Hello, I did debate in high school all 4 years, with the first two being in policy and the final two in Public Forum. Thus, I know what is going on, but I won't have a ton of knowledge on the topic for the first couple of tournaments, so ease me in.

Speed/Signposting: I did policy for two years so I can handle some speed, but if you aren't signposting and telling me where I need to flow what you're saying, I'm not going to be able to flow it. With that, please signpost. Tell me where you are putting this argument on the flow. I can flow everything you are saying, but only if I know what you are saying, and where I'm supposed to put it.

Weighing: At the end of the round, tell me why you win. You could have the best defense in the world, but if you don't give me any offense to vote on, I'm going to have a tough time voting for you.

Truth v Tech: I am a big mix of both. If your opponent drops something and you point it out, I'm not going to vote for them in that area, however, if I am left with two impacts, whichever impact is more probable is the one I'm most likely going to vote on.

Framework: The only way I'm going to follow a framework is if you pull it through the entire round, if you don't pull the framework through, I'm going to default to a cost-benefit analysis.

Personal Preferences: One thing that I am picky about is pulling through evidence. Don't just tell me to pull through the impact or pull through the link, tell me specifically what I'm pulling through. Tell me the impact I'm pulling through, and tell me the link I'm pulling through. Just because your opponents drop your contention, doesn't mean you don't have to do any work on that anymore. You still have to tell me why you win with that point. Another controversial take that I have is that the second rebuttal needs to get back to its own case. To me, you can't not touch your own case from the 2nd Constructive to the 2nd Summary.

Evidence: Some things to me are unspoken, so you don't necessarily need a card for everything. I am all for analytical arguments, but there is a line where you need evidence for something you are saying. I will also call for evidence if it becomes an issue in the round. I will not call for it if it isn't called out by your opponents, but if there is a dispute, I view it as my place to settle the evidence debate.

At the end of the day, please be respectful to your opponents, don't make me not want to vote for you because you are being disrespectful. Good Luck!

I’m a pretty laid back judge, If you do good you get good things, if you make one or two minor mistakes it’s cool. Just don’t mess up during the entire tournament or you may be docked points. I usually tend to hyperfocus on impacts and what arguments stick. I also completely disregard useless conversation, if you argued for two minutes over sources with no actual thought process put into it, it didn't happen in my mind. Please don’t waste time on sources though. If you don’t already know the source and have means to refute its validity you haven’t prepared for it and in turn I don’t think that you inherently deserve points for finding flaw in it only after questioning the sources origins. BAZINGA!

: My Credentials :] :

I debated LD all four years in South Dakota. I have judged LD and PF now for 4 years.

: General Info for All :

For speed, on a scale of 1(slow)-10(fast) I sit at a 5. If you go faster, as long as you are understandable and clear I won't get upset.

Don't be rude in round. If I see the debate turn into an attack on other opponents, I will vote you down. That is not the purpose of debate.

SIGNPOST. This is necessary for all types of debate I judge, greatly appreciated if I see clear signposting of points and arguments.

: LD :

I am pretty traditional, but if you debate circuit/policy arguments I will still vote for you as long as you make your arguments clear - if I'm judging you at a South Dakota tournament please avoid policy arguments :)

Need to see a value/criterion clash of some sort. That is a big factor in my decision and who best links to morality.

I will vote on line by line, but for the last Affirmative speech I prefer hearing Points of Crystallization or clear Voters. Tell me exactly why you win.

: PF :

As long as you give straight forward explanations of your points and arguments, you should be good. Don't give 'fluff' information, I can tell if you are not responding to an argument or an opponent's point.

Give me main Voters during your summary and final focus (this should be self explanatory but sometimes people don't do this).

: Policy :

I know the layout and arguments, but I am not well versed in critiks or higher level tech arguments. I have a very basic understanding of when I debated it my freshman year. However, if you make arguments clear I will still vote on them.

I have done PF for two years at Harrisburg, and I have a moderate level of experience. I also do extemp unfortunately

Public forum:

Overall I prefer stock debate, but I will definitely listen to k's, topicality, and counterplans as long as they make sense. Just don't run theory. Other than that I’m pretty much good with whatever you want to argue.

I am definitely a tech judge, so I am voting on whatever is extended at the end of the round. I will understand all the debate terms you use (turn, drop, pull, etc.)

Speeches: I care much more about your arguments than your speaking fluency, so I will award speaker points based on efficiency and content.

CX: Ask related questions. Its totally fine if you're aggressive just don't be excessively mean to your opponent

Rebuttal: You should try to hit every argument in your opponents case. If you drop an impact it will be very hard to get my vote. Also, the second speaking team should respond to arguments put on their case

Summary: Very important speech. I think line-by-lines are the most effective, but as long as you explain the clash in the round its fine by me. Also try not to drop main args. If you do impact calc as a novice i will vote you up

FF: Ive prob made up my decision by this point, so dont say anything out of pocket and your win is secured. Give me some voters and dont drop your opponents case.

At the end of the round I will vote on a combination of timeframe/magnitude/probability.

IE’s

I don't really know much about anything besides extemp, but as long as you establish your argument, incorporate evidence, and speak relatively clearly you should be good. Corny jokes get you a 6

Lincoln Douglas

I don’t even know what a value criterion is, so please explain things well. I probably will never judge this event, but still.

Overall, best of luck!!! You will do great!

TLDR:

be nice, don’t drop things, and make sure you point out drops

About me:

I did four years of public forum and domestic extemp with Aberdeen Central and am now a political science major at the University of South Dakota (go yotes!). I keep pretty up to date with current events in the United States and abroad and like to think I know what is going on in the world for the most part. I am also a lover of cats, movies, and Christmas :)

Public Forum:

Drops:

I am going to be a flow over anything judge.

If you drop it and the other team points that out, then its gone and I won’t vote on it. That being said, I think it is the burden of the speaker to get back to touch everything they are going to pull through in the next speech. This means that the 2nd rebuttal speaker NEEDS to get back to their own case for me to weigh it and the summary speakers need to cover everything that their partner is going to close for or I won’t flow it. However, if your opponent doesn’t point out your drop and you repack it up then consider yourself extremely lucky. I will flow it again because drops need to be pointed out in the round for me to weigh them.

Speed:

I can handle rapid conversational just fine as long as you are speaking clearly and sign posting, sign posting, SIGN POSTING!!

Time:

I love a good, BRIEF off the clock road map. They are my favorite thing tbh.

For calling for cards I typically won’t take prep unless a team takes the card back to their area or it starts taking to long to find or read the card. Please don’t take advantage of this. I will expect the other team members not to prep during this time and will dock speaker points if you try to steal prep or if this takes too long.

Cross:

Please just be nice and respectful. I understand being fired up in the heat of the moment but there is a difference between being assertive and being disrespectful. I typically won’t vote on respect unless it is a MAJOR issue, but I will take speaker points away and give a low-point win.

LD/Policy:

I have very little experience here so if I am in the back of your round I am sorry, but I will try my best. I will be flow over anything and can handle a rapid conversational as long as there is signposting, but maybe go a little slower at first to ease me in :)

IEs:

You shouldn’t have to conform your speech style for judges, but I did do domestic extemp for four years so I have the most experience there. Admittedly, I didn’t sit through a single inform or oratory round in my four years of high school, but I do enjoy them. If you make me laugh I will give an extra speaker point :)

1. Debate background:

1. Judged High school debate for (9 years);
2. Assistant debate coach for 2 years.

2. Judging:

• I love flow and base my judgment on logical arguments, facts, science, etc.
• I deliberate on overall presentation of debaters-- i.e.-- argumentation + delivery

Hello, and thank you for competing!

A Little About Me

I competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate for four years at Sioux Falls Washington High School. I also did speech and interp events for all four years, specifically Info, Non-O, and Impromptu. I'm currently on Arizona State University's Oxford debate team for the 2024 Regent's Cup Tournament. I like dogs more than cats and enjoy a good gyro.

If I'm Judging PF...

I started my debate career in PF in the fall of 2019. I transitioned to LD in January of 2020, and I haven't done any PF since. If I'm your PF judge, bear my lack of recent experience in mind. Go slower, and err towards logical arguments rather than torrents of arguments and voters hinging solely on dropped cards. In short, cut my poor LD brain some slack.

If I'm Judging LD...

I consider myself a traditional Lincoln-Douglas judge. The value and criterion debate are of paramount importance, and should be treated as such. The debater who wins my ballot will not always be who wins the flow, but rather who convinces me the arguments they are making are achieving the value that is winning the round. This being said, I recognize the importance of strong contention level arguments, so be thorough in all speeches.

Strong voters are incredibly important, especially to the aff. In the final aff speech, the entire time should be spent on voters, and I generally recommend a first voter on the value/criterion debate before going into the contentions.

On speed, I will not flow anything I cannot understand. I top out at around a rapid conversational pace, so spread at your own risk. The purpose of debate is to instill public speaking and argumentation skills in students, and this purpose is negated if debaters are encouraged to argue in a manner indecipherable to the public at large.

In this vein, I will not consider Kritiks, Counter-Plans, or other policy refugee-esque arguments in LD debate. Just as a baseball player does not have to worry about their opponent pulling out a cricket bat, a debater should not have to worry that their opponent might attempt to play by an entirely different set of rules. This being said, I'm a sucker for a good topicality debate, and I enjoy RA and observation arguments. A general rule of thumb is "does this argument interpret the intent of the resolution, or does it attempt to circumvent or nullify the resolution?" If an argument falls under the former, go right ahead. If it falls under the latter, I'd advise saving it for a different judge.

Generally, I'm a Tech over Truth judge, but if a truly outlandish argument is made in round (an argument that the KKK helped race relations in the south after reconstruction is a particularly salient example I recall from my debate years), a brief statement pointing it out as such will be sufficient.

I flow all arguments given in a round. I do not flow cards. If you wish to make an argument, you will have to actually make that argument (claim, evidence, warrant, etc). You can't just say "O'Connor 11 says climate change will kill us all." In this vein, when pulling through arguments, you have to reiterate the thrust of the argument itself, you can't just say "Pull through O'Connor 11 which proves my opponent can't access...whatever." If you try this, odds are I have no recollection of what O'Connor 11 is, as I only write down "climate change will kill us all." In this vein, I don't believe all arguments have to be derived from cards. A well-reasoned analytic argument will beat a poorly reasoned card every time. So debate with arguments, not by volume of cards, and pull the arguments, not the card through to win my flow.

Don't try bringing up new arguments in the 2NR or (God forbid) in the 2AR. It won't work. I won't flow it. Please save my (and, more importantly, your) time through crystallizations and voters.

A minor final point: I enjoy historical allusions. If you have a command for history, and can give a historical comparison (or, even better, if you can poke holes in an opponent's historical comparison), do so. It will both give you extra speaker points, and make my heart glad.

If I'm Judging Speech/Interp...

I did just about every speech event over my years in high school, and understand the requirements of each. I especially enjoy info, and particularly like speeches about oddball topics nobody cares about (my senior year info was about early South Dakota political scandals). I also reject the infusion of OO formats into info. Thus, I ding infos for including overtly persuasive language or calls to action. The requirement of the event is to INFORM me about something, not to PERSUADE me to do something.

All things considered, I would prefer to not give time signals during speech and interp events (except extemp/impromptu). I want to give you every chance to suck me into your story/argument, and that is inhibited if I'm constantly worrying about looking at the clock and putting up the right hand gesture and the right time. Also, your writing, cutting, and performances in these events are set before a tournament begins. While I understand that at the beginning of a season pieces are often in flux, by the middle and end of a season, you should know that your piece runs under ten minutes. It shouldn't be on the judge to do that for you. Therefore, I will still give whatever signals you ask for, but know that I'll be more distracted during your piece if I'm thinking about signals and if I'm judging a close round at the end of a season, and the only thing distinguishing two pieces is that one competitor asked for time signals every other minute, I'm going to give the round to the competitor who didn't ask for time signals on the grounds that they know their piece better than their opponent knows theirs.

A Word on Common Courtesy...

In debate, be respectful to your opponent. I will not tolerate belittling, rudeness, or offensive language. Recently, I have noticed a troubling trend in Nat Circuit debates of overt rudeness and disrespect in round. Such actions are counterintuitive to growing the activity of debate; after all, who wants to join an activity where they just get yelled at and insulted every weekend. If you engage in such behaviors in round, it will be reflected in your speaker points, and (if particularly egregious), in the result of the round.

In speech events, I will rank you lower if you are disrespectful, loud, distracting, or obviously not paying attention. Speaking to an obviously disinterested audience just plain sucks. As competitors, we can have the basic decency to at least appear like we care about what the other person is saying. If I notice someone being overtly disrespectful or disinterested (eg: falling asleep, talking with another person during a piece), it will be reflected in the result of the round. So, pay attention. And for heaven's sake, DON'T LOOK AT YOUR PHONE!

In short, to quote Bill and Ted, "be excellent to one another."

If you have questions/comments/concerns/funny dog videos/information about Jimmy Hoffa, please email me at jarhinrichs@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can ask me anything you need to know before a round starts. Or after a round ends. Really, any time that isn't the middle of a speech works.

Thank you for reading, and have an excellent round!

Email: livvyjo11103@gmail.com (put me on the email chain, and feel free to message me post round)

About me: Olivia She/her (20) I am currently an individual events coach at Sioux Falls Jefferson! I attend USD online and work in marketing.

TLDR:

Debate is hard, please have fun and after the round, shake it off and never let a down bother you!!

PLAY NICE. There is nothing worse than a round where I as a judge feel flustered because of how the debaters are treating their opponents. I will comment on this, and I will give you lower speaks because of this.

I do not do time signals, do not ask. (Debate)

I prefer if you have time on your own (I tend to forget), but once my timer goes off, your time is done, please do not argue with me about how much prep you have.

During your opponent's speech, please refrain from talking, and listen to what they have to say, even if it is the last speech. They are valid and deserve to be heard as much as you do

My debate career:

I graduated from Central High school in 2022 and was a member of the debate team for all four years of high school. I did policy, pf, oratory, and info - went to nationals 3 times.

PREFERENCES:

I tend to lean more tech over truth - and I am very open to experimental debate, within reason. Just ask before the round or let me know if you wanna do something crazy. That being said, i will vote truth over tech, if there is literally no warrant or link to the debate/evidence.

QUALS AND STATE: (This is for debate only)

Lay it out for me. If I do not understand your argument I will not vote for it. Ks and Theory, are okay - just make sure they connect back. If you want to try something new, please go for it.

As always, be nice and play by the rules.

- EVIDENCE SHARING: This shouldn't take long, as we have some long days ahead - or it's the end of a super long day for all of us. It's cool if you just set up an email chain or something to make the process go faster. (but of course, add me in)

- EVIDENCE VIOLATIONS: I am ALL for the educational level of debate. If something is not true, please say something as I will not catch it like you do - because I am less experienced in the topic, and do not have the card in front of me. I will look at all cards brought to me, but I will not ask if you do not say anything.

Public Forum:

I am okay with speed, I understand the lingo. Keep things on the flow, if you drop something and do not address it, I no longer consider it an argument. I am good at following the flow. - That being said, please stay organized, it's easier for everyone to understand when you follow the order of contentions and arguments that are set up during the first few speeches.

Keep a good roadmap throughout the whole round and TELL me what I should vote for. Believe in what you are saying and why you win. Carry your arguments all the way through, if you drop something, tell me why, do not ignore it. With this - if you drop something you are not allowed to pick it back up. Consider it on the floor and I can't see it - do not bring it up in the final speech.

Please refrain from using abstract arguments such as Ks, Critiques, and CPs in South Dakota main season, UNLESS you are able to prove exactly how this relates to the resolution and your contentions. Experimental debate is only fun if it makes sense and works within the round. I debated policy for the majority of my debate career (being in the final policy round EVER in SD) so if you use them, I will know what you are talking about - your opponent may not so explain exactly what you mean. (CPs are very controversial in PF, I would strongly avoid these if you don't wanna talk about it for the duration of every speech and get debated on topicality and resolutional analysis)

LD:

I have only judged LD, last year being my introduction. With this, I am someone who, like PF will judge based on your clash. Believe in what you are debating, even if it is not your own personal belief outside of the round. If you do not care about what you are saying I will pick up on it, and stop listening.

I tend to lean towards a criterion and value debate as my main voter (any framework actually), as it’s there for a reason. You drop your criterion, you lose. You don’t uphold your value, you lose.

CIRCUIT:

Do not be abusive to your opponent. No disclosure theory if I am in the back, please. You can run theory, you just have to explain why it pertains to the text, and are able to back it up.

Speechdrop and email chains, make it quick. I am not spending 20 minutes trying to set it up when you did not come prepared. Have a print-off of your case as backup.

Ks, CPs, and DAs: Make sure you are explaining these in order of event - like if you have 2 DAs that are triggered by something, or solved by the CP, make sure they make sense to me. Explain if your opponent does not know what you're talking about, as not everyone normally debates circuits, on the traditional level these do not exist. Be courteous.

Spreading: IDC if you spread (I'm an 8/10 on speed) - slow down on tags and cards so I can follow. Please share your speech doc with me if you spread it so I can look back if I need to. I used to spread myself and know how to do it in a nice way.

SPEECHES:

If you are checking my paradigm before an IE round, I am so sorry that you think that you should be judged based on someone's preferences on content. Be confident, and I really hope that you love what you are telling me. I think IEs are unique and cannot be based on my personal preferences and biases. You will do great, I promise!! <3

DO NOT ASK ME TO READ MY PARADIGM FOR YOU.

I WILL get the ick for any arguments that are racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, discriminatory, and generally anything else you think I would get upset with. I do not tolerate hate in a progressive environment and I will not stand for any of it. Please do not say these things, I will stop listening and will contact your coach.

Sioux Falls Jefferson LD and IE Coach

"Sauce Boss"

Debate Rounds Judged: A lot (130+ish i think?)

General -

Aberdeen Central ‘21

Tech>truth

Tabula Rasa Judge overall

For the love of god please make evidence sharing short and sweet, It does not need to take 5 mins of time to share it, please do not have it take that long.

I used to disclose but after arguments with debaters as to why I am wrong has turned me off to wanting to do it. More likely than not I am not going to. showing up to the debate round last minute on purpose is pretty annoying, if you are near the room, go in so we can start the round.

New in the 2 = Dumb. Do not make new args in non constructive speeches. I am a 5-6 on Speed as well. I have a very high threshold when it comes to the argument of In Round Abuse happening, to me it is an all or nothing argument, not a time suck. I have a high bar when it comes to me voting on RVIs, Condo/Dispo. If you bring 17 arguments to the flow I expect them to be answered by your opponent but you also need to extend and properly handle them. Running Disclosuse Theory with me as a judge = 0 Speaks, A Loss, and me being annoyed for however long the debate is. Stop being a baby and debate, you do not need all of your coaches to do the work for you and prep out a case.

Word usage to avoid with me as your judge -

Racial Slurs, Excessive swearing (a well placed curse is okay once and while), “queen” and “king”, slay, poggers, he/she “ate it up”. All of these are cringe and will result in speaker points being docked. (For context someone said poggers, slay, and ate it up in a round so I felt necessary to add this)

Circuit Stuff (1-5, 1 meaning i like the arg)

Tech>

1 -

Trad LD
T vs K Affs (hard for me to not vote of it when it is ran, i really do not buy the whole in round education matters more than the round itself)

2 -

Speed (SIGNPOST TAGS, SLOW DOWN ON TAGS PLEASE)
Theory

Res Based Ks

3 -

Phil Debate, In round abuse args

4 -

K Affs (will vote if the Alt is the good)

5 -

High Theory

Non Res Based Ks

LARP

CP, PICs

Strike me -

RVIs good, Death Good Ks, Kant, Queer/Trans Violence against ones self (mentions of self harm = not good for me as your judge)

Strike me AND seek help -

Disclosure Theory / Open Source Theory, Tricks (Cringe)

How I give Speaker Points

I think speaker points are possibly the worst thing about debate since there is not a universal system on what makes a "good speaker". You should not get 25 speaks because you talk fast to a lay judge or get 30 because you spread to a circuit judge. So here is how I give out my speaks and what each means.

23 and Below- Did something in the round that was out of pocket and probably not ethical (IE: -isms, ists)

24-26 - Below Average speaker, you get up in the round and make some arguments but not ones that sound good. Needs serious improvement in more than one area

27 - Average. This is what each speaker starts out in the round for me, you go into the round with 27 speaker points by default

28-29 - Above Average to Elite Speaker - you make some great arguments and have a great flow along with signposting, doing good line by line, and being clear while also formulaic when you speak

30 - The Best Speaker I have seen all year - I do not think I have given out one 30 in all of my judging maybe ever, so this is a high bar. You will need to be perfect to get this. You need to not stumble once, be razor efficient with words and just dice your opponent up.

Ways to get more Speaks in .1s in the Round

Being Funny, Smart, and being a bit sassy in CX is ways to get you some points with me

Making an argument I was thinking of and then saying, shows a high level of talent.

Ways to lose Speaks with me as the Judge.

Running Disclosure Theory, Speed Ks, or just paraphrasing things in general.

Being not nice

IEs
I think that IEs should be based how well you can give me whatever information you have. Oratory, Inform, Interp etc are not my thing even though I have competed in all of those events. If you have me in non extemp, just talk good, and if you have me in Extemp, just know I could really care less about how good you talk and if you give me fluff, I will be to tell if you are actually saying really anything substantive. Content and analysis is way to get the one with me in the back.

Public Fourm

I want offense offense offense, that's how you win with me as a judge in the back, I want to see offense or you will not get my ballot. Do good weighing, Warrant analysis, and clobber your opponent into the ground, and you will get my ballot at the end of the round. While I do not coach PuFo directly, I will most likely have some what of an understanding of the topic but go easy on lingo based in the topic unless I state otherwise. I do not like paraphrased when I am your judge, I think it allows bad debaters to get an advantage. I will not vote you down simply for the fact that you have a case like that but I will be very inclined to listen to Paraphrase theory and that you should vote down the other team for it. But once again, you will have to read that theory argument for me to vote the other team down on it. I think public forum debate can be very lizard brained in the fact that everyone runs the same argument and it gets very boring. I will love to see you run arguments that have sick warrents and great links, I will be much more likely to vote on that compared to a not well thought out case. I am a 6 for speed and prefer tech debate to anything.I default to a CBA FW unless told otherwise. Generally speaking your 2AR/NR should just be voters and why you win the round by framing in the context of the debate (IE: Impact Calc, Solvency)

Do not ask if you can have first question, if you spoke first just start CX. Do not say, "off the clock roadmap", just give me an order. Just say, "Everyone Ready" instead of asking each person in the round, asking everyone wastes my time and yours.

LD

I think i am about as big of a mix of Trad and Circuit judge that you can have. I Coach this activity and I have come to believe that this should not become policy. While I was a policy debater, I think LD should remain mostly sperate from policy. That being said I will be fine with Ks with link to the res. Reading plan text in LD should be in the context of the res itself. I am going to have a very high bar for the evidence that you send me or that you read, if you say that there is a warrant in there that isnt, I am probably not going to eval it as a valid argument. Keep speed to like 5-6, I am fine with speed but PLEASE slow down on your tags, if cant hear or understand you, i am not going to flow. Tech>Truth. Reading the 50 States CP is probably not a good idea with me as your judge. Reading DAs is fine but your links better be good and not just generic Ev. Same with PTX Cases, specifics or i have a high bar for any argument that you make. Overall, keep a good flow, make a good arguments, and youll get my ballot. FW should not always be the most important voter in the round but you should not just drop it after your first speech. AFF has FIAT but I think the neg is going to have a hard time convincing me post res that any of their arguments based X Action happens so that means x actor will do this, you will need to do a lot of convincing me in the link debate to do this.

Policy -

I am a 8 on speed, signpost and you will be just fine, if you do not sign post. I will be slightly annoyed and make faces to show as a such. As someone who practiced their speed and mastered it, I like seeing those who mastered it aswell, that being said, if you cannot clearly spread, don't, I will not dock you if you do not talk fast enough, but I will dock you for talking too fast. I will vote not anything that is - Condo/Dispo, some inround discourse Ks(aka Speed Bad etc), Meme arguments, and Actor CPs. I flow CX and think it is important for argument developing and using it as a tool in your arsenal to clown your opponents.I am not a fan of PICs at all, think they are abusive and leech off aff ground. I tend to lean on a good CP with a mutual exclusivity NB with a sick DA, T, GOOD discourse Ks (IE - Security), Stock issues, politics DAs. I want offense, offense, offense.

Notions I carry with me into the round -

Presumption = Neg. Trying to change of this idea is an uphill battle and you will have an easier time trying to convince me that JR Smith is the greatest basketball player of all time. Do not waste your time on trying to dispute this.

Death is (probably) bad

BQ

Refer to LD and Pufo for framework and weighing arguments. Be the better debater and I will vote for you. I have minimal experience and do not care about this event nearly as much as I do the others.

TL:DR - Tech>Truth. I will vote on Paraphrase theory. Offense wins my ballot. Please signpost and do proper line by line. Disclosure Theory, or Bad Ks = dumb. There is no 3NR/AR

Hi guys! My name is Zoe and I’m a former debater whose done her fair share of events. During high school, I competed in oratory and informative for my IE’s as well as public forum for 3 years and Lincoln Douglas my senior year, and I competed at the 2021 Nationals in Student Congress.

Debate in General: This can be a stressful activity and things can get heated in rounds, but I am not ok with disrespectfulness, rudeness, or other uncalled-for behaviors. In a debate round, I ask that you signpost well to keep the flow clean and allow me to catch everything you are saying and want me to know. If I can’t flow it, I can’t vote for it. I will time prep and speeches, but you are free to do so as well on your own and I encourage it as well so there is no need to ask if I am ok with it. :)

Pufo: This is an event to be understood by a person who has absolutely no clue what you are talking about and should be treated as such. I will listen to whatever you are telling me, but if I can’t understand it without prior knowledge it won’t hold any weight if you can’t make it make sense. If you run framework please, please, please debate it. It shouldn’t be something that just sits at the top of your case and doesn’t do anything else, if that’s the case I won’t vote for it. Again keep the flow as clean as possible, sign post, sign post, sign post. If you tell me where in the flow you are I can meet you there and listen to what you are saying better, it works out better for all of us in the end. And in your final focus I want to hear voters. Tell me why you win, and why your opponent doesn’t. My decision at the end of the round should only be challenging because both teams used voters and made it hard to choose the winner.

LD: I don’t/won’t normally vote for a winner because of value criterion debate over contention level and vice versa. I will listen to anything and everything openly but make it make sense. You’re value should make sense in the context of your case and your criterion should uphold it and your contentions should fit within it that framework you have laid out for me. If you run something wild and out there in your contention level please link it back to your framework so everyone knows what is going on, but to also make sure your case as a whole makes sense, if your contention doesn’t uphold your framework that won’t work very well for you in the end. Again please signpost for everything. Use voters at the end so I can see what you want me to weigh at the end of the round and why you think you should win, but keep it simple, 3 or 4 max will do the trick if you have too many it just becomes a list and I don’t have a concise grouping to make my choice.

Speech: In a speech round I’m looking for you to be passionate about you’re topic and really show me that you love it and care about what you’re telling me, make me believe it. I also ask that you pay attention to your peers and what they have to say. You can learn some amazing things from the others in the room. But also they have put in just as much time and hard work as you have and deserve the opportunity to be heard.

I vote based on who I thought won the round.

First off, I have done VPF, INF, SC, and VFX. With all of that in mind, take a grain of salt with anything I say if I am judging you in any other field of speech and debate.

GENERAL INFO

PF: I am a stickler for signposting and trying to carry as many arguments (with clashes) as possible. Don't make the round a series of "our claims are better than your claims". Clashing arguments mean their claims directly oppose one another. E.g. "The sky is grey" vs. "the sky is blue". Flowing is the most important skill, use it and you are sure to please me. Also, I view prep time strictly. If you have shown competence I will be strict, if it's your first time debating I'll be more lenient. CX should NEVER be an argument session. CX is only for answering and asking questions, nothing else. I have seen it in rounds and experienced it as a debater. It gets nobody or the debate anywhere and cuts down on useful time that could be better spent answering questions. Arguing and debating should never mix. Keep your cool and simply answer and ask questions. Being professional in the future will also help you win over a judge if you run into a team that isn't polite in CX. And for newer debaters, NEVER ASK HOW OR WHY QUESTIONS IN CX. This allows your opponents to rabble on and on about their cases and cards. Rephrase any question you have into a straight yes or no. How and Why Questions will be docking any person who uses them. Marginally of course but you will still be docked.

INF: Dropping boards when setting up is not a big deal to me. However, when you are giving your speech you should have everything in order. Even new speakers to the scene have to have their visuals in order otherwise it takes away from the speech. Now if you do make a mistake, it's not like I judge you unfairly, you'll probably get docked 1-2 points for major slip-ups. However, I judge on a scale. If I know you're an experienced speaker, I will judge you harsher than a newcomer. In order to improve when you are already a great speaker, you need even the smallest mistakes fixed. (Sidenote: I'm not going to be really harsh with the speaker's points if you are experienced, but I will notice smaller mistakes and point them out.)

FX/DX: (Even though I did FX and not DX, Extemp and its format are the same anyway.) Try to maximize the amount of time you are speaking. But do not spend unusual amounts of time on a single argument, I will catch it and dock you. Maximize time by either bringing in another back argument you have or making previous arguments longer as a failsafe. A proper extemp speech should be 7:30 on the dot with 3-4 main arguments that support a thesis. Also, have a decent hook/opener. Intros shouldn't be any longer than 1:30.

NEW DEBATERS

Look towards me, not your opponent (If you're not in an IE), I don't mind it too much but in future rounds, if you decide to stick with debate, lay judges (without knowing it) will care very much. Making eye contact is a major help in ensuring the judge feels engaged in the debate. Don't be afraid to say your speech and if you have a speech impediment I won't hold it against you. Your arguments are what I will focus on. Consistency within your arguments or statement lets a judge give you higher speaker points as well as make your claims feel stronger to the judge. NOT EVERY JUDGE IS THE SAME. But a majority of us will give debaters the benefit of the doubt if they an obvious mistake. But again not all of us are the same. I know a number of judges who judge very harshly because of outside factors a debater can't control. Try your best with all judges and you should be good.

More importantly, have fun!

I am a public forum judge...not policy. Organization and presentation are the keys to a winning round. Fast speaking will get you nowhere; and may cost you a round if the round is close.

Fancy jargon will not gain you any points, nor will nasty crossfires. I appreciate common sense, professionalism, and good grammar!

Just debate the resolution; be organized; have a good time; good luck.

LD--I value organization, common sense, and good speaking skills. Please don't try to baffle me with lots of jargon. Super-fast speaking may cost you the round. You will be judged on your case, attitude, and clarity of thought. Please don't spend the entire round debating value/criterion/framework or philosophy; your contentions count too!

Hello debaters! My name is Amelia Underberg and my pronouns are she/her. I debated in high school for 3 years and have tried my fair share of speech events as well. If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask before or after round.

Public Forum:

For me public forum can get hard to weigh. Please do not sit and debate about one or two cards the whole time. Show me the impact!! I need reasons as to why your side outweighs in the round.

Lincoln Douglass:

I love a good framework debate. If you do not uphold your framework, you cannot really win the round unless both sides cannot. Contention levels are important to me for impact, but still pull your framing through the round please!

Speech Events:

Just have fun and be respectful please! I will vote on who I think is the best speaker and does the best on their topic/form of event!

General:

For the love of God, have fun guys! Debate is a fun and unique activity that you can be a part of, so enjoy it. Do not be rude or snippy. And treat your fellow competitors with respect. Remember that the point is to learn something and be a part of something larger than just one round :)

I'm an undergraduate student at Middlebury College where I compete on the debate team in British Parliamentary. During my high school debate career, I placed top 4 at nationals in Lincoln Douglas, and I'm a two time Lincoln Douglas state champion. I also attained state champion for United States Extemporaneous Speaking, and I competed for two years in Public Forum.

email (for chains ONLY): honeydew.kira@gmail.com

pronouns: she/her/they/them

General debate preferences:

Tech > truth, I focus on the arguments made in the round. I won't make the arguments for you. I hate interfering my thoughts in the round, you should be doing the work for me.

I'm okay with speed, but don't be abusive. I can understand fast speech (probably 8/10), but I think that if you are speaking fast, you have to be making good, purposeful arguments. I'm personally not a huge fan of using it just to try to confuse your opponent.

I think this goes without saying but don’t be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Hate does not have a place in debate.

While I am not necessarily a flow judge, I still think flowing is important. If your opponent drops something, point it out and blow it up. A response that hasn't been interacted with can create an easy path to the ballot.

I want warrants for cards; don't just tell me to extend your evidence. A clearly warranted card will always mean more than telling me to prefer your article because the person who wrote attended a prestigious school. If you ever say "I don't know know, that's what the study/card says", it's probably a bad sign. Also, I mostly don't flow card names, I often miss them in constructive (unless you emphasize in later speeches) because I focus more on what you're arguing than what the source is. Thus, saying "extend Washington '22" doesn't really mean anything to me. You have to do more work than that.

Weighing and voters are never a bad thing, don't be afraid to use them.

I will read cards if you ask for me to call for them. Otherwise, I probably won't unless it is very important in the round. If you know that your opponent is misusing evidence and tell me to call for that card, I will. If I find that someone is blatantly abusing evidence, depending on the severeness, I will consider voting them down just for that.

In my opinion, debate should always be a productive space where competitors can learn and grow and thus treat their opponent with respect. If you violate this and are explicitly rude, I will be very hesitant to vote for you. Even if you are going against someone who is competing in varsity for the first time, you should treat them with kindness and respect.

I DO NOT WEIGH NEW ARGUMENTS MADE LATE IN THE ROUND. Of course, extending arguments or explaining why your original argument/response still stands is fine. I think that new arguments made past this are inherently abusive because 1. the function of those latter speeches is not to continue to make new arguments 2. it's unfair to your opponent because they cannot respond efficiently/effectively that late.

If you include a reference to K-pop in any of your speeches, I will give you +0.1 speaker points :)

I have specific comments on the types of debate I am most familiar with below, if your type of debate is not listed, please refer to general preferences above. My specific preferences ONLY apply to those types of debate.

Lincoln Douglas:

I'm fine with K's and most other miscellaneous policy arguments as long as you can explain them and why they are preferrable to vote for in round. Don't run a Cap K and say to vote for it just because capitalism is bad. HOWEVER, I normally don't like counterplans. This is just a personal judging preference; I think it can be an unfair burden for the affirmative to have to attack a bunch of alternatives that the neg can come up with because it heavily skews the debate towards the negative (since there are tons of other things that could potentially resolve a problem). I find that they are often provided without warrants and thus not competitive. While it not abusive in all cases, I think that it often can be. Just because one alternative might be good doesn't deny that the resolution could also be beneficial to pursue; if you want to use a CP, you have to warrant why it is preferrable, not just why it can also resolve the issue. I am okay with a different option being used to show that it has higher effectiveness than the stance the aff takes as long as it is warranted. If you are just listing off a bunch of alts, that's probably a bad sign. But since it is a nuanced topic, depending on the way it's run/attacked, I might be fine with it even if you don't run it in the way I prefer. STILL, I WILL NOT VOTE YOU DOWN JUST FOR HAVING A CP. BUT if your opponent argues in the round why the CP is abusive to the burden of the affirmative (having to argue against too many random solutions, not focus of topic, etc), I am likely to buy that.

I'm a strong believer that solvency doesn't necessarily need to be discussed in Lincoln Douglas debate since it is based on morality. HOWEVER, if you are running an argument that relies on solvency (ie: the affirmative is moral because minimizing environmental harms reduces oppression), it is not something you can get around. In my opinion, some degree of solvency towards (in this example) reducing environmental harms has to be guaranteed, otherwise it doesn't make sense to vote for the affirmative without access to impacts. As long as your case doesn't revolve around solvency, you do not need to show that everything is solved for me to vote for you.

I'm also a strong believer that the job of the negative is to disprove the affirmative, not outline a counterplan or solve for the issues that affirmative outlines. How each negative debater can go about disproving the affirmative is up to the interpretations provided in the round, but the default for the negative is not to advocate for the opposite of the affirmative or solve for the aff's issues.

I will never vote someone down because they use a philosopher that committed some irrelevant harmful action/ideas. I believe that philosophy can be separated from the philosopher because, after all, philosophy is based on random bodies of thoughts on human action, not just one person. Even if Locke said or did something harmful, that doesn't change what his moral theory said or change that it has been beneficial, creating a whole body of philosophy still used in modern day. (But general criticisms are fine, just not ones saying that a philosopher said something sexist)

I absolutely LOVE value/criterion turns. If you can find a way to turn your opponent's framework, that is a wonderful way to outline your path to the ballot.

Value criterion debate is huge part of what makes Lincoln Douglas special compared to other types of debate. Please don't forget about it in the round; I am a huge fan of a well-functioning framework.

Public Forum:

WAY more than Lincoln Douglas, warranting is incredibly important for me in Public Forum. Especially if both sides have evidence which disagrees with each other, I want you to provide analysis not only on why your evidence stands more but also on why your opponent's falls. I will not do the work for you. Weighing is also incredibly important since Public Forum defaults on a cost benefit analysis framework. Thus, if one side can show me more benefits/harms it becomes far easier to vote for them.

Avoid hyper-specific topic jargon if I am in the back of your round. Although I competed in two years of Public Forum, I spent the bulk of my time involved with Lincoln Douglas Debate. While I will most likely be familiar with the basics of the topic, I will not know all of the lingo.

I outline most of the rest of my preferences in my general debate preferences, so refer back to those.

If you have questions about a specific preferences, feel free to ask me at any point.

TL:DR - Don't be abusive with evidence or make new arguments late in round. Be respectful. Use weighing/voters and warrant your evidence. Ask me to call for cards you think are abusive/need to be read. I am not a fan of using speed just to confuse your opponent.

I was an Extemper for Aberdeen Central and I did Public Forum for 3 years. I have a very good understanding of a broad amount topics and can flow rather quickly but I do not do speed reading very well at all. I don't like straying too far away from the topic at hand but I am willing to hear you out if your topic and case are strong enough to sway me. Every round is a good round and make sure you are confident in everything you do because that's what this whole thing is about.

Hello!

I am currently a senior at Central High School, and I have been doing Speech and Debate since my freshman year. I compete in Domestic extemp, Original Oratory, and Lincoln Douglas.

For Public Forum:

You need to make your link to the resolution clear. If your impact has nothing to do with the resolution- it won't be weighed in the round.

Please make sure you are sign-posting. I don't want to guess where to put an argument on the flow.

Make writing the ballot super easy for me :)

For Lincoln Douglas:

You have to win the Value. It doesn't necessarily have to be your FW, but you have to win it in order to win the round. Remember, LD is in a MORAL world--- solvency is not needed. It is your obligation to show the moral obligation of the actor/actors in the resolution. That is it.

I am okay with speed as long as you are clear.

If you are mean, I will vote you down and doc your speaks. This is an educational activity, and being mean prohibits a fun and educational learning environment.

Good luck, and remember to have fun!