While judging, I keep in mind the theme of the speech and continuity throughout the speech with the theme.

Contestants should be clear and concise and the content should be easy to follow while also being creative, controlled, and insightful.

I am generally a flow judge and can follow fast paced debate.

Framework should be established and followed throughout the round. Tell me why your framework is superior and back up your claim with evidence in contentions. If there is no framework debate, the round will rely on weighing evidence in contentions.

Contentions should be clearly stated with supporting evidence and analysis. Your evidence should be fully explained and analyzed as to its impact on the debate. I prefer evidence be referred to by subject/topic throughout the round rather than simply the author's name. Know your evidence well enough defend it in cross-examination.

Your case should be organized, focused and come to a reasonable conclusion that convinces me to vote in your favor. Failure to communicate the importance of evidence, weighing values and impacts, or extending key arguments may result in a loss.

Hello! I am a parent judge (lay). This is my 3rd year judging PF so I know the structure of a PF round well.

A couple of key things

1. Don’t spread. If you speak too fast, I won’t understand anything you say and you’ll likely lose the round. It will also affect your speaker points.

2. Don’t run theory, K’s, or progressive arguments. I don't know what those are (my son wrote this part) and I don’t know how to evaluate them and it just leads to a confusing round. You’ll also likely lose the round if you do :)

3. It’s okay to paraphrase evidence, but misconstruing it is unethical and not allowed.

4. Don’t run anything racist, homophobic, discriminatory, etc. This is a clear violation of PF rules and will lead to you losing the round and <25 speaker points. Additional consequences may follow.

5. Please time yourself for each speech. Please be honest with your prep time and be responsible for keeping your opponent’s prep time as well.

6. I will be listening in CX but if something important happens in CX, make sure to bring it up in later speeches.

In terms of the argument, make sure to walk me down through the entire argument and explain it in enough depth. I want well-warranted links and evidence. Don’t just say “X causes Y”, tell me why. If your argument doesn't make sense to me, it will be really hard for you to win.

In summary, collapse. Don’t go for everything. You’re better off explaining the 1 winning contention than explaining every single thing that happened in the round. Make sure to defend your case well.

In FF, you should be writing the ballot for me. Everything you said in Summary should be in FF. Tell me your voter points. Don’t bring up new arguments here and abuse 2nd FF. It’s not fair.

At the end of the day, debate should be a fun activity and debaters should enjoy it. I love clashes in the round but don’t be rude to your opponents. Be respectful in rounds to both your partner and your opponents. Enjoy!

I am a former LD coach and camp instructor who is now assisting with the Charlotte Latin School (NC) team. Though I will listen to kritiks, plans/counterplans, disads, etc., I prefer a good standards debate. If you choose to offer theoretical approaches, just be sure to explain and impact them clearly. NEG, avoid trying to win the round by spreading; instead, give substantive responses to the AFF case in addition to your case.

I do flow carefully and will make my decision largely based on coverage, argument quality, clash, and impacting. When you address standards, you should actually explain your argument rather than simply cross-applying arguments that don't necessarily fit your point. I can handle speed as long as you signpost and enunciate; if I cannot understand what you are saying, then your point won't be on my flow, and I won't vote on it. Please make CX count by asking substantive questions. Remain civil. You will not impress me by being arrogant, condescending or rude to your opponent. When tournaments allow, I am happy to offer a critique at the end though I generally do not disclose.

If you are a novice, please know that I am a friendly and accessible judge. I work with primarily with novice LDers and really enjoy that process. Feel free to ask me questions if you are confused during the round. I will write specific and constructive comments that you can later use in practice, and please don't hesitate to speak with me outside of the round about your performance. Above all, remember that your round should be a learning experience! It's NOT all about the "win." You should take something valuable from the round regardless of a win or loss.

LD/PF:

Starting off I’m here to cyberbully you for being bad at debate

Or simply doing debate in the first place

That being said... I did LD debate in my second year of high school and policy the year before that, so I’ll understand your arguments and the structure of your case, regardless of how progressive it gets. However, you still need to take two things into account. First, I did speech in the last half of high school so my debate skills are rusty. Second, I am an overworked and stressed out college student that lacks brainpower. If you spread I will knock your speaker points simply because I won’t be able to understand you. I don’t care if you think you need to get more arguments in; if I cannot understand you, you will not win the round. That being said, I’m a pretty chill person and I understand that the people come before the debate. Let’s respect others and have a chill time. :)

Speech:

I did Extemp for the last two years of high school and debate my first two. I will look for clarity of speech and confidence. That being said, I understand that people come before the event! Don’t be super nervous when speaking in front of me, because I’ve had my fair share of 6s and panic attacks during rounds. Do your best and let’s have a good time. :)