Congress- Speeches should be delivered at a rate of speed that a casual listener would be able to understand and follow the argumentation. Evidence is necessary and should support every argument in a speech. In order to stand out and rank higher, written speeches should be adapted to include clash from previous speeches and offer something new to the debate. Debaters should offer speeches that forward the debate and do not simply rehash previously stated arguments. A PO should run a transparent and efficient round with a clearly offered way to track precedence and recency.

Extemp- State the topic word for word verbatim, I am looking for strong argumentation to support your answer as well as current and credible evidence. Competitors who have an in depth analysis of the topic will rank higher, fluff and generic answers will rank lower. This is a speaking event and you need to have conversational speed as well as humor to do well. Funny and pop culture AGDs are my favorite.

LD- I am an old school trad judge. I can keep up with moderate speed but if you start spreading and I put my pen down you are not in a good spot. If I can't flow I can't judge you. K and theory aren't my favorite but simple and common K like ROB I am familiar with, extinction arguments are my least favorite, they seem lazy unless you have a really compelling and interesting argument to go with it. Judge adaptation is crucial in LD success. I am not the most tech oriented judge so if you are pulling tricks make them clear and easy to follow for me, I am open to weird stuff but it had better be accessible to me.

For (DI, DUO) - Subtlety is the key, I don't need you to scream and shout to get emotion across. I'm not against screaming, but it should be during appropriate moments during the piece and build over time. At no point should you jump from deadly quiet and calm to intense and screaming. Gradually build the emotion. Show me the tension and intensity over time. Screaming when you erupt during the climax is perfectly acceptable. Further, intensity can be shown without screaming, crying, or yelling. The quiet moments of the piece are usually the ones I find most powerful. THINK and REACT to what you are saying. Emotion should come nearly effortlessly when you "are" your piece. Don't "act" like the mom who lost her daughter in a school shooting, BE that mom! Transitions and timing are SUPER IMPORTANT, DON'T RUSH!!!

For (HI, DUO) - Facial expressions, characterization, and blocking take the most importance for me. I want to see each character develop once you introduce it throughout the piece. Even if the character doesn't appear all the time, or only once or twice throughout the script, I want to see that each character is engaged throughout the piece itself. Most importantly, please remember that humor without thought is gibberish. Jokes are said for a reason - use facial expressions to really hone in on character's thought and purpose. For example, if a character A says a joke and character B doesn't get it, I should see character B's confused reaction. I will also tend to reward creative blocking and characterization. However, note that blocking should not be overly distracting.

For (POI, PRO, POE) - Regarding emotion, facial expressions, and character development, see the above text in the two paragraphs above regarding DI and HI. Personally, I place a little more emphasis on binder tech - the more creative the better! I think binder events are the synthesis of good binder tech, good script selection, and good facial expressions/emotion. Obviously, it's harder to do, since you have multiple characters in multiple parts of your speech and each have a distinct mood and personality. I prefer POI to read like an OO with someone else's words, give me a really concrete problem solution.

email: Spencerbenton06@gmail.com

I do LD but Iḿ familiar with policy debate and Public forum.

Iḿ okay with spreading but I rather you don´t, but make sure you say your taglines clearly because I judge off of my flow.

Make sure to contextualize and show me how your plan will work. Asking for clarification during Cross Examination is completely fine. Counterplans and Kritiks are okay but make sure your argument is still topical.

And as always HAVE FUN! and be respectful.

disclosure/email chain: Arlin.birkby@outlook.com

A lay decision means you probably won't like the decision. Additionally, if there is an evidence indict by the end of the round but I am unclear on how I should vote and I call for the evidence and the indict is falsified, then I will intervene for the other team.

- Don't spread unless you send a speech doc. Check your word count, if your below 250 wpm then you should be good, I still have the right to call clear tho and I will unless you send a speech doc.

When sending a speech doc send an actual doc, don't just send screenshots of the cards and the files that you're reading; send full text. If your reading paraphrased text of cards thats fine but just be ready to send them at an instant when your opponent calls for them.

- I love theory debate, i will hack for paraphrasing/dates/disclosure theory so long as you explain it okay and show an actual instance of them breaking the interpretation.

please don't read non case specific overviews that are like 1 min long and hard to flow, if its a disad just call it a disad.

No offensive overviews or disads if second speaker because you have a structural advantage. If you do run this and your opponents run theory on you for doing this by summary i will still vote off it.

i do believe that cross is binding, that said, I won't flow it but will remember what was said

----Lincoln Douglas----

- More of a traditional judge

-Tech over truth majority of the time-just make sure your arguments are well warranted

I'm fine with theory or K's as long as it's not frivolous.

I understand performances so long as they are well warranted and somewhat topical. I won't down you for running a non topical performance but will if somebody reads a topicality shell against you and is somewhat decent at it.

-if your going to spam tricks at least be ethical. no hiding trick texts in the cites of a card in a doc. if you do i wont down you for it but if they run theory for you doing it i will vote off it.

-Do flesh out your arguments with warrants and analysis

General stuff

give me a simple road map, if its just the good ol "our case their case" or "down their case" for first rebuttal then you can hop right in without one.

i like narrative based arguments that start at the top of every speech, just make sure not to spend too much time on them because i won't vote on them unless they are offense and are explained as so.

framework-please don't read these in pf, frameworks (more often than not) don't have offense and do not contain a ROTB, meaning even if your opponents drop it i can't vote for you solely based off of framework. Only read this if you add in some weighing under your framework like a prereq or something and then that might be something to consider. I always default cost/benefit framework.

blips-an argument must have at least a warrant in it, assertive blips are not arguments and thus can be ignored within the round. if your opponents read blips just point it out and tell me. For example saying "pharma will always market so marketing NU" is not an argument. However, saying "pharma always has an profit incentive to market so marketing NU" is an argument. The difference is in the warranting.

Evidence Ethics

Here is a list of my preferences when it comes to evidence. These are things that I think would be great norms for the community to set, and practices that I will reward with increased speaker points.

1. Quote evidence directly when it is first presented. I will not vote against you for paraphrasing. But, I will vote on the paraphrasing theory shell if argued persuasively (and I am predisposed to vote for it).

2. Level an evidentiary challenge against opponents who are misusing evidence. I will reward correct evidence challenges with a W and block 30s. Please do this if your opponents are lying about their evidence.

If both teams fail to ethically represent evidence in the debate, no team will get higher than a 26, neither side gets to tell me that their evidence is better, and all arguments become your own analysis, without cards."

Prep

Tell me when you start and stop prep, I am fine with flex prep as long as both teams are as well. If your timer goes off at the end of your speech and cuts you off, you may finish your sentence. I don't flow anything that goes over 15 seconds. ( barring extenuating circumstances such as wifi outages)

SPEAKER POINT BREAKDOWNS

30: Excellent job, you demonstrate stand-out organizational skills and speaking abilities. Ability to use creative analytical skills and humor to simplify and clarify the round.

29: Very strong ability. Good eloquence, analysis, and organization. A couple minor stumbles or drops.

28: Above average. Good speaking ability. May have made a larger drop or flaw in argumentation but speaking skills compensate. Or, very strong analysis but weaker speaking skills.

27: About average. Ability to function well in the round, however analysis may be lacking. Some errors made.

26: Is struggling to function efficiently within the round. Either lacking speaking skills or analytical skills. May have made a more important error.

25: Having difficulties following the round. May have a hard time filling the time for speeches. Large error.

Below: Extreme difficulty functioning. Very large difficulty filling time or offensive or rude behavior.

jedonowho@gmail.com

Extensions need to include warrants - simply saying extend Smith '20 isn't enough, you need to be warranting your arguments in every speech. This is the biggest and easiest thing you can do to win my ballot. Rounds constantly end with "extended" offense on both sides that are essentially absent any warrants in the back half and I end up having to decide who has the closest thing to a warrant which means I have to intervene. Please don't make me intervene - if you actually extend warrants for the offense that you're winning you probably will get my ballot.

Make my job as easy as possible by clearly articulating why you've won the round - write the ballot for me in summary and final focus. Even though I'm flowing and doing my best to pay attention, I'm not infallible and so if the summaries and final focus are just going over a bunch of arguments without clear contextualization of how they relate to the ballot, I'm going to struggle to decide the winner.

Don't do debater math.

You should give content warnings if you're reading any sensitive content in order to make the round as safe a place as possible for all participants.

Don't steal prep or do anything else that makes the round last longer than it needs to be (not pre-flowing beforehand, taking forever to pull up evidence).

Don't go too fast in front of me.

Technical things:

Defense isn't sticky anymore with the 3-minute summary

Second rebuttal needs to frontline.

If you want to concede defense to get out of a turn it needs to be done the speech after the turn is read.

No new weighing in 2nd FF, unless you're responding to weighing from 1st FF.

I was a policy debater in the 1990’s and have been coaching since 1999, currently, I am the coach at Avalos P-TECH School. I know that ages me, but it should also tell you that the debate I grew up with was much different than what is going on today. I tend to default to a policy-making paradigm and prefer traditional debate. As a debater, it is your job to be clear at all times so you don’t lose me.

General:

• DON’T BE RUDE

• I DO NOT LIKE DISCLOSURE THEORY OR TRICKS

• It’s fine if you flex prep, just don’t take advantage

• Keep your own time, I will also keep a clock running just in case there are any issues

• I do not consider flashing to be prep, but again don’t take advantage

• Do the work for me, it is your job to communicate to me as to why you are winning the debate. Do not make me figure it out myself, that will inevitably leave one of you mad at me, but it won’t be my fault.

• Discriminatory or exclusionary language is not okay and not accepted and I will vote you down if you use this language

Speed: I am good with moderate speed, but I can’t judge what I can’t understand. Keep in mind that I am old so you probably need to slow down a bit.

Weighing: Please do it. This will make my job a lot easier, and also make it a lot more likely that I see the round the way that you would like me to. I will evaluate the round as you tell me to. If you don’t weigh for me I have to do it for you and you do not want that to happen.

Other:

Please be respectful to one another I hate judging rounds where the debaters are being rude to one another, debate is supposed to be a respectful exchange of opposing views on a topic and when you take the respect out of that equation debate loses its productivity. Also please do the work for the judge, don't make your judge try to piece things together. Remember I am old so I will probably lose pieces along the way.

One last thing, I am old fashioned. You are participating in a speaking event. Stand up during your speeches and CX/CF periods (Grand Cross would be the exception). You need to persuade me as to why I should be voting for you.

Speaker Points:

26-30

Anything under 26 means you were being rude, discriminatory, or exclusionary.

Updated - 11/18/2023

Email: njenningsuh@gmail.com,

Experience:

Coached debate at HAIS (1), Crosby (3.5), Dulles (3.5), and Niles West (2.)

Debated policy for 4 years at Crosby (2004-2008), In College at UMKC (Fall 2009), and Houston (Spring 2009, 2012-2015)

Non-negotiables

• If you use sexually explicit language or engage in sexually explicit performances in high school debates, you should strike me.
• If you think the appropriate response to other people explaining how they need to be included in debate is to say "West is best" or "Violence towards people like you is good" please strike me.
• Purposeful or dismissive acts of misgendering will result in a full speaker point loss and if the other team makes it an argument the possible loss of a ballot.
• All permutations must have a text.

What is Debate?

I think that we need to understand we are a community of people responsible for the activity, We are responsible for teaching and guiding students to make decisions that are descriptive of the community they wish to compete within.

Framework

Framework is very normally in high school debate used as a way of excluding debaters. Framework doesn't have to be this but unfortunately in the vast majority of HS debates it is used this way. The framing is an exclusionary one and doesn't have the nuance to get out of most of the aff offense.

If you read framework this way then I'm not the judge for you, not because I would be upset with you but rather because I will likely be very sympathetic to aff arguments about exclusion. If you think your TVA is a silver bullet it's not, and your SSD arguments a lot of time are overhyped. I think I agree fundamentally that most of these debates devolve into meaningless hyperbole on both sides. The aff is always debatable and somewhat predictable the question is how does the expansion of predictable limits make it so that the debate is worse and how that change is bad. In this way limits are generally an internal link to clash or fairness and I really think that a clear weighing and impacting out of these is of the utmost importance. I am substantially more likely to vote for clash if it is used as an impact filter/impact than I am persuaded by fairness.

Framework is best when it's simply a disagreement about the meaning of the topic/roles and the negative impact and weighing is about the relative change in the way that debate functions. The expansion of limits and the recognition of the affs value is important. Questions about the roles of the sides and preparedness for those roles. About the ground that the negative has under each interp and why one interp is better than the other. To me, the most important question the negative can push forward is "why negate?" a lot of the affs answers to this question seem problematic. This is not a question of value in fact it seems to assume if the affirmative is right about their normative claims about the resolution why should anyone have to affirm it and if that's the case how do we determine what we are debating about? Why is the negation of negation good? This puts a higher burden, in my mind, for the affirmative to win the framework debate. Most affs have great reasons why they are good but they do not tend to have good reasons why they should be negated.

Critical Affirmatives

Critical affirmatives should have a solid defense of both their importance but also the importance of debating it. There should be a clear area of debate that the negative can and should engage in. That being said I really enjoy watching good Kritikal affirmatives deploy the various ways of relooking at debate structures and topics. I find affirmatives that are either very small but willing to engage with whatever strategy the negative chooses, or conversely, very large structural affirmatives that will engage on a theory level with everything to be the best. Be ready to answer the core questions negation should ask you. Why this aff? Why this round? Why negate this? Why this ballot? If you think you have good answers to those then I'm likely going to enjoy watching the debate.

The Kritik

Kritiks need to have a clear link-impact scenario with a way of resolving those claims. That could be the framework Interp, or the alternative in most debates.

Framework debates can be very important. I think interps that ask me to wish away the affirmative impacts are lackluster. I'm more interested in how we should be weighing things than an argument that says we should artificially bracket off the affirmatives 8 minute speech. You can definitely win we must prioritize ontology, epistemology, or Ethics, or we should bracket off certain types of considerations if they are bad, however, I'm not generally willing to bracket off the aff's ability to advocate for their should statement but rather if their impacts are important or not.

I am way more willing to vote for specific instances of link-impact scenarios than I am for an uncontextualized larger theory of power claim. Specificity will almost always be important to win my ballot. I am a bit pessimistic about what we can achieve in debate rounds but also believe the entrance of different scholarships into debate can and do have value. It however is up to the debaters to make those arguments in a compelling way.

Non-Kritikal Debates

Theory

Theoretical rejections of the team have an incredibly high burden in my mind. Theoretical rejections of the argument have a much lower burden. For me to vote for a team entirely on theory they must prove that the debate was borderline impossible. Contrarily to win reject them argument you only have to prove the debate would be better without the argument. To me using theory to force a condensing of the round is a sound strategy. Also, generally, if you're conceding that conditionality is good then you're highly unlikely to get me to vote down the team on another theory argument.

DA's

Disadvantages are the core of all aspects of debating. Make sure you extend all three components when going for a DA. This includes when going for Disadvantages from any perspective.

CP's

Calling into question the legitimacy of many different types of counter-plans should be a portion of your strategy. Too many affirmatives allow the negative to get away with a lot of abuse on the counter-plan that they shouldn't. CP must have a text, a clear solvency mechanism and a net benefit. Please make sure you extend each if you go for the argument.

New assistant debate coach this year--still learning the ropes of speech and debate in general and the judging for both.

I am primarily an AP English 3 teacher, and that informs my judging. Make your argument as if I am entirely unfamiliar with the topic.

I have only judged LD, PF and several speech formats at this time and am still learning the other debate types.

In judging, I look for:

-Logical consistency in your argument: your framework should carry through your arguments.

-LD - value/criterion/framework. I like to see the connections of how the framework influences your cases and argumentation.

-PF - I'm always looking for argumentation and clash.

-I value the quality of the argumentation over attempts to win points on technicalities.

-Speak at a normal conversational pace. Do not spread or rush your speaking--if I can't follow what you're saying, I can't fairly evaluate your argument, and this will work against you in terms of both speaker points and the overall quality of your argument.

You may find feedback from me in your online ballot after your rounds. As a general rule, I do not do orals.

Don't speed read. If I can't understand you, I can't vote for you. Please stick to stock issues.

I borrow a lot of the jacob nails philosophy for LD and PF. (Ask about kritiks separately).

Old school, traditional LD Judge.

Value, criterion, contentions.

Flow judge - not in flow, not considered. On flow but not properly extended, not considered.

Quality over quantity so those who spread risk salient points not making it into flow.

Voters, please.

I am a stickler for good presentation and civil debate. Respect and clear argumentation are important for me in all events. I will be very focused on the flow of argumentation and will judge off of what was presented and how.

Congress: Good use of sources, creative speech writing, persuasive delivery, clash, and adherence to Parliamentary procedure are essential. It is also important that the chamber act respectfully and cooperatively, where civil debate occurs and the conversation is not dominated by any individual or group of competitors.

CX: Affirmative teams will need to address stock issues convincingly. Clash and Extension in later rounds are more important than new arguments. Avoid Kritiks and spreading.

LD: I prefer traditional LD; No spreading, civil clash, and a strong emphasis on philosophy over policy. I will tolerate progressive debate/Kritiks and policy, however, be careful and make sure your case is well crafted with this.

IEs: Do not overcomplicate your performance. I am looking for effective delivery!

PF: I prefer to hear good arguments and sources. Spreading is not encouraged. Good summaries and crystallization are key.

WSD: Clash is key. Crystallize the differences and present mechanisms effectively. Spreading is not encouraged.

Background

I debated for Cypress Woods highschool in Houston in LD for 3 years, and dabbled a little bit into policy my senior year. I primarily went for the Ks and LARP throughout my career, but did all forms of debate.

Short Overview

sophia.a.larsen@icloud.com - email chain

Do whatever you want. None of the biases listed below are so strong as to override who did the better debating.

Spreading is fine.

Read whatever you want!

UPDATE: ive judged almost every bid tournament this season including some elims so dont be afraid to run things.

tech > truth

Prefs Shortcut

LARP - 1

Less Dense Ks - 1

Phil - 2

Theory - 4

Dense Ks - 4

Tricks - 5

Specifics

k's:

I specialized in the Fem K and know most about that field of literature. I read it on both aff and neg. I also read other kritiks like the cap k and abelism.

k v k debates

• these are my favorite form of debate. I LOVE a good k v k round where both debaters know what they are talking about and go down the flow well.

pol v k

• I really like this form of debate. A lot of things that go missing in this debate is either why the k is necessary to solve and or why the plan solves the impacts of the k.

TO NOTE: I will NOT vote on kritiks involving social death if you are not from that identity group

LARP

• I will vote on almost any impact IF AND ONLY IF it makes sense and isnt abuse.
• I like this form of debate. make sure there is a clear link chain and impact weighing. make sure your clear down the flow. Ive seen a lot of debaters this season forgetting their solvency claims and or dropping impacts. be careful.

Phil

• This form of debate is fine. if you are going to run philosophers like DNG make sure you explain it well to me.
• I did a lot of research on philosophers like Kant, Rawls, locke, etc.

SPEAKS:

I was screwed a couple times in my career due to low speaks so I tend to give higher ones. I will give you additional points if you win the debate and sit down early, but dock points if you lose the debate and sit down early.

Background

I debated for Langham Creek Highschool in Houston in policy for 3 years, crossing over to LD my senior year. I primarily went for the K throughout my career, but was very flex and dabbled in every form of debate. I worked as an assistant coach in PF for SpiderSmart Sugarland and now work as an assistant CX and LD coach for Langham Creek Highschool.

Here is my wiki senior if you want to see what arguments I read.

Conflicts: Langham Creek Highschool - Heights Highschool

Separately Conflicted: Cypress Woods AZ

Short Overview

langhamdebatedocs@gmail.com - email chain, please title - - - Tournament Name: School Name (Aff) vs School Name (Neg).

"Do whatever you want. None of the biases listed below are so strong as to override who did the better debating, but adjusting to my priors could maximize your chances of winning and result in better speaks." - Aden Barton

Spreading is fine.

Read anything you want.

2/23/24 - Central Texas National Qualifiers

I will not care if you read progressive arguments against lay debaters, it is not your fault. I will care however if you take too long, I BEG that you keep speeches as SHORT as possible (i,e going for one line tricks, for 10 seconds and sitting down.) and do not overcover anything, this will be best for everyone in the room.

12/13/23 - STRAKE UPDATE

Too many of y'all are going for unsubstantive hidden tricks in front of me because I evaluate them, and I've downed them every single time. PLEASE, do not split the 2NR/2AR because I guarantee you that you're NOT doing enough work on them and you will NOT be happy with my decision when I decide to not pull the trigger on it because there's been a very SHALLOW extension.

General Thoughts

My views on debate are heavily influenced by my coaches and those who've helped me including, Eric Beane, Isaac Chao, and Sebastian Cho.

Debate is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. I love this activity and hope you can as well. I feel as if lots of judges think it’s your responsibility as a debater to please us as judges, no, it is my responsibility to please you as debaters with a respectable and well thought out decision. I have tremendous respect for the hard work you’ve done to come here and will try to reciprocate that in my decision. I will always be ready to defend my decision. “If you feel unsatisfied with my RFD, I encourage you to post-round me. I will not take any offense or make a determination on your personality on the basis of your reaction to my decision. I was always quick to disagree with judges as a debater and have always considered disagreement the highest forms of respect.” – Vikas Burugu.

I will certainly reward good evidence if you have it. However, your evidence is only as good as you can explain it to me. “Regarding argument resolution, spin outweighs evidence. Spin is debating. Evidence is research. The final rebuttals should be characterized by analytical development rather than purely evidentiary extension.” – Rafael Pierry.

Read what you want and read it well. I do not personally believe the ballot is a referendum of you as a person, especially in highschool. 99% of debaters go through the stage where they read bad, stupid, and not well-thought-out arguments because they find them interesting. I don't think any of those people genuinely believe those positions, but rather are ignorant to how arguments can be harmful. The best thing I think we all derive from debate is reflexivity, if you think people's arguments are bad and violent, say so, beat them on it, the worse their argument is, the easier it is to beat, people will stop reading stuff after they get hit with a L25. Debate is great because people can read what they want and shift the norms, be innovative, be unique, do what you want, I encourage it.

Tech over truth but tech is influenced by truth. Those who read arguments that are naturally grounded in truthfulness naturally appeals to my human biases and would render your argument more persuasive, but technical debaters can ALWAYS beat truthful claims. Truth over tech is an excuse to insert human biases into debate that overrides and demeans good argumentation.

After watching the 2022 NDT Finals, I think the judge has an obligation to minimize as much intervention as possible, obviously our human nature necessitates certain preconceived notion’s influence upon our decisions but the sole method of my adjudication will be my analysis of the way both teams analyze, argue, and implicate their own arguments, I will not do this for you, simply analyze the way in which you do it yourself.

I think debate is a game not in the sense that there are rules we should follow and a structure around what we do, but in the sense that we play to win. That same game can absolutely be a site of beautiful and authentic good, through activism, revolution, argumentation, and more, but even so, no matter how you choose to play the game, winning in front of me means convincing me through a form of persuasion to give you the ballot.

Specifics

1. I will vote on ad-homs / call outs.
2. ivis need dtd warrants when introduced.
3. big overview K debaters are not as good as line by line ones, i prefer you do the latter.
4. i will keep note of cx.
5. things that are particularly harder for me to flow, this does not mean i am not open to these args or that i'm dogmatized against them but that you might want to slow down, "Phil AC/NCs that are 50 pointed with TJFs, Reasons to Prefer, and Pre-empts with enormous philosophical jargony tags that are hardly even delineated." that is all for now.
6. I will try to be as tab as possible thus, "I do not default in any way. if you have not sufficiently justified an argument, I just won't vote on it. this includes things like layering -- theory does not come before substance if you have not told me why it does." - Liam Nyberg, to clarify, this means I WILL vote on extinction outweighing your condo shell on magnitude if you do not layer.

A. More on this, I do not find myself voting on offense that isn't filtered through frameworks because I do not understand how to evaluate that offense in reference to the rest of the debate, this includes things like going for IVIs without weighing it's impacts and offensive tricks like GCB that are not filtered through truth testing (specifically different than presumption permissibility triggers that zero offense on other pages).

B. In debates involving lots of layering, I've found it increasingly hard to weigh between internal links to framework justifications like jurisdictive constraints, I've concluded that this is due to a lack of clash and judge instruction. Before giving your NR/AR, ask yourself, why does my weighing justification to [x impact] sequence their weighing justification to [y impact]? I find too many debaters relying on phrases like a K 2NR telling me to "overcorrect neg for ideological bias" without explaining why that should sequence a 2AR telling me to "hack aff due to time skew".

C. I also seem to be always voting on a risk of offense unless there's an explicit presumption trigger, in debates with low warranting threshold particularly tricks ones, I will not simply just strike off arguments if I don't understand them when both sides are doing a lack of explanation and thus concluding in a presumption ballot, I instead will find a risk of offense on either side given the little explanation I have.

SPEAKS: In general, I find myself most moved and assign the most speaks to people who signpost, are clear, do good evidence analysis, and display a sense of cohesion within their rhetoric and argumentation. I find myself most persuaded by people who are assertive, aggressive, and firm with their rhetoric but do not come off as rude, refer to McDonough JN, Wake Forest RT, Aden Barton and Zion Dixon. People who best exemplify these traits will get the most amount of speaks in front of me.

Specific things that will get you more speaks.

- Sitting down early if you have won, +! Conversely, sitting down early when you have lost, -!

- Referencing other debaters/teams as examples in some of your warrants. Contextualizing stuff to debate history is so cool.

- Being clear. The slower the clearer almost 90% of the time. The louder the clearer almost 90% of the time as well. University RH is a benchmark for how your spreading style should be to optimize speaks in front of me.

- Good argument strategy and tactics i.e going for the right choice in the 2NR, time allocation, and speech construction. You can win different routes but taking the easiest path to victory will garner more speaks.

- CX Dominance, not being lost or seeming evasive in cross, as well as putting your opponent into binds.

- Sending pre-written analytics will help your speaks and probably my flow.

I will not award you for the 30 speaks spike.

Lowpoint dubs only ever go to people who I found rhetorically less persuasive but won a dropped arg.

I'll start at 28 and go up and down from there.

I'll disclose speaks, I think it's a good norm.

I'll yell slow if you're too fast so don't be worried about outspreading me.

Any other questions, please ask in person or email – minhle1933@gmail.com

LD and CX:

TRUTH OVER TECH.

Please no skits, roasts, songs, etc. Most other args are fine. Spreading is fine but please signpost/slow down at least with the tags.

PF:

Please share all cards before the round. Calling for cards counts against prep.

Congress:

I prefer Extemp style, which involves less *reading* to the chamber and more *speaking* to the chamber. I don't mind jokes, but I do mind crude / vulgar jokes. There are ways to be funny while maintaining decorum.

Speech Events:

I tend to prefer speaking over analysis, but just barely. Between a solid speaker with solid analysis, and a decent speaker with incredible analysis, I'll vote for the latter. I need to see Ethos (good sources), Pathos (humor, empathy, and/or vulnerability) and Logos (analysis and original thinking), though I value them in reverse order (Logos > Pathos > Ethos).

Interp Events:

With dramatic events, I definitely value realism as opposed to melodrama. With humorous events, PLEASE avoid racist/sexist etc. stereotypes and impersonations when distinguishing between characters.

For Interpretive Speech Events (POI, DI, DUO, HI) I prefer a clean presentation of book etiquette in the events that a black book is needed. Clean page turns and blocking with your black book is preferred.

Clean and syncopated blocking and use of tonality and vocal expression is preferred. Also scenes from exposition to rising and falling action should be well expressed with a variety of emotions and transitions should be clearly articulated in a way that connects audience with characters and literature.

For Debate (CX, PF) I'm a solvency person. Show me plan text and why it matters and how it translates into tangible results that can either maintain or improve the SQ. Overall, as long as AFF and NEG stick to STOCK Issues, I believe it will enhance the overall debate and educational outcomes. I'm open to Kritiks as well.

(LD, WSD) how does your presentation make the world a better place both practically and theoretically. Whichever team can uphold its criterion and prove how the world is a better place under the construct of its case will win.

For INFO, OO, EXTEMP, I prefer quality sources and clean speaker transitions throughout the speech.

ut austin '27 (government/economics/plan ii)

1A/2N in hs (memorial qp), not currently debating in college

email chain: gzqjudging@gmail.com

accomodations/disability notice: i have an auditory processing disorder. i probably can't type and process your highest unclear speed. err on the side of being loud and articulate well or i'm going to miss stuff. or send analytics. tired of ppl not respecting this cheers ^^

longhorn classic:ngl i forgot to fill out my ballots more so email me if you want more comments lmao

tldr: i think there are really only 4 things about me that you probably have to know

in round expectations: if you are unnecessarily rude and condescending at any point in time it will make me upset to vote for you and you will almost certainly catch a 25 (or lower than what i would originally think you deserve). i'm not going to expect you to be best friends but there's a bottom line. be reasonable and be kind

ivis/accessibility: i am very sympathetic to legitimate ivis. i don't think your opponent needs to run an ivi for me to down you if you're running something exclusionary. the moment that i see something exclusionary in any sense, i will not continue flowing and i will submit my ballot.

ideological background: i was almost solely an identity k debater in high school, but i went to policy-oriented camps (zag '20, utnif '19, utnif '21). i also read philosophy in my free time. i think this means i can evaluate most debates pretty well but i am probably best at judging identity k debates. i also come from the gonzaga camp of credentials matter which is the main opinion i have on larping.

competitive background: i did policy debate at memorial high school, competed on the nat circuit semi-regularly and did kind of decently my senior year. my partner and i were largely lone wolves for most of our careers. i was almost exclusively a 2N except for like 2 tournaments my freshman year and like one or two rounds my senior year. it highlights mistakes but hasn't really impacted my inclination to vote one way or the other.

larp debate:

credentials: i don't really have strong opinions on larp debate (or policy debate lmao) other than i think credentials and where authors are from can strongly sway the direction of the debate =)

kritikal debate:

literature: i am relatively familiar with most identity literature, and know more than enough to know if you're wrong. i am most familiar with [techno]orientalism, set col, and cap. i know buzzwords, but i never really got why you would use buzzwords instead of just explaining unless it was really necessary. take that how you will i suppose.

debating style: don't run like… an overview in front of me. i'd say this probably applies to poems and the sort too but i get how that's usually a part of the case. either way, i didn't know how to flow them in high school and i still don't know how to flow them. i never really saw a point unless it was explaining the thesis of the k, but you should not like. expect me to flow it lol. i'm not going to and i def will not flow it on another page

links: i gotta say i'm not suuuper into state links unless your k is sketchy and there's a reasonable chance you couldn't find a link, i strongly prefer specific k links, but i get it. i was a 2n at some point too, i'm not going to be mad if your link is generic (with restrictions)

but also as a 1A, people extrapolating obviously generic state links in the block (specifically to cap ks) were frustrating af because i had to make entirely new offense like 99% of the time. i am sympathetic to 1As who have to answer that, especially if your 1NC card clearly has no part that talks abt your extrapolation, UNLESS it's a sketchy aff where there are probably not easily available links. even links to one part of the topic are better lmao (probably the best tbh, that's what i usually did with my sketchy k).

kritikal affs: i actually really enjoy k affs and one of the parts of debate i really enjoyed was coming up with a story for the aff. feel free to run any sort of k aff in front of me, especially if it's a fun identity K affs. i like reading kritikal literature because i like rethinking some of the ways i view the world – i would like to see affs that do that.

framework: however, even as someone who ran k affs, i think many k affs fail to explain how their model of debate is good. you won't have a hard time convincing me that education is the terminal impact to framework but you should probably explain why theirs isn't good for education. i actually think i probably vote against framework more often than not, it's usually just not compelling enough to me because i think framework is often a way to not have to debate the substance of identity k affs (ie: a lot of people are uncomfortable with the fact that the world is in fact not good for a lot of people who live in it). disclaimer: go ham w it vs pomo affs lmao

topicality and theory:

topicality: i like topicality. i think it's overlooked as a viable 2NR strategy. i have no particular preferences on it.

theory: theory is fun when you're not being annoying about it. if you just dropped 11 points on the states cp on your opp who doesn't spread i'm not going to flow 50 states fiat. if you put it at the top and don't extend it and read 12 other points i am going to be kind of upset ngl why would you make me type it then. time sucks bad !

i generally am a firm believer in condo good. i don’t think that there’s a lot of instances where i lean aff, but use your judgement and be reasonable.

framework/t-usfg:

there are strategic ways to about this and there are unstrategic ways to go about this. i am probably most inclined towards education as a terminal impact to framework. like i mentioned at the top, the fact that i was from a small school (kind of) means that i am highly inclined towards structural fairness > procedural fairness and you will have a hard time convincing me that procedural fairness (see: you follow speech times) is still more important because it "rectifies in-round unfairness" or whatever. you literally get disqualified if you don't follow the rules – to me, i don't think people are motivated to follow the rules so people can equally access the debate space. feel free to argue otherwise

miscellaneous:

• i will miss things, both because i am human and because i have a hearing disorder. if i missed an analytic it is not on purpose, but the chances of it changing my decision are low to none, especially because i strongly believe if it's going to sway the direction of the debate you should have slowed down on it.

• i think debate is competitive but in no way has that ever meant "be rude" to your opponents.

• i don't think sending docs counts as prep and you don't need to count it, but it's not like people can't tell when you steal prep lmao. i literally watched people prep for like 3 minutes after the timer was stopped. don't steal prep. i will call you out if i think you're taking too long.

• i've been told many a time i look unhappy naturally. i'm probably not that upset about what you're reading - although i am very expressive. will try to keep it to a min but if i look confused or annoyed i am probably confused or annoyed, shockingly enough

Mix of stock issues judge and tabla rasa- prefer a clear, traditional debate but don’t mind if teams run a kritike or counterplan with sufficient evidence and clear argumentation to back it up

Speech style- I prefer speech clarity over speed reading. A succinct argument that doesn't spread is preferred.

Argument- No preference for argument as long as it is backed by evidence and fits within status quo of possibility.

Sources- Credit will be given for most contemporary and credible sources presented in argument. Repetition of sources and linking to argument is preferred method of citation.

Looking for a good, clean, and respectable debate. Courtesy and good sportsmanship matter towards overall scoring.

Affiliation: Strake Jesuit

Treat me like a traditional judge with an emphasis on clear communication. Feel free to ask me questions before the round.

Please do not assume I know the jargon you use. Tell me how you want me to weigh arguments in the round and which arguments are voters. Signposting and crystallization are hugely helpful. Telling me where to start on the flow is a great idea. If you want me to vote on something, you have to extend through every speech. I want to see lots of weighing: rounds without weighing are very difficult to adjudicate. Make it easy for me to vote for you.

HIGH SCHOOLERS AND COACHES — IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A COST-EFFECTIVE DEBATE CAMP THIS SUMMER COME TO THE UH HONORS DEBATE WORKSHOP (HDW). We have quite literally some of the top faculty from around the country teaching an intense two-week course for Congress, LD, CX, PF, and WSD with a one-week Individual Events portion.

More information - https://uh.edu/honors/Programs-Minors/co-curricular-programs/debate/debate-workshop/

-Now back to the paradigm-

Hey gang,

he/him - Call me Justin or Schnit or Schnitty or Justinian or Schnitzel or Schnitzer or J-Dog or J-Man or The Schnit or Big Schnit or whatever else you want. I won't be mad if you call me judge, just disappointed.

Email: justinschnitzer22@gmail.com

Add me to the email chain

The University of Houston Policy Debate Fall 23-Current

Langham Creek High School Speech and Debate Fall 21- Spring 23

If I am judging a speech event, I did DX and INFO in High School. Other members of my team did almost every other event as well. This means for you that I probably know the rules well enough, and I am familiar with speech events where I feel I can give a fair ranking and comments. Also, I was somewhat of a theater kid in high school, so, you're good.

This is always changing but in general

1 - K on the neg, silly arguments that you run well

2 - K on the aff with some relation to the topic and probably a method text, Generic policy arguments (DAs and CPs)

3 - K on the aff that's not really topical and very performance, also FW. I feel like its 50/50 in these debates (I probably will usually vote neg on framework just cause lots of K teams are bad at defending it)

4 - Most phil, trix

5 - idk

tech>truth (Unless otherwise told or convinced >:3)

I'm not opposed to any argument and will flow every speech (on paper) along with doing my best to give a helpful RFD.

My decision will be based on what I feel the easiest path to the ballot is. If there is a dropped argument that the last speech and the 2N/2A really blow it up and tell me why it should decide my ballot, there is a good chance that will be my ballot. If I'm not convinced it should decide the round, it will at least weigh my decision more in your favor.

I've struggled to give a paradigm on topicality because I feel like every time I do it makes it seem like I'm some horrible judge for topicality and I'll never vote on framework and K-Affs are a gift from god. I don't think this, I vote on framework, I vote for K-Affs, I vote for who won. Make sure you just tell me what they dropped and what I should vote on AND WHY like any other argument.

I was a novice at one time, I was a trad debater at one time, I was a policy nerd at one time, and I am a K nerd now. (Maybe starting to be more of a policy hack #heggood)

I debated LD for a year, Policy aff, and Cap K or Policy neg. I debated Policy in High School for a year, Policy aff first semester-K disability aff second semester, and Afropess and Cap K neg. Also had to do policy arguments in front of lay judges because it's high school.
I'm currently debating with the University of Houston and go for basically everything, but usually the K

I've never done PF, but I have judged it before and had to learn what it was, so don't worry much if I'm in your round.

What does this mean? I probably have more knowledge/understanding/preference of these arguments than others.

Does this mean to run these arguments even if I prepped something else? No.

Can I run death-good/spark/wipeout/another edgy argument? I don't care. Your opponent might though and I'm willing to vote on it either way. Also extinction good just isn't very convincing to anybody so probably fighting an uphill battle on this one.

If you go the same speed in analytics/tag that you go in the card itself I will probably not be able to flow it as well and will give you lower speaker points. You should also go slower in the 2nr/2ar.

Let me know if you have any questions.

danielaudreycole@gmail.com

daniel please, Not judge and definitely not sir

So who is this random guy?

POST JUDGING TWO CIRCUIT TOURNAMENTS THOUGHTS:

I don't know if I just did not care about it when I debated and judged regularly last year, or if there was some committee meeting where people decided just to toss evidence ethics completely out the window. It seems even worse than before. I saw a card that was tagged "Iran key for nuke war" then the card said in tiny unhighlighted font... "5 places where war could go nuclear." Authors, even at very credible websites write speculative pieces and opinion pieces that are being weaponized by debaters for cards with absolutely no regard to whether or not it is actually what the card says with context. Making something size 5 font does not make it go away if I catch anyone doing this... I will stop paying attention and drop you. No questions asked. I don't care if I'm the only one in the community that cares about this, if you can't be bothered to edit your case so it meets very high standards of evidence ethics, then PLEASE strike me.

Policy debater at Houston Memorial (2022), TFA, and NSDA Qualifier with a horrendous record at National Circuit tournaments- Arkansas 26(Not debating)

I judge mostly these days for fun, and far less than I used to. I cover sports in my spare time for sports illustrated, Slow down from top speed.

Speaker Points: 30s for all, call me lazy but I've got enough crap to do as a judge, I'm not sorting through the minutia of what the difference is between a 30 and 29,6...

There are two major exceptions to this rule:

1. Unnecessary showmanship and/or general rudeness... Don't spread if you don't have to... Don't run 7 off if you don't have to... Don't cut your opponent off in cross every question... you know the usual stuff...
2. Evidence ethics... This is DIFFERENT THAN MOST OTHER JUDGES... You should not highlight one sentence from the card and then make the rest of the text incredibly small to make the context of the card impossible to read. The general rule of thumb, is if the author of the article came in and listened to you read the card, would they feel comfortable with the way you have represented the card? If not, please recut..., I will drop your speaks to 27.5 without saying a word, your opponent does not even have to say anything (although if you stake the round on it, I am certainly willing to sign and deliver my ballot if you are correct). It won't change the rest of the debate, I won't even mention it in my RFD. Trust me, as someone who writes content that gets published online for a job, we do NOT write articles with debate in mind... cut them as such, do not cut a sentence out of an article, just because it is a fire link to your DA. (See longer rant above)

Pref Shortcuts(LD)-

LARP-1

(Real theory-Condo, T Violations vs LARP AFF, etc.) 1-2

Phil-3

K-4

Trix-The cereal is for 3-year-olds, and so is this kind of debate :)

This used to be a heck of a lot longer, I’m convinced that most of y’all didn’t read that disorganized mess. This is how you should think of me as a judge. A former policy debater that went strictly topic related T and Policy stuff and a few basic Ks. Slightly out of practice but judged 50+ circuit LD rounds last year.

I am a stock issues judge. I believe that the affirmative plan must fulfill all their burdens. If the negative proves that the affirmative is lacking in any one of the issues, it is grounds for the plan to be rejected. As a stock issue judge, I generally prefer a clear, eloquent presentation of issues in round, and dislike arguments that seem to not relate to the topic on the surface.

Hi, I'm Zarik (he/him). You can call me Zarik, ZT, Tao, judge, or any combination of these names. I would like to be on the email chain - zarik.tao@gmail.com

Background: Bridgeland '23, Texas '27.

5th at 2022 6A UIL State, qualified to TFA State x3, Doubles at TFA State 2022.

I was a heavy on LARP and Phil as a debater, so take that information if you will.

Pref Shortcuts:

LARP - 1

Theory - 1

Phil - 2 (Depends on type)

K - 2 (Depends on type)

Tricks - 5 (or strike me tbh)

I will pretty much vote on every arg if it is cohesively developed and I am able to explain back to you the claim, warrant, and impact in my RFD. (except if the arg is obviously morally reprehensible e.g. sexism, racism, etc.)

LBL > Long Overviews

Tech > Truth (but I think both are important)

Flex prep is cool; prep stops when you finish compiling the doc.

My judging philosophy is to be as non-interventionist as possible; people spend a lot of time prepping for this activity and you deserve the right to read whatever arguments that you want. That being said, I am a very expressive person, so if your argument does not make sense, I will probably make a face at you.

In Depth:

LARP - Pretty self-explanatory; you can run pretty much anything (plans, cp's, 7 minutes of case turns, disads, etc.). If you are aff PLEASE extend solvency or I will negate on presumption. Also, PLEASE collapse in the 1AR/2NR. I do not want to hear 5 different extinction scenarios that are all really underdeveloped in your rebuttal speeches. 0% risk is a thing.

Defaults:

1-3 Condo is probably good for neg flex; anything else is probably sketchy.

Functional and Textual Competition in the CP is probably good, but I will vote on PICS and Consult CP's etc. unless the aff wins abuse in the shell.

There needs to be an justification for judge kick (can be like 5 sec) if you want me to kick the offs for you; otherwise just spend the time kicking them yourself.

Comparative Worlds over Truth Testing (really easy to be convinced otherwise)

Theory - Fine with any theory; the more frivolous the arg then the lower threshold that I have for responses, but I will still vote on it UNLESS it pertains to the appearance/properties of the other person (e.g. water bottle and shoe theory is absolute b.s.). PLEASE extend paradigm issues.

Defaults (Please don't make me use them):

DTA > DTD (Unless it's T)

Competing Interps > Reasonability

No RVIs on shells

Content > Form

Text > Spirit

Topicality - I actually really enjoy topicality debates, including Nebel and Leslie, if they are done well (which is find is pretty rare, even for myself). Just contextualize why you win semantics>pragmatics or vice versa/both and the warrants for T "a" or bare plurals and if you do it well, you will probably get good speaks.

Phil - Fine with mostly everything if explained well; I pretty much only read Kant on aff LOL. If it's kind of a benign philosophy, it's probably good to have in the case to me whether is deon v consequentialist and how impacts are weighed under the framing. Syllogism > Independent Justifications. If you are reading util, PLEASE stop reading the Moen evidence it says a bunch of nothing and just switch to the Blum evidence.

Kritiks - I have a good understanding of Set Col, Afro-Pess (I will not vote on non-black Afro-Pess), Baudrillard, Pyscho (Lacan), and Foucalt/Agamben. I have a base level understanding of Empire, Queer-Pess, Asian Melancholy, Adorno, and Deleuze. If you are reading other authors/topics, you either 1) probably shouldn't read it because I might not understand it, or 2) explain it really well to me.

K Tricks (root cause, alt solves case) are cool, Floating PIKs are probably abusive but the other side should either run theory or ask for it in CX.

Tricks - Please delineate them and not hide them in a paragraph; that's not cool for me nor your opponent. If you're winning on tricks you're probably getting low speaks unless it's actually developed really well in your first speech and I've never seen that trick before.

Turns to tricks under truth testing is actually really cool if you pull it off you'll get good speaks.

Please email me your cases beforehand: seterez@yahoo.com (especially if you want to spread)

Here is a quick disclaimer: I am a volunteer judge, so I do not know all the specifics of progressive debate. However, if you can explain your arguments to me, so I understand them (please explain it thoroughly), I can vote off of them.

I am not extremely comfortable around spreading, so I would prefer if you did not spread. However, I am okay with mild speed.

Please crystallize and use roadmaps as much as possible. If I don't hear you explicitly say something, I will not vote off of it. This goes for extensions as well. In your last speeches, I would like to hear weighing and summarization on both your case and your opponents.

Truth> Tech, I would love to hear summaries/analogies or anything else you think provides truth to the round (I honestly prefer that over cards, I prefer debaters breaking down arguments to make this as educational and relatable as possible).

I like clean, clear, concise, warranted arguments and responses. Speed is not an issue as long as you are organized and coherent.Slow down if speed interferes with the flow of ideas.I think conditional arguments are abusive and cause me to intervene. Theory can be a voter if arguments are developed and applied. Generic theory arguments are a waste of time. I appreciate debaters making logical arguments that are specific to the round instead of reading prepared responses. A sense of humor is appreciated. Crystallize issues in rebuttals. Tell me how you want me to weigh arguments in the round and which arguments are voters. Use CX time to clarify issues and to establish your strategy.

Performance events should be polished. Characters should be engaging and have definite vocal and physical characteristics. The piece should have different emotional levels. Movement should make sense.

Run anything, no tricks or friv shells

tech>truth always

quick prefs:

1)K-cap,security, basic ID pol, Deleuze, baudrillard

2)policy

3)real theory

4)friv theory and tricks

im good with speed

speaks start at 28.5 and move up or down accordingly