As a judge, I am personally very big on delivery and the style in which the presentation is done. I am a strong believer that a passionate, engaging form of delivery is crucial for any successful speech. I like to see active participation and I also like when competitors avoid direct-reading like the plague!
I’ve been judging both speech and congress for over 5 years and can say that the experience has been great!

Thanks for taking the time to read this paradigm, as well as all of the other paradigms you're probably reading right now too, so let us begin, shall we?

I am a graduate of East Side High School (class of 2012) and I have been debating for four years while I was at East Side High School. I did policy debate for three years and then I did Lincoln-Douglass debate in my last year of high school because I had a lot of partner issues. I have graduated from Essex County College with my Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts (2020) and I will be attending Kean University to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in History (also in tandem with a K-12 certification) in the Spring 2023 semester; which begins in mid-January.

For Novice Debaters

-Please keep your speeches concise and organized as you make your arguments throughout the round.

-Always make sure to flow during EVERY speech and I would also suggest that you prepare your cross-ex questions in advance, prior to the cross-examination proper.

-Please be mindful of any details you may come across during the round so even if you have to ask a question while you're using your prep time (AKA "flex prep"), ask ONLY for clarification and nothing more. 

Akin to playing fighting games, sticking to the fundamentals will never steer you wrong, so as long as you know how to execute, when to execute, where to execute, and follow through. 

-give me a road map (the order of the speech) and make sure to signpost during the speech as well

-I'm ok with speed reading so as long as you are clear and concise with your arguments and how you present them to me. If you can't, then that's also fine, because debate as an activity, is all about being an effective communicator, regardless of your pace. Also, if you have time at the end of your speech, try to include a summary of the arguments you presented (AKA an under-view) so I as the judge can have a clear picture of how your arguments will not only interact with your opponent's arguments but also how your arguments can dismantle the logical appeal of said arguments and WHY I, the judge should vote for you.

As for the rest of this paradigm, here are my other preferences (for JV/Varsity Debaters)

-I ABHOR THEORY ARGUMENTS THAT ARE USED in bad faith! To clarify, when a theory argument is used to not check potential or in-round abuse, and instead is used to garner offense without context specific to the debate, it indicates to me as a judge that you're trying to circumvent the discussion instead of actually engaging the arguments being presented in the round. As a debater, you need to pay attention to how it is being deployed in the round and discern if the argument is being used in good faith or not. If not, then respond to it with direct clash and warrants to back it up.

-Topicality is another argument that I don't like but I don't totally dislike as well. Like theory, the situation has to present itself in a way that will be smart for you to run the argument. So as long as you don't drop it and try to bring it back in the later speeches for a cheap win, I will evaluate it. I do evaluate the K of topicality as well so as long as you can explain how the K of Topicality addresses topicality as a concept and why it is bad for the round. However, you still need to answer the shell thoroughly with a counter-interpretation, definition, or even if you can't, concede to their framework and use it as means to dismantle the credibility of the argument itself Arguments that you run analytically will have to have some sort of warrant or empirical evidence in order for me to truly evaluate it.

-I'm totally fine with the staple arguments (i.e. CP's and DA's). And for CP's specifically, if you're running a PIC, I'd really appreciate an overview of the pic for the sake of clarity and why the PIC is uniquely beneficial for the neg, and why a permutation would make them extra topical.

Side Note: if you plan on kicking out of any of these types of arguments, make sure to "close the door" on them appropriately so the aff doesn't gain access to any offense on those flows. By "closing the door" I refer to making the argument that explains why the idea was conditional and explaining how and why the aff ought to not gain any access to the offense they've made on those arguments by pointing out how in the neg and aff world the aff arguments wouldn't function as solvency but rather as a solvency deficit to the 1AC on those particular flows.

-Kritiks to be honest, are one of my favorite off-case arguments so as long as you know how to run it correctly. When it comes to certain kritiks that I've never heard, or really don't get, I'd appreciate it if you can give a quick explanation of how the kritik functions in the neg world if you have any time left over in your speech. When it comes to critical affs, explain how racism or other "isms" functions through a specific or myriad of social institutions functions to oppress "x" marginalized group(s) of people the 1NC claim to solve for in the kritik.

-If the aff doesn't address the K thoroughly with a permutation argument or impact turns the K, make it your priority to extend it throughout the debate. Don't let them get away with defensive/non-answer-Esque arguments that don't address the core issues the K intends to solve. However, if they do go for a permutation argument and they don't explain how and why the permutation is uniquely better than the alternative, explain why their permutation argument can't and shouldn't work, and why it is a reason I should prefer the alternative.

-when it comes to frame-work, I evaluate it in the round as the clearly established bright line that both teams ought to adhere to, purely on a mechanical level. If one team establishes the framework as the guiding point of the discussion but fails to use it as a weighing mechanism to give me an idea of how the round is supposed to play out then there's really nothing else for me to see on a macro level.

-Essentially, if it doesn't meet the bright line, they'll functionally concede to it without an explanation as to how and why they'll meet that bright line better than you. However, if the bright line is upheld and extended throughout the round as the prerequisite/starting point to whatever discussion needs to be had then I will evaluate it as the argument. By the way, I also prefer framework arguments that promote an idea that is able to be utilized in the most holistic way possible. I'm also fine with Policy Option framework arguments as well, as long as they're explained in a way that promotes practicality in terms of putting forward a systemic solution along with using it as a starting point for a discussion.

-during Cross Examination, do not stick to just one question and expect to get a different answer. If they don't answer the first time around go to the next one, and the next one and get them to concede to your side of the debate because that is what cross-ex is for and that is how it should be utilized. And please, DO NOT GO ON A RANT when you're the one asking questions. Just keep the questions concise and rapid, three minutes can go by like nothing so please use those three minutes wisely. Additionally, BODY LANGUAGE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND DURING CROSS-EX. I say this because as a judge, it shows me that you are confident and persistent in the questions that you are asking/answering.

-DO NOT SAY ANYTHING OFFENSIVE AND TRY TO JUSTIFY IT, and by offensive I mean anything that is racist, sexist, or just completely taboo. I will dock your speaker points!

aside from that, just have a good time and if you lose, that should be the least of your worries. this is literally just a learning experience that commodifies arguments to get your point across. I'm sure you have a much better life outside of this extracurricular activity...but if it is something you choose to devote yourself to on a daily basis then by all means pursue your goals and strive to be the best that you can possibly be within the activity. Don't let anyone stop you from reaching your goals, not even me!

S&D president in high school (PF, variety of speech events), coach+judge in undergrad and now grad school. TOCs/Nats/CA States qualifier sophomore, junior & senior years. Finalist @ Stanford, Harker, Cal / Berkeley RR, Apple Valley, ASU, UCLA invitationals, etc. Still use my S&D skills today in my role as a consultant (Bain) and in product management (Netflix).

Add me to the chain and/or reach out with any questions: lindsayallen@ucla.edu

tech > truth, so long as your arguments are not offensive/discriminatory. I'm pretty tabula rasa, I'll weigh / evaluate the round however you persuade me to, and I enjoy being spoon-fed at the end of the round (in terms of weighing arguments and overall round evaluation). No need to boil the ocean... keep the end of the round focused on the most important arguments and tell me why your impacts outweigh your opponent's.

Evidence still needs warrants. Please have good evidence ethics and send evidence quickly. I will call for evidence if it's contested, and it should be a proper cut card that actually says what you say it does.

Arguments you want weighed must be extended through summary and final focus - with their respective warrants.

I don't flow cross but your cross performance can influence your speaker points.

Above all, be respectful to each other!

I am a lay judge. Let's have fun.

I'm a parent judge in my third year of judging debate. Please do not spread or use excessive debate jargon. Speak slowly, focusing on clarity and quality of argument over quantity. Keep your delivery organized and oriented toward a first-time listener of the topic.

Support assertions with evidence, providing context or relevance as necessary. Beyond making your case, please respond directly to your opponent's arguments. Highlight areas of contrast and points you believe to be particularly favorable to your cause. Passionate engagement is fine, but please take care to be civil and respectful.

Present a clear summation of key points made (and not made by your opponents), and why your side should prevail.

Finally, I'm not interested in Theory arguments.

I look forward to hearing you.

A little bit about me: I coach for Millburn High School in New Jersey. I competed on the circuit in high school and college.

I do my very best to be as non-interventionist as possible, but I know some students like reading judge's paradigms to get a better sense of what they're thinking. I hope that the below is helpful :).

Overall: You can be nice and a good debater. :)

Here are some things to consider if I'm your Parliamentarian/ Judge in Congressional Debate:

- I am a sucker for a well-executed authorship/ sponsorship, so please don't be afraid to give the first speech! Just because you don't have refutation doesn't mean it isn't a good speech. I will be more inclined to give you a better speech score if you stand up and give the speech when no one is willing to do so because it shows preparedness.

- Bouncing off of the above bullet point, two things I really dislike while at national circuit tournaments are having no one stand up to give the earlier speeches (particularly in out rounds) and one-sided debate. You should be prepared to speak on either side of the legislation. You're there to debate, so debate. I'm much more inclined to rank you higher if you flip and have fluency breaks than if you're the fourth aff in a row.

- Asking the same question over and over to different speakers isn't particularly impressive to me (only in extreme circumstances should this ever be done). Make sure that you are catering the questions to the actual arguments from the speech and not asking generic questions that could be asked of anyone.

- Make my job easy as the judge. I will not make any links for you; you need to make the links yourself.

- Warrants are so important! Don't forget them!

- If you are giving one of the final speeches on a piece of legislation, I expect you to weigh the arguments and impacts that we have heard throughout the debate. Unless there has been a gross negligence in not bringing up a particular argument that you think is revolutionary and changes the debate entirely, you shouldn't really be bringing up new arguments at this point. There are, of course, situations where this may be necessary, but this is the general rule of thumb. Use your best judgment :).

- Please do your best to not read off of your pad. Engage with the audience/ judges, and don't feel as though you have to have something written down verbatim. I'm not expecting a speech to be completely flawless when you are delivering it extemporaneously. I historically score speeches higher if delivered extemporaneously and have a couple of minor fluency lapses than a speech read off of a sheet of paper with perfect fluency.

- Be active in the chamber! Remember, the judges are not ranking students based upon who is giving the best speeches, but who are the best legislators overall. This combines a myriad of factors, including speeches, questioning, overall activity, leadership in the chamber, decorum, and active listening (i.e. not practicing your speech while others are speaking, paying attention, etc.) Keep this in mind before going into a session.

- Please please please don't speak over the top of one another. This being said, that doesn't mean you have a right to monopolize the questioning time, but there is a nice way to cut someone off if they're going too long. Use your best judgment. Don't cut someone off two seconds after they start answering your question.

- I rank based on who I think are the overall best legislators in the chamber. This is a combination of the quality of speeches, questioning, command of parliamentary procedure, preparedness, and overall leadership and decorum in the chamber.

Let me know if you have any questions! :)

Here are some things to consider if I'm your judge in Public Forum:

- Please add me to the email chain if you have one: jordybarry@gmail.com

- I am really open to hearing almost any type of argument (except K's, please don't run K's in PF), but I wouldn’t consider myself a super techy judge. Do your thing, be clear, and enjoy yourselves!

- Please debate the resolution. It was written for a reason.

- It's important to me that you maintain clarity throughout the round. In addition, please don’t spread. I don’t have policy/ LD judging experience and probably won’t catch everything. If you get too fast/ to spreading speed I’ll say clear once, and if it’s still too fast/ you start spreading again, I’ll stop typing to indicate that I’m not getting what you’re saying on my flow.

- Take advantage of your final focus. Tell me why I should vote for you, don't solely focus on defensive arguments.

- Maintain organization throughout the round - your speeches should tell me what exact argument you are referring to in the round. Signposting is key! A messy debate is a poorly executed debate.

- I don't weigh one particular type of argument over another. I vote solely based on the flow, and will not impose my pre-existing beliefs and convictions on you (unless you're being racist, sexist, homophobic, antisemitic, or xenophobic). It's your show, not mine!

- Please please please don't speak over the top of one another. This being said, that doesn't mean you have a right to monopolize the questioning time, but there is a nice way to cut someone off if they're going too long. Use your best judgment. Don't cut someone off two seconds after they start answering your question.

- Be polite!

- Make my job easy. I should not have to (and will not) make any links for you. You have to make the link yourselves. There should be a clear connection to your impacts.

- Weighing impacts is critical to your success, so please do it!

Any questions, please feel free to ask! Have fun and good luck!

Overall> I'm a parent-judge and have been judging for 6 years now. I enjoy the intelligent arguments and appreciate the constructive spirit to drive the debate. I believe that debating is a life-skill that is preparing you to build new solutions in future in a team setting vs. winning arguing against your colleagues and make them angry in the process.

Methods> I'm open to all techniques in debate but will mainly focus on the central argument. I don't like it when the teams try to debate on technicalities itself and move away from the given topic.

Spreading>I rate the flow based on active participation in the argument/ counter-arguments vs. a speech like reading of your own arguments only. Spreading is a NO-NO as I believe that debate happens in the moment and research is only a small part of the prep.

Rubric> My rubric is based on:

• Quality of arguments,
• Quality of rebuttals,
• Organization and clarity of summaries
• Impact/ weighing

Rebuttal and weighing are most important criteria in my rubric; Try to provide distinctive arguments in a claim-warrant-impact format.

Evidence> You should be able to pull out the card and highlight the evidence in the card within a minute of the request or I'll assume that you have yielded. I do like to see the evidence myself and be on the email list when cards are being exchanged between teams. Pls add me to the email chain nitin.chawla.000@gmail.com

I am new to public forum and am a parent judge. Please remember to speak concisely and at a moderate speed. Remember to be respectful and have fun!

Email: cisssh18@wfu.edu

Do what you do best and have fun.

Apply here for the presidential scholarship at Wake Forest due November 15th. It's a $16,000 scholarship for four years to a top 30 school in the country if you're interested.

LD

- 1ars should try to read cards.

PF

- Fine with speed.

CX

- #Cards

Parent judge with 4 years of experience, I do flow the entire round.

If possible, please make it easy for me, collapse or go for a very well explained turn.

I am not a a pro and wont necessarily understand all the jargon and nuance.

My prefs:

1. yes - signpost; off-time roadmaps, extending from SUM to FF;

2. warrants > blips = I will have a hard time voting for poorly explained arguments;

3. no - spreading, anything new in 2nd SUM or FF;

4. Happy to skip grand-X if you are...

5. If K and Theory is read, I will do my best, but no promises that I will do a good job of it.. so swim at your own risk.

you can add me to email chains and case - viettagrinberg@gmail.com

About Me:

did pf while i was in high school (class of '17). i'm pretty tech for my time, but progressive argumentation is not my thing, so don't read it.

The Basics:

- i can handle speed, but i am rusty so don't go crazy
- intelligent warranting/impacting/weighing > card dumping for extensions and voters
- signpost wherever you can, just makes my life easier

update (3/10): for evidence sharing, use a google doc to save us all some time. my email: rajang456@gmail.com

I did debate pretty competitively in high school (c/o 2020) but would call myself mostly a flay and traditional judge by now. My preferences that I really want competitors to meet are as follows:

• PLEASE speak at a conversational pace and condense your arguments. I will miss a lot of things if you spread or are too complicated.
• Try to balance truth and tech - Looking back, a lot of my arguments were pretty unbelievable
• No new arguments in FF and no extending to FF if arguments are not in summary
• Boost +0.2 speaks if you l give me a piece of paper and borrow a black/blue and red pen (I’ll give the boost to everyone that offers it)
• Don’t mind paraphrasing, but have your evidence ready if your opponents ask for it
• No theory or K’s

Essentially, treat me as a parent judge that will evaluate your arguments with a bit more rigor as a past debater. Don’t forget to have fun too :)

not charitable to pre-fiat impacts. please mind speed. treat me as lay. have fun!

I am a parent judge. Please speak slowly, explain your arguments, back up with evidence.

Please add me to the email exchange chain. Good luck!

My name is Lukas Hemmer. I have received judge training, and have participated in 5 tournaments, but please go easy. I am looking for clear and concise arguments delivered slowly and carefully. Treat me like you would a "Lay" judge.

I am in favor of persuasive speech which is fact based. Argumentation should be held in a composed and respectful manner. Use your time wisely. May the best team win!

TLDR: Hello, my name is Sri, and I'm a LAY

Some of my preferences:

- I can handle speed well enough. Don't spread.

- Clarity- especially if you're speaking fast, please enunciate and do not mumble.

- Please weigh comparatively.

- Implicate- don't just read off responses from your block file, tell me individually why each refutation matters/its impact and why I cannot buy your opponent's arguments.

- Signpost- always tell me where you are in the speech. It helps with my flow. If I don't know what you're saying, or why you're saying it, I likely won't flow it.

- Please be respectful to your opponents. Being aggressive is fine, but don't say anything rude. I will take speaker points off for that.

- Time- I will usually keep track of prep and speech time, but I encourage you to do so as well!

- Extending- please extend your argument in every speech!

- Please don't be abusive. No new arguments in final focus.

- Evidence- if your opponents ask for a card, you should be able to retrieve it within a minute.

- Intervention- I will seldom intervene in a debate round. I will only do so if I find any cards suspicious and I'll call for them.

- I am very objective.

Speaker points guide:

29-30- Perfect--keep up the good work!

27-28- you're either average or a little above average. You're on the right track!

25-26- you might have said something offensive or rude, or you didn't do a great job in the round overall.

My email id to add to the email chain : kv.sridhar@gmail.com

Good luck!

Background about me:

I am a parent judge, and have been judging PF and LD for the High School debates. I have not debated myself, so would prefer that participants refrain from spreading.

Speed:

Ensure your speech is clear and understandable, and the faster you want to speak, the more clearly you must speak.

Speaker Points:

I judge on a 4 point scale, from 26-30.

I do not take points off for speed, however, I do take points off for a lack of fluency or clarity.

I value cross-examination and rebuttal skills.

Please do not be offensive or rude.

Did PF for 4 years from 2016-2020. I've been removed from the debate circuit for 2-3 years at this point, so please treat me as lay :)

General Requests:

• Please go slow for me; conversational speed is good.
• Please explain your arguments to me. I'm not well-versed in the topic so would love to hear how your argument relates to the topic and explain all the parts that make your argument relevant.

Flow Elements:

• I'm mostly lay, but I will frown if new in ff or something egregious happens. Don't abuse the lay privilege, just have a good conversation.
• Weigh explicitly, please. If not, I'll just choose as I please.
• I don't know progressive argumentation :) My policy on progressive is I will drop you and give you high speaks.

Final Thoughts:

• Let me know if you have any questions. I probably forgot a lot of stuff in my paradigm.
• Assume I know nothing about the topic
• Have fun: if you bring me food I'll give you +2 speaks :) (in person)

I am new to judging so please make it a bit slower and clearer for me.

I am a very lay judge-- that means if you run prog or spread, I will not understand you, and will probably not vote for you.

My ideal round is clean, slow, and civil. Please be respectful during the round, and make sure to not interrupt your opponents. Any obviously racist, sexist, or homophobic arguments are L25's.

I am truth>tech. If you tell me that fishing conflicts are going to escalate to nuclear war, you'd better have the best evidence in the world to back it up. Even then, I'd say it's somewhat risky.

Please time yourselves, and if your opponents go over time, feel free to show me your timer. Prep stealing and taking a long time to find evidence will irritate me.

(My daughter wrote this paradigm-- if you've hit Hunter MM tell me about them :) )

Did 4 years of PF at Montville.

You can consider me flow but i haven't judged for a bit and have no topic knowledge so it would be better to treat me as a lay judge, but I will still do my best to flow whatever.

You should be writing my ballot in final; please tell me why you win and warrant out those reasons and tell me why it matters (impacts, weighing). Can and should include defense but you should be winning on your side of the flow (or turns). I think first summary should have some defense with 3 minute summaries. Don't bring up new args in final, they should've been in summary.

I wont flow cross but might listen to it; if something important happens in crossfire, bring it up in a speech. If you want me to call a card, tell me in speech and why it matters.

pls no tech (theory, Ks, etc) ill prob auto drop u

I focus on logical argumentation when judging a debate round. I expect all participants to be respectful to each other.

I am former scholastic LD debater in the early 90's.

A former coach of mine, Chase Williams, has developed a paradigm that he uses that I have always used for PF as well. It is as follows:

Paradigm

You can ask me specific questions if you have them...but my paradigm is pretty simple - answer these three questions in the round - and answer them better than your opponent, and you're going to win my ballot:

1. Where am I voting?

2. How can I vote for you there?

3. Why am I voting there and not somewhere else?

I'm not going to do work for you. Don't try to go for everything. Make sure you weigh. Both sides are going to be winning some sort of argument - you're going to need to tell me why what you're winning is more important and enough to win my ballot.

If you are racist, homophobic, nativist, sexist, or pretty much any version of "ist" in the round - I will drop you. There's no place for any of that in debate.

I won't vote for theory. Don't try it - it has no place in PF. Also, I am skeptical of critical arguments. If they link to the resolution, I'll listen - but I don't think pre-fiat is something that belongs in PF. If you plan on running arguments like that, it might be worth asking me more about my belief first - or striking me.

Hello, I am a parent judge.

Here is my judging philosophy:

I believe that debating is a life long skill, and I want to see some of the attributes I appreciate in the round.

First, speaking with clarity, confidence, and consistent speed. Be dynamic in your speeches, and emphasize major parts. I also appreciate quick thinking, teamwork, research, preparedness. I want to see your team try to lead the debate and be ahead perceptually.

At the end of the round, I believe that focusing on a few arguments is better than reading many arguments. I really appreciate all the hard work! I am excited to judge your round.

Best of luck!

Hi! I'm excited to be your judge today. I am a trained speech and debate judge but did not compete myself.

For debate - Please don't speak too quickly. If you speak too fast, I will stop flowing and your arguments will not be evaluated as part of the round. Please add signposts to make arguments as clear to me as possible. Impacts are important to me - I want to understand the real world significance of the argument. Don't just tell me the argument, tell me why I should care.

For speech - I love speech events where you incorporate personal stories and humor. Have fun, because your energy will be contagious!

I am the parent of a current LD debater and a former PF debater. I have never debated but did participate in Model UN. I have limited judging experience, so it would be best if you limit or don’t spread. I will do my best to vote on the issues raised in the round, so please try to compare your arguments to those made by your opponents. I believe strong debaters are respectful to one another both in words and body language.

He/Him

oliverhniu@gmail.com

Update for Ridge 2022:

I competed in Public Forum for four years at Millard North HS, graduated in 2019, and coached at NDF/VBI/on the circuit pre-Covid. I’m basically retired now and Ridge will be my first time judging in about two years. Therefore, assume I have very limited topic knowledge and am unfamiliar with any recent norms.

Here's a few preferences:

If you want the easy path to my ballot; weigh, implicate your defense/turns, tell me why you should win.

Smart analytics > bad evidence or paraphrased blips.

Debate is a game, as such I will normally be a tech>truth judge except in circumstances where I deem an argument to be offensive/inappropriate for the debate space.

Rebuttal:
I prefer a line by line. Second rebuttal should respond to turns/disads.

Extensions:

I won't do ghost extensions for you even if the argument is conceded, extend your arguments.

Arguments that I am comfortable with:

Theory, T, Plans, Counter Plans, Ks. I will caution that these arguments were not super common when I competed so please be thorough in your explanations and make your path to the ballot clear. If I don't understand your argument well, I will default against it.

Evidence Challenges:

Unless the tournament says otherwise, in the event of a dispute about evidence, I will pause the round and ask the accusing team if they wish to stake the round on their claim. I will then determine if there was a violation of evidence ethics and vote accordingly.

Fourth-year assistant coach at Ridge High School.

I teach AP Government, Politics, & Economics, Global History, and AP Euro there as well. I will be able to follow any content/current event information you include.

I've coached and judged all major debate topics. I work most closely with our Congressional debate team, but also have experience judging PF, LD, and Parli.

PF: I think it's important for you to remember the goal of the event. Anyone should be able to walk into your round and follow the debate. With that said, I do flow and will try to give tech feedback as well as general commentary. I think some speed is ok in PF, but I think spreading absolutely does not belong.

LD: I am not a former debater myself; I really struggle to follow theory debate, K's, and spreading in general. I've learned a little about it over the past few years, but if you are a tech/theory/spreading team you should probably strike me (just being honest!). For all other levels--I will flow both framework and case and have voted on both. Try to be concrete in connecting your evidence to your claims. I've found that LD debaters can sometimes get carried away with "debater math"...and no, not everything can lead to nuke war. I am partial to probability arguments--I'm a realist at heart :)

Congress: As a teacher of Government & Politics, I really enjoy this event. You should always be roleplaying being an actual representative/senator. What would your constituents think about your speech? Why is your advocacy in their interest? I really like constitutionality arguments--we have a federal system, and sometimes bills being debated are directly in violation of those principles. Feel free to cite those Supreme Court cases all day. As you get later into the round, I will be highly critical if you are just repeating points from previous speeches. I want to see crystal/ref speeches later on--as do your fellow competitors, I'd presume.

I am a new judge, but have some understanding of Public Forum.

Please speak at a conversational pace, so that I can understand you.

Please be respectful and polite amongst each other and your opponents.

* Keep track of your own prep time.

Have fun!

I am a parent judge, I always come with a 100% open mind to learn your perspective on different topics and resolutions.

I respect and appreciate that you have put in immense efforts to prepare, so please don’t rush through the content. Please state your contentions slowly and clearly. I like to hear the impacts of your contentions and am always eager to see how you bring it all together through your summary and final focus. Being respectful and courteous to your opponents is very important to me.

Good luck and have fun debating!

This is my 4th year as a parent judge of an LD debater.

Like most parent judges, I favor traditional lay debate. So know your audience. If you are going to use technical terms, be sure to explain what they mean

Clarity and persuasion are what i am looking for. If you want me to be able to flow your speech, I would advise against spreading. In your final speech, please lay out the reasons why I should vote for you. This means weighing AND explaining the weighing justifications. make my job easy!

**Do not confuse me for someone who understands technical terms and such just because I have some here - my son wrote this for me :)

I am a traditional judge, believing PFD is not Policy or LD, please stick the tenants that established what PFD was and still should be. I would appreciate slower speed and clear arguments. The stronger and supported by the evidence arguments will win. Please be respectful and, when asking for cards or evidence please have readily available, if not, the time will be taken from your prep time, especially if the inability to locate and send is abusive. Thank you and looking forward to a great debate.

I am a parent judge. Please speak slowly and clearly. I don't mind if you speak a bit loud.

I would like to see effective debate participation rather long speech.

I am a lay judge.

To win the round, the best think you can do is speak at a slow to moderate pace.

Make sure to extend your link chains and impacts throughout the round.

This is my first year judging. I appreciate careful and reasonably-paced speaking, good evidence and knowledge of your sources. Not all sources are created equal so be willing to evaluate them. Please don't rush.

I'm a Debate parent, judging in my third year. Public Forum mostly.

Pros

• uniform speed that is intelligible to fully appreciate your views
• RELEVANT evidence-based assertions show me you know what you are talking about and not just filling air time.
• Have fun while learning and improving-this shouldn't be a stressful burden.
• Respectful discourse with your opponents or you will lose points, and my favor.

Cons

• rude condescending tone or mannerisms
• trying to take 5-10 second preps repeatedly
• focusing on cards obsessively or trying to game your opponents instead of just debating
• asking if I'm just a Mom judge
• talking excessively over your opponents in cross
• spreading prevents me from understanding you and giving you credit for your positions

Happy to judge an informed debate on the given resolution.

Been a while since I judged PF or LD.

I am a lay judge, but have been taught to flow and have five years of experience judging PF. I prefer clear, slower speaking. Signposts are also super helpful. I don't intervene; I will judge your contentions by your ability to extend them and your opponents' ability (or lack thereof) to undermine them. I look for a logical argument. I like summaries and final focuses that both weigh a team's contentions as well as cover key attacks. I've never called a card, but if an email chain is created, I would like to be on it. I'll give my email in the chat during the round. Speaking with passion is cool; aggressiveness is not. I do not like debates run on theory.

WEIGH. WEIGH. WEIGH. Otherwise I will be forced to do link/impact comparison for you, and you may not like how I do it.

For PFD, I am a traditional judge, believing PFD is not Policy or LD, please stick the tenants that established what PFD was and still should be. I am a parent Judge with 3 years of experience in different formats, so your ability to pursuade me with your arguments and counter arguments is more important to me than the technical aspects of debate. Speed is deterred, if you speak too quickly those contentions and cards are dropped , slower pace and stronger arguments win out. Please be respectful and, when asking for cards or evidence please have readily available, if not, the time will be taken from your prep time, especially if the inability to locate and send is abusive. Thank you and looking forward to a great debate.

For LD, I am a traditional judge, believing LD is not Policy, please stick the tenants that established what LD was and still should be. I am a parent Judge with 3 years of experience in different formats, so your ability to pursuade me with your argumehts and counter arguments is more important to me than the technicial aspects of debate. Reasonable speed is okay, but if it sounds like you are choking when speaking, you are speaking too quickly and those contentions and cards are dropped , slower pace and stronger arguments win out. Please be respectful and, when asking for cards or evidence please have readily available, if not, the time will be taken from your prep time, especially if the inability to locate and send is abusive. Thank you and looking forward to a great debate.

I debated four years pf, ld, and policy in high school and four years of policy in college.

I can flow pretty much everything, and I’ll evaluate all the arguments to the best of my ability. Try to give your arguments impacts and help me create a framework to evaluate the debate.

Update April 2024- some thoughts after a few years of judging pf

I'm considering not allowing off-time road maps as I think they've become super long-winded and silly. It's my preference that you say, "pro case then con case" or vice versa. Sometimes there are extra sheets of paper that's fine, but I've been in too many debates when the off-time road map sounds something like this, "I'm gonna start by talking about the major issues in the round, then I'm going to address some of the things my opponent has said, before frontlining and then weighing at the bottom." That is, essentially, meaningless to me.

I think that debaters should reward punctuality and timeliness. When I was a debater I didn't realize how much judges are on the clock. There is a judging deadline and if the debate starts late, or seems to take forever. Besides extenuating circumstances, I am always trying to be on time and I think it's selfish to make the tournament run late. That means if I only have two minutes left before the decision deadline, I am spending two minutes deciding. It is in your best interest as debaters to give me more time, not less to think about the round.

I've watched a few theory debates this year. I tend to think RVI's are silly. PF theory is not my favorite but I have voted on it before.

I do really like it when debaters make arguments comparative and have a lot of topic knowledge. I'm often interested in these topics and it's nice when you are too.

Standard Flow Judge, Ex-PF Debater, a little bit rusty

Parent Judge.

I would appreciate it if you talk clearly and not too fast. Please do not spread, I need to be able to understand your facts. Would appreciate it if you could minimize the debate jargon. Also it would help if an off-time roadmap could be given. I'll listen to cross, but won't flow it. If anything happens during cross that you want me to consider in my ballot, mention it in a speech. Being assertive is good, being overly aggressive is not. Please do not throw cards at me without warranting them out.

Finally, as a public forum debater you should rely on both logic and evidence to construct your arguments.

Have Fun!

Focus on logic, clarity and quality of your debate, as this is very important for my judging.

Please don't speak too fast, as this will not necessarily increase your probability of winning the debate.

Be kind and polite to each other.

Hi! I'm excited to be your judge today. I am new but I will try my best.

1. Please don't speak too fast. I believe debate is a communicative activity, and therefore make sure I can hear and understand every word that being said.

2. Please make your arguments as clear to me as possible. I want to understand the real world significance of the argument.

3. Please be friendly to others, otherwise you will lose speaker points.

i prefer a more lay style of debate