Hello There! If you are reading this page before the round I would ask that you please adhere to the things I have listed below. As a former debater I am familiar with most events (with a couple of exceptions) so if you are not respectful of the rules for the event or for your fellow competitors you will be downranked. Also - I do not discriminate on basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. I employ a zero tolerance policy for discriminatory and/or disparaging conduct. Such language or actions will result in a ranking of last and a note on your ballot. I will sort my paradigms by event below starting with Interp/Speech events.

Interp/Speech:

Default time signals are 3 down & fist. Just have fun and be yourself!

Extemp:

This is simple - Follow the Unified Analysis Format and you will be fine!

LD/PF:

I prefer traditional debate, so please follow the traditional debate structure. Don't cut off your opponents during questioning (unless they're rambling.) Give them an opportunity to answer the question. I generally don't flow questioning, so bring up the point in your speech. Please go a little slower during your speeches. If I can't understand you, I will say "clear." If I can't understand you after that, I won't be able to flow the rest of your speech.

Congress:

A disclaimer - I was a two-time national qualifier in Congress, so I know this event very well. Watch where in the round you place your speeches. If you are rebutting an argument in your speech, make sure you also introduce a new argument. Just rehashing old arguments does not contribute meaningfully to the debate. I give POs a fair bit of leeway to run things, but if you're egregiously breaking the rules or the chamber is in chaos, that will reflect poorly on you.

In closing, I judge fairly based on the merits of everyone's performance. If you have any questions for me don't hesitate to ask.

My name is Morning Leveille and I have judged a variety of events over the years, from Congress to OO to LD to Duo. If you name it, I've judged it. I am non-discriminatory and a diversity enhancing judge. I have been judging for 6 years in the Florida and National circuits, my alumni school is Apopka High School, and I was a former Speech and Debate kid myself.

Things that help me make a good decision towards the end are debate skills, proper use of evidence, flow of the argument, speech skills, and performance ability. I take notes about the outline of your speech, if it is easy to understand, are you going the extra mile to explain relevant information, or are you bogging the debate down with irrelevant subject matter. Think of your speech like an essay, topic, body, and summary. Having a conclusion towards the end of your speech shows you are prepared, have good time management skills, and can circle back around to tie in everything together at the end.

For my speech kids, I will take note on your use of body language, projection, pronunciation, delivery of the subject matter, etc. I try and take in individual's personal strengths and highlight on how you can improve other areas. What makes a great performance to me is not holding back, letting the emotion of your speech run through you, presenting it in an accurate manner, and for those that write their own speeches, writing skills and vocabulary.

Hi, everyone! My name is Gabriela Montes and I competed in Duo. Now I know this is surprising for someone who is judging pf, but my school was short on judges due to some complications. You can assume that I will be one of the most lay judges you’ll see today. And with that, I’ll break down a few concerns I have.

Please don’t spread. In all honesty, I barely know what the term means. 

Skip the jargon!! This will make it so much more complicated for me and you both! You can still make your arguments and impacts without having to fall into complicated language.

Make sure you are creating arguments that flow pretty linearly and make sure you tell me where your points of contention in the debate are.

If you do this, we can be on the same page and it won’t be a boatload of confusion.

Thank you guys so much and good luck!

Was in PF for 3 years and I competed on the local and national circuit. Flow judge.

I will always evaluate the framework first and then look towards who best provides offense under the framework. PLEASE COLLAPSE, going for everything in round takes away from your ability to provide a narrative for your arguments. I will only vote on an argument if it’s present in both summary and final focus. That means extending both the warrant, giving a detailed analysis, and the impacts of the argument. Extending card tags alone is not enough. Most importantly, Weigh. If neither of the teams weigh, I’ll be forced to intervene and determine what I think is more important, which you might not necessarily agree with in the end. On a final note, I'm a stickler with evidence, meaning I appreciate evidence that explicitly says what it is that you are trying to communicate in the round; I appreciate logical analysis as well, but there are some instances where having both may serve to benefit you. Probably didn't cover everything so feel free to ask any specific questions before the round.

1. I primarily judge based on organized structure along with supporting facts. So long as you aren't trying to throw things together and being able to respond to your opponent's arguments in order to fully refute them, you'll be on a pretty good standing in terms of winning the round. Signposting is great. I know it's not entirely normal for some people but it really helps me in trying to get a good grasp at the structure of the argument. You don't necessarily need it for the win however if done well you can definitely at the very least see it reflect in your speaker points. Make sure your arguments make sense. The worst thing is to be in a debate and while you are trying to relay your argument the only thing I understand is just words coming out of your mouth. I understand some topics can be rough, but word vomit is not the way to go. At that point it makes me want to stop flowing whatever you're saying and move on to the next speech. Towards the end of your 2AR/2NR speech, make sure your voters are clear and presented in a way that also makes sense. The best thing in the round is for me to be able to simply look at the voters and evaluate whether those are true based on what I've seen on the round in order to make my decision rather than try to sum it up myself. You're more likely to get the L if you do that. If you spread you better do it well because I know you guys aren't Eminem. I know sometimes it's important to get a lot of things across when covering information but if you aren't making it clear and also trying to do it needlessly (where I'm hearing more breaths than words cause you're talking over yourself) then you should be fine. I don't have a heavy policy debate background, The easier you make things for me to understand the better and more likely you are to win my ballot. When it does come to actual policy rounds as well, providing the clearest plan with detailed thought behind it will do very well so long as your plan stands the test of the round. At the end of the day, I'll try my best in order to give the fairest judging for the round possible, but know if you do some risky plays and don't execute them right, that may very well cost you the round.

Parent judge. Although I am proficient in English, it isn't my first language. I go for clarity and simplicity. For me to judge well and right, it is important that I understand the speakers/debaters clearly...am not a fan of use of jargons.

I am fairly new in judging Speech.

I am a parent judge - this is my third year judging. I look for a confident delivery and clear articulation of ideas. My background is in law and finance.

Congress - Argument is well-organized, points are clearly developed and supported by a variety of credible sources, evidence is analyzed, compelling language, smooth transition between points, movements are purposeful and signal a new point, easy to follow your argument, introduction and conclusion are clearly connected, purpose is established throughout your argument. Responds to questions with confidence and clarity, responds to previous speakers' points to either refute or affirm with new arguments and evidence, speaks clearly, is active in questioning throughout the round

Have been an assistant coach for several years and has recently taken on the responsibility of head coach, has been active in speech and debate since 2009, have judged numerous local tournaments, invitational tournaments, and national tournaments.

Completed the National Speech and Debate Association Adjudicating Speech and Debate course.

Hello!

I'm a parent judge but I've been involved in the Congress circuit for a few years now, so I know how good rounds are supposed to look. I get bored easy so especially with these long rounds, please keep me entertained!!

I like good, explained argumentation, hate rehash, and really prefer early round speeches. I can tell when someone's relying on crystaling because they didn't have prep going in and that will show in my ranks.

Stay engaged, stay respectful, and most importantly have fun. Good luck!