Hey guys! I'm Jaya, a junior at The Hockaday School, and this is my first time judging NLD debate; however, I have watched a few rounds and debated Worlds Schools for the past three years. I have also judged with Dallas Urban Debate Alliance!

A few notes about me:

I operate off of a limited tabula rosa: meaning I will go into rounds with a blank slate and accept your arguments and cards. HOWEVER! If you start making claims/mentioning cards that make no logical sense, I will not accept that as a valid argument.

I would strongly prefer it if you spread as little as possible. Only if absolutely necessary, please spread clearly. I understand that spreading is inherent to LD, but if your argument becomes incoherent and surpasses a point of efficiency/clarity, I may signal for you to slow down. I haven't judged LD before, so I am new to flowing with spreading!

It's extremely helpful when you clearly articulate your arguments and why they outweigh those of your opponents. Weighing and specificity are necessary components of debate as a whole!

I would love to be included in the document email chain. My email is jcagle24@hockaday.org :)

A few things to keep in mind in Novice LD:

Inappropriate, rude, or otherwise insensitive arguments, comments, or behaviors will not be tolerated. Hate speech is never tolerated; do not use it in your speech (or at any time during the tournament). Debate is supposed to be a safe learning environment. Please do your best to uphold that!

Remember to engage with your opponent's case! It is not enough to simply 'attack' your opponents, you need to clarify why you win on certain arguments by taking them on their highest ground. (This goes hand in hand with your weighing, which you should be doing throughout your speech!)

Substantial evidence is imperative to building a good case. If your arguments are not supported with a foundation of facts/cards, they are much easier to attack.

Again: weighing is very important! I need to know specifically why you think you should win based on your cards. For example, "We present this argument/model/piece of information, which should be weighed over the other side's argument/model/piece of information because of these reasons...".

Make sure you are clear in your arguments! Connect ideas, tell me why they are important, and tell me the implications! Following the claim-->warrant-->impact-->weighing formula is a great way to do this.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Debate is a learning experience that is meant to help build your skills, but it is also supposed to be FUN! Have fun in your rounds, and make sure you are contributing to a fun environment!

Good luck! Can't wait to judge your round :)

Email: dhegde24@hockaday.org

Feel free to email me with any questions! Please include me on any email chains as well.

Hi yall! I am a junior at the Hockaday School who competes in the Worlds Schools debate. I also have experience in Team Policy, Congressional debate, and speech events. I have judged Team Policy debate, Public Forum debate, Congressional debate, Dramatic Interpretation speech, Impromptu speech, and Informative speech.

Debate Paradigm:

Please be kind to your opponent! Tell me why you win, not why the other team loses. Taking the other team at their highest ground and explaining why you STILL win is a sure way to do well in the round. Please be clear and concise (spreading is not preferred). In the rebuttal speeches, prioritize arguments that win you the round and weigh them. Try not to drop arguments. Having impacts that explain how you fulfill the burden logically step by step can be more valuable than simply restating your argument. Make sure you are explicit as to why an argument is relevant in the round, even if it seems intuitive. To improve clarity, signpost throughout the round.

Please make sure you treat others at the tournament with respect. Hate speech will not be tolerated.

Other than that, have fun! If you can maintain high energy throughout the round, I am sure you will find that you perform better. I enjoy a personable speaking style, so feel free to crack a joke or two if you want. Good luck at the tournament!!

Hello!

I'm a senior at Hockaday and I've been competing in World Schools Debate for the past 4 years. I have experience judging world schools debate with the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance.

A few things I'd appreciate in your round:

1) Please be as polite and respectful as possible to your opponents. Hate speech and immaturity will not be tolerated. With that being said, feel free to make appropriate jokes/remarks during the round, that is what makes it fun to watch!

2) Make sure to engage with the comparative and weigh throughout the round. I need to understand your case in the scope of the entire motion, not just why you are good and why they are bad. Weighing is the only way that I will be able to truly compare who is winning the round so make sure you are doing that. Also, weigh on your opponent's highest ground!!!!

3) Lastly, please sign-post for me and emphasize your most important arguments.

hi everyone! my name is Meera and i'm a senior at Hockaday. i am new to LD, as i primarily compete in World Schools, but am looking forward to judging you all at this tournament!

here are a few things I'm looking for:

• organization! it is really important that i'm able to follow you where you are in your speech.
• talking at a normal pace -- i can only note what you are saying in my flow if i can understand what you are saying.
• making your arguments explicit and clear. please don't assume i know the links to each of your arguments, and make sure to impact out your arguments in a realistic manner.
• both teams are going to have arguments that they are going to almost certainly win. the point of the debate, then, is to explain to me why your argument is so important and impactful that it will win you the round. try to explain why your argument is better than your opponents' best argument.
• extend, don't just repeat! there is a difference between extending your point and restating it. extending your point is what will make your path to the ballot clear for me.
• explaining why 1) you are winning and 2) why the other team is losing. both offensive and defensive arguments are important to have, and i cannot vote for you just because you say your opponents are worse.
• staying respectful and polite at all times. i will not tolerate any hate speech or ignorant comments.
• lastly, feel free to make jokes to lighten up the round! that'll make it more fun for me to watch!

Hi! I'm Sarah (she/her) a current senior at Hockaday. I've done PF and LD before, but I debate World Schools now/it's been a while so please bear with me.

In general:

• not a fan of spreading, but if you choose to spread slow down for taglines so I can flow your argument
• no discriminatory/offensive arguments (ie: racism, homophobia, sexism, etc.)
• be courteous to your opponents
• clarity of argument and speech is very important, if I don't understand/hear your argument I will not consider it on the flow
• if both sides agree, I am fine with flex prep

In-round:

• clearly warrant your arguments, just giving me your contention/substantive isn't enough, tell me why it matters in the context of your framework and the debate
• I'd prefer a roadmap before speeches, signposting during speeches, and weighing at the end of according speeches
• minimize the debate jargon/ treat me like a lay judge
• I'm more a traditional judge so please don't make the round theory based
• give me a framework or metric by which I should evaluate the round, on this note, it's not enough to just give me your framework you need to tell me how you've won your metric and how your opponent hasn't won theirs
• voters are important, bring it together and tell me why you win
• I do flow CX but if you don't extend it in speech I will not vote on it

Voting:

• I'll vote based on the framework/metric both sides have given me, this is also how I'll weigh arguments in the round
• I won't link arguments for you, so if you drop arguments or don't give me clear links they won't be voted on
• last speeches are as important as the earlier speeches, I need weighing and clear reasons as to why you achieve your burden/metric better than your opponent, last speeches won't win you the round but they'll crystalize my vote

Good luck to everyone!

hi! I am an experienced world schools debater for 4 years, so I am most familiar with that format.

My four major things are: 1. Please speak clearly. 2. Warranting is very important. I'm not going to give much weight to an unwarranted claim. That goes for arguments, frameworks, etc. 3. If it's not on the flow, it can't go on the ballot. Please make sure to extend and impact your arguments. 4. It's not enough to win your argument. It's important to show why you're winning that argument matters in the bigger context of the round.