Former PF debater 2005-2006

Former PF coach 2008-2018

I judge on the flow and strive to intervene as little as possible. In summary and final focus, tell me how your impacts compare to those of your opponent.

Try not to get bogged down in minutiae. I very rarely find myself deciding a round on specific pieces of evidence or framework debates.

Treat your opponents with respect. The fastest way to lose my ballot is to be rude or sexist.

Don't spread. A little speed is fine, but remember that this is a public speaking activity. A member of the public should be able to comprehend your speech.

I will flow and consider non-topical arguments, but I should mention that I do not often find them persuasive.

General Stuff:

Experience: I debated for three years in Policy Debate for Neenah High School (WI) and I have been judging LD, PF, and Policy since I graduated.

Paradigm: Tabs, unless there's no F/W in which case I default to Util. I will vote for anything well run in a debate round. Tech/Truth.

Timing: I will be timing prep, cross and rounds, but I expect you to time yourself. I will let you know when you are going over.

Pacing: I am very comfortable with speed but speaking fast should not make you incomprehensible. Both myself and your opponent should be able to hear tags, warrants, and analytical arguments.

General:

- Make sure to stay organized — clear roadmaps and signposting is really helpful with making a clear and concise argument.

PF

Extensions: Please extend arguments, not just authors. Anything not extended in summary won't factor into my decision at end of round except defense extended from first rebuttal to first final focus

Rebuttal: Turns that aren't answered in second rebuttal are de facto dropped. Second rebuttal doesn't need to answer weighting that's in the first rebuttal, it can wait until second summary.

Weighing: Weighing is good, it is the first thing I will vote on. Scope means nothing without magnitude.

Cross: Statements made in cross are not inherently binding.

Policy/LD:

Non-Traditional Affirmatives: I will vote for anything well-run. You need a clear ROB so I know what I’m voting for at the end of the round. Come into the round prepared for T and arguments that the K is not compelling within the debate framework.

CPs: I have no problem with a CP, but they require a clear net benefit over the affirmative plan and there should be a good defense on a permutation if one is argued by the affirmative.

T: Topicality can be a voter, but it requires standards and voters as well as a clear violation of in round abuse.

Ks: Kritiks are good when they have a proper link chain, impact and alt. Make sure that if you choose to run a Kritik, you understand what the alt is and can explain how the alt solves.

Theory: I am comfortable with high level theory debates. If you choose to make theory arguments, make sure you focus on arguing how your interpretation is better than your opponent and argue comparative offense calculus.

If you have any questions about my paradigm, my ballot, or want to include me in email chains (please do), my email is willclark813@outlook.com

Experience

I competed in Public Forum at the national level for Sheboygan North from 2006-2008. Debate has changed a lot since I was competing.

I have been judging for the last five years off and on for several Wisconsin Schools. I have judged forensics for the past 10 or so years and competed much more heavily in that side of the Speech and Debate activity. Overall I'd say that I am moderately experienced when it comes to judging debate.

Preferences

Above all else I want to see that you know how to evaluate, cite, and use evidence. It is not enough to just say you have a card/source which states X. I want to know how reliable this source is and how you know you can trust this information. Critical thinking is key. Going forward this is the best skill you will take away from this activity.

In addition please connect your case to the resolution. I now it should go without saying...but here we are.

Kritiks are new to me but I like them. This kind of thinking is refreshing provided it stays on task and doesn't stray too far from the resolution. Also Ks still need to effectively use evidence.

I like having a framework. It gives me something to reference through out the round.

Dislikes

Disrespectful or overly aggressive behavior will lose you a lot of speaker points. I will be watching you while your opponents are speaking keep that in mind. Be respectful and polite.

Do not tell me how I should vote/flow/evaluate arguments. Do not address me and say "Judge you should X" I know what I should be doing and I know how to evaluate a round. Let your case do the talking and don't address me directly. In the same vein don't say things like "This flows to our side" or "We turned that." Those are evaluations that I will make if you did these things I will see it. Public forum emulates making speeches to the public you wouldn't address a town hall full of voters that way so don't do it here.

Don't spread in PF if you want to do that go do policy.

Other

I love creativity.

Have Fun! While it's great to be competitive, remember that you should be having fun.

I am a practicing attorney and have been judging debate tournaments sporadically for about 12 years. I did not participate in debate during my time in high school. I am primarily interested in seeing succinct, cogent arguments that are well supported by evidence.

Affiliations: Middleton High School.

Hi, I am a parent of a debater. As a result, I have limited knowledge of the technical rules of debate. This is my third year of judging but I have never debated as a competitor before. I usually judge public forum debate 2-3 times a year; national qualifiers is my first tournament this year. I do not know much about the topic of illicit drugs.

Speaking:

- Students can speak a bit faster than conversational pace. Speeding = you lose. Err on the side of caution.

- If a student is speaking too fast, I will state this in the chat.

Absolute NO-NOs: spreading, K's, theory, progressive argumentation, discriminatory behavior

Evaluating The Round:

- Evidence matters to me. I reserve the right to check evidence if there is a debate about it in the round.

- I weigh arguments and style completely. I would say I lean truth > tech. I won't buy a nonsensical claim just because your opponents dispute it but if you explain something well enough and respond to the opponents' rebuttal effectively, I'd buy that argument.

- Final focus, and in most cases, summary should not include any new information. Final focus should conclude the round and help me write my ballot. Tell me, succinctly, why you're winning and make it easy for me to vote for you.

- The argument that you want me to vote on (the one that should be in final focus), must be brought up in summary and you must answer any counterarguments from your opponents. First rebuttal can just attack and doesn't need to defend but second rebuttal must both adequately attack and defend.

- Evidence > analytics to an extent. Analytics are fine but give me a reason to prefer it over evidence (ex. the evidence is biased because ____). If the evidence is saying something that makes no sense and you don't explain it, I'll prefer the analytic.

- During crossfire, please be respectful to your opponents. I do not want to see a shouting match.

WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR: quality > quantity, well-explained arguments in all speeches--consistency, evidence, weighing (ideally, start weighing in rebuttal or summary)

Make it clear to me how you are winning the round, weighing is paramount. Write my ballot for me.

Remember the goal is to serve as an academic exercise and have fun. Good luck to all competitors!

TL;DR weigh, explain what debate jargon means and lay adapt, go at slightly below average debate pace, include me on the evidence document

As a former varsity public forum debater, I am very familiar with the public forum debate process. I debated for 3 years in high school, and I know how much work all debaters put into their cases. Therefore, I will be looking for very structured arguments for this topic.

Regarding your first speeches, I'm more concerned with quality over quantity. I'm not interested in a variety of different contentions that are not well put together. Ideally, I'd like to see 2 or 3 strong contentions, that you can back up with solid evidence.

I won't flow your cross-ex but if something big comes up during the cross-ex mention it in your other speeches if you want me to flow it.

If you offer framework, carry it through the round. If you drop your framework, and still argue it in later speeches, I won't flow it. Make sure you carry your framework through the round, and I can use that when deciding the winner for each round.

Final speeches, weigh impacts and point out key arguments in the round you think I should weigh accordingly. Don't use final focus as a second rebuttal. If you don't weigh your arguments, I'll be forced to do it on my own accord, something you probably don't want.

The easier you make it for me to flow your side through the round, the more likely you are to win.

I am a pretty laid back judge, speak somewhat coherently and well enough that I can understand your arguments well. If you talk too fast, or incoherently, it's very possible that I won't be able to carry your arguments through.

Category: JV PF

I’ve debated both policy and public forum, so I’m familiar with most styles of debating.

Speed is alright as long as you are coherent. If you attempt to speak fast, but lack coherency, I cant flow and argument that I can’t understand.

Framework debate should be extended throughout the round if you want me to weigh the round a certain way. If neither team presents a framework, I’ll weigh the round objectively off impacts.

Weighing impacts is necessary in order to organize the debate towards the end of the round. If one team is presenting their arguments in an organized fashion, and the other is not, I’m often persuaded more so by the former team due to their comprehensibility.

Speaker points are decided by both speech presentation along with crossfire. My initial impression while presenting your first speech will have an impact on speaker points, but a debaters ability to confidently hold their arguments and present questions in crossfire will define how well they do in terms of speaker points.

I am a parent judge affiliated with Middleton High School. I have been judging for the past three years. It's okay to speak fast but please make sure you are speaking clearly. Though style has some weightage, I prefer argument over style. Do not use too much jargon and don't run theory. If you brought something up in crossfire and want it to be considered in the round, please bring it up in subsequent speeches. Lay the round out VERY clearly for me, and do not make me do the weighing. Please collapse near the end of the round, I don't want to see everything you said in your constructive unless it is cleanly flowing through in Final Focus. Be nice to each other and have fun!

I did debate in the local circuit here in WI for the last four years so that's my experience.

Some things I like to see:

1. Do the impact calculus for me, you don't want the round to come down to me trying to figure out what outweighs what

2. Civil cx

3. Roadmapping when it is sensible to do so

4. Please signpost

Some other things:

1. Please keep track of your own time - I will keep flowing up until 5 seconds past your designated speech time but then stop.

2. I'm not too familiar with theories or Ks but I will do my best to keep up

Fun Update: I have COVID so while I will not infect you over the screen I am not feeling 100% so do not make my day any worse by being jerks

Hey everyone,

Here's a little background: I debated PF all four years of high school. Currently, I'm a junior in college, with a little over a year of experience judging. My judging is pretty straightforward, although I do have a few basic preferences:

• Speak coherently and articulate your arguments; I only flow what I can understand (quality>quantity)
• I will not flow dropped arguments or anything mentioned in cross, so be sure to flow through your arguments in the round and bring up anything you want to be considered from cross in subsequent speeches.
• Evidence is key. If your claims are not supported clearly, I will not flow it.
• Link your impacts. Ultimately, this is what the round will come down to, so make sure you clearly articulate voters and weigh these. Whenever possible, I want to see clash! Tell me how and why your impacts outweigh your opponent's.

Hello! I am an older sibling of a debater. I am a college senior majoring in English and politics, and I participated in Model United Nations in high school. This is my first debate tournament, and I therefore have limited knowledge of the technical rules of debate. If you use debate jargon, please provide a further explanation.

I'm comfortable with some speed, but please no spreading. Speak concisely, I will let you know if you're speaking too fast.

Please have a content warning for any graphic evidence you may include.

Please be respectful to your opponents. Try to keep speeches within the allotted time.

I will be looking for well-explained arguments, evidence, and clear responses.

Have fun, good luck to all competitors! I'm looking forward to hearing your arguments.

Hello, I am a retired U.S Navy Engineer, I did 4 years of policy for Mukwonago years ago and traveled for a national debate. I’m open to any kind of argument I just ask that you be clear, and concise and don’t make me do the work at the end of the round. By that I mean tell me how and why you win and why your arguments matter. I look forward to meeting you

P.s Be nice to each other, I hate rudeness

P.s.s Don’t insult the members of the armed forces, I happen to know a lot of them and they are the best people in the world. If you need to attack the military, attack the leadership and the organization, not us personally.

She/her- you can call me Brittany

experienced in all speech events, congressional debate, PF, and, LD

PF- I'm retired PF coach and have been judging PF for years. I have also judged quite a bit of LD.

I flow (except crossfires) but I'm not going to get down every source tag. If you feel a source is important or you want to argue your opponents source please make sure I know what the source said. Id prefer you to refer to what the evidence said than just card tags.

Speed-don't go too fast. It isn't so much an issue of me not being able to follow you, it's more the fact that this is a public speaking and communication competition and not a race. At no point in the real world will being the person who speaks the fastest get you anywhere. Since I am not going to judge the round based on simply a tally of who had the most arguments, it's not really worth your time squeezing in that extra contention/argument.

Please, please, please impact weigh for me. You don't want your judge to have to decide what's most important, tell them why your impacts are most important.

Roadmaps- don't do them. They are not useful in pf and rarely tell me anything. Just signpost in your speech. As long as you're organized, I should be able to follow you. If you're not organized, a roadmap wouldn't help me anyway.

Be nice to each other, don't constantly cut each other off in cx, you will see it effect your speaker points if you do.

Default framework is harms vs benefits for all PF. Just because you have a framework and your opponents don't doesn't mean you win automatically. If they fully respond to your framework or lay out their own, even in rebuttal, I'm fine with that.

Generally not interested in non-topical arguments.

Prep Time - Please use your prep time wisely. I will only give a little latitude with regards to untimed evidence sharing or organizing your flows, but please be quick about it.

Good luck!

LD- I am a previous PF person coach but have been judging LD on and off since 2007. A lot of my notes will be the same as above honestly cause they apply to both. But I will repeat them here and also add anything else.

I flow (except crossfires) but I'm not going to get down every source tag. If you feel a source is important or you want to argue your opponents source please make sure I know what the source said in case (or blocks). Id prefer you to refer to what the evidence said than just card tags.

Speed-don't go too fast. It isn't so much an issue of me not being able to follow you, it's more the fact that this is a public speaking and communication competition and not a race. At no point in the real world will being the person who speaks the fastest get you anywhere. Since I am not going to judge the round based on simply a tally of who had the most arguments, it's not really worth your time squeezing in that extra contention/argument.

Please, please, please impact weigh for me. You don't want your judge to have to decide what's most important, tell them why your impacts are most important.

Roadmaps- don't do them unless youre going in a weird order(and ideally dont go in a weird order, I prefer line by line down the flow). Just signpost in your speech. As long as you're organized, I should be able to follow you. If you're not organized, a roadmap wouldn't help me anyway.

Be nice to each other, don't constantly cut each other off in cx, you will see it effect your speaker points if you do.

Generally not interested in completely non-topical arguments. That doesnt mean I wont entertain them potentially in LD as I know theyre very popular. This also doesnt mean I wont entertain arguments like vote neg because this topic is inherently racist, that is still topical. IF you have a non-Kritik case tho, Id recommend you run that in front of me.

Framework is very important- make sure you address it at the beginning- if your frameworks are the same you can just quickly acknowledge that and move on- sometimes kids spend a long time talking about how both teams have a Value of morality and that isnt needed for me. I also dont need you to readdress the framework in later speeches if theyre the same but if theyre different make sure to address it.

Prep Time - Please use your prep time wisely. I will only give a little latitude with regards to untimed evidence sharing or organizing your flows, but please be quick about it.

Good luck!

Congress- On the debate side of the ballot: I highly value clash and new arguments. Rehashing old points is unlikely to get you a high score. The one exception is a really strong crystallization speech that does a good job of summing up what has happened in the debate so far (and these speeches are not easy to do well). On the speech side of the ballot: this is a speech heavy activity, more so than any other debate category. Make sure you follow all the rules of a good speech (vocal control and physical poise are polished, deliberate, crisp and confident. Few errors in pronunciation. Content is clearly presented and organized) I prefer extemporaneous style with only occasional note references for evidence specifics (ideally no notes needed, as in extemp). Make sure you cite your sources (and that your speech includes sources).

I believe debate is great activity. I debated policy debate in high school for four years at the national level.

Here's a few things about how I think about the debate.

1. I don't flow cross examination but I flow the rest of the debate. I will bring statements from cross x and grand cross if you ask me to in the speeches. (I do listen to it.)

2. I may ask for evidence after the round.

3. I am open to any approach (speed, kritiques, etc.) as long as you can define it.

4. A dropped argument is a won argument. I then evaluate it against the rest of the arguments.

5. The resolution needs to fairly divide ground between the aff/neg or Pro/Con). Other than that, I am open to any other theory.

6. You should enjoy the activity!

Hi! I'm Ananya!

As far as experience goes, I did four years of PF debate here in Wisconsin. I'm a college junior, so I have experiencing judging.

Here are my preferences:

As for speed, I will flow what I hear. Please speak understandably and clearly.

I will not flow crossfire to weigh in the round, but I'll pay attention to what is being said to give you feedback on questions.

Please consistently flow your arguments and rebuttals throughout the round. I will not flow something if it is mentioned in the constructive and then only brought up in the final focus.

FOR PF: PF is heavily evidence-based, so I value weighing evidence against one another. If you think your evidence is more relevant to your argument, explain how it outweighs your opponent's evidence. Expand your evidence and provide a link chain to your impacts.

FOR LD: In evaluating Lincoln-Douglas debates, I prioritize a clear and philosophical approach. Debaters should articulate their ethical framework with depth and clarity, relating it effectively to the resolution. Strong resolution analysis, organization, and argument depth are crucial, favoring quality over quantity. Cross-examination should be used strategically and respectfully to expose weaknesses. Explain the role of the ballot and why I should vote for you, adapting to various debate styles while maintaining fairness and respect. Overall, a well-structured, clear, and nuanced presentation of arguments, along with respectful conduct, will positively influence my judgment.

I want clear voters during the final focus and weigh your impacts. This can really make or break a round. Final Focus is truly only to recap and recount your strongest arguments; don't try to make it an extended rebuttal or try to bring up new evidence or arguments.

Provide interesting arguments and analyses. I want to hear new things!

Have fun!

Hey everyone,

I did PF for 3 years so I have decent experience with it, and I'm currently a college freshman. Besides a few basic common sense debate things, I don't really have any major preferences, and I leave you to do what you think will win the round.

For framework, this typically isn't a point of contention in PF, but if it somehow is, then I'm going to have to evaluate the round in the context of that framework, and any contentions that don't fit within the its scope will probably be devalued.

In Cross Ex, most judges don't flow, and I'll still pay attention, but if you think some major concessions were made or some good points were made, then bring it up in a later speech.

In the speeches themselves, if you choose to use speed, then as long as it's coherent then I'm fine with it. Make whatever arguments you think will benefit you. Most of my focus is on the flow, so make sure you address your opponents arguments, and try to extend yours as best as you can. Oftentimes in PF, people read large blocks, so if you do this, just make sure to highlight the key takeaways in them, and contextualize the quotes that you use.

Having debated for two years and judged for an additional 2, I am well-versed both PF and LD.

Unless both teams can agree on a common framework/interpretation of the resolution, I am very strict when it comes the wording of the resolution. For example, if the resolution is "Resolved: Doritos should be the national chip of the United States," I will weigh arguments that are directly pertinent to the US much more compared to arguments regarding countries x,y, and z.

Except for cross, I am very judicious with time. This means I will stop you once my timer goes off and anything said after time will not be considered. When my timer reaches 30 seconds, I will send a message in the chat that says "30" or "30 seconds" just as a warning.

The biggest things I consider when judging is how effectively a team/individual was able to present their argument, as well as how cohesive/clear the argument was. Lively debate is encouraged and some amount of rowdiness will be tolerated so long as it is effective in presenting a case.

I debated 4 intensive years in high school in policy debate. I've coached PF for a number of years.

I'm comfortable with various approaches, cases, and theories so long as you can defend it. I'm more interested in clash. critical thinking, and understanding your case, than just repeating your points from your original constructive.

I take detailed notes (flow) during the debate. I do not flow cross examinations. If seeing a specific piece of evidence is relevant to the decision, I will ask for it. Please try to use all of the time allocated to you.

Logical arguments, strength of link chains, and "thinking on your feet" are important. Evidence should help support these arguments and the quality of evidence matters. Please extend arguments through the debate.

Speed is only an issue when words become very garbled and unintelligible. If I can't understand you, it will not be on the flow. I would suggest going with a style that is comfortable for you. If you run a crit (K), you will need to understand the philosophy behind it and be able to defend it; presenting a K that catches a team off guard isn't enough if you can't cogently respond to basic arguments and counterpoints against it.

Politeness and courtesy are important.

4-year PF debater for Brookfield Central High School. Senior @ WashU. Overall, your goal should be to limit how much I have to think because your arguments think for me. I will list preferences in their order of importance to me.

Flow every argument every round. Even if your opponent has yet to open the door on all your contentions, you must flow them. I will be more lenient on the summary and final focus, but I expect you to touch on each argument, or I will consider it dropped.

Fight for your framework. Hard. This is one of the most important arguments you will make. If you control the rules, you control the debate. Take control.

Clash. Clash. Clash. Crossfire is not only to seek clarifying information but also to prime me for how you will dominate your opponent's argument. Be dominant.

Impact calculus should come with likelihood. Given the probabilities, I don’t mind outlandish impact statements, but I want to know the expected value. If you don’t provide this, I will make my own conclusions, which you may not like.

When referencing cards, please try to include dates of publication or revision and any relevant details that speak to its credibility. I give great weight to source quality arguments, including methodological ones.

Speed is fine. Just remember to roadmap beforehand and signpost as you go.

BACKGROUND (Policy Debate) ~

• Nationally ranked high school debater (2004- 2006)
• Former Director of Debate at IUPUI (2009- 2012)
• Former Director of Debate at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (2013-2015)
• Volunteer Judge for the CUDL 4+ years
• Chicago Debate Summer Institute Instructor (Summer 2015)
• Solorio HS Coach (2015- Present)
• Milwaukee Debate League Executive Director (2017- 2020)

TL;DR (The "Round Starts in 2 minutes, Who is this judge?!") *

• Speed: Fine
• Line-by-line: Always
• Signpost: Always
• Roadmap: Yes, off the clock
• Tag Team: Meh
• Default paradigm: Policymaker
• Theory: Great
• T: Lovely
• K: Fine
• Framework: Meh
• CP: Competitive
• DA: Awesome
• Case: Fantastic
• Analysis: Necessary
• Debate Formality: Meh

Longer Form (The "Oh, there's time and we should probably see what this judge is all about")*

SPEED

I'm comfortable with speed. But, with that said you need to be clear, you ideally do not do weird distracting things (like GASPS of air), you ideally slow down on tags, you ideally slow down when reading plan text/advocacy statement.

I ultimately flow based on what I hear within a round regardless of what you think you may or may not have said. I will "clear" you if you are egregiously unintelligible but that's probably a bad sign if I need to do that. If after I "clear" you and I still find myself struggling significantly with quality of presentation I will literally stop flowing for as long as I need to. With all of that said though, I do have a fairly high tolerance for speed.

There is one more important caveat I think it's necessary to say here: if you are able to spread and your opponents are clearly not able to handle it (e.g. literally cannot flow) I expect you to adapt to the round (i.e. do not steamroll a team because you are able to overwhelm them with quantity of arguments). Speed is a tool in the world of debate and I fully expect you to use it but not at the point where it becomes abusive for the other team and takes away from the educational value of the round for all parties.

LINE-BY-LINE

Please try your best to stick to the structures of the round. Please do your best to frame your arguments in the "They say but we say" structure. Even if things get messy, please do your best to consolidate, group, or summarize arugments together and respond to them in a clear manner. Try and not jump all over the place.

With all of that said, I think this is a skill that all debaters aspire for. Sometimes rounds get messy and all I really do is ask that you do your best to try and line up your arguments as best as you can. The effort is important at the end of the day. I know all judges like a clean line-by-line, and I know that it can get lost in the moment, so... all I ask is that you try your best (cause, let's be honest, is there going to be a judge that ever says "No line-by-line"?)

SIGNPOST

Part and parcel with the idea of line-by-line format is signposts. I think it's incredibly important for teams to make sure they give proper sign posts. Give me a remider of where you are, let me know where I should be flowing, let me know what's going on. Give me a sign that you're about to move to the next card (usually a "AND NEXT" is a good indicator). Signposts help keep you organized, help your opponent stay organized, and helps the judge stay organized. It's an important skill to have... and all I ask is that you try your best.

ROADMAP

Please. There are four things I've been seeing that drive me absolutely insane - and apparently there's enough for me to even write about it.

1) Roadmapping the 1AC. Don't do it. It's not necessary. It's not a thing.

2) Asking if I want a roadmap. The answer is YES. The answer is always YES (with the exception of the 1AC, because, once again, don't do it).

3) 1NC roadmap - just tell me how many off, and then where you plan on going on. Don't tell me what the Off cases are, that's not necessary.

4) Roadmap by being clear and concise: "DA, K, Case in order of solvency then advantage one." Do not roadmap: "I'm going to go a little bit on solvency, and then maybe the K...and if I have time maybe the DA...."

TAG TEAM

Tag teaming is okay as long as 1) the other team is okay with it and 2) as long as it is not abused. The person being questioned should be responding to a majority of the questions. The partner should be able to help but should absolutely not be dominating the cross-ex. Keep it minimal if you are not "standing up" during cross.

DEFAULT PARADIGM

I like policy rounds. I think debate is a forum for analyzing policy so my default is always to be a policy maker. But, with that said, I've been engaged in this activity enough that I also just see it as a free-form open game space for debaters to discuss whatever issues, in whatever format they want to. If you are making arguments that deviate outside of the traditional policy arguments that's totally cool! I'm down (with caveats I'll explain on each specific argument below) but you need to give me a paradigm to judge in otherwise it probably won't go in your favor (or at least it'll be more of an upward climb).

THEORY

I used to debate theory all the time. I don't think abuse necessarily has to be proven within a round to win this argument. I do think you need to make well articulated, well warranted, well impacted out arguments though. I am more on the side of rejecting the argument and not the team but depending on the flow of the round I can be convinced otherwise. I think a well run theory argument is something a debater can fill a full 8 minutes with, if necessary. That is the level of analysis I love for theory. The quick 10s blips are not particularly compelling.

K

Okay. I really do like Ks. BUT I need to see that the team running it (whether as a negative argument or aff advocacy statement) has a very good understanding of the Kritikal arguments. I think too many K cards are incredibly power tagged and full of unnecessary jargon. Keep things simple, pretend I've never heard of your literature/author, and explain it to me, do not assume I know your literature or author. For example, if you use the term "war machine" repeatedly but never explain what the "war machine" is, I will not do the mental work for you. You need to at a minimum explain it in the beginning of your speech. I think the K debate ultimately is made or broken at the link level -- generic Ks will not really do that much for me. I want to see that you understand the K you are running, and that you can actually find specific, concrete links, into your opponents' arguments.

Second, I think alternatives should actually be viable alternatives. Tell me what the altnerative is and show me how it can work. I think that should come without saying but often I hear alternatives that don't necessarily connect with the thesis of the K or ultimately just don't make sense. If the argument does not make sense then I will very unlikely vote for it.

FRAMEWORK

Framework arguments are kind of boring these days to be honest. Try and keep it interesting by being specific. Show me how the framework interacts with the rest of your arguments. Explain to me how your framework works. Give me analysis, bring it outside of the world of generic cards and let me know how the framework works within the round we are in.

CP

Ideally CPs are non-topical and competitive. I think they are viable options but there needs to be a clear solvency story presented and particularly good impact analysis to balance the world of the plan against the world of the counter plan.

DA

DAs are great. The more specific the better. Generic DAs happen, of course, but the better the link story the better. If you can give me a good DA to the case then you have a significant chance of being able to win the round but it has to be well articulated, it has to be well warranted, it has to be well impacted out against the world of the plan.

CASE

Let's be real, the more specific case arguments you can make the better. Who doesn't like clash and actually engaging in the arguments?

ANALYSIS

Give me analysis. It's not good enough to give me impact calculus in the form of magnitude, timeframe, and significance. I need to understand how you reach the world of the impacts. I need to understand why the impacts are even a possibility. The magnitude, timeframe, and significance formula is fine and all but I need much more than that.

DEBATE FORMALITY

I strongly prefer both teams time themselves, accountability is a good skill to have, but at the request of Tab I will also be timing rounds as necessary. I don't really care where you're speaking from. I'm not particularly formal about the rounds.

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* I generally view the role of the judge as being up to the debaters. If you think I should be voting on a movement, tell me why and how the ballot functions. If you think I should be the President making a decision, tell me why and how the ballot functions. I try my best to go into rounds with as few assumptions and biases as possible (recognizing that it's impossible to remove all bias as a human) and you would never see me make a claim that I am the President of a round before it starts (as an example). In short, as much as humanly possible, I try and be a tabula rasa judge so it is on the debaters to make their case for how I should view the round, how I should weigh my decision, and how my ballot should function.

~ A comment on speaker points if I am judging a Wisconsin, non-national circuit tournament. My default speaker point calibration is set to a 28.1 in accordance with national debate trends. Within the state of Wisconsin I have traditionally held an average of 27.5/28 with the idea that points should not and cannot go lower than a 25 (as a matter of custom and as a matter of rule at many tournaments since at least 2002). However, I have recently seen ballots within the state of Wisconsin where points within the low 20s (e.g. "23") seem to be acceptable and endorsed by the state. With that in mind, I am specifically calibrating my average point distribution to a 26 to ensure consistency with state practices.

Hello! My name is Liberty Tidberg. I am a university art ed student. I didn't debate in high school, but I am the child of two debate coach parents and have been attending tournaments for my entire middle and high school years. I may not have competed in debate, but I have been raised on it. I have some knowledge of the technical rules of debate, and a vast knowledge of what makes a good argument.

Please No: Spreading, theory, progressive argumentation, discriminatory behavior. If I see you behaving in a way that is abusive to your opponent as a person as opposed to engaging with their arguments, I reserve every right to drop you for it. Debate should be an equitable space for all competitors.

Please speak at a moderate pace and absolutely no spreading. If you are speaking too quickly, I will let you know once and then I will stop flowing.

During crossfire, please be respectful to your opponents, I do not want to see a shouting match. How I Evaluate Rounds: quality > quantity, well-explained arguments, evidence weighing. Make it clear to me how you are winning the round, weighing is paramount.

Remember the goal is to serve as an academic exercise and have fun. Good luck to all competitors.

I am a PF judge for Fort Atkinson, although I have judged policy in the past. I judged policy from a traditional policy-maker position and tend to prefer cases that are on-topic and had a course of action that I could take. While we are not looking for a plan from Public Forum debaters, arguing the topic directly plays right into my preferences, so it will be tough for PF debaters to go wrong with me.

Speed should not be an issue for public forum debaters, however I know that some students compete in several formats. Having judged policy in the past, I am comfortable with a novice-to-varsity level of speed, however, if I think that you are speaking too quickly for a public forum setting, I will say "clear" up to 3 times. If you speed up again, I will merely start to take off speaker points. If you are speaking so quickly that I cannot flow the debate (which should never happen in PF; this isn't policy!), that will simply be to the detriment of your case. I will not judge what I cannot flow.

I judge primarily base on the arguments/analytics that are presented in the round. I feel that speaker points are best suited to reward debaters for style. In other words, while arguments, facts, and logical deductions are the bread and butter of any debate, if you make it look good or convince me that you know your case backward and forward, that will be reflected in speaker points.

If you are arguing from a moral high ground, please be sure to emphasize that I should be considering moral obligations before considering other aspects (such as utilitarianism) and why. For example, I need something in your arguments telling me why I should value human lives above, say, dollars and cents, but from there on, this can be referred back to as a moral imperative without having to re-argue the original moral argument. Just be sure to include something in your summary or final focus that mentions that I should vote based on moral obligation above all other considerations.

When you are wrapping up the debate, please indicate clearly which arguments you think are the most important for me to consider and why. If there are flaws in the opposing argument, or if you want to toss some analytics, I am fine with this. Analytics are the application of logic to draw a conclusion based on the evidence at hand and they indicate to me that you've been seriously considering the side of the argument that you are presenting.

On my ballot, I try to indicate areas of improvement for everyone along with what was done well. If I indicate a mispronunciation, it is only to improve your debate for the next round, not to embarrass you. While a large vocabulary is desirable, nobody can claim to be perfectly familiar with every single word. English is far too large of a language and it can be terribly inconsistent.

You should also know that I am an Air Force Brat. I grew up on an Air Force Base, near a naval station, that housed Navy personnel and Marines. I am familiar with military equipment of various kinds, how they function, and the role they play in current and past military strategies. Tactical maneuvering for military and political advantage are not unknown to me and I have a good grasp of recent conflicts and their history. Please don't quote conflicts and dates unless you are certain because I will not find it convincing if it's incorrect.