TPDSA Tournament
2023 — TW
Debate Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideNewbie Coach for ADL
I flow.
I give pretty high speaks if you're nice.
Email Chain: Brandonchen.135@gmail.com
Ask in round if you want to know more about me
Stuff about me:
I am called Jayden but idc if u call me judge.
I go to TAS
I am 13 years old
i identify as a blue gender
for email chain 0716jay@gmail.com or 28jaydenc@students.tas.tw
What is my debating background?
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Did Smart Debate(half time PF if anyone not from ADL is reading) at the end of 4th grade and at the start of 5th grade.
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Moved to PF at the end of 5th grade and did it through sixth.
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Currently doing N/JV policy(I'm in 7th grade)
What is my judging style?
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For impact calculus: Probability and Timeframe before impact
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When I was in PF, I did rebuttals and final, so I lean towards those speeches (bc I think they’re the most important)
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I keep contentions on my flow until they are dropped (not continued)
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I don’t care if you contradict or you drop an argument. I do care if the other team extends on it.
- Truth Judge(im sorry in advance)
Important Things(in my opinion)
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Please be clear when reading.
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i dont care how fast you read just be clear and make it understandable
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Be polite and respectful
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Don't interrupt, Don’t say they are bad
- i wont disclose
- Please time yourself(bc im kinda lazy so)
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I will offer guidance but not write speeches for you.
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Please have clash (the debate is really boring without it. also ill be voting off it)
- I don't care if you flow but it helps a lot
-TES'24
-I debate at ADL
-He/Him
-email: 1234jaychu@gmail.com
I will do my best to follow the debate - be clear and do organized line by line
Clarity>Speed (But im ok with spreading)
Clear impact calc for me to evaluate
Slow down on tags and non-evidence args
Coaching at Asian Debate League
Debated for 4 years in policy at Boise High School
Email:connordennis@u.boisestate.edu
How I judge:
I am strict about clarity, please read clearly during your speeches. I will ask you to slow down if I can't understand you. After two requests I'll stop flowing. I'm less strict with novices on clarity, but I will always encourage debaters to slow down and read clearly.
I flow the full debate and I generally put more importance on rebuttals and final focuses.
Dropped arguments usually don't decide debates for me, especially for novices.
I enjoy it when debaters go beyond the evidence and produce compelling speeches based on their own words. However, if the arguments in the debate are unclear I will reference evidence to help make my decision.
Courtesy is very important to me. Treat your opponents with respect. I may vote against you if rudeness or bullying takes place in your speeches.
Coach @ Asian Debate League
Debated 4 years at Kapaun** Mount Carmel in Wichita, Kansas, 2017
Debated 4 years NDT/CEDA/D3 at University of Kansas, 2021
Email chain: gaboesquivel@gmail.com
I treat judging debate with the same love and care that I treat my job. I love what we do.
My biases:
I lean aff for condo. Some might say too much. I might expect a lot from you if you do go for it.
I didn't go for K's much but I really like debating them vs my policy aff. More than policy v policy debates. Links are the most important thing for me. Impacts are a close second. I value consistency between the scale of the links and impacts i.e. in round impacts should have in round links.
I strongly bias toward "The K gets links and impacts vs the aff's fiated impacts" unless someone delivers a very persuasive speech. I can be persuaded that making a personal ethical choice is more important than preventing a nuclear war.
I lean toward affs with plans. Fairness concerns me less than usual nowadays. I like research/clash impacts.
I will read evidence and vote for evidence in debates where things are not settled by the debater's words. This happens frequently in T debates and impact turn debates.
Status quo is always an option=judge kick
How I judge:
I work hard to listen and read your evidence. I am honest about what I don't understand. I am patient with novices.
Be clear or go slower (7 or 8/10) for online debate otherwise I'll miss the nuance in your arguments. I clear twice before I stop flowing.
I flow and use everything I hear in my decision, and overemphasize what is said in the rebuttals. I'll reference the 1AR speech to protect the 2NR on a 2AR that "sounds new" and I'll reference the block on a 2NR that claims the 1AR dropped something. I'll reference a 2AC on a 1AR that claims the block dropped something, etc.
For a dropped argument to be a true argument it must have been a complete claim and warrant from the beginning. I am not a fan of being "sneaky" or "tricky". Unless you are going for condo ;)
I am persuaded by ethos and pathos more than logos. I find myself wanting to vote for a debater who tries to connect with me more than a debater who reads a wall of blocks even if they are technically behind. When both teams are great speakers I rely more on tech and evidence.
I try to craft my decision based on language used by the debaters. I reference evidence when I cannot resolve an argument by flow alone. PhD's, peer reviewed journals, and adequate highlighting will help you here. If I can't resolve it that way I'll look for potential cross applications or CX arguments and might end up doing work for you. If I do work for one team I will try to do the same amount for the other team. It might get messy if its close, that's what the panel is for, but please challenge my decision if you strongly disagree and I'll tell you where my biases kicked in.
**Pronounced (Kay-pen)
I have taught public forum debate for a few years.
I prefer quality arguments over quantity. Not a big fan of spreading, so spread at your own risk.
I like cases that have a consistent thread/narrative throughout. I also think pathos and rhetorical skills deserve a bigger place in PF. These sorts of things impress me.
Happy debating~
1. What is your debate background?
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I debated for one season as a senior in high school.
2. How do you judge?
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I am primarily concerned with the flow and the quality of arguments presented.
3. Please explain other specifics about your judging style
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I believe debaters should not speak too quickly and become incomprehensible.
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Kritik can be useful on occasion. However, I believe debaters should be strategic, and not spend overmuch time on this while avoiding substantial topical arguments.
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I believe counterplans should be used strategically. Often, the affirmative arguments leave plenty of opportunities for the negative side, without needing to resort to subtle variations of the affirmative’s plan as counterplans.
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I am also interested in the skillful use of evidence. Arguments including selective quotations taken out of context are weak and easily dismantled.
I was Public Forum captain in high school, but that was 12 years ago! I did policy/CX debate for two years and then public forum for another two years, so I am somewhat familiar with both. Since it's been so long though, I may need a refresher on the structure.
As a judge, I will do my best to emulate a tabula rasa paradigm, but I recognize my unavoidable implicit biases. I think the strongest opinion I have on judging debate is my dislike for over-emphasizing appeal to emotions. In the age of fake news and attention manipulation, when I recognize that my emotions are being manipulated over rationality or fact, I tend to react negatively.
----for ADL tournaments----
IF you go for an impact turn and win I will give you 30 speaks
IF you buy me food I will give you 30 speaks
IF you are a good debater I will give you 30 speaks
IF you roast Ray Wang or Micah Wang in your speech you will get 30 speaks.
bad jokes = -0.5 speaks - do it at your own risk
POLICY
----About me----
Taipei American School '23, Northwestern '27
I have been debating since the immigration topic.
I have been 1A/2N, 2A/1N, and double 2s.
I have qualified for the TOC twice.
I have zero knowledge of the 2023-2024 topic.
----Generic----
1. I will not flow crossfire/CX unless something is conceded.
2. I will time prep if you ask but it is still your responsibility.
3. Please add me to email chain: 23adaml.debate@gmail.com
4. Please set up an email chain or prepare whatever you need prior to the round.
5. respect your opponents and judge, please
----TL;DR----
tech over truth (most of the time)
strike me if you're gonna read high theory - I never have/never will read them, I don't vibe with them
warranting + explanation > spreading thru cards
condo is probably good
depth over breadth - especially in the block
overviews are nice unless it trades off with clash
YES:
aff-specific DAs
impact calc/comparison
card indicts/rehighlightings
agency CPs
some process CPs are fine
judge kick
blue highlighting
NO:
death good
lopez
rider DA
kicking planks
any kind of hate
yellow highlighting
----T----
Well-debated T debates = highest speaks
I probably won't vote on Ts about punctuation/"of"/"The"/"Resolved"
FXT, Extra T are hard to vote on solely based on it
reasonability is a bad argument
fairness is a terminal impact only if dropped
----DA----
ptx DAs should have an overview
Thumpers are great
warrant out all your cards - most DAs end up being just a ton of random cards
diversify your warrants don't just spam cards in the 1NR
If the scenario is absurd I'll probably not vote on it considering the risk
If the DA is creative/I haven't seen, +0.2 speaks
Aff-specific DAs, if executed well/is true, +0.2 speaks
I often find teams not doing the internal link debate, which is usually super weak - I do vote on this
impact calc is essential to a W
turns case scenarios are nice - but tell me why you turn them not they turn you
----CP----
Judge Kick is the default unless the Aff says something and that's dropped
Kicking planks is okay unless the Aff gives a reason why not
Multi-plank counterplans can be strategic, but I often find them abusive.
Would vote on cheaty process CPs
Consult CPs are disgusting
I will vote on sufficiency framing unless the aff specifies a solvency deficit that outweighs the net benefit (modelling etc.)
I will "reject the argument not the team" especially when the CP is super abusive (specifics on theory)
----K----
I've been a policy team my whole life so you need to explain if the lit base isn't cap, set col, bioptx, security, etc.
Not the biggest fan of K affs unless it is well explained. That being said, I'm all for K affs that are somewhat related to the resolution, especially teams that explain to me why the alt is key for solving a specific thing. Being vague is bad.
Framework v. K Affs - I'm easily persuaded by fairness as an impact. That also means I'm susceptible to impact turns, which means that winning competitive models of debate is key to winning the ballot - i.e. why your model is more debatable.
Aff framework v. Ks - almost never the voter, aff should get to weigh the aff, neg should get the K, link debating is the most important
Generic K links are bad - please read specific cards and explain it well. Long overviews are nice but make sure it doesn't trade off with clash. If generic, you must somehow spin it/contextualize in a way that makes coherent sense, otherwise it's hard for me to give the neg a link
no baudrillard
Aff impact turns against cap and security are nice, often find myself erring aff on them
If you're not black, don't run afropess
99% of the time, defense won't be enough for an Aff ballot
----Theory----
I probably won't vote on theory unless there's clear abuse (ex: lopez CP, 4+ CPs in 1NC, etc.) that means even if not dropped, spending enough time explaining that abuse can win you the ballot
Dropping theory isn't an instant voter - you still need to explain to me the abuse that has happened within the round
T outweighs theory - don't BS me
any DA theory is BS
severance is a reason to reject the argument 99% of the time
going for theory = lower speaks (only a bit) cuz I do think substance should be the core of debate
2AC theory should be in the doc - I find that teams just spread through a one-liner and hope they drop it
----Misc----
Speed - The only thing I care about is clarity (separate tags from the card itself, signposting is good). Don't read speed Ks. If the opponents are too fast, chances are I can't flow them either. I will intervene when it's too unclear.
Organize speech doc and speech in general and please highlight the cards. Don't say 'stop prep' and take 2+ minutes to send the doc - if there's a problem, tell me. Do send cards in the body of the email.
Don't be too pressing and be nice during cx - it can be a determinant of speaks if done well. I also think cx is binding. Avoiding questions will lower your speaks
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Public Forum
I probably don't know the topic that well, so a clear explanation/overview is very important.
1. In round behavior matters - Be nice and kind
2. Speed doesn't matter, as long as both the other team and I can understand, be CLEAR
3. No preference for specific arguments
4. Crossfire should be done in a civilized way - don't speak loudly at the same time as opponents.
5. Don't extend cards without explaining the warrants and linking it to the args.
6. It's good to compare different parts of different arguments on both sides to show how you outweigh.
7. Please do Line-by-line if possible, at least show what argument you are moving on to. Organize your speeches and flow.
8. You MUST show me WHY and HOW you win the debate in order for me to vote for your team. PERSUASION IS KEY!!!
9. I will vote on RESOLVED arguments, if there are random arguments that are left unanswered or not clear, I will not vote on that. Also if an argument is dropped, you must mention it or I will disregard it completely.
----Speaker Points Rubric [for both]----
30-29 hands down you're a great speaker. A few minor flaws could affect your speaks but it already exceeds my standards.
29-28 You are doing well, but there are probably some key things that you missed. Great speaking overall!
28-27 You're gonna have to work on your speaking a little more.
27-26 This is the speaks I will give to someone who I can't really understand/sounds like clipping/interrupting others.
<26 Forfeiting a speech, offensive language, or inappropriate behavior in general - please don't!!!
SD/PF
---warrant comparison
---impact calc
RFD
---map out the debate for me
Sarah Maeng she/her
Taipei American School 28'
Email chain: 66checkmymails@gmail.com
Instagram: @sarahmaengg
If you are curious about my judging styles, then please ask me before the round starts!
Good luck debaters!
Email chain: lily.coaches.debate@gmail.com
About:
- Currently based in Taiwan and coaching debate for the ADL. That means I am staying up all night when I judge at US tournaments. Please pref accordingly
- Debated in college at the University of Kansas, 2017-2022 (Healthcare, Executive Authority, Space, Alliances, Antitrust). I majored in math and minored in Russian if that matters.
- Debated in high school at Shawnee Mission Northwest, 2013-2017 (Latin America, Oceans, Surveillance, China).
Top:
- If I can tell that you are not even trying to flow (eg you never take out a piece of paper the entire debate, you stand up to give your 2NC with just your laptop and no paper) your speaks are capped at 27.
- Please don't call me "judge." It's tacky. My name is Lily. Note that this does not apply to saying "the role of the judge."
- In the words of Allie Chase, "Cross-x isn't 'closed,' nobody ever 'closed' it... BUT each debater should be a primary participant in 2 cross-xes if your goal is to avoid speaker point penalties."
- I would prefer to not judge death/suffering/extinction good arguments or arguments about something that happened outside the debate.
- I might give you a 30 if I think you're the best debater at the tournament.
- High schoolers are too young to swear in debates.
- Don't just say words for no reason - not in cross-x and certainly not in speeches.
- If you are asking questions like "was x card read?" a timer should be running. Flowing is part of getting good speaker points.
- The word "nuclear" is not pronounced "nuke-yoo-ler." If you say this it makes you sound like George Bush.
- Shady disclosure practices are a scourge on the activity.
Framework:
- I judge a lot of clash debates. I'm more likely to vote aff on impact turns than most policy judges, but I do see a lot of value in the preservation of competition. Procedural fairness can be an impact but it takes a lot of work to explain it as such. Sometimes a clash impact is a cleaner kill.
- TVAs don't have to solve the whole aff. I like TVAs with solvency advocates. I think it's beneficial when the 2NC lays out some examples of neg strategies that could be read against the TVA, and why those strategies produce educational debates.
Topicality vs policy affs:
- Speaker point boost if your 2NC has a grammar argument (conditional on the argument making sense of course).
- If you're aff and going for reasonability, "race to the bottom" < debatability.
- Case lists are good.
- The presence of other negative positions is not defense to a ground argument. The aff being disclosed is not defense to a limits argument. This also goes for T-USFG.
Counterplans
- When people refer to counterplans by saying the letters "CP" out loud it makes me wish I were dead.
- As a human I think counterplans that advocate immediate, indefinite, non-plan action by the USFG are legit, but as a judge I'm chaotic neutral on all theory questions.
- Conditionality: I'll give you a speaker point boost if you can tell me how many 2NRs are possible given the number of counterplan planks in the 1NC.
Disads
- Read them
- Politics DAs are fun. Make arguments about polling methodology.
Ks
- I feel like I have a higher threshold for Ks on the neg than some. I'm not a hack and I will vote for your K if you do the better debating, but I also think arguments that rely on the ballot having some inherent meaning are
cornyunpersuasive. - I dislike lazy link debating immensely, primarily because it makes my life harder. Affs hoping to capitalize on this REALLY ought to include a perm/link defense in the 2AR.
- Explain how the alt solves the links and why the perm doesn't.
- Affs should explain why mooting the 1AC means that the neg's framework is anti-educational. Negs should explain why the links justify mooting the aff.
- Case outweighs 2ARs can be very persuasive. The neg can beat this with discrete impacts to specific links+impact framing+framework.
- Speaker point penalty if the 1AR drops fiat is illusory - at the very least your framework extension needs an education impact.
Lincoln-Douglas:
- If there is no net benefit to a counterplan, presumption flips aff automatically.
- I do not think permutations are cheating.
- An argument is a claim and a warrant. If you say something that does not contain a warrant, I will not necessarily vote on it even if it's dropped. In the interest of preventing judge intervention, please say things that have warrants.
- Most neg theory arguments I've watched would go away instantly if affs said "counter interpretation: we have to be topical."
- RVIs are not persuasive to me. Being topical is never an independent reason to vote affirmative. The fact that a counterplan is conditional is never offense for the negative.
TLDR: Time yourself and do what you do best, and I will make my best effort to make a decision that makes sense. Extremely low tolerance for disrespect. Do not say death is good. Minimize dead time and read aesthetic cards for higher speaks. Be nice, stay hydrated, and have fun!
Email: Add poodog300@gmail.com. Set up the chain before the round starts and include the Tournament Name, Round, and Teams in the subject. Will start prep if you are taking too long. Please take the two seconds it takes to name your file something relevant to the round.
AFF Things: Know what you are defending and stick to it. I will vote on any theory push if debated well enough, but most things are reasons to reject the argument. Very bad for non-resolutional K AFFs.
CP/DA Things: #Stop1NAbuse. CPs should have solvency advocate(s). I think competition debates are fun. Not a fan of UQ CPs. Politics is always theoretically legitimate. Can vote on zero-risk.
T Things:Not the best so don't blaze through analytics. Explain what your model of debate would look like. Outweighs condo and is never an RVI. Plan text in a vacuum is silly but I will vote on it.
K Things: Agree with JMH: policy debaters lie and K debaters cheat. No good in K v. K. I will be very unhappy if you read a K in a Novice/JV division or against novices. Debate is a game and procedural fairness is an impact.
PF/LD Things: Paraphrasing is fine if you have evidence that can be provided when requested. Will not vote on frivolous theory or philosophy tricks. Ks are fine if links are to the topic.
Nice People: Debnil. Both Morbecks. Michael B. Cerny. Steve Yao. Delta Kappa Pi.
Mean People: Eloise So. Gatalie Nao. Chase Williams. Kelly Phil. Joy Taw.
Judging Technique:
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Read the most important contentions. You don’t need 8-10 contentions. Just a few strong ones that are filled with specifics. (Clarity > Speed and Quality > Quantity)
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When giving speeches, make sure you have a solid structure that’s easy to follow. Don’t just throw out random details and random times.
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Try not to drop any arguments because that means you agree with the opponents.
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Elaborate on why your impact is more important. Don’t just make a claim without supporting it.
Feel free to ask questions before the debate round. Good luck :)
I am currently a policy and PF coach at Taipei American School. My previous affiliations include Fulbright Taiwan, the University of Wyoming, Apple Valley High School, The Harker School, the University of Oklahoma, and Bartlesville High School. I have debated or coached policy, LD, PF, WSD, BP, Congress, and Ethics Bowl.
Email for the chain: lwzhou10 at gmail.com
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TOC Public Forum
Put the Public back in Public Forum.
For the TOC, follow all of the evidence rules and guidelines listed in the tournament policies. I care a lot about proper citations, good evidence norms, clipping, and misrepresentation.
I won't vote for arguments spread, theory, kritiks, or anything unrelated to the truth or falsity of the resolution. I find it extremely difficult to vote for arguments that lack resolutional basis (e.g., most theory or procedural arguments, some kritikal arguments, etc.). I find trends to evade debate over the topic to be anathema to my beliefs about what Public Forum debate ought to look like.
I care that you debate the topic in a way that reflects serious engagement with the relevant scholarly literature. I would also prefer to judge debates that do not contain references to arcane debate norms or jargon.
Additionally, I expect that your evidence abides by NSDA rules as outlined in the NSDA Evidence Guide. If I find evidence that does not conform to these guidelines, I will minimally disregard that piece of evidence and maximally vote against you.
tl;dr won't blink twice about voting against teams that violate evidence rules or try to make PF sound like policy-lite.
Other Things
Exchanging evidence in a manner consistent with the NSDA's rules on evidence exchange has become a painfully slow process. Please simply set up an email chain or use an online file sharing service in order to quickly facilitate the exchange of relevant evidence. Calling for individual pieces of evidence appears to me as nothing more than prep stealing.
If the Final Focus is all read from the computer, just send me the speech docs before the debate starts to save us some time. I'll also cap your speaks at 28.5.
I do not believe that either team has any obligation to "frontline" in second rebuttal, but my preferences on this are malleable. If "frontlining" is the agreed upon norm, I expect that the second speaking team also devote time to rebuttals in the constructive speeches.
The idea of defense being "sticky" seems illogical to me.
There is also a strong trend towards under-developing arguments in an activity that already operates with compressed speech times. I also strongly dislike the practice of spamming one-line quotes with no context (or warrant) from a dozen sources in a single speech. I will reward teams generously if they invest in a few well-warranted arguments which they spend time meaningfully weighing compared to if they continue to shotgun arguments with little regard for their plausibility or quality.
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Policy
Stolen from Matt Liu: "Feb 2022 update: If your highlighting is incoherent gibberish, you will earn the speaker points of someone who said incoherent gibberish. The more of your highlighting that is incoherent, the more of your speech will be incoherent, and the less points you will earn. To earn speaker points, you must communicate coherent ideas."
I debated for OU back in the day but you shouldn't read too much into that—I wasn't ever particularly good or invested when I was competing. I lean more towards the policy side than the K side and I'm probably going to be unfamiliar with a lot of the ins-and-outs of most kritiks, although I will do my best to fairly evaluate the debate as it happens.
1. I tend to think the role of the aff is to demonstrate that the benefits of a topical plan outweigh its costs and that the role of the neg is to demonstrate that the costs and/or opportunity costs of the aff's plan outweigh its benefits.
2. I find variations of "fairness bad" or "logic/reasoning bad," to be incredibly difficult to win given that I think those are fundamental presuppositions of debate itself. Similarly, I find procedural fairness impacts to be the best 2NRs on T/Framework.
3. Conditionality seems obviously good, but I'm not opposed to a 2AR on condo. Most other theory arguments seem like reasons to reject the argument, not the team. I lean towards reasonability. Most counterplan issues seem best resolved at the level of competition, not theory.
4. Warrant depth is good. Argument comparison is good. Both together—even better.
5. Give judge instruction—tell me how to evaluate the debate.
None of these biases are locked in—in-round debating will be the ultimate determinant of an argument’s legitimacy.
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WSD
My debate experience is primarily in LD, policy, and PF. I do not consider myself well-versed in all the intricacies or nuances of WSD strategy and norms. My only strong preference is that want to see well-developed and warranted arguments. I would prefer fewer, better developed arguments over more, less-developed arguments.
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Online Procedural Concerns
1. Follow tournament procedure regarding online competition best practices.
2. Record your speeches locally. If you cut out and don't have a local backup, that's a you problem.
3. Keep your camera on when you speak, I don't care if it's on otherwise. Only exception is if there are tech or internet issues---keeping the camera off for the entirety of the debate otherwise is a good way to lose speaker points.
4. I'll keep my camera off for prep time, but I'll verbally indicate I'm ready before each speech and turn on the camera for your speeches. If you don't hear me say I'm ready and see my camera on, don't start.
5. Yes, I'll say clear and stuff for online rounds.