I am new to judging high school debates and prefer that you speak clearly and slowly. I will be tracking the arguments and the rebuttals. I'll also be looking for strong arguments that use reputable sources.

Howard Frey (he/him) Langley High School

Background: I was a policy debater for four years of high school (1983-87) and one year of college (1987-88) and coached at the University of Michigan and American University summer programs. I debated on the national circuit--I participated in many round-robins, reached the finals of the Harvard Debate Tournament, and won New York States. But it has been a while.

Note: I am relatively new to PF. Help me with the format.

Key Issues:

• Respect and inclusivity are essential to a proper debate round. Attacking your opponents--in CX or as part of an argument--will not help you win.
• Spreading is OK (it was part of policy debate) but it can get in the way of a good PF round. Keep an eye on whether I am following; if you choose speed over clarity, you do so at your own risk. It is hard to convincingly weigh while spreading.
• Tech will outweigh truth; it's an artificial environment.
• I will always choose quality of argumentation over quality of presentation and am not afraid to give low point wins.
• I am willing to listen to kritiks, but it will need to be very clear and well-argued to convince me to consider it in my decision.
• I most likely will hear out but not consider theory in my decision. See bullet 1.
• Nothing is more important in the round than weighing. If you don't do it, I will, and you don't want to leave it up to me.
• Clash is the next most important component. I will reward those who argue directly with the other team.

flow, 2 years Ms debate & 2 years hs pf debate

I haven't done much research on the topic, so I expect debaters to explain their evidence + link

Middle School Debate

Some Important Points I'm going to be judging on:

1st:

Speech: Good, fluent speech with eye contact

Time: I'm not too concerned about going over time, just make sure to not get over by too much

2nd:

Responding to opponent's arguments with reasonable responses - Please Signpost (Telling me what point your responding to)

frontline your argument

3rd:

Compare the two arguments, explain to me why your impact is more important

Crystalizing the Debate for me (Finding the main points of clash in the debate)

Tell me why you won the debate (Weighing and flat out just saying it.)

McLean '26 | Coach for Longfellow

Questions & Evidence >> ryan.jkg10@gmail.com

I believe that it is my responsibility as a judge to adapt to how you debate. After all, I can't even think of all my preferences to write down on this one page. Debate is a cool community and I sincerely hope that you continue participating in this activity. Debate gets really tense sometimes but, it can be fun (trust me). Please be respectful to both me and others.

My RFD’s are normally short so please feel free to ask questions afterwards.

MSPDP

Talk naturally like a conversation. You don’t have to talk insanely fast or fill every second of your time with words.

POI's should be short and No Heckling

Resolving Clash is important It's impossible to vote if you don't compare arguments or leave the comparison messy. Whoever wins the clash pretty much has the path to weighing.

Weighing is how I vote Be creative and compare the impacts in different ways. For example, "Our argument causes their impact to happen". Address opponent's weighing in following speeches (Meta-weighing).

Speaker Points start at 10/20 and you can make it go up. Very rarely does it go below 10.

PF

Flay, Tech > Truth

Win Offense, Win weighing, Win round

Link weighing > Impact weighing

No response means conceded

I don’t get progressive debate, but judging might give me useful experience

In advance, I apologize that my PF paradigm is not as detailed as the MSPDP one

Respect is top priority. If you don't respect your opponents you will lose the round.

Pronouns she/her

Preferences:

Speed is fine but make sure what you're saying is clear; enunciate your words

Eye contact is important, but I understand if you can't do so, as we are in a virtual setting

It's recommended that you keep your own time- I will keep time as well

Please roadmap your speeches, as I will be flowing. Make it clear to me what you are talking about

Weighing is crucial and will be a huge part of my decision as to who won or lost

I will give personal feedback to every speaker.

Use up all or as much as possible of your time- it tells me you have a lot to say and adds to your case

Obviously, be respectful to both your teammates and your opponents. No interrupting others

Things that will help me decide the win- weighing, impacts, and rebuttals.

May the odds ever be in your favor :)