For LD competitors I am looking for the most convincing arguments.

I have participated as a judge for several years but do not have a technical debate background or experience. That said, I do not always track everything on the flow point for point.

Instead, I am looking for coherent arguments that can stand on their own, while also addressing the arguments of your competitor. The winner in my eyes will be the person who does this most effectively.

Traditional LD judge, want to see a good clash debate rooted philosophical evidence and logic. If you like to spread and offer counterplans, try policy.

I consider myself a traditionalist. Lincoln-Douglas debate was created for a reason. The intent of debate is to facilitate communication, therefore use of speed should not be the emphasis in this activity. A good litmus test is the following...would Abraham Lincoln have used spread during his debate with Stephen Douglas? No? Then you probably shouldn't either. Exchange of ideas, discussion of which value is superior, respect and civility should be of paramount importance. Analysis and organization is extremely important. The debater in front of me should explain why their analysis is superior and why their value defeats the opposition.

As I noted above, the intent of debate is to facilitate communication. Speakers need to remember, and this is extremely important, that communication is not only about speaking, but it is also about listening. I have seen it happen more times than I can count, that your opponent will give you information to flip against them in the round, and that flip is not utilized. The tough part is identifying that information. Do not be constrained by what is obvious, meaning do not be afraid to ask "what if". Lateral thinking therefore, is incredibly important to consider.

Further, I consider myself a pragmatist. Originally, Lincoln-Douglas debate was designed as a values-oriented platform. This has evolved into a policy-values hybrid so while I will look at a round from a purely values perspective, the values and values criteria have become more of a means/end assertion. The use of real world links and impacts should support your decision. If you are able to demonstrate why your real world analysis/evidence supports your values/values criteria and you set that parameter up front, I will strongly consider that as a voter. I would however note the following:: the links to your impacts are absolutely critical to establish in the round. Off time roadmaps are also important. Organization is absolutely critical. It is your responsibility to tell me where you are on the flow.

Impact calculus is one of the major concepts I will weigh in your round. That is an incredibly huge point to remember where I am concerned as a judge. However, it is important to consider the nature of the impact. This is where the aforementioned links come into play. Of further note, since LD has become a hybrid, I buy off on solvency being an issue as a means to justify the resolution. Those of you who have had me before as a judge know why that statement alone can determine an entire round. In short, back to the point on the "what if" issue I broached earlier, that would be a very good place to start.

I also look at framework. If you are going to run something out of the norm...i.e. counterplan, Rights Malthus, general breakdown of society, etc., you need to make sure your links are airtight, otherwise I will not consider your impact. The two would operate separate of each other if there is no link.

I started my involvement in LD in 1982, I also debated policy from 1980 to 1982, competed in speech from 1980 to 1984, and competed at the college level in the CEDA format in 1985 and from 1988 to 1990, and have been judging since 2014 in the Spokane, WA area. I also judged policy in the Chicago, IL area in the early 1990"s.

In terms of the January/February 2024 LD topic on reducing military presence in the West Asia/North Africa region, I have very unique experience and perspective. I am retired military, retiring in 2014 and having served 4 years active duty in the Navy and 16 years in the Washington Army National Guard including a one year deployment to Iraq from 2005 to 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I saw first hand the effect of what many of you may try to argue. I also attended many briefings from subject matter experts prior to going in country, including geopolitical/economic briefings, etc. I do consider myself a bit more well versed than many judges in this field based on my personal experience. In short, examine your argumentation and analysis carefully. The bigger picture is a major area of focus and as the semester progresses, you will begin to see adjustments based on the feedback you are getting.

A couple of administrative notes. Eye contact is really important if for no other reason, to see how much time you have left. One of my biggest pet peeves is cutting off your opponent during CX. I have no problem annotating that you did so on your ballot so your coach can discuss the matter with you after the tournament. Civility and decorum are important, and I can surmise several of you have had this happen to you. I also do not have a problem with you timing yourself or sharing evidence, provided it does not detract from the overall use of time in the round.

Finally, it is extremely important to remember....this activity can be fun and it will help you in ways you can't even imagine later down the road. Everyone at this tournament, whether they are coaches, judges, your peers, etc...started as a novice. Bad rounds happen. They are a part of the landscape that is debate. This teaches an important life lesson. How do you bounce back from adversity? How do you apply what you have learned to make things better next time?

Remember that the case/argumentation you start off with at the beginning of the semester, will not be what you end up with at the end, provided you do a self assessment at the end of each round. Ask yourself what was supposed to happen. What did happen? What three things went well for you. What three things happened to you that are opportunities for improvement. If you are consistently applying these criteria, and using your coaches/opponents/peers as resources, by default your weaknesses will get shored up. Incidentally, this is a really good life skill as well and can be applied in the real world. Good luck to you going forward!

Winning my ballot comes down to a few things.

First and foremost this is a game. While I understand doing everything possible to try and win rounds, insensitive/hateful comments or actions towards your opponents or anyone for that matter are not tolerated. They don't contribute to the case and if necessary I have no problem getting tab involved.

To get more into the specifics for LD...

I prefer traditional LD debate. Progressive is fine but I believe that Value/Value Criterion are key pillars in the LD format and that additional level of moral debate is what makes LD different from the other forms. Ultimately, the more work you put into debate the more you can expect to get out of it. Most of the time, the debater that has done more research on the topic will come out on top.

For debate in general...

If a framework is brought up and defended that will be used as the weighing mechanism for the round. Flow is important and typical NSDA rules as far as dropping and new arguments apply to my flow/judging. Anything that has evidence can be ran, I will flow any argument as long as it is well supported (no matter how crazy the idea may sound). At the end of the day my vote should match any reasonable person in the same position. Winning should never come down to a coin toss or a personal preference, simply argumentation. That win should be apparent even if it is not the outcome wanted. Remember debating has nothing to do with convincing your opponent that they are wrong and everything to do with convincing the judge that you are right.

** Please try your best to avoid suicide related topics. If you have anything you need to run to win the round at least give me a trigger warning **

So I'm pretty easy going when it comes to my judging preferences. I would generally call my self a tab judge, but that isnt always possible. Historically I would say I lean towards more critical arguements. I think I just lean towards more high probability lower magnitude impacts, not that I wont vote on high magnitude lower probability impacts just need to do more work on it. I will vote on any form of aff(policy, k, etc) but I will also vote on framework on those affs. I have a semi higher threshold on t but i will still vote on it. If your aff or k has any in depth literature to it, dont assume I know it make sure to take a little bit more time to make sure its understood

I know I dont have a ton to my paradigm but if you have any questions feel free to email me at: tlabriola36@gmail.com

Angelo Lombardo Paradigm

Speed

I prefer a slower debate, I think it allows for a more involved, persuasive, and all-around better style of speaking and debating. An argument with “less” but clearly articulated criterion is much better than one packed with data, facts, and positions that are thrown out so fast that half of them get missed – remember, I can’t judge you if I didn’t catch it

Arguments

I look for a clearly stated value and value criterion. I then judge the debate based on the ability of an individual to support the value position with a strong emotional argument grounded in facts – facts are a firm foundation that makes for a very strong argument

When stating the "Aff" or "Neg" I recommend being very clear on which aspect of your opponent's argument you are refuting and which facts from your position support your "Aff" or "Neg"

In addition, my background is working with debates in various forums in the real world to resolve conflicts, and disagreements, negotiate contracts, and other business-related challenges; therefore, I place a lot of weight on arguments that reinforce the topic and less on techniques, and tactical elements

Very Important: Because I live in a world of lawyers, judges, and legal arguments and occasionally courtrooms. Because of this, exotic techniques, and high-speed techniques do not work for me. They would not be tolerated in a "real world" environment so they do not work for me.

Finally, we must remember to always maintain a spirited discussion while also being respectful.

Timing

Let me know if you would like visual or verbal time warnings. I'm flexible and will work with whatever is best for your

Welcome competitors!

LD: I am a previous coach and competitor of LD and PuFo. I am a traditional LD judge that loves V-VC debate and impact calculus. The slower you speak the more I get on my flow which means I can follow your link chains better. If you spread, you MUST slow down for tags, sources, and impacts. If you do not, I will not be able to flow your main points. File sharing is fine, but it is not my job to read your case if I can’t understand you (unless tech issues arise). Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty with evidence preference argumentation. I come from a PuFo background as well so it is a nice voter for me. I also like analysis on why your VC better suits the resolution/debate. I need preference to one side or I will have to judge it myself. I give traditional style hand signals and verbal signals when appropriate. Timing each other is preferred, but I will keep official time in case of disagreements. If you are a progressive debater, you need to let me know before round starts so I can flow correctly. Alts, K’s, CP’s, PIC’s etc welcome, but please don’t have a non interactive K on the aff. Theory can be a big voter for me, but requires a lot of time for you to explain why it should win a debate. I look heavy to On Case and off case dis-ads, and need to be convinced to look for theory debates. Be nice to each other. Spread knowledge and respect, not hate.

PuFo: Impact Calculus is a must. Tell me how to weigh everything so that I do not have to make the assumption myself, it usually ends with upset parties (me included). Make sure that you know your sources, dates, and methodologies because your evidence is not complete without them. Speed is not preferred for me in this format. Public Forum is about speaking to the public, and thus, should be clear, concise, and easy to follow. If you must speak fast, then slow down for tags, numbers, and impact statements.

Good luck and follow your heart.

I'm currently a varsity college debater who is judging rounds with extra time. However, I know very well how PF, LD, and congress works. Nothing is new to me and I will try to give longer critiques at the end of rounds. As for specifics on the round format and other styles, speed is okay as I live around it and have to deal with it myself all the time, however, if you speak too fast (which is possible) I will put my pen in the air and will not flow. if your argument doesn't show up on my flow, it never happened in the debate, unless your opponent brought it up, which will work out against you either way. Impacts are crucial. Although I will flow around, that is my second option to resort to if the impact game is close, or tied. Tell me why you're right, weigh the outcomes, and show me what you think.

As for everything else in the debate, Crossfire is meant to solve something, not argue it. If you give very large and unrelated answers in crossfire, your speaker points will tank. (speaking of which, the way I grade speaker points is starting at 30, [the max] and will tally your mistakes and take off one point each per tally)

other than that, argue well, make sure you use your arguments well, weigh the impacts, and ill vote for you.

I've been an assistant coach at Ferris High School for four years now. I've coached and judged for Ferris at the local, state, and national level.

Intro:

Tech over truth. Speed is great, I've never had to clear anyone. I don't want to intervene so please do enough work to justify a vote for you (see below, this isn't a problem in most high level debates but if there is heavy framework argumentation in the debate it will be like a breath of fresh air for me). I've voted on Policy, Theory and Kritikal arguments in the past. I like CX debate. I judge because I enjoy the game. Flashing isn't prep but please don't spend too long doing it, a timer should be running for as much time as possible during a debate to preserve fairness and for the good of the tournament schedule. I try to be as attentive as possible so if you have any questions or concerns please let me know before the round starts.

Paradigm proper:

I know that the paradigm so far has been pretty non-specific and not really that helpful but I try to be as much as a blank slate as possible. When it comes to my actual biases, I'm not overly fond of generic procedurals or any arguments that could be described as gimmicky by someone reasonably acquainted with CX. That doesn't mean I won't vote on a procedural but I would probably be more sympathetic towards arguments made against a procedural so long as there isn't a blatant warrant for the procedural to be read.

I'm not particularly tied to any philosophy when it comes to how I should make my decision or what the ballot signifies. Disturbingly often, I'm frustrated by the lack of framework arguments made in rounds and the general lack of instruction about my role is, what my ballot signifies, and what I should be doing when I make my decision. In those sorts of rounds, I'm usually left to make a decision about what I should value most in the debate which is uncomfortable and leaves room for "judging errors" if the framework I was presumed to have assumed but wasn't told to take wasn't taken. I understand that my paradigm should describe the framework that I bring to a round before any arguments have been made, but I am generally apathetic towards most arguments when presented in the abstract. It isn't my job to come to the debate with a well built schema of what should and shouldn't be valued (that is what impact calc and framework arguments are for). In the absence of framework my decision is based off of what arguments I think would be most easily defended in an rfd.

In the unfortunate absence of any framing:

In the absence of any framing to go off of, I suppose I am usually most swayed by the biggest impacts in the round, as most judges are. Those impacts most usually come from policy arguments but can also stem from kritikal arguments as well. I think that a lot of time in rounds is wasted on the link debate, at least in my debate community, which leads to frankly boring debates with excessive defense. I don't vote on defense, there is no reason to (not linking to the negative is not a reason to vote affirmative, it's at best neutral). I like offense heavy debates with well developed off case positions from the negative and well made affirmatives.

Round operation:

My flow is really dense. I write down as much as I am physically able to in every speech. I think that email chains are nice and I appreciate being sent cases. I keep time and will stop speeches that go over time with some leniency. I still encourage everyone to keep track of time within the debate to ensure that everyone is accountable. You can address me as judge, I don't like being referred to directly in a debate round because it breaks my emersion and is at best a waste of time to try to get my attention/ add emphasis to a point when I am already writing down what you are saying. Outside of the round Kyle is fine.

Preparing for a round where I am judge:

Do not fret over anything I said in the sections above. The biggest concern of mine that I bring to a round before anything has been said is the tournament schedule. Please arrive on time. When considering what to run in front of me please consider what would be the most strategic answers to your opponents case. Be polite and respectful to all parties involved. I want to have a pleasant time.

But most importantly of all,

Follow Your Heart.

I debated all through high school and I'm fresh out of the circuit so i remember the game. I care about debate being a healthy learning environment for everyone who participates so remember to be respectful to your opponent. In terms of debate style, I have a nostalgic love for both traditional and progressive LD, I don't have a preference. I am fine with speed as long as you're clear and your opponent can understand you.

Price: $2.50 adjusted for inflation

Thanks for debating and reading my paradigm. Here it is in no particular order.

4 years LD experience in HS, not real versed in progressive theory. Flow judge.

-As a judge, I want to hear everything you have to say. To weigh your arguments to the fullest, I need a good warrant/justification for them and then access to some kind of harm or impact. What I mean is, I'm not a tabs judge in that I don't like to take an arg you present as fact without a reasoning behind it.

-Respect and good faith debating are important for me. It's totally cool to play to win, be direct and assertive, but no need to be impolite in the way that we go about it. All friends here ideally.

-If you have faith in your argument or angle, even if it's a little cheesy, then imo the debate becomes much more layered as we go because you know the reasoning behind a big picture you're going for. Love to see it!

-Please stay humble in cx and utilize it to the best of your ability. Pointed questions are good, but please don't force a yes or no answer to get ammo for your argument. I never liked being told to only answer yes or no and you probably don't either. I think the main function of CX needs to be clarifying your opponent's position so you can respond accordingly. In that vein, when your opponent sufficiently answers your question feel free to move on to the next. Also, CX questions and answers should be directed at the judge instead of directly at/facing each other.

-Signposting, roadmaps, down the flow speeches, anything to keep the debate flow organized is much appreciated. I flow on paper, typing skills just not on point. So, I know time runs short, and if you can summarize an arg I'll have an easier time getting all the points on the flow. At the end of most debates I look at my flow, prioritize the framework arguments, and then apply those frameworks to the contention level debate. If impact calc wasn't already provided, I'll look to see which points I felt went to each side and weigh them up on the whole.

If you want an argument cross applied or it addresses multiple parts of a case, a quick how and why.

-If your opponents drops/doesn't sufficiently respond to a significant point, feel free to argue that it's conceded in the round and apply that arg/ impacts to the debate. That said, there are instances where it wouldn't be fair to vote on or heavily weigh some tiny argument that wasn't directly addressed. If a case is structured well imo, there's a few main points to focus on and not a laundry list. No hate on the homies running 15 contentions but it's tough to flow.

-Progressive arguments are cool, but please accommodate both me and your opponent in terms of speed and accessibility. I don't have a solid knowledge of specific progressive structure or lingo. That said, meta cases which aren't built on speed/jargon but rather view the resolution or the debate in a different light are v fun as long as they can interact with the opposing case in a meaningful way.

-I love a nice synergy between the value and criterion. Especially where the value is the goal or moral standard and the crit is the lens for achieving that goal.

-Your time is your time, so please don't feel bad or anything if you want to use it to collect your thoughts, breathe, or consult your flow! I believe it's in your interest to take any down time in your speeches, prep, or cx to think or flow as needed. However you feel comfortable presenting is good, I don't bother too much with needing to stand for speeches or how much eye contact you have (even though at least some is nice :D). You won't get less than 25 speaks unless there are major issues or inappropriate behavior.

-Impacts: do 'em? Unless you're not feeling that ig, but an argument has to be pretty convincing or morally compelling to work without impacts imo. I think a good impact plays on the two worlds: what does the aff world look like, what does the neg world look like, and how is one better or worse than the other (especially viewed through the framework). I also think a good impact is well defined and specific, with a clear throughline from the evidence/argument presented to the outcome.

good luck!

I've done both PF and LD at the state and local levels respectively to address questions/fears about my competence or debate experience. Unfortunately did it for 4 years in high school. Tried it in college. Have gone to nationals many times.

Now that that's over, anything flys. I'm cool with speed if you enunciate clearly. Whether or not the debate is allowed to be progressive or traditional lies in how both debaters frame the round, but I do appreciate at least attempting to recognize the value and value criterion in your arguments. I don't care about what happens in cross x. Don't drop arguments, make sure there is lots of clash, and prioritize voters. Emphasize arguments/points important to the round (don't say it just once) or I might not write it down. I won't make arguments for either debater so make sure to fill in the gaps. Let me know how you want time signals and prep. Otherwise, I keep official time with time signals at 1 min remaining, 30, 15, etc, and prep will be given with verbal prompts in 30 second intervals. Have fun.