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Palm Classic

2022 — NSDA Campus, CA/US

LD - MS, Nov, JV Paradigm List

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Akshit Aireddy ModernBrain

Abelar-Nizar Ajanovic Cogito Debate

Laura Arenas Isidore Newman Middle School

David Aw Archbishop Mitty

JD Bagley Speechtopia

Last changed on Thu January 13, 2022 at 9:37 AM CDT

General Background

I have an MA in communication studies and have served as an adjunct professor of communication, public speaking, and argumentation at US universities and internationally.

In Beijing, I partnered with private academies to create the first policy debate circuit for private English institutions in China and built communication departments with curricula in public speaking, debate, emotional intelligence, and logical reasoning.

I have been judging and coaching debate for around ten years. My original focus was policy and LD, which I competed in in the early 2000s. More recently I have begun coaching and judging World Schools tournaments including the European Open, Winter Holidays Open, Stanford, and Harvard invitationals.

My students have consistently broken in Worlds tournaments and placed in the top ten of Speaker Awards for ESL students. My expertise in coaching is in public speaking and coherent logical presentation slightly more than debate tactics.

Brief Debate Background

My own experience in debate is around twenty years ago as a policy debater. I won seven state tournaments and two regional championships in a row in my two years competing before going to university. I did not compete in college forensics, choosing instead to pursue positions with political groups and I gave speeches in campaigns and in support of bills I wished to see passed. I even had the opportunity to be a direct sponsor of a bill and speak to a congressional committee. Unfortunately, the bill was shot down. I was an impressive speaker but my opponents had money.

Judge Paradigm

As a judge, my paradigm can generally be categorized as stock issue with elements of policymaker. I believe each motion has clear-cut burdens and that the affirmative or proposition team must meet them to win the round.

I expect the arguments to stay focused on the motion and to understand the motion and the spirit of the motion clearly.

The elements of policymaker can be seen in how much I love the weighing of ads vs. disads and well-designed counter-plans. Are you designing the counter-plan to incorporate or replace and can you clearly elucidate mutual exclusivity? Very fun.

I respect evidence but debates are not won or lost on the strength or deliverance of evidence. If any piece of evidence is presented without analysis of its significance and relationship to the motion and to the debate do not expect me to make those connections for you.

In LD, I come from a time when it was still a pure value debate and the points made were based on a logically reasoned explanation of the value clash with presented values and criteria for upholding that value rather than cut cards of evidence. I still expect "ought" motions to be debates about the existence of moral obligations rather than evidentiary proof of solvency.

I know I sound old when I say that, and I am adaptable, but I do love the difference between an LD debate and a policy debate and hate to see those differences dissolving. That being said, I do still appreciate good evidence and will still decide the round on the major points of clash, burden meeting, and weighing.

I don't like PICs, particularly when the difference is tiny and makes the debate semantic. If I want to affirm the motion, I will vote affirmative. I expect a meaningful clash not manipulating the debate to earn a vote. A PIC suggests that negative has little to offer beyond what the affirmative has already offered. CPs are fine, love a good CP, but I expect it to be mutually exclusive and categorically non-topical.

I have seen and debated Ks... Haven't seen one yet that would justify deciding my vote, mostly because they are poorly presented. Race and gender Ks consistently come across as a way to avoid the actual argument. Present the K if you want to point out poor judgments in language, the motion's perspective, or assumptions, but don't make that an excuse not to engage with the underlying arguments being presented.

And honestly, I've watched debaters try economic K's about capitalism being the source of all evil in the world and must be stopped at all costs. So far, the debaters who tried it have shown that it is impossible to prove without a predetermined ideology. But I'm always willing to hear someone take on the challenge and I think there is potential in this and all K's when presented correctly.

However, leave the anti-humanism out of it if I am your judge. To argue that it is "better" if more humans die is not going to win a debate or turn an impact on my flow.

I think that's enough. Be respectful.

Dayanand Bhojak Monta Vista High School

Brett Boelkens Cogito Debate

Last changed on Thu February 8, 2024 at 9:10 AM PDT

Brett Boelkens

Background

LD/Parliamentary Debate Coach - Cogito Debate — (2021-Present)

LD Brief Publisher - Kankee Briefs — (2019-Present)

Varsity Policy Debater — UNLV (2019-2021)

Varsity Policy/LD Debater — NWCTA (2017-2019)

TLDR

-Put me (brettboelkens@gmail.com) on the email chain (yes, even if its LD)

-Not a good K hack judge - I don’t know as much lit and think framework args are true. I won't not vote for a K, BUT don't be mad if I miss something or think aff centric rejoinder is cool

-Line by line muy importante. Keep speeches organized if at all possible and try to clean it up if you can.

-Tech > truth - I try to not intervene unless someone is intentionally excluding someone from the debate space

-Signpost please

-I will yell “CLEAR” on Zoom if you’re unclear. If I can’t understand you, I won’t be blamed for less the suburb flows.

-Theory on any issue is okay, BUT slow down and give extra pen time theory. This includes more policy oriented arguments like ptx theory, but not LD trix like permissibility or NIBS.

-None of my preferences are hard rules and are just what I am biased towards. I will vote on any issue if need be

-Inserting rehighlighted ev is cool

-Write prep down on Zoom chat

-Tell me if I need extra paper for say an long K overview

-Creativity in quality arguments is rewarded

-Quote I stole from Gomez:

I will not give up my ballot to someone else. I will not evaluate arguments about actions taken when I was not in the room or from previous rounds. I will not vote for arguments about debaters as people. I will always evaluate the debate based on the arguments made during the round and which team did the better debating. Teams asking me not to flow or wanting to play video games, or any other thing that is not debate are advised to strike me. If it is unclear what "is not debate" means, strike me.

-I'm chill and don't care if you need a second for tech issues or to take care of something

-Quote I stole from Danban that is somehow now relevant, “ [I] won't vote for any argument that promotes sedition.”

-If you have any questions about my paradigm / RFD, please email me or just ask in person.

Disadvantages

-I’m pro ptx DA gang though to be honest 99% of them are made up and don’t make sense

-Recency for ev helps. For example, please update your July econ UQ answers you cut at camp

-Utilize DA turns case and link turns case arguments more

Counterplans

-I usually err neg on CP theory since borderline abusive fiat debates can be fun

-Its probably best to functional and textual competition

-I think CP's with internal net benefits are neato

-Intrinsic and severance perms are more acceptable if the CP isn't as theoretically legitimate

-I’m cool if you tell me to judge kick the CP, but the 2AR can object if they want to

Kritiks

-Wouldn't suggest running them in front of me

-Ks should have specific links to the aff

-Links of omission aren’t a thing

-I like more consequence centric K debate (i.e. cap good/bad) as opposed to high theory Baudy quackery

Theory / T

-Hot take - most T args are rubbish except T-FMWK.

- Current thoughts on common theory issues

-Competing interpretations good and most affs T should be read against aren’t reasonable

-Functional limits args aren’t convincing if the plan is able to spike out of common DA's

-Condo good

-PICS good

-International fiat good

-Consult Process CP bad

-Perfcon not necessarily bad, but does likely justify severing representations

-PIKS bad

-Word PIKS bad

-RVIs bad

-Disclosure good, but probably not good enough to be something worthwhile voting on

-Caselists and specific explanations of what can / cannot be read under a certain interp are helpful

CX Specific Notes

-I think T-Substantial gets a bad rap - its likely necessary against most fringe affs unless you’re going for the topic K or disad, or very contrived CPs (not that there’s anything wrong with that

-I default to util = trutil and think teams running structural violence affs still need to answer disads regardless of the framework debate

LD Specific Notes

-I don't care if it's a lay debate or not, set up an email chain.

-Separate theory under/overview jazz from solvency and/or framework arguments

-Nailbomb affs are bad - theoretical spikes aren’t super justified

-Same with chunks analytical paragraphs that suck to flow - separate args please

-Since LD is weird, I’m cool with new theory args at any point in the debate if it is justified (e.g. judge kick the CP or the 2NR reexplaining the K as a PIK). Otherwise, try to introduce almost all theory arguments to the 1AC, 1NC, and 1AR

-I know a lot about whatever the current topic may be even though I do CX - you don't need to over explain stuff and can be somewhat fast and loose when explaining certain topic specific knowledge

-If you're second flight, I'm down if you come in and watch first flight. Otherwise, please be there when first flight ends, and know who your opponent is in case I don't know where they are.

-quote from Alderete I liked “LAWs Specific* References to The Terminator will be considered empirical evidence. References to The Matrix will not, because that is fiction.”

KD Bond The Meadows School

Last changed on Mon February 14, 2022 at 8:26 AM EDT

Hi, I'm KD! I debated on the national circuit in high school for Meadows. Check with me if you have any questions, but I'm sure you're good to do what you want.

2022 Update: Run what you want! But please impact your arguments to me very clearly. I'm easily confused. Thank you!

Slightly longer version:

2020 Update:

1. "Warming Good" arguments make me sad. That being said, I will vote for them.

2. You do not get to ask for a marked document outside of cx/prep time.

Important Preface--I wrote most of what's below freshly out of high school. I care a lot less about what you say now. Just debate however you want and have fun :)

TL;DR:
I mostly ran policy-style arguments and kritiks, and am most comfortable with util/k debates. Here are my favorite kind of debates in order:

Policy-style/Kritikal
Theory
Framework aka phil. (I do not like or understand these very well. If you want to run this, you will NEED to slow down and explain it very very very well.)

Now more specifically-

Policy-style arguments
These are my favorite debates.
I like pics! They’re cool, strategic, and super interesting most of the time. I like word pics a lot- I think discourse shapes reality is true, so if you’re going to go for “discourse doesn’t shape reality” explain it super well.

Kritiks
“I try my best to not be biased in favor of these arguments but that is impossible since I am a dirty liberal who loves to debate oppression. I am not smart enough to claim I know a whole lot about the literature because there is too much for me to read about. That being said please tell me about what K you want to run and I’ll say if it is a go or not okay?” – From Luis Sandoval’s wiki and I agree 100%.

Theory
I am aight with theory.
Although I think friv theory is funny, I'll feel bad voting on it and will be much more open to just defense in responding to it.
Weigh standards!
I used to be super into tricks, so if that's your jam, go for it

Defaults-

Competing interps
No RVI
Drop the debater
Fairness/Education are voters
In round > potential abuse

Framework
If you run a framework that is non-consequentialist, you are going to have to explain it super well. Assume that I am confused. Especially in the 1ar/2nr please explain why impacts do not matter realllly really clearly. I know it seems obvious to you, but it is definitely not obvious to me.

I am very sympathetic to Ideal Theory Bad K’s. I think they’re true. Your answers to those K’s are going to have to be really clear and well-explained for me to buy them.
Honestly, I’m not sure framework debaters would pref me but if you did there here you go-
Framework stuff I understand

Constitution first
Discourse/Reps First
History First
Oppression First
Most fws that are consequentialist, but not straight up util

How to get good speaks
Be nice! I like sass, but being rude during cx and yelling at your opponent isn't sass! Nice is not mutually exclusive with being dominant.

I am a Ukrainian feminist who loves bad puns. Any combination will result in good speaks. Making puns that relate to the topic, references to Spongebob, Fairly OddParents, Portal, Archer, OITNB, Arrested Development or Psych will up your speaks too
Here is a general list of things that’ll make me give you points
1. Humor
2. Sass
3. Flashing Evidence Quickly
4. Evidence Comparison/Good Link Explanation
5. Being like a nice person to your opponent- I found that my favorite rounds were those against friends where we were able to just be chill, be nice and have fun
6. Answering abusive arguments well without theory
7. Reading your opponent’s evidence and making specific responses that reference their evidence

2. Rudeness- There’s a difference bw being rude and being sassy, and I’ll probably make a face if you cross that line so don’t worry too much about it bc everyone crosses the line at some point.
3. Being pompous
4. Trying to conceal your arguments somehow. You know what a spike is, you know what skep is, we both know you’re wasting your opponent’s CX and that’s not cool.

speaker points

taken from Marnon Navarro's wiki

30 - not happening

29.0- advanced

28.5 – average

28- needs some improvement

26 – lowest, there was inappropriate stuff in round

Stefan Boone BASIS Independent Silicon Valley 6 rounds

Last changed on Sun January 23, 2022 at 5:30 AM EDT

add me to the chain: stefan.boone12@gmail.com

Frontlining:

I believe that defense should be sticky. My likelihood of believing/accepting frontlines decreases as the round progresses. For instance, if a response is made in 1st rebuttal, a basic response to it in the second rebuttal would suffice, but a more well-explained response in second summary would be required.

This means that I think it is strategic to frontline in the second rebuttal. But you certainly shouldn't feel obligated to.

Extensions of Defense:

With a three minute summary, I think it's not too difficult to extend defense in the summary speeches. So please do so. At all times, extending defense is a great way of reinforcing your point and persuading me more. (However, dropped defense sticks to infinity if it goes unresponded to by the other team)

More specifically, you must extend defense in first summary if they frontline their arguments in second rebuttal, or else I think your defense is essentially dropped.

Second summary should definitely be extending defense and responding to frontlines that are made, but I will allow defensive extensions from second rebuttal to second final focus, because I think frontlining is super important to debate. But, again, the more you repeat/extend an argument, the more likely it is that I understand it and I factor it into my decision.

Extensions of Offense:

an extension of an argument is only accepted if BOTH the link AND the impact are extended. Extend the warrants behind both of these parts as well. This means that if I don't have BOTH of these parts of an argument extended in both the second half speeches, I won't vote for it unless there are severely unusual circumstances

keep your summaries and final foci consistent based on the most important issues in the round (they should be about the same arguments)

Please consolidate the debate as early as possible (2nd rebuttal + First summary) into the most important arguments, then focus on those arguments. I prefer 1 well-explained, well-extended, well-weighed argument over 100 that aren't done very well.

Weighing:

don't just weigh using random buzz words, do comparative weighing between your offense and your opponents' to help me vote for you. If you just repeat your impact and attach a "magnitude" or "scope" to it, I won't evaluate it as weighing.

Evidence Stuff:

I will not call evidence until it is absolutely crucial to my decision. This means that if I don't understand your argument by the end of the round, (link-story or impact scenario), I will not call for your evidence to clarify it, you just won't generate much offense. Please warrant well With this in mind, there are three scenarios where I will call for round-changing evidence.

1. I am explicitly told to call for it as an implication of an indict.

2. There are competing interepretations from the teams and neither team gives me a compelling reason to prefer theirs.

3. The meaning of the evidence has been changed/misconstrued when extending it throughout the round.

Speed:

You can go pretty quickly in terms of speed for a PF round, but don't be full on spreading unless a) you can be super clear while doing it and b) your opponents are ok with it. I really won't tolerate it if speed is used to exclude more local/inexperienced debaters from competing.

Tech vs Truth:

i'm more tech than truth. But, I'll have a lower threshold for analytical responses when an argument is super out there, and be more likely to buy the defense it. If you wanna go crazy, do so, but make sure you're not misconstruing evidence, and explain your argument and the warrants behind it super well

Miscellaneous:

i vote for the neg on presumption unless warranting given for a different way of presuming.

i will always prefer the more clear, specific, and well-warranted argument.

i am mostly inexperienced with theory and K debate. I don't think you should run it in front of me.

Speaks - ill give the highest the tournament allows me to

I cannot keep up with speeds over around 900 words /four minute. Give a speech doc if u plan on going faster.

please ask any questions you may have before the round

Chance Boreczky Hire 8 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 10, 2024 at 12:21 AM PDT

C_boreczky75413@berkeley.edu

Brief update for Stanford LD competitors - I primarily judge circuit and CA-circuit policy debate, but much of the below should apply. I'm not primed for any category of LD arguments over another, and don't have an inherent preference for circuit arguments and styles, but I'm very open to them.

Four years of policy competition, at a solid mix of circuit and regional tournaments. I generally do enough judging these days to be pretty up-to-date on circuit args.

Generally comfortable with speed but I tend to have issues comprehending overly breathy spreading. And please, for everyone's sake, make sure your tags are clear and don't try to give theory analytics at full speed. You can do whatever feels right, of course, but I can only decide based on what I catch.

Broadly, I default to an offense-defense paradigm and a strict technical focus. It's not exactly hard to get me to depart from those defaults, however. I'll vote for anything, and it doesn't take any 'extra' work to get me to endorse performance advocacies, critical affirmative advocacies, etc - just win your offense, and framework if applicable.

I'd love to be a truth over tech judge, but I just don't believe that's an acceptable default orientation for my ballot. That said, engaging with that preference and doing it well is a pretty convincing approach with me. This most often comes across in impact calc.

Evidence quality is extremely important to me. I tend to grant much more weight to card texts and warrants than to tags, and I'm perfectly happy to drop ev that doesn't have warrants matching the tag, if you articulate why I should do so. That said, I don't discount evidence just because I perceive it to be low-quality, and if it gets conceded, well, it might as well be true.

My bar for framework and T/theory tends to depend on what you're asking me to do. Convincing me to drop a states CP on multiple actor fiat bad requires fairly little offense. Convincing me to drop a team on A-Spec is going to be an uphill battle, usually.

Naren Borjigin Academy of Higher Learning

Kate Burnite La Jolla Country Day School

Last changed on Tue February 8, 2022 at 7:01 AM PDT

Hi all -

I'm a 2020 grad from the University of San Diego who debated for George Washington High School in Denver, CO all four years. I now work in fundraising and philanthropy. As a debater, I mainly did LD, PF every once in a while, and congress during nationals.
I have no background on this topic. :)

Overview: I will listen to any argument you want to make! I need some sort of framework, extensions, explicit links between offense and framework, and to understand your speaking style, whatever that may be.

Specifically (and written in 2018):

On case structure: give me an evaluative mechanism. It can be value/criterion based (although I do love a good value debate) but you have to give me something. A big part of my ballot is weighing between the evaluative mechanism; offense under a mechanism is secondary to which mechanism I should prefer. Please also flush it out- err on the side of over-explaining your mechanism.

On offense: I’ll listen to anything you want to read. For full disclosure, I focused mostly on more traditional offense, but I loved the idea of kritikal positions in addition to more policy offense. Make the link to framework clear- I won’t do it for you. Also extend your stuff, which means give me the author, a tag, a simple explanation, and why it matters.

Theory: I dig it! Please read your theory meaningfully. I am familiar with the traditional structure of a shell – if you want to do something different make sure you’re telling me how and why it should affect the ballot.

Disclosure theory: Read it if you want, I’ll weigh it like any other shell, but you should know that I think it's a bad standard to set for debate and will not be impressed by it.

Tricks or spikes: Love these! Please make sure that they are read clearly enough for me to flow. The "trick" can't be that no one heard it the first time you read it!

K debate: Totally fine. If it’s a basic K I’ll probably have a basic familiarity with it, if its super unique explain it a little more thoroughly.

Plan/CP/Disad stuff: Try not to hold your opponent to any crazy standards about their offense under your plan though. You still have to give me some sort of framework.

Speaks: My absolute favorite thing about debate is the public speaking aspect. If you're spreading, change up the pace on important things. If you aren't, make your speeches compelling and appealing. I am a very active listener, so I will nod if I understand or make a confused face if I am confused. I tend to give higher speaker points than lower.

I love judging. I love debate. I love writing really thorough ballots and giving feedback. You can always email me with questions before round or while doing your prefs with questions, or you can email me after round for extra feedback and explanation- kate.burnite@gmail.com

Kattichka Cazeau Irvington High School 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat January 20, 2024 at 12:43 PM EDT

Pronouns: (she/her)

Preferred name: Kat

I would like to be on the email chain: cazeaupatricia@gmail.com

*****IF YOU READ/REFERENCE SEXUALLY EXPLICIT/VIOLENT CONTENT I AM NOT THE JUDGE FOR YOU.*****

Debated at Liberty, and I debated policy for 4 years in high school (shout out to Long Branch High!).

My credentials ig:

- 2021 NDT third team

- 2022 NDT First Round (TOP TEN YERRRR)

- First Liberty invite to the Kentucky Round Robin

- Long Branch High volunteer Policy Coach

- Judged Policy, LD, Parli, PF, and speech events

Kritiks:

I'm a black woman with an immigrant background. Do with that what you will.

If you're a K team, I'm a huge fan of K's! I'm familiar with: Cap K, Thoreau, Antiblackness, Afropess, Afrofuturism, Orientalism, Bataille, Nietzsche, Fem, Baudrillard, and I'm sure I'm missing others. Just bc I'm comfortable with these, don't be sure I'll know all of your buzz-words and theory. Explanations are good, detailed explanations are best.

If you win the following, you'll win the debate:

1.) Give me the Link. Just because I consider the truth doesn't mean that you could assert that the Aff is racist, sexist, neoliberal, or whatever without a specific link. If you can prove to me why the foundations of the Aff are suspect and make your impacts worse, you've done your job and the link debate is yours.

2.) Impact weighing. I need clash and impact comparison. Sure, tell me what your impact is and why it matters, but explain why it matters in relation to your opponent's impacts (ie: structural violence is happening now, extinction is far off. Immediacy outweighs).

3.) Alt explanation. I gotta know what it does. In explaining the Alt, you need to explain how it's different from the SQUO, and why a permutation wouldn't immediately resolve your impacts and the links. If you don't need to win the Alt, just gotta explain why not.

4.) Judge Instruction. Give it to be straight, what do you want me to do? What is my role in the discussion/in this competitive space? What are the implications of the ballot?

Do these things, and you're golden. :^)

K-Affs:

Do most of the same stuff as above, only difference is that you should have substantive answers to framework. Again, don't just assert that FW is sexist, racist, whatever WITHOUT a reason why. I jive with K-Affs, and I think performances could be powerful. Just make sure everything is done with a purpose.

Your counter-interpretation is the framing for my ballot as well as the model of debate you advocate for. I'll vote on any, esp if the other team drops it.

ROB's are muy importante in a framework debate.

I'm guilty of wildly-long overviews-- but for your sake pls no more than 2 minutes. Pls.

Policy, because I can't abandon my first love:

I love me some tasty DA's and CP's, as long as the internal link chain makes sense.

I'm sympathetic to Condo as an arg if it's 6+ off. Anything below that and you're on your own, my friend.

Impact turns are cool. I'll vote for anything as long as it isn't death/extinction good and structural violence/racism good.

Framework:

1.) FAIRNESS ISN'T AN IMPACT! It's an internal link to education.

2.) Clash is the most convincing impact to me.

3.) Predictability is sort of a toss-up. If you didn't prepare for Cap or other K's that you knew would come with the topic after the first few tournaments, that's on you. But I will vote for it if you tell me how predictability makes you all better debaters.

Please do not put me in any T or Theory debates. I can't do it.

***PF***

>Impact calc is MUY IMPORTANTE!!! Weigh between your and your opponent's impacts, please. Explain why you outweigh.

>Ask QUESTIONS in Cross-Fire! This is two-fold: 1. "[explains case]... what do you say to that?" isn't a question, and 2. Being POLITE when asking questions is key. Please don't bully the other team.

>Tell me how to write my ballot, and what you're going to win on in this debate.

>I'm a policy person so I don't see a problem with counterplans in PF. This being said, "This is PF, counterplans aren't allowed!" isn't an argument. Attack it instead.

>In addition, speed isn't a problem for me. But do recognize that if the other team makes it a voter, you have to justify your use of speed in that instance.

>And please, PLEASE, answer as many of the opponent's arguments WHILE extending your case. Chances are they didn't answer everything you said.

>Finally... have funsies. :^)

If you're racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic, rude, or discriminatory in any way toward your partner or opponent, I will stop the round and your speaks are getting docked. Behaviors like that make the debate space less hospitable. And, yes, that includes extremely 'punking' the other team.

Rhetoric is a voter. If it frames the debate and it's a big enough deal to potentially ruin your debate experience, I'll vote on it.

HAVE FUN!

Archana Chaturvedi The Golden State Academy None

Tracy Chen Medea Creek Middle

Wei Chen Redwood MS

Natalia Contreras NSU University School None

Obinna Dennar Hire 6 rounds

Mattias Durán Speechtopia

Alysson Farris Redwood MS

Samantha Fritz Hawken

Last changed on Mon September 25, 2023 at 9:40 AM EDT

Experience/about me:

I competed in HS PF my senior year and USX for two years before that. I made top 48 at NSDAs in 2016. I coached HS and MS debate for a year, and this is my 7th year judging LD. I typically have judged local tournaments in Ohio, so not all of my judging experience is on tabroom. If I had to guess, I've judged well over 100 rounds. I competed in collegiate forensics all four years of undergraduate, and I'm now coaching high school ethics bowl, so I've never really left the forensic community. I'm also currently a philosophy PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, so if you have questions about phil or want suggestions, I'm happy to help. My research is in political philosophy, so I'm familiar with the standard FWs.

Preferences:

I'm a traditional judge, and I can handle a bit of speed, but absolutely no spreading or anything approaching spreading (if spreading is 100% speed and normal talking is 0%, I'm probably good with max, 60-70% if it's crystal clear). I'm pretty unfamiliar with circuit debate, so I haven't seen Ks/Theory/etc. to know what my preferences there are. I'm open to anything that's clearly explained and warranted.

I prefer when debaters are able to navigate me through the forest. What I mean by that is: a lot happens in an hour long debate; please help guide me through the end. Tell me how to weigh different impacts, tell me what's important, tell me big picture things, tell me how things are/aren't related, etc. Help me see the forest through the trees (I love that line so much, I have a tattoo to remind me of it).

I'm also really excited when debaters engage with the philosophy. Sometimes this just can't happen, e.g. both competitors use the same fw, but I like when I have to think and pay attention to the arguments.

Make judging as easy as possible for me. This is especially true for key voting issues. Use them to tell me how to vote and why. It's better if I don't intervene, and the best way for me not to intervene is for you to give me a way to vote.

LD uses philosophy. I'm a philosophy phd student. If you get the phil wrong, I will tell you on the ballot, but unless your opponent points it out, I will not use that against you (because philosophy is hard, badly written, and often open to interpretation).

Accessibility is the most important thing for me. If you make a round unsafe for me or your opponent, I will give you the loss. Just be nice to me and your opponents, and you don't need to worry. People come to this activity with a broad range of backgrounds, so unnecessary jargon/technical terms is a knock against you. If you don't understand something your opponent says, ASK!!! Example: It is way better to ask what deontology means if you don't know than trying to fake it or use context clues (this actually happened in a round that I judged)

Please use correct pronouns for everyone, and give TW/CW if necessary. If you're not sure if something deserves a CW, give one anyway. Better to be safe than sorry. Side note, I will always use "they" on the ballot.

Feel free to reach out via email for questions about the round or for philosophy recommendations, and I will always give some solid anarchist philosopher recs: slfritz@sas.upenn.edu

Regina Gluskin Medea Creek Middle

Orietta Gonzalez Medea Creek Middle

Jyleesa Hampton Presentation High School

Last changed on Tue January 2, 2024 at 10:43 PM UTC

Assistant Director of Speech and Debate at Presentation High School and Public Admin phd student. I debated policy, traditional ld and pfd in high school (4 years) and in college at KU (5 years). Since 2015 I've been assistant coaching debate at KU. Before and during that time I've also been coaching high school (policy primarily) at local and nationally competitive programs.

Familiar with wide variety of critical literature and philosophy and public policy and political theory. Coached a swath of debaters centering critical argumentation and policy research. Judge a reasonable amount of debates in college/hs and usually worked at some camp/begun research on both topics in the summer. That said please don't assume I know your specific thing. Explain acronyms, nuance and important distinctions for your AFF and NEG arguments.

The flow matters. Tech and Truth matter. I obvi will read cards but your spin is way more important.

I think that affs should be topical. What "TOPICAL" means is determined by the debate. I think it's important for people to innovate and find new and creative ways to interpret the topic. I think that the topic is an important stasis that aff's should engage. I default to competing interpretations - meaning that you are better off reading some kind of counter interpretation (of terms, debate, whatever) than not.

I think Aff's should advocate doing something - like a plan or advocacy text is nice but not necessary - but I am of the mind that affirmative's should depart from the status quo.

Framework is fine. Please impact out your links though and please don't leave me to wade through the offense both teams are winning in that world.

I will vote on theory. I think severance is prolly bad. I typically think conditionality is good for the negative. K's are not cheating (hope noone says that anymore). PICS are good but also maybe not all kinds of PICS so that could be a thing.

I think competition is good. Plan plus debate sucks. I default that comparing two things of which is better depends on an opportunity cost. I am open to teams forwarding an alternative model of competition.

Disads are dope. Link spin can often be more important than the link cards. But
you need a link. I feel like that's agreed upon but you know I'm gone say it anyway.

Just a Kansas girl who loves a good case debate. but seriously, offensive and defensive case args can go a long way with me and generally boosters other parts of the off case strategy.

When extending the K please apply the links to the aff. State links are basic but for some reason really poorly answered a lot of the time so I mean I get it. Links to the mechanism and advantages are spicier. I think that if you're reading a K with an alternative that it should be clear what that alternative does or does not do, solves or turns by the end of the block. I'm sympathetic to predictable 1ar cross applications in a world of a poorly explained alternatives. External offense is nice, please have some.

I acknowledge debate is a public event. I also acknowledge the concerns and material implications of some folks in some spaces as well. I will not be enforcing any recording standards or policing teams to debate "x" way. I want debaters at in all divisions, of all argument proclivities to debate to their best ability, forward their best strategy and answers and do what you do.

Card clipping and cheating is not okay so please don't do it.
NEW YEAR NEW POINT SYSTEM (college) - 28.6-28.9 good, 28.9-29.4 really good, 29.4+ bestest.

This trend of paraphrasing cards in PFD as if you read the whole card = not okay and educationally suspect imo.

Middle/High Schoolers: You smart. You loyal. I appreciate you. And I appreciate you being reasonable to one another in the debate.

I wanna be on the chain: jyleesahampton@gmail.com

Audrey Israel Prestige Debate Academy

Elizabeth Kamilar ModernBrain

Babli Kar Gupta West Ranch High School

Mathew Karnyski Academy of Higher Learning

Manpreet Kaur The Golden State Academy

Last changed on Sat January 15, 2022 at 6:24 AM PDT

Online Debate: In the event, you get cut out, I will ask that you resume your speech from whatever your opponent or I last flowed.

Etiquette:

- Do not attack your opponents, attack their arguments.

- If you are rude, offensive, disrespectful, racist, sexist, etc I will tank your speaks and possibly drop you if it's a big enough issue. Debate is competitive, but that doesn't mean you can be mean.

If there is a problem or you think something is wrong (like shady evidence), tell me ASAP so we can pause the debate if needed and solve the issue. If there is a disagreement about the content of a card, I will call for the card at the end of the debate.

Debate:

- LD!! Framework: I want to see strong justifications (please have a card, don't just run framework without having a card, it seems like you haven't researched the topic or don't care about the debate at all) during the framework portion and strong links to the framework throughout the debate.

- When you extend, don't just extend tags, extend cards + impacts or just impact in case time is low.

- When you are making refutations use blocks and evidence! If you don't have blocks, please make some blocks. I like evidence, but I will settle for analytical arguments if both sides don't have warrants.

- Signpost during your speeches and cite the year & author (the last name is fine if you want to give credentials to weigh the evidence that's great!) of your cards. It's ridiculous how many people don't, I'm literally just hearing the resolution and I have no clue what the common arguments so if you start refuting things without specifying what it is, I'm not gonna try to play connect the dots to figure out what you're doing. It's not hard, I'm sure most of you can do it.

- Once you drop something, you cannot come back to it. *If your impacts are better, I might disregard. If you're good on the flow, you have good impact calc, but you drop one non-crucial argument, I might disregard.

- If you bring up an argument in cx but don't later in the round, then it's useless.

Policy!!

- Tech > Truth

- Slow down on analytics and tags!

DA

- specify on link stories

- Do the impact comparison so I don't have to do all the work thx

CP

- tell me what the NB is and how it solves!

- do the line by line well

Speaks/Drop:

- debate skills > talking pretty, you can be a polished speaker AND a flow debater

- If you bring up new evidence or new arguments in a later speech where the opponent does not have a chance to respond, I will tank your speaks (you won't walk out with anything higher than 24) same thing for new evidence, don't bring new evidence when the other team will not get to respond. That's bad faith and I will drop your speaks and potentially even your side if it becomes a key argument.

- I really really hate when you tell me how I should be voting, I am pretty sure I can vote for myself, so use that time to build your arguments, your links, etc.

- I am fine with speed, be like Eminem if that's what ya want, but I do not want to watch spit fly and just hear heaving. If you are going too fast for me to understand, I'll just say clear. If you don't slow down, I won't be able to flow so when you extend or cross-apply, your side will be missing pieces

- If you make me laugh, it will boost your speaks :))

Taehyun Kim Granada Hills Charter High School

Chirayu Kohli Granada Hills Charter High School

Last changed on Sat February 12, 2022 at 12:43 AM PDT

Former Debater at GHCHS, I have done LD and PF, pretty well versed in both.

LD:

If you are a novice/ just in general PLEASE TRY NOT TO DROP ARGUMENTS AND DON'T BRING UP DROPPED ARGS. I really hate rounds that devolve into me having to weigh who dropped more arguments. If your aff I get that the 1AR is a hard speech especially if you are new but please just don't drop stuff, if you do manage to give a fire( I mean fire) 1AR where you go line by line and shred your opponents case I will boost your speaks/ take that into consideration against the 1NR. I know traditional LD pretty well and I think it's great BUT I would prefer to evaluate rounds where there is less emphasis on stock args and maybe something new and unique. I'm a big fan of novices reading somewhat progressive stuff(you have to learn somewhere)BUT WITH THAT SAID, IF YOU ARE GONNA READ IT YOU BETTER KNOW WHAT YOUR READING AND BE PREPARED TO DEFEND IT. CP's, DA's, K's, go for it if you want. If you can make the round interesting (even if you lose) by reading an interesting case, I will raise your speaks. I enjoy the line by line/ when you tear apart your opponents arguments, go for the kill, don't just put one response on their case try to put 2 or 3. If you go for traditional, values are critical, tell me who's framework I should weigh in the round. If neither of you guys put forward any framework or say something stupid for framework, I will default Util., so if your case emphasizes the minority and you don't emphasize framework, you will lose. Techy truth, I definitely lean more towards tech but I mean if you say "Hitler was a great guy", you will get dropped. I don't flow cross so bring it up in your rebuttal if it's important. Basically, do what you want I will evaluate the rounds how I see fit but if you make it interesting, expect higher speaks.

REVISION FOR PALM CLASSIC 2022

I am now 2 years out of high school debate and while I still keep up, I'm not as deep into the literature as I used to be. If your a novice who is confused on what I mean by literature, fear not, I will evaulate the round according to the framework that remains the most in tact at the end of the round. What I mean by that is make sure to defend your framework and disagree with your opponents, specifically if there is inherent clash between the two. Now if you are someone looking to read something more progressive or complicated, feel free. I'll listen to whatever you have to say but I also need to be able to comprehend the theory and wrap my head around it, as does your opponent. So prior to every round if you plan to read anything other than the traditional FW/ values debate, including but not limited to; plans, CP's, K's, DA's, you must confirm that your opponent is aware and I am aware of what you are reading. If you are a first year novice trying to read some uber complicated K or theory that you barley understand, just don't do it. Try to be in round as soon as possible so we can all get started promptly, be respectful to one another and of others. My goal in round is to facilitate education both in and out of round and I'll attempt to reflect this in my RFD. Last quick note is my computer has been having camera issues so I'll try to turn my camera on in round but if it is not working, I'll only have audio and not video. A couple other quick things for in round are, please make sure you are clearly signposting with tag-lines so I can have everything on the flow. Please please weigh your arguments against one another and make sure to engage if their is clash, don't make me make the arguments for you.

PF:

Make sure to collapse. I know the summary speech is hard I was 1st speaker too, but make sure you start collapsing on the important issues in summary and start weighing there too. In cross, don't be an a hole, I'm not fond of hellish cross where one team is screaming down their opponents(or both teams) and it will bother me. These rounds are short and there is a lot of info you have to fit in so try to make them interesting.

Kim Kraft OES 8 rounds

Eva Lamberson Hawken

Last changed on Thu April 25, 2024 at 2:28 PM EDT

last chance - i will have much less tolerance for circuit debaters trolling traditional debaters at this tournament, sorry. i don't mind what you read as long as you're not going too fast or being intentionally obtuse when you're asked to explain it

i have recently shortened this paradigm cuz it was getting really ranty - if you would like to see my thoughts on specific arguments, feel free to look at my rant doc

Intro

I’m Eva (they/them) - please just call me Eva in round instead of judge. I did traditional LD (Canfield ‘18) in HS and have coached since graduating. I primarily coach traditional debate, but when I bring kids onto the circuit they typically go for theory and K heavy strats
Affiliations: Hawken, VBI
Email: evathelamberson@gmail.com put me on the chain but speechdrop is better :) i think docs are a good practice even for lay debaters and i would prefer if you send analytics

Sidenote: I judge every weekend in the season, but Ohio doesn’t use Tabroom so it doesn’t show up :( I've probably judged an additional 500+ local rounds

TL;DR FOR PREFS i have come to the conclusion that i actually care very little what you read and hold a minimal amount of dogma re: what arguments should be read and how they should be read. i am good for whatever barring anything offensive, obviously. i have judged & voted for basically everything - if you have good strategy and good judge instruction, i will be happy to be in the back of your round whether you're reading the most stock larp stuff ever or tricky phil or friv theory or a non-t aff, etc. read the rant doc if you're interested in my specific thoughts on specific types of arguments. basically, do whatever you want, seriously

i believe debate is a game and it's not my job to tell you how to play it; i will be happiest when you are debating the way you enjoy the most and are best at

i consider myself a fairly flexible judge and try not to be biased toward any particular style. however, in very close clash rounds, i may lean towards arguments i find to be simpler/easier to vote for or that i understand better. to be open about my biases, i will say that i find myself voting for theory, phil, and tricks more than ks and all the above more than policy

accessibility:

round safety is very important to me, and if there is a genuine safety concern that is preventing you from engaging in the round, i would prefer it be round ending as opposed to a shell - if you are feeling unsafe in a round, please feel free to email or FB message me and I will intervene in the way you request.

pls give me a heads up if you're gonna read explicit discussions of self harm or suicide. you can still read them in front of me but i would like a warning as early as possible - email or messenger is the fastest way to reach me during tournaments
DO NOT try to SHAKE MY HAND. on this subject, i am a huge germaphobe - i will be wearing a mask probably until the end of time, don't worry i'm not sick, i just don't want to get sick. if there are covid precautions or anything like that you want us to take in the round, please vocalize this and we will make that happen (open windows, masking, etc.)

Jia Hui Lee Hire 6 rounds

Betty Liu Speechtopia

Joan Liu Mission San Jose High School None

Yue Liu Prestige Debate Academy

Vishnu Maddipatla The Meadows School

Greg Malis Isidore Newman Middle School

Last changed on Tue January 2, 2024 at 10:28 AM CDT

I teach math and serve as chair of the math dept at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. I retired from coaching high school at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. I coached Policy and LD (as well as most every speech event) for over 25 years on the local and national circuit. In the spring of 2020, we started a Middle School team at Newman and have been coaching on the middle school level since then.

I judge only a handful of rounds each year. You will need to explain topic specific abbreviations, acronyms, etc. a little more than you would normally. You will also need to go slower than normal, especially for the first 30 sec of each speech so I can adjust to you.

Email chain: gregmalis@newmanschool.org

My philosophy is in three sections. Section 1 applies to both policy and LD. Section 2 is policy-specific. Section 3 is LD-specific.

Section 1: Policy and LD

Speed. Go fast or slow. However, debaters have a tendency to go faster than they are physically capable of going. Regardless of your chosen rate of delivery, it is imperative that you start your first speech at a considerably slower pace than your top speed will be. Judges need time to adjust to a student's pitch, inflection, accent/dialect. I won't read cards after the round to compensate for your lack of clarity, nor will I say "clearer" during your speech. In fact, I will only read cards after the round if there is actual debate on what a specific card may mean. Then, I may read THAT card to assess which debater is correct.

Theory. Theory should not be run for the sake of theory. I overhead another coach at a tournament tell his debaters to "always run theory." This viewpoint sickens me. If there is abuse, argue it. Be prepared to explain WHY your ground is being violated. What reasonable arguments can't be run because of what your opponent did? For example, an aff position that denies you disad or CP ground is only abusive if you are entitled to disad or CP ground. It becomes your burden to explain why you are so entitled. Theory should never be Plan A to win a round unless your opponent's interpretation, framework, or contention-level arguments really do leave you no alternative. I think reasonable people can determine whether the theory position has real merit or is just BS. If I think it's BS, I will give the alleged offender a lot of leeway.

Role of the Ballot. My ballot usually means nothing more than who won the game we were playing while all sitting in the same room. I don't believe I am sending a message to the debate community when I vote, nor do I believe that you are sending a message to the debate community when you speak, when you win, or when you lose. I don't believe that my ballot is a teaching tool even if there's an audience outside of the two debaters. I don't believe my ballot is endorsing a particular philosophy or possible action by some agent implied or explicitly stated in the resolution. Perhaps my ballot is endorsing your strategy if you win my ballot, so I am sending a message to you and your coach by voting for you, but that is about it. If you can persuade me otherwise, you are invited to try. However, if your language or conduct is found to be offensive, I will gladly use my ballot to send a message to you, your coach, and your teammates with a loss and/or fewer speaker points than desired.

Section 2: Policy only (although there are probably things in the LD section below that may interest you)

In general, I expect that Affs read a plan and be topical. K Affs or Performance Affs have a bit of an uphill climb for me to justify why the resolution ought not be debated. If a team chooses this approach, at minimum, they need to advocate some action that solves some problem, and their remedy/method must provide some reasonable negative ground.

I think K's need a solid link and a clear, viable, and competitive alt, but I best understand a negative strategy if consisting of counterplans, disads, case args.

Section 3: LD only (if you are an LDer who likes "policy" arguments in LD, you should read the above section}

Kritiks. In the end, whatever position you take still needs to resolve a conflict inherent (or explicitly stated) within the resolution. Aff's MUST affirm the resolution. Neg's MUST negate it. If your advocacy (personal or fiated action by some agent) does not actually advocate one side of the resolution over the other (as written by the framers), then you'll probably lose.

Topicality. I really do love a good T debate. I just don't hear many of them in LD. A debater will only win a T debate if (1) you read a definition and/or articulate an interpretation of specific words/phrases in the resolution being violated and (2) explain why your interp is better than your opponent's in terms of providing a fair limit - not too broad nor too narrow. I have a strong policy background (former policy debater and long-time policy debate coach). My view of T debates is the same for both.

Presumption. I don't presume aff or neg inherently. I presume the status quo. In some resolutions, it's clear as to who is advocating for change. In that case, I default to holding whoever advocates change in the status quo as having some burden of proof. If neither (or both) is advocating change, then presumption becomes debatable. However, I will work very hard to vote on something other than presumption since it seems like a copout. No debate is truly tied at the end of the game.

Plans vs Whole Res. I leave this up to the debaters to defend or challenge. I am more persuaded by your perspective if it has a resolutional basis. For example, the Sept/Oct 2016 topic has a plural agent, "countries" (which is rare for LD topics). Thus, identifying a single country to do the plan may be more of a topicality argument than a "theory" argument. In resolutions when the agent is more nebulous (e.g., "a just society"), then we're back to a question as what provides for a better debate.

Alex Martin La Reina

Sara Moghadam ModernBrain

Akeela Naqvi Brentwood School

Rene Negrete Medea Creek Middle

Anusha Neupane ModernBrain

Ashley Nguyen Brentwood School

Vanessa Nguyen Marlborough School

Last changed on Sun January 7, 2024 at 4:10 AM CDT

If my camera is off, don't start your speech. If you want to email me questions about your round, please do so with haste because I have an awful memory.

Email: okvanessan@gmail.com

Kapaun Mt. Carmel/Mount Carmel Independent '19. I did policy debate for four years.

University of Southern California '23. I did not compete but was still involved with the policy debate team.

General:

Please be kind. I promise I'm not angry or upset, my face is just like that.

Again, I haven't competed since high school and I'm not as involved as I once was: this means I've forgotten lots of jargon and you will need to slow down a bit. The technical nuances of debate aren't as intuitive to me anymore so please explain the implications of your arguments more.

I don't really have any strong opinions on debate other than:

(1) be kind to your partner and opponents, and

(2) debate is a valuable activity and all argumentative styles that allow chances for contestation/clash are essential for that.

If you take time out of your own prep to delete analytics from constructives, you're only hurting yourself.

Feel free to email me with any further questions.

Content:

Do whatever as long as it's not repugnant. If you're unsure whether your argument falls under this category, then probably don't read it.

For what it's worth, I read mainly policy arguments in high school and am not super familiar with critical arguments. If you read the latter, you're going to have to explain your arguments more. Such debates are easier for me to follow if your strategy engages the impact level. Non-USFG affs should have a debate and ballot key warrant. I always went for framework, a topic disad if it linked, or an impact turn against such affs.

I think fairness is the best impact.

I think affs should get to weigh their plan and it will be an uphill battle to persuade me otherwise.

I know very little about the topic. Please keep this in mind if going for T.

I like impact turns. That does not mean death good. That does not mean wipeout. Please.

*LD note: I dislike RVIs.

Good luck! Have fun! Learn lots! Fight on!

Kevin Ozomaro ModernBrain

Last changed on Sun February 27, 2022 at 7:49 PM EDT

Hey, my name is Kevin Ozomaro; I am a communication graduate student and graduate assistant coach at the University of the Pacific. Before my time at UOP, I competed for Delta college and CSU Sacramento, where I competed in parli and LD debate. That being said, most of my debate knowledge is geared towards LD debate. That doesn't mean I don't understand parli; it just means that I'm more comfortable with arguments commonly found in LD. I've coached debate at all levels, from k-12 to college. I have learned a lot over my time in forensics, but that doesn't mean I know everything! If you are reading something that a communication grad student wouldn't understand at 500 words a minute, maybe you shouldn't read it or slow down and explain it to me. Below are some basics to how I view and judge debate.

NPTE People:

Low pref if:

1. you like K affs that are confusing( Sunbutthole K, pretty much any racist shittt)

2. You think condo or not condo is the most important thing in the world. Yes I'm from UOP but I don't care mannnn

3. you think reject is a great alt

High pref if:

1. Afro anything K / identity K

2. neolib K

3. Heg debate/ or militarism or militarization

4. not a fan of spreading

The Basics: because I know you don't want to read...

In NFA-LD Post AFFs you have run on the case list or I get grumpy (https://nfald.paperlessdebate.com/)
Use speechdrop.net to share files in NFA-LD and Policy Debate rounds

NOTE: If you are paper only you should have a copy for me and your opponent. Otherwise you will need to debate at a slower conversational pace so I can flow all your edv. arguments. (I'm fine with faster evidence reading if I have a copy or you share it digitally)

I'm fine with the a little bit of speed in NFA-LD and Parli but keep it reasonable or I might miss something.
Procedurals / theory are fine but articulate the abuse
I prefer policy-making to K debate. You should probably not run most Ks in front of me.
I default to net-benefits criteria unless you tell me otherwise
Tell me why you win.
If you are rude I will drop you. Its kinda simple don't be a butthole. Examples are not slowing and spreading someone out of the round.

General Approach to Judging:

I really enjoy good clash in the round. I want you to directly tear into each other's arguments (with politeness and respect). From there you need to make your case to me. What arguments stand and what am I really voting on. If at the end of the round I'm looking at a mess of untouched abandoned arguments I'm going to be disappointed.

Organization: is very important to me. Please road map and tell me where you are going. I can deal with you bouncing around—if necessary—but please let me know where we are headed and where we are at. Clever tag-lines help too. As a rule I do not time road maps.

I like to see humor and wit in rounds. This does not mean you can/should be nasty or mean to each other. Avoid personal attacks unless there is clearly a spirit of joking goodwill surrounding them. If someone gets nasty with you, stay classy and trust me to punish them for it.

If the tournament prefers that we not give oral critiques before the ballot has been turned in I won't. If that is not the case I will as long as we are running on schedule. I'm always happy to discuss the round at some other time during the tournament.

Kritiques: I'm probably not the judge you want to run most K's in front of. In most formats of debate, I don't think you can unpack the lit and discussion to do it well. If you wish to run Kritical arguments I'll attempt to evaluate them as fairly as I would any other argument in the round.I have not read every author out there and you should not assume anyone in the round has. Make sure you thoroughly explain your argument. Educate us as you debate. You should probably go slower with these types of positions as they may be new to me, and i'm very unlikely to comprehend a fast kritik. If I can't understand the K I will not vote on it, doesn't matter if it goes dropped if I have zero idea what is going on I will not vote on it. That goes for both K affs and neg K's.

I will also mention that I'm not a fan of this memorizing evidence/cards thing in parli. If you don't understand a critical/philosophical standpoint enough to explain it in your own words, then you might not want to run it in front of me.

Weighing: Please tell me why you are winning. Point to the impact level of the debate. Tell me where to look on my flow. I like overviews and clear voters in the rebuttals. The ink on my flow (or pixels if I'm in a laptop mood) is your evidence. Why did you debate better in this round? Do some impact calculus and show me why you won.

Speed: Keep it reasonable. In parli speed tends to be a mistake, but you can go a bit faster than conversational with me if you want. That being said; make sure you are clear, organized and are still making good persuasive arguments. If you can't do that and go fast, slow down. If someone calls clear…please do so. If someone asks you to slow down please do so. Badly done speed can lead to me missing something on the flow. I'm pretty good if I'm on my laptop, but it is your bad if I miss it because you were going faster than you were effectively able to.

Speed in NFA-LD: I get that there is the speed is "antithetical" to nfa-ld debate line in the bylaws. I also know that almost everyone ignores it. If you are speaking at a rate a trained debater and judge can comprehend I think you meet the spirit of the rule. If speed becomes a problem in the round just call "clear" or "slow." That said if you use "clear" or "slow" to be abusive and then go fast and unclear I might punish you in speaks. I'll also listen and vote on theory in regards to speed, but I will NEVER stop a round for speed reasons in any form of debate. If you think the other team should lose for going fast you will have to make that argument.

Evidence: If you do not flash me the evidence or give me a printed copy, then you need to speak at a slow conversational rate, so I can confirm you are reading what is in the cards. If you want to read evidence a bit faster...send me you stuff. I'm happy to return it OR delete it at the end of the round, but I need it while you are debating.

Safety: I believe that debate is an important educational activity. I think it teaches folks to speak truth to power and trains folks to be good citizens and advocates for change. As a judge I never want to be a limiting factor on your speech. That said the classroom and state / federal laws put some requirements on us in terms of making sure that the educational space is safe. If I ever feel the physical well-being of the people in the round are being threatened, I am inclined to stop the round and bring it to the tournament director.

Thanks, Ryan guy of Mjc

Rohitkumar Rajyagor West Ranch High School

Jerome Robinson Granada Hills Charter High School

Yardley Rosas Marlborough School

Last changed on Tue January 2, 2024 at 7:07 AM PDT

Please add me to the chain, my email is rosasyardley.a@gmail.com

Policy from 2014-2021 for Downtown Magnets High School/LAMDL and Cal State Fullerton.

thoughts

general: I will listen to anything you have to say. I need you to control how I think about what is going on in the round. Framing weighing and comparing impacts is important. Extending and debating warrants as thoroughly as the debate allows is so important to me especially in the rebuttals . Also because I feel like tech and truth determine each other. You should be able to do a lot more with less. I flow on paper so I will miss quick, short, and intricate arguments. Tell me what it is I need to be voting on and why I should vote on that thing. I am very receptive to an rfd that is straight up given to me. My rfds are broad and I don't ever really get into specifics unless asked and rarely vote on a single argument.

specifics: I like k v k and k v policy debates the most. I have the most experience with arguments about the state, racial capitalism, and the intersection of race/gender/queerness/class. I need to feel like you are politically and/or socially motivated by the world to run the k you are running for me to really be persuaded by it. I need Ks to have a strong explanation of either the world or debate. Ks on the aff need a clear method and solvency. I don't mind if this isn't as strong on the neg unless the aff makes it a thing. In k v fw rounds I need both sides to have models of debate and comparison work being done on the offense. I lean towards skills, clash, tva for the neg. Generally I need links to be as specific as possible for any kind of offense or argument. I will consider any theory argument. But if you are going for them, be as contextual to the round as possible. Frankly, 4+ off is irritating to me no shade but I live for drama so go ahead but that raises the bar for you and lowers it for the aff.

other: sorry if I get sleepy, it's probably not because of the round

Ellison Roycroft Aurorae Young Academy

Christian Schock ModernBrain

John Sims Isidore Newman Middle School

Last changed on Wed January 3, 2024 at 3:13 AM CDT

Yes, I want to be on the email chain. jmsimsrox@gmail.com

UT '21 update (since I'm judging policy): I judge probably around a dozen policy rounds on the DFW local circuit a year (since about 2011), so I'm not a policy debate expert but I shouldn't be confused by your round. That means that I will probably understand the arguments you're making in a vacuum, but that you should probably err on the side of over-explaining how you think those arguments should interact with each other; don't just expect me to be operating off the exact same policy norms that you/the national circuit do. I am fairly willing to evaluate arguments however you tell me to. I have read a decent bit of identity, setcol, and cap lit. I am less good on pomo lit but I am not unwilling to vote on anything I can understand. Totally down for just a plan v counterplan/disad debate too.

Tl;dr I'm fine with really any argument you want to read as long as it links to and is weighed in relation to some evaluative mechanism. I am pretty convinced that T/theory should always be an issue of reasonability (I obviously think that some debates are better when there is a clear counter-interp that offense is linked back to); if you trust me to compare and weigh offense on substantive issues in the debate, I can't figure out why you wouldn't also trust me to make the same judgments on T/theory debates (unless you're just making frivolous/bad T/theory args). I enjoy any debate that you think you can execute well (yeah this applies to your K/counter-plan/non-T aff; I'll listen to it). I base speaker points on whether or not I think that you are making strategic choices that might lead to me voting for you (extending unnecessary args instead of prioritizing things that contribute to your ballot story, dropping critical arguments that either are necessary for your position or that majorly help your opponent, failing to weigh arguments in relation to each other/the standard would be some general examples of things that would cause you to lose speaker points if I am judging). Beyond those issues, I think that debate should function as a safe space for anyone involved; any effort to undermine the safety (or perceived safety) of others in the activity will upset me greatly and result in anything from a pretty severe loss of speaker points to losing the round depending on the severity of the harm done. So, be nice (or at least respectful) and do you!

Mason Stackman Kudos College Of Youth Leadership

Kanwal deep Sudan Irvington High School

Rose Thompson ModernBrain

Last changed on Tue April 18, 2023 at 4:43 PM MDT

My debate experience:

4 years NFA-LD (one-person policy) at Lewis & Clark College, 2019-2023

3 years LD and CX at Timberline High School, 2016-2019

I prefer speechdrop.com for ev sharing but if there's an email chain, put me on it: dude.its.rose@gmail.com

TL;DR version:My goal as a judge is to first be receptive to whatever kind of round you want to have and second to make the round as accessible and educational to both teams. Speed is fine. I am pretty much down for whatever you want to read and specify some of my preferences below. I'm a K debater at heart but highly encourage you to debate the way you're most comfortable. Please ask questions before the round if you have any and after if you want my input for improvement.

I think debate is so fun and so silly and I want y'all to have a fun, educational round if I can make that happen. Also feel free to email me after if you have questions, want files or anything.

General Stuff

Speaks: I give high speaks (28-30) unless you've done something that warrants intervention from your coach. This includes being needlessly mean to an opponent (snark and sass are fine, but PLEASE temper it to the round) or being blatantly racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc. The latter will earn you 20s an an L. Absolutely no excuses.

How to Win: I want to be lazy and not intervene. The best way to win my ballot is to make my job as easy as possible. Make your weighing clear, try to clean up the framing debate, prioritize the organization of my flow as much as possible -- If I'm putting an argument somewhere you don't want if because you forgot to signpost, that might hurt you in the outcome of the round. These are all skills I continued to develop up to the end of my competition career and You Should Too

Tech v Truth?: I think "tech vs truth" is an oversimplified dichotomy and I definitely have arguments I am more skeptical of (disclosed below) BUT a dropped argument is a dropped argument, ya know? I default to tech but am 100% receptive to a clearly articulated framework arg about why that's bad with strong explanation about what that means for my weighing of various parts of the flow.

Other Stuff: If you can make me laugh that helps your speaks. I accept cash bribes.

Speed is fine, but you gotta slow down a little on your analytics and especially on T; make sure everything gets on my flow. Also, if your opponent clears/slows you DO IT -- I'll vote for speed theory.

Specific Stuff (CX, other policy formats)

Topicality/Theory: I see T as an accountability tool. You don't need proven abuse but I am more persuaded by proven over potential abuse. I don't love blippy T and generally have a low threshold for reasonability in these instances. I default to T being a priori but 100% will listen to and vote on "___ outweighs T" args, Ks of T, RVIs, anything you want to put here. If you want to have a T debate PLEASE prioritize clarity and organization and impact out your voters.

CPs: I've become a sucker for a smart CP that's actually competitive and actually solves the aff. Advantage CPs are also a neat, underutilized tool.

DAs: Cool. I am more receptive to a probable link chain with a soft left/structural violence impact over something improbably with a high magnitude impact, but run whatever you want.

Case: GOD I love a strong debate on case. I will vote on straight case but please have offense there if you're asking me to do it. I've never voted on terminal defense bc the aff can always eke out a "1% risk of solvency" arg so Give Me Offense Please God.

Ks (neg): 100% down. These were my favorites to read and write as a debater so I've got a soft spot. I'm holding you to the same standard I hold a DA/CP combo though, so that means your weakest point is basically always the alt. I don't need an alt solves the aff arg if you're winning your impacts are more important, but it doesn't hurt. I am also more persuaded by alts that have a clear action. I have a lot of familiarity with a lot of lit but plz don't assume I or your opponent are as capable of sifting through your arguments as you are. I do not understand D&G and you can't make me.

Ks (aff): Hell yeah. I prefer a good topic link story but don't NEED a justification for rejecting the topic to let you do your thing. I also prefer a clear action taken by the aff -- ideally something you can explain in a sentence.

Perm: I default to the perm being an advocacy bc everyone treats it like that, but irl I think it's prolly just a test of competition. You do not need to win a perm to beat a CP or Alt if you have offense on the CP/Alt.

Condo: I think negs should get access to one condo position, anymore and you should be prepared to defend against theory but I'm not automatically voting for condo bad. Also don't lie about being uncondo when you're not!!!!!!! I'll dock ur speaks and will be easily persuaded by a 2AR that goes all in on why you should lose for that.

Arguments I Do Not Like: Disclosure theory, overpopulation, cap good, extinction good, anything in this general camp of arguments. None of these are auto-Ls, just know I fundamentally do not believe you when you say these things. These still need to be answered. For BS like impact turning racism, sexism, etc. see what I said under speaks.

Ask me anything else or send me an email if you want clarification :D

Zaid Umar Marlborough School

Last changed on Thu January 4, 2024 at 5:58 AM PDT

Background: PF @ Mountain House High School '19, Economics @ UC Berkeley '22, Berkeley Law '26. This is my 5th year judging.

THREE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF MY PARADIGM:

Due to the fast paced nature of debate nowadays and potential technical difficulties with online tournaments, I would really appreciate if you could send me the doc you're reading off of before each speech to my email write2zaid@gmail.com. If you can use Speech Drop, that's even better.

Preflow before the round. When you walk into the room you should be ready to start ASAP.

I will NOT entertain postrounding from coaches. This is absolutely embarrassing and if it is egregious I will report you to tab. Postrounding from competitors must be respectful and brief.

JUDGING PREFERENCES:

I am a former PF debater and I still think like one. That means I highly value simple, coherent argumentation that is articulated at at least a somewhat conversational speed.

In my view, debate is an activity that at the end of the day is supposed to help you be able to persuade the average person into agreeing with your viewpoints and ideas. I really dislike how debate nowadays, especially LD, has become completely gamified and is completely detached from real life. Because of this, I am not partial to spread, questionable link chains that we both know won’t happen, theory (unless there is actual abuse) or whatever debate meta is in vogue. I care more about facts and logic than anything else. You are better served thinking me of a good lay judge than a standard circuit judge. NOTE: I also am strongly skeptical of K AFFs and will almost always vote NEG if they run topicality.

That doesn’t mean I do not judge on the merits of arguments or their meaning, but how you present them certainly matters to me because my attention level is at or slightly above the average person (my brain is broken because of chronic internet and social media usage, so keep that in mind).

I will say tech over truth, but truth can make everyone’s life easier. The less truth there is, the more work you have to do to convince me. And when it’s very close, I’m probably going to default to my own biases (subconscious or not), so it’s in your best interest to err on the side of reality. This means that you should make arguments with historical and empirical context in mind, which as a college educated person, I’m pretty familiar with and can sus out things that are not really applicable in real life. But if you run something wild and for whatever reason your opponent does not address those arguments as I have just described, I will grant you the argument.

You should weigh, give me good impact calculus (probability, magnitude, scope, timeframe, etc), and most importantly, TELL ME HOW TO VOTE AND WHY! Do not trust me to understand things between the lines.

More points that I agree with from my friend Vishnu's paradigm:

"I do not view debate as a game, I view it almost like math class or science class as it carries tremendous educational value. There are a lot of inequities in debate and treating it like a game deepens those inequities.

Other than this, have fun, crack jokes, reference anecdotes and be creative.

There is honestly almost 0 real world application to most progressive argumentation, it bars accessibility to this event and enriches already rich schools.

Basically: debate like it's trad LD."

SPEAKER POINT SCALE

Was too lazy to make my own so I stole from the 2020 Yale Tournament. I will use this if the tournament does not provide me with one:

29.5 to 30.0 - WOW; You should win this tournament

29.1 to 29.4 - NICE!; You should be in Late Elims

28.8 to 29.0 - GOOD!; You should be in Elim Rounds

28.3 to 28.7 - OK!; You could or couldn't break

27.8 to 28.2 - MEH; You are struggling a little

27.3 to 27.7 - OUCH; You are struggling a lot

27.0 to 27.2 - UM; You have a lot of learning to do

below 27/lowest speaks possible - OH MY; You did something very bad or very wrong

Taiwei Yau Cupertino High School

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