anthonyrbrown85@gmail.com for the chain

*Please show up to the round pre-flowed and ready to go. If you get to the room before me or are second flight, flip and get the email chain started so we don't delay the rounds.*

Background

Currently the head coach at Southlake Carroll. The majority of my experience is in Public Forum but I’ve spent time either competing or judging every event.

General

You would probably classify me as a flay judge. The easiest way to win my ballot is through comparative weighing. Explain why your links are clearer and stronger and how your impacts are more important than those of your opponents.

Speed is fine but if I miss something that is crucial to your case because you can’t speak fast and clearly at the same time then that’ll be your fault. If you really want to avoid this issue then I would send a speech doc if you plan on going more than 225 wpm.

I do not flow cross so if anything important was said mention it in a speech.

I would classify myself as tech over truth but let’s not get too crazy.

Speaking

Typical speaks are between 27-30. I don’t give many 30s but it’s not impossible to get a 30 from me.

I would much rather you sacrifice your speed for clarity. If you can’t get to everything that you need to say then it would probably be best to prioritize your impacts and do a great job weighing.

Any comments that are intended (or unintended in certain circumstances) to be discriminatory in any form will immediately result in the lowest possible speaker points.

PF Specific

I’m probably not evaluating your K or theory argument at a non-bid tournament. If you’re feeling brave then you can go for it but unless the literature is solid and it is very well run, I’m going to feel like you’re trying to strat out of the debate by utilizing a style that is not yet a norm and your opponents likely did not plan for. If we're at a bid tournament or state, go for it.

Don’t just extend card names and dates without at least briefly reminding me what that card said. Occasionally I write down the content of the card but not the author so if you just extend an author it won’t do you any good.

I have a super high threshold for IVIs. If there's some sort of debate based abuse run a proper shell.

LD Specific (This is not my primary event so I would make sure I check this)

Cheatsheet (1 is most comfortable, 5 is lowest)

Policy: 1

Theory: 2

Topical Ks: 2

Phil: 4

Non-Topical Ks: 4

Tricks: 5

I’ll understand your LARP arguments. I’ll be able to follow your spreading. I can evaluate most K’s but am most comfortable with topical K’s. I will understand your theory arguments but typically don't go for RVIs. I would over-explain if you don’t fall into those categories and adjust if possible.

Hello!

I am a parent judge. This is my first time judging varsity pf. My background is in software and computer science. I will judge the round based on who presents a compelling argument that is easy to understand. Even if something is dropped, I won't vote on it unless it is explained and implicated in the round very clearly. For speed, a little faster than conversational is fine, but DON'T TALK TOO FAST. IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, I WILL NOT VOTE ON IT. For speaker points, I am pretty generous, I average about a 28-29. I will only give you a 25 or 26 if you have been blatantly offensive or you lacked in speaking/analytic skills to the point of incomprehension. Don't talk over each other in crossfire. It is not impossible to earn a 30 from me. An ideal round for me will have clean case extensions and narrative, emphasis on logic and warranting over carded evidence, collapsing in the back half of the round, simplifying the round into a few key issues, and CLEAR WEIGHING on why your impacts are more important.

Above all, have fun, and please be respectful! I look forward to judging you!

speed is fine as long as you make an email chain/speech drop - email is obinnadennar@gmail.com

im fine with all types of debate. i love critical arguments/case positions that engage with various types of philosophy. k debate is my favorite. cool with everything else.

one note on theory: i do not like frivolous theory (i.e. down my opponent since they are wearing socks - yes, i have seen this shell). if your opponent gets up in the next speech and says this is stupid and don't pay attention to it. i will discard it and i will not see it as a voting issues. that being said, if there is actual abuse in the round, theory is not only fine but welcomed. competing interps over reasonability.

please feel free to ask any questions before the round. ill be more than happy to answer them

i'm basically like a flay judge, tell me what to vote for and why.

Please treat me like a lay judge. Go slow and keep it simple. :)

Don't get super technical because i don't believe that's the way pf should have to be

3 min summaries mean please collapse and weigh

i dont like it when teams waste 20 extra mins in round not even looking at cards but pulling them up, so if u have to spend more than two mins trying to find called cards itll start eating into your prep - have your cards prepared

IN CONGRESS:
I expect to see plenty of clash. The event is called congressional DEBATE! Utilize questioning period effectively, and ask targeted questions. Analysis is the #1 priority

Background: I retired from Coppell High School a few years ago where I taught Public Forum, Policy, and Lincoln Douglas. I am assisting Coppell at the present time.

Judging Philosophy: While I don't think anyone can be truly tabula rasa, I try to ignore my bias as much as possible. I will listen to any argument you want to make as long as you have good evidence, and qualified sources. I expect weighing of impacts and any other reason why your argument is better than your opponents. Your strategy is your own business but if you expect me to vote for you I have to have strong impacts and comparisons to your opponents arguments that make sense.

Style: I have to hear you to flow your arguments. Because of this virtual world we are forced to live in you have to be clear and make sure you are being heard. I will say "clear" once. I prefer moderate to a little faster speed. Again, remember you are debating via computer.

I have judged Public Forum a lot this year.

f

Congress-I used to be a Congress debater, so I am very focused on both the way you communicate your arguments as well as the arguments themself. If you are a good speaker with no clash and non-unique arguments, you will not be ranked over others who have more wholesome arguments. Additionally, I do focus on Parliamentary Procedure, and this can make or break a round. Bad control of the room is reflected on my ballots. Finally, quality is always better than quantity. Just remember, if I don’t notice you in the room, it will be difficult for me to compare you to other debaters.

Debates-I enjoy a good flow of debate, and I must be able to recognize what is being argued. A lack of clear articulation of case arguments will hurt your debate as a whole. Additionally, I am open anything during the round, but be clear when you intend on introducing an obscure aspect to your roadmap. Signposting is not necessary if I am sent your case.

Speaking-I will focus on clarity and articulation of arguments in your speech, as well as your arguments themself. All arguments should work with each other to express one clear idea, and a failure to connect each argument to the topic of your speech will yield to a lower overall ranking.

I am okay with most techniques - not up to date on the meta currently but I can be comfortable with spreading if articulation is maintained. Probability measures are also a big consideration for me, i.e. is nuclear annihilation likely, not just possible. And how can we measure this likelihood. I'm okay with framework but it will require a reason to utilize.

Also stock issues below should be used for analysis preferably. If you have another metric of observing the round (i.e. framework) then it will have to be argued.

Significance How significant is the problem that you are trying to remedy through your interpretation of the resolution?

Harms What happens if your plan doesn't pass; why is your plan needed right now?

Inherency What is inherent in the status quo that prevents your problem from already being solved?

Topicality Does your case fall within the topic? Does your case meet the parameters of the resolution?

Solvency Does your plan actually solve the problem?

Honestly, I don't really care about debate. Just entertain me.

P.S. I'll take bribes

:))

For online debate, I am more inclined to give highest speaker points to both parties, since internet issues can result in some speech not coming through clearly. With that leeway being said, there's still some points in the speaker point section that would greatly benefit you chances of winning the round, so if you do read the entire paradigm, don't shy away from it.

During the constructive speeches, make sure you are clear. I cannot stress this enough. If you decide to spread, at the very least, be clear. Most people don't have a problem with being clear but actively annunciate. (doing this in all speeches is preferred)

I really like the 1st crossfire. There's a lot of good things that can come out of 1st crossfire that the other crossfires can't necessarily benefit from. 1st speakers start with 29 speaker points and 1st crossfire can really boost y'all up to 30. Make it productive and polite, yet still, be aggressive.

Rebuttals should have weighing, which is something most people don't do, but would help the round move more smoothly. Attack wise, I always prefer line-by-line, but going big picture won't cost you the round. 2nd speakers start with 28 speaker points. A good rebuttal with clear signposting and line-by-line gets y'all 29 speaker points. Weighing will add another .5 speaker points.

2nd crossfire should have a lot of hardball questions now that your opponent's strategy is more clear. Like the 1st crossfire, make it productive and polite, yet still, be aggressive.

Both summary speeches need to incorporate defense brought up in rebuttal. On top of that, establishing your path to the ballot is key here. Weighing is the best way to gain a speaker point if you didn't get it in the 1st crossfire. If you don't say it in summary, your partner can't say it in the final focus. That's pretty normal for most rounds, but I will actively listen for new arguments and actively not write them down.

Grand crossfire is a time to have fun. You can expand on summary arguments, so "new arguments" are sort of allowed. Establishing dominance is key in this crossfire because if you as the individual are dominant, you can make up for the speaker point you didn't get in the other speeches. That being said, being dominant doesn't mean being mean. There is a perfect middle ground that most people can get to. If you are being mean, you won't lose speaker points, but if you actively insult your opponents, expect you and your partner to lose speaker points.

Final Focus is my favorite speech. First, voters. If you don't have voters from the summary, you can't win. Making new arguments is bad. My summary speech paradigm explains this pretty well. This is where 2nd speakers can get their final speaker point for straight 30s. The way you do that is pretty easy: give me your voters and tell me why I should value your voters over your opponents. The 1st final focus will have a harder time on this, but it's not impossible especially considering that you heard your opponent's summary.

For reference, I did Public Forum for 4 years with Lincoln Douglas and a couple of speech activities sprinkled in around.

Something that does bother me for some reason is when an entire speech's time isn't filled up. Do try to fill it up as much as possible. If you don't, I'm hoping you only have at most 30 seconds left of the speech. If your speech is shorter than that, I am inclined to remove .5 speaker points. However, comma, if there really isn't anything left to talk about in your speech and there is more than 30 seconds left in your speech, DO NOT RAMBLE. I sometimes rambled on at the end of my speeches because I had nothing so say, and it didn't add to my argument. State the facts and be done with it.

Empirics is something that each team should have. Straight empirics are more important than philosophical arguments to me. If you do run theory, don't call it a theory. It's not terribly hard to adapt theory to PF, but if your opponents call you out for theory, I may just drop the whole theory from the debate. You be the judge of when it'll be appropriate. If you do use theory, I will tell you at the end of the round if I valued it or dropped it. If I dropped it, feel free to attempt to convince me that I should've valued it. If you slip up and get angry and yell at me, I'll call the cops. That's a joke. I won't get offended, I know what it's like to lose an argument that I spent a lot of time developing both outside and during the round. Please be nice and don't waste time.

Something I tend to hear in PF now is a colorful analogy. I really like analogies because it makes it more family friendly for lay judges and tired judges. What I like more than analogies are references. If you make a bad reference to pop culture, you lose .5 speaker points. So don't spend too much time on analogies. A good reference will follow nonnormative meme culture (if you don't know what that is, I would shy away from pop culture reference and stick to vanilla analogies).

If you have any specific questions, ask me. Most judges will be a little peeved if you just ask "What are your paradigms?" instead of specific questions, but I won't get mad. Ask.

If you have scrolled this far, welcome to the LD Paradigms.

I absolutely need clear roadmaps for each speech. It will help me be able to catch all the important details as well as your opponent in order to have a productive exchange of arguments.

I do not mind progressive debate. Progressive debate is a staple of LD and can be used very effectively. However, I will not value progressive aspects of the debate over physical evidence directly pertaining to the Resolution. Feel free to ask specific questions about certain strategies before the round starts in order to make sure that what you are utilizing isn't too farfetched and way out of left field.

SPEECHES

The 1AC is simple. Feel free to spread, do what you need to do to get everything out on the table.

The 1NC is a little less simple. Anything not addressed by the Negating side is assumed to be conceded for the Affirmative side. This will make is easier for the round as a whole, but harder for the Negating side for obvious reason. Even if it is just mentioned briefly I will still let it fly as you addressing it and you can clarify further in CX or the NR.

CX as a whole should be respectful, but also definitely demanding. whichever side is questioning has a lot of power to drive the narrative, so use the full force of the examination. In PF, CX can get a little disrespectful and it can hurt speaker points, which is why I am most likely not going to deduct any speaker points based on CX performance. I will only add speaker points.

1AR's focus should be a rebuttal of course, but there also needs to be plenty of weighing. This will make it easier for me to find the path to the ballot for the Affirmative. Any weighing not done here cannot be brought over to the 2AR.

The NR has the hardest job. Not only do you have to rebut all terminal attacks, but you also have to weigh and give me the Negating side's path to the ballot. New arguments in the NR won't be written down by me, but like I said in the 1NC, if you at least mention your attack and give some brief understanding of where you're going, you can further extrapolate on that idea in this speech.

2AR should almost be a mirror of the 1AR in my opinion. No new arguments, only crowd control is allowed. If something truly diabolical is said in the NR, go ahead and address it, but make sure it has direct relevance to your speech content.

SPEAKER POINTS

It's pretty easy to get 30 speaker points. I'm fairly nice about it. The way I give speaker points is the Affirmative side starts with 27 speaker points and the Negating side starts with 28. I will add speaker points with each speech you give. As long as you are clear when you spread you will probably get the point.

But let's assume you choke up in your 1AC and either don't finish your case reading or you skipped too far down and missed an important link. It's alright because if you perform well under the pressure of your opponent's questioning in your CX, I will give you .5 of a speaker point back to you. In order to get the other half of the speaker point, you must ask important and relevant questions in your CX of the Negating side, making sure you keep your opponent in check while still being somewhat respectful (but go ahead and be rude it's more fun that way). And of course, this works for the Negating side as well, these terms are not exclusive for the Affirmative side. For obvious reasons, I can't give more than 30 speaker points (I don't think).

Like my PF paradigm, ask any and all questions you have before the round starts. If you have any questions during the round you would like to ask me, feel free to do so. I can understand the stress of debating and now having technology as the middle man will jumble up your mental processes. It will disrupt the immersion and flow of the round, but if it's a necessary question then it's a necessary evil. Just make sure it doesn't happen more than once or twice.

If there are any questions or concerns after the round regarding either my paradigm or RFD, feel free to email me at jhoang19@mail.strakejesuit.org I might not get to it immediately, but if you make the subject line what round and flight you were for what tournament, I will be more likely to answer promptly

Hello, I’m a former debater that has competed in UIL, TFA, and NSDA tournaments at both the state and national levels. I’m ok with any arguments as long as they make sense and are warranted.

Participated in PF Debate and IX all 4 years at Richardson HS

Now attending Southern Methodist University

General Paradigm: Honestly as long as you explain your arguments well and tell me why they matter (I'm big on impact calc.), I'll flow any case. This means clear warrants and links. I like to have my job be easier so tell me right from the start what I need to vote on and what stuff is important in the context of the round. If you don't do that I'll be forced to become a policymaker which means I may default to impacts that you may not have focused on. Summary and final focus speeches should be mirrored. This means the arguments that you flesh out and extend are the same ones you should be speaking about in the FF. Don't bother bringing up dropped/dead arguments near the end of the round. You are just gonna be wasting my time. When extending args, include the (warrants, links, and impacts). There is no excuse to not do this considering summary speeches are 3 minutes now. Again for me focus on Impact Calc. Make sure you give me voters on why your args matter, and why you win.

Speed: I can deal with moderately fast speed as long as you are clear. Slow down on taglines and for warrants that are crucial to your case. I will say clear once if I cannot understand/keep up. (Do not try and policy spread. I will not flow.)

Keep your own time. I will be keeping time as well.

I may ask for evidence at the end of the round

During CX , feel free to go all out. The more clash the better , and be well mannered during CX. Do not be afraid to go at it , but do it respectfully

Feel free to ask me about anything I may not have covered.

Will be judging PF for the NSDA National Tournament Summer 2020

I did PF, Extemp, and Congress at Centennial High School and graduated in 2019.

PF

General:

- Please be kind to, or at least respectful of, your opponents. As much as I know you want to win, if you're rude and unbearably disrespectful, then I will not vote for you. There is a line between being assertive and being abusive. I generally give speaker points 27+ unless you are rude, sexist, racist, etc. I don't have a problem dropping someone for being unbearably rude.

- In terms of new arguments/evidence, I will not accept new arguments after the last summary. I prefer you not bring up new evidence after the last summary as well, but this will be considered round by round. Additionally, I'm aware of what was said throughout the round, so do not start inflating impacts, DAs, etc. during the final focuses.

- Speed is fine with me, but if you plan on spreading to the point of double breathing or saying "uhs" and "uhms" every other word, then either slow down or - the preferred option - email chain (brian10114@gmail.com). If you insist on going fast without doing either of those, I will give one warning and then start docking speaks. For rebuttals, slow down on impacts and tags.

- Should be obvious, but my decision is final. You can ask questions if you have them, but if you start debating my decisions or my reasoning, I will cut your speaker points to sub-20. Don't do it.

Evidence:

- Source and/or Author + Year required for oral citation. If a card is called for, please have full citations outlined by NSDA evidence rules.

- For studies/surveys, if your opponent calls for methodology, I expect you to have at least a general idea of how it was conducted (year, number of ppl, etc.). I won't weigh clearly skewed studies/surveys.

- After evidence I expect linking commentary explaining how the card addresses a certain argument. I will stop flowing if you card dump.

- I generally go by the NSDA evidence rules. If you distort, clip, straw, or lie, you lose automatically with 0 speaks. If you challenge and you are wrong, you lose automatically with 0 speaks.

Weighing:

- I look at FW to consider which args to weigh and weigh them by impact calc provided in the debate. Sums can either be weighing or rebuttal, but try to keep FFs to solely weighing.

- Extinction is hard to vote for because impact calc is just everybody dies. If you run this, have rock solid links that are as specific as possible to the topic. Otherwise, I'll just assume you slapped on a generic extinction point to win impact calc and dismiss it.

LD

- Refer to PF for evidence/weighing. No new evidence if opponent does not have opportunity to respond.

- I am generally traditional (STOCK), but I'll consider anything you read except debate avoiding theories. Key words here are debate avoiding. I don't care whether or not your opponent uploaded his/her/their case to a forum 30 minutes/5 hours/10 years before the round. I will not vote up narratives or performances if they comprise your entire case. Same goes for disclosure theory but if your opponent asks for a general outline of the Aff (like tags), please give it to them. The ONLY case where I will potentially vote up disclosure is if your opponent runs something extremely unorthodox and you flesh out the argument well.

- That being said, I'm open to pretty much anything else (K/DA/CP/T/etc). As long as they are well flushed out and not abusive, I'll consider it.

- Other prefs:

· I generally consider a LOO okay if the K/theory is broad enough where it would be abusive to require a specific link or it is a nonessential/nontopical LOO.

· That being said, the more specific your link is to the AC, the higher the chance I buy the K and dismiss any LOOs.

· I'll consider a simple rejection of the resolution an alt but this will vary round to round/topic to topic.

· I don’t like RVIs, but if that’s what the debate is centered on I’ll vote on it.

· ROBs must have a link to the res or I’ll drop it

· Flex prep is fine with me as long as both sides are fine with it.

Congress

1/2 - I did not understand what you were saying, or what you were saying was so terribly wrong that it was unacceptable. You used little to no sources or they were biased/fabricated. Fluency was not present and organization never came to the party.

3/4 - Average speech. There were fluency errors but I still understood the speech. Arguments were a repeat of what I already saw in the round or they were standard arguments. Evidence was fine, but not insightful. There was organization but it could be improved. Little to no clash.

5 - Great speech. Very few fluency errors. Points were very strong and contained clash/references to previous speeches. Evidence was unbiased. Organization was crystal clear. Commentary was present and linked to the ongoing debate.

6 - Outstanding speech. Virtually 0 fluency breaks. Points were not only very strong but unique. Evidence was unbiased and from reputable sources such as think tanks/professors/foundations. Organization was crystal clear. Commentary was unique, insightful, and well constructed. Clash was present throughout the speech and well incorporated.

I judge POs based on control of precedence, knowledge of parliamentary procedure and ability to catch prefacing/double-ended questions. Additionally, if the tournament mandates direct questioning, I expect you to know how to run it.

FX/DX

- I rank content over clarity. I understand that extemp is a speech event and fluency/tone/enunciation are all important, but if you're just throwing words at me it doesn't mean anything.

- Please don't cite biased sources. More so in TFA tournaments.

- Please try to use recent sources. (If it's from over 6-8 months ago, it's probably old news save for certain topics.)

Policy

- If I had a genie that would grant me three wishes, one would be for world peace, the second would be for a happy life, and the third would be to never judge policy.

Interp

- 3C's: Clean, Captivating, and/or Coordinated. Not looking for anything in particular.

In Public Forum and Extemp: I prioritize reasonable framework and clear analysis supported by evidence from credible sources. I'm interested in the big picture, and more in the significance and impacts of arguments than the quantity. Overall, I enjoy a good performance. Persuade me, but most of all, wow me with your passion and love fot the subject you are discussing. Now, passion does not equal yelling. Be smart but be kind, don't yell at me or each other. I often see a negative correlation between persuasion and volume or intensity. I assign speaker points from 27-30, which may reflect positive and negative behavior, and may include partial points when allowed (e.g. 27.5, 28.75).

In Oratory, Info, and Impromptu: I value your originality, creativity, and persuasive presentation of ideas of personal importance. Cite your sources, explain their importance when not obvious. Again, I enjoy a good performance. Speak with passion and make me believe that what your saying is important.


In DI, HI, DUO: Tell me a story! Among chiseling tools I prefer the precision of a scalpel to the raw power of a jackhammer. It's easier to get and keep my attention with thoughtful, meaningful, measured creative performances of cuttings that preserve a storyline than with more frenetic or extreme choices. Storytelling must be clear. I come from a theatre background, so I need clarity in story telling and clear choices. Most of all, go after your objective with everything you've got. I want to see the importance of the scene to you and the character you are portraying. What's happening in the scene is life or death for the characters, so it needs to be important to you too. But most of all, have fun. If you're not having fun, then it's not worth doing or watching.

Be kind and have fun!

Tom McCaffrey

In Public Forum and Extemp: I prioritize reasonable framework and clear analysis supported by evidence from credible sources. I'm interested in the big picture, and more in the significance and impacts of arguments than the quantity. I can't vote for points and impacts I can't hear or understand, so slow up for key points and explain them clearly. Be smart but be kind, don't yell at me or each other. I often see a negative correlation between persuasion and volume or intensity. I assign speaker points from 27-30, which may reflect positive and negative behavior, and may include partial points when allowed (e.g. 27.5, 28.75).

In Congressional Debate: I value natural delivery of points and impacts, and reasonable positions; talk pretty. I look for acknowledgement of prior speakers' points and clash leading to good argumentation and refutation, and for purposeful questioning leading to clarity, understanding, or insight. Knowledge of and adherence to Parliamentary Procedure is expected in the chamber. Skillful Presiding Officers make sessions a positive experience for all and will be ranked accordingly.

World Schools: a great debate event that should not sound, look, or feel like any other event. Please demonstrate that you understand, use, and respect this event's differences, norms, and value.

In Oratory, Info, and Impromptu: I value your originality, creativity, and persuasive presentation of ideas of personal importance. Cite your sources, explain their importance when not obvious.

I like POI as the most wide-open opportunity we have to connect and weave an unexpected and dazzling array of related choices to elevate an important advocacy.

In DI, HI, DUO: I think of everything we do in Speech and Debate as storytelling. Tell me a story! Among chiseling tools I prefer the precision of a scalpel to the raw power of a jackhammer. It's easier to get and keep my attention with thoughtful, meaningful, measured creative performances of cuttings that preserve a storyline than with more frenetic or extreme choices.

I believe speaking skills can, do, and should win tournaments. There are only two outcomes, and they're both great: you win or you learn. And you keep and add to the learning forever! Be kind and have fun!

- I'm a parent Judge

- Please speak clearly and not too fast

- Explain your arguments well

I am a student at the University of Houston. I debated for 4 years at Oak Ridge High School. 2 years in PF and 2 years in Congress. I also did Extemp for 2 years.

Updated Longhorn Classic '21

Chris O'Brien

he/him

forever student at UT Austin

please put me on the email chain: chrisob26@utexas.edu

I debated policy in high school all 4 years in Athens TX, and have been judging/coaching on the Austin circuit since 2013.

Also, if anything in this paradigm isn't clear enough, feel free to ask me before the round, I'd be more than happy to clarify.

General Thoughts

I am tab but default to policymaker if not given a clear alternative evaluative framework.

The most important thing is that you give me the easiest path to the ballot. Tell me how to vote, on what, and why. Other than that, give me overviews, keep the debate organized, and please extend things correctly. Technical debating ability determines your speaker points in large part, unless there is reason to dock speaks for hate speech/immoral arguments.

I am generally more confident in my ability to evaluate policy v policy and policy v k debates, than k v k due to a literature knowledge deficiency, especially in high theory kritiks (read: Baudrillard, Heidegger, Deleuze/Guattari, etc.), so expect to explain the thesis of your critical position and how they interact with the topic thoroughly when reading those arguments.

Performance Affs are fine as long as you are very thorough in your explanation of what my role as a judge is and what the ballot does.

I will try to evaluate rounds to the best of my ability based on the information I am able to flow from your speech. That means despite what is in the speech doc, I will only be evaluating what you actually say in your analysis and a lot of close rounds are won or lost in the rebuttals over this issue. There should be clear extensions from the 2AC to the 1AR/Block to the 2NR and 2NRs/2ARs should be going for a specific strategy that is writing my ballot.

Tech over truth in most cases. If an argument is dropped, I still need a proper warrant extension and implication given for that drop to matter, unless given some other model of judging the round. I will rarely decide a round on a single drop and that argument must still be implicated in the broader aspects of the round.

I flow on paper despite the advances in technology since I first started debating. Speed is fine, but in a world of virtual debate please slow down. I expect any theory standards to be read at a pace that gives me adequate pen time, if not they should be in the speech doc.

I will always listen to CX - open CX is fine, but do not talk over each other. Flashing/Email doesn't count towards prep unless it is egregious.

Don't be offensive, rude, homophobic, racist, ableist, derogatory, sexist etc.

Always try to have fun - if you're not acting like you want to be there, it is a real drag to judge your round.

Framework/T-USFG

I default to debate is a game, and I think the k aff bad debate comes down to a question of fairness, whether used as an impact or an internal link by the neg. I am not usually persuaded by topic education vs critical lit education through an aff specific method since that doesn't interact with the fairness question a lot of the time, and the aff team usually has better evidence about the importance of their particular educational outlet anyway, especially given the fact that they know what it is and can adequately prepare for it. The most important way for the aff to get me to vote for a non-resolutional based affirmative is their ability to describe to me what the role of the negative would be under their model of debate. However, I grant K affs a lot of grace if there are clear resolution-based links that are able to answer ground loss claims.

My threshold for granting neg offense on clash is directly determined by how abstract/immaterial the aff explanations of the k method are.

TVAs are under-utilized in my opinion as ways to take out Aff standard offense. SSD is a must-have argument to even compete on the education debate.

I default to k affs getting perms but have a pretty high threshold for these arguments in context to the ground/clash debate, if brought up.

Topicality

I default to competing interpretations, but can be persuaded otherwise in round. Bad/unpredictable T interps are worse for debate than predictable ones, so I expect neg teams to read interps that are actually making an argument about what the literature base should be for the topic. Barring the block dropping reasonability, I will most always focus on the standards when evaluating the T debate, so teams that do the work on explaining how limits are improved/destroyed by the other team, what case lists/neg generics look like, and which interp provides the most sustainable form of debate for the year are most likely to win.

I typically don't vote on RVI's here unless there is a multitude of T's that the aff meets on face, which puts the neg more in the realm of reading frivolous theory, not just T args.

Kritiks

I really enjoy policy aff vs k debates, however I have very limited knowledge of critical literature outside of Cap/Neoliberalism, Abolition, SetCol, Security, Biopower (Foucault/Agamben), and small amounts of Ahmed. As said above in general thoughts, if you are reading a kritik you feel I may be unfamiliar with, or are pulling multiple theories from critical bodies of literature, I fully expect you to clearly explain the thesis of the criticism and how your method is able to possibly resolve the links you present.

I am very tech based in my evaluative approach to kritiks and hold a high standard for both teams in order to win the sheet. I evaluate the K sheet first by framework then K proper, where the line-by-line is very important - reading massive overviews that don't specifically interact with 2ac arguments hurt your chances of winning those parts of the K if the aff does the work you don't do in the 1ar. I believe the aff should be able to be weighed against the kritik, it is up to the neg to win why that is not the case in this round with a clear counter-interp.

Links are important and must be contextualized to the affirmative, but it is also just as important to be able to explain how the alt method is able to resolve those links. I hold alt solvency to a high regard, you must be able to explain what the alt does to create change in the world after I vote neg. I have found that there is big trend recently by neg teams to ignore solvency deficits/turns because they aren't specific to the (usually obscure) alt method the neg is choosing to read this round - you still need to interact with those arguments and disprove their warrants!

I think perf con is voter as long as there is a clear link in contradiction of advocacies - I believe the neg is able to spin out of this, but depending on the positions read that might be hard at times.

Floating PIKs are bad, but if you get away with it, I will still vote on it.

Disads

I would love to hear a good DA+Case collapse in the 2nr. I believe the top level of the disad should be thoroughly fleshed out in the block and there be clear turns case analysis given that is contextualized to the aff scenarios/solvency. Generic link walls are fine as long as you are doing that contextualization as well. I don't think winning case outweighs is all the aff needs to do when turns case analysis is competing against it, but I do think it is underutilized in the 1ar when paired with other arguments on the disad proper.

I really enjoy politics disads when their scenarios lean closer to plausible rather than just fiat spin +"and x is at the top of the docket now". I think warrant interaction on the uniqueness/link uniqueness question is where this sheet is usually won on either side. Generic pc is fake and winners win args aren't too persuasive unless contextualized to the current political climate.

Counterplans/Theory

I really love good counterplan debate. Generic counterplans are necessary and good. I think specific counterplans are even better. Counterplans that read evidence from the 1AC or an aff author are even better than that! I think process cp's are legitimate but prefer neg teams to explain how the net benefit is still a disad to the aff. Plan plus multi-plank advantage cp's are my new most hated CP on this topic - do with that info what you will.

Neg teams need to be sure to have a clear story/explanation for how the aff/perm links to the net benefit and the CP alone avoids it. I do not think the answer to solvency deficits is to go for "lens of sufficiency" or fiat, you need to explain how those deficits still allow the cp to solve the aff/avoid the net benefits. Severance/Intrinsic perm debates seem to be less common these days, but I still think they are important tools against "creative" aff perms.

I am okay with aff teams making multiple perms but those perms need to be explained and how they work before the 2ar is going for them. In that same regard, solvency deficits/perm shields the link analysis and implications must not be made for the first time in the 2ar either. Aff should be leveraging their "creative" permutation with their cp theory if the cp is even close to abusive, but I really don't like when rounds come down to just a theory question.

Theory that is more specific to the argument it is read against will typically have a higher chance of being viewed as a voter. I typically lean neg in most cases, except for bad PICs or convoluted process cp's. I think theory should also be used as a justification for other arguments you make in the round based on substance, not just a reason to reject the team.

My threshold for condo is very easily shifted by circumstances, but I generally believe it is a good idea for the aff to read condo in the 2ac if the neg is reading 3 or more counter-advocacies, though the likelihood of me voting on it largely depends on the amount of in-round abuse/sand-bagging strategy the neg is choosing to do. Aff needs to have a clear interpretation, and I find "no difference between 2/3/4 off" not very convincing by the neg, especially if the aff gives any type of intelligent analysis on time tradeoffs.

I believe frivolous theory bad is a voter, especially on procedural questions that the aff/neg themselves violate, but you need to do the work of showing how in round abuse is occurring and how the theory is frivolous.

On judge kick - if the neg tells me to and it's unanswered or the neg is ahead on the question of whether I should, then I will. Neg teams, you should tell me to do this in the block if you want it to be considered for the same reason 2ar condo strats are bad, you wouldn't want the aff to win on 5 minutes of judge kick bad in 2ar and it gives the aff plenty of time to respond/not respond to it by the 2nr.

Do what you do best. I will listen to any arguments and vote on any argument as long as I understand them and why they matter. Don't be problematic (i.e. racist, sexist, ableist, etc.) My background is in policy but have experience in LD, PF, congress, and extemp (some more than others). Did mostly K/performance debate in college. My email is hannahphel@gmail.com if you have any questions. Don't spread in front of me, if I can't understand an argument it doesn't matter, and I can't understand spreading. Please don't call me judge, Hannah works great.

I've decided to crowdfund my paradigm, if you have other questions to be answered let me know and I will add them here.

I debated PF for 4 years on the national circuit. While I am a "flow judge" and can handle speed, I would discourage you from spreading if it sacrifices your clarity.

Couple things to consider when having me as a judge:

1. All arguments that you want me to evaluate in the round should be in summary and final focus, although I'm okay with first speaking teams extending defense from rebuttal to FF.

2. Collapsing is crucial. Pick and choose which arguments you want to go for; PLEASE do not go for everything in your case. The ability to collapse on 1 or 2 arguments will automatically boost your speaks for me.

3. This goes hand in hand with collapsing: please weigh your arguments. If you don't, I'll unfortunately be forced to do it myself which may or may not work out the way you would like.

Overall the key to winning my ballot is making the round as EASY AS POSSIBLE for me to evaluate. As the judge I want to do as little thinking as possible, so if you want to explain your arguments to me like I'm 5 years old, I'm game. The best way you can do this for me is with a clear and consistent narrative presented throughout the round. I will always weigh a long, well warranted, analytical response more heavily than a card dump. More often than not, if you just logically make more sense than your opponents, you will win my ballot.

Other thoughts:

-I hate wasted time in rounds where teams take 10+ minutes outside of their prep time trading evidence.

-If both teams are chill with it we can skip grand crossfire.

-I will never call for cards. If you have an issue with a card, bring it up in your speech.

-I don't vote for anything said in crossfire, if its important, bring it up in your speech.

please put me on the email chain: kateshadman@gmail.com

^^please send docs, don't dump an entire speech into the body of the email

Colleyville Heritage HS (TX) '20: 4 years PF (tfa and nat circuit)

University of Oklahoma '24: 4(ish) years policy

pronouns: she/her/hers

tl;dr (pf)

do whatever you want, i vote on the flow. your barrier to speed is your opponent (if they can’t handle it don’t do it). please warrant and weigh your arg and terminalize your impacts — if you do this you will most likely win. 2nd rebuttal should frontline, if they don’t defense is sticky in 1st summary. if it’s in final it needs to be in summary. have good evidence ethics.

come in pre flowed and send the email chain at the start time

for roadmaps: just tell me which piece of paper to have on top

tl;dr (cx)

my only cx experience is in college, so I'm not as with it as the other college policy debaters

I don't care what you read, I'll listen to pretty much anything. write my ballot for me, I love judge instruction (especially on the K, implicate it to the round plss). I'm biased for a good policy round but don't get me wrong, I love a good K (most familiar with set col, security, and cap). pls label each piece of paper in the 1NC. regardless of the argument, make sure to extend the link (really hard to vote on anything in the 2AR/NR if it's missing) and implicate your args.

come in pre flowed and send the email chain at the start time

for roadmaps: just tell me which piece of paper to have on top

welcome to my paradigm:

*before your speech, pls just tell me what piece of paper to start on and I'll follow you from there (cx: just give me the order of the sheets of paper)

Warrant, Weigh, Win- it's that simple.

- it needs to be on the flow, I need clean extensions and weighing if you want me to vote on it

(please weigh. please, please, please weigh)

- for it to be an extension, I need claim, warrant, and impact

- tell me why/how you're winning and why your argument matters (write my ballot for me)

- terminalize impacts

- please come in pre-flowed and prepared to debate (i want to start the round asap)

- speech doc/email chain should be sent at the start time of the round (or earlier, just not later)

- signpost, I want to write down all of your wonderful arguments (in the right places)

- speed: i don't care how fast you go, know your opponent (if they can't handle the speed -- don't go fast, if they don't have experience flowing off speech docs, this isn't the round for them to learn), if you're going to go sicko mode, give me a doc, otherwise, I flow on paper if I'm not writing stuff down, slow down

pf specific:

- quality > quantity

- tech > truth

- default util

- I don't like calling for ev. you should be doing the ev analysis yourselves, ie. compare the ev between speeches then say it in the speech (I won't vote on it if it's not on the flow)

rebuttal:

- 1st rebuttal shouldn't be doing case extensions (unless it's an ov, fw, or weighing you want flowed on your case), i already got the args from case, it's just repetitive

- 2nd rebuttal: pls frontline offense

summary:

- if 2nd rebuttal frontlines, defense is not sticky

- if 2nd rebuttal doesn't frontline, defense is sticky

- please weigh (pls, pls, pls)

final focus:

- final focus should mirror the summary (if it's not in the summary it shouldn't be in final) (weighing should also be the same)

- PLEASE DON'T GO FOR EVERYTHING, collapse and narrow down the debate

crossfire:

- start whenever y'all are ready, don't wait on me

progressive args (pf)

I would rather not but, do whatever you want, but, it's extremely hard to do the work you need to do within the pf time constraints and the bar doesn't lower just because it's pf. if you are going to do something funky, one of the biggest mistakes I see is not implicating the K (or whatever) to the round, make sure you do work on page comparison otherwise, it's really hard to see how the argument is relevant to the round. tell me how to evaluate the arg in the context of the round.

"progressive args don't belong in pf" isn't a response (unless you have a beautifully curated block on this arg), you need some legitimate ink on the flow

again, I would rather not judge progressive rounds in pf, if you want to, you run the risk of losing the ballot a lot easier than if you debated traditionally

evidence:

don't do anything stupid and don't take forever to pull up evidence, evidence should be cut properly and cited with a working link, if your opponents are doing something bad/sketch with ev make it a voting issue--I am very likely to vote on it (if it's legit)

personal thing about ev- evidence shouldn't be paraphrased when it's introduced into the round, you should be reading from cards, obviously this gets lost in the back half of the round (which is fine)-- if you are going to paraphrase make sure you have the cut cards available and that you are representing them correctly

Email Chain: knsimmons10@outlook.com

Pronouns: She/Her

I have competed in mock trial for several years so my experience is not 100% geared towards the inner workings of speech and debate but how your skills are transferable to careers and courtrooms. Despite this, I'm familiar with pretty much every speech event as well as PFD and LD. I have experience in judging speech and debate, so I know what to look for.

For debate people, my paradigms are pretty simple: Do not spread (if I can't keep up with what you're saying, I won't flow it). I would much rather you be clear in your argumentation then for you to speak quickly. I will say clear twice and then I will take off speaker points. Be really clear and tell me what arguments you're rebutting/extending/crystallizing, make it clear what I should be voting on. Signposting is a must. I don't mind K's if they are compelling. Overall though, it should be pretty standard not to be rude to your opponents. I will not vote on any arguments that are evidently racist, ableist, sexist, or homophobic.

For speech competitors, please give a trigger/content warning. I personally don't need one, but I think it only fair for you to warn your fellow competitors in order to keep everyone comfortable. I am very big on intentional movement, so make sure that your movements have a purpose and are not distracting from your content. Overall, just be confident and have fun!

Talha Zaheer

Participated in PF Debate and IX all 4 years at Richardson HS

Now attending Texas A&M University.

General Paradigm: Honestly as long as you explain your arguments well and tell me why they matter (I'm big on impact calc.), I'll flow any case. This means clear warrants and links. I like to have my job be easier so tell me right from the start what I need to vote on and what stuff is important in the context of the round. If you don't do that I'll be forced to become a policymaker which means I may default to impacts that you may not have focused on. Summary and final focus speeches should be mirrored. This means the arguments that you flesh out and extend are the same ones you should be speaking about in the FF. Don't bother bringing up dropped/dead arguments near the end of the round. You are just gonna be wasting my time. When extending args, include the (warrants, links, and impacts). There is no excuse to not do this considering summary speeches are 3 minutes now. Also second rebuttal should frontline.

Speed: I can deal with moderately fast speed as long as you are clear. Slow down on taglines and for warrants that are crucial to your case. I will say clear once if I cannot understand/keep up. (Do not try and policy spread. I will not flow.)

Speaks: Usually give around 28-30s. I will however tank your speaks if you are (outright rude to me or your opponents, racist, sexist ect.)

General Stuff

Keep your own time. I will be keeping time as well.

I may ask for evidence at the end of the round if needed. Please do not ask me to be on an email chain.

Be respectful in CX. Usually, the first speaker should have the first question

Feel free to ask me about anything I may not have covered.