Hello everyone reading this,

If I am your judge, you are in good hands, do not despair.

A few things about me: I'm a debater in high school, and I did public forum for around 4-4.5 years, and now I do policy debate. I competed a lot in public forum and there isn't much else to it. I flow everything and you can classify me as a flow judge(experienced judge). Feel free to ask any questions about me during round or by email if you need to. (Email is at the bottom).

A couple things I like to see:

RESPECT.I can't emphasize enough on how big respect is as a part of debate. If you aren't respectful, I will not give you the win. Now, being aggressive is different from respect. Learn the difference. If both teams are respectful, then both teams will get high speaker points, along with clarity and other things but respect is a big part of it.

CLARITY.I am a flow judge which means I will be flowing all of your rounds, so if you think I'm being distracted just know I'm either looking something up or just flowing. Getting back to the point, just make sure you don't speak too fast to the point where I can't understand you and your opponents can't understand you. If I can't understand you then I don't know what your arguments are, which means I probably won't vote for you.

CLASH. Back when I was a novice, no one had clash, which is just two sides which actually engage in refutation and responding to arguments, and having direct well clash in a debate. Make sure you have this, as the team that initiates clash will have a big boost in my rankings. Make sure that exists.

For a little about arguments that I like to see:

If I'm judging public forum, please do not run critiques, those are just too weird and complicated, no one really understands it and I doubt you have the time to run one effectively.

I like basic, plain arguments, that have a good link and good evidence backing it up. HOWEVER, I am open to other, non-conventional arguments if they make sense and if you are able to explain it in detail to me.

I'm not too big on argument structure, just make sure that you signpost and you tell me exactly where you are very clearly or I will be very lost on my flow and arguments will go where you don't want it to go, which is not on my flow.

I am a big fan of evidence debate, so if you're opponent has biased evidence, or just evidence from Wikipedia, please do go attack it. The same goes for having evidence at all. Please have evidence, and make sure it is valid evidences supported by warrants. I'm not gonna mark you down if you don't but I will mark you up if you do.

As a side note: I am a big fan of humor in debate, as it does make the debate a little more lively and interactive, but know when to use the humor.

EXPLAIN EVERYTHING. Treat me how you would treat a parent judge, as I might not know much about the topic.

If I'm judging LD:

expect that I know nothing about the topic, the format, and the types of arguments you are running, although I may have some knowledge. All rules of debate apply to every event so speed is still okay in LD.

If I'm judging Parli:

No specific rules or boundaries here. I did parli once at a tournament I know the standard rules and whatever. Just don't do anything too crazy and make sure to get to the room on time.

Final inspirational stuff:

If you make any kind of funny reference and I understand it, +1 speaker points. Also, if you are like mid speech or right before a speech and you get nervous, your legs feel hot, you don't wanna speak, just push through. Everyone's been in your position and only learning can come out of it.

If you have any other questions for me, just ask me before the round and I would be happy to answer. You can also email me at nakulbanka2013@gmail.com Have a good day!

ALSO, make sure you ask me questions about this paradigm if there is something I didn't cover.

Sun Tzu - “The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”

Hello, I'm Arya Mirbaha.

Email: aryamirbaha@gmail.com.

Experience: Current Varsity Debater, Coaching Novice Debate, former Open, Novice, and JV Debater, Over 7 years involved in debate. I have also done speech for multiple years.

Preferences:

• Respect - Please be respectful at all times with your opponents. Do not be the individual to interrupt your opponents constantly. There is a line between argumentation and disrespect, and you should NEVER cross that line.
• Spreading - At the Novice Level, spreading (going extremely fast through your speech) should be limited. I do not want to see you going too fast where your opponents cannot understand what you are saying. You should ideally check with your opponent prior to the round starting regarding spreading. If your opponent and I cannot make up what you're saying, there's no point of saying it!
• Cross Examination - Cross is a great time to pick at your opponents arguments and extend your own while doing that. I listen to Cross and will take notes on Cross, so ensure that you do not forget about what was brought up in Cross as it could hurt you later on in the debate!
• Time Limits - Time limits are there to be followed. I give debaters a 15 second grace period from the time their speech ends. After the 15 seconds, I will not flow anything you say. For Cross, if a question has been asked right before the time limit runs out, it is expected that you respond to it, even if you surpass the time limit doing so - I am okay with that.
• Prep Time - Prep Time is there to be used! I have seen a lot of teams not use Prep Time, and it is a waste! I will time Prep so that there is no misunderstanding between both teams, although you are more than welcome to time for your own organization.
• Counter Plans - I do not accept any Counter Plans, especially at the Novice Level. If you do run one, and your opponent calls you out on it, I will side with your Opponent and disregard any information regarding your Counter Plan from my flow.
• Evidence - All your contentions/points should have evidence that is cited correctly. I will only ask for evidence if what you are saying seems too good to be true. If your opponent asks for evidence, you should be able to provide it to them in a timely manner.
• Speaking - This is your speech - be loud, be clear, emphasize important numbers or words! This will all help me and your opponents understand your contentions!
• Standard/Framework - I think it is a great idea to have framework, and I want to see why your framework should be used through the debate, and how your contentions relate to it!
• Impacts - I want unique and quantifiable impacts! I want to see what will happen as a result of your contention, and I want that to be clear.
• Weighing - I want both teams to try and weigh the debate, especially in Final Focus. I want to see where I should vote and why.
• Disclosure - I will disclose results at the end of rounds, unless it is against tournament rules. I will also give feedback to all competitors, including areas where they can improve, and areas where they did well.

Summary of Preferences - Make sure you respect everyone at all times. Do your best to ensure everyone understands what you're saying, and ask your opponents if they're ok with you spreading. Utilize Cross Examination as I will be listening and flowing it. Ensure you stay within your time limits during all speeches and crossfire. I will time Prep Time, and make sure you use it to your advantage! I do not allow Counter Plans. Make sure you have evidence! Frameworks or Standards are always encouraged. I want unique and quantifiable impacts. I also want to see where and why I should vote.

At the end of the day, this is your debate! Remember to have fun, learn from the debate, and do your best! If you have any questions, please let me know either by emailing me, or by asking me during the debate.

EXPERIENCE: I am a varsity parliamentary debater in high school, and have a history of public forum debate as well. I have been doing debate for about 4-5 years now.

Here are some of my preferences. If you have any questions, please ask.

RESPECT: It is really important to be very respectful while being passionate in a debate. Being passionate and being disrespectful are two completely different things bordered by a fine line, please do not cross it. If you aren’t respectful, you will have speaker points deducted, and if worst comes to worst, the win will go to the other team.

SPREADING: I am a flow judge, so spreading will not be an issue with me. But speak at whatever speed you want.

K’s: I do not recommend giving K’s at a novice level simply because nobody really understands them, and they are a really big hassle to actually argue. That being said, if you do choose to run them, I will flow, but it is entirely your job to connect the dots for me.

THEORY: Similar to K’s I do not recommend you running them, but I will flow them if you do choose to run them. Once again, it is entirely up to you to make it work in the constraints of the round. I will not be connecting the dots for you.

CP’s: When it comes to Public Forum debate, I do not recommend using CP’s whatsoever, especially at a novice level.

CLASH: I am a big fan of clash in a debate, and often find it lacking in many rounds. If there is clash in the round, please explain it to me in either your summary or final focus speeches. When it comes to clash, please present your evidence clearly such that the opposing team and I, as the judge, can understand.

TECH > TRUTH: I understand that some arguments do not have evidence readily open, but if they make logical sense, and you present it in such a way, I will consider it on my flow.

SIGNPOSTING: Please signpost. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is to your own organization and clarity, but it also helps with my flow as well as your opponents.

IMPACTS: This is probably single-handedly one of the most important parts of debate. This plays a significant part in my flow. Not only do you have to state your impact and your source, but you also have to weigh it well in your last speeches. If your opponents have a bigger impact than you, you can still win if you prove how yours is more relevant and more imminent.

EVIDENCE/CARDS: If there is a card sharing document being used, please share it with me. Make sure that whenever you are showing your opponents your card, that I can see it as well. If your evidence does not make sense, I will be waiting for it to be contested, and I will be looking things up myself. However, I will not be giving the result based off of what I have seen, and will only include it if your opponents state it clearly in their cases.

STANDARD/FRAMEWORK: Likewise to impacts, your framework is what I will be judging the entire round based off of. If you and your opponents have different frameworks, it is up to the both of you to prove how one is more important and should be used over the other. I will not be judging based on my personal preference, but rather based off what is argued more effectively.

PREP TIME: This is there for you to use to your advantage. PLEASE USE IT! It will only help you. I will be keeping track of your time on my end as well.

SPEECH TIMES: Your speeches should all be falling within the times allotted per speech, but I will be giving you a 15 second grace period. Once again, I will be timing on my end.

CROSSFIRES: I will not be flowing crossfires. If anything important is said here, it is your job to mention this in your later speeches. Be respectful and allow everyone to speak. Don’t get too worked up and yell. Remember that this is a safe learning environment.

DISCLOSURE: I will disclose results as well as giving an oral rfd if the tournament allows it. I will also be putting comments into the online ballot.

SPEAKER POINTS: I will typically not give anyone less than a 25 for speaker points, unless I really feel like lots of improvement is needed. Make sure you stay calm, present your arguments well, and have good clarity.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS YOUR DAY TO SHINE! REMEMBER TO ALWAYS TRY YOUR BEST, LEARN FROM THE DEBATES, AND HAVE FUN!