I have been coaching speech and debate for 7 years. I have judged Public Forum debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, and various speech events in that time.

-Make sure you state your taglines for your contentions clearly. It should be easy for me to flow your cases and keep track of your arguments, so the clearer you can be, the better.

-Provide clear impacts, and focus on impact calculus. Stress these (especially in your final focus or your final rebuttal).

-Weighing your arguments against your opponent's is the key to winning the debate. Clearly state how your arguments outweigh theirs, and again, stress your impacts.

-Please do not spread. If I didn't hear it, then it never happened. If I can't keep track of what you are saying, then it is possible that your opponent cannot either. Speaking clearly is imperative to a fair debate. It will also result in more speaker points.

-If you have a framework, stick with it. If you drop it, there is no purpose for it, and that hurts your arguments more in the long run (especially if your opponent realizes the framework was dropped).

-I do not flow CX. It is your job to bring up what happened in CX in your next speech. That is the only way it will make it onto the flow.

-For LD, make sure your value/criterion is clearly explained at the start of your constructive speech. If you and your opponent have the same value/criterion, or they are similar, it is best to acknowledge this and focus on arguments rather than getting into a framework debate.

-For LD, keep arguments traditional. I'll listen to counter plans and kritiks, but I prefer traditional arguments.

-Please practice good sportsmanship. Being snarky or belittling an opponent, especially if it is clear they are new to debate will not be tolerated.

-To prove you have read my paradigm, simply say "Bear Down" or "Go Wildcats" prior to starting the round.

I'm a traditional Public Forum judge. I place significant value on quality of argumentation, particularly with well-developed contentions and significant depth of argumentation. I'd encourage you to state your points concisely, and without significant undue repetition. I do not tolerate spreading; I expect you to have developed reasonable skills of word economy by this point in the season, and would hope that you can concisely develop your case to fit within the required time. I reward the use of reasonably clear enunciation at a comprehensible pace. While I do encourage you to weigh your arguments, be mindful of the tone you use to do so. "Speakersplaining" to me, attempting to tell me which way I am going to decide in the round rather than a courteous appeal for my vote, comes off as arrogant and will not do you any favors in my evaluation of the round. For any clarification, feel free to ask me in-round.

My name is Jeff Chapman and my two sons attend The Overlake School in Redmond, WA. I was recently introduced to speech and debate by volunteering to be a parent judge. So far, I only judged PF and I have no policy experience.

I am looking for students to succinctly explain their points, back these up with data and give context within the big picture. It helps if you prepare a clear and well-organized case. Talking somewhat fast is okay if there are pauses and you enunciate. I take notes so a reasonable pace allows for accurate reflection of your arguments. I do not place much weight on complicated flow arguments since I take the entire set of points and rebuttals into account. It helps when you extend arguments in your summary and final focus while avoiding new points or evidence. Good to summarize both sides of the debate and explain why you think you won the debate especially tying back to evidence originally presented.

Anish Chaudhuri - The Overlake School

SKIM THE WHOLE THING (BOLD)

First year judging Public Forum. Competed in PF: 9th, 10th, 11th grade (2018-2021).

THEORY

I do not evaluate most theory associated with progressive Public Forum. While most jargon is fine, if I don't understand it, I'll drop it. Also, given that PF originally was meant for lay audiences, I don't consider most Theory, in fact, I abhor it. Don't run Ks or start talking "meta-debate," because the reason an audience presumably came to see your debate is to have an opinion on the resolution. Resolution = prereq to debate taking place, meaning Resolution = prereq to meta-debate even being considered AKA theory goes out the window. Frameworks allowed, but can be contested whenever they want. At the end of the day, I choose the framework, but you can sway me.

ARGUMENTS THAT I DON'T HEAR

Don't run arguments predicated upon existential nihilism and things like "global extinction happening anyways." You have to have solvency for the things you bring up or predicate some major framework in the round upon, otherwise it's just fear-mongering.

Regarding arguments about implementation. If there's nothing left on the flow, I choose the squo as the Aff has inherent risk with implementation. That being said, the Neg's arguments critiquing Aff's implementation exist within a limited scope. I won't hear that the Aff's implementation is actually impossible or something will go wrong with implementation. What I will appreciate is the Neg arguing that implementation will necessitate something else. Conceding that there isn't a 100% chance of implementation necessitating something else which the Neg basis its impacts upon automatically for me drops the Neg's "implementation" argument though.

I love unique arguments - especially those that you believe yourself.

CARDS

Analytical Rebuttals are just fine - you don't need a card for everything. If an analytical rebuttal you say is logically predicated upon something I know to be true, it's on the flow. Of course, if they have a card, you can analytically rebut it saying why it's wrong or misguided. However, you need a card for everything that you say on OFFENSE/Constructive.

WEIGHING

Terminalize well for me - particularly quantify. If you do the math to come up with a number, explain your method in cross. Opponents can't critique you for not having a card that says "25% of animals are gorillas" if you have two cards that say "75% of animals are apes" and "33% of apes are gorillas."

SPEECHES

Signpost clearly. That means Contention 1, SubA, etc. It doesn't need to follow that order though, I just need to be able to follow a link chain.

SPEED

Speed is fine as long as you enunciate.

ETHICS

Don't self-impose your ethics on your opponent. What I mean by this is if your opponent doesn't care one bit about things like transparency, but is super invested in economic efficiency, don't say "transparency is important because it's a cornerstone of democracy, blah blah blah." Of course I value transparency, maybe for all of those reasons you've just stated, but arguing that transparency is more important than economic efficiency doesn't promote the idea of clash. What does is saying things like "economic efficiency in fact presupposes a transparency when it comes to resource allocation so transparency is inherently valued by my opponent" or that "countries when they're more democratic (marked by a need for transparency) draw more investment, which leads to economic growth." (the latter is a more PF argument that's clean).

IDENTITY/GROUPS

Ceteris paribus (all else equal), I don't care who your arguments affect. The intrinsic identity of those who are impacted is meaningless to me and isn't a reason to vote a certain way or buy a certain framework. However, there's a way to phrase these arguments that I assume will dominate the current topic better. By arguing that within certain groups, it's more likely that problem X leads to other problems like problem Y and Z (you'll need a card), and solvency in reality is indicative of something much larger than even the impacts you terminalize and go for at the end, you give me a valid reason consider weighing your argument more.

CROSS

I note down important stuff. I'll decide whether I keep it in the flow or not based on its relevance in round.

extra:

you're obligated to tell me if you're using another team's case or running a same contention idea as a school. if you are, I'll need you to try turning some element of an opponent's case at some point - defense won't cut it. if i figure out that you're using someone else's case and you haven't told me, i'll drop you with terrible speaks if rules permit.

turn off your camera when i'm making a decision. if you say England is a monarchy really loudly during round, or turn your opponent's arguments and use the turn to impact out to something terror-related, I'll consider boosting your speaks.

Don’t speak so fast that I don’t follow your argument along.
It’s more important to have a quality speech and crisp and clear analysis.
Be respectful of your opponent team.
Don’t use acronyms that may not be common unless you have prequalified them.

Crossfires are when I get a good gauge of your depth of knowledge on the topic.

I am a parent judge. I have three years of experience in judging LD and this is my first year judging speech rounds as well. Either you will love or hate me depending on if I vote for you or not.

For LD-

I understand how plans/counterplans work but I would prefer rounds with less/no theory (K's especially).

Just because I am not a big fan of theory that does not mean I do not want you to stand up to your opponent if they are racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. I vote down to that kind of stuff.

Please do not spread!!!! Not only is it extremely hard to flow and understand but technical difficulties in an online debate setting make it much worse. You are welcome to speak fast though.

If you mention cheez-its - I will increase your speaker points as much I am allowed in Tabroom.

Overall- just have fun!

Hello,

My name is Bren Hamaguchi (he/him) and I am the assistant Speech and Debate coach at Overlake HS.

I want to be clear: I have no prior experience participating in or judging Speech or Debate (this is my second season). But, as a history teacher, I am familiar with how to construct an argument, thesis, use of evidence, some philosophy, and persuasive speaking techniques.

I have no overt biases that will affect the decisions that I render.

Warnings:

Speed - I have a difficult time following along when people talk fast, I'll do my best, but if I don't write it down there is a good chance I'll forget and I can't judge you on information I don't have. You can send me your case if you think you speak too fast. No spreading, even with a case.

LD - Philosophy, Theory, and K's - if you're going to run theory or use a philosophical argument make it clear. If you reference something you think a Lay judge might not understand, either thoroughly explain it during your time or don't bother. Try at your own risk.

Be careful with the amount of technical LD jargon. My knowledge of technical, especially progressive debate terms, is limited.

LD/PF - ESPECIALLY PF - Be courteous! I really dislike when competitors are rude to each other.

Congress - I have my B.A. in Political Science so I am very aware of congressional procedure and how to construct arguments for and against bills. It is still up to you to follow proper procedure and structure your speeches in accordance with the rules and regulations.

Speech - Speak clearly, have a thesis, stay on time, and have fun!

Good luck everyone!

Hello! I'm Peri (she/her) and I debated for Mount Vernon HS in Washington doing LD for 3 years in high school. I am also a part-time, de-facto assistant coach for the Mount Vernon team, and I'm starting my own at the school I currently teach at-- I've never really left the debate community, so I know a bit of the norms and I know what's going on. I have my Bachelor's in International Studies focused on Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East and North Africa, and my Master's in International Relations (meaning I know more about the Middle East than the average person) Here is my email if you need it... periannakb@gmail.com

Congress:

A huge pet peeve of mine is 3...2..1 and my time starts on my first word. I wont start your timer until you start speaking. I promise.

Substance > Style

Don't rehash, bring up new points prevalent to the debate. I love to see refutation particularly after the first two speeches. Please, lets move on if we are just going to say the same thing over and over.

Every time you speak in a session, it gives me more reasons to rank you at the end of the round. Fight to give those speeches and use questions! Don't let any of that direct questioning time go to waste!!!

LD:

A huge pet peeve of mine is 3...2..1 and my time starts on my first word. I wont start your timer until you start speaking. I promise.

I did traditional LD in high school. I am a traditional LD judge. You can run some arguments but disguise them as more traditional and focus on that style to keep me a happy judge. Take that into account. Don't spread I won't understand. Explain your arguments clearly and you'll be fine. No Meta-Ethics or trix.

Side note: Please make sure you are educated on the 2024 Jan/Feb LD topic... I don't want to hear arguments that are factually untrue, and I'm excited for well-informed debates that get into the depths of this subject! I've written articles on this topic that you could use as a card-- I know it well.

PF:

A huge pet peeve of mine is 3...2..1 and my time starts on my first word. I wont start your timer until you start speaking. I promise.

I'm judging more and more pufo these days. I like clear, well organized constructives. Don't just read everything one note. I appreciate that public forum is supposed to be different than LD and Policy. Keep it that way.

Random framework arguments about the intent of the topic aren't going to work for me. If things change in the status quo, you need to be prepared to discuss them.

Qualifications: I competed in speech and debate tournaments for five consecutive years throughout all of high school. Most of my debate experience comes from public forum and I have extensive judging experience as well.

Paradigm:

- I am fine with speed, but please talk clearly. If I cannot understand you, what you say will not appear on my flow.

- Organization is important. If you are organized, I will be able to connect your speeches throughout my flow better and (hopefully) end up voting for your team. Be especially clear with taglines.

- Weigh the impacts and clearly tell me why you win. If you don't, I will end up having to put my input into the vote.

- Impacts are important. Even if you have a clear claim and warrant, nothing will count unless you have an impact as a result of that. I will most likely vote based on your impacts and voters, so make sure they are clear and strong.

- Warrants are important. If you have an impact but no clear warrant or link to the resolution, I will not vote for it.

- Be sure your arguments are backed up by evidence. The better your arguments are backed up, the stronger it will be.

- I do not flow during crossfire. If anything important comes up during crossfire, be sure to mention that within your speeches if you want that to go on my flow.

Any clarifying questions about my paradigm can be asked before the round starts or to anstlgus02@gmail.com.

**it's kinda long, tl;dr read the bold to avoid nasty surprises post-round. If possible, please flip and pre-flow if y'all are outside the room waiting. For background, I was team captain of PF 3 for years at Interlake and debated at nationals, TOC, and State. I will always disclose, as I believe it's good to have solid feedback for your future rounds. Majority paradigm credits to Kayla Chang.

I feel like it's best if you probably treat me like a flay leaning tech judge? If you have issues with any parts of my paradigm I'm happy to discuss and/or potentially change some preferences for the round.

---Normal tech stuff

First speaking teams: terminal defense is sticky if you extend it into FF (obviously you must respond if it's frontlined), any offense must be in summary but I'll extend dropped turns thru FF as mitigation/terminal D.

Second speaking teams: Turns and disads coming out of 1st rebuttal must be responded to or it's a drop, you can respond to terminal D in summary, but it comes off way stronger if you respond to it from second rebuttal. If you read DAs in 2nd rebuttal, I'll have a very low threshold for responses needed to block it. New carded offense in second summary is a no go.

Tech~Truth: I will buy anything that at least kinda makes sense, as your arguments get more extreme (ex. War is good) I will need more work from you to win it and less work from opponents to lose it.

---More unique stuff

You need cards, but more importantly warrants; I will buy a strong analytic over a unwarranted card. Extend internal links (logical warranting) in addition to overall links/impacts otherwise I won't want to vote on it (99% of the time this is the reason I squirrel in out rounds)

Please signpost by voter tag, links, or impacts (ideally numbered). I don't always catch card names and I guarantee I'll miss content if I don't know where to flow.

No new evidence in FF. I don't count it, you make the other team mad, you lose speaks.

Give off-time road maps. Makes my job soo much easier, just tell me the order on the flow your going through OR signpostreally well. Bad signposting for a messy flow is the easiest way to lose speaks.

Don't extend through ink. If you tell me to "extend this dropped argument" I'm not going to, you need to extend the warranting and or evidence that applies to that argument.

If it not in FF, its not a voter. yeah.

If you run a useless framework, - 3 to 5 speaks.

---Other stuff

-Crossfire: I don't flow crossfire, in my eyes it's only a means to get concessions and clarify sticky situations. The only way concessions end up on my flow is if you bring it up in a speech. Please don't talk between partners in the first two crosses, they're intended to be 1v1. You can call for cards, but read the cards in prep time.

- Speaking: Speed is fine short of spreading but it's annoying when people try to speak fast and can't. The faster you go, the more likely it is for me to miss it on the flow, speed at your own risk. Speaks are based on speaking and content, I will bump if you pull off a cool strategy in round well. Don't be a bully, don't let yourself be bullied. I might not be looking/flowing during cross but I'm generally at least listening, make jokes and stuff, have fun :).

- Theory/Progressive args: Run at your own risk, I'm not an expert but know the basics. I tend to think theory disadvantages new debaters though, so I'll probably only vote on it if: y'all all are down for it pre-round (and my level of judging lol) or there's actual discrimination happening or it's drop the arg not the debater. Apologies can work.

- Weighing: "Strength of link," "urgency," and "clarity of impact" mean nothing unless you warrant and implicate them. I have the same link standard for weighing as I do with voting issues. But weigh! Do it! Yes!

- Evidence: Don't lie. Even if it’s an accidental miscut, it’s still wrong. I have voted teams down and dropped speaks for bad evidence ethics. Find cards within a couple minutes or I'll ask you to drop them. I'll call cards if you tell me to DURING ROUND, but won't do it on my own unless a card is both important and sketchy - if it is bad, I won't consider it regardless of whether your opponents called it or not.

-Postrounding: As a debater, I had a saying: Even in rounds you believe SHOULD have won, there are always things you could do so you COULD have won. If it was unclear, it was unclear. You should have made it clear in your speech, don't try to clear it up with me post-round. Chances are, your postrounding will just reinforce my RFD in my head.

- Be sensitive and respectful: Co-opting issues for a strat is not ok - care about the issue, have a productive debate. Consider if you need a content/trigger warning + spare contention. These issues are real and affect the people around you, possibly including me and those in your round and I will not hesitate to vote you down and drop speaks if something is up. That being said, let me determine that please don't make "they don't care enough" args.

- Thoughts: I try to be easy to read, feel free to take those signs; I generally don’t presume (tbh I think I just forget it's an option so I have to not understand ANYTHING going on - but feel free to discuss w me or make an argument why and for whom I should), I'll generally instead just lower my link/round standards til someone meets them. My name is not judge.

Debate should be fun, so debate in a way that makes it fun.

P.S. if you have questions, want my flow after round, I’m running late, etc. text me! (425-635-8206).

Hello debaters! I am a current college student, previously a policy debater for 4 years and a public forum debater for an additional year. A bit of information and my preferences:

Biggest thing in a round is impact framing and calculus. Show me why your impact is more important and how I should evaluate the debate.

Tell me a story. Stories are fun. Also stories are compelling because they give me a logical link chain and I could reasonably tell you why you won the round.

I will flow, and I will keep track of what arguments have been extended through the round and which ones have been dropped. A great pet peeve of mine is when someone claims an argument has been dropped when it obviously has not been. Just be sure of yourself when you do it.

I'm a sucker for evidence, but I don't want to have to ask for it. Tell me why your evidence is good and why that should matter AND contrast with your opponents.

I'm fine with speed, but your opponents may not be. Just do what you're comfortable with.

If you have any other questions I'm big chillin', just ask

I did debate in high school and have been judging for a few years.

Things I like to see in a round:

Good clash--please do not just restate your evidence when it conflicts with your opponent's; tell me why your evidence is better, that is, more comprehensive, more recent, the reasoning is better or more intuitive, etc.

Aggressive CX--do not be rude and please do not talk over each other. Having said that, I like a hard line of questioning, getting to the heart of arguments, and getting an opponent to state their position and follow those positions to their natural conclusions. I do not flow CX, but there are plenty of rounds where the winning argument is developed from something that comes up in CX, if you want me to flow something that comes up, mention it in your next speech

Unique arguments/framework--I will hear out any argument you want to run if you have evidence supporting it and can make a coherent rational argument for it. I do not care if you want to run a funky framework, if your opponent runs an abusive framework, don't just tell me it's abusive, explain why and why that abuse is bad for the debate or the discussion of the issues.

Pet Peeves

Formalistic arguments about PF rules-- I am not a rule stickler, and I frankly do not care about running what might technically be considered a plan or counterplan. The point of debate is to improve rhetorical skills and learn about relevant topics. Neither of those goals is hurt by stating a specific course of action in regard to the topic or proposing an alternative answer to the one suggested by the topic. Public Forum is not Policy or LD, so I don't really care to see a formal plan, counterplan, pic, etc. run like you would in another form of debate. However, the conceptual ideas behind them absolutely belong in Public Forum debate. Giving me a general idea of how the topic would be implemented, or a mutually exclusive alternative course of action to the topic, etc. is encouraged. It makes the debate better by forcing teams to expand the scope of the arguments, be more rhetorically elastic, and make the debate more interesting generally. However, there are things that teams can do which are bad for the debate itself or do not advance an understanding of the topic. In those cases I want the opposing team to point out the abusive/unproductive tactic being used by the other team and explain why it is bad for the quality of the debate or for education of the topic. If you make that case I am happy to flow that argument as a turn for your side. Also I do reserve the right to drop the argument, whether or not the other team brings it up, if it both contradicts the overarching goals of debate and is in violation of a public forum rule.

Giving time signals--I am terrible at remembering to give time signals. This is totally my fault, but I think it is only fair to give a fair warning. If you really really need me to give time signals I will do my best, but I strongly encourage you to time yourselves.

Not Giving Voters--PLEASE GIVE VOTERS! I don't want you to cover the flow the last speech. Pick the couple of issues that win you the round and explain why these issues are the most important to the debate and why you win them.

I have debated and judged Public Forum for a combined 7 years now. I currently am the head coach and started the debate program at Shadle Park and have judged Public Forum and LD.

Please cover the flow and dropping a significant contention will make it hard for you to win. If your opponent dropped an argument don't say, "they dropped it" emphasize why it matters and why that alone should allow you to win. With that being said in your own case if a contention is not working leave it alone and do not waste your time on it.

Anything short of spreading I should be ok with. If you go too fast I will tell you to go slower and simply adjust and you will be fine.

I appreciate good plans and counter plans when done effective. In Public Forum I will rarely vote against someone's use of a "Point of advocacy" unless it is clearly over the top. Put simply saying something is a counter plan and leaving at that will almost never win that point for you.

Do not be afraid to use other tricky framework or tricky arguments because I love those when done effectively. It is not enough to simply say your opponents framework is abusive but rather explain why. I like both statistical and the use of logic in a case. When these are put together effectively that to me is the best case.

Aggression in CX will never hurt you as long as you're not over the top and rude.

Debate should have emotion and nothing is worst than having to sit through bland speech after bland speech. Debate like you believe what you are talking about.

Voters: Voters will almost always decide the round for me. I love debaters who crystalize the round throughout. The last speech should be primarily focused on giving good voters. THE BIGGEST THING I LOOK FOR IS ROUND CRYSTALLIZATION!

Please do not ask me if you can time yourselves. You are welcome to and I do not care.

Speaker points are stupid and arbitrary but typically I stick to the following scale. Most good debates will fall into the 27-29 category.

30: Best Speaker at tourney

28-29: Very Good

27: Good

24-26 Decent

Below 24: Major things to work on for the level of competition you are in

I am a community volunteer, a flay judge. 2020 is my fifth year of NSDA tournament, and the first online live judging.

I appreciate efficiency: well-constructed and clearly stated points with a reasonable pace, more content ≠ quality content.

In today's information world, attention is what everyone is fighting for, so please get your points clear and flow with logic.

I am a global market and consumer researcher, I value facts, data, and actionable insights. When all the info is a click away, please be very careful with what to use as your supporting materials for your debate. Please always use fact-based, reputable and reliable sources.

Enjoy your debate and have fun!

If you want to learn more about me, please connect me on

Linkedin.com/in/janiesun

I'm a parent judge that has been judging debate for two years. I try to be tabula rasa to the best of my ability.

Guidelines:

Respect your opponents and be polite to each other.

Speak slowly and clearly. Signpost your speeches.

I will dock speaker points if you cut anyone who's giving a speech off. I will cut them off if they keep talking for way too long.

I stop listening when you go over time.

I prefer impacts with a clear link chain over world war three/extinction/nuclear war impacts. Don't sacrifice logic for magnitude. PLEASE.

Have fun!