I Judge debate primarily and moot court. I have been judging events for over 10 years now. I am a trial attorney for 25 years and have tried thousands of cases. I am a regular speaker for both public and private events. I regularly speak at events and present seminars on various issues for the Oklahoma Bar Association and other entities. I spent 13 years in the United States Army and Oklahoma National Guard as a decorated NCO. I have a Juris Doctorate, degrees in Political Science, History and Sociology. I attended Oklahoma State University and The University of Oklahoma College of Law. I have participated in moot Court competition as well as Judged various moot court competitions and debate competitions.

When Judging, I am most concerned with presentation. I want to see someone who is organized and presents a solid case for their position. I want presenters to follow the prescribed format of their event, but most importantly convince me of your opinion. Set a strong foundation and provide evidence. Make me believe you and you alone are correct.

I will not tolerate bullies, racism, homophobia, sexism or other rude and unacceptable behavior. If you act like that, I will make sure you do not get positive marks from me. 

I am more concerned with substance over form. I use my vast trial and presentation experience, combined with my experience as a presenter and public speaker to evaluate the competitors as to the viability of their arguments and the foundation of their evidence and persuasiveness of arguments. 

I did LD and PF in high school and a bit of policy debate at UCO. I am familiar with all types of debate.

It's been a little while since I've been around policy debate, but I should be able to keep up fine. I think the most important thing to me is being organized. Slow down and clearly tell me evidence taglines / authors, keep things easy for me to flow.

Email - lizbrenneman99@gmail.com

So I guess I'll start off by letting you know that I did PF and I am studying to be a coach now! Woo, yay-sies.

That being said, onto my actual paradigms:

First of all: I will almost always vote based on impact weighing; this means at the end of the round I will use any empirics to make my final decision(usually this ends up being numbers unless it is a debate where numbers are not a possibility on one or both sides). To follow impact weighing, I cannot weigh your arguments if they don't have proper links so pls and thx have links and make them obvious!

Secondly: If you are doing a speech event I will make sure you have all parts of a speech(intro, body, conclusion, sources- I have things I look for in each section) and then I will go off of speaking ability, pretty straightforward.

As a note for debates! I promise I keep track of time! I stop flowing arguments when time is up but if I let someone go a little long it's because I'm giving them just a second to figure it out!

You got this girly-pops!

I hate spreading. I will never flow during cross examination, so if it's important, bring it back up. Please keep argumentation topical and respectful. The only thing you have to convince me of is that your framework is the strongest way to uphold the resolution.

*Updated for 2024*
Bryan Gaston
Director of Debate
Heritage Hall School
1800 Northwest 122nd St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73120-9598
bgaston@heritagehall.com

I view judging as a responsibility and one I take very seriously. I have decided to try and give you as much information about my tendencies to assist with MPJ and adaptation.

**NEW NOTE, I may be old but I'm 100% right on this trend: Under-highlighting of evidence has gotten OUT OF CONTROL, some teams are reading cards with such few things highlighted it is amazing they actually got away with claiming the evidence as tagged. When I evaluate evidence, I will ONLY EVALUATE the words in that evidence that were read in the round. If you didn't read it in a speech I will not read the unhighlighted sections and give you the full weight of the evidence--you get credit for what you actually say in the speech, and what you actually read in the round. Debaters, highlight better. When you see garbage highlighting point it out, and make an argument about it---if the highlighting is really bad I will likely agree and won't give the card much credit. This does not mean you can't have good, efficient highlighting, but you must have a claim, data, and warrant(s) on each card.**

Quick Version:

1. Debate is a competitive game.

2. I will vote on framework and topicality-Affs should be topical. But, you can still beat framework with good offense or a crafty counter-interpretation.

3. DA's and Aff advantages can have zero risk.

4. Neg conditionality is mostly good.

5. Counterplans and PICs --good (better to have a solvency advocate than not), process CPs a bit different. It is a very debatable thing for me but topic-specific justifications go a long way with me.

6. K's that link to the Aff plan/advocacy/advantages/reps are good.

7. I will not decide the round over something X team did in another round, at another tournament, or a team's judge prefs.

8. Email Chain access please: bgaston@heritagehall.com

9. The debate should be a fun and competitive activity, be kind to each other and try your best.

My Golden Rule: When you have the option to choose a more specific strategy vs a more generic strategy, always choose the more specific strategy if you are equally capable of executing both strategies. But I get it, sometimes you have to run a process CP or a more generic K.

Things not to do: Don't run T is an RVI, don't hide evidence from the other team to sabotage their prep, don't lie about your source qualifications, don't text or talk to coaches to get "in round coaching" after the round has started, please stay and listen to RFD's I am typically brief, and don't deliberately spy on the other teams pre-round coaching. I am a high school teacher and coach, who is responsible for high school-age students. Please, don't read things overtly sexual if you have a performance aff--since there are minors in the room I think that is inappropriate.

Pro-tip: FLOW---don't stop flowing just because you have a speech doc.

"Clipping" in debate: Clipping in the debate is a serious issue and one of the things I will be doing to deter clipping in my rounds is requesting a copy of all speech docs before the debaters start speaking and while flowing I read along to check from time to time.

CX: This is the only time you have “face time” with the judge. Please look at the judge not at each other. Your speaker points will be rewarded for a great CX and lowered for a bad one. Be smart in CX, assertive, but not rude.

Speaker Point Scale updated: Speed is fine, and clarity is important. If you are not clear I will yell out “Clear.” The average national circuit debate starts at 28.4, Good is 28.5-28.9 (many national circuit rounds end up in this range), and Excellent 29-29.9. Can I get a perfect 30? I have given 3 in 20 years if HS judging they all went on to win the NDT in college. I will punish your points if you are excessively rude to opponents or your partner during a round.

Long Version...

Affirmatives: I still at my heart of hearts prefer and Aff with a plan that's justifiably topical. But, I think it's not very hard for teams to win that if the Aff is germane to the topic that's good enough. I'm pretty sympathetic to the Neg if the Aff has very little to or nothing to do with the topic. If there is a topical version of the Aff I tend to think that takes away most of the Aff's offense in many of these T/FW debates vs no plan Affs--unless the Aff can explain why there is no topical version and they still need to speak about "X" on the Aff or why their offense on T still applies.

Disadvantages: I like them. I prefer specific link stories (or case-specific DA’s) to generic links, as I believe all judges do. But, if all you have is generic links go ahead and run them, I will evaluate them. The burden is on the Aff team to point out those weak link stories. I think Aff’s should have offense against DA’s it's just a smarter 2AC strategy, but if a DA clearly has zero link or zero chance of uniqueness you can win zero risk. I tend to think politics DA's are core negative ground--so it is hard for me to be convinced I should reject the politics DA because debating about it is bad for debate. My take: I often think the internal link chains of DA's are not challenged enough by the Aff, many Aff teams just spot the Neg the internal links---It's one of the worst effects of the prevalence of offense/defense paradigm judging over the past years...and it's normally one of the weaker parts of the DA.

Counterplans: I like them. I generally think most types of counterplans are legitimate as long as the Neg wins that they are competitive. I am also fine with multiple counterplans. On counterplan theory, I lean pretty hard that conditionality and PICs are ok. You can win theory debates over the issue of how far negatives can take conditionality (battle over the interps is key). Counterplans that are functionally and textually competitive are always your safest bet but, I am frequently persuaded that counterplans which are functionally competitive or textually competitive are legitimate. My Take: I do however think that the negative should have a solvency advocate or some basis in the literature for the counterplan. If you want to run a CP to solve terrorism you need at least some evidence supporting your mechanism. My default is that I reject the CP, not the team on Aff CP theory wins.

Case debates: I like it. Negative teams typically underutilize this. I believe well planned impacted case debate is essential to a great negative strategy. Takeouts and turns can go a long way in a round.

Critiques: I like them. In the past, I have voted for various types of critiques. I think they should have an alternative or they are just non-unique impacts. I think there should be a discussion of how the alternative interacts with the Aff advantages and solvency. Impact framing is important in these debates. The links to the Aff are very important---the more specific the better.

Big impact turn debates: I like them. Want to throw down in a big Hegemony Good/Bad debate, Dedev vs Growth Good, method vs method, it's all good.

Topicality/FW: I tend to think competing interpretations are good unless told otherwise...see the Aff section above for more related to T.

Theory: Theory sets up the rules for the debate game. I tend to evaluate theory debates in an offensive/defense paradigm, paying particular attention to each teams theory impacts and impact defense. The interpretation debate is very important to evaluating theory for me. For a team to drop the round on theory you must impact this debate well and have clear answers to the other side's defense.

Impact framing-- it's pretty important, especially in a round where you have a soft-left Aff with a big framing page vs a typical neg util based framing strat.

Have fun debating!

email - though.03.03@gmail.com

LD/PF:

Less familiar with these formats, just make sure everything is explained to me in the rebuttals for LD summaries/final focus for PF and I'm willing to vote for most anything. Judge instruction is great and you shouldn't expect me to do any of the work for you.

Policy:

I'm willing to vote on most anything as long as it's explained well. This includes meme/satire arguments. I like K's but you should make sure every aspect of it is explained to me.

Willing to vote on K's without alts, but you're going to have an easier time if you do read an alt.

I think non-topical affs should probably interact with the topic in some way even if they don't support USFG action.

Framework should not be your only answer to a non-topical aff but that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to vote on it. You should have some argument against the idea the aff supports and not just their way of debating.

Any theory argument should have an example of in-round abuse.

I think aff teams can really benefit from a clever use of case cards against offcase, don't get too caught up in responding how the neg wants you to.

Speed is fine as long as you're clear. Be extra mindful of this debating online.

Novice as both a Judge and in Debate.

Parent judge- but have been judging for 2 years.

Judge LD + PF.

Impact based weighing > evidence, but both are important.

Spreading: I've only had one person I couldn't keep up with, so it doesn't bother me.

Ask for email

Judge Paradigm For Policy:
I enjoy progressive debate. Feel free to run theory or any Ks you want. I accept spreading in policy, but make sure your links, impacts, etc. are clearly labeled and signposted when you present your case. (I'm not the best at flowing, so helping me flow is to your best interest).

.... for Public Forum
I consider PF to be a middle ground between LD and Policy. Try something new, and have fun! I try my best to match my RDF to the flow of the debate, so work well with your partner to rebut opponent's case and extend your own arguments. (Look below for more general information on my paradigm).

...for LD Debate

Philosophical Approach: I approach LD debate as an opportunity to engage with the complex issues of ethics, values, and moral reasoning. I value clarity, logic, and ethical considerations in the arguments presented. I do not have preconceived biases or preferences for any particular moral framework or side of the resolution. My role is to fairly evaluate the debaters' arguments based on the principles of sound reasoning, ethical consistency, and persuasive communication.

Role of the Judge: My primary role is to objectively evaluate the arguments presented in the round. I will assess the clarity, relevance, and strength of the debaters' contentions, and I will prioritize well-structured and logically sound arguments. I will not intervene in the debate but rather base my decision solely on what is presented in the round. Debating the role of the judge, or the role of the ballot, or the purpose of debate is fair game.

Argumentation and Framework: I believe that both debaters have an equal burden to present and defend a consistent framework that applies to the resolution. I encourage debaters to engage in value clash and address the criterion effectively. If a debater chooses to run a value or criterion, they should explain how it directly links to the resolution and the ethical implications of their framework.

Evidence and Warranting: I value the use of relevant and credible evidence to support arguments. Evidence should be clearly cited, and debaters should provide warranted explanations to connect their evidence to their arguments. I will not evaluate unsupported claims or arguments without proper reasoning.

Clarity and Communication: Clear communication is essential. Debaters should enunciate their arguments, speak at a moderate pace, and avoid jargon or overly technical language. I encourage debaters to use signposting and roadmaps to guide me through the flow of the debate. If I cannot not understand you, I can't flow your case, so be careful when spreading.

Rebuttal and Clash: I expect debaters to engage in substantive clash. Effective rebuttals should address the main points made by their opponents, demonstrating where arguments are impacted or fall short. I appreciate when debaters extend key arguments and explain why they should be prioritized in the round.

Time Management: I will closely follow the time limits set in the round and expect debaters to do the same. Effective time management is crucial for a well-structured and organized debate.

Etiquette and Respect: Debaters should treat each other, the resolution, and the judge with respect. I will not tolerate any disrespectful or offensive language or behavior. Constructive engagement is key to a productive debate.

Flexibility: While I appreciate clarity and structure, I am open to evaluating unconventional arguments or styles of debate, as long as they adhere to the fundamental principles of ethical reasoning and argumentation.

Final Thoughts: I am here to facilitate a fair and educational debate. My decision will be based on the quality of arguments presented, not personal preferences or biases. I encourage debaters to approach this round with a commitment to ethical reasoning and persuasive communication.

Remember that different judges may have slightly different paradigms, so it's a good practice to adapt your approach to fit the preferences of the judge in each specific round.

As a judge, my priority is to evaluate the debaters in front of me as fairly as possible, regardless of personal beliefs. I have experience with LD, PF, and Congress. You may choose Trad or Tech just be reasonable and if you plan on speaking over 250wpm+, you should send a speech doc to ensure all points are evaluated.

I have three absolute rules for round:

1. Do not be condescending /disrespectful to your opponent(s) unless you feel like losing speaks and possibly the round. Passion and energy are great, disrespect is not.

2. Do not misrepresent/power-tag your evidence. You will lose the point and possibly the round, depending on the severity. This includes misusing, statistics.

3. Do not mischaracterize your opponents arguments or actions in round. Ex: insisting they dropped arguments they clearly addressed. You are welcome to tell me when you believe an argument should flow to you, although I may not agree.

I have no bias regarding theory, K's, ect. that don't break tournament rules. However, you should approach the round as if I know nothing about the argument you are running. That being said, if it doesn't make sense, I will not vote on it, you must prove your argument should win you the round. Ex: Saying your opponents shoes are a voter does not make it so.

Some specific information:

On weighing: I do not automatically way in "layers" or give preference to any specific type of argument, you need to prove that your approach takes priority.

Kritiks: Generally acceptable.

Non-T K's: If you are reading a K that is not topical It needs to be excessively relevant to the round. By that I mean that you telling me that I should vote for you because debate is sexist, will not sway me. However, If your opponent called you a sexist term or used sexist language to undermine you, I will absolutely evaluate a Kritik that concludes your opponent is bad for the Debate space. A topical statistic that you find offensive, is not reasonable ground for the K, facts and logic are critical to a meaningful debate.

Topical K's: I am fine with topical Kritiks, however you must prove that you earned the vote. I'm unbiased, so I'm perfectly comfortable evaluating anything you would like to run, Cap, Anthro, Fem, Pess varieties (I have a very high threshold for link and impact evidence here), and whatever else you can think of. As long as I believe you proved it, and you defend it, it is acceptable.

Note: A large volume of illogical evidence will not outweigh well-reasoned logic.

Theory:

Friv: Do not waste my time with shoe theory, formal dress theory, apple-laptop theory, or any other variation, unless both teams decide they just want to have some fun.

General Theory: For theory to carry a round it needs to outweigh the original purpose of debate. If there is a legitimate offence and you are enriching the round or the debate space by reading the shell, go for it, even if I don't love it, I'm willing to vote on it. You will need to do a lot of work to prove that the offense was egregious enough to warrant me dropping substance on the ballot.

CI: Counter-interps always get offense unless the team reading the shell proves that their opponents were theory-baiting, or does significant work to prove that they should get a 0-risk timesuck for whatever reason they choose. If you are willing to win on the shell, you should be ready to lose on it.

Reasonability: If you prove the offence had no effect on the round, and that you have a bright-line to fairness, I will drop the shell.

Plans: Plans are fine if the rules allow them.

Tricks: I think these de-value debate.

Performances: I have no experience with these, but if you prove its a reason to vote, I'll vote on it.

If you plan on speaking above 200 wpm, you need to send a speech doc 2 minutes before you begin speaking. If you don't, I can't guarantee that I'll catch everything you say and if I don't catch it, I can't judge it.

Please be respectful to myself and your fellow contestants. If not, your speaker points will be docked and you may lose the ballot regardless of arguments made.

I am a traditional parent/judge who votes off the flow, so if you plan on reading progressive arguments, make sure you explain them well.

Offense and Defense is sticky within reason.

I have 4 years of PF experience, so with that being said, I usually go off impact calc judging rounds. To properly weigh evidence I need proper links. be clear and concise, and if you're unsure, make it painfully obvious. break it down as if I have no idea what's going on. Don't drop major points/ evidence, it could make or break the round.

I enjoy a team who clearly knows their material and knows their cases/blocks like the back of their hand.

I have zero tolerance for bullying in rounds. Be respectful to everyone in the room and have fun!

Hi!

I am the Speech and Debate coach for Edmond Memorial High School. I have experience in all events except policy.

Please be respectful, nice, and a good sport. Don't be mean, rude, racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or entitled (I will vote you down). Take this seriously, but remember it is supposed to be enjoyable. Please ask questions if you have any.YOU CAN DO IT!! BE CONFIDENT AND HAVE FUN!!

Debate-

• Tech over Truth

• I don't mind spreading, but it has to be understandable. If I am not flowing then it is not coherent.

• Please signpost! Use off-time roadmaps, tell me where you going with your speeches. it helps me flow and better understand where you are going to take the round.

• I vote frameworks and impact calcif they have a valid warrant and is upheld throughout the entire round.

• Carry arguments through the round. Drops don't count if you don't bring them up.

• I don't flow cross so if you want something from cross to flow through the round bring it up in another speech. Please don't be aggressive in cross.

Speech-

• I like triangle or diamond blocking. Please make sure your structure is clear. Don't make it look like you are pacing.

• State your sources in your speech. Otherwise you are going on a long rant without any factual proof.

• Make your movement and hand gestures purposeful. You will most likely see comments about fidgeting and swaying if you are not moving with a purpose.

• It's fine if you have a notecard but please do your best to not look at it.

• I love good attention grabbers, something that relates to most anyone listening, or funny jokes!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please email me at sara.nichols@edmondschools.net

I been judging for twelve years and judging debate for 7 I don't like spreading and impacts and linking. Have the heaviest weight in debate, judging for me

Please do not spread, I would like to clearly hear you and what you have to say.

Make sure to keep your own time to help both of us.

I prefer four step refutation and please go straight down the flow, as it makes it easier for me to keep a track of your points.

I want to be on the chain, ask me for my email.

2X NDT qualifier

2X CEDA Elimination rounds

5 years of policy in college

LD and PF in HS

1st year Undergrad Assistant Coach at the University of Central Oklahoma

2nd year as Assistant Coach at Heritage Hall High school

I have ADHD which effects my brain processing sometimes so I will almost certainly miss something if you go your absolute top speed to get as many args out as possible. Spreading is obviously fine but clarity, transitions, organization and pen time are all essential for me to be able to both flow your argument but actually internalize it and understand it to vote on it.

Policy

TL;DR Do whatever you do best,

I have done almost every kind of debate and strategy possible at least once and will always be receptive to whatever your strategy is (barring it isn't inherently exclusive like racism good, patriarchy good etc.) I like some strategies more than others but that shouldn't dissuade anyone from reading their best stuff. However you like to debate is the debate that is going to happen and I'm perfectly fine with that.

The more work I do, the more my decision is up in the air for both teams. I really try and judge debates how the debaters tell me how I should judge the debate. Absent that judge instructions I will default to whatever little framing there is in the round and come up with a decision from there but you don't want this to happen because I might not see the debate in the exact same way as you so you should tell me why I should see things your way. If you want me or any judge to vote a specific way, then my RFD should line up a lot with your 2R. Also I'm more tech over truth but will only give dropped args a the full weight of the arg explained.

Below are random thoughts I try not to default to when not told how to resolve different kinds of debates but when I am not told how to resolve something, it is inevitable to some extent that they will creep in.

I was mostly a 2N that went for the K a lot and I have a soft spot for impact turns/straight turns on case and DA's where the link is specific to the aff and the internal link and impact narrative line up. I have experience as a both 1A/2A on plan and planless affs alike. So please just do what you do best and tell me why it's a reason the aff is bad or good.

K v Policy AFF: Love these debates. I'm down to vote either way but Framing is super important. Aff should say more than the aff OW and should read cards that actually answer the K rather than a bunch of cards you aren't gonna go for anyway. consolidate in the 2AR and use your explanation of your aff to disprove links. You read the aff for a reason. Neg should also consolidate around core pieces of offense/defense in the 2NR and think about how those args solve/ turn / whatever the aff- offense could be alt solves case and avoids a risk of the link- link turns the case with a link to the plan the alt solves- FW + link (maybe alt for uq) --- you should think about what the 1AR set up the 2AR to go for and going for that.

K v K aff: These are either really good or really bad. I love really good method debates but I don't think it's executed well a lot of the time. Framing is pretty important in these debates especially because the methods can look very different (PIKs, do nothing alts, do a lot of things alts whatever just explain it) . Saying "no perms in method debates" and "links are disads to the perm" are only one word different and only the second makes sense to me most of the time, win your links and contextualize it to the perm. Also please for the love of everything make standards for links competition clear

T: Honestly should probably be read in 75% of debates purely because it is almost always a positive time trade off for you

FW/USFG: I'll vote either way on it. The neg should probably have a defense that solves a lot of the aff offense or at least incorporates similar scholarship/SSD/TVA some way to talk about the aff if it's a good thing to talk about/full of truisms. I think that debate is one of the most valuable games we can play because there are so many unique ways we engage debate and debate engages us as people. What you choose to research and educate about on the aff is your choice but if you want to say the res is bad then you should probably have specific links to the res to impact turn the education on FW and your CI needs to be inclusive of both policy and critical sides of debate, whether or not those happen on the aff or not is up to you, and there are clever ways to do it that doesn't seem self serving.

DA's: I like a well researched DA specific to the aff. I'm not a fan of the politics/elections DA but if you are good at running it then go for it. I think turns case args are important and I think you need smart case args to make the DA impact calc more in your favor (impact defense to help yours outweigh or internal link take outs on an advantage for probability) Also think about what framing is the absolute best for your impact that also frames out your opponents.

CP: Needs to have a net benefit. One line CP in the 1NC with no ev or other args don't make any sense to me unless you are re-highlighting their evidence in a way that substantiated the 1NC cp text. These can often be the best counterplans against an aff. Theory is pretty up in the air but I will vote on it if there is a full arg in the 2AC to it. I will vote aff on theory so keep that in mind when you are answering the 2AC with your generic theory blocks (Side note: Conditions cp are def BS) ((I will vote neg on one but might you catch an eye roll during the 1NC))

PIC/PIK: I honestly think these are busted if the aff messes them up/ doesn't make a X key argument. PICS bad is kinda eh for me, also please make it as clear as possible to me you are floating the PIK. You can be tricky about it just be very clear in the alt solvency explanation in the BLOCK

Theory: I'm fine with it just make interps, violations and impacts clear. I hate when people spread theory blocks that don't answer the opponents

Condo: I think conditionality is good unless the neg doesn't defend it properly. There should be a time tradeoff in the block being forced to answer theory if you want to spend the 1NC spamming CP's. I only went for condo once when the neg actually messed it up and it was the correct choice.

Presumption against K affs that don't do things can be really good but it should be paired with offense to supercharge your link argument (do nothing affs against an organizing link on the cap K) and can be a straight turn of the case by itself because they make the aff impact worse because they think they have done something about violence.

LD: I did this for three years and I really want to see the local circuit become more modern. I am a judge that will definitely vote on a K, is cool with speed IF it's clear, I'm definitely cool with the neg having multiple off case positions (condo is more of a voter esp. with shorter speeches but i also think reading 4off is not strategic when you have so little time)

PF: Haven't judged nat circ. ever but am receptive to whatever, EXCEPT bad theory and tricks

Local/trad PF: I know the circuit is super lay friendly but you don't need to treat me like a parent. I think bc speaking is heavily emphasized I don't think fast spreading is good but I think that some speed is fine. I treat definition debates like T debates except, lack of plan focus means you might stick to a wholistic reading of the res to ensure clash, I think PF should be able to get specific advocacies on the but whatever it is it's unconditional (all this means is that if the con want's the status quo they have to go for it from the beginning or they can read an advocacy in that is different then the pros case) I also love K's but with the nature of PF the more specific it is to the topic or whatever the other team said the better

If you have any accessibility concerns for the round then I am happy to accommodate and I'm sure your opponents will be happy to oblige.