GFCA Practice Tournament 2
2020 — NSDA Campus, GA/US
Public Forum Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI strongly believe in narrowing the debate in the summary speeches. I really want you to determine where you are winning the debate and explain that firmly to me. In short: I want you to go for something. I really like big impacts, but its's important to me that you flush out your impacts with strong internal links. Don't just tell me A leads to C without giving me the process of how you got there. Also don't assume i know every minute detail in your case. Explain and extend and make sure that you EMPHASIZE what you really want me to hear. Slow down and be clear. Give me voters (in summary and final focus).
Speed is fine as long as you are clear. I work very hard to flow the debate in as much detail as possible. However, if I can't understand you I can't flow you.
I am a former high school debater that has dabbled in everything. I’ve been judging for the past six years and have judged everything, but policy. I recently graduated with a degree in Anthropology, with a focus on cultural anthropology. I’m a pretty typical PF judge and will vote for the team with the most compelling argument, however, I do like a solid framework. As far as cross goes, I don’t care if you sit or stand—whatever is most comfortable for you works for me. I don’t like when you address me during cross because I feel like you should be focused on your opponents instead. My BIGGIE is DO NOT SPREAD. If you are going too fast, I will not flow the round and drop you. This is PF, not policy. I have an extensive speech background and will be pretty merciless when it comes to speaker points. Other than that, remember to be respectful during the debate. Things can get pretty heated sometimes, but that is no excuse for rudeness. If you say things during the round that that are sexist, racist, homophobic, etc., I will drop you immediately. Let’s be kind to one another and remember to have fun! I look forward to hearing some good debates!
Please speak clearly, concisely, and slow enough that I can understand. Supporting your claims with factual evidence is a must. Be prepared on the topic, it is apparent when you are not. Have passion which will sway my vote. Attack the other competitor's claims with reason and evidence. Tell me what arguments you have refuted and why you win the argument. Christina.Cazzola@cobbk12.org
I am junior and PF debater at Northview
If I can do something to make this round more safe, accessible, or inclusive for you, please let me know
- frontline in second rebuttal
- everything in final has to be in summary
- theory is fine
- ngl I have no idea how to evaluate a K, so not a great idea
- i will not vote on racist, transphobic, homophobic, sexist, or otherwise exclusionary arguments
~ if you don't read a content warning for any graphic content, I will not like you and cant guarantee I wont be biased if your opponents run tw theory ~
also y'all should check out @beyondresolvedga on insta for some cool (and free) educational resources!
if you have any questions, email me or messenger me (Sonal Chur)
Hi I'm Gracie! (she/her)
Experience: 3 years of PF at Boca High and 3 years of experience in different debate events at Florida State (NPDA, BP, Civic/Social Justice, NFA LD literally once).
For Online Tournaments:
- Yes, add me to the email chain: gracea.findley@gmail.com
For PF:
TL;DR: Tech > Truth. Turns/DAs need to be responded to in second rebuttal. Final focus should mirror the summary. Default to cost/benefit analysis, but easily persuaded to filter the round through whatever framework you see fit. Speed is ok, but please don't spread. And please do not drop warrants (especially in the back half of the round!)
If anything is unclear in my paradigm, just ask me before the round!
Specific Thoughts on Debate
1) I default to tech > truth. Additionally, if you're winning a claim on the flow (technically), I'm more likely to evaluate it as true. But don't just assert things as random truths and expect me to vote on them. With this being said, I am a sucker for a good narrative. In the back-half of the round I love when teams re-explain their arguments, especially on the warrant level and use this as a basis to explain how they're winning. If you do this it helps make my decision much easier as I am not just voting on the flow but also on clear argumentation.
2) If you drop warrants, I drop you. Please don't make this mistake. I think warrants are the most important argument in the round, so I will evaluate this first. Lack of warrants assume I am all knowing and sometimes arguments that are clear to you are not clear to me, so ensuring I understand the premise of your argument extends from your ability to provide clear warrants. This means I expect analysis not only on the impact level but also on the link level. Assuming you are winning a warrant and going straight to impact weighing will make me unlikely to vote for you.
3) Second rebuttal is required to frontline all offensive arguments made against their case. This includes turns and DAs. It will make my flow a lot cleaner if you also begin to frontline defensive arguments in this speech, but it's not something that I require.
4) Anything you want me to vote off of NEEDS to be in the summary. Now that the summary is three minutes long, I expect first speaking teams to extend defense in summary. Please don't try to bring up things in final focus that were missing in summary.
5) Absent any framing in the round, I default to a cost/benefit analysis. In debates that don't touch heavily on framing, I tend to lean aff on risk of solvency. This also means I lean aff/non-squo went presented with "risk of offense" or "try-or-die" framing.
6) I don't have much experience competing in or evaluating theory rounds. I will try my best to evaluate it, but proceed with caution at your risk. For reference, here's what I think about some of the more popular theory arguments being read in PF.
a.) "Give us 30s" - Nope. Please, please, please don't read this in front of me. If you want a 30, follow my paradigm.
b.) Disclosure - Disclosure is good for debate, regardless of big or small school and especially for online tournaments.
7) I will not time you. Please keep track of your own time for both speeches and prep.
8) K's without policy alternatives are ok as the negative (b/c negative fiat isn't really a thing in PF), but I'm not a huge fan of non-topical affirmatives. My background is not in critical literature, so please make sure your arguments are very well explained in the back-half of the round.
9) If you are going to read an overview, there needs to be some sort of "turns case" explanation clearly flagged on the flow. I am not a fan of disads with new impacts out of the rebuttal.
10) I will call for evidence if I think it's misconstrued or if a team tells me to. I have no preference whether you give me a PDF/webpage or a cut card.
11) Don't spread, even if you offer to send a doc. I competed on the national circuit in PF though, so I can follow if you speak more quickly than conversational rate but please at least slow down for author names and dates.
For Speaker Points:
1) If author names are either dropped or not read, I will lower speaker points. Author names are the bare minimum - you should also be reading dates.
2) Weighing and really any sort of contextualization is the easiest way to boost your speaks. This is more than just claims like "we win on scope." As stated above, warrants are crucial to all argumentation; in addition to giving me a reason to prefer your analysis over anything your opponents bring up.
I've been the Speech & Debate Coach at Starr's Mill H.S since 2018. My team only competes in Public Forum and Speech events, so that is where I have the most experience coaching and subsequently judging.
PF:
- Make good, consistent arguments with clearly stated and explained evidence and you won't have a problem winning the round.
- For high speaker points, I look for good sportsmanship, confidence, politeness, clear rhetoric, consistent signposting, and timeliness.
- Do not spread. Do not ask if I or your competitors want your case as a workaround.
- Signpost as much as possible (i.e. please reference the argument you are responding to as you go down the flow).
- I am not a judge for off-the-wall stuff (topicality, kritiks, etc.).
- Actually summarize in your summaries! No new arguments in final focus. Create the narrative and convince me to vote for you.
- I do not flow cross, but I have decided rounds on crucial admissions and will take notes "on the side" as need be.
LD:
- I am a lay judge. I only judge PF or Speech so if I get placed in a LD round, it's usually a one-off.
- Do not spread. Do not ask if I or your competitors want your case as a workaround.
- I'm not receptive to most counterplans and prefer standard LD cases.
- Value/Value Criterion will absolutely weigh in my decision.
Experience:
4 years of PF at duPont Manual in Louisville, KY.
3 years of NFA-LD/LP at Western Kentucky University.
TLDR –
(1) Speed good.
(2) Do what you do best – I’ll do my best to adapt.
(3) Prefer fast policy-style rounds.
(4) No objections to judging the K – just less experienced.
(5) Great debate minds that heavily influenced the way I view/judge this activity: Chad Meadows, Anthony Survance, Claire Rung & Alex Rivera.
Long(ish) Version (will become more detailed as I judge more NFA rounds) –
It’s your round – I’m just here to evaluate it. Debate how you’re most comfortable. I’ll do my best to evaluate whatever’s in front of me.
I have not researched the endless wars topic.
I dislike evidence from random news outlets. Flex your author qualifications in front of me.
I like big affs that directly engage a large portion of the topic. I dislike small affs that use their tangential relation to the topic to no-link all neg ground.
Lean neg on most issues related to conditionality. Multiple condo CPs is fine if you can win the condo flow.
Not a fan of five-card DAs that take forever to get to the point.
I default drop the debater on disclosure (put your stuff on the wiki!) – drop the arg on every other theory argument. Feel free to convince me otherwise.
T is a voter. What’s “topical” is up for debate!
Don’t waste your time on RVIs in front of me.
I didn’t debate the K much, but feel free to read it. Alt solvency is really important to me. Wouldn’t suggest kicking the alt and going for the K as a DA to the aff in the 2N in front of me.
he / him
My email for the chain is hbharper8@gmail.com but also feel free to reach out with questions about your round / my RFD
tldr: I am okay with anything you run as long as you are respectful.
Fun Facts:
I did PF from 2015-19
I do not like to base my ballot only on disclosure theory or topicality, so you shouldn't make those your only voters.
I do not like when teams try changing the structure (speech times) of the round with theory.
I don't expect you to necessarily run a counter-interp against theory if you don't know how to do that. Just engage with the substance of their theory argument like any other argument.
I will probably tell your first speaker that they went for too much in summary.
I think in summary defense is sticky unless it was frontlined.
The second rebuttal should address the first rebuttal but I will accept responses in second sum as well - just no new turns.
No offensive off-case arguments in the second rebuttal.
Speaker points:
I appreciate funny taglines and puns when they are in good taste.
Yelling / being mean in cross will hurt your speaks.
This paradigm does not apply to New Haven UDL students.
I was a parliamentary debater in the New Haven Urban Debate League for four years, and I've debated on the YDA for the past two years.
For Policy, I have no experience, and I'm not used to fast debate. I also strongly value clarity, both in terms of speaking and in argumentation. Respect your opponents, especially during CX.
For LD, I can handle a reasonable amount of speed, but please do not spread. I value framework pretty highly. You can certainly still win even if I accept the other team's framework, but you'll have an uphill battle. Please provide explicit voters for the round, and be sure to weigh these voters in your rebuttals. I'll be flowing regardless, but this makes my job much easier. Do not use theory.
Good luck and have fun!
The execution of the argument is almost as important as the quality of the argument. A sound argument with good cards that is poorly explained and poorly extended does little to compel. I like well-developed arguments that I can understand. I prefer debates that are intelligent, articulate, and persuasive rather than a speed-talking jumble of statistical evidence.I have to be able to comprehend and flow the internal logic of your arguments. If you are clear, enunciate well, with good diction and voice inflection it helps me understand the key parts of what you are saying.
Evidence is extremely important, but debate is more than just tag and card. I expect debaters to spend time talking about the implications of evidence and making analytical comparisons between arguments. Description of arguments through analogy, examples, testimony, or hypothetical situations is a much more persuasive style of debate than just presenting a flurry of statistics.
Debaters who take the time to create good cross-examinations are appreciated. A goal of the cross-examination is to reveal the fallacies of your opponents' arguments and how their claims appear to run counter to probable impacts or how their silence or ambiguities are cause to vote against their conditional claims. A good cross-examination will go a significant way to winning a debate and scoring high points. Take time to consider what it is you are going to ask and how to develop your line of questioning.
I wish to hear clear and impactful speeches. You must spend time accentuating the evidence as you read it and after you read it. Contentions should be more than a number and a few words. You must articulate the warrant extended to the claims you are offering up for consideration.
Everyone in the debate should be courteous through-out the debate, and it is preferable that you keep your own accurate time. Winning arguments are good arguments, not necessarily plentiful ones.
Have fun and show how your arguments matter and why you should win!
This is also my paradigm for LD - Please NO SPREADING for LD.
I was a 4-year debater at Carrollton High School and I have only judged and competed in Public Forum.
my email is javierlm030503@gmail.com if you have any questions after the round.
Expectations
1) tech > truth
2) Do not bring up any new arguments from the second summary onwards
3) No racist or sexist remarks
4) I am not your person for theory at all
If you have any questions let me know
Chad Meadows (he/him)
If you have interest in college debate, and would be interested in hearing about very expansive scholarship opportunities please contact me. Our program competes in two policy formats and travels to at least 4 tournaments a semester. Most of our nationally competitive students have close to zero cost of attendance because of debate specific financial support.
Debate Experience
College: I’ve been the head argument coach and/or Director of Debate for Western Kentucky University for a little over a decade. WKU primarily competes in NFA-LD, a shorter policy format. This season (2023) we are adding CEDA/NDT tournaments to our schedule.
High School: I’ve been an Assistant Coach, and primarily judge, for the Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia for several years. In this capacity I’ve judged at high school tournaments in both Policy Debate and Public Forum.
Argument Experience/Preferences
I feel comfortable evaluating the range of debates in modern policy debate (no plan affirmatives, policy, and kritik) though I am the most confident in policy rounds. My research interests tend toward more political science/international affairs/economics, though I’ve become well read in some critical areas in tandem with my students’ interests (anti-blackness/afropessimism in particular) in addition I have some cursory knowledge of the standard kritik arguments in debate, but no one would mistake me for a philosophy enthusiast. On the nuclear weapons topic, almost all of my research has been on the policy side.
I have few preferences with regard to content, but view some argumentative trends with skepticism: Counterplans that result in the plan (consult and many process counterplans), Agent counterplans, voting negative any procedural concern that isn’t topicality, reject the team counterplan theory that isn’t conditionality, some versions of politics DAs that rely on defining the process of fiat, arguments that rely on voting against the representations of the affirmative without voting against the result of the plan.
I feel very uncomfortable evaluating events that have happened outside of the debate round, especially in the CEDA/NDT community where I have limited knowledge of the context regarding community trends.
I have little experience evaluating debates with some strategies that would only be acceptable in a 2-person policy debate context - 2ac add-ons, 2nc counterplanning, 2ac intrinsicness tests on DA, etc. I’m not opposed to these strategies, and understand their strategic purpose, but I have limited exposure.
Decision Process
I tend to read more cards following the debate than most. That’s both because I’m curious, and I tend to find that debaters are informing their discussion given the evidence cited in the round, and I understand their arguments better having read the cards myself.
I give less credibility to arguments that appear unsupported by academic literature, even if the in round execution on those arguments is solid. I certainly support creativity and am open to a wide variety of arguments, but my natural disposition sides with excellent debate on arguments that are well represented in the topic literature.
To decide challenging debates I generally use two strategies: 1) write a decision for both sides and determine which reflects the in-round debating as opposed to my own intuition, and 2) list the relevant meta-issues in the round (realism vs liberal internationalism, debate is a game vs. debate should spill out, etc.) and list the supporting arguments each side highlighted for each argument and attempt to make sense of who debated the best on the issues that appear to matter most for resolving the decision.
I try to explain why I sided with the winner on each important issue, and go through each argument extended in the final rebuttal for the losing team and explain why I wasn’t persuaded by that argument.
Public Forum
Baseline expectations: introduce evidence using directly quoted sections of articles not paraphrasing, disclose arguments you plan to read in debates.
Argument preferences: no hard and fast rules, but I prefer debates that most closely resemble the academic and professional controversy posed by the topic. Debate about debate, while important in many contexts, is not the argument I'm most interested in adjudicating.
Style preferences: Argumentation not speaking style will make up the bulk of my decision making and feedback, my reflections on debate are informed by detailed note taking of the speeches, speeches should focus their time on clashing with their opponents' arguments.
She/Her
Marist '22 | Northeastern '26
Debated for 5 years on the national circuit
Include me on email chains nahasmaggie@gmail.com
I'd say I'm a fairly typical flow judge. Extend and weigh your arguments clearly. No new arguments in final focus. Make sure you are signposting in your speeches. I'm fine with some speed, but please don't spread. Please don't read me framework unless you actually plan to weigh under that framework. The second speaking team should absolutely be frontlining in rebuttal. That being said, the first speaking team does not automatically gain access to all unfrontlined responses during first summary. I want to see your arguments being extended fully, meaning extend whatever links/internal links/warrants/impacts/frontlines/etc. that you're going for. If you just tell me to extend your *enter last name* card, it will probably mean literally nothing to me, so focus on the actual arguments. I will always prefer cut cards over paraphrasing. I generally think paraphrasing is bad and disclosure is good for the activity. Stealing prep is really annoying and so is taking excessive time to produce called cards. If something important happens in cross, tell me about it in a speech, otherwise, it won't be on my flow and probably won't affect my decision.
The reason I love debate is because it is inclusive and educational. If anything happens in the round which goes against these values, I will dock your speaker points.
I am a parent judge - 2020-2021 was my twins' final year as high school debaters, and I usually judged at almost every tournament, so I have been lucky enough to see a bunch of really great rounds. I typically judged PF, but have also judged a fair amount of LD.
I am looking for a DEBATE - not just the best speeches. I will give the win to the team that makes the most compelling case as to why their side is right and/or the opponent is wrong. I tend not to flow every specific point, but rely more on which team's overall argument is stronger. I probably put more weight on cross-ex and final summary arguments than most judges.
I usually am more convinced by a smaller number of really great points that are well defended than a whole bunch of pretty good points (quality of argument versus quantity). I am also looking for the debaters to pay attention to what their opponent says and specifically give a good counter argument to those points.
Hey, I'm Alec. I debated Public Forum for Carrollton High School and now I attend UGA
Email: alecsiek1@gmail.com (please add me to the email chain)
I never really know how to structure my preferences, so here's a basic rundown of what I like to see:
1) Tech > Truth. Everything you want me to vote on needs to be really well warranted in every speech though.
2) Spend time engaging in arguments constructively. Good logic beats bad evidence every time.
3)Please collapse as the round progresses.I am a huge believer that one or two really well warranted arguments are better than a bunch of unwarranted ones.
4) Weigh consistently, direct comparison of links will take you far. As a judge, I want to intervene as little as possible. The earlier you start weighing, the better.
5)Meta-weighing is important! If you are using different weighing mechanisms than your opponents, you should be weighing those too.
6) I can handle speed, just make sure you're not sacrificing clarity.
7) I have really low threshold for theory, but that doesn't mean I won't vote for it. If you are keeping an abusive practice in check, go for it. However, if you are running theory against a team that has no threshold for it, that can be equally abusive in my eyes.
Other than that, you do you. There is not one right style of debate, and I don't want to make you fit into one.
I hope this goes without saying, but please be respectful to your opponents. Debate is such a cool educational tool, and I hate it when people are discouraged from using it. If you are being blatantly disrespectful, I'll drop you.
Carter King Midtown Paradigm:
My name is Brandon Tung. I'm a freshman at UIUC majoring in Psychology (no I don't psychoanalyze people, psychoanalysis is a pseudoscience until proven otherwise) with plans to focus in Clinical Psychology, as well as minor in EALC (East Asian Languages and Culture). I did pretty much every form of debate in high school (LD, PF, Policy) as a part of the Northview HS team, and was captain of the Public Forum section of the team for a year. I have not judged a debate round in over a year, maybe longer, but I will do my best to give you educational feedback and judge the round as fairly and unbiased as possible.
A couple of things you should know:
- If you're spreading, please send me your cards. I'd actually prefer if you went slower, but talk with a more concise and clear voice, even if you do miss a few points in your original constructive.
- Be polite. It's common etiquette, and if you don't treat others with respect, don't expect to be treated any better. I know being aggressive is a style of debate from first-hand experience, but there's a difference between aggressiveness and rudeness. I expect a handshake from everyone before and after a round unless you have a contagious disease, in which case I expect you to stay home.
- I will vote for rounds based off of who communicated the information to me in the most logical and persuasive way. Even if you have the best cards in the world, I will not vote for you if it isn't presented in a logical manner. Also, if you have any arguments that are remotely insulting i.e. racist, sexist, etc. I will stop the debate and ask you to leave, although I hope this will not happen.
- I think that CXs and Rebuttals are the most interesting part of debate, so value those over your Constructive.
- Don't take the debate too serious. I enjoy a good debate, but at the same time, if the atmosphere is too tense it makes me feel like I'm judging a court case, not a debate round. Granted, don't be too laid back, as I do expect some form of etiquette. If you add some jokes or make me laugh then I might give you an extra speak. However, if you try too hard to make a joke I'll probably take off a speak.
- If you bring me a protein shake (no nuts please) I'll give you an extra speak, but don't tell anyone.
(Note: Extra speaks does not mean I will vote for you. A team's performance within the round will be what actually counts, even if they have less speaks than the other team. )
Congratulations, you've made it to the end!
Here's a cat for your time.
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⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠓⠛⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠛⠋⠀⠀⢸⣧⣤⣤⣶⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⣿⡿⠀⠀
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⠈⠛⠻⠿⢿⣿⣷⣶⣦⣤⣄⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⣿⡏⠀⠀⠀
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠛⠛⠿⠿⣿⣷⣶⣶⣤⣤⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢿⡿⣄
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣧
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣿⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣠⣤⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣤⣄⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⢿⣻⣷⣶⣾⣿⣿⡿⢯⣛⣛⡋⠁⠀⠀⠉⠙⠛⠛⠿⣿⣿⡷⣶⣿
EMAIL: ishitakvaish@gmail.com
Good luck debating! Remember to relax and enjoy the tournament. Debate can be stressful and cause anxiety, so don’t forget it is an education and enjoyable activity. I have debated throughout high school in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas. I am a traditional debater. 2nd year at Georgia Tech - Go Jackets!
LD
Framework: This is so important - it needs to be extended in every speech because it ultimately tells me how to evaluate the impacts in this round.
Contention-Level Preferences: I will vote for Kritiks, topicality, and counter plans. However, I have a strong evidence standard and expect to see well cut evidence in round if you plan to read any of these. I may also call to see cards at the end of a round to evaluate the round.
Cross-Ex: I do not listen during cross or voted based on cross. If something comes up in cross-ex that you want on my flow, you need to bring it up during the speech. Cross-Ex is your time to ask each other, but be polite or I will dock speaker points.
Speed/Spreading: Do not spread. If I cannot understand you, then I won’t have everything on my flow due to the lack of clarity in your speech. Clarity always trumps speed.
Stand while making speeches. You can sit or stand during cross. Do not speak rudely to me or to your opponents - it will affect speaker points.
Policy:
I have judged both LD and Public Forum before, but I am relatively new to judging policy. Please talk clearly and avoid spreading if possible. When you send out speech docs, they should match your speech. If you cut a card half way through, feel free to say "cut card" and move on to the next. I will not flow cross-ex, so if there is anything important said in cross-ex, then take the time to point it out in the following speech. Finally, if I cannot understand you, I will yell clear, type in the chat, raise my hand, etc. If I still cannot understand, I will stop flowing and judge the round based on what I flowed. Please time yourself. My timer will be the final say, but having your own timer is highly suggested to help pace yourself. Please give a road map before every speech. If you have any questions, please let me know!
s/o Anthony Ovadje for the paradigm template :)
I did PF for four years at Marist School.
General Stuff
Weigh and warrant arguments.
Tech > Truth
Add me to the email chain: vance.sydneym@gmail.com
Evidence
If you don't cut cards, strike me. I won't drop you if you paraphrase, but you must have cards available if called for and it will hurt your speaker points. I usually won't call for cards myself, but if your evidence is terribly misconstrued, I won't evaluate it and will tank your speaks.
2nd Half
2nd rebuttal must frontline defense and turns
Summary and FF must extend all parts of an argument if you want me to vote off of it
Speed
I'm fine with speed, but clarity is always more important
Theory/Kritiks
I have basically no experience with K lit, but I'm open to hearing K/soft left arguments. A lot more warranting and explanation needs to be done if you are running this argument in front of me.
I'll usually vote for paraphrasing and disclosure theory unless it's handled atrociously. If your opponents do something terrible in round, I'll also evaluate some sort of shell explaining why its unfair.
Other
Have fun! Debate is really competitive and intense at times, but you will make rounds better for you, your opponents, and judges if you actually seem to be enjoying yourself.
If you have any questions you can ask me in round or just email me.
Judge Philosophy
Name: Lisa Willoughby
Current Affiliation: Midtown High School formerly Henry W. Grady High School
Conflicts: AUDL teams
Debate Experience: 1 year debating High School 1978-79, Coaching High School 1984-present
How many rounds have you judged in 2012-13: 50, 2013-2014: 45, 2015-2016: 25, 2016-17 15, 2017-2018: 30, 2018-19: 30, 2019-20:10, 2020-21: 40, 2021-2022: 35, 2022-2023:6
send evidence e-mail chain to quaintt@aol.com
I still view my self as a policy maker unless the debaters specify a different role for my ballot. I love impact comparison between disadvantages and advantages, what Rich Edwards used to call Desirability. I don’t mind the politics disad, but I am open to Kritiks of Politics.
I like Counterplans, especially case specific counterplans. I certainly think that some counterplans are arguably illegitimate; for example, I think that some international counterplans are utopian, and arguably claim advantages beyond the reciprocal scope of the affirmative, and are, therefore, unfair. I think that negatives should offer a solvency advocate for all aspects of their counterplan, and that multi-plank cps are problematic. I think that there are several reasons why consultation counterplans, and the States CP could be unfair. I will not vote unilaterally on any of these theoretical objections; the debaters need to demonstrate for me why a particular counterplan would be unfair.
I have a minor in Philosophy, and love good Kritik debate. Sadly, I have seen a lot of bad Kritik debate. I think that K debaters need to have a strong understanding of the K authors that they embrace. I really want to understand the alternative or the role of my ballot. I have no problem with a K Aff, but am certainly willing to vote on Framework/T against a case that does not have at least a clear advocacy statement that I can understand. I am persuadable on "AFF must be USFG."
I like Topicality, Theory and Framework arguments when they are merited. I want to see fair division of ground or discourse that allows both teams a chance to prepare and be ready to engage the arguments.
I prefer substance to theory; go for the theoretical objections when the abuse is real.
As for style, I love good line-by-line debate. I adore evidence comparison, and argument comparison. I am fairly comfortable with speed, but I like clarity. I have discovered that as I get older, I am very comfortable asking the students to "clear." I enjoy humor; I prefer entertaining cross-examinations to belligerent CX. Warrant your claims with evidence or reasoning.
Ultimately, I demand civility: any rhetoric, language, performance or interactions that demean, dehumanize or trivialize fellow debaters, their arguments or judges would be problematic, and I believe, a voting issue.
An occasional interruption of a partner’s speech or deferring to a more expert partner to answer a CX question is not a problem in my view. Generally only one debater at a time should be speaking. Interruptions of partner speeches or CX that makes one partner merely a ventriloquist for the other are extremely problematic.
Clipping cards is cheating. Quoting authors or evidence out of context, or distorting the original meaning of a text or narrative is both intellectually bankrupt and unfair.
There is no such thing as one ideal form or type of debate. I love the clash of ideas and argumentation. That said, I prefer discourse that is educational, and substantive. I want to walk away from a round, as I often do, feeling reassured that the policy makers, educators, and citizens of the future will seek to do a reasonable and ethical job of running the world.
For Lincoln Douglas debates:
I am "old school" and feel most comfortable in a Value/Criterion Framework, but it is your debate to frame. Because I judge policy frequently, I am comfortable with speed but generally find it is needless. Clarity is paramount. Because of the limited time, I find that I typically err AFF on theoretical objections much more than I would in a policy round.
I believe that any argument that an AFF wants to weigh in the 2AR needs to be in the 1AR. I will vote against new 2AR arguments.
I believe that NEG has an obligation to clash with the AFF. For this reason, a counterplan would only be justified in a round when the AFF argues for a plan; otherwise a counterplan is an argument for the AFF. The NEG must force a decision, and for that reason, I am not fond of what used to be called a 'balance neg.'