I am a debate coach with 20 years experience, and have coached all speech and debate events.

Congressional Debate:

In round, I reward strong research/evidence, solid understanding of the topic, and advancing the debate by bringing points and clash together. Use evidence accurately and truthfully. Different speeches (authorship, refutation, weighing, etc.) have different purposes, and accomplishing the purpose of each speech is more important that battling in a waiting game, always trying to get the last speech. Every argument and claim should be effectively supported with warrant and data from evidence. Questioning should be won by smart questions and answers: CX should not be a shouting match or full of interruption.

Presiding officers should maximize time given to speakers and questioners, and minimize PO narration as much as possible through direct communication and strong word economy. POs should keep things fast, professional, fair, and within the rules. The debate session should maximize debate time allotted.

For questions, my email is dchildree@hotmail.com.

LD:

I am a traditional judge. I judge what's on the flow. Truth and tech both matter. Use evidence accurately and truthfully. Framework and Value/criterion/standard are very important. I'd rather hear arguments grounded in real world data in the literature on the topic, but also am open to philosophy arguments. I am not a fan of theory that would end up substituting for debating the actual topic. Please don't spread. It's rarely necessary. If opponents or I call for evidence, please provide it right away- there shouldn't be delays related to evidence searching. Don't call for evidence too often or without good reason. Please be cooperative, civil, and professional in CX when you are questioned.

For email chains/questions, my email is dchildree@hotmail.com.

PF:

I judge what's on the flow. Truth and tech both matter. Use evidence accurately and truthfully. Framework and warrants and data are very important to me. Every argument should be clear, warranted, and supported with data/examples/evidence. Keep cross ex civil and polite, and an equal sharing of speaking time. I prefer to hear grouping and strong weighing in summary and final focus, so definitely collapse the debate to a few key issues instead of covering a ton of different thoughts in a line by line style. If opponents or I call for evidence, please provide it right away- there shouldn't be delays related to evidence searching. Don't call for evidence too often or without good reason. I strongly prefer arguments grounded in the literature of the topic, with data and real world examples, over efforts to avoid debating the topic, such as disclosure theory or other theory. Public Forum debate was created to develop skills related to communicating with the general public, and that intent should be embraced by PF debaters. No need to spread in PF at all.

For email chains/questions, my email is dchildree@hotmail.com.

EXTEMP:

I am a traditional extemp judge. I like clear and straightforward organization. I reward strong research/evidence, solid understanding of the topic, and strong well supported argument. Use evidence accurately and truthfully. Every argument, idea, claim, should be effectively supported with warrant and data from evidence. Ideas and evidence should come together smoothly and well to answer the overall question. Body paragraphs don't need an agd- if they have agds, they should enhance the body paragraph and link perfectly to it without muddling the flow of the speech and without taking tangents. Cross examination should be won by smart questions and answers.

For questions, my email is dchildree@hotmail.com.

Hey! I did CX, PF, LD, and Congress in high school, and I've been debating parli at UC Berkeley for the past two years. I'm willing to hear out a spectrum of argumentation, as long as it's well-researched and well-qualified. You're welcome to spread if you really think it'll do you the most good, but please flash me your case if you choose to do so. Please don't say anything racist/homophobic/transphobic because I would hate to drop a team automatically. I'll also be looking for continuity in flow and consistent clash—make things spicy!

Hello! I am Geetha Dwarakapuram. I am a senior technology manager at Bank of America. As for public speaking and giving speeches, I speak on a daily basis in front of large groups of people as part of my job. I am also a volunteer at a local youth Toastmasters club. I have been a parent judge for the last four years both online and in-person. My daughter was a National Circuit competitor in Congressional Debate for five years and my son is an active competitor in Congressional Debate.

Congress: I like to look for concise speeches that support the argument with evidence contradicting the opposing side. I also look for senators and representatives that mention others to enhance their ideas. I highly frown upon rehash but enjoy listening to speakers who engage the audience with their take on the bills. While your speaking style and delivery are, of course, an important part of the overall package, it is congressional debate after all, so I'll always rank a less polished speaker with better arguments higher than somebody who's a great orator but isn't providing something new or doesn't have the same quality of evidence. For presiding officers, I mainly judge if they do not stick out to me during the session and run a smooth and steady round.

Speech: I look for eye contact and a powerful voice when talking. I should be able to understand what you are talking about and like to be engaged throughout the whole speech. I enjoy speeches that have a memorable ending, or " end with a bang" as I like to call it. For dramatic speech events, I should be able to feel the emotion that you are trying to show with your voice. Time limits are something I look at when deciding scores.

I am a parent judge and this is my first time judging

Hello, I'm Lolo, I am a former policy debater from The New School.

I would like to be on the email chain kaasl698@newschool.edu.

Accessibility: I am not always the best with auditory processing, so if you have written out blocks that you are planning on reading or spreading, please send them or slow down a tad so I can catch them. Also, I will be masking this whole tournament as I have been since the start of the pandemic, this won't affect how I judge you in round but if you are also choosing to mask, especially as covid cases are on the rise again, I will like you better as a person.

I ran mostly Ks in college, so I am willing to go for Ks as long as you are clearly setting up how exactly your plan/advocacy statement leads to whatever alt you claim it leads to. I also need a clear comparison of impacts for any round whether it is a more traditional or a K round.

I will flow and judge based on impacts both in the round and in the world of the plan. I don't mind theory args but you have to actually explain them (ie you can not just say condo bad once and expect that to be enough, I like to vote on impacts so tell me the impacts of condo, T, etc). If you can't articulate the impacts of an argument you are running without reading it word for word off of a block, you likely won't be able to compare those impacts to your opponents so please try your best to at least surface-level understand what you are reading before running it so you can provide some clash.

As a debater I usually ran cap ks and econ collapse good arguments, so go for it with all your funky stuff, and know it will take a bit more to convince me of cap good, but obviously, if you can do it in the round then I will vote on whatever is winning in round.

Please don't be aggressively mean or rude in round (or not in round for that matter). Obviously, this means do not be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or ableist etc, I will vote on these things if it becomes a big enough issue and they are fleshed out into an argument by the other team. But also just like take a breath, remember you are here to have fun and be nice to the people you are debating with. If you are rude or downright mean in a round and it is unjustified, I have no problem lowering speaks (this especially includes during cxs).

Nuclear Topic Specifics: My partner and I frequently ran discourse args about nuclear war, mainly surrounding language and argumentation that is Sinophobic, pro-US hegemony, or erases/minimizes existing and historical impacts of nuclear weapons on marginalized groups. I'm not going to say you need to make any changes to the core of your arguments but please be cautious of the language in some cards that can cause real-world harm in our understanding of nuclear weapons as debaters.

TLDR; I'm down with Ks and will vote on the flow so make your arguments clear and tell me why you are winning them and I will vote for you.

Greetings Everyone,

My name is Katya, and I am a lay parent judge. For public forum, I look for clearly stated, well thought out, and supported arguments over speed and theoretical constructs.

I'm looking forward to the debate!

Katya Likhtik

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.

I'm Yumi Ndhlovu, a graduate of Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Now attending New York University in NYC studying International Law. I competed in Congressional Debate and Policy Debate from 6-12th grades at the local, state, and national levels ranking at all levels throughout my debate career and placing top 16 in the state of Ohio. I have been judging debate since my sophomore year of high school.

Good luck!

17+ years as competitor and coach in Texas and New Jersey

Spreading - I am fine with spreading as long as you can be understood. The point of spreading is not to confuse your opponent, it's to deliver as much material as possible within the time limit. Articulation and enunciation are key. If you aren't doing vocal warm-ups before the round, you probably aren't ready to spread.

Case sharing - I do not give my email for case sharing. Unless there is something specifically mentioned in the debate that I need to read, my job is not to read your case to understand it. You should deliver your case in a manner that is comprehensible without having to be read. That is the art of debate; this isn't just about reading, it's about presentation.

Sportsmanship - Part of being a good debater includes the time when you are not speaking. Be aware the round starts the minute you enter the room. Carry yourself with professionalism and respect.

For Public Forum:

I will flow the round to the best of my ability, but I can't write that fast -- so if you spread, I may not catch everything.

I'm skeptical of evidence that defies common sense -- if you claim an impact of, say, 100 million deaths from something, it should be plausible and derived from a reputable source of evidence.

In summaries and final focus, I'm looking more for the forest than the trees. If you drop or don't sufficiently engage with an opponent's major argument, that'll definitely be a voting issue -- but in general, I'd rather hear you offer a compelling overall framework into which you fit the major points of contention in the round than a rapid-fire list of points that lack prioritization or context.

For Congressional debate:

I'm a fan of both rhetorical competence and common-sense arguments -- a unique or unusual argument is great, but only to the extent that it's also plausible/reasonable (although I might make an exception for an implausible argument that's delivered with sufficient rhetorical verve).

The longer the round goes on, the more heavily I'll weight direct engagement with the major arguments of prior speakers on *both* sides of the topic (don't neglect your own side's best arguments even if they didn't originate with you).

My default is to be generous in ranking P.O.'s who do the job well.

For Lincoln-Douglas:

I did a lot of L-D debate (and some policy) in the 1980's - but modern L-D bears very little resemblance to the 1980's version, and in the handful of rounds I've watched since 2016, I'm frequently bewildered by what's going on.

If you have the misfortune of drawing me as an L-D judge, please do not spread, as I not only can't flow it, I find it emotionally unsettling to witness.

That said, I'm willing to entertain almost any variety of argument, as long as you can explain it to me like you'd explain it to your grandparent.

I debated in the late 90's. I believe in the Value Premise and Criterion. I think there should be clash. Rounds should be in a conversational speed. If I am yelling clear, I am missing an argument. I will stop flowing. I am not a blank slate judge nor will I drop someone for dropping an unreasonable argument. The last speeches are for providing voters and writing my ballot. If there is no connection back to the VP/ your position, I feel there is no ground for me to vote. I do not vote for Kritiks. I do believe a discussion with a debater about the round is ok. I think understanding points of view helps with communicating your cases in later rounds. I will not switch my decision.