Hi! My name is Abby and I debated in PF all four years of high school and dabbled a little in congress as well! I have competed on the local circuit in New York and Iowa as well as the national circuit, so I have been exposed to many different styles of debate.

I am 100% Tech > truth. I will vote for completely bogus arguments if they are not properly refuted, but I will be sad so please don’t make me do that.

Add me to the email chain: abbybonat@gmail.com

Speed: I can handle fast paced rounds but if you are going to spread I expect you to send a speech doc to everyone in the room/zoom call.

Framework: I don’t really like framework because it limits the possibility for an interesting weighing debate, but that’s just my opinion. I will not penalize you for running it as long as you warrant it. Don’t just state your framework without telling me why I should prefer it over util.

**Please tell me which side of the flow you are starting on before giving your speech! With that being said, do not give a 5 minute off time roadmap.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE signpost clearly!!

First Rebuttal: just use this time to respond to your opponent’s case and weigh if time permits. You do not need to go back and extend your case since there is no ink on it yet.

Second Rebuttal: you should always frontline in second rebuttal (especially turns!) i also think it's strategic to collapse here! If there are turns on a contention you MUST either concede to any delinks or frontline the turn. Dropping the contention does not drop the turn!

DO NOT EXTEND THROUGH INK

Summary: I do not require defense in first summary but I do think it is strategic to extend turns! You should also start weighing here if you haven’t already!

Weighing: Your weighing must be comparative! I will be very sad if you just say “we outweigh on magnitude” without any further explanation. Thats not weighing!! I will be very pleased to see metaweighing or at least see you respond to your opponents’ weighing and tell me why I should prefer your’s. Also, I would really like to see evidence weighing. If there are two pieces of conflicting evidence in the debate you must tell me why to prefer your's instead of just repeating your evidence over again.

I have ZERO tolerance for any sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. If i see anyone behaving inappropriately or overall making the debate space uncomfortable i will drop you and report to tab without hesitation.

Cross fire: I will not flow but I will listen. If something important happens it must be brought up in a speech. Mentioning in cross fire does not equal extending!

Please keep a consistent narrative through the round! Do not decide to collapse on a contention and then change your mind. This means your final focus should follow the same format as your partner’s summary.

I will not call for evidence that is not refuted in the round. However, if i read your evidence and it does not say what you say it says, I will be less likely to buy anything else you read. If you feel your opponent is practicing bad evidence ethics, feel free to use that as a voter in the round. Nothing makes me more mad than power tagged evidence!!

Extend claim, warrant, and impact! Do not just extend your impact evidence and expect me to vote off it.

I have been a coach for over 10 years , but my team is student-led and you can consider me lay. (This was written by my students to prevent judge screws-you can thank them later.) I appreciate a more personal form of debate when it comes to judging.

Lots of eye contact with the judge (even during crossfire) and always address me as “judge” and your opponents as “my opponent (s)“ during speeches. Stand for all speeches and crosses, except grand. I will be highly inclined to vote for the other side if you do not address your opponents contentions and extend and show the impacts of your own.

Do not waste time looking for your cards. Have your cards ready and make sure that the evidence being cited is easy for your opponents to find.

During interactions with your opponents, I will dock your speaks and drop you if you act like a bully. Please, have an appropriate amount of physical desk space between you and your opponent.

When speaking, I appreciate a clear emphasis on what is important. I’ll be timing you, but please keep time for yourself.

Experience: Debated World Schools in Eastern and Central Europe for 6 years, and coached/judged for 4 years. This is my first time judging PF in New York, so I'm really excited to take part in this tournament!

Background:

Clashing and weighing are the things I watch out for most during rounds. It is important to me that you are actively engaging with your opponents' arguments and proving why your case matters more, has a larger impact, is more relevant, etc.

I also pay attention to the way in which you extend your arguments and ensure that they remain present or are expanded upon throughout the course of the round.

Signposting and the provision of a framework for the debate are always very helpful in keeping track of the issues being discussed.