Last changed on
Sat November 16, 2024 at 8:29 AM MST
Policy Debate - I have 1 year of experience judging LD/PF debates and two years of judging Policy Debate. I have been judging on the national circuit as a Policy Judge, gaining a better understanding of the fundamentals. I also judged Policy at the National Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.
Email chain: adrnobrn@gmail.com
Off-time roadmaps - I LOVE off-time roadmaps.
Spreading/Spewing—This past season, I have found that I don't mind speeding or spewing. As long as I have the document, feel free to deliver your arguments rapidly. I rely heavily on the document but have developed the ability to flow somewhat by listening. While clarity is not critical, I must understand where you are in the document. Shout those taglines!
Arguments:
Kritiks- I'm open to kritiks. I'm not deeply familiar with all the literature. While I'm open to framework arguments, I'm not very into theory, so please explain everything in detail. I prefer if the alternative to the Kritik relates to the real world and you prove how it solves the issues rather than just focusing on the framework. Please explain the whole story of the Kritik—the links, the internal connections, the impacts, and the alternatives.
K Affs—I was exposed to them last season, and I don't dislike them, but I suggest you run them at your own risk.
T/Theory—I don't love theory-only debates; however, I am open to evaluating actual in-round abuse. The threshold for proving in-round abuse is going to be pretty high.
However, topicality is a little bit different. I believe it is the aff's burden to be topical, so if the neg can solidly prove why it is untopical and how that hurts the debate space, I will vote on it.
Counterplans—I love counterplans. I will not vote on a counterplan if it doesn't have a net benefit; I will not kick out counterplans for you. Please be very clear on what you are kicking. If the CP doesn't solve for the DA and you don't kick out of the CP, you will lose on both. Going along with net benefits, please specify which one it is because I am still learning to evaluate everything.
Disads - This is pretty basic; make it make logical sense. Tell me the story of the disad, and link it to the impact. I like a good extinction impact, and I'm very pleased if you can convince me, but I will admit that very few teams have been able to get me there.
Case - The aff should be a clear and coherent story. I am heavy on solvency, so you must prove solvency. If you don't prove how this is an issue, you lose. Extend your evidence; your best evidence should be in the 1AC.
Other thoughts - I am very story-driven. Tell me how we get to where we get to. Outline it very clearly for me. I love off-time roadmaps so that I can organize the flow better. I will try to keep up, but there are no guarantees I will catch everything. Your cards are critical. I rely heavily on them. The more organized your cards are, the better. Don't be afraid to tell me how you are winning in the cards. Spell it out, highlight it, bold it - color it, and keep sending it to me until the very end; I don't care if it's the same cards --- remind me why you are winning! It's a crutch I'm happy to use until I get better. Make sure your cards are up to date. I've voted against teams specifically because of the fact that the cards were obsolete. It's policy, and you are arguing for real-world change. I've witnessed a seasoned judge checking recent news to verify if a cited card was applicable, and unfortunately, it wasn't. As a result, that team lost. I adhere to that approach. Debate hard and have fun!