As a judge for PF I am looking for participants to work as a team and to be respectful of other teams. I appreciate teams that can use cross to their advantage. I expect you to back up arguments with evidence. I appreciate teams that address each of their opponents' contentions, extend their arguments and weigh.

Speed of speech is inconsequential as long as you are speaking clearly.

I value clear communication, speed at a moderate & measured pace & professionalism at all times. Road maps not necessary.

I am pretty new to judging and have primarily judged LD and PF. I enjoy a spirited debate but clear speaking and enunciaton are paramount. I believe that it is the responsibility of the debaters to watch their clocks and won't manage them unless it's overtime by a good margin.

I competed in public forum debate for four years at Centerville HS and have judged for the past four years. I am currently a senior at NYU. Add me to the email chain at sij233@nyu.edu.

There are a few things that I want to see in the round.

1) I think that using logic with evidence is important. Do not just dump cards and not explain the warranting behind them.

2) I like when teams give organized rebuttals and signpost.

3) Don't fight over evidence.

4) Don't run theory/K's as I am not too knowledgeable on them.

5) Use off-time roadmaps in the round so that I know where you are starting at.

6) I won't flow cross but if something major happens let me know in a speech.

If you have any questions, let me know before the round.

Good luck!

Hello my name is Cory Johnson. I am a History teacher and a debate coach.

When I am judging there are a few things I look for:

1. It is extremely important that you have a clear link chain. As I am flowing, I want to be told how each point leads into the next. It is not my job to infer what you are trying to argue. You need to explicitly tell me each part of the argument, and how that creates your impact. If the impact is not made clear, I have nothing to weigh on and therefore voting for you becomes a challenge dependent on your persuasion skills alone. Please extend your cards, and your links, or I will consider them dropped. My final decision will be based on the flow, and how you interact with your opponent during the round.

1. Cross is not binding. In fact I will not even flow it. Cross ex is a time to gather information to then be used in rebuttal. It is also an opportunity for clarification and filling in your flow.

1. In an LD debate, the value is terminal. It is the primary voter issue, and as such must be woven into your contentions, and be present throughout the round, including your rebuttals. LD is a value debate and therefore it is not something to be mentioned briefly in your constructive and then forgotten. I am open to theory and K’s but understand if you take this route, you better be committed to it. Risking a theory to throw it away or using K’s arbitrarily does not sit well with me. It is important to weigh your argument against your opponent, while your value is the terminal issue, weighing gives me as a judge the ability to make an informed decision.

1. In a PF debate, your impact is the primary voter issue. As stated above, this must be made clear. An ambiguous impact leaves very little room for me as a judge to make an informed decision. I want to be told what the result of my vote is. I want to be told how my vote affects the topic at hand. This is where weighing becomes terminal. If you do not weigh your impact against your opponents, I see little to no reason to vote for you, as a lack of weighing leads me to believe your impact is not very important to the round. Within that weighing I want to see a clear comparison between you and your opponent.

1. When speaking, please be clear, and concise. I want to be impressed with your speaking ability, and this is how I decide your speaker points. DO NOT SPREAD! I prefer slower, more evocative speech, with impactful points of emphasis. I do not appreciate redundancy, especially in rebuttal. If you have to repeat yourself outside of the purpose of emphasis, it tells me you do not know what you are talking about.

2. A few extra miscellaneous points to keep in mind: I am a stickler about time. I will not flow anything said after time is up. It will not be considered when voting. It is also very important that you use off-time roadmaps, so I can follow your thought process. Finally keep the card calling to a minimum. Doing this excessively wastes too much time, and becomes annoying and frustrating. If you cannot rebuttal without seeing every card your opponent uses, that most likely means you need to do more research.

I look forward to judging you. Good Luck!

I have been a parent volunteer for four years. I have never competed in Speech and Debate myself. Please keep your delivery clear.

I don't like spreading. I prefer to hear well formed arguments. Speaking as fast as possible is not a substitute for having good arguments.

Please stick to the topic.

Please treat everyone with respect.

Add me to any email chain: vijjikomali@gmail.com

My son wrote the rest of this:

I am a lay judge.

I wont be able to understand your points if you speak too fast, cases with 650-700 words are a good pace.

Speak clearly with good enunciation for me to best understand what you are talking about.

Don't use buzzwords, i wont be able to understand debate jargon.

Sign-post well so I am not lost in your speech

Be specific about what you're talking about, don't just say "look at their first response" or "look the the Smith evidence instead".

The easiest way to judge a round accurately is if you have a clear narrative by the end of the round, don't just dump arguments and expect me to understand which one is better than the other, implicate the clash in the round. And quality>quantity, dont go fast in summary/ff to get coverage, just go slow and choose good arguments to extend

Weighing should happen, no matter what kind of judge, weighing should be understandable to anyone, so at least in FF, make sure that I know who to vote for, what they won in the round, why they win.

Hello! My fondest memories of high school are from high school debate (PF and Congress) tournaments! I also have memories of terrible judges - I will do my best to not fall into the latter category for you.

- The faster you talk does not = the better your argument.

- It doesn't absolutely have to have been in summary for it to be in final focus, but it really should be.

- Don't card dump in rebuttal. Don't read a new contention disguised as a response. If your opponents do this call them out for it and I'll drop the argument.

- Don't ask for more evidence than you need and use this as more prep time.

- You do not need to give an off time road map, in fact, perhaps do not.

- Winning in cross does not = the more speaking time you have. Ask and answer quickly, concisely and politely.

I am a parent of a Myers Park High School speech and debate student and have two seasons of experience judging Public Forum. I have also judged Lincoln-Douglas once. I am a retired accounting professional. I prefer for debaters to speak at a moderate pace rather than a very rapid one. I value argument over style. I will view overly aggressive debaters, and especially disrespectful ones, less favorably. I find weighing by debaters at the end to be very helpful. I provide some feedback in person at the end of debates but do not typically indicate which side won the debate, and in some cases I may need to go through my notes and do more thinking to determine who won. I do not consider any information not mentioned by the debaters in reaching my decisions.

My name is Max Moskovitz and I’m currently a Junior at Virginia Tech studying microbiology and biochemistry. I did debate for one year in high school and attended a few tournaments, but most of my time was spent focusing on Model United Nations club which I did for four years and was the co-president of. In Public Forum debate I like seeing intense scrutiny of opposing arguments during crossfire and both sides keeping debate lively and civil

I debated 2 years of PF at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh, PA; currently debating BPD and CPD at the University of Toronto.

Include me in email chains: Boomba.Nishi@gmail.com

I will vote off the flow and what gets extended the cleanest. Tech over truth to an extent just don't be stupid about it.

FOR USC SEASON SPARKLE:

I’m one of the most flow judge you'll get at locals (not to toot my own horn). I’m not as fast as I used to be for flowing probably cap out at 200ish but test my limits at your own risk. Its local so I doubt you can go too far for me. I know what I say about offs below but I don't think there's a reason not to run k/thoery at locals. Rather, I'd almost encourage it as I think a lot of the harms these try to correct go unnoticed in locals simply because parent judges don't know how to vote for/evaluate these arguments so teams are afraid to run them. But that's the whole point right – to make positive change in the debate space. READ WHAT I SAY ABOUT DISCLOSURE. If I’m feeling goofy and there's no offence at the end of the round I’ll probably just flip a coin.

Voting Issues: Only losers use them.

No: Tricks.

Speed: I’m okay with some speed just don't go nyooooom or I’ll stop flowing.

Theory/Ks: I think theory and Ks are on net good ie. they push for positive change and create positive norms. I don't really care if it's a local tournament if you genuinely want to read theory/Ks to make this change I will be more than happy. Please do not read progressive arguments as an easy way to roll inexperienced teams. I never ran theory/Ks so I’m willing to vote off of them just not the most experienced evaluating them.

2nd Rebuttal: Preferably putting down some defence

Cross: Don't care, Didn't ask

Don't Be: Rude

Timing: Please time yourself, I will also be timing and stop flowing after 4 minutes. Feel free to ask what impacts/responses I didn't flow but I’ll probably just tell you.

Disclosure: I will always disclose unless like tab tells me not to and is sitting in the room. Not disclosing is stupid and not conducive to actually learning. Just hang out and I’ll either disclose or just think out loud what my thoughts on the round are.

Make judging easy for me:

-Signpost

-Warrant

-Weigh

-Collapse

-Cleanly Extend: Not just card names. If it's dropped it's donezo.

I enjoy some banter in speeches (this doesn't mean be mean) and big fan of thought experiments

I'll give +.25 speaks for chess or footie references

I have judged speech and debate events for the past 13 years. My son was in Congress.

General thoughts

Regardless of the event, I expect professionalism and preparation from all competitors. Showing up unprepared or engaging in unprofessional behavior wastes your time, my time, as well as that of the other competitors and your coaches.

Public Forum Debate & LD

Although I’ve judged PFD more than LD, I feel comfortable with both events. I appreciate assertiveness but actively dislike aggression. Clarity is extremely important. Don’t be cocky: instead, try to convey how deeply you’ve researched the topic. I always leave my personal opinions on the topic aside in order to be fair to all debaters.

Interp/speech

I started off my judging career judging interp, even though lately I’ve been judging debate more. Regardless of the piece, you have to give your best when performing. Delivery must always be clear and interesting. Tech should be smooth and reflect the norms of the event itself (tech in DI is very different than tech in HI).

The best time to invest in a good internet connection was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

I'm a truth over tech parent judge with about 3 years experience, and fairly active in the season. I'm a lay judge that flows, but not to any internationally recognized standard, and definitely not in more than one color. My writing is scruffy, sometimes I can't read my own notes. If you see me drawing big circles or boxes, it's because someone just made some ridiculous claim, and it's rude to laugh - so I scribble a shape instead.

Triangle - only a Muppet would say that.

Rectangle - only a Muppet would believe that.

Oval - only a Muppet would have found this in the deepest parts of the internet and think it was worth repeating with a straight face.

I'm a scientist, a software engineer, and yes, that thing behind me is a tower made from IKEA lack tables holding two 3D printers.

New to judging and coaching high school debate while experienced in collegiate debate as a participant. Argumentation is more important than speed. I enjoy strong arguments spoken with tact, not aggression. Efficient cross-examination and attention to flow are important to me. Happy to provide feedback when requested.

I am a parent / lay judge. I try my best to flow with a flow tool I've used for the past 3 years I've been judging. I don't really understand theory and would really prefer if you not run it. I will review team balance (teamwork) and clock management for close matches. The pro should convince me that the resolution should be adopted, and the con should prove that the resolution should be rejected. Speakers must appeal to the widest possible audience through sound reasoning, succinct organization, credible evidence, and clear delivery.

I have been speaking professionally in the corporate and academic spaces for 15 years, and I've taught rhetoric and argument for over a decade at both the university and high school level.

With that background, my focus is on actual debate of ideas through well-formed, well-delivered arguments. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, and I expect to be persuaded, not bombarded with as much information as possible.

I do not want to hear spreading. I will drop you for attempting it, or simply attempting to speak as fast as possible. Having more arguments does not equate to having a better argument. You don't have to speak slowly--I can keep up--but there should be no speed talking.

Similarly, I have no patience for debating about debating. We participate in Speech and Debate because we believe people can arrive at consensus and solutions through expressing and debating ideas in the real world. We should, therefore, debate about the real issues. I will easily recognize and drop you for debate tricks or arguing the theory of debate/theory shells.

I want to hear clear warranting and impacting from evidence that establishes a logical progression, logic which avoids tautological traps, reductive debater math, and slippery slope/post hoc/complex cause fallacies (PFers, enough nuclear holocaust). I weigh on soundness of cause and effect, not the effects themselves.

I can judge off flow and of course expect weighing, but I'm much more focused on you proving your argument is stronger, not proving to me that your opponent didn't respond correctly, or why it is that I shouldn't choose their argument, so avoid focusing solely on the flow.

Feel free to run k and bring in critical theory, but please know that I have a PhD in critical theory, so if you run it you better be able to prove you know the theory itself and not just some reductive version of it. Proof that you're running a frame you don't understand will get you dropped.

Finally, I expect each competitor to treat their opponent with respect and decency. Any aggressive tactics or bullying (cutting off, talking over in cross, verbal reactions during opponent's speech, etc.) are frowned upon and can lose you the round.