the other side. Tell me why your side wins.

2. Speaking clearly and succinctly.

Personally, speaking isn't too important for me. If you want to separate yourself from the crowd, speaking is a great and memorable way to do it. Having a unique and energizing speech can only make a good speech even better. In this category, I care most about how clear your delivery is in terms of speed (speak at a reasonable pace, don't make me feel rushed), and continuous flow (think about what you're going to say next so you don't trip up over your words).

PO'ing: if no one else wants to PO, and you choose to step up and volunteer, I'll be considering that positively while I rank you. If you do enter an election for PO, I expect you to do a damn good job and have at most 1 or 2 small mistakes. That being said, PO'ing is difficult, and you will almost always get ranked as a PO. Speak loudly, evoke a sense of confidence, maintain communication with judges as appropriate, and keep speeches going efficiently.

A little bit about me: I coach for Millburn High School in New Jersey. I competed on the circuit in high school and college.

I do my very best to be as non-interventionist as possible, but I know some students like reading judge's paradigms to get a better sense of what they're thinking. I hope that the below is helpful :).

Overall: You can be nice and a good debater. :)

Here are some things to consider if I'm your Parliamentarian/ Judge in Congressional Debate:

- I am a sucker for a well-executed authorship/ sponsorship, so please don't be afraid to give the first speech! Just because you don't have refutation doesn't mean it isn't a good speech. I will be more inclined to give you a better speech score if you stand up and give the speech when no one is willing to do so because it shows preparedness.

- Bouncing off of the above bullet point, two things I really dislike while at national circuit tournaments are having no one stand up to give the earlier speeches (particularly in out rounds) and one-sided debate. You should be prepared to speak on either side of the legislation. You're there to debate, so debate. I'm much more inclined to rank you higher if you flip and have fluency breaks than if you're the fourth aff in a row.

- Asking the same question over and over to different speakers isn't particularly impressive to me (only in extreme circumstances should this ever be done). Make sure that you are catering the questions to the actual arguments from the speech and not asking generic questions that could be asked of anyone.

- Make my job easy as the judge. I will not make any links for you; you need to make the links yourself.

- Warrants are so important! Don't forget them!

- If you are giving one of the final speeches on a piece of legislation, I expect you to weigh the arguments and impacts that we have heard throughout the debate. Unless there has been a gross negligence in not bringing up a particular argument that you think is revolutionary and changes the debate entirely, you shouldn't really be bringing up new arguments at this point. There are, of course, situations where this may be necessary, but this is the general rule of thumb. Use your best judgment :).

- Please do your best to not read off of your pad. Engage with the audience/ judges, and don't feel as though you have to have something written down verbatim. I'm not expecting a speech to be completely flawless when you are delivering it extemporaneously. I historically score speeches higher if delivered extemporaneously and have a couple of minor fluency lapses than a speech read off of a sheet of paper with perfect fluency.

- Be active in the chamber! Remember, the judges are not ranking students based upon who is giving the best speeches, but who are the best legislators overall. This combines a myriad of factors, including speeches, questioning, overall activity, leadership in the chamber, decorum, and active listening (i.e. not practicing your speech while others are speaking, paying attention, etc.) Keep this in mind before going into a session.

- Please please please don't speak over the top of one another. This being said, that doesn't mean you have a right to monopolize the questioning time, but there is a nice way to cut someone off if they're going too long. Use your best judgment. Don't cut someone off two seconds after they start answering your question.

- I rank based on who I think are the overall best legislators in the chamber. This is a combination of the quality of speeches, questioning, command of parliamentary procedure, preparedness, and overall leadership and decorum in the chamber.

Let me know if you have any questions! :)

Here are some things to consider if I'm your judge in Public Forum:

- Please add me to the email chain if you have one: jordybarry@gmail.com

- I am really open to hearing almost any type of argument (except K's, please don't run K's in PF), but I wouldn’t consider myself a super techy judge. Do your thing, be clear, and enjoy yourselves!

- Please debate the resolution. It was written for a reason.

- It's important to me that you maintain clarity throughout the round. In addition, please don’t spread. I don’t have policy/ LD judging experience and probably won’t catch everything. If you get too fast/ to spreading speed I’ll say clear once, and if it’s still too fast/ you start spreading again, I’ll stop typing to indicate that I’m not getting what you’re saying on my flow.

- Take advantage of your final focus. Tell me why I should vote for you, don't solely focus on defensive arguments.

- Maintain organization throughout the round - your speeches should tell me what exact argument you are referring to in the round. Signposting is key! A messy debate is a poorly executed debate.

- I don't weigh one particular type of argument over another. I vote solely based on the flow, and will not impose my pre-existing beliefs and convictions on you (unless you're being racist, sexist, homophobic, antisemitic, or xenophobic). It's your show, not mine!

- Please please please don't speak over the top of one another. This being said, that doesn't mean you have a right to monopolize the questioning time, but there is a nice way to cut someone off if they're going too long. Use your best judgment. Don't cut someone off two seconds after they start answering your question.

- Be polite!

- Make my job easy. I should not have to (and will not) make any links for you. You have to make the link yourselves. There should be a clear connection to your impacts.

- Weighing impacts is critical to your success, so please do it!

Any questions, please feel free to ask! Have fun and good luck!

General note for both speech and debate: how you behave in a round matters. I expect you to be cordial and collegial to your opponents. If you are not, your speaker points and/or ranking will reflect it.

Racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic, etc. comments and/or arguments and/or behavior are not tolerated. You WILL lose the round and/or receive 0 speaker points. Don't do it. And that includes coded language. If you use stereotypes of identities (particularly race, gender, disabilities, and/or ethnicities) that aren’t yours, especially for comedic effect, you will be ranked last.

A little about me: I was a policy debater in high school (20+ years ago). I currently run Lakeside Debate and Public Speaking School, where I am the head coach. For four years, I was the Congressional debate coach for Lakeville North and Lakeville South High Schools. For two years, I also taught Congress and PF for Potomac Debate Academy. I was the Head Coach at Wayzata High School for two years where I coached policy. I also coach speech (all categories), most recently at Edina High School. I've literally coached and judged it all. I also have a PhD in social ethics.

Here’s the TL;DR version:
Clash is the minimum expectation in debate rounds. Make sure that the speech you give fits where you give it (i.e., extemping a rebuttal on the third cycle vs. reading a prepared speech in the third cycle for Congress). I love Ks and critical argumentation (but know your theory!). Give me the ballot in every speech after the constructive! And don’t conflate ethics and morals! See below for more detailed information for events.


CONGRESS

Each speech should have proper argumentation (claim, warrant, impact(s)). IMPACT OUT YOUR EVIDENCE!!! You should know why the evidence you’re reading or the statistic you’re citing matters and you should communicate that! Road map your speeches. Signpost during them. If you are not the first speaker on either side of a bill, make it clear that you're following what's come before you. Acknowledge your fellow representatives when you're building on their point or when you're refuting it. CLASH IS EVERYTHING!

I expect crystallizations and rebuttals to include weighing/impact calc. I rank POs unless the round is chaotic/incredibly poorly run. Precedency and recency matter. I track the number of questions you ask in addition to scoring your speeches. The person who gets my top rank is the person who performed best in the round, factoring in questions, speeches, and in-round behavior. I'm looking for cordiality and collegiality, strength and uniqueness of arguments, fully impacted out arguments, and excellent in-round engagement with the thoughts and arguments of others. Generally, I care more about the content of your speech than your delivery, unless the delivery makes it impossible for your arguments to land.

LD/POLICY/PF DEBATE
In a round, I'm paying close attention to whether arguments are complete and if they're well supported by the cards used. It's not just about cramming as much as will fit into an X-minute speech; it's about making sure that your evidence says what you're saying it does and using information to make your argument stronger. I'm looking for claims, warrants, and impacts. I will vote on impacts, so make sure you extend them. ***Trigger warnings are not enough; you need to have a non-explicit case that you can run.***

I'm not a strict flow judge, but I am tracking all the arguments. If questions are raised in rounds that are a priori(need to be addressed prior to addressing the resolution), I'm paying special attention to how they're run and responded to; T and K are voters that, for me, always take precedence over case. RFDs will not be tech heavy.

Clash is important! Rounds where the sides talk past each other and don’t engage with the arguments of the other side are not good rounds

Tell me why you should get the ballot in all post-constructive speeches. Make your case for why you win the round. But please do not tell me that I have an ethical obligation to vote a certain way, unless you're giving me the ethical paradigm from which you want me to vote. Otherwise, the phrase "you have an ethical obligation to vote for us" means nothing. Ethics and morals are not the same thing, so please don't conflate them. Morals are an appeal to shared values, while an ethic is simply a way of being in the world. Knowing how to make these arguments successfully will make you better debaters.

While I am an old school policy debater, my doctoral studies were continental philosophy, critical theory, cultural theory, and social ethics. Bring on your critical arguments! I love critical argumentation in both LD and Policy when it's done well. I welcome it in PF, too. I expect students to understand the theory that underlies their critical arguments, as that is the only way to successfully defend arguments of that kind. My decisions in many rounds come down to a priori questions to the resolution, especially Ks.

Speed, in and of itself, is not a problem; speed without clarity is. If I can't understand you, I will say “Clear” once. Slow down and enunciate. If I still cannot understand you, it's an issue that will impact speaker points. Please slow on your tags and citations.

This is the single best advice I can give you if I am your judge: do not conflate ethics and morals. An ethic is a way of being in the world; it does not require morals. Morals, conversely, are principles by which one lives one’s life. While many ethics include morals as part of their structure, ethics and morals aren’t the same thing. If you’re making a moral appeal argument, you need to tell me what the morals to which you’re appealing are and why they’re important. If you’re making an ethical argument, you need to tell me what the ethical framework is that I should use. Otherwise, telling me that I have an ethical or moral obligation to vote in a particular way means nothing; you need to give me the framework or the values you want me to use to evaluate the round. When you don’t, it means that I am using my own ethical or moral framework to evaluate rounds and, because no two people have the exact same ethic (way of being in the world), it lowers the persuasiveness of your argument.

PF-Specific Preferences:
Evidence ethics matter!!! DO NOT PARAPHRASE IN FRONT OF ME. Read the actual card. It doesn't take any longer to read the card than it does to paraphrase it. There are no excuses for not reading the actual card. If you take longer than a minute to provide a card that's called, I will strike it from the flow. If the card is called and you were paraphrasing it, I reserve the right to drop you, especially if there are any discrepancies between what you said and what the source says. Critical arguments are always welcome, but make sure you can prove a violation if you’re running T or a norms violation (disclosure, trigger warning, spreading, etc).

SPEECH
I’ve coached every NSDA category and regularly judge them. There are a couple big things that I’m looking for when I judge a speech round.

1) Performance: Can I hear you? Do your movements make sense? Are you comfortable with the material? Do you wait for the judge before beginning? Does entire performance fit with the material? How well do you perform or present your piece? Are you off book? Do you speak with confidence and authority?

2) Category specific things: For interp generally, I pay close attention to transitions, pops, and character work. Are they clean? Are they distinct physically and vocally? Getting those to a point where they’re clean is a huge hurdle, but one that matters.

In humor, do the jokes land? Are they told well? Does the performance include pauses after jokes that elicit a laugh? Do you know what your laugh lines are? Is the piece funny? Are you relying on racial/ethnic, gender, or other stereotypes for comedic effect? (If you do, you'll rank last!)

TRAUMA FOR THE SAKE OF DRAMA IS NOT OKAY! There is no reason for the details of an assault to be included in a piece or portrayed during a performance. Trigger warnings must be delivered properly; if I am your judge and your piece needs a trigger warning, please communicate that to me prior to the start of the round. I will take care of alerting the room and allowing time and space for people to take care of themselves. Do NOT turn the trigger warning into a performative action that does not allow time and space for people to take care of themselves.

In POI, I’m looking for a cohesive piece that has a clear narrative arc throughout it. Do the piece selections fit with each other? Is each piece identifiable? In other words, can I tell when you’re popping between pieces? Does the theme carry through? Have the cuttings been done well?

In Info, OO, and other student-written categories, does the text make sense? How well written is the piece? Does it succeed in being interesting and engaging? In an OO round, is the speech persuasive or is it dramatic? Does the solutions fit the problem? And in an Info round, is it an informative speech or is it persuasive? I want persuasion in OO and informative in Info.

For extemp, I want to see both an understanding of the prompt and an understanding of the arguments advanced. Are arguments complete (claim, warrant, impact) or are they missing a piece? Does the argument have ground? Is the question closely tied to the arguments made by the student? Impact out your evidence!

3) Category requirements: do the piece and its performance adhere to the NSDA rules or the operative rules for a tournament? If you’re not sure what they are, you can find that information on the NSDA website or the tournament website (NSDA rules are used widely, so start there).

4) Respect and collegiality: do you treat everyone with respect? Are you on your phone or engaged in watching your peers? Put simply: don’t be a jerk. No one likes a jerk. If you’re disrespectful in a round, it will impact your ranking.

Make my ranking decisions hard for me! The best rounds are the ones where I have a hard time figuring out how to rank you.

I am a parent that did LD and policy debate in high school and loved it.

For Congressional Debate, my focus is on logic. The better I can understand your arguments, the more it clashes with arguments made by previous debaters, and the better you can explain why those should be the reason to vote for the position you're advocating, the better the score will be. For the question of content vs presentation I try to follow the 70-30 rule -- the focus is mainly on the content, but great presentation is appreciated.

In a round with a lot of great speakers and strong arguments and clash, I will tend to rank higher those that "raise the room" more. All things being equal, the tiebreaker for me will be those that are friendlier to others and have a more civil / respectful tone in their speeches and questioning.

I am a judge reasonably experienced at judging tournaments. I have 2 kids and both are in debate and speech each.

Here are few insights on how I judge:

1. Speak at whatever pace you feel most comfortable. I can keep up with your pace.

2. I do take notes. Let me know where you are in your arguments. I appreciate the source citation. I like clear, clean lines of logical thinking.

3. Engage with the round, have refutations and ask questions

4. Be respectful to everyone and have fun

IF YOU DID NOT GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR BALLOT FROM ME, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT EVANRFELDMAN@GMAIL.COM

Background:

HS Competitor at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (SOCES) from the West LA district in California. High School Competitive Experience : Mainly in Congress, Impromptu, Parli, Spar and Duo. Qualified to states in Congress, Duo, Original Prose and Poetry, and TOC bid in congress.

Collegiate and Professional Competitive Experience:

CC Competitor at Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) from AFA D1

Uni Competitor at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) from AFA D5

Pro Competitor at Archers, Acolytes, and Associates from LA

DEBATE:

1. Parli: NPTE Qualifier, 2nd seed and Semifinalist at CA State (2016) , 8th best Speaker & Semifinalist at Phi Rho Pi Nats (2016), Awarded best CC Parli team in the country as voted on by competitors (Bossard Twohy Award 2016).

2. IPDA: Semifinalist and 9th Spkr at CA State(2017), Co-National Champion at NOFC (2021)

IE'S/SPEECH:

CA Community College (CCCFA) States: (2016-2017) 2x champ in IMP(1 picket-fence) and Extemp, Finalist in ADS/STE (2016). Individual Sweepstakes Winner in non interp events (Tabor Collins Award 2016)

MI States (MISL) : Runner Up in Imp and Poetry, 3rd in Extemp and Persuasion, Individual Sweeps Winner (2021). State Champ in Poetry and Extemp, 3rd in After Dinner Speaking (2022)

Phi Rho Pi Nationals: Finalist in Imp Semifinalist in Ext (2016).

AFA: Quarter in ADS/STE and Poetry (2022), Semi in Persuasion/Oratory (2021)

NFA: 2x Semi in ADS/STE (2021-2022), Quarterfinal in Persuasion/Oratory (2021) , 2x Octofinal in both Impromptu and Poetry (2021-2022)

NOFC: National Champ in Persuasion & in Poetry, Silver in ADS/STE (All 2021)

Interstate Oratorical Association (IOA): National Qualifier (2021)

Professional Speech and Debate Association (PSDA): Season 2 Champion in Prepared Speech, Runner Up in Spontaneous Debate and Spontaneous Speech, 3rd in Indy Sweeps (All 2022)

Coaching Experience:

Coached middle school speech and debate for nine years, high school for eight years, elementary school for three years and community college for two years.

Congress: Champions/Runners Up at Harvard, Stanford/Palm Classic, NSDA, CHSSA State, CSULB (Jack Howe) and La Costa Canyon (Winter Classic). Finalists at Yale, Berkeley, UK Season Opener, MLK, Nova Titan, The Tradition, TOC Digital Series, ASU, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CMSF States, TOC, MS TOC

Impromptu: Finalists at Stanford, Berkeley, CSULB, La Costa Canyon, ASU, CHSSA States, CCCFA State, Phi Ro Pi Nats, NSDA Nats

PARLI: Finalists at CSUN, Grossmont, Pasadena City College, UOP, CCCFA States, Phi Ro Pi Nats

Extemp: Finalists at CSULB, La Costa Canyon, ASU, Yale, CCCFA State

POI: Champion/Runner Up at CHSSA State/ NSDA Nats Finalists at Stanford, Berkeley, NIETOC

OO: Finalists at CSULB, La Costa Canyon, CSUF, CLU, CHSSA States

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN I JUDGE YOU:

1. Role of the debate space: This activity should be a safe and inclusive place for EVERYBODY. I am open to progressive and identity based arguments, and I want ya'll to be comfortable in the round. Although I've faced my own discrimination as a member of the Jewish community, I will never know what it's like to deal with the marginalization that POC, Women/Womxn, and the LGBTQ face on a daily basis. Thus, if there is anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable in the debate space, please let me know.

2. Evidence

A. Recency

I am a sucker for recent evidence, the more topical the the evidence the better. It's hard for me to trust that evidence from 6 or more years ago is still relevant (everything 1/1/2017 and beyond is fine until 12/31/2022).

B. Citing

Please at LEAST cite the year of the evidence, month is fine, and date is only necessary if it's extremely recent or if the date has some significance. Each contention should have evidence (this also applied in Extemp, Info, OO/Pers).

C. Sourcing

PLEASE TELL ME WHERE THE INFO WAS PUBLISHED. Johnson 20' could easily be someone's parent or a random blog writer. Tell me if it's from The Brookings Institute, or Vox, or PBS, or the National Institute of Health. I also value source diversity, don't repeat the same publication if possible, some other publication has probably said the exact same thing.

D. Conflicting evidence

I am happy to hear arguments about why yours is better than your opponents' (Recency of publication, larger sample size, more diverse sample size, more credible publication, misuse of evidence, conflict of interest in publishing etc).

E Quality/Bias:

I personally don't like Fox, CNN, MSNBC, The Daily Wire, and other sources that have had too many problems with fake news. I won't accept evidence from conspiracy theory or white supremacist sites like Breitbart, InfoWars, The Daily Stormer, or anything from Q-ANON.

3. Delivery:

A. Speed: I have a fine motor skill issue that prevents me from flowing super fast. I will listen to some speed, but not full spreading. I can handle more speed than lay, but less than the avg flow judge. If I call speed 4x and you don't slow down you will lose the round.

I am less willing to deal with speed in Congress, IPDA or BQ where the point is to be conversational.

B. Speaker Points: Rounds should be fun. I want ya'll to be able to use your wit and humor, thus I will take that into account if you are looking for a way to improve your speaker points. I like puns, Childish Gambino, Hamilton, Lil Dicky, Rick and Morty, sports, and silly analogies. You won't win just for being funny, but you'll up your spks for sure.

C. Standing/Movement: I expect all competitors to stand when they speak (not required during cx). It's better for your vocal projection, confidence and overall presentation. If you are doing Congress, Spar or an IE (not including interp), I expect you to also do a speaker's triangle/three step walk.

ONLINE TOURNAMENTS ONLY: Please don't look down at the camera, place it on a higher platform so that it can be at eye level when you stand. Make sure you look at the camera to simulate eye contact and not stare at yourself or a second monitor... Also please make sure you are fully in camera when you're speaking.

4. Argumentation

Types of Arguments I will and won't listen to

A. All events:

Debate is a game so run what you want, but here is a tip sheet if you have me.

a. Counter-plans: Make sure they aren't perm-able, that they are non topical and that they don't bite into your own disadvantage

b. Perm: Show why both plan and cp can be done. I won't allow everything to be permed just because it's a "test of competition"

c. Ideology: I'm not only from a metropolitan city, I'm from a metropolitan COASTAL State, not only am I from a metropolitan COASTAL state, but that State is California... you do the math on where my politics lie. Jokes aside, speech and debate is already a progressive activity, but I'm a 20-something year old adult from the most liberal place in the country who is an intersectional feminist and is part of a marginalized minority...like I'm pretty far left. I will listen to conservative leaning arguments, but be careful. I recommend framing them within a progressive lens, and how your impact will protect the disenfranchised.

d. Structure: If you do a status quo, link/change, impact type structure you improve your chances of me voting for you/ranking you well. Also, if you're using an opponents argument against them SAY TURN. If you don't have an argument to turn it, then de-linking (showing why it doesn't apply) or saying it's non unique (that their impact is already happening without the resolution/topic) is helpful. I really appreciate when people number their responses.

It's in your best interest to give impacts (why we should care/the result of your argument). Please state the name and number of your contentions. Say the word impact, tell me what the TANGIBLE impact is, then explain it (hopefully with evidence).

Event Specific Notes

A. PARLI, PF, LD, CX, IPDA and BQ Only..... If you have me in congress, keep scrolling.

a. Conditionality: Kick whatever you want as long as there isn't offense on it. I'll listen to condo theory

b. Topicality: If you're being abused by the aff, run it. I'm also okay with seeing it as time strategy. Show the articulated abuse.

c. Reverse Voting Issues: They usually aren't very persuasive but I will buy them more than the average flow judge.

d. Spreading Theory: If you're calling speed and/or clear and the team refuses to slow down I will probably vote for this if you do an okay job running it.

e . Kritik's: Will listen to them if the structure is very organized. I want to be told the role of the ballot, the framework, the link, the impact, the alt etc... I've only voted on four k's ever.

f. No New Points in Rebuttal Theory: I'm a fan, but you have to earn it.

g. No Neg Fiat: I'll laugh, but hey, if you can do it, good for you.

h. Trichotomy: Bleh, you better make some really compelling arguments.

Overall: Be organized, use sub-points, number your responses, explain your impacts. I will listen to complex arguments but please explain them clearly. Hard for me to vote for you if you don't give me voters. HAVE FUN.

B. Congress ONLY:

1. CLASH is the most important part of congress.

Even if you're the first speaker, tell me what opposition speakers are going to say. When you CLASH, tell me which opponents you are responding to directly (Senator Trololol or Representative DankMemez YOU said). Yes I am okay if you clash with members of your side as long as you don't contradict yourself.

2. DO NOT repeat points made by others without contributing to the conversation.

If someone makes a point that is even REMOTELY similar to yours, you can't just pretend that they didn't say it. Like if you have an economic point about job growth and someone else on your side talked about gdp growth you can address them (Senator Renegade YOU brought up how this legislation increases the nation's gdp, and while I agree that this is important, we also need to understand the economic implications of how this bill impacts job growth).

3. Speaking order

Any person can win from any spot. However, the later you go, the more I expect you to clash, and the more I expect your points to be unique. If you are nervous about clashing or have generic stock points, I'd recommend going early and predicting the round. If you're one of the last speakers to speak on a bill, please compare the aff and neg (like a two world scenario), and give summaries of why your side has won.

4. Organization

A. Within a speech

Attention Getting Device, Quick Preview (pass/fail this bill and there's a few reasons why), Contentions and Clash (preferable to do them as the same time), Quick Conclusion.

B. Within an argument

State the name of your argument as you start that contention. Then you can kinda do whatever you want as long as you explain why your argument connects back to the bill and clash if possible.

If you do a status quo, link/change (if we pass/fail this legislation then), impact type structure I'll be impressed.

5. PO'S

Be efficient, be personable, be confident, be organized, follow Parliamentary Procedure, and it's in your best interest to tell us how many questions/speeches we got in while you presided.

Congress Overall: Overall: Be organized, CLASH WITH OTHER SPEAKERS, number your responses, HAVE FUN.

Director of Forensics at Bentley School, Lafayette
High school and college experience

I flow the round, but I promise there is a high probability that I will get lost if you go too fast or jump around with your arguments. You’ll benefit from signposting and staying organized. I prefer fleshed out arguments and not blips. Don’t assume I know theory. If something is a voting issue, explain it to me. Always tell me "why".

I’ve spent many years coaching speech events and I appreciate quality public speaking skills, along with respect towards your teammate and opponents.

By the end of the round, you need to tell me why I should be voting for you over your opponent. What are the voting issues and how do your impacts outweigh your opponent's impacts?

PF
-DO NOT SPREAD! I like smooth deliveries and perfect fluency, especially from the first speakers of each team.

-Have solid link chains that are easy to understand. In addition, be sure to have strong supporting evidence because arguments are only strong if they have strong factual backing.

-Even if you have the perfect case, it’s no use if your delivery is poor. Powerful speaking and relevant content are extremely important but with perfect fluency added on, that’ll bring you up from my 29 to 30.

Congress

-I'm not as experienced with Congress so please excuse any mistakes I make.

-I'm looking for strong link chains and delivery.

-Clash is important! Including refutation in your speeches, especially after 1st aff/neg is essential.

-Impact your points, tell me why what you're saying matters.

Congress:

I value insightful responses to challenging questions during the questioning period. By that same token, if you ask challenging and provoking questions, it will reflect well on your round placement.

I wholeheartedly value speeches that embody the congressional debate sentiment: a focus on the American constituents who "elected" you to office. At the end of the day, that is who you represent. The best speeches are compelling, comprehensible, motivating, and delivered at a normal speaking pace (no spreading). I definitely don't mind a joke/pun or two. Speaking well, in a very compelling way, is just as important as what you are saying. Try not to read from your screen or notes too much.

For PO contests, speed and efficiency is key. The better PO is the one that successfully moves the round along with minimal hesitations, almost as if you don't even notice their presence.

World Schools Debate:

I heavily value speaking compellingly and passionately. That means that you shouldn't be spreading. Also, make sure that you keep in mind that because this is WSD, you should be considering the perspective of the world, not focusing your debate on a specific country.

Public Forum:

Try not to spread, as Public Forum is intended to be accessible to the average non-debater. Additionally, make sure your arguments are presented in a compelling way; what you say is just as important as how you say it. For online tournaments, your arguments are communicated more effectively if you are not clearly reading from your screen for the entire speech. Try to look up at the audience every once and a while. I am also comfortable with nonconventional arguments (at least nonconventional for PF) as long as they are presented compellingly and have a clear tie-back to the topic at hand.

About me:

I participated in Congressional Debate and World School's Debate in high school, attending both CA State Finals and US Nationals. I am now an undergraduate student at Yale University.

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

This is my fourth year judging. I have experience judging in different debate and speech types. While I do not deduct if time management is within a few seconds, if you go on for 30sec or more beyond the time limit, I will deduct significant points.

The most important element for me is the strength of the presentation, conclusions are logical, and the story is compelling. I believe in maintaining good eye contact, making arguments not just reading cards. Please keep your "spreading" in check. I would like to have a clear and effective delivery. I appreciate clever wordplay and well-done appeals to emotion.

Please think about the weighing mechanism, what is the impact and why I should vote for your side.

Debate and speech should be exciting and fun. Please enjoy the experience. I expect professional behavior by all participants, and look forward to a great session.

JUDGE PARADIGM

Occupation:

Samsung CRM Manager

School Affiliations:

Dougherty Valley High School

Years of Judging/Event Types:

No years of judging, will judge the Congressional Debate.

How will you award speaker points to the debaters?

• Fluency

• Clarity

• Volume

• Eye Contact

• Emphasis on necessary or important statistics

• Appropriate hand gestures

What sort of things help you to make a decision at the end of the debate?

The overall delivery of a one’s speech helps me make a final decision.

Do you take a lot of notes or flow the debate?

I have not judged before, but I’m planning to take notes on the aspects I’m going to judge them on, including the content of their speech.

Rank each using the following rubric: 1 - not at all 5-somewhat 10- weighed heavily

Speaking skills: 7

Use of Evidence: 8

Cross Examination: 6

Real World Impacts: 9

Debate skill over truthful arguments: 5

Use of Evidence:

• Cite the sources, say at least the author and date.

• Statistics is highly recommended

• Relevant pieces of evidence must be incorporated.

Real World Impacts:

• How it will affect all people

• Weighing is very important

• Why is your stance in the debate important? Why does it matter?

Cross Examination:

• Speakers must be fluent and give relevant answers.

• Ask a lot of questions, but useful ones.

• Make eye to eye contact during one on one cross examination.

Debate skill over truthful arguments:

• Must be fact based

• On topic, don’t drift off to other topics.

Dougherty Valley '19 | UC Davis '23 | keshavharanath@gmail.com

I competed for 4 years in mainly Circuit Congress and Extemporaneous Speaking but I have also dabbled in Impromptu.

CONGRESS PARADIGM:

For Speakers:

In a Nutshell: The more memorable (for better) that you are, the higher you will rank.

Congress is a debate event. Unless you are presenting an authorship or sponsorship speech, clash/refutation is a must. I believe that the later you speak in round, the more important refutation becomes. This doesn't mean that you have to refute all minor and major arguments. Rather, the later you present in round, the more I think you have the burden of selectively and strategically refuting. I am a big fan of speakers who crystallize near the end of the round so if you are speaking last or near last, a good crystallization speech is a solid path to getting a higher rank.

When presenting evidence/analysis, a good rule of thumb is to explain relationships as articulately as you can. It is your job, not mine to ensure that your speech makes sense. If I can't understand the logic in your arguments, I won't spend time to try and figure them out. Hard evidence (statistics etc.) from reliable sources is always preferred to anecdotal evidence.

Good one-liners and rhetoric are always appreciated :)

Be as aggressive as you want. I will never judge your speaking style as being too "emotional" or sappy - I care far more about what you are saying than how you are saying it. Just remember that being aggressive does not entail insulting people straight up to their faces.

TL;DR - If you make it easy for me to give you the 1, I will give you the 1.

For Presiding Officers:

If you are fast, fair, efficient and don't make any major errors, you are guaranteed a top 5 rank. If you are exceptional, you are guaranteed a top 3 rank.

PUBLIC FORUM PARADIGM:

I'm not super experienced with PuFo but have judged a few rounds before. Here is my take:

Make sure your arguments are clear and have strong links and properly cited evidence. I do value presentation heavily when evaluating speaks, but will also factor strength and creativity of arguments.

Update for Harvard 2024

If you are going fast enough that I need case docs - add me to the chain - Josh.Herring@thalescollege.org

Updated for Princeton Invitation 2022

I am a traditional debate coach who likes to see debaters exercise their creativityINSIDE the conventions of the style. For Congressional Debate, that means strong clash and adherence to the conceit of being a congressional representation. For LD, that means traditional>progressive, and if a traditional debater calls topicality on a progressive debater for not upholding "ought" on Aff, I will look favorably on such an approach. That being said, if someone runs a K coherently, and the a priori claim of the K is not refuted, I will vote for the prior claim. I try to be as tabula rasa as possible, and I like to think I'm tech>truth, but don't ruin the the game with progressive garbage. If you love progressive argumentation, please strike me. I hate tricks, don't like K's, think performative debate is dumb, and really don't like want to see the resolution replaced by this month's social concern. For PF, I want to see strong evidence, good extension, crystallization, and framing. In essence, I want good debate with clear burdens. Write my ballot for me - give your opponent burdens to meet, meet your own, and explain why you win. I think debate is a beautiful game, and I want to see it played well.

Couple of last minute DON'Ts - I don't buy disclosure theory; I think it has harmed smaller schools by pretending to legitimize approaches big teams can deploy, and it has made spreading much more common. I cannot spread, and I cannot hear a case at speed. If your opponent spreads, and you call them out on it in the sense that their speed disadvantages you in the round, I will look very favorably on that as a prior condition of sportsmanship in the game. Don't spread, and don't fuss at your opponent for not putting a case on the Wiki. It's a voluntary system, and does not constitute systemic harm if you actually have to refute in round rather than prep on arguments read 30 minutes before the round.

Original paradigm from several years ago:

I learned debate at Hillsdale College from Jeremy Christensen and Matthew Doggett and James Brandon; I competed in IPDA and NPDA. I've been a coach since 2014. I have coached PF, Coolidge, LD, and Congressional. I judge on the flow. I'm looking for sound argumentation tied to the resolution; if you go off topic (K, etc) or want to run a theory argument, be prepared to explain why your strategy is justified. I am not a fan of speed in debate - convey your arguments, evidence, and impacts without spreading.

Debate is a wonderful game, and I enjoy judging rounds where both teams play it well. Accept your burdens, and fight for your position. Evidence goes a long way with me, so long as you explain the validity of your evidence and the impact that it links to. In LD, Im a big fan of traditional values-driven argumentation. In PF, I want to see the purposes of public forum respected - no plan, no spreading, and publicly accessible debate on a policy-esque resolution.

School Affiliations: Dougherty Valley Bridge

Judging/Event Types: Congress

Even though this is my first year judging- third event, I have a fairly good understanding of Judging Congressional Debate. I have two kids. One now a College Freshman. Both my kids have been in Speech & Debate since the very start of middle school.

*For me speaking well is as important as what you are saying. That being said you don't have to change your pace for me. I can follow you.

*Things that will help me make a decision at the end of each round are Clear arguments, Impacts that will show the depth of knowledge of your argument and a good flow.

*I will be taking notes.

*Ask questions, have refutations and evidences that show you are engaged in the round.

*Last but not the least be respectful towards your fellow debaters.

Goodluck !

1. I am a parent/judge. I am ok with any argument as long as there is sufficient evidence for the case. Arguments should be concise and straight to the point.

2. Please speak clearly and not too fast. Clarity is the key and I want to be able to properly understand your point to effectively judge you.

3. Maintain a clear speech order (do not jump around from contentions to refutations, etc.)

4. During CrossX please fully answer all of the questions asked. I think an effective CrossX is very important.

5. Please be respectful towards others and have fun!

Hey everyone! My name is Fidencio Jimenez, and I am currently the head congressional debate coach for Modernbrain Academy. I have competed in a variety of individual and debate events during my time as a competitor in the high school and collegiate circuits of competition. My general approach to judging follows as such:

Email for document sharing: fidencio.jimenez323@gmail.com

Congressional Debate

Make sure your claims are linked and warranted with evidence. If you don't make it clear how your sources and information connect, you just sound like you are listing sources without contextualizing them in the round. This usually results in speakers presenting impacts that were not explicated thoroughly. I do not flow arguments that fail this basic requirement.

Incorporate the legislation in your arguments. I read the topics before each round, make sure you do too. If your points do not connect with the actual plan (that being I don't buy that the topic viably solves the problems or creates claimed harms), I will not flow them.

Keep the debate topical. If the link between your claims and the bill is obvious there isn't much to worry about here. If you don't think the grounds for the link between your harm/benefit are clear, justify yourself by explaining what mechanisms in the legislation make it so that your claims come to fruition. This makes it so you avoid mistranslation and prevent judges (myself included, it can happen to anyone) from overlooking/misunderstanding something in the topic.

For presiding officers, I ask you to be firm, deliberate, and clear in your instructions. The more a PO demonstrates the ability to take control over the round to avoid complications, the more they will be rewarded.

EX: Round does not have anyone who wants to speak so you call for recess, call for splits, and urge people to swap sides or speak.

Policy/LD/PUFO/Parli

Spreading- I do not mind if you spread. However, if your speed makes it so you become audibly incomprehensible I will clear you. Spread at a pace you can actually handle and perform stably.

Counterplans (for where it is relevant)- I am not a fan, too many times it seems like the plans do not tackle the benefits provided by the proposition. If you can link a counter-plan that establishes a harm, run it, but if it doesn't tackle their actual case, you are better off avoiding it.

K's- Same thing as counter plans. There is a time and place but if the K is not extremely fleshed out or justified, I will not consider it. There has to be substantial real-world harm clearly established. Make sure to weigh why the educational value of the discussion is not worth the consequences it creates.

IE's

I evaluate based on performance and the educational value of a competitor. For instance, if someone has a cleaner performance, but does not have a topic that is educationally substantive or as critical as someone with a slightly less clean performance, the person with the more substantive topic will get a higher mark. This is why for interpretation events I ask your thesis is made clear within your introduction and for events like impromptu and platform speaking to avoid surface-level theses or topics.

Hello all,

I am a parent judge. I have been judging the student congress debate for last three years.

For the contents of your speech, I would like to hear the debate about the harm and benefit analysis of the bill based on the flow of the chamber arguments and your data. I also look at the type of speeches you present during the round. I expect an argumentative speech if you speak later. If you bring an applicable real-life impact to your speech, that also counts for a good ranking. For the delivery, it matters to me if a student speaks with a clear sound, a persuasive tone, and a natural talking style. I give a favor to a student who participates in the debate actively with critical questions to weigh the side of the bill. I rank PO well if the PO runs the chamber efficiently. Good luck, and have fun!

I am an experienced parent judge, and I have been judging Congress for 4 years on all levels - district, league, state, national (Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, ASU, Glen, MLK) - and seen some of the best kids in the circuit.

General: I value clash, round/audience engagement, presentation and referencing prior speakers. Do not give constructive speeches late in the round. Be assertive, but not aggressive. Keep questioning respectful and short - please do not preface.

Authors/Sponsors: explain the bill, why it works/solvency, what it does, why it’s needed. Authors can rank highly too! If there are final appeals, use this opportunity to summarize the round effectively.

POs: Be organized and know procedure! If there are elections, you should not be running unless you truly know your rules. I try to rank PO’s if you run a fast, fair, and effective chamber - PO’s don’t have to be perfect, but try your best not to mess up precedence and recency as it slows down the round.

Best of luck!

I look for evidence-backed claims, weighing of impacts, understanding of the government structure, and a clear outline of the feasibility of the proposals offered in the debate. I am also looking for a good speaking style, including eye contact, emotion, and confidence. I previously competed in Congress on regional and state levels and have not judged Congress before.

Public Forum:

- While speaking fast in Public Forum is uncommon, I am fine with any speed that an individual wishes to speak at as long as they are articulate and comprehensible. However, do not speak to the point that neither I nor your opponents can understand you.

- I am for all types of arguments as long as there is evidence backing up claims and contentions. If there is no evidence to back up the claim and your opponent has evidence proving their claim, I will be inclined to lean towards the side that presents evidence backing up their claims. However, if a team makes a claim that is supported by flawed or outrageous evidence, it will not be necessary to offer evidence to counter their claim. This only applies if an argument is very obviously false or supported by faulty evidence.

- I flow the entire round except cross-fire. If there is a point or argument that comes to light during cross-fire that you believe benefits your case/argument, bring it up in your speech. It is very important that you state it in your speech and explain why it favors your side, otherwise if it is not brought up in your speech, it will not be accounted for in the final disclosure.

- I am able to understand most/all jargon, so terminology should not be a limiting factor when creating arguments and refutations.

- When making an argument, you must show its impact/the magnitude of its impact. I do not blindly flow every argument that is presented and then never refuted if it is not part of the main debate. If you wish for an argument/contention to benefit your side, make sure to continually reference/support it throughout the debate and argue its impact. However, do not bring up non-refuted contentions/arguments, which not even your own side brought up since the first speech, in the Final Focus as I will not flow these arguments. The reason for this is that these arguments did not receive any debate nor were they even considered a substantial enough piece of the argument for any side to bring up. Thus, I will only flow contentions that receive debate and are referenced throughout the round.

- There must be clash. If two teams go through a round without ever addressing the other team's arguments/contentions, then I will have basically nothing to evaluate the round on. While I doubt this will happen often, I do wish to make a point that each team must address their opponent's arguments. The best way to win my vote is to outweigh your opponent in the magnitude of your impacts. If you can prove that your impacts have a greater benefit/magnitude than your opponents, then you will most likely win the round.

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

Hey everyone, my name is Jasmine (she/her/her's) and I come from four yeas of high school experience mainly in Congressional Debate (I competed at district and national level, CHSSA state, and was a finalist at the 2018 TOC) and am now entering my third year in collegiate debate. In college, I compete in the NPDA (parliamentary debate with more tech)/IPDA/BP formats so I am well-versed in everything from technical debate to more lay, rhetoric-heavy debate. I have been coaching debate for six years now and judging for three years, most recently at the 2020 NSDA nationals. I do not like/cannot follow *extreme* spreading, so please avoid doing that if I am judging a policy round. Overall, I look for well-articulated arguments with clear and coherent links as well as concrete impacts. Unique contentions are always a plus. It is very important in Congress to show to me that you are interacting with the round if you are one of the later speakers; clash is appreciated. In other debates, I would consider myself to be a flow judge, so organization and clarity is critical. I am also familiar with and have judged all speech events and there is less of a paradigm I can give for that because everyone is so different, just enjoy your time in speech and debate and performing! Best of luck to everyone!

*This will likely be somewhat confusing, please make an attempt to read it and I am more than willing to clarify before the round, but will not repeat it verbatim*

Background: Competed in PF, CD, and IX for Wauseon (OH), also debated in college for Heidelberg University. In addition, I competed at the 2018 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championships. I coached at Wauseon (OH). I am a Ph.D. candidate in applied economics at Western Michigan University. I have judged more extensively than my Tabroom indicates, as I judge every weekend, Ohio just does not use Tabroom. Primarily judge/parli Congress as such you will find my Congress paradigm much longer. Served as the Parliamentarian for the final round of Congress at the 2020 and 2021 OSDA State Tournaments, as well as the semifinal of the 2021 NCFL tournament .

Conflicts: Wauseon (OH)

FAQs

1. What should I call you?

You can refer to me by name. I also use he/him pronouns. Preferably don’t call me “judge”, that’s a bit strange.

2. Are there arguments you won’t vote off of?

If something is clearly false or abusive, I probably won’t vote for it. If you’re being blatantly offensive, I might drop you.

meme cases, do NOT run a meme case.

3. Should I shake your hand?

Please do not do that.

4. Do you disclose?

I will follow the rules of the specific tournament in regards to disclosure and oral feedback. But generally, if the tournament allows I prefer to disclose.

5. In Congress (and other debates) should I wait for a sign of readiness from you?

No, you may assume that I am always ready

Anything else?

Be respectful of your opponent. Ask for their pronouns and use them correctly. Don’t do things that will clearly and unnecessarily make the round unfair to your opponent (ie., don’t spread or run tricks against a novice or something like that. You won't auto lose me but I will be annoyed!) Have fun with it, it is supposed to be fun.

Feel free to ask me questions about anything on here or anything not on here.

General Debate Info

Speed:

I find myself very comfortable with any level of speed presented by debaters. However, do not use speed to be abusive to your opponents.

Argument Styles:

Link your arguments to the resolution. Do not leave me wondering what your case has to do with the resolution, and why you’re reading it. If you are reading something off case make me at least acutely aware as to how it links to the resolution.

Tableau Rasa:

The short answer, yes. If you say something inaccurate I will note it on the ballot, but will not consider it in my decision unless your opponent mentions it. Refer also to FAQ 2.

Evidence:

Yes, you should cite evidence to support your claims. Claims supported by evidence, empirics, and philosophy, along with developed warrants, links, and impacts will go a long way to winning my ballot.

CX:

Run as inventive of a case as you can properly defend in the round, maintaining proper respect for the activity and your opponents.

Give an off-time road map and signpost clearly in all speeches.

LD:

You should have a balance of hard evidence and philosophy within your case.

I will listen to and tolerate most any argument you run in front of me.

A Value and Value criterion are integral.

If you are going to use an uncommon philosopher/ school of philosophy make sure you flesh out the details of it, and do not simply name drop a philosopher.

PF:

Err on the side of more traditional arguments, stick to the resolution. I prefer to not judge a round of Policy with the time constraints of PF.

I like Grand Cross, I know some do not, but I believe it serves a purpose.

I do not enjoy being an interventionist judge in PF or LD.

Congress:

Modeling proper decorum is incredibly important, respect your opponents and the event if you fail to maintain proper decorum during the round you will fail to be high on my ballot. Included in having proper decorum is an understanding of the rules outlined in Parliamentary Procedure.

I tend to rank presiding officers quite well, it can even serve as a tie-breaker between two competitors when I conduct my pref ranking of the chamber. If you preside over an effective chamber it will boost your rank, if not it will drop you pretty far, as an ineffective presiding officer can quickly derail a chamber.

This is a debate event before anything. That means you should be adapting to the round as it goes. The sponsor and the first negative speaker should set up the round for strong debate. The sponsor should state the problem, how this bill fixes the problem, give one or two impacts from solving it, and if you're a superstar give me a framework. As the round moves on from these first two speeches, I should see an increasing amount of refutations and original views on the legislation. As we move into the last 1/3rd of the debate cycle there should be an increasing amount of extensions countering the other arguments of the other side of the debate while still maintaining an original point of view and analysis. When arguments for both sides are exhausted or when the debate becomes stale, I should see the crystallization of the debate, and speeches that refute the whole of the opposition not just individual speakers bringing the debate to an effective conclusion.

Effective cross-examination involves attacking your opponent’s arguments and exposing the flaws therein. Do not waste time by asking favorable questions of your opponent, use the time to ask them questions which clash and help to hash out the debate. Ask questions in a succinct manner, there is no reason your question should take half of the questioning block to ask. The same applies to long-winded answers, do not waste the questioning period. Defense in cross x is more straightforward because all I want to see is that you can defend your argument to the point where it is still standing strong after cross x. I prefer calmer cross x over yelling, remember that decorum is integral to successful Congressional debate.

I rank based on the totality of your participation in the chamber this includes decorum, questions, answers, speeches, and general participation(voting, making/seconding motions, etc.). Basically, participate and move the debate further and you will likely end up high on my pref ballot.

you tried

to call the

question

but you

said

"i motion"

not "i move"

-Rupi Kaur

I competed in PF and Congress (3 and 4 years respectively) at Durham Academy.

PF

TL; DR:I will be flowing the round, so feel free to refer to the flow on points you would like to reintroduce. Don’t spread, this is not LD. You can speak quickly, so long as you are delivering your points clearly. The main focus of my judging is who is winning the debate. You provide the set of criteria that defines what winning means. Respect each other. No off-time roadmaps.

Constructive: This speech is the foundation for the entire debate. As such, all of your main points should stem from this speech. At the beginning of the speech, I expect that you will introduce a weighing mechanism or lens through which the debate ought to be judged*. Your impacts should lead into this mechanism or lens. All claims made during the constructive need to have warrants and each warrant should have a reputable source. With that being said, the constructive speech is a great time to provide depth to arguments. I would prefer a more robust explanation of points in two contentions to a list of numbers in a case with 4 contentions. Additionally, this speech is the only one that should be fully prepared ahead of each round and should be spoken clearly, articulately, and should end on at the appropriate time.

Rebuttal: This speech should focus on explaining why your opponent’s points are either wrong or outweighed by your own. You can certainly use the time to extend your constructive, but you should ensure that you leave time to address your opponent’s points.

Summary: The summary serves as a funnel for the debate. It should narrow the scope to the points that you see as the most important. These do not need to be your own points, but they should be weighed to explain why you’re winning on those points.

Final Focus: The final speech in the debate should focus on voters and weighing. I strongly dislike reaching back for points that were not extended through summary. I appreciate when the weighing mechanism or lens for the debate are brought back in for the final focus, especially when your opponents have accepted that weighing mechanism or lens.

Crossfire: Please be respectful of each other. Each side should have the opportunity to ask questions. Keep the focus on the topic and avoid ad hominem remarks.

*This isn't required, but if you don't provide a framework then I will assume you're running util.

Miscellaneous:

· Use your prep time. There are no bonus points for leaving prep time on the board.

· Stay calm. It will help you maintain a reasonable speed and deliver points clearly.

· Avoid off-time roadmaps. Just signpost throughout your speech instead.

· Attire is not something I tend to worry about. I will not be counting it for or against you, but some judges might. I recommend professional attire.

Congress

Maintaining decorum during the round is important. Each competitor ought to be respectful of each other, regardless of what occurs during the round. I will be judging based on how each student operates as a legislator. Participating in cross-examination, presiding well, properly using points of order, and generally demonstrating a thorough understanding of the event will all be considered when I make my judgment. When giving a speech it is important that you support your points with evidence. Credible evidence should be clearly cited from a reputable source.

LD

First and foremost, respect each other. Link your arguments back to the standard. When attacking your opponent's argument, make sure you use the standard established in the round.

Evidence: If you cannot produce evidence quickly when it is called by your opponent, I'll simply disregard that piece of evidence.

Spreading: Feel free to do so, but I value the quality of your arguments far more than the quantity.

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.

What I am looking for

• Engage with other debaters. Starting with the first negation speech, refutations are not simply an added benefit but are necessary. The depth of a debater's analysis of other arguments made in the round will be one of the main criteria that I use in evaluating speeches and formulating ranks.
• This, however, does not mean I will dock you for running sponsorship speeches. As a sponsor, be sure to explain the bill thoroughly and why it solves an important problem. Pre-refutations are appreciated, but only so long as delivering them does not come at the expense of explaining warrants and impacts.

• That being said, try not to give sponsorship speeches for both of your speeches in the round. Giving a sponsorship speech is great and can bump up your ranks, but giving two sponsorship speeches makes it difficult for me to evaluate your ability to refute and engage with other debaters.

• Do not name-drop. A rigorous breakdown of an opposing contention is valued significantly more than two or three cursory rebuttals.

• Be respectful to other debaters. In my opinion, it’s fine to utilize humor and creative rhetoric, but do not take that as a license to disparage other debaters. Aim to undermine arguments, not people.

• Avoid stock introductions that have a sort of “fill in the blank” structure. A general rule of thumb: if your introduction can be used for another bill while just switching out a few words, then it probably isn’t an introduction that will help your score or rank.

• I value argumentation over delivery, but if your speech is delivered so quickly that I cannot understand it, I cannot ascertain whether the argumentation is high quality. As such, high-quality delivery with tonal inflections, fluency, etc. is an important part of how I will evaluate your performance in the round.

• There is a fine line between assertiveness and aggressiveness; be confident in your demeanor, but not to the point where it can be construed as being rude and unprofessional.

• Do not continue speaking if the Presiding Officer is gavelling you down. I understand the urge to get those last words in, but trying to speak over the gavel will not work and will hurt your score.

What can get you dropped

• Making rude generalizations and attacks against a particular race, religion, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, etc.

• Disrupting another debater’s speech.

• Being overly aggressive (i.e. yelling at another debater, calling other debaters stupid, etc.)

• Tl;dr follow basic common sense.

In all debate events, especially Congress, I highly value clash. Please make sure that you are staying respectful, but that your argumentation is warrant-level rather than claim-level -- do not name drop. Please have sound structure and don't be afraid to show personality in your speeches. As per delivery, since we are now using an online format, do not read off of your computer for your whole speech. Otherwise, just adapt to the round and have a fun time.

In speech events, please make sure that you balance your content with your delivery. I am a 50/50 judge. Otherwise, have fun with your speeches and don't be afraid to drop in a joke or two.

School Affiliations: DVHS

Judging/Event Types: Congress

How many years have you been judging? This is my first year judging.

What sorts of things help you to make a decision at the end of the debate? Clear and coherent arguments, depth of the topic, nice flow.

Do you take a lot of notes or flow the debate? I will be taking notes.

Preferences on the use of evidence? Yes, I would like to see use of evidence, and a good analysis and conclusion.

How do you judge cross examination? Stay on the topic, Show respect to others. Keep your questions short and to the point; always leave enough time for others to defend.

How do you value debate skill over truthful arguments? Both are equally important. I understand that I myself may not have all the knowledge and stats to validate truthfulness. However, I would like to see that the dots are well connected in the argument.

Please try to complete every round on-time, and not try to stretch. Judges also need some time to complete the assessment and get ready for the next round!!

Good luck, and enjoy!!

I am a parent volunteer judge and have judged a few Congress tournaments over the last six months. I reviewed the judge training materials on the website as well as the overview the tournament director walked us through on the day of the tournament.

Regarding the judging criteria, I had a notebook to jot down the relevant points each of the participants presented and discussed. I awarded points to each candidate based on how well they presented their for/against arguments and how well they were able to defend their point of view. I was also able to use my own personal knowledge on the topics while awarding the points. One drawback I noticed was that everyone presents a set of facts that based on a certain research paper or analysis based on a journal or a trade article. It is very hard to determine which one is more relevant or how it applies to the facts at hand, since the articles quoted are from a technical or trade journal which I have not had access or aware of it. In such situations I went with how well the facts were presented and how well they were able to defend their point of view.

In terms of judging and awarding points, I awarded higher points to debaters who were able to articulate clearly their views and the supporting arguments. I also awarded points for people who were able to defend their arguments based on the relevant facts. I also awarded points based on how well prepared the debaters were and their skill in answering some questions where did not have the complete information to judge a particular situation

I am an experienced coach and judge. I have competed, coached and judged in all areas of speech & debate.

I am a 'tabula rasa' judge, which for me means that I will listen to any reasonable argument. I am always interested in hearing creative approaches to any resolution. However, I fully support the format, style and philosophy of each debate and speech event.

I am not adverse to rapid speaking, because debate time is limited. BUT I will not condone 'spreading' as a tactic. If you insist you win because the opponent did not address all of your issues, I may or may not accept your premise.

Evidence is primary to any good argument. You should be able to coherently present your evidence with citation in every instance. Referencing 'cards' in a case is ambiguous, since I will not have your case in front of me.

In all Cross Ex portions, LISTEN to your opponent. Address their concerns and their rationale for opposing you. Be civil and understand they have as much a right to be here as you do.

I will not make your case for you. I may be very familiar with the resolution, strategy and line of reasoning you are using, but I will not assume you even know what you are talking about. You have to know your case and be able to defend it.

In Congress, competitors must listen to the line of argument and offer unique and relevant arguments. Repeating points or delivering a prepared speech that does not advance the debate is poor practice and means you do not know the bill. Logic and analysis are fine, but a warrantless argument will not have a very big impact.

I do not rank POs particularly high. A competent PO will score near the middle of a typical Congress round.

In Extemp, I want to learn new things, hear unique ideas and understand my world better.

In LD, I am neither a traditionalist or progressive; I want to hear a values-based argument founded on a good philosophical framework. Values are precursors to behaviors, so there is no solving of problems or plans of action.

Hi, I'm Devon Shewell, and my pronouns are he/him/his.

I debated for four years in Missouri (Near Kanas City), and my main focus was on Congress and LD, but I am also quite experienced in PF and Extemp. I go to Vanderbilt now and study Philosophy and Communication Studies.

Some general stuff - regardless of the type of event, use good evidence if it's needed, use organization in your speeches, and don't be a bad person. Please don't waste my time, your time, or your opponent's time. I high-key like voting issues (in congress make them to your colleagues, in LD/PF/Policy make them to me).

Adding this cause it hasn't happened much - please give me weighing mechanisms and tell me how to evaluate the round.

PF

Give me weighing mechanisms/framework. Focus on strong internal structure within your speeches and give me lots of signposting. I look for each speech to serve a purpose towards the round, and for teams to be strategic in how they choose to extend arguments and which arguments slip out of the debate. Don't feel like you need to hit every single point in the round during every speech, some stuff won't be relevant and that's okay - just don't bring something up in the constructive and then never talk about it again until the FF. I will be flowing the rounds, and if you want something to be in the last row of my flow (FF), it needs to be extended. Please give me some voting issues and try to "write my ballot" for me towards the end of the round.

LD

In LD, I am open to just about anything. That being said, I come from a relatively traditional LD Debate Background. I try to come to every round as an entirely blank slate that will mold to the round. I will judge you off the flow, but I am not opposed to people stepping out of the line-by-line norm. The round, although judging from the flow, is like a story. If you can tell the story better, I am inclined to vote for you. Of course, be sure that your evidence is good - if you are paraphrasing evidence, summarizing evidence, or doing the "reading bolded sections thing," you should make that clear, especially when sharing evidence. If you send me a card that is two pages long but only selectively reads two sentences, I'm going to think that's pretty suspect. Other than that, I am open to watching debates as they unfold - ask questions if you have them before the round.

If you are going to read Philosophy style frameworks it better make sense. Just cause you say Util is the framework doesn't mean I will accept it (unless your opp does too). You need to explain why frameworks are optimal, not just that you have one.

If you are wondering what my LD Style/Background is like, I come from the Heart of America District where I was a national qualifier - check out either of the wonderful debaters from the 2017 NSDA National Championship (shoutout Natalie and Nathan) or the 2019 NSDA Championship (shoutout Grace) to see what that debate looks like.

Virtually - Please include me on the email chain if necessary.

Please don't go crazy with speed. I can flow it, but if I can't understand or comprehend the argument in time, I don't think it helps you.

I really enjoy a good theoretical argument.

Good structure within speeches, both for the speech itself and within arguments, is great.

Speaker points will be high if you are clear, nice, insightful/witty, and signpost well. I also really appreciate it if you are not reading off blocks and prewritten responses to the entire debate. If you are funny, it's a plus, but not everyone can be funny (sorry), so if you aren't funny, don't worry about it. Generally, everyone gets pretty good speaker points. You can swear if you want to, I don't care - don't be mean though.

Give me good evidence - I love academia

Don't be a bad person (Racism, homophobia, hateful, etc.)

Congress

Things I Really Don't Like (I'll probably drop you).

- In House recess to prep speeches - it's your obligation to prep before a tournament; if you are the PO, I think you should rule the motion dilatory. Don't waste everyone's time.

- Asking about the "split." Debate on the side of the legislation you believe in. Flipping sides and making arguments you don't care about is quite potentially the silliest thing I have ever seen.

- Not using evidence and not knowing what your evidence actually says.

- Not being willing to solve problems/address the issues.

- Reading Speeches

- Going overtime - you have 3 minutes.

- Having Stale Debate (It's okay to not speak on every bill. You have lots of legislation, if stuff is boring, move on)

- Being a bad person

My first and primary focus is on quality argumentation - it's a debate. I want quality evidence; however, there is no need for you to read card after card after card - give me analysis from the evidence. If you are giving a later speech, clash is expected. Please try to contextualize your arguments and humanize your impacts. Debate in what you believe in - debate the issues for the sake of debating the issues (not to have an "even split"). I won't mark down any particular arguments, but I have a bias towards arguments that makes the lives of human beings better (particularly on economic and foreign policy.)

Delivery and style do matter, but you don't win from it! If you can't persuasively explain your argument, it's hard for me to buy it. I'm not a big fan of the quirky congress rhetoric; I would much prefer you simply explain your argument. Structure your speeches clearly and signpost within them. Don't be afraid to give an early speech. I think a good constructive explains what the legislation does (references legislation) and doesn't get caught up in nuances. Make sure you know what type of speech you are giving. i.e.) if it is six speeches deep on a topic, don't give a constructive speech. I have no preference for when you speak. However, if it is a longer round, and you have the chance to speak multiple times, it would benefit you to showcase different skills by giving different types of speeches.

I have a lot of respect for people who make arguments which they believe in. If you debate what you believe in, it should reward you. I also really respect people who give a speech when the chamber needs a speech; the most frustrating thing to me is taking a recess to prep a speech. If you give a totally extemporaneous speech because nobody else in the chamber is willing to speak, you will be looked at favorably.

Presiding Officer - I will hold you to a very high standard. Maintain order and keep track of everything (I will as well). Enforce time limits on speeches and questioning. Tell me about your procedures before the round starts. I also understand that in the virtual setting, some things are exceptionally difficult; if you prioritize fairness, you should be good. I am more than happy to give the PO a 1.

If you are a real nerd, you can see what I like as a PO (cause it's what I did) by finding my time as PO in the Nats final from 2018.

Other Notes on Ballots - High speech scores on your ballot do not directly lead to the best rankings. Everything will be put in the context of the round. I will try my best to give comments that actually help you improve. For so many of these rounds, everyone is very talented, ballots in those round may come across as critical of very small things, but that's how the decisions are made when everyone is good.

If you have any questions, my email is devonshewell@me.com

I have judged HS and MS debate for 4 years now, so I have am familiar with the inner workings of Congress and PF. Some things I look for:

Clash and Refutations- As the round develops, there needs to be more refutations/analysis of the debate as a whole. I don’t want a repetition of points and want you to engage with other senators

Rhetoric/Speaking: I need to be able to hear you properly. Speak clearly and at a reasonable rate. I like emotion and rhetoric in speeches, but make sure your arguments are sound too

As always, be respectful of everyone, especially during cross-ex. Things can get a little tense in cross-ex, so just be professional you’ll be alright.

I am looking for a good understanding of the matter at issue and content that promotes healthy debate. I value well-structured and cogent arguments with relevant evidence. I prefer quality over quantity! So please lean towards clarity of delivery rather than the number of words you can get out. I am a lay judge, so if your content is not clear to me you will hurt your ranking. Feel free to do a roadmap for me (off time if allowed in the event rules).

Claim uniqueness is important and entering new evidence and unique perspectives always make for a more interesting debate, and scores points with me. How well you defend your arguments or how relevant and incisive your questions/refutations are will rank you higher in my book.

Overall, I am looking for erudite content as well as an effective speaking style. The speakers with an optimal combination of both will get the highest ranks in my judging.

• 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.

Hello! I am a former competitor, now judge who is extremely passionate about all things forensics. My experience lies mostly in Public Forum and Parliamentary debate, but I am familiar with all styles (save for Congress)

Because I am well versed in debate, feel free to talk at an accelerated rate, as long as your opponents can still understand you. As long as you aren't spreading, more than likely I'll be able to track what you're saying.

Theory arguments are fine by me, but make sure they are accessible to your opponents as well. If an opponent is unfamiliar with how theory arguments work, then as a courtesy I ask that you refrain from running them.

For Parli, I do my best to protect the flow but I ask that you still call out Points of Order when they occur and clearly state the rule violation just in case I missed something.

Lastly, I will disclose and critique after each round under the circumstance that all competitors would like to hear the results and the critiques present.

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!

I am a parent judge. I prefer clear and logical speech. Make sure you explain your argument very clearly. Respect your opponents. Please do not interrupt your opponents during crossfire.

Congressional Debate:

General Ideas to Keep in Mind: I strongly prefer clear speakers that are easy to understand and follow. I would also like a respectful debate, so during the round and cross examination especially, please limit cutting off other competitors. The side you stand on does not matter to me as long as you are a good speaker with proper argumentation and persuasion skills.

Speeches: I prefer clear speakers who I can understand well - if I have any trouble understanding you, you will not be getting a high score. Please include vocal variety and some hand gestures, or else the speech seems very bland. I also would like to see clear argumentation that is backed up with solid evidence. And finally, unless you are the sponsorship or authorship speaker, I expect some clash in your speech, though canned rebuttal will lose you points.
I recognize crystallization speeches and that they are harder to present, so if you do it well, I will give you a higher score. However, if you do it poorly, do not expect me to rank you very high.

Cross Examination: During direct cross examination, I would like both competitors respecting each other and allowing the other to speak. Please do not continuously cut off other competitors as that makes it harder to follow and understand - I will give you a lower score for that.
And during indirect cross examination, please keep your questions short but meaningful, with solid answers - leading questions, preface questions and other fallacies should not be present in the round and will you get a lower score.

Presiding Officers: I expect that Presiding Officers can move the round along quickly and smoothly - if as a judge I can clearly see otherwise, I will not give Presiding Officers a high score. However, if the Presiding Officer is particularly good, expect a top 5, or at the very least, top 8 score.

Hi everyone! My name's Tiffany and I'm currently a freshman at NYU Stern. I debated in Congressional Debate at Harker for three years and am now back as an assistant coach. Here are a few things I look for the most when deciding my ranks:

1. Clarity and relevance. First and foremost, I need to be able to follow the structure of your speech, understand your arguments, and identify your warrants and impacts with relative ease. Use specific signal words to help with this. This requires both strong argumentation/framing and effective speaking. After meeting this bare minimum, I'm looking for relevance. If you're giving an early round speech, the most relevant arguments are the apparent ones that shed light on the core controversies of the debate. Past that, the best way to make your speech relevant is to directly contextualize it by refuting, mentioning other speakers, or collapsing arguments. After the sponsorship, I'm looking for at least one mention of other speakers in the round. If you're giving a mid-cycle speech, it's not enough to pull out what might have been a super good and unique contention if you don't frame it as a response to the arguments already brought up in the debate OR weigh your impacts against others. By the time late-cycle speeches come around, in order to stay relevant, you have to ensure you're breaking down the debate into a few key points of contention and comparing both sides on these key points. You should always be asking yourself one fundamental question: am I helping my judge assess whether my speech is BETTER than other speeches in the round rather than just am I helping my judge assess whether my speech is GOOD. A good isolated speech does not always guarantee a good speech in a congressional debate round.

2. Speaking persuasively. I will always decide ranks primarily on my first point, especially because clarity and relevance inevitably requires some degree of effective speaking. However, if there are multiple people speaking at around the same level of clarity and relevance, I will turn towards persuasiveness to decide my ranks. For me, effective persuasion always includes conveying genuine concern and a sense of urgency. Conveying genuine concern can be done through utilizing rhetoric and speaking slowly while conveying a sense of urgency often requires momentum-building throughout your speech through varying your speed, volume, and intonation.

3. A few other things to keep in mind.

a) On an online platform, don't read off your screen. Extra points for having a setup and giving your speech standing with a legal pad the traditional way.

b) Provide solid evidence. When in doubt, use evidence.

c) Speak at different points in the debate. For example, if your first speech is a constructive, make sure your second speech is a rebuttal of some sort.

On a final note, please be respectful, kind, and easy to work with at all times. It really does come through in round if you are non-cooperative and dismissive of others, so just make sure to maintain decorum both in and outside of rounds. Debate is honestly a great way to better yourself as an individual and meet some great people along the way, utilize that! Looking forward to being your judge and hope this helps!