Online Debate Note *IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GO FULL SPEED IN AN ONLINE DEBATE I AM NOT THE JUDGE FOR YOU*

Sam Basler (Policy Coach @ Iowa City High/Iowa City West High)

West Des Moines Valley class of ‘15
Gonzaga class of '19 (2x NDT Qualifier)

Coached at Valley - 3 years

I'm currently getting my masters in Sports and Recreation Management from the University of Iowa

2N Then a 2A then a 2N
Last Updated: 9/22/2019
baslersam@gmail.com

This is a living breathing document

Tl;dr – You do you, and I will vote for the team that wins.

As I judge I have come to realize I agree with my father (David Basler) more and more ... some of this is stolen from his paradigm.

The Basics:
Speed is ok.
T, theory and Ks ok
Be kind to your opponents, your partner and the judge.
I will not be on Facebook during c/x.

I do not follow along with the email chain ... keep that in mind when reading important texts and theory

When you are done with prep you should be ready to speak. Too much stopping prep, thinking about args, and then starting prep again is occurring.

Cites are getting sketchier and sketchier and I don't like it.

Example of a bad cite:

Tag

Spanos 11 (www.kdebate.com/spanos.html)

Example of a good cite:

Tag

Astley 87 (Rick, Singer/Songwriter, "Never Gonna Give You Up", Whenever You Need Somebody, 1987, RCA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ, Accessed 9/22/19)

About Me:

I think this section is necessary because no judge is truly “tabula rasa” Basically everything on here is my personal views on debate and the way I look at it. This is your activity and you make the rules … so you should have the debate you want to have.

I debated for West Des Moines Valley for 5 Years and then I debated at Gonzaga for four years. I have probably seen or heard whatever you could possibly imagine debated at least once.


Specific Arguments:
The Criticism (Don’t worry I put it first so you didn’t have to scroll all the way to the bottom)

Go for it! Good K debate is something that can be really enjoyable to watch and they can be really strategic if done right. You get credit for the arguments you make no more no less. Interpreting f/w debates on the K flow gets kind of tricky because a lot of times it becomes a wash with neither team really making it an offensive reason to vote for them (which is a real shame because chances are if you win framework you will win the debate). Use f/w to … I don’t know… frame the debate! If the 1AC didn’t defend their reps and you think I should vote them down tell me why I should. A well done f/w debate can totally shift the outcome of the K flow. That being said I have a high threshold for excluding all K’s from debate, as I personally believe the 1AC should be able to defend their reps/method. A K has three parts that in order for the neg to win all need to be in the 2NR -- some Ks dont need alts to win -- . (You may have the most kickass link card to heg but that’s irrelevant in a world where you don’t win an impact.)

Perms - the aff gets them (test of competition).


4 min O/V’s are not necessary and !!!! I won’t flow them !!!! … JUST DO IT ON THE LINE BY LINE. (Seriously ... don't test me)


Reading dense philosophical texts at 350 words per minute is not helpful to comprehension. As I try not to intervene as a judge, I am not going to give you the benefit of everything I know about a particular philosopher, theory argument or a particular policy option. You need to explain your arguments.


Topicality

Topicality debates can be great … if you don’t just read your pre-written blocks. I feel like 90% of topicality debates happen at top speed with the judge arbitrarily deciding whether or not the aff is topical. Read less 2 word definitions and standards and expand your arguments, and you will be surprised at the results.

Theory

Condo good/bad at high speed is also not fun for the judge. However, when I do vote on theory, in round abuse is usually why.

Personal opinions:

Condo – one or two is probably fine but I can be convinced otherwise ... the more you read the more abusive it gets

Dispo – probably condo

Severance/Intrinsic Perms – win why its good or bad

Process CP’s – Ehh ... the more specific the better and more legit

PIC’s/PIK’s – YES PLEASE … if and only if they are specific to the aff

Neg Fiat - why do we all just assume the neg gets fiat?

CPs should probably have a solvency advocate

Framework

I will vote for aff’s that don’t read plan texts …. I will also vote against them on framework. I view framework debates pretty much identically with how I view T debates.

When it comes to framework, I will listen to arguments in support of any position, but if neither team wins the framework debate I will default to the question on the ballot- "I believe the better debating was done by ..." Framework against K affs is usually just a topicality argument (or what I call "topiKality"). I will vote against a K aff if you win offensive reasons as to why the aff is bad.

If I need a “new sheet for the overview” – chances are I will be angry and you will see your speaks go down … seriously do it on the line by line.

K Aff’s

You should probably talk about the topic … but how you do that Music? Poetry? Anther method? I’m all ears!

Sure. It is your community. I like the idea that you get to write the rules. Dance, sing or drum like there is nobody watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItZyaOlrb7E

DA’s

The more aff specific the better. Two words really shape the DA flow … IMPACT CALCULUS. If you win the aff is worse that the status quo I will vote negative. Truth > Tech (for the most part) Spin > evidence. Turns case/da analysis should be your best friend.

Counterplans

Pretty self-explanatory ... they need a net benefit. Make sure they are competitive. I won't kick them for you unless you tell me specifically to do that.

See note in theory about solvency advocates.

Case Debate

YES PLEASE! – Case debate is the most underutilized/underappreciated silver bullet in debate. A good case debate is far more valuable than any other argument in debate. I’d rather you read more cards on case than read 7 off.

Heg good. Heg bad. Hackers read your email, so they know how you really feel, but I am cool with whatever.

Speaking

Clarity> Speed

Funny> dry

Charisma> monotonous reading

Jokes/Puns can really help speaker points (but please make sure they are good)

Good cross-ex can improve speaker points and even end debates.

Bad cross-ex can put me to sleep.

Two of the best tips for anyone who debates:

1) Don’t double breathe

2) Slow down to go faster

FAQs:
Q: Can I use the bathroom? Can I get a drink?

A: Yes

~

~

~

Other things I have stolen from my Dad -


SPEED.
If you are clear, I will be able to flow you. However, though speaking quickly has become a community norm in policy debate, debate is still fundamentally about the quality of your advocacy and communication. I think it is my job as a judge to say who was winning on my flow when time expired. I don't want your speech document and if your delivery is unclear that means I will won't have your argument on my flow. This also means I will rarely call for cards unless there is a disagreement over what the card says or I don't know how else to decide the debate.

"I wanna go fast."- Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006

PREP.
I do not require a team to use prep time to flash their speech to the other team. Don't steal prep time while the other team is flashing you their arguments. Also, if you still need to re-order all of your papers when you get up to the podium, you are still prepping.

MEAN PEOPLE SUCK.
Even though I believe the sarcastic slow-clap to be an underutilized method of cross-ex, I expect you to be respectful and courteous to your opponents, your partner and to the judge. I can assure you that the best advocates out in the real world (whether they are trial attorneys, lobbyists, politicians, activists, writers, Comedy Central talk show hosts, etc.) understand the difference between vigorous disagreement in a debate forum and mutual respect and even admiration outside of that forum. I believe in a debate round we should all strive to disagree agreeably, and as soon as the round is over the disagreement should end.

"Gretchen, I'm sorry I laughed at you that time you got diarrhea at Barnes & Nobles." - Karen Smith, Mean Girls, 2004

TECH OR TRUTH?
If something is totally counter-intuitive and empirically false, telling me that (you have to speak the words) is probably enough to defeat an argument. However, I also like it when people take counter-intuitive positions and explain why they are true, even if our first instinct is to reject them. But yeah...try not to drop shtuff.

WELL DONE, YOUNG PADAWAN.
I have nothing but respect for young people who choose to use their free time developing their critical thinking skills and engaging in an academic exercise like debate. It will serve you well in life, whatever you choose to do, and this is why I place such a high value on the activity. I promise you I will do my best to be fair, constructive, encouraging and engaged.

Iowa City West '22, UIUC '26

akhil.debate@gmail.com

Read whatever arguments you are most comfortable with

Debated for 4 years at Iowa City West as a 2N

Between every card you read, it's helpful to say the word "AND" to make it clear to the judge when you're going from one card to the next

Make sure to flow, it will help you make sure you answer all of their arguments and not drop any

Good Luck Everyone!

if im judging you youre a novice so the thoughts listed here will fit that context

the easiest ways to get my ballot is to do impact calc and explain why you win in the final rebuttals - I hate having to intervene and do that work myself

say "AND" in between every card and new argument made in constructives

im more lenient on zero risk existing than in normal debates

i think that aff teams that explain their framing contentions as "magnitude doesn't matter" are very unpersuasive especially because their evidence does not say that at all, it only suggests that magnitute becomes irrelevant as the probability reaches statistical noise, which is actually more persuasive and how you should explain it.

I think that the crime turn in theory is a bad argument, however in my opinion the evidence for it when used against soft left affs like the death penalty is quite good in my opinion, unfortunately that is not the case for the abolish the police aff which is the aff it makes the most sense against, if you know the evidence on this well and you explain it well in the final rebuttals you can secure my ballot.

I enjoy neg teams that negate the idea of criminal justice reform instead of negating the idea of x actor doing the plan, the first are much more enjoyable, and therefore mean that you'll probably get more speaks if im judging you in that debate. this means you should read args like "dp is morally acceptable because someone who murders deserves to die." and the crime turn.

you get 10 minutes of "tech time" after that finishes up im not going to be hesitant to just say you have to start your speech

i hate it when it takes more than 1 minute to get an email sent

Put me on the email chain: jgcline28@gmail.com

About Me: This is my third year debating at CR Washington. She/Her Pronouns. 1N/2A.

Big things:

1) Actually highlight your cards. I’ve been in too many rounds where debaters read cards with no more than eight words (that don’t even create a grammatically sensical argument) are highlighted and then they extend the evidence like they highlighted the entire card. It is also somewhat common to see evidence that has been highlighted (or underlined) to change the meaning of the author’s words. These things are A) cheating and B) an awful model for debate. I won’t factor evidence that isn’t fairly highlighted in my decision.

2) Debate with integrity. To me, this means treating the game, me, your partner, and your opponent with respect. Bro-culture in debate is real, harmful, and a form of gatekeeping that makes too many debaters feel like they don’t belong in this space. I am an extremely proud member of this community so I will call you out if you are abusing the round as a forum to be disrespectful and/or to advance blatantly unethical arguments.

3) Don’t forget your timer. Time your own prep. Time your opponent's prep. Don’t steal prep. I don’t think that it’s prep to attach a doc to an email but keep your mic unmuted and give your order promptly.

4) Online Debate…it sucks. Be patient. Internet connections are finicky, CX is difficult with a lag, email chains sometimes go to spam folders, etc. I trust that everyone is doing the best that they can, and I ask that you assume this too. If you are using “tech difficulties” as a way to steal prep I promise that it will be extremely obvious and not tolerated.

Case and Impacts:

Generally, I read soft-left positions. I can be convinced that extinction impacts matter but make sure you have explained the internal links well.

I think that a lot of the heavy lifting to win a debate happens on the case page. Impact calculus that’s contextual to the aff’s impacts and clash on impact framing debates makes a huge difference.

I think that having a plan text is key to ground and that affs need inherency.

T:

I love T and will vote on it, but I think that T is a tool meant solely to protect the neg, so I tend to default truth over tech.

Fairness is the internal link to education.

Affs need to spec the agent in the plan text or in the solvency evidence.

CPs:

Make sure to clearly explain the mechanism of the CP and how it solves each part of the aff (or why it doesn’t have to).

I don’t find perm theory debates to be super compelling.

Generally, I think PICs are bad.

Ks:

I am the most familiar with cap, security, biopower, etc. type arguments. I am not the ideal judge for identity Ks because I don’t have knowledge on these lite bases. PoMo is a no-go.

I am Aff leaning on framework. Make sure you give your framework an impact. What changes about the way I decide the round if you win your framework?

Make sure the K has a clear impact and that you fully explain how the alt works, who does it, and what happens post alt.

DAs:

I love politics DAs and am not receptive to politics DAs bad arguments.

Make sure you clearly explain your internal links.

Theory:

I will vote on it but don't just read your blocks—no one wants to have to decide between two theory ships passing in the night.

Aff leaning on condo. Dispo is absurd. Judge kick is ridiculous. Alts should be clear and probably shouldn’t be utopian.

Misc.:

I won’t vote for death-good arguments and will stop flowing teams that read them.

Remember the round isn't over until the time runs out on the 2AR. Don't debate like anything else is true—you can ALWAYS find a way to get the ballot.

Don’t be nervous, have fun, and debate with integrity.

I debated for 4 years at Cedar Rapids Washington. They/Them pronouns. I was always a 2N/1A

Put me on the email chain: 22cgay@gmail.com

General Notes:

I have not judged on the NATO topic. If you think an acronym or concept may be confusing and is key to you winning, make sure to explain it.

Do what you are best at.

If you are racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist/ect. I will call you out and vote you down. You are not better or above anyone else in the room. We're all here because we like debating, don't make the experience miserable for someone.

If there is a real reason that's out of your control that makes it so your spreading may be slower/less clear (that's not tech related) either email me or say something before round and I'll remember that when assigning speaks.

Online debate is rough. I have debated online so I understand the struggle. If theres tech issues thats not prep time. That being said, please dont fake tech issues as a way to steal prep. Its not nice and is pretty obvious that you are lying. It will hurt your speaker points.

T:

I will vote on it. Any aff can lose to T, but the 2NR needs to have some impact that is warranted out.

I want to see clash here.

Case list or TVAs are a must when the aff asks.

Theory:

I will vote on it but you need to do the work.

Don't just read your blocks--clash.

Tell me why what the other team is doing is bad, and what the impact to that is.

I default to durable fiat being real and good, but if you tell me its not and the other teams drops it ill take what you said.

DAs:

I like DAs. I went for politics a decent amount.

Impact Calc is needed to win.

Make sure you’re winning the framing flow or both sides agree on framing.

Uniqueness and Link pushes by the aff can be really good.

CPs:

CPs need a net benefit, don't assume we all know what the net benefit is, take the 3 seconds to say it.

2-3 condo is typically fine but I can be convinced that 1 condo is bad--see theory notes above.

Ks:

I’m the most familiar with Ks like cap, security, biopower, etc. Most of my 2NRs were Ks but that doesn't mean I know/understand everything K related.

Clash on framework is really good and usually is needed to win.

PoMo is a no go.

Case:

Case turns are a totally legit 2NR and can be a great tool to attack affs. Very underrated strat.

Clash on framing debates makes debate way more fun and tends to be underestimated in rounds.

I read mostly soft-left affs, but also have gone for extinction impacts. Do what you are best at.

I’m not anti k-aff on face but I won’t pretend like that’s my arena. I've never read a k-aff and I think having a plan text is key to ground.

When the aff has multiple advantages, everyone needs to be super explicit about what arguments are on which flows and keep them there throughout the debate--especially in novice deabte.

Debated at Cedar Rapids Washington for four years. IFLs state champion 2021. Wellesley College class of 25. I'm only familiar with policy debate. She/Her/Her's pronouns. My last name is pronounced "Kern". You can call me Elizabeth instead of "judge."

Put me on the email chain: elizabethkolln@gmail.com

You do you. I'm fine with almost anything. Don't be rude/offensive in round. I will not tolerate any behavior that is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. If you repeatedly misgender your opponent I will vote you down. Don't read "death good" in front of me.

Coppell 2022- I am not super familiar with this year’s topic yet so please explain water-jargon or acronyms when you use them. :)

Tech > truth.

Time your own prep. Not a bad idea to also time your opponent's prep. Also please format your speech docs so that they're easy to navigate. Try to be clear and coherent, I'll make my decision based on my flow.

Dropped arguments are true but warrants are still important. Don't say the other team dropped an argument that they answered.

tldr-

More familiar with policy, but will vote on Ks/K affs. Will vote on theory. Don’t botch the case debate. If you’re a novice read my novice section please. Be nice in round!!

Novices-

The most impressive thing you can do is debate off your flow and do line-by-line. Also sign-post. This makes my job so much easier. I don’t like messy debates. Also please give a roadmap.

Impact calc is essential. Tell me why it makes sense for me to use your framing model.

Split the block! The 2NC should take 2-3 positions and the 1NR should take 1. This gives you more time for line-by-line and leads to more in-depth debates.

I'm generally going to give y'all pretty high speaks because y'all deserve it.

Cx-

I think cross examination is a speech. That being said, I need arguments you make in cx to show up in your future speeches.

T-

I like T and I will vote on it. It needs to be extended well in the block in order for it to be the 2NR (1NRs on just T are a power move.) If you're going for it make sure it's the only thing in your 2NR. Structure is key, messy T debates aren't fun for anyone.

Fairness is not an impact, but can be a strong internal link. Limits for the pure sake of limits is not compelling. Clash and education are good.

Theory-

I will vote on it. It needs to be a good chunk of the 1AR and all of the 2AR. Don't just read your blocks, apply it to the round.

Dropped theory is a voting issue.

DAs-

I like DA debates. I need impact comparison.

CPs-

CPs are generally good. I like smart CPs that actually solve the aff. Cheaty CPs are probably bad and should have theory read against them. 2 condo is probably fine, 3+ is shadier.

PICs are probably cheating but they can be smart arguments.

Ks-

Most familiar with Ks like cap, security, etc.

I understand most identity Ks but I am not the best judge for those debates.

PoMo is a no go.

The aff should probably be able to weigh their plan in some way, but I can be convinced otherwise. The link is the most important part of the K. If you want judge kick, tell me.

Subbi Namakula, Michael Cho, Jake Sanders, Henry Wright, and Warren Sprouse have all coached me during my debate career. My senior year I was mostly policy-oriented, but I don't really have a preference when it comes to K vs. Policy debate.

Case-

Case turn debates are fun (except spark.) Don't concede the aff's framing. If you read generic impact defense contextualize it to the aff and their internal link chains. Worthwhile impact defense is really all about pulling the logical warrants out of your cards and using them to poke holes in the other team’s internal link chains.

I've read soft-left affs for almost my entire debate career, but extinction impacts are fine too. Have a clear route to solvency. Also explain your internal links.

I'm most familiar with topical affs. I have read some K affs, but I'm not especially well-versed in them. Framework/Cap debates are fine.

Be nice. Have fun.

For prefs

- I debated in high school for 3.1 years (the .1 being freshman year) at Iowa City West. Currently a freshman debating at Northwestern (although I just joined the team like two weeks ago so take that for what it's worth). I was/am a 2A.

- Went to GDI sophomores 5 week and Mich 7 week FFPSVV

- Limited water topic knowledge. I've judged one tournament (Iowa Caucus) on the topic and did a little bit of prep/coaching for Iowa City West

- Very policy-leaning. The vast majority of my experience and knowledge base is in policy-style arguments so I may have difficulty understanding high-theory, abstract, niche, or jargon-heavy Ks (except maybe the fem K because I've been reading a lot of feminist critical literature for a class, but I'd still consider it intro-level material). I have a particular distaste for pomo & baudrillard, but regardless I am willing to vote for any K so long as it is well-explained; just know that my threshold for "well-explained" is high. What will help you either win with the K or beat the K is slowing down in the 2ar/2nr, isolating at the top of your speech the key issues that frame my ballot, and explicitly comparing your offense to your opponents offense on those key issues.

For pre-round prep

Add me on the email chain azl.debate@gmail.com

BE NICE TO YOUR OPPONENT AND YOUR PARTNER IN ROUND >:((((((

Send analytics -- we're online and mics suck sometimes. Even if we're in person, its a good practice.

Speed is fine and good as long as it's CLEAR. Do: slow down on tags, slow down on analytics, signpost, stick to road map, short pause btwn each flow so I can get next sheet of paper, and other good speech practices. Know that I flow exclusively on paper and the faster you go the more unreadable my handwriting becomes.

If there is likely to be a K involved in the debate, read last bullet under "for prefs".

Tech > truth. BUT...

1---no isms good arguments/harmful/violent args

2---I only evaluate arguments that meet my criteria: claim + warrant + impact.

Example:

"Not specifying an agent beyond the USFG in the 1AC is a voting issue (claim) for fairness and education (impact) because it allows for 2AC respecification which spikes out of agent-based arguments (warrant)"

Anything less I will simply ignore.

3---For me to weigh an argument in my decision, it MUST be extended in the final speech, even if it's been conceded by the other team. For example, aff still must extend case/impacts in the 2ar even if neg cold concedes case in the 2nr. Dropped arguments are only true if they are extended.

I will only judge kick if neg wins condo/judge kick in the 2nr.

Be bold!!!! I love non-traditional strategies and will entertain silly arguments. I read the Saudi ally prolif DA on the aff. I put no neg fiat in all my 2ac blocks. I ended my high school debate career extending the God procedural in the 1nr (God solves aff impacts or they are happening for greater good). Note that this does NOT mean I think silly arguments are on-the-whole STRATEGIC, just that they can be fun and I am willing to vote on it. Debater discretion is advised.

Blue is objectively the best color for highlighting.

Tag team cx is fine but please try your best to ask/answer your own questions. Will dock points if you do it too much.

Ins & outs are fine.

+ 0.3 speaks if you say gautam sucks at debate BUT you have to pronounce his name right

& If you make me laugh i'll give you more speaks ahaha ;)

Speechdrop.net is strictly superior to email chains for in-round file sharing, but feel free to contact me via Kalen.pop@gmail.com

I've been involved in policy debate since 2012 and a coach since 2018, currently Head Coach at Iowa City Liberty High School. By day, I'm employed as a sentient Politics DA. (Journalist with a major in political science.)

TLDR: I'll vote on anything you can make me understand. I love DA/CP/Case debates, I'm not a bad judge for the Kritik, but I've been told I'm not a great judge for it either. Speed reading is fine in the abstract, but I do hold debaters to a higher standard of clarity than I think many other judges to. Speed-reading through your analytics will guarantee I miss something.

Detailed Paradigm: everything below this line is background on my opinions, NOT a hard and fast rule about how you should debate in front of me. I do everything in my power to be cool about it, check bias at the door, etc.

Speed Reading: is fine. But don't spread analytics, please. 250 WPM on analytical arguments is really pushing it. I know that some judges can flow that fast, but I am not one of them: my handwriting sucks and is capped at like, normal tagline pace. Otherwise, you're free to go as fast as I can comprehend. I'll yell "CLEAR!" if I can't.

Policy stuff: Yeah of course I'll vote on disads and counterplans and case arguments and topicality. Are there people who don't?

CP theory: Listen, I'll vote on it, but I won't like it. I strongly advise that theory-loving 2As give warranted voters in the speech, and that 1ARs do actual line-by-line rather than pre-written monologues.

Kritiks: are pretty rad, whether they're read as part of a 12-off 1NC or a 1-off, no case strat. I want to be clear, though: I REALLY NEED to understand what you're saying to vote for you with confidence. I find a lot of very talented K debaters just assume that I know what "biopolitical assemblages of ontological Being" or whatever means. I do not.

K affs: are fine. I myself usually stuck to policy stuff when I debated, but I'll hear it out. You should probably have a good reason not to be topical, though. Some people have told me I'm a bad judge for K affs, others have told me I was the most insightful judge at the tournament. (More have told me I was a bad judge for it though, for what it's worth.)

Other debate formats:

PF: PF is traditionally about being persuasive, whereas policy is about being right. If you can do both I'll be impressed and probably give you a 30. Otherwise, I feel like I have a more or less firm grasp on your activity, but I certainly don't have all of its norms memorized.

LD: I have no idea how your activity works and at this point I'm too afraid to ask. Whoever successfully teaches me LD debate will get an automatic 30. Please dumb your Ks down for me, I'm a policy hack.

Congress: Listen, I did one congress round in high school and left it with 0 understanding of how it's supposed to work. If I'm in the back of your room, it means tabroom made a mistake. Because of my background in policy debate, I imagine I'll be biased in favor of better arguments rather than better decorum.

Updated for Fall 2019.- Yes, include me on any email chain. jessemeyer@gmail.com

I am currently an assistant PF debate coach at Iowa City West HS. I am also under contract by the NSDA to produce topic analysis packets and advanced briefs for LD, PF, and Biq Questions. I am also an instructor with Global Academy Commons, an organization that has partnered with NSDA China to bring speech and debate education, public speaking, and topic prep to students in East Asia. In my free time, I play Magic: The Gathering and tab debate tournaments freelance. I am the recipient of the Donald Crabtree Service Award, 2 diamond coach (pending April 2020), and was the state of Iowa's Coach of the Year in 2015.

I say all of this not to impress people. I'm way too old to care about that. I say this to point out one thing: I've dedicated my life to speech and debate. Since I was 14, this activity was a place where I could go to find people that cared about the same things as me and who were like me. No matter how bad of a day I was having, I could go to practice and everything would be ok. This is what debate is to me, and this is what I have worked towards since I became a coach. So it upsets and angers me when I see people that try to win debate rounds by making the world a worst place for others. There is a difference between being competitive and being a jerk. I've had to sit with students who were in tears because they were mistreated because they were women, I've had people quit the team because they were harassed because of their religion, and I've had to ask competitors to not use racial slurs in round. And to be honest, I am tired of it. So if your All Star Tournament Champion strategy revolves around how unconformable you can make your opponent, strike me.

With that being stated, here is how I view arguments.

In LD, I prefer a value and criterion, even if you are going non traditional in your case structure. I don't care if you are traditional, progressive, critical, or performative. I've judges and coached all types and I've voted for all types too. What I care about more is the topic hook you use to get your arguments to the relationship of the topic. If I can't find a clear link, if one isn't established, or if you can't articulate one, I'm going to have a really hard time voting for you.

I weight impacts. This is a holdover from my old college policy days. Clearly extend impacts and weight them. I view the value and criterion as lens for which I prioritize types of impacts. Just winning a value isn't enough to wind the round if you don't have anything that impacts back to it.

If you run a CP, the aff should perm. Perms are tests of competition. Most will still link to the DA so the neg should make that arg. The more unique the CP, the better. CP's should solve at least some impacts of the aff.

If you run a K, throwing around buzz words like "discourse, praxis, holistic, traversing X, or anything specific to the K" without explaining what those mean in the round will lower your speaker points. To me, you are just reading what the cards you found in the policy backfile said. Also, finding unique links to more generic K's, like cap or biopower, will be beneficial in how I view the round. But also note that on some topics, the K you love just might not work. Don't try to force it. A good aff needs to perm. Perm's on K debates tend to solve their offense. I do not like links of omission.

Case debate- Love it.

Theory- Do not love it. When I was in my 20's, I didn't mind theory, but now, the thought of people speed reading or even normal reading theory shells at each other makes me fear for my 50 minutes in round. If theory is justified, I will vote on it but there is a big barrier to what I count as justified. I need to see clear in round abuse. In lue of that, the potential abuse story needs to be absolutely 100% on point. This means that a theory shell that is zipped through in 10 seconds will not be getting my vote. No questions asked. Do the work because I don't do the work for you. Oh, I will not vote on disclosure theory. Disclosing probably is good but I do not require it and unless the tournament does, I don't see a reason to punish the debaters for not doing this.

Reformative arguments- I coached kids on these arguments and I've voted for them too. The thing is that because I don't see them often I have the reputation of not liking them. This creates a negative feedback loop so I never see them and so on... I'll vote for them but you need to have a topic hook and some justification or solvency mech for your performance. I will also be 100% honest because I owe it to the debaters who do this style of debate and who have put in so much time to get it right, I'm probably a midrange judge on this. At large bid tournaments there are probably judges that are better versed in the lit base who can give you more beneficial pointers.

PF Debate

Unless told otherwise, I use the pilot rules as established by the NSDA.

I hold evidence to a high standard. I love paraphrasing but if called out, you better be able to justify what you said.

If I call for a card, don't hand me a pdf that is 40 pages long. I will not look for it. I want it found for me. If you expect me to find it, I will drop the card.

I am still getting on board with pf disclosure. I am not the biggest fan as of now. I can see the educational arguments for it but it also runs counter to the basis for the event. I do not require teams to share cases before round and arguments in round as to why not sharing put you at a disadvantage won't get you ground.

I appreciate unique frameworks.

This event is not policy. I don't drop teams for speed or reading card after card after card but I will dock speaker points.

I weight impacts. But with this stipulation; I am not a fan of extinction impacts in pf. I think it goes a bit too far to the policy side of things. Use your framework to tell me how to prioritize the impacts.

Treat others with respect. I will drop people for being intentionally horrible to your opponents in round. Remember, there is a way to be competitive without being a jerk.

Should also go without saying but be nice to your partner too. Treat them as an equal. They get the W the same as you.

Policy- Honestly, I kind of used the majority of what I wanted to say in the LD section since they are so similar nowadays.

T- Love it. Won most of my college neg rounds on it. Be very clear on the interp and standards. If you go for it, only go for it. Should be the only argument in the 2NR.

Updated 4/19/2024

Experience:

Policy Debate at Shawnee Mission West from 2009-2013 (social services, military presence, space, transportation)

Assistant Policy Coach/Judge for Des Moines Roosevelt 2014-2017

Judge for Dowling Catholic 2018-2022

Marketing/Communications at the NSDA 2018-2022

LD or PF

I judge policy debate 99.9% of the time. On the occasion that I'm in LD or PF, be fairly warned that I don't know your abbreviations or jargon, and I don't know your topic as well. Please explain your acronyms and any tech style arguments you're making. I want clear and specific impacts, and good analysis of your impacts vs. your opponent's.

POLICY

To sum up my paradigm, I value good argumentation and clash. I default as a policymaker, so if you want me to vote on something different, you have to tell me. I can follow pretty much any speed with good signposting and clear tags, but you need to slow down on theory/T/analysis that is tougher to flow. I will answer any questions before the round, and I think you should ask me about things to make this a good experience for us both!

Please note, I have not judged any rounds on this year’s topic. I consider myself fairly knowledgable about the topic areas, but might need further explanation on acronyms or hyper-topic-specific information.

Disadvantages: I think DAs are great. I think they're some of the most real-world argumentation that happens in policy debate. I value great clash and specific link debate.

Counterplans: Go for it.

Kritiks: I have never been a K debater, and I consider my debate IQ on the K to be very low. If you decide to run a K anyway, and want to get my ballot, you need to drop the jargon and explain your argument extremely clearly. To be crystal clear: running a K in front of me is going to be tough. I have a high bar for clarity and understanding, and if I don't understand what is happening, it's going to be hard for me to vote for you.

If you've read all that and still want to run a K and win the round, you need to do a few things:

1. Explain clearly why passing the affirmative plan is bad.

2. Explain what action signing the ballot takes -- focus on solutions. What does the alternative do? What does it solve?

3. Drop the jargon/high theory args and talk to me like I've never heard of debate.

I have been on panels where teams decide to throw out my ballot because they love the K. I believe this is a poor strategic decision.

Topicality: Unless you give me a good reason otherwise, I won't evaluate potential abuse, so don't run T unless the aff is actually untopical.

Theory: If you're going to read theory args, go slow. I flow on paper and it's super hard to flow if you just rattle them off. I will likely just stop flowing. Like I said in the T description, I most likely won't evaluate potential abuse, so don't run theory unless it's actually unfair.

I believe students should be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to tech issues at online tournaments. However, if I believe you are taking advantage to get extra prep time or cheat in another way, I will offer one warning before beginning to penalize the team.

I will not tolerate any forms of harassment in rounds that I am watching. If something you do constitutes harassment in my eyes, I will give you the lowest speaks possible and end the round.

My email is thegracerogers@gmail.com. You can put me on the email chain if you want, but I won't be following along with your speech doc -- I'll only look at evidence if I need to call for it after the round.

Background: 4 years at Baylor University, 1-Time NDT Qualifier. Assistant Coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, 2018-2022, Assistant Coach at Dowling Catholic High School, 2019-Present. Currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science and I work for the Legislative Services Agency in Iowa.

Yes I want to be on the email chain: Sheaffly@gmail.com. Also email me with questions about this paradigm.

Paradigms are difficult to write because there are so many potential audiences. From novice middle schoolers to varsity college debaters, I judge it all. As a result, I want everyone reading this paradigm to realize that it was written mostly in terms of varsity college debates. I think about debate a little differently in high school and a little differently when it comes to novice debates, but I hope this gives you a general idea of how to debate in front of me

== TL;DR ==

Do line-by-line. I do not flow straight down and I do not flow off the speech doc. I am a DA/CP/Case kind of judge. I am bad at understanding kritiks and I am biased towards the topic being good. Be nice.

== Top Level - Flowing ==

It has become clear to me after years of judging that most of my decisions center not around my biases about arguments (which I won’t pretend not to have), but rather around my ability to understand your argument. My ability to understand your argument is directly related to how clean my flow is. Thus, it is in your best interest to make my flow very clean. I used to think I was bad at flowing, but I've come to the conclusion that line-by-line and organized debate has become a lost art. Debaters who learn this art are much more likely to win in front of me.

You are NOT as clear on tags as you think you are. Getting every 4th word of a tag is okay only if every 4th word is the key nouns and verbs. This is never true. So slow down on your tags, I am NOT READING THEM.

I’m not gonna flow everything straight down and then reconstruct the debate afterwards. The 1NC sets the order of the debate on the case, the 2AC sets the order of the debate off case. Abide by that order. Otherwise, I will spend time trying to figure out where to put your argument rather than writing it down and that’s bad for you.

Another tip: Find ways to give me pen time. For example, do not read 4 perms in a row. It’s impossible for me to write down all of those words. Plus, it’s always first and you haven’t even given me time to flip my paper over. And then your next argument is always an analytic about how the CP doesn’t solve and then I can’t write that down either. So stop doing things like that.

== Top Level – Arguments ==

Basic stuff: I love creativity and learning from debate. Make it clear to me how much you know about the arguments you are making. I don’t think this means you have to have cut every card you read, but understanding not just the substance of your argument, but the tricks within them is important.

As I said above, the thing that will be a problem for me is not understanding your argument. Unfortunately, this probably impacts Kritik debaters more than policy debaters, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

I am probably a little more truth > tech than most judges. I believe in technical debate, but I also believe that debate is a place where truth is important. I don't care how many cards you have that say something, if the other team asserts it is not true and they are correct, they win the point.

== Top Level - Community Norms ==

1) For online debate, prep time stops when you unmute yourself and say stop prep. A couple of reasons for this. a) I have no way of verifying when you actually stopped prep if you come out and say "we stopped 15 seconds ago" and b) neither do your opponents, which means that you are basically forcing them to steal prep. I don't like it so that's the rule.

2) Debate is a messed-up community already. Don't make it more so. Be nice to each other. Have fun in the debate while you are disagreeing. If you make it seem like you think the other team is stupid during the debate, it's gonna make me grumpy. I love debate and I love watching people do it, but I hate confrontation and I hate it when people get angry about debates that don't matter that much in the long term. Be nice. Please.

3) This is mostly for high schoolers, where I see this issue all the time: If you are going to send a document without your analytics in it, making the version of the doc without the analytics in it IS PREP TIME. You don't get 45 seconds to send the document. Y'all are GenZ, I know you can send an email faster than that. You get 15 seconds before I break in and ask what the deal is. You get 20 seconds before I start prep again.

== Specifics ==

Affirmatives...

...Which Defend the Topic - I enjoy creativity. This includes creative interpretations of topicality. You should also read my thoughts on DAs as they apply to how you construct your advantages. Clear story is good.

...Which Do Not Defend the Topic - I am likely not a great judge for you. I think I may have a reputation as someone who hates these arguments. That reputation is not unearned, I built it up for years. But over time I’ve come to become a lot more accepting of them. There are many of these affirmatives that I think provide valuable debate. The problem I have is that I cannot figure out an interpretation of debate that allows the valuable "K Affs," but limits out the affs that I think are generally created to confuse their way to a win rather than provide actual valuable propositions for debate. I will always think of framework as a debate about what you JUSTIFY, rather than what you DO, and every interpretation I have ever seen in these debates simply lets in too much of the uneducational debates without providing a clear basis for clash.

I realize this sounds like I have been totally brainwashed by framework, and perhaps I have. But I want to be honest about where I'm at. That said, I think the above makes clear that if you have a defensible INTERPRETATION, I am willing to listen to it. You should also look at the section under kritiks, because I think it describes the fact that I need the actual argument of the affirmative to be clear. This generally means that, if your tags are poems, I am not ideologically opposed to that proposition, but you better also have very clear explanation of why you read that poem.

Negative Strategies

Framework: See discussion above. Good strategy. Impact, impact, impact. Education > procedural fairness > any other impact. “Ks are bad” is a bad argument, “their interpretation makes debate worse and uneducational” is a winnable argument. Topical version of the aff goes a long way with me.

Topicality: Good strategy. Impact, impact, impact. Case lists. Why that case list is bad. Affirmatives, you should talk about your education. I love creative interps of the topic if you defend them. But for the love of god slow down.

Disads: Absolutely. Well constructed DAs are very fun to watch. However, see truth vs. tech above – I have a lower threshold for “zero risk of a [link, impact, internal link] etc.” I love Politics DAs, but they’re all lies. I am up-to-date on the news. If you are not, do not go for the politics DA using updates your coaches cut. You will say things that betray that you don’t know what you’re talking about and it will hurt your speaks. Creative impact calc (outside of just magnitude, timeframe, probability) is the best impact calc.

Counterplans: I'm tired of the negative getting away with murder. I am VERY willing to listen to theory debates about some of these crazy process CPs which compete off of a net benefit or immedicacy/certainty. Theory debates are fun for me but for the love of god slow down. Otherwise, yeah, CPs are fine.

Kritiks: Eh. You can see the discussion above about K affs. I used to be rigidly ideological about hating the K. I am now convinced that the K can make good points. But because I was so against them for so long, I don’t understand them. I still think some Kritiks (here I am thinking mostly of French/German dudes) are basically designed to confuse the other team into losing. Problem is, I can’t tell the difference between those Kritiks and other Kritiks, because all Kritiks confuse me.

Very basic Ks are fine. Realism is bad, heg is bad, capitalism is bad, I get. Get much beyond that and I get lost. It's not that I think you're wrong it's that I have always been uninterested so I never learned what you're talking about. I cannot emphasize enough how little I understand what you're talking about. If this is your thing and I am already your judge, conceptualize your K like a DA/CP strategy and explain it to me like I have never heard it before. Literally, in your 2NC say: "We believe that X is bad. We believe that they do X because of this argument they have made. We believe the alternative solves for X." I cannot stress enough how serious I am that that sentence should be the top of your 2NC and 2NR. I have had this sentence in my judge philosophy for 3 years and this has been the top of the 2NC once (in a JV debate!). I do not know how much clearer I can be. Again, I am not morally opposed to Kritiks (anymore), I just do not understand them and I will not vote for something I do not understand. I believe you need a good link. Yes, the world is terrible, but why is the aff terrible. You also need to make your tags not a paragraph long, I never learned how to flow tags that were that long.

Updated Feb 2017

Yes, I want to be on the email chain, tewsie1@gmail.com.

If you are a team that has been judged by me in the past there aren’t many changes. This is mostly an update b/c I haven’t looked at this thing in like 7 years.

I don’t really have strong argumentative preferences. Do what you do best and I will give you my best attempt to understand what you are arguing. Complete arguments have a claim, warrant and impact (reason it matters in the debate). Incomplete arguments rarely make it into my decision.

I flow and I don’t really read speech doc until I need a specific piece of evidence at the end. I value line-by-line refutation and get irritated when arguments don’t line. Overview proliferation is annoying. Most of those args can just be made on the lbl. I also flow on paper so undeclared overviews destroy my flow.

Good impact analysis helps my decision. Spend a little time talking about timeframes and probabilities instead of just magnitude. Often times mag is a tie, so I need something to clarify the extinction v extinction debate, obviously.

I look mad all the time. I’m not actually mad. It has no bearing on how I feel about the debate or you as debaters.  If I am mad at you, you will know it.

Pet Peeves:

Links are links not Disads to XYZ. If you win a link that means the argument competes, it isn’t a DA to anything on its own.

Debaters should handle their own CXs. If they need help that is fine, but they should at least be given the chance to answer questions in their own CX.

You are 18-25 year olds, figure out how email works. Excessive time sending email will result in prep time restarting.

I find it kind of sad that debaters aren’t funny anymore. I reward humor with points. Obviously, you should consider audience and appropriateness but don’t take everything so seriously all the time.

CP/Disads

I don’t really have anything substantive to say here. You can outweigh the aff with a good disad you don’t always have to have a counter-plan but you do have to win case defense. It also helps if you explain the warrants of the case defense in relation to the aff impact claims (instead of just reading cards and letting me sort it out). In DA outweighs the aff rounds, you must have internals between your DA and the case impacts OR some really good defense. You also need to spend a lot of time on internals and TF/Prob differentials.  

Kritiks

I pretty much adjudicate K debates like I do disads, did you prove a link and does the impact outweigh. Also typically in K rounds I will ask myself at the end of the round if I can explain in plain English why I voted on this argument (to the losing team). In other words if you can’t explain a K in simple English it becomes more difficult (not impossible) for me to vote for you. Alternatives don’t have to solve the aff if they solve the K and it outweighs the aff.

Self-serving roles of the ballot are annoying. My ballot typically indicates who did the better debating. Sometimes that better debating means that you convinced your opponents that the ballot means something different, but for real that ballot doesn’t change just b/c you said so. Go ahead and play the game but like all other arguments you are going to have to win this. A simple assertion of a new role is not enough. If you want to change the role of the ballot you are going to have to have a rationale for why your role is good for debate/the round/has some justification that goes beyond “you want to win the round”.

Topicality:

It is a voter. I usually evaluate on competing interps. I can be persuaded by reasonability however I think that these args are deployed weakly these days. Reasonability is a value claim and as such you need to assert the value (i.e. we are reasonable) and then explain how to evaluate reasonableness (how do I recognize if something is reasonable). The aim of this should be to take the onus off of my moral system of what is reasonable/fair to me and put it more on an objective system for recognizing reasonability in relation to community norms. It helps if you have a vision for debate and can defend it and don’t just treat T/FW as an analytic disad.

Theory

I often struggle with theory debates because people blaze through them with no regard for pen time. If you want to win theory debate you have to have a clear link and impact and explain why the impact should merit the ballot. I won’t read your blocks, if I can’t understand it from the speech and my flow then it doesn’t count. 

I have probably put off this long enough. I am a former debater at Iowa City West High School, I debated from 2012-2016. I have been judging since 2016 and have judged a varying extent on each topic since I stopped competing.

My argumentation style was flexible but my roots are in more policy based argumentation and that is what I keep up to date with as a result of following the news. That being said, I am versed in many styles of kritikal argumentation and have read or defended against most. With that noted, if you believe that I am not familiar or just to be safe, make sure to always explain your argumentation on a deeper level than just tag lines. Often historical examples are the best way to break down a kritik that explains to me an objective event to look at.

I am fine with whatever type of affirmative you would like to read. I am not familiar with the 2020-21 topic as I am not actively coaching so make sure to explain to me any acronyms or more specific topic information that I may be lacking. If you are reading a K aff again I believe historical examples are a compelling way to communicate your defense against framework.

I dislike voting on theory but I am willing to do so if it is impacted out to me correctly. I'd say among all types of argumentation this is the one I would like to vote on the least.

Topicality: If you choose to go for this in your 2NR I would like a well impacted and explained narrative for why the affirmative is 1. not topical 2. what this means in terms of the round/ground lost 3. why this is bad for debate. Just make sure you aren't just extending a ton of cards instead of making argumentation, those should be your groundwork in T arguments. Your 2NR should not consist of you rereading your blocks from the 1nc or from the neg block.

I feel as though I have covered the most important things relating to me as a judge. If you have any further questions feel free to reach out to me at colin-waldron at uiowa.edu