I spent thirteen seasons solely working in policy. I have spent the last five seasons working in public forum. In addition to coaching and judging, I served as the Tournament Director for the NYCUDL, the Vice President for Policy Debate for the BQCFL, part of tab staff for NYSFLs, NYSDCAs, the New York City Invitational, and the Westchester Invitational, and in the residence halls for DDI.

What this means for PF debaters is that I am very flow-centric and expect good sign posts. If you give me a road map, I expect you to follow it. While I understand that you will not read evidence in-round, I do expect you to clearly cite your evidence and will listen to (and reward) good analysis of evidence throughout the round.

What this means for policy debaters is that I typically spend more time running tournaments than judging in them. My flowing skills are not what they used to be. You need to SLOW DOWN for your tags and authors or else they will not make my flow. You should also SLOW DOWN for the actual claims on any theory or analytic arguments (Treat them like cards!). My flow is sacred to me, if you want me to vote for you, your flow should look like mine. Lay it out for me like I am a three year-old.

As for arguments, I consider myself a stock-issues judge. Those are what I coach my novices, and I still feel they are the best arguments in policy debate. That said, I have voted on all types of arguments and performance styles in debate. If you want me to vote on something that is not a stock issue, you better explain it to me like I am a three year-old. Even if you want me to vote on a stock issue, you should explain it to me like I am a three year-old.

I do not typically ask for (or want to) examine evidence after the round. It is your job to explain it to me. There is no need to add me to an email chain. That said, if there is some contention about what a piece of evidence actually says, you should make a point of that in your speeches.

As for paperless debate in general, I like my rounds to start on time and end on time. If your technical issues are hindering that, I will start running prep. I will do my best to accommodate debaters, but you need to know your tech at least as well as you know your arguments.

I'm the debate coach for University Prep in Seattle, WA, where I teach middle school English. This is my first year being involved with debate in any way-- I did not participate as a student. I appreciate when debaters give a roadmap of what they will do before beginning their argument, so that I can better track what's being said. I value clarity in arguments, strong examples based upon evidence, confidence in public speaking, and politeness toward the other team.

Overall> I'm a parent-judge and have been judging for 6 years now. I enjoy the intelligent arguments and appreciate the constructive spirit to drive the debate. I believe that debating is a life-skill that is preparing you to build new solutions in future in a team setting vs. winning arguing against your colleagues and make them angry in the process.

Methods> I'm open to all techniques in debate but will mainly focus on the central argument. I don't like it when the teams try to debate on technicalities itself and move away from the given topic.

Spreading>I rate the flow based on active participation in the argument/ counter-arguments vs. a speech like reading of your own arguments only. Spreading is a NO-NO as I believe that debate happens in the moment and research is only a small part of the prep.

Rubric> My rubric is based on:

• Quality of arguments,
• Quality of rebuttals,
• Organization and clarity of summaries
• Impact/ weighing

Rebuttal and weighing are most important criteria in my rubric; Try to provide distinctive arguments in a claim-warrant-impact format.

Evidence> You should be able to pull out the card and highlight the evidence in the card within a minute of the request or I'll assume that you have yielded. I do like to see the evidence myself and be on the email list when cards are being exchanged between teams. Pls add me to the email chain nitin.chawla.000@gmail.com

Even though I am an alum of the Speech and Debate Team, I am a new and relatively inexperienced judge. Speaking slowly and giving clear direction will help me follow your arguments best.

I started debate judging in 2020.

Email: aaroncontreras04@gmail.com

Debate is a game so have fun

- Tech>truth most times, but the crazier an argument gets, the lower my threshold for responses to that argument is. Feel free to run wacky arguments as long as they have good warranting though.

- If something happens in cross, please bring it up in the next speech.

- Weigh Weigh Weigh Weigh Weigh it's how I decide the round pls weigh. Weighing in first FF is okay, but it's better if done earlier (not in second FF though)

- I won't vote off of dropped defense if it is not extended

- No new arguments in FF. This applies to extensions. If there isn't a clean link and impact extension in summary, I won't evaluate it even if it is in FF.

- Second rebuttal must respond to turns otherwise they are dropped

- Defense should be in first summary as I think that 3 minutes is long enough to do so.

- Please collapse and extend case properly in summary and final focus. This means extending the uniqueness, link, and impact. I probably can't grant you any offense if you don't do this.

- I presume the first speaking team if no offense is generated in the round

Speaks

- Signpost, otherwise I'll be hella confused as to where you are on the flow

- Speak pretty, and be strategic and you'll get high speaks

- Moderate speed is ok, but if you start spreading I will drop your speaks

- Going new in the 2. Don't do this, I'll ignore it and tank your speaks

- This goes without saying but teams who are racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, etc will receive a 25L

Evidence

Evidence is overrated, I think that PF has become much more focused on the validity of evidence, and while this is important, warranted analytics beats unwarranted carded stats every single time.

Here are a few things I like to see in the debate:

1. PLEASE don't speak too fast. If you do, don't expect me to get all your arguments

2. Overall, be kind and have fun

Good luck, and may the best team win!

I am a parent judge with limited experience judging PF.

Please keep your speaking speed reasonable and be clear.

For each argument I am listening for and noting:

Claim

Warrant

Data

Impact

Please provide off-time roadmaps.

I am an inexperienced parent judge so please speak slowly and clearly

Do not use any debate jargon and please time one another to keep the round running smoothly

Hi, I am both a debater and a judge. Here are some preferences and things you should avoid when debating.

Preferences:

I like debaters to give clear roadmaps of their speeches and have easy to follow line-by-line

Speak clearly so I can flow all of your important arguments

If you have a specific response, be clear about what it is (Non-uniqueness, turns, etc)

Dislikes:

Do not spread, you may speak quickly if needed but I prefer you to speak at a normal pace

Please do not use unconventional types of arguments in public forum, I think they hurt fairness (Ks!, CPs)

Don't avoid arguments, clash is the most fun part of debate

I judged a couple of online tournaments last year, but overall I'm relatively new to judging. Please speak a little slower than normal, so i can fully understand your arguments. I look forward to a fun day.

Hello!

I am a college freshman, but I have competed in Public Forum debate for the last 3 years of high school.

Tech over Truth.

Please mention in your speeches if anything important happens in cross, I don't really care about cross and definitely don't use it to contribute to an RFD.

Please make sure to signpost!

I pay a lot of attention to the back half of the round (summary and final focus) and what each team collapses on/goes for, and what responses to the opposing team they extend. Please make sure to have clear extensions!

!!!***When I make my decision I go back to the flow, make sure new things aren'tBrough up in summary and final focus (that final focus mirrors the summary in terms of arguments and extensions) and then I make sure to see what key pieces of evidence were extended to summary,and then how the final focus builds off of the summary. The final focus should magnify the things that were extended in summary, mirroring summary and really bringing home thearguments as to why I should vote for you***!!!

WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

- Like actual weighing for real please with weighing mechanisms and everything

Please keep track of your own time and of opponents time. If a speech is going over time feel free to hold up the timer to show me and I will stop flowing. I won't flow anything after time if I know it's after time.

Goodluck to everyone and if you have any questions feel free to ask me before the round.

Hi, I'm Charlie Huang. I'm a third-year PF debater for Lexington High School.

*most of this paradigm is taken from Eeshan Chakrabarti with a few modifications

A few things:

- Please set up an email chain at the start of the round if needed (my email is chuang6703@gmail.com).

- If there is argument over evidence, I may ask to see it at the end of the round.

- I am ok with any speed, but please do not spread. I believe that PF as a debate format should not set spreading as the norm.

- In terms of speaker points, my floor will generally be 27.5 or 28, and I'll add to them if you speak clearly and signpost, among other things; your speaker points generally will not dip below 27 unless you violate some rules. Obviously, don't say anything unkind or racist, sexist, etc. or I will have to assign <25 speaks and will probably give the round to your opponents.

- I do not flow cross, so if you wish me to flow concessions made in cross, please include it in a speech.

- Theories, Ks, etc. are ok. I must admit, I don't have as much experience with them as I would like, but I feel that I can still judge them competently. That said, you should know that I will never vote on disclosure (this is exceedingly rare, so I don't expect it to come up).

- I'm generally pretty relaxed with prep, but I will be watching for prep stealing. I'll be keeping prep and speech times along with you, but will not talk to you about either unless I see you noticeably going over.

- Obviously, no new arguments in second summary and later. By this, I mean no new analytics or evidence that don't respond to arguments from earlier in the round and are instead entirely new fronts. I also don't like new arguments at all in (especially second) final focus. Most of you will not do this, but I've seen it often enough as a debater that it's worthwhile to mention.

- Weigh comparatively and clearly; extend properly. If you dont weigh properly, then it will become extremely difficult for me to give you the w when it might seem obvious.

- I will disclose when I can, so stick around a bit after the round.

- Let me know if you have any questions about my paradigm or decisions. If you have any questions about my RfD, feel free to ask me after I disclose or email me after the round.

— I will flow on paper. Please slow down.

— A clear narrative across arguments is appreciated.

— Significant impacts are great, especially quantifiable ones. Explain the gravity of the situation.

— Signposting is very helpful.

— Don’t be rude, especially don’t be patronizing or condescending toward female debaters.

— If evidence is requested, please pull it up promptly for the other team.

Hi - I am Michelle Keenan. This is my third time judging, and I am committed to judge fairly. Please don't spread (talk fast), I will still evaluate your arguments, but I may not be able to write them down. I will not allow offensive arguments or behavior (racism, sexism, etc.).

I value a "clear narrative" of why you should win the round and appreciate debaters clearly weighing their cases. I am open to debaters using any style of debate they want (traditional, theory, and policy) as long as it's clearly backed up by evidence and well warranted.

I hope debaters have fun and enjoy and learn from the experience!

.

Debated. Did okay. Don't care about debate anymore.

Speech docs would be helpful and can be emailed to ekemelmakher@gwmail.gwu.edu

IMPORTANT: Read the pet peeves section of my paradigm at the very least. I get really annoyed when you do all of the pet peeves in a round. For every infraction that I notice, -0.5 off speaks. If you plan on disappointing, strike me.

PLEASE BRING ME FOOD. If you do I’ll give you 30s!

Debate is a game so have fun

- Truth over tech, please for the love of all that is holy have warranting

- If something happens in cross, please bring it up in the next speech.

- Weigh Weigh Weigh Weigh Weigh it's how I decide the round pls weigh. Totally new Weighing in the first FF is okay, but it's better if done earlier

- Make your weighing comparative, don't just use buzzwords like "we outweigh on scope" — that means nothing to me; there should be comparison and actual warranting for why I should prefer your arguments to your opponents

- No new arguments in FF. This applies to extensions. If there isn't a clean link and impact extension in the summary, I won't evaluate it even if it is in FF.

- Please collapse and extend case properly in summary and final focus. This means extending the uniqueness, link, and impact. I probably can't grant you any offense if you don't do this.

-Theory: Don't read it, I'll drop you. If there is actual abuse that needs to be covered, you don't need a theory shell.

Speaks

- Signpost, otherwise I'll be hella confused as to where you are on the flow

- Speak pretty, and be strategic and you'll get high speaks

- Moderate speed is ok, but if you start spreading I will drop your speaks

- This goes without saying but teams who are racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, etc will receive a 25L

Evidence

Evidence is overrated, I think that PF has become much more focused on the validity of evidence, and while this is important, warranted analytics beats unwarranted carded stats every single time.

Pet Peeves

- Saying "My time starts on my first word". No really? I thought it started on your fourth word.

- Saying "We're gonna take some running prep." As opposed to walking prep? Where's the prep going? Just take prep, and tell me how much you took after.

- Giving a really long off-time roadmap, and then not even sticking to it. PF rounds are often pretty linear, you can just tell me what side of the flow you're starting on

Fun Stuff

If you do a 360 jump and call it a massive 180 when you read a turn: +0.5 speaks

The Office jokes in speeches: +0.5 speaks

Hello, I am new to judging and look forward to being a part of debate!

Just a reminder: Talking faster does not equal a good speech!!

Try to make sure your points are clear and spoken at a moderate pace :)

Hi! I'm a fourth year PF debater from Newton South. I'm probably a pretty average MA local circuit flow judge, so if that's all you need to know by all means feel free to go back to prepping and ignore the rest of this paradigm :)

Otherwise, here is some stuff that gets progressively less relevant to this round:

- If you need any sort of accommodation, let me know! I'll work with you to make sure the round is as accessible as possible for everyone. You can email me ahead of time at akupovich@gmail.com, too.

- I don't think formal attire should be mandatory, and you don't have to dress up if you don't want to; if you have uncomfortable heels or something else you don't wanna wear - don't!

- I usually say that I don't have very much topic knowledge, but I really know less than nothing about this topic, so make sure you're fully explaining and implicating everything.

- PLEASE weigh

- be nice! especially in cross - being aggressive/mean/steamrolling in cross will end badly on the ballot :)

- try to introduce all of your weighing by summary -- be consistent! -- but ill evaluate new weighing in final (but i am much more likely to vote off of it if it was in both summary and final, and has been properly explained and implicated).

- brand new weighing in second final specifically is very sketchy and i'll really only evaluate it if it somehow becomes the deciding factor in the round

- if there's something you thought was wrong, like a new argument in second final or a point that you responded to but they said you didn't, feel free to talk to me about it right after the last speech. i'll most likely agree with you, or will explain why i don't. i know it sucks to come away from a round knowing that there was something beyond your control/against the rules that could be affecting the decision.

- cross! use cross! get concessions! use cross to enhance your speeches! i don't flow cross, but will listen actively and will take note if you use something you got out of your opponent in cross to break down their argument! automatically +0.5 speaker points if you get a genuine concession in cross (not by being aggressive) and structure a response based on the concession.

- i like good evidence ethics! that doesn't mean like don't paraphrase or whatever, but it does mean don't lie about your evidence.

- turns in first rebuttal should be responded to in second rebuttal

- tech > truth, but if your argument is genuinely ridiculous my bar for responses is gonna be below the floor.

- I am not all that familiar with progressive argumentation, and moreover very strongly believe that at this level -- a local tournament on the massachusetts circuit -- it should not exist. if you want to read theory in response to a genuine violation in round that was problematic/threatens the safety of the debate space, i will definitely evaluate it, although at that point feel free to ask me to intervene because i probably will. Otherwise, i will not vote off of Ks, counterplans, etc. etc.

- definitely be running trigger warnings if you think there's even a remote chance your argument might need a trigger warning, although frankly...don't run arguments that need trigger warnings without a very good reason

- i'm fine with any speed, but if you're gonna talk faster than like reasonable make sure your opponents are on board first - like ask them before round or before your speech.

- i think debaters should metaweigh way more. metaweighing well will get you like +1 speaks automatically. feel free to ask abt this :)

good luck!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my novice tourney paradigm: Hi! I'm a fourth-year Public Forum debater at Newton South High School, and I'm excited to judge y'all today!

Here are some things you can do to win this round:

1. Weigh your arguments against your opponents' - explain why your impacts matter more. Does your impact affect more people? Does it last longer? If they tell me that I should prefer their impact for xyz reason and you don't, and the round comes down to which side matters more, I'm usually going to have to vote for the team that weighed. If no one weighs, I'm going to decide which side I think is more important on my own, and you probably don't want me doing that!

2. Explain your points in every speech. Making sure that you aren't just saying "Medicare for All will save lives"; explain how that happens. This is especially important for points that aren't as self-explanatory. It might make sense to you, but that doesn't necessarily mean it makes sense to me or your opponents.

3. Be nice. This should go without saying, but please don't be mean or super aggressive during cross :))

This also should obviously go without saying, but racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. will lose you the round automatically. If there's any way I can make the round safer or more comfortable for anyone, please email me before round at akupovich@gmail.com!

Good luck and have fun!!!

I am the parent of a current PF debater. I was not a debater myself in high school. I was previously a judge in Speech competitions many years ago, but I am not a very experienced judge in PF so it would be best if you did not speak much faster than normal conversational speed. I will do my best to vote on the arguments and rebuttals presented by both sides. Please be respectful to your opponents. I know competition can be stressful but try to relax and have fun as well!

Hello. I am a parent judge, and I have quite a bit of experience judging Novice, JV and Varsity PF.

Important things to note:

1) No spreading please. (I am helping my dad write this, and I can assure you he cannot keep up if you spread. If you spread, there is a good chance that even if you have a great argument, it won't make it onto his flow, and you might lose.) :( That being said, some speed is fine (he's not that old).

2) You need clear warranting, and this includes in rebuttal. Also, please explain link chains.

3) Please provide off-time roadmaps and do signpost.

4) Second rebuttal must respond to the first rebuttal. Rebuttals should be linear and respond to your opponents' points in the order they were said.

5) Extend your arguments.

6) WEIGH. You can start weighing as early as you want, but you MUST weigh in summary and in final focus. If you aren't telling me how I should judge this round, then I will have to decide for myself.

7) I don't flow crossfires, so if you want something in crossfire to make it onto my flow, you must bring it up in a speech.

8) Especially if your case has more than two contentions, please consider collapsing in summary.

9) Tech > truth... to an extent. If you say something blatantly false, I won't vote off of it.

please no theory

By way of background, I am a finance professional focused on healthcare.

As always, please be considerate of each other.

Have fun, and good luck! :)

Hi everyone! I have over 20 years of judging & coaching experience, and while I spend the majority of my time on the interp side of speech & debate, I also enjoy judging Congressional Debate and Public Forum Debate now and then.

The best way to win my ballot is to be a good community member and a respectful debate opponent. I believe that you can make strong, compelling arguments without being rude, snarky, or condescending to your opponent. And please, do not yell at one another like you are fighting with a sibling who stole the last popsicle. Being strong and assertive is not the same as being loud and aggressive. I am all for clash (I look forward to it) just be a respectful opponent.

You winning my ballot is really up to you, not me. Do your research, make strong arguments, and present them compellingly. I appreciate a clear structure, roadmaps, and signposting.

I don't love the crazy fast talk. I would much rather you make solid, clear arguments on the most important points rather than list off at lightning speed everything you have read about the topic.

Tell me why should win the round, be specific, and make it about what YOU did in the debate. Of course, you can mention the errors of your opponent, but please do not tell me "our opponents didn't respond" when they clearly did. No tricks, no gimmicks, no trying to pull a fast one.

Finally, stick to the debate topic. You will NOT win my ballot if you are running a wacky case that has nothing to do with the actual topic, I find that to be a complete lack of respect for the activity.

This is my third year as a lay parent PF judge.

I am usually familiar with the topics as I am judging tournaments that my daughter participates in, and the AFF and NEG are discussed around the dinner table.

Speed is fine, but I find it much more interesting to listen to people talking rather than listen to people reading out loud.

When using statistics or quoting numbers, please explain why they are important and how they support your contentions and arguments otherwise I usually find those meaningless.

Intense crossfire is great, but please keep it polite and respectful.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Hi, My name is Ellie. I am a parent Judge of a JV debater. I have never judged before so please try and speak as clearly as possible and make the arguments coherent. Please make sure you have some way to keep track of time. Please be respectful of each other and keep the arguments professional. Remember to have fun!!

I am new to judging.

Be respectful to your opponents, I am happy to help any students with explaining the format before or after the round.

Weight your arguments against your opponents during the round.

I will be offering optional constructive criticism at the end of the rounds.

Hello!

I am a new parent judge and I would really appreciate if you speak clearly and speak slowly. As a parent judge, it is very likely that I will not know a lot about the topic you are debating so make sure that you explain everything. Also, as a parent judge I will probably not know many debate terms so please try to avoid these, for example use point instead of contention. Please signpost. Make sure to extend all your points and keep bringing up the points you want me to remember. It will help me decide a winner if you directly compare your arguments and impacts to your opponents.

I am looking forward to judging you, thank you so much!