LD: I am a classical LD Judge. I weigh a round through the lens of a Value Criterion, and who bests achieves that. A side must best show why I should follow their value and criterion, and whoever best achieves that will decide how I weight the round.

Following that, I then evaluate who bests achieves the goal of the Value Criterion that won, and who best achieves an ideal world through that value. You can still win a round when you lost the Value and Criterion Debate, and I overall emphasize the power of understandable and topical arguments. I will hear Ks, but they must be topical, and tie back to the topic, otherwise, in my eyes they can be defeated by the other side arguing they are non-topical. Flex prep in my eyes is also in poor taste. And be respectful of your opponents. Further, this is LD. You do not need a plan to prove the aff. That is the job of policy or congress. We're the folk who find out what is and is not moral, not on whether it is possible. Further, I don't like Meta Arguments. They have nothing to do with the topic, and each time I hear one, all I hear is someone complaining they didn't get the side they wanted. Additionally, while you can pre-disclose, I only judge what is actively said in round, and nothing else. If you give me a case and don't say anything about it, I won't take your case and take only what you said.

Note: I have generally poor hearing. I can hear quieter people, but when you speed-read, things begin to slur together for me, and I will be unable to flow your speech. I will preface this is I think it will be an issue in round, but ignoring this warning will typically lead to me dropping most of your points as I simply will not be able to flow them.

Congress: For congress, I evaluate 3 main things; Quality of Speech, Content of Speech, and Relevance to the Debate. Quality of Speech is how you present your speech, and the mannerisms and how you present yourself. Content is how much reliable evidence you have, and how you tie it in. Relevance is how much you actually debate, by not rehashing and being relevant in the debate, through rebuttals and building on previous speeches. I do not weigh in favor or against relevant openers, but I do frown upon irrelevant tangents, and will deduct points for being rude.

Secondly, given how we are dealing with real and tangible issues, treat them like it. I am the biggest proponent of levity in congress as an effective way to decrease tension, but if it goes to the point where you are making jokes about people being killed or harmed, I will decrease points, and depending on the severity of the statements, bring these up to your coach.

Note: Identity Politics is something, that unlike other trad-judges, I will hear. If you are debating against it, be VERY CAREFUL about what you say. I myself am a Pansexual, Transwoman Gnostic of Romani and Traveller Descent. The one thing I will not tolerate is bigotry, and the fastest way to immediately lose out on any chance of winning is to claim any one group of people is better or that their conditions are just. In congress, keep in mind these are active issues you are discussing, some of which hurt real people. Do not treat pain as a joke or blatantly call for someone else's harm. I will immediately drop you, and depending on what is said, if it is particularly nasty, I will drop you.

National Semifinalist in Congress in 2011, have been judging Congress & PF since. Experienced Congressional parliamentarian.

General

The purpose of high school debate is to learn how to analyze & weigh information and determine the best course of action, together - and in the real world, you'll be doing this with a wide variety of people from all across the spectrum of humanity. Therefore, your arguments should always be given as if presented to a layperson with zero prior background knowledge or experience. Give background, carefully explain, illustrate your warrants & impacts clearly, and explicitly tie them into your stance on the topic; ensure that any layperson listening could easily follow you to your argument's conclusion.

My job is to enter each round as a layperson, with a completely clean slate & mind, and judge who made the strongest arguments; it's not my place to bring my prior knowledge or experience into play, let alone be the arbiter of truth and correctness - it's how well you argue against the other side. If one side makes arguments that are weak, shaky, or flawed, it's up to the other side to point that out - and if they don't, those arguments may very well carry. That being said: if you make arguments that clearly don't pass the sniff test (i.e., points that to any reasonable outside observer seem to be logically sketchy, misrepresentative, or unfounded), those will count against you - so bring the evidence, cite your sources (tell me who they are, establish their credibility, and tell me why I should believe them), and back up your claims.

Finally: If you make any claim of the form "if X does/doesn't happen, then Y will/will not happen", clearly explain why & how. Never take for granted that Thing 1 happening will necessarily lead to Thing 2 happening - clearly establish that link for me and your audience, telling me why it's either certain or at least likely that this chain of events will occur.

Congress

We as a student Congress debate important issues that tangibly affect a lot of people, and you may not always be one of them. If you're truly passionate about a topic and your stance on it, speak like it. If not, that's okay: argue for the sake of ensuring that this body chooses the best course of action, and deliver your arguments clearly for that end.

(Note: this is not political theater. Your speeches aren't performance art pieces. Don't fake passion and enthusiasm or grandstand on every issue. Actual politics has enough of that already, and has become such a sh*tshow due in no small part to unauthentic, insincere people who inflame passions for votes. Don't act - when you actually care, it shows, and when you don't, it's obvious to all.)

Quality over quantity: doesn't matter how many speeches you give if you make solid, knockout arguments. For me, length doesn't matter either. No, judges can't specifically award NSDA points to a speech under 60 seconds - but who cares. Having good debate is what actually matters, and if you deliver a solid point that makes a difference in the debate, doesn't matter how many seconds it takes to deliver it - in fact, in the real world, the more concise the better.

Your goal as a Congress house is to pass legislation, to actually take action and do things and create solutions to these problems, not to just say no and point out the flaws in everything that comes across your desk (again, see our current political discourse). Use the amendment process: if a piece of legislation has flaws that can be changed, change them! If you vote against hearing or passing a given amendment, and then proceed to speak in negation of the legislation (or have earlier in the round) based on the flaw that amendment specifically addresses, you'd better give a darn good reason why you've shot down a solution to your problem.

Public Forum

Convince me. As far as I'm concerned, each team has four speeches and three cross-ex periods in which to convince me that you're right and the other side is wrong - I'm listening to all of them, and I don't particularly care what pieces of information and argument are supposed to be given when. And during cross-ex, keep it civil - we're all on the same team, trying to figure out the best course of action for the common good. Ask questions, allow your opponents to answer fully, and treat them with respect.

Hello everyone, I debated for all four years of high school and have work experience in the Nebraska Unicameral as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. While debate provides a great education to learn the foundations of argumentation, I think it is equally important to learn how to persuade your audiences with thoughtful attention to warrants and impacts—show and relate why what you’re saying matters!

Ultimately, you need to present a well-thought-out argument from claim to warrant to impact. The most persuasive delivery is one in which I can tell you are personally speaking to your knowledge on a topic rather than giving your speech to the audience.

Hello Debaters! My name is Omaima Lado (Oh-My-Muh Luh-Doo). I competed in debate for 3 years in the Nebraska Circuit. I’ve done Congressional debate, Policy, and Public Forum. Currently, I’m a student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Congress coach at Lincoln Southwest High School.

Congress: To get a 6 (in no particular order) 1. Be loud and project! 2. Eye contact 3. Good evidence and Citations 4. Hand gestures 5. Close to 3mins or 3:10 6. Refutation/Furthering the debate

Policy: I like traditional policy debates, not a big fan of abstract theory args and Ks unless absolutely necessary. I won’t be upset if you do, but if you choose to run a K/Theory please explain it well. (I ran a lot of trad arguments in hs but I am familiar with most popular Ks) (Just treat me like a lay judge that is okay with some speed and debate jargon)

Public Forum: This is an event I really like to judge. The biggest thing I’m looking for besides good args evidence and overall debating is a clear extension of your impacts/contentions. Don’t get caught up on constantly telling me why I shouldn’t vote for the other team and tell my why I should vote for you as well.

This paradigm is rather short so feel free to email or ask me questions before round

email: omaimalado21@gmail.com

*Please be respectful of others debaters. I value decorum and kindness in ALL events.

Looking for REFUTATION in speeches and at least one of the three pillars of argument (ethos, pathos, and logos) in each claim. Looking for you to convince me that your source is reputable. Not looking for "what if" scenarios. Not looking for a hastily spoken word vomit.

Short Version;

Run what you want to run. If you're from PF, I judge rounds with a lens of logic and risk evaluation. My paradigm applies to you more if you're from LD or Policy.

I'm okay with traditional and K debate. The ballot deciding journey is based on the argument map of the round -- which argument won here, canceled out there -- and which team has the better position after everything is added up.

*************

Long Version;

**If you choose the strategy of an 8-off blitzkrieg: Most likely expect a word at the end of the round about how that is neither fun nor valuable**

I debated for 3 years at Millard West Highschool. I ran renewable energy affirmatives and my last year I ran a courts affirmative dealing with Terry vs Ohio, that had a K aff counterpart. I love science affirmatives and anything exciting.

I try to be a clean slate, whose only purpose is to understand the arguments made, compute how they interact, and evaluate the big picture of the round. Judge intervention is not ideal, but when it does happen it's because there are gaps in the flow that I have no choice but to fill in order to reach a decision.

I prefer substance over tech -- let that apply to 8 off debates, ultra speed reading, and theory. I will occasionally, on rare occasions, take the liberty to ignore an inconsequential tech if it upholds the integrity of debate substance. If you're serious about condo, it gets a new piece of paper.

Kritiks-- You have to sell your solvency in order to win. If you're claiming to solve for real world harms, you have to anchor your kritik and our debate round in the real world and tell me explicitly why your aff/k is beneficial enough to deserve the ballot.

Framework-- Too many framework debates never make it much further than the shell. Again, same as kritiks, you need to anchor the framework to the real world and talk about the round and why the framework is beneficial enough to deserve the ballot. The aff probably claims to do something in the real world, you need to do something in the real world that outweighs what they do.

T-- I default to reasonability, within reason. The purpose of topicality should ideally stick to making sure the aff is topical. Topicality's best foot forward is impacted out impacts.

DA, CP-- Fairly straight forward. Sell a story, paint a picture.

Case-- I tend to like when debaters give overviews of their case and consistently sell it throughout the round.

Congress

Looking for well-articulated points that make sense. If your speech is not made relevant to the round or if it confuses the competitors it won't be received well. During questioning, I'm looking for polite but firm questions and responses.

I want to be able to understand what your saying, and be nice.

Please do your best to create clash and make debate enjoyable for me and your competitors.

Public Forum

The number one thing that I value in a public forum round is clarity, I need to be able to understand what you are saying and your argument should generally make sense. It makes it easier for me to judge and your opponents to debate when everything is clear.

I prefer that public forum is an event where the judge should be able to walk into the round without knowing anything.

I need links to your impacts that connect clearly back to the resolved otherwise I will struggle to vote for you.

Truth over tech every time.

Pronouns: she/her

Bio:

I did LD in 2017, 2018, and 2019 (so I am only familiar with a very trad form of LD) and I did Extempt speech in 2019 for a short period of time. I did Congress in 2019, 2020, and 2021 & coached LSW Congress from 2021-2023

I am a student at UNL studying Criminology with a concentration in History and minors in Sociology, English, and Digital Humanities.

Congress:

• have some decorum! it's important to follow PO rules & https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Congressional-Debate-Guide.pdf
• Present: Clearly, loudly, & respectfully
• Debate: Respond to arguments made in the round & don't rehash (repeat the points or evidence of another without adding to the debate in some significant way)
• Involvement: Ask questions whenever you can of other debaters, make motions, & flow the round
• have a golly good time & be nice to each other

• sources should have a year & author's last name (at minimum) and should not have the month or day (unless you can justify it's inclusion via relevance)
• PO's: I will rank you, but I take mistakes pretty seriously, especially if they result in someone not getting a speech when they should have. A lot of the time I will keep track of the precedence and recency myself as well so I know how to rank your abilities.

PF:

• display sound logic and reasoning
• present clash
• communicate ideas with clarity & practice decorum, and be nice to your opponents!
• do not spread, I will knock on the table or say clear if you are doing so to the point of me not understanding.
• arguments will be weighed to the point that they are well explained, if an argument uses too much technical language, or is given too fast you just might notice that in your RFD! I am a "well-informed citizen" treat me as such
• have fun! we are all here to learn and enjoy our time as we debate ideas and contribute in a creative way to our peers in an effort to expand our thinking
• I expect you all to time yourselves and be honest about that. I may also keep track of time, but no guarantees. For novices, I will likely be keeping track of time, and I am willing to give you 30-second warnings during prep if you would like.
• making up evidence isn't cool, don't do it

borrowed heavily from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/NFL_PF_judging.pdf

LD:

- Not familiar with many Kritical arguments or Kritiques so you need to explain them clearly, do not assume I will understand without an explanation! Do not assume I know all of the jargon you are using, explain it!!

- Will happily vote on progressive LD stuff, nontopical affs, K's, and all the other fun stuff! just need definitions

- Slow down a bit, or I unfortunately will not understand your argument.

- If you make your argument clear, address your opponent's argument, are respectful, speak loudly and clearly, you will succeed!

- prefer having access to the cases so I can read along but it is not a necessity

(This next portion is stolen from Prema Vasudevan's paradigm)

"I believe that debate is an educational space, and we are all trying to learn! Please do your part to foster a welcoming environment where everyone can learn from each other and engage with each other’s ideas. In short, please be respectful towards your opponent (and me) so we can all learn and have a good time at debate.

- If you are running any arguments that are sensitive, or even if you think your arguments may be sensitive, please provide a content warning before the round begins. I think this is vital to creating a positive environment in the debate space. If you feel you are not comfortable engaging in a round due to sensitive content please feel comfortable letting me know and we can figure out what to do next.

- I have absolutely no tolerance for racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. in the debate space. Such behaviors are unacceptable, I will not hesitate to drop you on the face, your speaker points will reflect this, and I will contact your coach to address these issues.

- I tended to lean more traditional as a debater, but I have experience with a wide variety of arguments. If you have more progressive or 'out there' arguments or debating style there is one thing that is very important to keep in mind: I am open to hearing any arguments so long as I understand your argument. Have a clear understanding of your arguments, and clearly explain those arguments to me and your opponent.

- I do not vote for disclosure theory. I encourage debaters to file share if there are internet issues with tourneys over zoom but I do not vote for theory based on disclosure on the wiki.

I think my former coach put it best so I will have to quote him here: "I strive to be open to all forms of argument, but both I and your opponent need to understand them in order to have an effective debate."

All:

I judge rounds to the best of my ability and in good faith. If my RFD is not clear or you would like to ask me questions about my judging feel free to do so!

As a Congress judge, I put argumentation above everything else. Whereas good presentation and speaking style are still important in the event, I favor good argumentation – backed by solid sources that clearly and properly cited in the speech.

Refutation is also important during the round, especially in later speeches on a piece of legislation. I like rounds with a lot of clash, not hearing independent speeches on the same topic one after another.

In general, staying engaged in the debate is important too. Whether it's through relevant argumentation, questions that further the debate, or being on top of things during motions/legislative procedure, I like to see people being present in the debate beyond just giving a speech.

Graduated from Hastings HS in 2020. Attended NSDA Nationals in 2019 (Congress). Active duty in US Navy. I am looking for arguments grounded in evidence, with concrete and plausible links between the information presented and its overall impact. Show how your arguments defeat arguments presented by the opposition. Maintain decorum throughout.

Email-chain: benwheeler194@gmail.com

Background: I was a policy debater for three years at Millard West High School, from the years 2016-2019, and I have been judging debate from 2019-Present. I have experience judging policy, congressional, and Lincoln-Douglass debate. I have obtained my degree in Microbiology with minors in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Nebraska--Lincoln. I have experience in both traditional and K debate, but I have no overall preference (I will listen to any argument and weigh them against each other). I have debated as both a 2N and a 2A.

TL;DR: Run whichever argument you are most comfortable with--just make your arguments smart. I try not to put my own personal biases in the debate round, so just run the arguments you are more comfortable with (I am more likely to vote on a smart argument which you are comfortable with than I am for a certain type of argument). Make sure the way you frame your arguments makes sense, and that you answer the opponents arguments. My favorite things to see in-round are clash and framing debates.

Policy

AFF: I am a big fan of continuity throughout the AFF (i.e. extend your arguments throughout the round, and make sure your arguments all make sense with each other). This can be done as either a simple case overview, or can be more complex, given the context of the round. Vote NEG on presumption (unless you give me a REALLY good NEG debate). I am not a huge fan of not using the AFF throughout the debate. If the AFF team, specifically Policy AFFs, do not at least extend their plan-text throughout the round, I have a hard time voting for them.

NEG: Anything you want to run, run it. Typically a bigger fan of Policy arguments on the NEG (T, FW, CP, or DA's), but I think all NEG arguments warrant some merit.

Specific Arguments:

Policy v K AFFs: I think that both Policy and K AFF have merit within the debate round. If you run a Policy AFF, make sure you put forth the plan-text in every speech, and give me a reason why your plan-text matters, not just within the round, but also outside of it. For K AFF's, I would prefer to see some sort of advocacy, but if you don't use one, make sure you tell me why that matters. If you don't, i'll just assume you don't have any sort of plan, and therefore, no out-of-round solvency. For both types of AFF's, I like to see solvency and framing above impacts. Even if the impacts seem smaller than those of the NEG, if you can solve it better than that of the NEG, you win the round.

Kritiks: On the K flow, I think links and solvency are the biggest issues you need to solve for. Not only do you need to prove you solve, you need to prove how you solve better than the AFF. But you also need to link to the AFF for that to work. Outside of these, I like to see both a good impact debate, as well as a good theory debate on the K flow (perm theory or otherwise). Alternatives should also be thoroughly explained as to how they solve, or if you don't have an alternative, tell me why.

Theory: I think theory arguments can be very interesting, if you can spin them right. I think most theory is very under-utilized within the debate space, especially within the Nebraska circuit. Vague Alts and Multiple Worlds are good arguments, if you can explain to me how they work, and why not voting on them is a bad thing. Other than those, conditionality theory and framing debates are always fun debates to watch. If you are going to run theory, just make sure you explain yourself well so I can follow along.

Topicality: Interpretation debate is an important factor of this, as well as having counter-interpretations. Make sure you explain why your interpretation is important to this round specifically, and how it operates better than the counter-interpretation. Make sure that these also have standards and voters, or I won't vote on them. If you run either Effects-T or Extra-T, just make sure you know how they operate against the AFF.

FW: Big fan of FW, but same things as said in the Topicality section. Make sure you have a good interpretation, standards, and voters, or I will not consider it against the AFF. I am a big fan of education arguments, with both FW and T. You also have to gear your arguments specifically against the AFF (generic FW shells are usually un-interesting, and lead to a lack of clash on the FW flow). If you actually engage the AFF specifically within the FW flow, I will consider the arguments more than if you don't.

CP's: Extend your plan-text within every round, and if you can have your own internal net-benefits within the CP, I am more likely to consider it than without it. Internal net benefits are not necessary by means, but it is difficult to evaluate a CP against the case if there are no net benefits (either internal or from a DA). Big fan of perm debate on the CP flow as well, especially if it's outside of perm do both.

DA's: If you are going to run a DA as a net benefit to a CP, make sure you actually link to your CP, and that there is an internal link between the DA and its impacts. Otherwise, your DA will be wishy-washy at best. If you are running a DA on its own, the impact debate is going to be the most important thing I look to. Sometimes these DA's work better as straight case turns, and sometimes they work really well as standalone off-case--depends on how the round is playing out. If you run a DA as a net benefit to a K, I will cry actual tears of joy.

Counter-Methods: Essentially a CP against a K AFF, I think these are hella under-utilized and could lead to really good debates. Just prove to me how your method is better than that of the K AFF, and how its solvency mechanism actually operates.

In-Round Procedure:

Speed: Read as fast or as slow as you are comfortable with. As long as I can still understand what you're saying, go for it.

Prep: Don't steal prep--if you do, just make sure I don't notice. I won't count flashing or emailing against your prep time. Just don't steal prep, and we'll be cool.

Fun: Have fun.

Congressional Debate

TL;DR: When judging a congress round, the most important things I look for are sources, clash, and decorum within the round.

Sources:When making an argument within a congress round, I would like to see some evidence to back up the arguments you are making. This is not necessarily important if you are refuting an opponent or referring to evidence provided by other debaters in the round--this is specific to the arguments you make. Sure, some arguments are good as analyticals, but if you are making any claims involving statistics or empirical evidence or whatnot, I would like to either see some evidence to back up these claims, or some REALLY convincing analytical arguments.

Clash:One of my biggest gripes with congress rounds are a lack of clash/interaction with other speeches in the round. I can grant that this is impossible for the first speaker, but if you are the second speaker or later and you do NOT referring to opponents speeches/arguments, you are missing some opportunities to make your case sound stronger. Having good clash within the round can make the claims you are already making seem much stronger, and fully utilizing all the evidence within the round may help you make arguments that you otherwise might not have considered. A "plan in a vacuum" with good evidence and warrants to back it up seems less convincing to me than an argument that fully incorporates arguments made throughout the round, but has slightly worse evidence. While clash is not an expressly "necessary" part of the congressional experience, clash, in my opinion, makes the round more fun for me and in turn, means I am more likely to vote you up.

Decorum: This mostly has to do with speaking points, but clear and concise diction throughout your speeches is appreciated. When watching someone speak and giving them speaker points, I look to the debater that is the most confident in the round and can put together arguments/refutations in the best order. Good speaking means good diction, clear speaking, and convincing arguments.

Miscellaneous: If you are chosen as a PO for the round, don't think of that as a bad thing! POs have a tough job within the round and my scores for you will reflect that. As long as you are keeping every on track and keeping good time of the round, I will generally score you well.

Other than what I said above, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Lincoln-Douglass Debate

Given the current board state of LD debate, my judging is typically very similar to that of policy. If you are reading anything resembling a policy speech (such as a K), refer to what I have said above.

Value Criterion: If you are still running a value criterion in 2023, then kudos to you! I love seeing value criterion within the round, irregardless of if there is a plan/advocacy to back them up. Just make sure that your value criterion is not vague, and make sure the value criterion actually does the thing you want it to do. It doesn't matter how good a value criterion is if you can't debate it effectively.

Logic: When watching a LD debate, I want the arguments you are making to be made in a logical order and in a way that I can easily interpret. High theory Ks and other likewise arguments are fine, but just make sure that you can explain it to me or I will NOT vote you up on it. Being too technical isn't my favorite either, but a good mixture between the two can help you to make fun arguments while still being logically sound.

Public Forum

I have never judged PF, but it seemed rude to not include in my paradigm (since I already have the other three styles listed). Basically for PF, make your arguments clear and easy to follow, and I will judge from there. I do apologize if I judge it like a policy judge though.

Big Questions
Based