Former policy debater at George Mason University, and current graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill. I did policy debate at the college level for over 1 year, and have been judging policy, LD, PF, and big questions debate for 4 years.

My educational background: B.A. in Government and International Politics. Dual Masters in City and Regional Planning (specialization: Housing) and Public Health (specialization: health equity) currently ongoing.

Email: japril@email.unc.edu. If you have questions about my decision that weren't answered during RFD, feel free to email me and I will hopefully be able to answer. I'll keep my flows and notes for up to two weeks after the tournament concludes, so then would be the best time to email me.

I'd like to be included on the email chain please and thanks! The japril@email.unc.edu email will be best for me, but if this doesn't work you can use jordanapril72@gmail.com.

My number one thing is that you should be respectful. No insults, slurs, or disrespecting the other team members. I also will not be pleased if the evidence you read is openly harmful (i.e. homophobic/racist/sexist/transphobic arguments, etc.).

I don't do the whole shaking hands thing. This is not a way to disrespect you - this is a very much "it's not you, it's me" thing. (This was written before COVID, RIP)

Open cross-ex is fine. If this is a virtual tournament though, use more discretion. I have a low tolerance for talking over each other.

Spreading is fine. I should be able to keep up with faster speeches just fine. However if it is during a virtual tournament, I may request slower speeches simply due to issues of audio quality/video buffering/etc.

I expect you and your partner to keep track of your prep time and speech times, and to keep the other team in check.

If you identify as a man and you have a female-identifying partner, you better have a good reason for cutting her off/interrupting her/talking over her during her speeches. If not, I will be very tempted to factor this into your speaker points, and definitely will if it becomes a recurring issue.

I am 100% fine with explaining my RFD and how I felt the debate went down. However after this, if you still don't agree with/like my decision, feel free to post-round me. But it won't change my decision, nor the fact that your arguments were wrong/outweighed/not clear enough. In your final speeches, the burden of proof is on you to make it clear just how your arguments resolve/outweigh/whatever. Don't make me have to do the work for you.

If u like music that isn't sung in English, pls let me know! I love hearing new music (I listen mostly to Russian indie/pop, French pop, Scandinavian metal, Arab indie, etc.)!!!!

Policy:

- If you drop an arg, I will definitely vote on that.

- Cross-ex is binding

- Genuinely extend your arguments, especially ones you intend to win on. Extend these arguments fully throughout the round - I won't vote on it if improperly extended or dropped in the last speeches.

- I am generally inexperienced in theory or topicality arguments and the like. So it's gotta be demonstrated to be pretty egregious or conceded entirely for it to matter much to me. It's not wise having solely an intricate theory vs. condo vs. whatever 2NR and 2AR with me as your judge. If that happens, you may not like my decision.

- You need to extend the warrants of your argument, not just the tags and author. I don't flow author, so I won't mark it as extended if you only mention the author name. And don't just say "cross-apply this author" to another argument - I will not know why it matters without you explaining how this card also answers whatever argument it's being applied to.

- Slow down when you read tags

- I'm a huge fan of analytics - feel free to use them. These can sometimes be far more effective than reading cards.

On Ks - I'm not a K debater so these are not my strong suit. If it is something beyond a more basic and familiar K, just make sure you explain how it links and its significance. I have no problem voting for a K if I can understand it. If it's high theory, be sure to explain it in full beyond the jargon from the specialty.

- Don't be cocky when reading a K. Don't think you're going to automatically win because you're reading a K that you're capable of reading blocks for. Don't just be one of those teams hoping that the big words and confusion will result in a win for you - that's a harmful means of debate. That will not bode well for you.

On DAs - Make sure you have clear impact calculus, and extend the essential arguments during the round. Use overviews! Don't merely rely on overviews to extend though, you still need to genuinely engage with any evidence read against it.

LD

- I'm okay with cards being read in round (with discretion of course)

- I'm more pro-traditional LD (focusing on morality) than I am the progressive/policy-oriented LD. I won't vote you down instantly because you decide to have big-stick impacts like nuclear war or read DAs or Ks on the negative, but use discretion. If one debater is using a traditional LD framework versus the extinction framing, it can be in the territory of abusive. So tl;dr: not the biggest fan but I won't penalize you for it unless there's a reason to.

- I can follow philosophical theory (such as Kant), but if you are referencing that basis, at least explain it throughout the round. What is the significance of this theory and concept?

- The personal views of the other debater don't really matter to me. So don't attack them on things like, say, them being okay with taxes. This is a waste of time, and I won't vote on any of the personal views of the debater unless they are openly racist, sexist, etc.

- I don't know fully all the rules of LD (i.e. what is considered a violation, is this stealing affirmative ground, etc.). If I'm your judge, then these are not your best strategies unless the opponent is being blatantly abusive in round.

PF

- Be clear, go in a logical order for line-by-line

- Please weigh! Make the decision easy for me and make sense! Don't make me have to do any of the work for you.

- If it's in your final focus, it should be in your summary. I won't evaluate any new arguments that appear in the final focus if they weren't found elsewhere in earlier speeches.

- Don't go for everything in the final focus and summary speeches. What are the best arguments you have, the arguments with the least offense, the arguments you feel most confident about? Go for those, prioritize those, and drop some of the other stuff that you feel less confident on. Concede non-uniqueness or other nullifying arguments from the con if you need to (like yeah we are solving miscalculation in the status quo or somethingggg).

- If you're extending a contention, extend all the key aspects of that contention. If for example you drop a link or you drop an impact, that makes it harder for me to evaluate and harder for you to win the round. You need all pieces of the pie to get there or else it'll taste like you forgot to add the sugar (bad metaphor - just roll with it).

- I weigh crossfire a little low on the hierarchy of important things coming from you or your partner's/opponent's mouths. If you think it's a big deal or the opponent concedes something big in crossfire or something, be sure to not only point it out in speeches but to explain why it matters.

- Don't be rude. I'll very much dock your speaks.

Big Questions

- If you even THINK about asking me about the time I've judged Big Questions, I will give you a maximum amount of 20 for your speaks.

Currently serving in the United States Navy in California. Honored to participate as a judge and watch young Americans practice one of the fundamental skills of Democracy. He/Him/His are my preferred pronouns. Unless preference clarified by participants, I will use initials and gender neutral pronouns when referring to specific participants.

Judging is based on participants' ability to clearly state their position, lay out supporting claims in an organized manner, provide insightful questions that diminish strength of opponents' claims, and defend their own position when questioned by opponent. I will do my best to provide comments that help explain reasoning and give feedback for improvement.

Key points:

I will always look negatively at responses that rely on straw person attacks, cherry picking data, unsupported slippery slope, and the greatest offender of all being whataboutism- derailing debate with unrelated issues.

Most importantly, be respectful to each other.

Speed: I debated all throughout high school so I am fine with speed within reason (i.e. don’t spread)

Cross: Let your opponent answer the question. There is a difference between being aggressive and being rude. I'll take off speaks if I think you've crossed a line.

Rebuttal: If you’re speaking second you don’t have to frontline in rebuttal. You can, but don’t sacrifice making responses to the opponent’s case just to do it. Also, card dumps are less effective than giving a few very logical responses so I would prefer for you to stay away from them if possible.

Summary: I was a first speaker so I think summary is the most important speech in the round. I would strongly prefer that terminal defense is in both summaries, but if it isn’t in the first I will live. Frontlining, however, is not a preference. If you don’t frontline I will flow their responses through and probably drop the argument. This is especially important for turns - if a turn is unresponded to it is offense for the other team and a reason to vote for them. Lastly, you must weigh in summary.

Final Focus: If it isn’t in summary it should not be in final focus. Also, weigh.

Other: I don't flow cross, so if something important happens in cross please bring it up in another speech.

I am a parent/lay judge. I cannot judge fast rounds when I don't understand or comprehend what you are saying. PF jargon will only confuse me so keep it clear and simple. Keep the volume up and the speed low. Do not be rude to your opponent as it will cause me to take off speaker points. Enjoy the occasion and don't be afraid to repeat things to me.

Speak clearly, No spreading.

I am a Coach, and I have been judging for close to a decade now. I am a teacher certified in English & Theatre, so my notes can get a bit technical, and come specifically from those perspectives. I tend to make notes and comments as I view, so they follow my flow of thought, and how I understand your developing argument, as your piece/debate progresses.

I have judged almost every event, including judging both speech and debate events at Nationals.

In true teacher and coach fashion, I WANT you to do well. So prove me right!

Paradigm for Congress

How I Rank: While the ballot on Tabroom only has a place to score speeches, it is not unlikely that room is full of great speakers. To fairly rank the room, I have a personal spreadsheet where I score individual speeches, as well as the categories below, to help separate the "great speakers" from the "great congresspersons". Think of it like a rubric for your English class project. Speeches are the biggest category, but not the only one.

Speeches: Do you provide a unique perspective on the bill, and not simply rehashing what has been said in the round already? Do you back up your reasoning with logos, ethos, AND pathos? Is your speech deep, instead of wide (more detail on one specific aspect of the bill, rather than trying to cover all angles of the bill)? Do you write with a clarity of style and purpose, with a good turn of phrase? Do you engage your listeners? Do you respond well to questions?

Questioning: Are your questions thoughtful and based on listening closely to the speaker, and what they actually said? Are your questions brief and to the point? Do you avoid simple yes or no, gotcha style questions? Does your questioning have a clear line of thinking? Do you connect questioning to previous speeches? Do you avoid prefacing?

Decorum: Do you follow the rules of the chamber? Do you follow speaking times? Do you speak calmly and collectedly? Do you ask or answer questions assertively, without being aggressive? Do you respect your fellow speakers?

Roleplay: Do your speeches reflect that you are a congressperson, and not a high school teenager? Do you think of your constituents? Do you consider yourself a representative of your state or District? Do you allow your RP perspective to make your speeches better, and not become a distraction? Do you participate in motions, seconding, etc?

Knowledge of Rules: Do you have an obvious and clear understanding of the rules? Do you follow them closely? Are there any egregious breaking of the rules?

Special Consideration for the Presiding Officer: The Presiding Officer is marked for one "speech" per hour. This score is a reflection of how well they perform the specific duties of PO. It concerns knowledge of the rules (at a higher expectation than the average congress competitor), the efficiency of the room, the fairness of the PO, and the demeanor of the PO (should be calming and welcoming). I also look at them for decorum and RP.

Paradigm for PFD

Construction of Message: Is your argument sound? Does your evidence support your claims? Are you claims tied together and supporting each other? Does your argument flow in a logically sound way, that makes it easy to follow by only listening, and not reading? Are you avoiding logical fallacies?

Delivery of Message: Are you speaking slowly and clearly enough that the judge can actually process what you are saying? (this is a speech and debate competition, not a race). Do you command the room when you speak, without being overbearing?

Evidence of Engagement: Are you actually listening to you fellow competitors? Do you make points in questioning and rebuttal that are based on what your opponents said, and not just what you thought they said? Are you adapting to the way the round is flowing? Are you cooperating with your teammate?

Construction of Rebuttal: Are your counterclaims based in evidence? Are you pointing out any logical fallacies? If you raise a concern about something in your opponents case (ex: you accuse them of cherry-picking), is your case safe from similar scrutiny?

Decorum: Are you behaving in a way that reflects well on your team-mate, your coach, your school, and the District?

Paradigm for LD

Construction of Message: Is your argument sound? Is your value interesting? Is your value criterion an adequate measure of your value? Does your evidence support your claims? Are you claims tied together and supporting each other? Does your argument flow in a logically sound way, that makes it easy to follow by only listening, and not reading? Are you avoiding logical fallacies?

Delivery of Message: Are you speaking slowly and clearly enough that the judge can actually process what you are saying? (this is a speech and debate competition, not a race). Do you command the room when you speak, without being overbearing?

Evidence of Engagement: Are you actually listening to you fellow competitor? Do you make points in questioning and rebuttal that are based on what your opponents said, and not just what you thought they said? Are you adapting to the way the round is flowing?

Construction of Rebuttal: Are you able to use their Value and/or Value Criterion to support your own argument? Are your counterclaims based in evidence? Are you pointing out any logical fallacies? If you raise a concern about something in your opponents case (ex: you accuse them of cherry-picking), is your case safe from similar scrutiny?

Decorum: Are you behaving in a way that reflects well on yourself, your coach, your school, and the District?

Public Forum debater for four years, judge for three. Feel free to ask specific questions at the beginning of the round but here is generally what I will be looking for:

Sign Post (and Road Maps): Outlining and numbering in each speech not only adds organization to your arguments but ensures that I flow where intended.

Clarity and Presentation: Your arguments are only as good as the way you present them. Apply this concept to speed; speak at a pace so that your points are not only heard but also processed. Present arguments in both a logical and supported manner (with qualitative and quantitative evidence). Rely on BOTH evidence and logic throughout the round, not only the evidence, because I am much more likely to buy into evidence that is BOTH credible and that you can explain (since that shows you have a thorough understanding of what you are advocating for). Succinct explanation, including clear claims, warrants, and impacts will work in your favor. Impacts are especially crucial in explaining to me why what you are saying matters and why your impacts should be prioritized. Remember that link chains should not be implied but explicit.

Respect: Always keep in mind that the round should be clean, civil, and based in evidence. Anything you say will ultimately be a reflection of your character so stay level-headed and grounded in fact. If you question evidence, talk about its credibility, reliability, citations and card-cutting, etc. rather than using subjective words such as bad, atrocious, terrible, etc.

Weighing: Please refrain from squeezing this in at the very last minute! It does not matter if an argument goes uncontested if its impact, and all others, are not weighed against the other side and explained in terms of magnitude, morality, time frame, scope, probability, etc. Use world comparison to explain why it should be a clean ballot for your team. This will help relay a cohesive story to me on why to vote PRO/CON.

Above all, be confident and have fun with the round!

Email: rayelucamyers@yahoo.com

I am a new and relatively inexperienced judge. These you already know and hope you will remember: Use solid logic and reasoning, strong advocacy, clear communication and good evidence. Cross fire: When a question is asked, the recipient of the question must be given enough time to answer it.

The quantity of arguments is less important than the quality of arguments, just as the quantity of evidence is less important than the quality of evidence.

GOOD LUCK!

I have judged debate since 2001. From 2014-2021 I coached Public Forum and Speech events. I retired after 8 years as the Co-Director of Speech and Debate at Cary Academy in North Carolina in 2021.

DEBATE: In debate (LD/PF) I look for clear claims, evidence and links to logical, clear impacts showing contextual analysis. I flow each round and look for you to bring your arguments through the round, tell me the clash and how I should weigh.

I judge as if this activity is preparing you for the real world. I won't flow what I have to work too hard to follow or translate (read speed). Asking for evidence for common sense issues won't count either. You can use flow jargon, but tell me why. You want me to flow across the round? cross apply? for instance, tell me why. Don't exaggerate your evidence. Finally - I'm not here to show you how smart or clever I am by pretending to understand some sesquipedalian or sophomoric arguments (see what I did there?)- that means. 1.) do a kritik and you are going to lose because you failed to acknowledge that ideas can conflict and are worthy of discussion; 2.) "the tech over truthers" and other silly judging paradigms don't make you a more articulate conveyor of ideas once you have to "adult". I will know the topic, but judge like a lay judge. Convince me. Have fun and enjoy the activity!

CONGRESS: Well researched unique takes on a resolution are important. Simple stock arguments and analysis is easy. I look for you to look deeper into the consequences/outcome of passage. Don't rehash, not only is it boring but it suggests you needed to listen more closely. Refutation of previous speeches shows careful analysis in the moment and it shows you have more than the case you wrote the night before (even if you did :)). Presentation is also important. I don't like BS for the sake of being a good presenter but a balance of solid research, thoughtful analysis, ambitious and relevant refutation from a persuasive speaker will get high marks!

Gabriel, He/Him/His, sandovg65@gmail.com

UPDATE ASU CONGRESS 2024: I've debated congress before but this is only my second time judging it. I'm a debate judge so focusing on the cohesiveness of your arg is my priority but speaking also matters (can't get a 5 or 6 on arg alone). Happy to answer questions pre-round.

Intro

I debated Policy for 4 years at both the state and national level, and have experience judging all three debate events. I was an assistant Public Forum coach for a year and have also helped coach Policy students. I'm fine with spreading as long as you slow down for your analytics-- if it's unintelligible, I won't flow it. Just make it really clear when you're transitioning from one idea to another.

I don't trust tabroom completely anymore, so if you have any issues seeing ballots/ anything else with my profile, just email me, I will have the rfd's all saved in a word doc.

Because this is a concern I've heard expressed from some debaters I know-- if I'm not looking at you, it's a good sign, because it means I'm flowing. If I am looking at you, I'm trying to figure out what on Earth you are saying, so I can try to flow it.

Please put me on the email chain.

FOR LD/POLICY (pfers scroll to the bottom):

On Policy and "traditional" args

Theory/ Topicality: I'm cool with this stuff if and only if it is run when necessary. Be careful with theory as it isn't always your friend-- sometimes it is just a time waster. For example, I don't like it when teams run disclosure just cause they're used to it/good at it. Run it if the aff is tricky and them not disclosing actually hurts how you are able to debate-- you need to prove that it is your education at stake if you want to run disclosure in front of me. Truth over tech for sure when it comes to theory.

Topicality I have more patience for (I'm more willing to vote on it for tech-based reasons) but also you need to prove to me why it's bad for debate if the aff is untopical. I'm not going to vote on theory or t just because the aff drops one of your million analytics--but I will vote on them if I feel like you've proven to me the world of debate will be better adhering to your norms. I actually really like topicality when it's run properly I just think that often times it's run as a time suck which makes me sad.

Other Policy args: Framework is good. Disads are good. CP's are good (but I am sure to be considerate of the aff and the potential harm that ridiculous CP's bring, especially if aff makes args for itself). "Traditional" style LD debates are good. Policy style debates are good.

Everything is pretty much good with me if it doesn't undermine the well-being of your fellow debaters or marginalized groups in some way. I also value education in the debate space VERY highly-- don't stifle it.

Tricks-- If you have to rely on tricks to win a debate round, you should probably strike me.

On K Debates

I'm cool with K debates and think that if done right they are some of the most educational debates. I do have one rule, however. Either a K aff should be semi-related to the resolution or the aff debater needs to devote a couple seconds to telling me why the K takes preference to the resolution. I feel like most debaters do this, so it's not normally an issue, but if you don't I think then it's fair game for the neg to fight for resolutional debate. Basically, I go into the round prepared to vote based off the resolution, but I will do differently if it is successfully argued otherwise.

I've both debated K's and debated against K's before, BUT if you read anything too critical, consider summarizing it briefly for me in lay terms-- if I don't know what it is, it'll help me out, and if I do, then it'll boost your speaks because it shows me you can adapt to lay debate with critical arguments. Putting it into a "real-world" perspective will highlight to me why this argument matters.

Overall I think K debates are great and are always better if they're a K you run passionately than if they're the old Cap K you pulled from a camp file 2 years ago and shoved a link card on.

On Voters/ how you should debate

I love both traditional debates and non-traditional-- but I need you to include voters in your rebuttals that tell me why I should consider voting for you. These voters should be for strats that you have carried throughout the round and fleshed out well-- it's okay to condense down to a couple key arguments if you know they can win you the round. What's not okay is just dropping your opponent's arguments without either making it clear to me why they don't matter in the context of the round or neglecting to tell me why the issues you have selected are the critical talking points of the round and deserve all of my attention. There are usually so many arguments in the round, and having each team tell me what they value as the most important argument and why said argument is a voter makes it much easier for me to give a ballot (this means you should condense, even if you are aff, don't try to go for everything, it never ends well). Without voters, you risk me voting on whatever issues I think are most important, and who knows if that will benefit you or not.

Again, tell me exactly WHAT you did that I should focus most on and WHY it is worthy of a ballot. I can look through my flows and evaluate the technical aspect of the debate myself-- what I can not do myself is determine which arguments are most important without bias. Please don't make me even come close to having to rely on my personal opinions to decide a round.

Overall, debate is a game, somebody will win, and somebody will lose. I love seeing different strategies and approaches to it-- that's what makes debate fun. That being said, no game should ever come at the expense of hurting somebody personally, so if there are abusive attacks and/or harmful arguments at the expense of a marginalized group/ a debater, I will take it very seriously both in the administration of the space and with my ballot.

Always feel free to ask me questions before round.

Speaks Chart (for tournaments with decimal speaks):

30: I feel lucky to have judged you because you are just that good.

29.7-29.9: Your performance "wowed" me, good on the flow, good at speaking, and with exciting argumentation.

29.3-29.6: Great debaters.

28.5-29.2: Good debaters and good at speaking.

28-28.4: Good debaters with room for improvement on speaking.

27.5-27.9: You made a couple of errors, but nothing that significantly frustrated me.

27-27.4: You made several errors, but I can see a semblance of strategy.

26.5-26.9: You made several technical errors that have me questioning if you really ever had a path to the ballot.

26 or lower: You said something really offensive/made the debate space actively bad.

FOR PF:

1) Weighing is really important!!!! Teams NEED to tell me how to vote-- I go in to the round open to voting for just about anything (no racist, homophobic, etc. arguments). Telling me how to vote and providing me with evidence/args to back up your claim that you have the best voters is key to my ballot. Especially in debates with lots of args all across the board-- I need voters so that I can see what you think is most important about the round. Teams weighing helps make my ballot so much easier.

2) Refute your opponent's arguments in addition to extending your own, but also don't try to go for everything in your final focus. CONDENSE! PLEASE!

3) As a former policy debater, I'm decent with speed, but be careful transitioning too fast between contentions/ analytics. Those fast transitions are what can make PF hard to flow. Basically just slow down to sign post so I put things on my flow properly. Maybe one day PF will pick up flashing and I can delete this.

4) Have arguments that are backed up by both evidence and analytics. I'm not going to vote solely on unwarranted claims, but I'm also not going to vote for you because you threw a bunch of authors at me and just said "figure it out." Evidence debates are only good if your opponent's evidence is unethical/incorrect, and rarely are good when your evidence is just "better."

5) I'm not the biggest fan of sticky defense or not frontlining defense in second rebuttal, but I understand that PF speeches are short and you're in a time crunch, so I won't hold these things against you. All offense must be frontlined in second rebuttal, however. No new arguments in second final focus, ever!

I'm not a fan of PF cross x and there is a pretty big chance I won't evaluate it unless things that are said come up again in later speeches. I will listen to it, but probably won't put anything down on my flow based solely off of what I hear in cross. Teams being nice, clear, and not turning cross X into a garbled mess often times get rewarded with high speaks from me in this event.

If you have more questions you can ask me before the round. I implement the same speaks chart as listed in the LD/Policy section (if there are decimal speaks).

I am a Parent Judge with 3+ years of judging experience primarily in PF.

First and foremost, I value well-researched and warranted arguments that are presented clearly. I will vote primarily off the flow but will take into account demeanor and civility as well. Please stick to traditional styles of debate; I will not be able to keep up with spreading nor am I very familiar with dense literature. Unless there is an evidence dispute, I will not look at the evidence itself. Finally, I expect all debaters to be civilized and respectful--being disrespectful will result in low speaks. If you have any other questions feel free to ask them before the round.

Trained first year judge that values a clear and concise communication skillset. Courtesy and respect are required during debates and will be judged accordingly. Crossfire and Grand Crossfire rounds are of particular interest, specifically how teams interact with each other, and provide support. Time keeping is important but not a primary priority as I will let the "flow" of a presenters contention play out within reason of time constraints. Presenting evidence in the forms of links and specific points of topic notes is encouraged.

Please introduce yourself with your name and preferred pronouns.

I have judged PF debates since 2020. I use computer to take notes of key points delivered. I value the logic in arguments more than style. Balanced defense and offense win debate. I expect each team to show respect to the opponent. Argue with facts and logic instead of rhetoric.

I would advise to competitors to define their cases clearly and present their contentions and rebuttals at a pace that is easy to keep up with. If you want to make a very important point, the slower you speak the better. Most of us can think much faster then we can flow. I’m sure over the years I’ve missed points that students would have wanted me to consider. I also value professionalism and courtesy.