Forensics is a speaking competition in which the art of rhetoric is utilized - speaking effectively to persuade or influence [the judge].

I take Socrates's remarks in Plato's Apology as the basis of my judging: "...when I do not know, neither do I think I know...I am likely to be wiser than he to this small extent, that I do not think I know when I do not know" (Ap. 21d-e).

My paradigm of any round is derived from: CLARITY!!!

All things said in the round need to be clear! Whatever it is you want me to comprehend, vote on, and so forth, needs to be clearly articulated, while one is speaking. This stipulation should not be interpreted as: I am ignorant about debate - I am simply placing the burden on the debater to debate; it is his or her responsibility to explain all the arguments presented. Furthermore, any argument has the same criteria; therefore, clash, at the substantive level, is a must!

First and foremost, I follow each debate league's constitution, per the tournament.

Secondly, general information, for all debate forms, is as follows:

1) Speed: As long as I can understand you well enough to flow the round, since I vote per the flow!, then you can speak as slow or fast as you deem necessary. I do not yell clear, for we are not in practice round, and that's judge interference. Also, unless there is "clear abuse," I do not call for cards, for then I am debating. One does not have to spread - especially in PF.

2) Case: I am a tab judge; I will vote the way in which you explain to me to do so; thus I do not have a preference, or any predispositions, to the arguments you run. It should be noted that in a PF round, non-traditional/abstract arguments should be expressed in terms of why they are being used, and how it relates to the round.

Set a metric in the round, then tell me why you/y'all have won your metric, while your opponent(s) has lost their metric and/or you/y'all have absorbed their metric.

The job of any debater is to persuade the judge, by way of logical reasoning, to vote in his or her favor, while maintaining one's position, and discrediting his or her opponent's position. So long as the round is such, I say good luck to all!

Ask any other clarification questions before the round!

Hi! I’m really excited to be your judge today!

A few notes:

1. Sign posting is an absolute must. If I cannot follow you, that’s a problem.

2. No spreading, this isn’t policy debate.

3. I will reward you for being clear and impacting all of your claims. Tell me why this argument matters!

4. Be civil! I will give you low speaks if you are rude and talk over the top of one another.

5. Be clear on why you believe you have won the round. Evidence, Evidence, Evidence!

email: cbhatt@udel.edu

I have done mostly CX debate in high school (graduated 2019), so I am fairly familiar with Ks. I have also done LD (and a little PF) and I have seen both progressive and traditional styles of LD so I am good with both.

You can spread, but make sure to signpost/slow down a little for tags.

PCFL quals William Tennent - this is my first time judging in this school year so unfortunately I have not really seen the favored args and meta for this year in terms of policy debate. But I am well experienced in this format so it should be fine.

Be respectful to each other, but also have fun! Good luck.

Princeton Update: I haven't been involved with the activity for a while now. Please go about 75% speed and try to be clear. Don't assume I know about the topic.

What's up I'm Vedansh Chauhan - I debated for four years at Princeton High School and qualified for the TOC my senior year. Email: vedanshchauhan17@gmail.com

Some shortcuts:

1 - T/Theory

2 - Phil/Tricks

3 - LARP

4 - K

4 - Performance

Disclosure + Friv Theory is cool, I'll be more receptive to reasonability if the shell is egregious.

Regardless of my preferences, read whatever you want and do your thing, I shouldn't have to restrict you from reading a position because of my ideologies. I'll do my best to evaluate every argument that has a warrant.

Tech > Truth and I'll only evaluate args that I have on my flow.

Don't make any offensive arguments otherwise your speaks are going to get tanked

Defaults:

Truth-Testing > Comparative Worlds

Competing Interps > Reasonability

Drop the Debater > Drop the Argument

No RVIs > RVIs

Presumption Negates > Presumption Affirms

Permissibility Negates > Permissibility Affirms

Layers from Highest to Lowest: T, Theory, ROB

Epistemic Confidence > Epistemic Modesty

CX Is Binding > Not Binding

Stuff to get high speaks:

1) Be funny

2) Bring me food/snacks and water.

3) Be passionate about what you read

Although I am a former Lincoln Douglas debater, I am not a fan of Kritiks or ROBs. So in that respect I consider myself more of a traditional LD judge than a progressive one. However, I will evaluate plans and counterplans. Please remember to be thorough with impact calc as well. Debaters who can present a strong case with great cards, effective refutation of their opponent's case, and ultimately prove their Value/Value Criterion will win. If both debaters are equal on contentions and rebuttals, I will decide the round on which value holds up.

Email chain: emily.l.cleveland@gmail.com

Harrison High School '22

Include me on the email chain please: harrison.debate.team@gmail.com

Hey! I'm James Cox (He/Him), and I'm currently a senior at Harrison High School, in Harrison, New York. I primarily compete on the national circuit, but I am also familiar with the traditional debate. If I am judging you, you're likely a novice, in which case below are some things that I'd like to see in the round. If you are a more advanced novice, please don't try to debate "circuit" just because you think I want to see that. I am tech>truth for the most part, but I have 0 tolerance for racism, sexism, etc., and I have no problem dropping someone if an argument is made that is harmful to other bodies within the space.

If you and your opponent are frequently competing on the national circuit, here is the link to Chetan Hertzig's paradigm. I agree with 99 percent of everything said here.

Hertzig's Paradigm: https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml

novice rounds:

1. WEIGH. YOUR. IMPACTS. PLEASE. Novice rounds get irresolvable super quickly, so using weighing in your speeches is necessary (probability, magnitude, etc.)

2. Signpost! Please tell me when you're extending your arguments, or when you're responding to your opponent's.

3. Give voters! Write my ballot for me.

if you have any questions about anything written here, please email me or ask before the round! Debating as a novice can be scary, so I'll try to provide as much feedback as possible in my RFDs.

FSU '25

Bio: Hi everyone, I'm Fabrice and I debated for Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida where I debated in LD for four years. The last two years of my debate career I spent debating on the national circuit where I broke at most of the tournaments that I attend during my Senior Year. Also, my pronouns are he/him/his, and my email is Fabriceetienne830@gmail.com for the email chain.

Basic Stuff:

1. I'm definitely Tech > Truth, which means I have no problem voting for any argument with a warrant and an implication, as long as it isn't repugnant and justifiably makes debate unsafe. If I find an argument to be nonsensical in a way then most likely it does not have a warrant behind it and has no implication in terms of who I voted for in the round.

2. Don't be blatantly anti-black, xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, anti-queer, ableist, etc. Also, if your opponent calls you out for one of the actions that are listed above I will drop you.

3. I do disclose speaks, but I will only disclose if both debaters are fine to have their speaker points disclose at the end of the round.

4. Please show up during the tech time the tournament has given. If you're ten minutes past the tech time then I will start docking speaks, so show up on time.

5. If you're debating a novice or person you are way better than just read what you would normally read but a little slower than usual. The whole point of debate is for people to build their knowledge of the world by learning new arguments from different competitors. This most likely won't happen if you're spreading as fast as can against someone that can't even pick up a word you're saying just because they have no experience in tech debate.

6. For online debate purposes, it is probably best that you record your speeches in case someone gets disconnected or cuts out for a split second during their speech.

Quick Pref Sheet:

K - 1

LARP/T - 2

Framework/ Theory - 3

Tricks - 4

General Stuff:

Ks/K affs: I spend the most time thinking about this type of debate and I feel most comfortable adjudicating it as well. Some authors that I am familiar with when it comes to K debates are Wilderson, Warren, Sexton, Hartman, Baudrillard, and Tuck and Yang. I also have a little bit of knowledge of Eldeman, Beradi, and Lacan. One thing I should note is that just because I like K debate does not mean I am going to hack for you if you read one in front of me, especially if you do not know what you are talking about. Also, I expect that your K has a link or links that are specific to the aff and the alternative should resolve it in some way. Another thing I would like to add is that I am not a big fan of big and long overviews, for that, it is probably better to line by line what is necessary. Now, in terms of K affs, I am fine with whatever you read since this was what I mostly read during my time on the circuit. My only concern with K affs is that you need to make sure that you link your aff to the resolution or why talking about the res is inherently bad. The last thing that I have to add is that if you are reading a non-T aff you need to answer the question of what you do? If that answer is not answered by the end of the 2AR I probably won't vote you up.

LARP (Policy Args): I am fine with LARP since it was the first type of debate that I started with once I was starting to debate on the circuit. Affs with a creative/unique plan text is always fun and if you have one, by all means, run it. The same goes for Neg and any unique CPs and DAs. In these kinds of debates, weighing is gonna be key in front of me.

T/Theory: Obviously if theory is called for because of in-round abuse, don't be afraid to run it. That being said, loading up on as many T shells as possible probably isn't the best strategy for me. This also applies to topicality as well. One thing that I would like to add is that I am not fond of voting for an RVI, but if it is warranted then it fair game.

Framework/Phil: I am fine with this as well even though I barely think about this type of debate at all. Some philosophers that I am familiar with are Kant, Levinas, Deleuze, and Lacan. Philosophers that are not the ones that I listed above might need a little bit more explanation when it comes to articulating their philosophy and how it relates to the res. Also, if this is your style then you need to win why your framework is ethically relevant, and then be able to win offense or defense underneath that framing mechanism.

Tricks: This type of debate is probably my weakest place in terms of adjudicating, but that doesn't mean I won't try. If you want to pref me and reading tricks is your thing then just make sure you err on over-explanation and implicating whatever you are reading and I'll try my best to judge accordingly.

Performance: I am cool with this type of debate as well, but you need to make sure why your specific performance relates to the resolution in some way or why talking about the resolution is inherently bad in debate whether you are the affirmation or the negation.

Extra Stuff:

1. Since debate is online again for this season, it would probably be best to not speak as fast as you can from the jump. It would probably be best to start at 50% of your usual speed and then work your way up as the debate goes on so that I can get accustomed to your voice.

2. If you're white and/or a non-black POC reading afro pessimism or black nihilism, you won't get higher than a 28.5 from me. The more it sounds or shows that you read the argument specifically for me and don't know the literature, the lower your speaks will go.

3. If you are accused of an evidence ethics violation/clipping/cross-reading I will stop the debate and confirm with the accuser on whether they want to stake the round on the violation. After that, I will render a decision based on the guilt of the accused.

4. I don’t mind you post rounding me, for that, I believe it makes judges learn sometimes too and it can be good to keep judges accountable. However, if you start to be aggressive while you are post rounding I will meet that energy as well.

I am a parent judge. I like to see clear logical reasoning, best supported by facts and stats. Also, no spreading please! Conciseness is more important than speed, so please do make your arguments clear. In addition, I would like to see the extensive use of weighing. Overall, please keep in mind that it can only be a debate if your opponent and your judges can understand you, and having fun should come first! Good luck!

Basic Information

I coach on theDebateDrills Club Team- please clickhereto access incident reporting forms, roster, and info regarding MJP’s and conflicts.

Debated Freshman-Junior year doing Policy debate and Senior year switched to LD, this shapes lots of my views on debate. After graduating I have been coaching for the past few years, coaching over a dozen bids and multiple deep TOC runs primarily coaching Policy and K.

email chain: Jacksonh428@gmail.com

Last update- Bronx 2022

This paradigm primarily applies to high level debates and Elims. if you are a younger debater don’t change your strategy for me I am here to provide feedback on whatever your style of debate. If you are in an Elim or frequently Make it to elims this paradigm should outline my full thoughts on debate for your prefing needs.

Important notes about my philosophy regarding debate you should read before having me as a judge

• If your strat relies on highly contextualized clash debate I am the correct judge for you, Whether you debate critical or policy I will be able to evaluate the debate from a very neutral and knowledge stance. If your strat relies on spreading out your opponent or going for small blips on flows I am not the judge for you.
• I will be more impressed by students that demonstrate topic knowledge, line-by-line organization skills (supported by careful flowing), and intelligent cross-examinations than by those that rely on superfast speaking, obfuscation, jargon, backfile recycling, and/or tricks.- Bill Batterman
• I have become a lot more ideological open to philosophy style arguments in the past year that being said, I have not worked within any of the literature bases for a substantive amount of time. Philosophy that is purely read to integrate trix will never win my ballot in a round. But I am open to well developed philosophy strategies. Because I have not judged these styles of debate for any amount of time you will need to make sure explanations are very clear and robust regarding how to evaluate your arguments. I am going to be more biased towards util which means it is going to require vast more explanation to overcome than the inverse.
  
• It is really hard for me to vote on terminal defense, I will almost always vote on risk of offense.
• I strongly Dislike Nebel and versus core affs that have been read a lot am very very hesitant to vote on it, this largely comes from the majority of my debate career being in policy but is a bias I hold.
• I Will not vote on evaluate the debate at any point but after the 2AR.
• If you are asking for a marked doc you need to run prep, I dont know why people are not flowing by ear anymore

Specific Arguments

Critical debate-

• My standard for critical debate is college policy which entirely skews what a good K round is and lowers the argumentative burden to beat LD K affs. If you are reading affs that are innovative in some sense that shows you have really engaged within the literature I will be a great judge for this. I am starting to get upset at the level of recycling that is occurring within the LD K aff world. An additional point of gripe I am starting to have is combining theories of power that are entirely distinct into one affirmative or kritik, The most absolutely frustrating part about this is that when you do this versus a debater who is unaware of this contradiction justifiably given it not being a required aspect of the topic it becomes impossible for me to evaluate given there not being an arguement I will likely dock .5-1 speaks for theory of power contradictions. All of this being said if you read a K aff you have to understand that you should show extreme levels of mastery.
• T Framework falls under this discussion point. This is one of my favorite types of debate to watch and even as someone who read tons of K affs, Against K affs T was always my number one strategy. I think that most shells that are being read now days are very bad and generic. Good Framework debates need to have clash starting in the 1NC, Pulling lines from cards and referencing the 1AC is crucial to avoiding large 2AR spins. I believe that Fairness is a terminal impact but can be convinced otherwise, and believe that Going for fairness is probably a better strat versus Pomo and non Id-Pol K's and In round skills are better versus Id-pol. Teams that go for one standard in the 2NR with lots of impact weighing and comparison are going to win my ballot. I will shield the 2NR from more 2AR spin that most judges I believe. I really dislike the K aff meta of going for Impact turns or one dropped arg on framework in the 2AR and believe strongly that if you can beat back the framework flow you can also beat back the cap flow.
• All of this holds true reading a K on the negative with a few specific points to be had. First is that I believe that links should be contextual to the aff. This does not mean the links need to be predicated on the action of the plan, but if you are going to read reps links based on extinction or nuclear war I expect to see lines that are pulled from evidence and past speeches to build every link. If you are reading the same blocks every round when you read a Kritik I am not the judge for you but If you engage at a substantive level truly clashing with the aff whether that be on plan action or representations you will not only likely win more debates in front of me but you will definitely get higher speaker points. I also think in LD specifically framework is extremely underutilized by the negative, you can make lots of strategic decisions on the framework debate that implicate the rest of the debate and 2NRs that centralize around framework are usually my favorite, and should be a staple for any K debater given the current debate meta of every K 2AR being extinction o/w framework. Why does framework only need to be area you have to hedge back upon and not make that shift early in the 2NR given you anticipate a 2AR on Extinction o/w.

Policy Debate

• I am a very good for any type of policy debate given you have read the important notes about my overall debate philosophy. Reading bad arguments is always going to lead to a major loss of speaks for me. Da's with no substantive internal links are my biggest pet peeve right now within policy debate. The first point of research past the link should be internal link. I find a lot of value in politics da debates, the college meta of uniqueness dumping is really enjoyable for some reason to me, the hyper contextualization required for evidence comparison is unmatched in this style of debate. I feel that in most types of debate evidence comparison is really declining but politics requires you to put thought into evidence comparison.
• Counterplans that have robust solvency mechanisms will gain you a lot of speaks process counterplans that don't just consult are amazing, counterplans that have thought put into them are always going to be better than a counterplan that is used over and over. A counterplan that solves all of case such as a process counterplan should be its own 2nr, I don't think its smart to go for anything on case, if you choose to go for defense, a 2ar can spend like 10 seconds making superficial responses and then make the arg, we win the cp risk of aff means you vote aff. Obviously if you are reading an advantage counterplan that doesn't solve the whole aff you should have offense on the advantage not solved.

Theory/T

• Theory should only be used as a last resort, If a team is reading 2 or less condo It will be nearly impossible for me to vote on condo bad. I am fine for debates such as Pics Bad, Process Cps bad, Consult Bad. Do not plan on blowing up a 5-10 second shell in the 2ar for this, It should be a flushed out shell as I will draw lines from the 1ar to the 2ar. Theory that I am extremely unlikely to vote on include; Spec shells, Nebel. Theory that I will not vote on; Any clothes or clothing related theory, Friv theory.(The gut check for this is would you read this argument in from of a college policy judge if you wouldn't don't read it In front of me)
• Topicality that is grounded in actual literature based definitions are good. Shells such as Nebel, Leslie, and other extremely semantic based interps are not going to win in front of me. Examples of T arguments I am absolutely willing to vote on with 0 bias; T Medical Necessary(SepOct 22),T Lethal Autonomous Weapons(JF 2021), Most policy style interps if you look at the college wiki minus T SUBSTANTIAL. While I am harsh towards Theory in LD debate I think T is a great avenue for the negative to contest the aff and utilize time tradeoffs. I do not think that this should be done with generics or things such as Nebel.
• OPEN SOURCE IS AMAZING- I read it two off versus K teams my senior year with Cap or impact turns. I Think its just a very good model for debate and for that reason I am Extremely likely to vote on open source. The burden though is full open source, I don't really care if you have round reports of cites. I am only good for full open source or open source after 30 minutes for missed rounds or missed tournaments.

Prefs
Policy/K with clash-1
Policy/k with no clash-4
Phil/Tricks- Strike

Speaks- I rarely give below 28 speaks but rarely give higher than 29.2. Very good strategy execution and a very well thought out strategy combined will lead to the highest speaks.

Thoughts I’ve had about debate in 22 season- read if bored or want to know more about my judging style

• The person I have learned and look up to the most in regards to judging is Bill Batterman if for some reason you do want to read his paradigm I agree with every aspect of it. The only note I would add is I am 10000% more charitable to critical arguments and hold the same threshold as policy arguments to them and my thoughts on Critical debate are outlined above.
• Pessimism K’s have gone rampant, college policy only reads afropess, set col, and to a much smaller extent queer pess. Your job is to find out why college policy only reads a select few.
• Speaker points are super inflated right now, teams getting 30s every other round.

Debated policy in high school and parli at Columbia University

judging for over 4 years

email: cyrusjks10@gmail.com

pronouns: he/him

2/17/24 EDIT:

Quick Prefs:

1) Ks/KAFFS/Performance

2) LARP

3) Phil

4) T/Theory

5) Tricks (unless tied to social advocacy)

IHSA 2022 Update:

Debate Philosophy: Generally, I default to voting for the team that has done the better debating, in terms of proving the merit of the arguments they make against some comparative (opponent's arguments, status quo, etc.). Offense is always appreciated, and I normally vote for the team that has the best warranted / impacted out offense.

UK Digital TOC Speech & Debate #2 Edit:

What debaters should do more of: give roadmaps, sign post, slow down on taglines, do impact calculus/weigh, do line-by-line analyses, compare evidence, collapse on key args in final rebuttal speeches, and say why you are winning/get the ballot (write my ballot for me)

What debaters should avoid doing: spreading through overviews and theory shells (if need to spread please send out a doc), saying they have proved something to be true, bringing up that something was dropped/conceded without explaining why it matters or is a critically important to evaluating/framing the round, jumping all over the flow (please sign post so I can accurately flow/ keep track of your arguments), and sending out speech docs that can't be downloaded or copied from. ALSO please no postrounding and no sending me emails before a round is scheduled to occur nor after a round has occurred, as judges are not allowed to have contact with debaters except during a round.

1/7/22 EDIT:

Quick Prefs:

1) LARP

2) Ks/KAFFS/Performance

3) Phil

4) T/Theory

5) Tricks

Miscellaneous

Kritiks I like to hear (in order): Afropess/antiblackness, afrofuturism, set col, cap,

I am a lay judge.

I am interested in well organized opening arguments supported by good research.  I also would like to hear thoughtful and to the point rebuttals to opponent's contentions/counter arguments. 

Hi! Please put me on the email chain: zahrak031905@gmail.com

I use she/her pronouns and I am a freshman at the University of Rochester. I debated policy for 4 years at Lexington high school.

I’m open to all arguments, and if you are a novice it might be better to run something that you understand well so that it is easier to explain and support. The most important thing is to learn, try your best, and have fun!!

DO:

• Line by Line - make sure you are responding to all of your opponents’ arguments and extending your own, and keep track to see if your opponents’ didn’t answer one or more of your arguments, so that you can use that to explain why that makes your argument stronger

• Explain the warrants of your arguments

• Impact calc, explain why your argument is more significant by comparing your magnitude, timeframe, and probability to your opponents’

• Prioritize your arguments in your rebuttal speech

• Tell me the lens that I should vote through, and why I should vote for you

DON'T

• Be sexist/racist/homophobic/etc.

• Be rude

• Interrupt your partner or your opponents

Also

• Let me know if you have tech issues!

• With online debating, clarity > speed

Remember, try your best, learn some new things, and have fun!!

Hello there! I'm a college student and this is one of my first times judging debate at a tournament. I used to do speech, but I will try my best to keep up with the arguments. That being said, PLEASE DO NOT SPREAD OR USE WORDS THAT ARE UNFAMILIAR TO NON-DEBATORS. Try your best to speak clearly and a little slower. Again, I am not very familiar with debate, so take the advice from my ballots with a grain of salt. I look forward to our round! Good luck!!

I have debated for 4 years and in that time I have only completed in public forum. I am very experienced with pf and I will be flowing. In terms of judging make sure that you are weighing. Overall in debate I hope to see clash and good clean debate.

I am a first time Parent Judge. Please take the advice from my ballots with a grain of salt. I will try my best to keep up with the arguments. Try to speak clearly and not spread. Be respectful to each other and have fun!

Bottomline: Clearly articulate what you want me to comprehend. It is the debater’s responsibility to explain the arguments and to persuade the judge using logical reasoning to vote in your favor. Good luck!

tl;dr: I coach speech primarily and when needed, I judge debate; I don't mind speed and tech, but I should be able to follow the argument without reading along. Evidence should relate clearly to your argument and resolution. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

You can share cases with me, please go ahead. I may not read the case along with you as you present it, but will use it as a reference.

I am also inviting you and your coach (please, obtain their permission first) to email me for anything you need. I would be happy to clarify my RFD, to answer any questions about my paradigm, or even if you feel unsafe in a round, I will do everything in my power to help you.

On to the good stuff:

________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Clash is LIFE: Don't avoid clashing. Get in there and don't be afraid of responding to your opponent's argument. It is what makes this DEBATE, otherwise, it's dueling Oratories.

2. What is a good piece of evidence? One that is clear. "I have a card" is not clear, nor is it persuasive. Your evidence should connect your arguments to a clear purpose in the round. "Why are you telling me this info" should never be a thought I have. Just saying there is a link does not mean there is one. Prove it with your evidence!

3. Speed: I NEED TO HEAR THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! I am not anti-speed, but speed for speed's sake is as if the UPS guy drives by my house at 90 mph and throws the package at my head. I'm mad, the package is broken, and UPS just lost a fan. Speed for argument depth is great, but I recommend signaling or slowing down to make the tags and theories clear so I can write them down. I am not a silent judge. I will say something in between speeches if I cannot understand you, but if I cannot write down your argument in the flow, then guess what? The other person wins because I could hear them. I would hate to see a good argument die on the lips of a speed demon.

4. Traditional or Progressive? I'll be honest, I have leaned towards more traditional when it comes to LD in the past, but the past few years I have become more inclined to some fun progressive debates. I do believe that LD at its core is a value debate. If you are going to run a progressive case, be sure it still fits the idea of a value debate on THIS resolution, not the one you wish NSDA voted for, but THIS resolution.

5. To K or Not to K? Why not? Challenge the system, make the debate interesting and captivating, BUT also remember what I said in number 4. This is a value debate and should ultimately be about the resolution at hand. If you want to run a K about how your opponent's shoes are unlaced; therefore, they are unprofessional, I really think you could do better.

6. Finally, be kind. The worse thing in a round is when a bully decides their opponent is inferior. I am immediately turned off and while it will not affect what I vote on, it will affect how much attention I can give you.

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Murno, I use she/her pronouns

I debated LD for 4 years at Harrison High School and I teach at NSD. I debated natcir but i love trad :)

My email is Lizzie.murno@gmail.com

• If you are able to, please do not read util in front me. If you only read util, please strike me. I hate it. I really don't want to hear about how I am going to die regardless of if we affirm or negate. I have been hearing that extinction will happen in debate for 6 years now and I really do not want to hear it anymore. Obviously if you only have access to util because you are a small team or cut all your own prep I will not hold it against you, but if you are able to read a more nuanced argument then please do because I am tired or pummer.

• Time yourself please I HATE cutting people off but I will not flow any args made after the timer. Finish your sentence but be reasonable.

• Tech and Truth? I will default to whoever is winning the argument, even if I don't agree with it or think it's false it's not up to me if it was dropped. HOWEVER, If the clash is such a wash and there is literally nothing else I can evaluate the debate one, I WILL GO FOR TRUTH. This also makes me inclined to actually read your evidence, especially when it's a hard decision to make. However, DO NOT RELY ON ME TO INTERVENE.

Prefs

Ks - 1

Non-T performance - 1

Soft Left K/K aff - 1

Theory - 2/3

Phil - 4/5

LARP - 5/6

Tricks - Strike

Ks

Even though I was a K debater, do not run it in front of me just because of that - if you don't know it, I won't like it. I read mostly performance Ks, set col, fem Ks, and cap Ks.

If you are reading a K on the neg against a util aff. DONT ASSUME I WILL JUST REJECT UTIL. You need to read a ROB and/or ROJ and tell me why it comes before util and why util is bad. Do not get mad at me for voting for a bad util aff over a good K if you didnt do the work to tell me why your discussion comes first when your opponent tells me why util comes first.

If you have me and aren't a K debater I would love it if you had some soft left K aff (basically implementation of the resolution but impact to structural violence, or a ROB about equality. Just. Not. Util.)

Larp

Larp can be done well, but I will just never get on the Util bandwagon - if you win it I'll vote on it, but I certainly will not be happy.

I will not default to util. Read a framework (I have seen this way too many times).

T/Theory

I read Ks but that doesn't mean that no K is abusive. Give me a good TVA, one that is specific to the K (if you don't have one because they didn't disclose, tell me that). Theory can be really interesting to me if you know what you are doing and I enjoy a good extension of each part.

T against non T affs should be more nuanced. I generally prefer topic theory over T-FW, and I think that if you are reading T-FW there should be a good TVA with a solvency advocate. I also think that you should though some impact turns/critical reasons being non t is bad. in the shell.

Disclosure, PICs bad, condo, rob spec, etc - I think that these arguments need to have a clear abuse story. If you are saying "I can't engage" but are clearly engaging you need to tell me "theory is about norm setting, not what you do it's what you justify". On the other hand, I do appreciate theory and t as an out in a very challenging round substantively.

Phil

I am a philosophy major which means that if you read bad philosophy to me (i.e. you are unable to analytically justify your fw and rely on cards that make no sense) then I will definitely vote you down. I do not understand the way that a lot of people read phil in LD because you don't have a set of premises and a conclusion.

For Novice LD:

- Novice debate is really challenging in the beginning so don't worry! I will try to help as much as a can with my reason for decision (RFD). Ask me any questions you have after the round.

- Feel free to run any argument you are comfortable with as long as it is explained, links to the winning framework, etc, I will probably vote for it.

- Novice rounds are usually messy (It is okay, you are new!), just try to explain all of your arguments, why that means you win, and how you link to the winning framework.

- I want clear voting issues at the end or during your speech.

- I want some big picture arguments explaining what the neg/aff world's would look like (especially in util debates.)

-Overall, have fun with it and try your best!

Hello!

My name is Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo and I am a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. I was a competitive debater and I did a speech in high school.

Debate: I did JV and varsity LD in high school for 2 years (in Cali). During my time as a debater, I was ranked 10th in California at the State Tournament and won the 32nd Stanford National Invitational JV Bracket. I competed in the national circuit and I am a traditional judge and debater with a hint of progressivity. I am a tabula rasa judge, which basically means I'll buy any argument as long as you are able to convince me of its purpose in the round and create a really nuanced argument and case. If you're going to run theory do it well. The same thing applies to Kritiks. Don't just read a block of text at me. I am a big fan of the philosophy aspect of LD so you'll definitely get lots of points if you can successfully incorporate your values throughout your case. Speed: NO SPREADING especially if your opponent is not okay with it. Flowing: Please sign post but I'm a pretty flay judge. Cross X: Everything in CX counts for me but only if you bring it back up in your constructive so if your opponent makes a concession and you don't bring it up it doesn't matter anymore but if you do I'll use it going forward. I like aggressive CX but don't be rude. You will get dropped. Prep Time: I allow flex prep.

Basically, be nice and have fun. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

17+ years as competitor and coach in Texas and New Jersey

Spreading - I am fine with spreading as long as you can be understood. The point of spreading is not to confuse your opponent, it's to deliver as much material as possible within the time limit. Articulation and enunciation are key. If you aren't doing vocal warm-ups before the round, you probably aren't ready to spread.

Case sharing - I do not give my email for case sharing. Unless there is something specifically mentioned in the debate that I need to read, my job is not to read your case to understand it. You should deliver your case in a manner that is comprehensible without having to be read. That is the art of debate; this isn't just about reading, it's about presentation.

Sportsmanship - Part of being a good debater includes the time when you are not speaking. Be aware the round starts the minute you enter the room. Carry yourself with professionalism and respect.

Hi! I'm a current freshman at Cornell University and a recent Lexington graduate. I debated PF for four years in the local and national circuit. Feel free to ask any questions before or after the round. Thanks and good luck!

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TL;DR

-Shruti Pokharna (she/her)

-Add me to the email chain → shruti.pokharna@gmail.com (Please subject the email chain using the following format: Tournament Name, Round #, School Name & Team Code vs. School Name & Team Code)

-If I'm judging you in any format other than PF, treat me as you would a new judge.

-I will disclose and give oral feedback at the end of the round unless the tournament doesn't allow it.

-Will judge tabula rasa as long as your arguments are flowed through to the end of the round. Don't drop anything you want me to vote on - nothing is sticky.

-Weigh as much as possible! The earlier in the round you start weighing, the better.

-Warrant your evidence well! Logical arguments w/o evidence > unwarranted evidence. I'll vote on pretty much any argument if it's explained well enough.

-I will listen but not flow anything said in CX. If there's anything you want me to evaluate, bring it up in one of your speeches.

-I can handle speed, just be as coherent as possible and be able to provide me with speech docs.

-Absolutely no tolerance in the round for anything sexist/racist/homophobic/ableist, etc. Your speaks and round results will suffer. Read content warnings if your argument warrants one. Please be respectful!

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DO

Do clear evidence comparison in every speech, signpost throughout the round - especially rebuttal. Impact calc and comparative weighing are great strategies (try to start as soon as rebuttal) BUT tell me which weighing mechanism you’re using and WHY you outweigh.

For second rebuttal, frontline terminal defense and turns. Having link-ins from your case is a robust strategy. Extend by explaining your claim/warrant/impact and and don't drop any arguments you want me to vote on. During summary, extend all contentions, blocks, frontlines you are collapsing on. Please weigh to show me how these arguments compare against one another. Anything not said during summary will not be used to evaluate the round.

Effective two world comparison in your final focus is the best way for you to win my ballot. Call out dropped arguments by the opposing team and tell me why it's important.

Make sure to speak clearly and time your own speeches and prep.

Bring up points from CX you want me to evaluate during any of your speeches.

Be respectful to your partner and your opponents. Read content warnings if your argument requires one! Please let me know if you feel unsafe during the round - I will stop the round and contact Tab.

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DON'T

Once again, there's no tolerance for anyone in the debate space to be disrespectful/homophobic/sexist/ableist, etc.

Don't read arguments you can't explain or warrant strongly.

Don't bring up new evidence in the final speeches.

Don't steal prep or hog CX time.

Don't misconstrue evidence - it can have harsh consequences.

Don't trade clarity for speed.

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EVIDENCE

No one’s prep is used while a team is looking for evidence. That being said, if it takes too long, I will either drop it off of my flow or run your prep. Additionally, please use sophisticated evidence that is consistent with the author’s intent in writing it. If a team claims that evidence has been misrepresented, I will take a look and make a decision on the validity of the claim. If I agree, I’ll drop the argument. If the misrepresentation strongly obstructs evidence ethics, the violation will be dealt with on the terms of the tournament or I will deduct speaks and vote the team down. I’m good with paraphrasing as long as you're able to promptly provide cut cards if asked and there isn’t any misconstruction or misrepresentation of evidence.

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NOTE ON PROGRESSIVE DEBATE

I’m willing to evaluate any arguments but am not well versed in theory/k’s. If you choose to run any of these, please explain and clearly warrant them out.

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SPEAKER POINTS

I’ll start at 28.5 and move up or down depending on your round performance (clarity, strategy, communication, etc.)

<26: must’ve done something horrible (homophobic/racist/sexist, etc.)

Hey! I am Sukanya, a first time Parent Judge and I am so excited to be judging you!

I want a respectful debate. Please don't spread, or I can't keep up. Don't go over your time and help me understand your arguments because I am not an expert on this topic.

Hi! I'm excited to be your judge today. I am a trained speech and debate judge but did not compete myself.

For debate - Please don't speak too quickly. If you speak too fast, I will stop flowing and your arguments will not be evaluated as part of the round. Please add signposts to make arguments as clear to me as possible. Impacts are important to me - I want to understand the real world significance of the argument. Don't just tell me the argument, tell me why I should care.

For speech - I love speech events where you incorporate personal stories and humor. Have fun, because your energy will be contagious!

I'm a recent PhD from Binghamton University in Political Science (pronouns are she/her). Research focus is in American Politics (identity and pol behavior in particular) but you can safely assume I have at least average substantive knowledge on the topic even if it isn't americanist. I'm currently working for the intelligence wing of a company focusing on the digital economy. I was an extemper, normally judge PF and LD (or parli congress), occasionally judge speech. I'm comfortable with circuit debate, but not super involved anymore.

Update for virtual nat circuit: take the spread from an 8 to a 6.5 , share your case doc, slow on theory. When you aren't sharing a doc, don't spread. If I don't catch it, it won't go on my flow.

Add me to the thread: tara.s.riggs@gmail.com

LD

- I can (and frequently do) hate your arguments but still vote you up on them. You need to have a legitimate warrant and be reasonable, but you need to win the flow and some times that means winning on greyhound racing in space or something absurd. I'm inclined tech>truth but warrants still matter when I weigh rounds.

-I've grown to really appreciate a good K. You need to be really explicit in the argument. I am familiar with the lit on feminism/identity/racism, but I am an empiricist at heart not a political theorist. The more obscure your K is, the more your explanation and depth matters. I won’t vote off of theory that’s not explained. Make it clear what the alt does, whether or not you affirm/negate the resolution, and any stances you take. If you can't explain your K, you shouldn't be reading it. I'm most familiar with identity based K's and set col.

-If we end up together and you are dead set on running a CP, don't make it a PIC. I will not evaluate it. I won't flow it. You just wasted x amount of time. PICs are inherently abusive. This is the one place I will intervene on the ballot.

-I like theory rounds.

-I also like Theory rounds.

PF

- I flow but I am more relaxed on tech>truth. I am more inclined to believe an impactful truth than blippy tech. Don't consider me tech>truth if your plan is to run spark or argue climate change/ extinction/economic collapse good.

- I need to see a strong link level debate. You NEED to materialize your links if you want to access impacts. Don't make me question the links.

- Make your impacts clear. Often times, rounds come down to impacts.

- Plans and CPs in PF are inherently against the event( and against NSDA rules). I will not flow them. You may win them, but I'm not flowing it and will not consider it in round. Strike me if this is your strategy. PF isn't Policy.

- I like K's but stock K's are lazy. Don't run a capitalism K just to run a capitalism K. If you are running K, you need to be able to explain what happens if the alt is true. Weigh whether or not you want to spend the time on the K given how short speeches are in PF.

- First summary should extend defense- but does not need to extend defense UNLESS the second rebuttal frontlined their case. In that scenario, first summary MUST extend defense. Regardless, first summary needs to extend turns if you want me to vote on them.

-I do not flow CX-anything that comes up in cross-examination that you want considered in the round needs to be mentioned in your speeches.Don't be rude in grand cx. That's my one problem with gcx. I have given low point wins because a team was rude in gcx.

Parli

-Be strategic. If GOV frames the resolution in a way that makes it impossible to debate, go for theory. If OPP let's GOV slide on something obviously egregious, run with it. I'm looking for the team that best plays the game here.

** If your strategy is to frame the debate where OPP must defend slavery, sexism, homophobia, invasion, etc. I will drop you. There has to be a reasonable limit. I'm non-interventionist until you make someone defend something truly abhorrent. It doesn't show you are a great debater, it shows you are a scuzzy person.

********Live and let debate BUT if you are openly sexist, racist, abelist,xenophobic, homophobic, or insert discriminatory adjective here you WILL lose the round.********

I am not a fan of Kritiks, Theory Shells or ROBs. I personally find these types of arguments counter to the essence of the debate activity. So in that respect, I consider myself more of a traditional LD judge than a progressive one. Debaters who can present a strong case with great logic and evidence, effective refutation of their opponent's case, and ultimately prove their Value/Value Criterion will win. If both debaters are equal on contentions and rebuttals, I will decide the round on which value holds up. So make sure everything you argue ties back to your V and VC.

I am not a fan of spreading. I am okay with some speed, but if I can't understand you, then it is not going on the flow. I will not accept a flash drive or email with your written case if you are going to spread. This is a verbal activity and, therefore, I will only flow things that are verbally communicated.

Hello, I am a parent judge and this is my first year judging.

My email is amywu77@hotmail.com.

Please speak loudly and clearly,

email me your cases before the round begins,

and signpost.

Good luck!