Corporate executive by day; speech coach, judge and mentor after hours. I've spent 20 years in corporate America listening to my share of dreadful presentations. I can always spot those who have NSDA experience because they keep me engaged throughout the presentation. As a judge, I'm looking for polished presentations that elevate the discussion.

I am committed to providing honest, constructive feedback, allowing students to develop their presentations effectively.

I have a very low tolerance for poor audience behavior. That includes, but is not limited to, the use of electronic devices while others are speaking.

For Congressional Debate, my primary focus is on logical arguments that are well-constructed with quality evidence to support your claims. I appreciate rhetoric and impacts, but I will discount scores if these replace analysis and evidence. Refutations are essential to a strong score but require more than just a claim – give me the analysis and back it up with evidence.

I highly respect constitutional arguments and discount for affirmations of an unconstitutional bill.

It is essential to me that competitors remain in the role of a congressperson, showing respect to the chamber and following proper parliamentary procedure. I encourage everyone to remember to address their colleagues with the proper honorarium (Representative/Senator) at all times, and to avoid using Mr./Ms. personal titles as they both assume gender identity and may be considered dismissive at times.

I respect competitors who are active in the chamber and strongly disagree with the trend of some competitors to press for a base-2 model. Finally, while our U.S. congresspeople may lack persuasive speaking skills, I highly value presentation skills in congressional debate.

As a parliamentarian, I value a presiding officer who is, of course, familiar with both Roberts Rules and the rules set forth by the tournament. However, I do not mind if the PO asks questions to confirm procedures or tournament preferences. The PO should always strive to run a fast and fair chamber to allow everyone opportunities to speak. I prefer to remain as quiet as possible giving the PO the control of the chamber. I will intervene only if the PO makes an incorrect ruling that will impact the results of the session, makes an error in precedence/recency (though I will certainly give the chamber a chance to catch this first), or to insure fairness to everyone in the chamber. I encourage the PO to take charge of the chamber, to rule motions dilatory when appropriate, and to remind the congresspeople of proper procedures when needed. However, I do believe these corrections can be done with respect and kindness.

Though I strive to allow the chamber to function without my input, I will step in if I suspect there is bullying in play, or if I sense discrimination within the chamber, either intentional or unintentional. I support the NSDA's position that every student deserves a caring and welcoming environment—one that is committed to conditions of fairness, fosters inclusion, affirms identity, celebrates lived experiences, and protects from harassment and discrimination.

Sarah Botsch-McGuinn

email: sbotschmcguinn@gmail.com

Director of Speech & Debate-Cypress Bay HS (2022-present)

Director of Speech and Debate-Cooper City HS (2018-2022)

Director of Speech and Debate-American Heritage Palm Beach (2017-2018)

Director of Forensics-Notre Dame San Jose (2009-2017)
Head Debate Coach-Notre Dame San Jose (2008-2009)



General:
I’ve been a debate coach for the past 16 years, and Director of Forensics for 9 at NDSJ, one year as Director at American Heritage, 4 years at Cooper City HS and now at Cypress Bay High School. I primarily coached Parliamentary Debate from 2008-2017, including circuit Parli debate. I've been involved in National Circuit LD pretty extensively over the last 8 years, but have judged all forms of debate at all levels from local south Florida and northern CA to national circuit.

First and foremost, I only ever judge what is presented to me in rounds. I do not extend arguments for you and I do not bring in my own bias. I am a flow judge, and I will flow the entire debate, no matter the speed, though I do appreciate being able to clearly understand all your points. I consider myself to be a gamemaker in my general philosophy, so I see debate as game. That doesn't mean that there aren't real world impacts off debate (and I tend to be convinced by 'this will impact outside the round' type of arguments). **I don't vote on defense. It's important but you won't win on a defensive answer.**

While I do appreciate fresh approaches to resolution analysis, I’m not an “anything goes” judge. I believe there should be an element of fair ground in debate-debates without clash, debates with extra topicality, etc will almost certainly see me voting against whoever tries to do so if the other side even makes an attempt at arguing it (that said, if you can’t adequately defend your right to a fair debate, I’m not going to do it for you. Don’t let a team walk all over you!). Basically, I love theoretical arguments, and feel free to run them, just make sure they have a proper shell+. *Note: when I see clear abuse in round I have a very low threshold for voting on theory. Keep that in mind-if you try to skew your opponent out of the round, I WILL vote you down if they bring it up.*

I also want to emphasize that I'm an educator first and foremost. I believe in the educational value of debate and it's ability to create critical thinkers.

+Theory shell should at minimum have: Interpretation, Violation, Standards and Voters.

Speaks:
Since quality of argument wins for me 100% of the time, I’m not afraid of the low point win. I don’t expect this to enter into the rounds much at an elite tournament where everyone is at the highest level of speaking style, but just as an emphasis that I will absolutely not vote for a team just because they SOUND better. I tend to stick to 26-29+ point range on a 30 scale, with average/low speakers getting 26s, decent speakers getting 27s, good 28s, excellent 29s, and 30 being reserved for best I’ve seen all day. I will punish rudeness/lying in speaks though, so if you’re rude or lie a lot, expect to see a 25 or less. Additionally, shouting louder doesn’t make your point any better, I can usually hear just fine.

If I gave you less than 25, you probably really made me angry. If you are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic, ableist etc I will punish you in speaks. You have been warned. I will kill your speaks if you deliberately misgender or are otherwise harmful in round. I am not going to perpetuate hate culture in debate spaces.

Speed:
I have no problem with speed, but please email me your case if you are spreading. I will call 'clear' once if you are going too fast, and put down my pen/stop typing if I can't follow. It's only happened a couple times, so you must be REALLY fast for me to give up.

PLEASE SIGN POST AND TAG, ESPECIALLY IF I'M FLOWING ON MY LAPTOP. IF I MISS WHERE AN ARGUMENT GOES BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T TAG IT, THAT'S YOUR FAULT NOT MINE.

A prioris:
Please explain why your argument is a-priori before I will consent to consider it as such. Generally I am only willing to entertain framework arguments as a-priori, but who knows, I've been surprised before.


Theory:
Theory is great, as I mentioned above, run theory all day long with me, though I am going to need to see rule violations and make sure you have a well structured shell. I should not see theory arguments after the 1AR in LD or after the MG speech in Parli. I also don't want to see theory arguments given a ten second speed/cursory explanation, when it's clear you're just trying to suck up time. My threshold is high for RVIs, but if you can show how your opponent is just sucking time, I'm open to this. Also open to condo-bad arguments on CPs/Ks, though that doesn't mean you'll automatically win on this.

Disclosure theory: I'm unlikely to vote on this if your opponent isn't reading something very strange. I think education and disclosure is good but that doesn't mean I think someone should automatically lose for not. Keep this in mind. PLEASE I DONT WANT TO HEAR DISCLOSURE LITERALLY READ ANYTHING ELSE IM BEGGING YOU.

Most other theory I evaluate in round. I don't tend to go for blippy theory arguments though!

Critical arguments:
I love the K, give me the K, again, just be structured. I don't need the whole history of the philosopher, but I haven't read everything ever, so please be very clear and give me a decent background to the argument before you start throwing impacts off it. Also, here's where I mention that impacts are VITAL to me, and I want to see terminal impacts.

I prefer to see clash of ROB/ROJ/Frameworks in K rounds. If you are going to run a K aff either make it topical or disclose so we can have a productive round. Please.

Presumption:
In general I default to competing interp. If for some reason we have gotten to the point of terribad debate, I presume Neg (Aff has burden to prove the resolution/affirm. Failure to do so is Neg win. God please don't make me do this :( )

Weighing:
I like very clear weighing in rebuttals. Give me voting issues and compare worlds, tell me why I should prefer or how you outweigh, etc. Please. I go into how I evaluate particular impacts below.


I like clear voting issues! Just because I’m flowing doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate you crystallizing and honing in on your main points of offense.

I prefer voter speeches follow a: Main points of offense-->impact calc--->world comp model. If you just do impact calc I'll be happy with it, but I like looking on my voter sheet for what you feel you're winning on. It helps me more quickly organize my ideas.

Impacts:
I put a lot of emphasis on impacts in my decisions. The team with bigger/more terminal, etc impacts generally walks away with my vote, so go to town. This goes doubly true for framework or critical arguments. Why is this destroying debate as we know it? Why is this ___ and that's horrible? Translation: I tend to weigh magnitude heaviest in round, but if you can prove pretty big probable impacts over very low probability extinction impacts I'll likely go that direction.

You should be able to articulate how your contentions support your position/value/whatever. That should go without saying, but you would be very surprised. I don't vote on blips, even if we all know what you're saying is true. So please warrant your claims and have a clear link story. This goes doubly true for critical positions or theory.

Preferences for arguments:

If you want to know what I like to see in round, here are my preferences in order:

K debate

LARP

Theory

Phil

Traditional

Tricks

This doesn't mean I won't vote for a tricks case but I will be much sadder doing it.

I am a parent judge. I judged over 100 competitions.

I will rate the competitors based on two main parts:

-Composition:

If the content is effective writing or not.

Does the competitor's speech organize clearly and easy to follow?

Does the speech contain ample solid reasoning and logic

Is the speech too general or does it focus on specifics?

Does the speech make too many generalizations or assumptions about the audience?

Does the speech contain evidence and examples?

Does the speech have good rhetorical choices?

-Delivery:

I would like competitors to use effective oral presentation skills. I will check if the competitor is comfortable with delivery such as having a clear voice, good intonation, or a nice tone.

I will also check if the speaker uses effective body language or not such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.

I'm a two time national semifinalist from high school and in my 8th year coaching. I try to be tabula rasa, but I have a vast knowledge base and don't like being talked down to as a judge. I also have a pretty strong RBF and will visually react to what you are saying, so be aware that if you think I'm mad at you; chances are its just my face.

Call Africa a country and you will automatically get low speaker points. It's a continent and offensive to misidentify it. If you are going to refer to regions within the continent, label them appropriately. I understand if you can't pronounce the country/city correctly, but YouTube and Google exist. Please try your best to utilize these resources to improve proper pronunciation. If you're intentionally misrepresenting a demographic/word/culture for the purpose of humor, be mindful of offensive stereotypes. IF I'm bothered by it, you will see it reflected in your ballot; IF it's egregious enough to warrant a report to the tournament officials, I will allow the tournament officials to contact you/your coach directly.

If it appears that you don't fully understand the topic, I will do my best to give you resources to help you develop your understanding on your ballots (links, concepts, places to bolster research) but I won't allow it to impact my decision on the round unless it's blatantly false or has no evidence to support the claim.

Decorum matters. In digital format, this means being mindful of what you post in chat/what you put onto your onscreen camera. I don't downvote on dress/appearance; however I appreciate professional dress and being able to see a student's face when possible.

Speech

I love seeing animated and engaging speech pieces. I have a few areas I get nit picky about, but it's because I want to give you as much feedback as I can to help you improve.

IE's should have some popping/characterization if there are multiple characters being portrayed. If the digital format does NOT allow me (the judge/viewer) to see your whole body, it's makes the speech harder to judge.

Be mindful when presenting/filming of how your technology allows you to give the best speech possible. If your voice echoes in your video, consider resubmitting and/or moving to a different space for better audio quality.

Info/Oratory - Speeches with structure are favored. If your speech sounds like a stream of consciousness, it's really hard to follow the topic at hand and very hard to judge. If your visual aids have any sort of writing on them, either plan on reading/explaining the writing or don't have it at all. As a judge, if I'm trying to squint to read what's on your visual aids, then I'm probably missing some of your speech because I'm trying to read your boards.

If you/your coach feels that my advice does not work for you, please don't take it. You know your own circuit and if the advice would work for your local league. If there are specific questions, my email address is attached below for further clarification. Generally, I want to help you become a better competitor and if the advice I offer is something that will harm you, you shouldn't consider it.

Debate

Email clingern13@gmail.com to add me to the email chain.

Slippery slope arguments or ELEs are only realistic within the confines of a topical debate. This trend relies heavily on scare tactics I don't subscribe to as a debate coach or judge. I will downvote/give low speaks if your impacts lead to improbable outcomes. Ex: "You should vote for our plan to change the wording of this immigration reform bill because it will lead to global extinction if you do not..."

I like progressive debate, but if it gets too meta or narrows the debate to a specific thread, I will base the debate on what is relevant to the argument and topic at hand, especially if your opponent is presenting a more viable option.

I'm a PF/LD traditionalist. I dislike framework in LD; that is what the v/vc debate is. I love framework in PF, but if your framework is unnecessarily or unfairly limiting (abusive), it will work against you and your speaker points will correlate. I tend to vote on stock issues in CX.

If your very narrow interpretation is the only way to interpret the topic, therefore, you're right and win, I will not vote in your favor. It feels like you've found the one loophole to win and have ignored the spirit of the debate or the topic at hand. I like debate to address the topic's core, rather than a narrow and specific element. "A just government allows for civil disobedience" should not be debated on what a just government is; rather it should debate the merits of civil disobedience within a society.

Debate needs clash. If there is no clash between the two presented sides, I'm going to vote whichever side is better presented/is more viable under the topic. I will write down on my ballots if the debate held no clash in the RFD.

I don't flow any Cross Examination time, so if you want it to be on the flow, PLEASE bring it up during rebuttal speeches.

Signpost, go straight down the flow and TRY to minimize flow hopping. If you have a direct argument on your case that attacks/answers your opponent's case, state it at each interval where the argument would apply. Ex: "My c1 directly addresses their c2 sub a..." should be stated twice when you talk about BOTH your c1 AND their c2 sub a.

Extend your arguments and impacts, not your cards. Ex: "Extend Oxford here..."; tell me why "Oxford" is relevant, why it refutes the opposition's point and WHY IT MATTERS. My job as a judge is to base my decision on what you present and how you link it, not if my brain linked it for you. As a judge, I'm not going to make inference between your impacts and cards, you need to explicitly state them for them to be considered.

I can handle spreading, but try to avoid it because it's a bad habit. Be mindful of speed if you choose to not add me to the email chain. (TOC Specific)

If it appears you did not write your cases yourself (it's a team case, you bought the evidence or someone else gave you the information just prior to the round) I will assume you bought the case and don't know what you're talking about. I strongly dislike students that use prewritten cases and don't show mastery of the topic because looks like plagiarism. If you don't know what you're talking about and misunderstand the arguments, it will be obvious.

I was involved with debate in high school for two years where I completed in Public Forum debate and several speech events. I have spent the last 8 years working with various high schools with their programs, and judging at multitude of tournaments during those years. I have also been a tournament director for over 30 tournaments, and am currently an assistant coach at the school I teach at. I am a more traditional judge overall, but I have no issues with progressive and spreading as long as it is meaningful to the debate. I want clash between sides, and I want good coherent arguments with evidence and reason. Make sure you are directing your claims to the judge and that I understand what you are talking about. Organization is key for me and you should have and order to what you are saying. Impact calculus is the key thing for me overall though, tell me why your argument works, the probability, and the impact. Good luck to both sides.

Hi, I’m Doron. I coach Ld for Mountain View/Los Altos (CA). I’m also a ph.d student in English at the University of Wisconsin. I have previously coached at Millburn High School (NJ) and UW (WI).

2023-24 is my 15th debate season (including competing for four years in high school). Generally speaking, I consider myself more of a traditional debate coach/judge these days. I don’t dislike circuit debate (most of my dissertation concerns the kinds of things debaters would refer to as “k lit”), but I do dislike judging it.

I find that I’m generally more likely to vote for debaters who:

- Demonstrate strong topic knowledge
- Make sound strategic decisions (knowing which arguments to go for and which to drop because they don’t matter/affect the ballot)
- Make proper extensions (i.e. don’t just tell me to extend something, also tell me why the extension matters)
- Demonstrate a sense of style/personality during the round. I.e. Make the round (or yourself) stand out.
- signpost exceptionally clearly during your rebuttal speeches—I think this is a hugely underrated skill in debate.
- Very explicitly weigh impacts back to the framework.
- Actually seem like they're having fun.

My paradigm has gone through several evolutions over time, but I find that going through all the technicalities is much more important for circuit debate than traditional debate, so I'll keep the document short. I’m also happy to answer any questions you might before the round starts.

I've been around for some time now and have seen how many things have changed. If I were to sum up my overall philopshy, I'm very much a traditionalist but reward originality and creativity. I competed in policy debate in hight school and Individual Events/CEDA in college. I am also a rules generated judge. If I feel you are on the wire or have leaped over it, I make mention of it.

On the IE side:

Interp - I belive in maintaining the authors intent. Of all the events, interp has changed the most over the years and in my opion in a good way. Today's interpers are unique, creative, and original. I have one steadfast rule in interp; I want to be drawn into the world the interper is giving me. If they can grab me from the beginning and keep in in that world throughout ther performance then they have succeeded. Anything that distracts or pulls me out of their world minimizes thier overall performance (crying, etc.).

Limited Prep: I judge on a 50/50 ratio. The first 50 is organization, content, and delivery. Firm beliver in the "walk-n-talk" philopshy that you walk only on transitions. The other 50 is content. If you make a statement, be able to support it. Make sure the question / topic is answered correctly.

Prep: Much like the limited prep but I reward originality on topics and their develoment.

On the Debate side:

Again, very much a traditionalist and don't particualy care for some "anitics" I have seen over the years. The affirmative must maintain burden of proof, counterplans are non-topical. negative wins one stock, they win the round. Rapid fire is okay as long as I can flow. If I can't flow it, I can't judge it. Depending upon the type of debate is how I judge it. Polcy debate must be fully supported with evidence. Public Forum is more on the philosphical (What the student knows and how they are able to communicate it), with LD being a combination of both support and philospical. Additionally, over the years some new "terms" have been develped. Basically, I don't care what you call it, all I want you to do is support it. If called for, I will give orals at the end but will not disclose my decision. The reason, I am not opening the the opportunity for the loosing team to debate me, that has happened a couple of times, I don't like the atmosphere when that happens so I have made it a rule never to disclose. I am also a firm believer in speakers roles and duties (don't accept open cross-x, etc.) . Each speaker has been give a role with duties and they are accountable for them.

I have a more detailed paradigm and once I locate it, I will attach.

jeremy.hammond@pinecrest.edu, pinecrestdebatedocs@gmail.com (please put both).

I have experience judging most policy debates that would occur. I have found that there is really only one argument type that I currently won't evaluate which are wipeout based arguments which prioritize saving unknown life to that of saving known life (human/non-human life).

I haven't calculated the percentages but I below are some feelings of where I am in various types of debates.

Policy aff v Core DA - Even

Policy aff v Process CP - 60% for the neg (mostly due to poor affirmative debating rather than argument preference)

Policy aff v K - Probably have voted neg more mostly due to poor affirmative debating or dropped tricks. Side note i'm pretty against the you link you lose style of negative framework, but I have regretfully have voted for it.

Theory v Policy Neg - Probably voted more neg than aff when the aff has a non-sense counter-interpretation (i.e. CI - you get 2 condo). When the aff is just going for condo bad with a more strict counter-interpretation I have voted aff more.

K aff v FW - Probably even to voted aff more (like due to poor negative debating)

K aff v K Neg - Probably judged these the least honestly they don't stick out for me to remember how I voted. I have definitely voted for the Cap K against K affs but I don't know the percentages.

K aff v Policy Neg - (Think State good, Alt Bad, or CP) have judged but can't remember.

I have plenty of more specific thoughts about debate, but mostly those don't play into my decisions. I will add more as the year progresses if something bothers me in a round.

I prefer a resolution of debate issues in the round and speaking skills when I judge debate. Be organized. Use structure and roadmaps. Be clear when you speak -- enunciate.

In CX I fall under policy or stock issues when I am making decisions. At the end of the round when I sign my ballot, your plan is in action. That means that aff must have a developed plan in the round. Don't just read evidence in a round. Explain your arguments.

In LD, I am a traditional judge. You must have a value and criterion. You need a philosophy and philosopher in the round. Weigh the round in your speeches.

This is my first time judging, I judge for the Quarry Lane School. Please be respectful to your opponents during crossfire and please talk clearly and not too fast. I might take light notes but if anything is crucial please emphasize during speeches. Most importantly, have fun!

I judge and rate based on comparative rating of the following elements of the presentation - quality of content, timing and flow of speech, confidence in arguments and defense, body language, references/examples used to support the topic. Good luck!

she/her

add me to the email chain: amritakrishn@gmail.com

I am a first-year parent judge, but I will evaluate argumentative logic first and care about evidence quality and evidence ethics. Speaking presentation and style are for speaker points but do not substantively impact who wins or loses the debate. Please do not paraphrase when you first introduce evidence, as our school institutionally believes it a terrible norm for PF debate.

I will be flowing the whole round. I will be paying close attention during crossfire and that is an important part of my decision making. I would like to see debaters able to think on their feet and demonstrate confidence.

You have worked hard. Now is your time to shine.

Interp: I have been teaching speech for 8 years; and teaching, directing, and performing theatre for over 40 years. I know an engaging, well-rehearsed performance when I see it. I will give you the kind of quality feedback I give to my own Interp students.

I am looking for clear characterization(s) both physically and vocally. Establish setting with blocking and business. Pantomime should be realistic and establish object permanence.(ex: a glass of water must be picked up and put down while maintaining a consistent shape and size. Refrigerators don't move unless the character moves them as part of the performance.)

Every performance must tell a story. You must convey the who, what, when, where, and why. Emotion is borne out of action.

Drama is is not all screaming and crying. Pauses and soft spoken words can often covey far more than NOISE.

Great acting may boost your rank, but I must understand what is happening and why. The performance must tell a story to receive a high rank in the round. Show that you have chosen material that is meaningful to you and with which you have a connection.

Humor arises from a character's total commitment to and belief in what they are doing and what is happening. Never TRY to be funny. It doesn't come off as humorous or believable. The absurdity of a situation should be evident to the audience, not the character. That's true comedy.

Most importantly, I want to be moved and entertained. Nothing is more thrilling than witnessing a great performance.

Please, let me know what time signals you prefer.

I truly appreciate all of the time and effort you put into preparing for these tournaments. Break a leg!

Debate: Please, make it clear to me what is happening. My audio processing issue makes it difficult to comprehend 350 wpm spreading. If I cannot understand you, I cannot flow the round. I can't tell if you are making a good case or argument. I have judged too many debaters who have ignored this part of my paradigm, and I am left HOPING that I have chosen the winning side.

I am a 5th year coach who knows enough about LD, PF, and Congress to judge, but I am not a seasoned veteran. I teach speech and interp as well, so I KNOW about speaker points.

Simply because "everyone" in the debate world knows a term's meaning, doesn't mean your judge knows it. Ex: Flow that through to the neg/aff, structural violence, disad, block, kritik, voters, etc. (I know what these mean, but most lay judges do not).

I prefer to judge a debate that is won on your skills as a debater rather than running a theory shell. Show me what you know about DEBATE. I'm not a big fan of kritiks.

If you want to ensure a fair decision, you must give VOTERS. That helps me make sense of my flow.

I primarily judged speech events and coached limited prep speech for some students.

My judging criteria for extemp:

Content:
Analysis: Does the speech demonstrate a clear understanding of the issue and its complexities? Does it go beyond simply summarizing the news?
Argumentation: Does the speech present a well-defined central thesis? Are there strong supporting arguments with evidence?
Source Consideration: Does the speaker utilize a variety of credible sources to support their claims?
Transitions: Does the speaker give a transition between points?

Delivery:
Voice: Is the speaker's voice clear, audible, and varied in pitch and pace?
Articulation: Does the speaker enunciate words clearly and avoid filler words ("um," "like")?
Stage Presence: Does the speaker exhibit good posture, eye contact, and use of gestures to engage the audience?
Time Management: Does the speech stay within the allotted time limit?

Professionalism and respect are what champions are made of; words of wisdom always win! Apply the principles of good sportsmanship-hold yourself to a higher standard.

Plan and stick to your position. Prep time is crucial.

Communicate clarity in your stance, topic, rebuttal, and explanations; add to the impact of your statements.

Countering arguments need to be expressive, factual, and worthy of a solution if needed. Think your ideas through.

Convince me. Why do YOU rank first? Persuasion is the big picture.

Talking fast? Lots of information? Can I justify all your points if you rush? Maybe not. Don't take that chance.

Adding fillers and hypotheticals to stretch time? Don’t. Be meaningful with our time.

Evidence? Yes, please! Explain how your evidence justifies your topic's stance. If you have my attention, give it your all!

I don't flow CX so bring up anything you want on the flow in following speeches.

If a question is presented before CX time expires an answer can be provided.

Avoid circular debate, if you see mass repetition, summarize key points and move on.

Try to minimize flow hopping.

Make sure you sign post. If you don't tell me where to put content on the flow it may not get on the flow.

Extend arguments and impacts, don't just extend author's names. Example, don't say: "Extend the Locke Card" Do say, "In Locke, extend the impact of the social contract..."

Explaining impacts and why they matter is crucial.

Decorum matters.

Spread at the peril of your speaker points and ballot decision.

If speech time ends wrap up final thought, there is not a grace period in debate.

I am a traditionalist, LD should revolve around the V and VC debate, policy should address stock issues, etc.

Call Africa a Country and lose.

I try to keep an open mind but arguments must be feasible. Global extinction, nuclear war, etc default to slippery slope fallacies for me unless you can really show a direct and likely path specific to resolution.

Ask me for final paradigm to open possibility of getting perfect speaker points.

I am a relatively experienced parent judge. For LD debate, I appreciate debaters who speak clearly, not too quickly (no spreading), and follow the proper flow for an LD round, without letting any threads of the arguments go unaddressed. I will be flowing the round. I prefer well reasoned responses rather than stock replies. And I very much appreciate when debaters clearly lay out voters issues.

I am a volunteer judge. I have judged both forensics and PF Debate both in state and at national tournaments.

According to the coach I work with, these are the things I need to tell you:

Consider me a "Lay" judge, and I can handle (at most) a fast conversational speech.

I have zero background in debate, so I don't understand the debate-specific vocabulary.

I do have a good understanding of politics and a basic understand of philosophy. When laying out your Value and Value criterion, make sure you are really clear about what you want me to know about the particular philosopher/theory you are working with.

Please... do not run Kritiks, crazy weird cases, or anything wild in front of me. I can guarantee I won't understand what you are trying to do and might have to drop you since I don't know what it means. I STRONGLY encourage you to only run standard lay debate cases in front of me.

IE

I am comfortable judging any speech event, but am best when I judge extemp and oratory. I favor content and substance over style but believe that both are important in speech rounds.

Congress - I judge speech content/presentation over procedural skills. I will strongly consider a PO for advancement unless they are acting in an unfair way or significantly struggling with recency. Remember that where you are in the speech cycle impacts what your speech should be doing.

CX Debate

I try to be open minded in arguments but with this topic I have been more drawn to traditional policy case arguments and disads. With that said if you prefer to run kritikal arguments be prepared to show solvency arguments for the affirmative advantages. Too many people cannot explain what the K world looks like and I do not like it when K debaters go down the rabbit hole without a clear idea of what the world looks like.

Do not run T as a time suck only.

Framing arguments are crucial.

Some speed is ok but I have old coach ears and the virtual debate thing makes it easier to lose you if you move too quickly. If I cannot hear or understand it. I will not flow it.

LD

I try to be open minded but I hate progressive debate for the sake of progressive debate.

Some speed is ok but understand that historically LD was created as an alternative to CX Debate. In the final set of speeches you need to slow down and explain the argument that you are going for and why you should win the round. If you are spreading in the last two rebuttals it will not impact win/loss but it will impact your speaker points.

I look at arguments over presentation and believe that criterion are especially important.

Do not run generic link disads or K arguments. The evidence needs to have specific links and specific impacts to the resolution and the value/criterias used in the round.

I do not buy CPs in LD rounds since there is no presumption in LD.

Since there is no presumption in LD, negative must run a case and value/criteria not just respond.

I am looking for creative speech topics. Material should show deep knowledge, good organization, and clear evidence from source material. I like out of the box thinking. Be clear in your thoughts and use facts to show understanding of your topic. Have good annunciation, transitions, body language, and appropriate emotions. Assume I don’t know anything about the topic. If the topic allows...Be happy, Be positive, and smile.

My paradigm is to see healthy, high school debate in action which embodies the concepts of two different extreme perspectives being articulated and, through discussion, a meeting of the minds being established through compromise and reasonable interchange.

In style, I appreciate decorum over grandstanding or gamesmanship.

In casing, I prefer clear, well-mapped, and consistently-defended cases. While debate is not a round of rock-paper-scissors with a magical selection automatically leading to a winning case, it is better as a clash of one-to-one with points won or lost at each stage. Points made should never fail to be raised in the final speech for tallying. I respect the admission of a lost point over raising and championing something which has already been debunked.

Current Associate Director of Debate at Emory University

Former graduate student coach at University of Georgia, Wake Forest University, University of Florida

Create an email chain for evidence before the debate begins. Put me on it. My email address is lace.stace@gmail.com

Do not trivialize or deny the Holocaust

Online Debates:

Determine if I am in the room before you start a speech. "Becca, are you ready?" or "Becca, are you here?" I will give you a thumbs up or say yes (or I am not in the room and you shouldn't start).

I get that tech issues happen, but unnecessary tech time hurts decision time.

Please have one (or all) debaters look periodically to make sure people haven't gotten booted from the room. The internet can be unreliable. You might get booted from the room. I might get booted from the room. The best practice is to have a backup of yourself speaking in case this occurs. If the tournament has rules about this, follow those.

DA’s:

Is there an overview that requires a new sheet of paper? I hope not

Impact turn debates are fine with me

Counterplans:

What are the key differences between the CP and the plan?

Does the CP solve some of the aff or all of the aff?

Be clear about which DA/s you are claiming as the net benefit/s to your CP

"Solving more" is not a net benefit

I lean neg on international fiat, PICS, & agent CP theory arguments

I am open minded to debates about conditionality & multiple conditional planks theory arguments.

Flowing:

I strongly prefer when debaters make flowing easier for me (ex. debating line by line, signposting, identifying the other team’s argument and making direct answers)

I strongly prefer when debaters answer arguments individually rather than “grouping”

Cross-X:

"What cards did you read?" "What cards did you not read?" "Did you read X off case position?" "Where did you stop in this document?" - those questions count as cross-x time! If a speech ends and you ask these, you should already be starting your timer for cross-x.

Avoid intervening in your partners cross-x time, whether asking or answering. Tag team is for professional wrestling, not debate.

Public forum debate specific thoughts:

I am most comfortable with constructive speeches that organize contentions using this structure: uniqueness, link, and impact.

I am comfortable with the use of speed.

From my experience coaching policy debate, I care a lot about quantity and quality of evidence.

I am suspicious of paraphrased evidence.

I like when the summary and final focus speeches make the debate smaller. If your constructive started with 2 or 3 contentions, by the summary and final focus your team should make a choice of just 1 contention to attempt winning.

Because of my background in policy debate, it takes me out of my comfort zone when the con/neg team speaks first.

I did policy debate in highschool, Parli and IPDA in college and I teach MS LD and PF. However, with that said, I mainly coach speech so I'm definitely not as proficient in flow as I was years ago. I am familiar with circuit rules. In terms of debate, I like sign posting, clear turns and impact calc. Basically, don't make me do your work for you. In terms of solvency presses, mmm its LD so not really. Kritiks, I'm really not a fan of them (unless its legitimate) but if dropped or not addressed I'll take it into voters. Finally watch cp language I'm using CHSA rules this tournament so no go. Also not a fan of evidence battles but will hear out framework debates. Basically, run it more trad and all will be well.

My name is Eduardo Velazquez,

I’m a coach for Modern Brain. This is my first year judging LD. I prefer my delivery to be slow and conversational with a sense of haste. Ones Criterion may be a factor on my decision making- depending on the use. I decide who is the winner of the key arguments in the round. I come from Speech, but have been around debating events. I don’t mind if debaters are passionate for their topic, just keep it clean and Civil.

I am a high school debate coach with experience judging Parliamentary, PF and LD. I appreciate it when debaters do not speak so quickly that it is difficult to flow the debate. When it comes to sharing cards, I prefer that debaters do not share them digitally. I prefer to have debaters read from one another's laptops, starting prep time as soon as a card is made available.

I judge based on how skilled the participant is. I do not base my judging off of any religious or political stances as debate is meant to be a side versus the other side. At the end of the day, it only matters if one side is better than the other as this is a competition.

I value truth and honesty in performance.