Hello,

I have experience and success in policy debate in both high school and college. My judging paradigm is best described as tabula rasa (blank slate) with the exception of adherence to traditional debate rules (stock issues, topicality is a priori, etc.). Although I am older, I will be able to keep up (flow) as fast as you can speak.

I believe Lincoln Douglas is more about persuasion than speed. That being said, issues still must be carried through in an LD debate as they form the underlying basis for an effective ability to persuade.

I am open to any questions you may have before the round begins.

Thanks & good luck!

I’m a former Public Forum debater (three years experience) and 2007 graduate of Rock Bridge high school in Columbia MO. I am a frequent judge for PF debate and extemporaneous speaking in mid Missouri tournaments.

For me the best articulated argument wins. I’ll be voting for the team that is able to best present their case and in turn address their opponents contentions with relevant evidence and logic.

I have zero experience Judging.

School assistant coach, 5 years judging experience

Policy

Stock Issue approach

Willing to vote on Topicality, Counterplans, Kritiks, or theory.

Against conditional negative positions

Do not exceed 7/10 speed.

LD

Value Criterion may be a major factor in my decision

I decide who is the winner of the key arguments in the round - winning the value/vc debate determines my framework for choosing the winning side. I then evaluate the contentions based on which side accomplishes that value/vc better.

I keep a flow

Experience:

-Assistant Coach

- Experienced LD, Pf and Policy judge

-Former LD debater

I rigorously flow rounds.

Jargon is acceptable.

Preferred Style of delivery:

-Well paced. Not too fast, not too slow. Typical conversational style to rapid conversational speed.

*Rate of Delivery does not affect my decision but does affect speaker points when applicable.*

My decision is primarily based on the quality of the debate. That is, how well you are able to support your stance (and the value/criterion for LD) through evidence and logic as well as how effective you are at rebutting your opponent's case and attacks. The best speaker is not necessarily the winner, but being an effective speaker is very helpful.

I have experience in judging for 4 years.

I value the following: depth in understanding of the core issue, relevancy of evidence and sources, overall delivery/presentation - including your manners to your opponents, please don't spread, and keep track of both your and your opponent's time.

Focus on quality of arguments and clash. Formulate accurate analyses of evidence: what does it mean for the resolution?

Civility and poise under all circumstances is appreciated.

Please give voters. Tell me why you have won.

About Me:

-Middle School Speech and Debate Coach

-Experience in interpretation events and Public Forum

-Judged a lot of PF and LD this school year

Preferences for round:

-Be polite and respectful. It's an argumentation activity, but it doesn't have to be mean.

-I can flow, but not super quickly. I keep track of main points and clashes.

-Speed is fine, but I am only human!

-I judge a lot on speaking skills! I love to see personable people and not debaters who just read off their facts.

-Road maps are appreciated!

-Judging Debate & Speech for 6+ years

-familiar with extemp, LD, PuF, and Big Question

-Judging based off: strength of case, ability to attack opponents cases and rebuilding your own, good public speaking skills

I am a speech/debate coach. Though I did not participate in the activity myself, I have five years of experience coaching and judging at all levels of competition.

I can follow you at whatever speed you wish to debate, as long as you don't sacrifice clarity for speed.

I will be taking notes throughout the round, focusing on key arguments in the case. I am willing to vote on topicality, to vote for counterplans, and to vote for a K, but at the end of the day, my decision will come down to who argues their side most effectively. A well-argued stock issues case will win my ballot over a poorly-articulated theory argument every time (and vice versa).

Hello! I did debate, mostly public forum, from 8th grade to 12th grade. Since then, I have judged countless debates.

LD and Public Forum: I am most interested in the clash of ideas, rather than debaters simply restating their cases at each other. I want to discourage off-the-clock road maps as they are often unnecessary and I want to respect everyone's time.

Policy: My approach is tabula rasa, i.e. the debaters tell me how to judge the round. I am open to counterplans and kritiks.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

I judge very highly based on speaking. Debate is not just the art of "being right". It is the art of convincing someone, namely me, that you are right. If you have a great flow and argumentation, but speak incredibly fast with no emotional or weighted impacts spoken in a dispassionate tone, ill be more likley to vote for your opponant who spoke better. That is not to say I dont flow, but I do not vote exclusively off of it. It is a balance. You must have good argumentation spoken well. Obviously if you demolish the flow and it is not close I will vote soly based on that. Outside that scenario, however, I vote very highly on speaking. Do not spread or I WILL vote you down.

In congressional debate specifically, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY discourage one sided debate. If you give the second or third speech on a POL in a row (or motion to open debate on a POL specifically just to give a speech and its the only speech on that side) i will vote you down 

Please note that I haven't judged a round of debate since Spring of 2020. So getting some used to the new COVID-style judging beckons some patience and I thank you in advance.

Background:

I attended and competed with Blue Springs South High School in almost every IE event. I qualified and placed at Districts, State, and Nationals. My strong suits were Prose, DI, DUO, POI, and Extemp.

I competed for three years at Southwest Baptist University. I competed in Duo, POI, Drama, Poetry, Informative, Persuasive, C.A., Prose, Exempt, After Dinner Speach Parli, and Public Form, and IPDA. I have judged several tournaments a year every year from 2015 to the present. While Speech events were my strong suits, I competed and placed consecutively in debate throughout my collegiate time placing in state and the Phi Kappa Delta nationals for speech events and debate.

General Comments: (I have borrowed some of this wording from others, as I think it suits well my paradigm when it comes to debate.)

• I prefer policy-oriented debates but will listen to most arguments as long as you can justify them. I will follow arguments closely but do your part and tell me what to flow with your warrants.
• I don't pretend to be truly tabula rasa, as I believe that setting some ground rules (namely, that the affirmative team should defend the resolution and that the negative team should disprove the desirability of the affirmative) is a necessary prerequisite to meaningful, fair debate, but again I am open to other arguments if you justify them.
• Logic > tech > truth
• I'm far more willing to vote for a smart analytical argument than a shallow extension of a card. Evidence should be read for the purpose of backing up your arguments -- not the other way around.
• On a similar note, my least favorite type of debate is the "card war". Don't just read cards -- make arguments. But don't just make arguments. Justify them and stick with them. If you mess up (as all humans do) then I'd rather you admit it and cover the ground than lie.
• The technical aspect of the debate is important to me. I'm generally willing to assign substantial risk to dropped arguments, but you still have to extend those arguments and their respective warrant(s).
• I love cross-examination. If your cross-examination is well thought out and used to generate arguments and understandings that are useful in speeches for important parts of the debate, my happiness and your speaker points will increase. Remember - make my flow easy.

Topicality/Theory:

The affirmative team must affirm the resolution in order to win the debate, and I believe that maximizing fairness and education (generally in that order) is good for debate. "The plan is reasonably topical" is not an argument unless the negative's interpretation is patently absurd; the neg's standards/voters are reasons why the aff is not reasonably topical. T is never an RVI. Conditionality is fine unless abused in an egregious fashion; for example, if your 1NC includes 2 Ks and 5 CPs (I've seen it), you should probably go home and rethink your life.

Kritiks:

I am not very well versed in high-theory critical literature, so try to avoid burying me in jargon. I'm not a fan of 2NRs that go for "epistemology first" as a way to remove all substantive clash from the debate. We are here for education and DEBATE. Let's all play the game. Additionally, I tend not to think that my ballot has any particular "role" besides choosing who wins/loses the debate. "Role of the ballot" arguments should be articulated as impact framework, and they require actual standards/warrants -- not just the assertion that "The role of the ballot is [to vote for exactly what our aff/K does]." I am extremely skeptical of the idea that isolated use of gendered/ableist language is reason enough for a team to lose a debate round. I'm open to listening to these arguments, but if the offending team apologizes, I think we should all be willing to move on and learn from the experience to improve all of our individual lives.

Traditional style LD. Not big on flowing.

Assistant coach for 5 years.

Taken from Tyler Gamble's paradigm, but holds mostly true for me:
I will vote on anything that is justified as a ballot winning position.
My flow is poor. The faster you go the more arguments I will miss. I am truth over tech.
I subconsciously presume towards unique arguments/funny like-able people. This doesn't mean you will win, but if the round becomes unadjudicatable more often that not I'll decide your way.
I don't believe in speaker points.
If you are directly oppressive, I reserve the right to not vote for you.
Please keep me entertained...
Please make jokes. I find terrible dad humor jokes that fall flat to be the funniest.

Taken from Ellen Ivens-Duran's paradigm:
Here are the things that matter:
I did not debate as a student.
I have judged and coached PF and LD for (5) years.
I don’t lean towards any style of debate, just convince me why I should vote for you and you can win.
...

NFL POLICY DEBATE

JUDGE PHILOSOPHY CARD

Name Nathan Miller

School - Lee's Summit North High School

In order to assist the debaters whom you will judge in adapting to the particular audience that you provide as a judge, please indicate your policy debate judging experience and preferences.

1. Your experience with policy debate (check those that apply):

A. Coach of a team

B. NDT Policy debater in college

C. CEDA Debater in college

D. Policy debater in HS

E. Frequently judge policy debate

F. Occasionally judge policy debate

2. I have judged 2 years of policy debate. I have judged (circle one)

0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 40+ varsity rounds this season.

3. Which best describes your approach to judging policy debate:

Speaking skills

Stock Issues

Policymaker

Hypothesis tester

Games-playing

Tabula rasa

Circle your attitudes concerning these policy debate practices:

4. RATE OF DELIVERY ( No preference)

Slow and deliberate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Very rapid

5. QUANTITY OF ARGUMENTS ( No preference)

A few well developed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The more arguments arguments the better

6. COMMUNICATION AND ISSUES

Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Resolving substantive most important

issues most important

7. TOPICALITY: I am willing to vote on topicality:

Often 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rarely

8. COUNTERPLANS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

9. GENERIC DISADVANTAGES

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

10.CONDITIONAL NEGATIVE POSITIONS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

11. DEBATE THEORY ARGUMENTS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

12. CRITIQUE (KRITIK) ARGUMENTS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

In approximately 100 words or less, please add any brief comments that you feel are appropriate. You might want to include information about practices that you encourage or discourage in around.
It bothers me when students are deliberately mean or distracting to the other team.

NFL LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE JUDGE PARADIGM CARD

Name: Nathan Miller

School: Lee's Summit North High School

In order to assist the debaters you will be judging, please answer all of the questions accurately and thoroughly.

1. Your experience with LD debate (check all that apply):

A. Current LD coach

B. Former LD coach

C. Former LD competitor

D. Summer LD instructor

E. Experienced LD judge

F. Former Policy debater

G Collegiate policy debater

H. Current Public Forum coach or judge

I. Speech Coach

J. Community Judge

K. No LD experience

L. I have judged LD debate for 2 years. M. How many LD rounds have you judged this season? (select one)

1. Fewer than twenty 2. Twenty to forty 3. Forty to sixty 4. Sixty or more

2. Please indicate your attitudes towards typical LD practices: (circle one)

A. What is your preferred rate of delivery?

Slow, conversational style--- Typical conversational speed---Rapid conversational speed

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision?

Yes/No

Will you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed?

Yes/No

B. How important is the criterion in making your decision?

1. It is the primary means by which I make my decision.

2. It is a major factor in my evaluation.

3. It may be a factor depending on its use in the round.

4. It rarely informs my decision. ,

Do you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case?

Yes/No

C. Rebuttals and Crystallization (check one of the answers for each question)

1. Final rebuttals should include

a) voting issues or

b) line-by-line analysis, or

c) both.

2. Voting issues should be given

a) as the student moves down the flow,

b) at the end of the final speech, or

c) either is acceptable.

3. Voting issues are

a) absolutely necessary or

b) not necessary.

4. The use of jargon or technical language ("extend,". "cross-apply," "turn," etc.) during rebuttals is:

a) acceptable or

b) unacceptable, or

c) should be kept to a minimum.

D. How do you decide the winner of the round? (check the best answer)

1. I decide who is the better speaker regardless of whether they won specific arguments.

2. I decide who is the winner of the most arguments in the round.

3. I decide who is the winner of the key arguments in the round

4. I decide who is the person who persuaded me more of his/her position overall.

E. How necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round?

Not necessary---------------------Sometimes necessary------------------Always necessary

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

F. Please describe your personal note-taking during the round.

1. I do not take notes.

2. I only outline the important arguments of each debater's case.

3. I write down the key arguments throughout the round.

4. I keep detailed notes throughout the round.

5. I keep a rigorous flow.

In approximately 100 words or less, please add any brief comments that you feel are appropriate. You might want to include information about practices that you encourage or discourage in a round.

Name

Charles Palmer

Current institutional affiliation

Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, MO

Current role at institution

Head Debate Coach

Previous institutional affiliations and role

Foreign Language Academy - Head Debate Coach

Debating experience

High School Competitor and Head Coach

What do you view your role as the judge in the debate? (Possible answers may include: referee, policymaker, tabula rasa, stock issues, capable of effectuating change or educator). Please elaborate

I’m of the tabula rasa mindset. I accept all arguments and opponents should be prepared to clash with whatever is brought up in a debate round. I will vote for affirmative cases that have no plan or are not necessarily topical on its face if the negative team fails to win their arguments against these types of cases. It should be the ultimate goal of each team to be the most persuasive. My favorite debates are those with great clash and passionate speech. I have no issues with performance teams, but what they say will hold more weight than how they say it.

I will say that I tend to roll my eyes at most claims of 'abuse'. If you're going to claim that another team is abusive, there better be some real validity to it. Don't claim that you didn't have time to prepare for an Aff case that's been on open evidence since the beginning of the season. Additionally, racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other hateful types of comments or arguments will not be tolerated.

I do not count flash time or road maps against prep and debaters should keep their own time. I don’t expect debaters to share evidence with me, unless I request it for the purposes of determining validity or making a final decision, but the debaters should absolutely share evidence with one another. I will only consider arguments that are made from each debater and/ or read in evidence. Open cross-ex is fine, as long as both teams agree to it. Some speed is okay, but make sure I can understand your argument and include me on the speech drop or email chain.

My normal speaker point range is 20-30. I consider not only clarity and how well a debater speaks, but also how persuasive they are and the organization of their thoughts. It is on the debater to be clear from the beginning.

Most of my experience is with policy, but I do have some LD and PF experience. Persuade me.

I will vote based on the argument that persuaded me the most. Effective clash is critical to winning a round although doing so while maintaining professionalism is paramount. If I cannot understand your spread, I obviously will not be able to use it in my decision making. I only have some background in debate, use of debate-jargon is fine just please ensure your explanations are clear.

1. Experience with LD debate: Community Judge

2. Please indicate your attitudes towards typical LD practices:

A. What is your preferred rate of delivery? Typical conversational speed

B. Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision? No

C.Will you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed? No

3. How important is the criterion in making your decision? It may be a factor depending on its use in the round.

A. Do you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case? Yes

4. Rebuttals and Crystallization (check one of the answers for each question)

A. Final rebuttals should include: Voting issues

B. Voting issues should be given: at the end of the final speech, or .

C. Voting issues are: not necessary.

4. The use of jargon or technical language ("extend,". "cross-apply," "turn," etc.) during rebuttals is: acceptable

5. How do you decide the winner of the round? I decide who is the winner of the key arguments in the round

6. How necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round? Always necessary

7. Please describe your personal note-taking during the round: I keep detailed notes throughout the round.

1. Your experience with policy debate: Occasionally judge policy debate

2. I have judged ____ years of policy debate: 0-10 years

3. Which best describes your approach to judging policy debate: stock issues

Circle your attitudes concerning these policy debate practices:

4. RATE OF DELIVERY: 7

Slow and deliberate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Very rapid

5. QUANTITY OF ARGUMENTS: 4

A few well developed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The more arguments arguments the better

6. COMMUNICATION AND ISSUES: 6

Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Resolving substantive most important

issues most important

7. TOPICALITY: I am willing to vote on topicality: 3

Often 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rarely

8. COUNTERPLANS: 1

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

9. GENERIC DISADVANTAGES: 1

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

10.CONDITIONAL NEGATIVE POSITIONS : 2

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

11. DEBATE THEORY ARGUMENTS: 5

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

12. CRITIQUE (KRITIK) ARGUMENTS: 3

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

NFL POLICY DEBATE

JUDGE PHILOSOPHY CARD

Name Megan Goss

School - Lee’s Summit West High School

In order to assist the debaters whom you will judge in adapting to the particular audience that you provide as a judge, please indicate your policy debate judging experience and preferences.

1. Your experience with policy debate (check those that apply):

A. Coach of a team

B. NDT Policy debater in college

C. CEDA Debater in college

D. Policy debater in HS

E. Frequently judge policy debate

F. Occasionally judge policy debate

2. I have judged ____ years of policy debate. I have judged (circle one)

0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 40+ varsity rounds this season.

3. Which best describes your approach to judging policy debate:

Speaking skills

Stock Issues

Policymaker

Hypothesis tester

Games-playing

Tabula rasa

Circle your attitudes concerning these policy debate practices:

4. RATE OF DELIVERY ( No preference)

Slow and deliberate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Very rapid

5. QUANTITY OF ARGUMENTS ( No preference)

A few well developed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The more arguments arguments the better

6. COMMUNICATION AND ISSUES

Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Resolving substantive most important

issues most important

7. TOPICALITY: I am willing to vote on topicality:

Often 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rarely

8. COUNTERPLANS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

9. GENERIC DISADVANTAGES

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

10.CONDITIONAL NEGATIVE POSITIONS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

11. DEBATE THEORY ARGUMENTS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

12. CRITIQUE (KRITIK) ARGUMENTS

Acceptable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

In approximately 100 words or less, please add any brief comments that you feel are appropriate. You might want to include information bout practices that you encourage or discourage in a round.

NFL LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE JUDGE PARADIGM CARD

Name: Megan Goss

School: Lee’s Summit West High School

In order to assist the debaters you will be judging, please answer all of the questions accurately and thoroughly.

1. Your experience with LD debate (check all that apply):

A. Current LD coach

B. Former LD coach

C. Former LD competitor

D. Summer LD instructor

E. Experienced LD judge

F. Former Policy debater

G Collegiate policy debater

H. Current Public Forum coach or judge

I. Speech Coach

J. Community Judge

K. No LD experience

L. I have judged LD debate for _5__ years. M. How many LD rounds have you judged this season? (select one)

1. Fewer than twenty 2. Twenty to forty 3. Forty to sixty 4. Sixty or more

2. Please indicate your attitudes towards typical LD practices: (circle one)

A. What is your preferred rate of delivery?

Slow, conversational style--- Typical conversational speed---Rapid conversational speed

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision?

Yes/No

Will you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed?

Yes/No

B. How important is the criterion in making your decision?

1. It is the primary means by which I make my decision.

2. It is a major factor in my evaluation.

3. It may be a factor depending on its use in the round.

4. It rarely informs my decision. ,

Do you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case?

Yes/No

C. Rebuttals and Crystallization (check one of the answers for each question)

1. Final rebuttals should include

a) voting issues or

b) line-by-line analysis, or

c) both.

2. Voting issues should be given

a) as the student moves down the flow,

b) at the end of the final speech, or

c) either is acceptable.

3. Voting issues are

a) absolutely necessary or

b) not necessary.

4. The use of jargon or technical language ("extend,". "cross-apply," "turn," etc.) during rebuttals is:

a) acceptable or

b) unacceptable, or

c) should be kept to a minimum.

D. How do you decide the winner of the round? (check the best answer)

1. I decide who is the better speaker regardless of whether they won specific arguments.

2. I decide who is the winner of the most arguments in the round.

3. I decide who is the winner of the key arguments in the round

4. I decide who is the person who persuaded me more of his/her position overall.

E. How necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round?

Not necessary---------------------Sometimes necessary------------------Always necessary

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

F. Please describe your personal note-taking during the round.

1. I do not take notes.

2. I only outline the important arguments of each debater's case.

3. I write down the key arguments throughout the round.

4. I keep detailed notes throughout the round.

5. I keep a rigorous flow.

In approximately 100 words or less, please add any brief comments that you feel are appropriate. You might want to include information about practices that you encourage or discourage in a round.

02/08

I am Amanda, a former Lincoln-Douglas debater and National Qualifier. I have about 6 years experience in judging all forms of debate and will maintain a rigorous flow regardless of the type of debate. Below, I have included my judge philosophy cards for Policy and Lincoln-Douglas. In short, I will vote on key issues in the round (whatever they may be!) and the substance of the arguments made. I absolutely prefer few, very well-developed arguments rather than a ton of arguments. I will put personal beliefs and biases aside and vote on what you tell me are the most important issues in the round. Communication skills are important, but I will never make a decision based on them alone. I do not have a preference on speed of delivery, though I prefer that true speed-reading is kept to a minimum for the sake of everyone in the round.

NFL POLICY DEBATE JUDGE PHILOSOPHY CARD

1. Your experience with policy debate:

Occasionally judge policy debate

2. I have judged (6) years of policy debate. I have judged (0-10) varsity rounds this season.

3. Which best describes your approach to judging policy debate:

Speaking skills

Stock Issues

My attitudes concerning these policy debate practices:

4. RATE OF DELIVERY - Anywhere from 1 - 7

Slow and deliberate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Very rapid

5. QUANTITY OF ARGUMENTS - I prefer a few, well developed arguments

A few well developed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The more arguments arguments the better

6. COMMUNICATION AND ISSUES - 6, issues are more important, though communication skills are weighed heavily

Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Resolving substantive most important issues most important

7. TOPICALITY: I am willing to vote on topicality: 5 (If it is a key issue, sure!)

Often 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rarely

8. COUNTERPLANS: 1

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

9. GENERIC DISADVANTAGES: 1

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

10.CONDITIONAL NEGATIVE POSITIONS : 1

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

11. DEBATE THEORY ARGUMENTS: 1

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

12. CRITIQUE (KRITIK) ARGUMENTS: 1 (acceptable and always appreciated)

Acceptable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Unacceptable

NFL LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE JUDGE PARADIGM CARD

1. Your experience with LD debate (check all that apply):

Former LD competitor, Experienced LD judge

L. I have judged LD debate for (6) years. M. How many LD rounds have you judged this season?

Fewer than twenty

2. My attitudes towards typical LD practices:

A. What is your preferred rate of delivery? 4

Slow, conversational style--- Typical conversational speed---Rapid conversational speed

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision?

No

Will you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed?

No

B. How important is the criterion in making your decision?

It may be a factor depending on its use in the round.

Do you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case?

Yes

C. Rebuttals and Crystallization

1. Final rebuttals should include voting issues

2. Voting issues should be given as the student moves down the flow or at the end of the final speech

3. Voting issues are

absolutely necessary

4. The use of jargon or technical language ("extend,". "cross-apply," "turn," etc.) during rebuttals is acceptable

D. How do you decide the winner of the round?

I decide who is the winner of the key arguments in the round

E. How necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round? Often necessary

F. Please describe your personal note-taking during the round.

I keep a rigorous flow

In my daily life, I am a federal constitutional lawyer. Presenting your argument in such a manner that a layman can understand a topic they may not have researched is very important. Speaking skills are key. Know your audience and present your argument/case how you think it is most appropriate.

I am not a technical debate person. I listen as a lay person and make judgements bases on convincing arguments and clear, smooth and understandable speaking.

Hi. My name is Helene Slinker. I am the assistant coach at Raytown South High School in Raytown, Missouri.

In high school, I competed in public forum debate, congressional debate, original oratory, and occasionally U.S. extemp for four years. In college, I competed in policy debate in the NDT-CEDA circuit for two years.

Policy

Policy debate is, largely, a question of impacts. When making a decision, I first look at who had the biggest impact and then evaluate who accesses their impact better. The most important thing for you to do is impact calc/impact weighing.

Speed - I can follow speed. Make sure you're clear on the tagline but you can probably go as fast as you want. I may tell you if you're going too fast or too unclear for me to follow. In general, speaking skills are not a priority to me in comparison to quality of argumentation.

T and Theory - I will vote on topicality, but remember that a topicality argument must have structure. You need an interpretation, violation, standards and voters for topicality to be a viable argument. Make sure you invest time in topicality or theory if you want me to vote on it.

CPs - They are fine, I don't have any strong thoughts. I don't really care either way on conditionality, you need to make sure to invest time on it if you are going for a theory argument.

DAs - DAs are fine, I have no issue with "generic disadvantages." It's all about getting to an impact and outweighing.

Ks - I don't mind Ks. I have some experience running and debating against Ks in college. I don't have an incredibly in depth knowledge of all literature bases though, if you are running something very out of the blue you may want to explain heavily.

K affs - K affs are fine (I have some experience running one) and I will also consider and vote on framework. Whatever is put in front of me, I'll evaluate. Both sides have equal chances to win a framework vs K aff debate.

Other thoughts and pet peeves:

A priority for me is organization. A big pet peeve is when late rebuttals are messy and all over the place. Also, please, split the block!

When you're extending arguments, make sure you're clear about the argument, not just the author.

Please, be nice! I really hate judging mean debates and I will give you bad speaker points if you're mean to the other team. You can be aggressive without being mean.

LD

I did LD for one year, my freshman year of high school. I don't like when people get caught up in the evidence line by line rather than weighing value and vc against each other. The most successful LD teams take their opponents value and prove why they access it more.

Speed - See policy paradigm, I'm fine with it but be clear. Rate of delivery/speaking skills does not weigh heavily in my decision. I will flow the debate just as I would a policy debate.

Evidence vs Values - Values are more important, evidence is encouraged but remember what it is all in support of.

PFD

I did PFD for four years in high school but since doing policy in college my perspective has changed somewhat. PFD can often be confusing to follow. I will flow the debate and vote solely on arguments. Although every speech should be doing impact comparison, the last speech should especially focus on clearing up the remaining offense and defense into a coherent ballot.

I'm a debate coach, and have been for nearly two decades. I've coached kids to state and nationals in a variety of events. I don't need all the technicalities explained to me, and I don't like debates about technicalities, jargon, etc. I want a good CONTENT debate, one that is centered on voting issues and sufficient and credible evidence to support claims. I have a bachelors in communication and a masters in educational psychology. I know a lot about research and research methods. Research is key.

What will win debates with me as a judge, 9 times out of 10, is HOW THE CONTENT IS COMMUNICATED. I want a debate that I can flow easily (which means you link all your arguments to your opponents'), and that I can see the development of arguments. I don't want repeat rebuttals where nothing is developed. I want the last speaker in the round to hone in on the 2-3 voting, essential items that should cause me to cast my ballot in their favor. I don't care about how many arguments you present; I want a solid, credible, an courteous debate.

Have some fun! Smile, we're all here together.

I am a forensics coach. I have judged all debates for over 10 years now. I competed in PFD when I was in high school in 2010. I will not be taking a rigorous flow. I will take notes and focus on the big arguments of the round and keep track of who is winning the largest points of clash in the round. I do value public speaking and persuasion, but do not judge based solely on that. I am OK with speed, but you must have clear diction and articulation.

Open to any specific questions.

I competed all four years in high school predominately in public forum and international extemporaneous. I am currently in law school at UMKC and appreciate well organized and well reasoned arguments. I have the most judging experience with public forum and Lincoln Douglas. I really don't enjoy judging policy, mostly because I didn't actually learn how to do it when I was in high school. I flow everything, and proper flow coverage plays a big role in my decision making (note: flowing is one of the reasons why I don't enjoy policy because I don't know how to best flow, despite it being explained to me numerous times, so I kinda just do my own thing and hope that arguments are covered). I also take speaking ability and presentation into consideration because I think that is critical in establishing a convincing argument. Don't be a jerk, but I also don't hate a little spiciness. most of all just have fun and enjoy these rounds because you will miss it a lot when it's gone.

Big Questions Debate:

Don't assume that I know debate jargon. Explain it out. I am more familiar with IEs. 

Dislikes - Spreading. I will be flowing and working to understand what you are saying. I am more qualify vs quantity in words used in an argument. 

Likes - Display great communication skills. Treat opponent with respect.