I first look to see how the debater has constructed their case? Is it persuasive? Is their argument ethical and moral? How is their presentation? Is it clear? Is their voice volume appropriate? What is their body language? Do they have eye contact with their audience? Have they done their research? Do they quote their sources in support of their case? Why should their position be supported? Their refutation; how do they refute their opponents argument? Do they use examples from their research? Can they identify fallacies in their opponents' argument? Are they using logical analysis to refute their opponent? The debaters ability to rebuild and clarify their argument.

I am a parent judge. Please debate about the topic and avoid progressive arguments.

Please:

1. Speak clearly and with persuasion
2. Give voters
3. Weigh

Have fun debating!

I am new to judging this school year (2023-2024), but have now judged in a few tournaments. I very much enjoy listening to the debates, and understand and appreciate the work the students put into them. When I listen to the students, I cannot help but think the future of our country is in very good hands.

What I look for in competitors is the following:

1. Competitors who speak slowly and clearly. I would rather listen to a few well thought-out contentions than try to keep up with someone who speaks fast and tries to squeeze in as many arguments as possible.
2. Competitors who are respectful. Especially those who are respectful to other competitors.
3. Well presented rebuttals. Competitors who make good rebuttals to the opponents contentions makes a big difference in a debate.
4. Speaking directly to me. Making eye contact keeps attention sharp. So try not to spend all of your time as if you are reading to me from your materials or laptop.
5. Confidence speaks for itself. I understand why students might think it a good idea to ask for my vote, but it is not necessary.

Email for evidence chain: bales@bxscience.edu

Tell me why I should vote for you. Make sense. Explain your terms. Think of me as a relatively smart person who isn't debate-y. I'll vote for what makes sense. If I don't understand it, I can't vote for you.

Make every argument clear and tell me why it is important! Why should I vote for you?

No spreading. I do not have a problem with it on principle. I just will not be able to follow your argument. Please be clear in your articulation. Don’t use a ton of debate jargon/buzzwords- explain what you’re trying to say in your own words and make it clear. This goes for both policy and critical oriented debaters.

Argument-Specific (I prefer traditional arguments)

Critical affs- very unfamiliar. Run them if you have NOTHING else, but be sure you explain yourself VERY clearly.

Neg arguments:
Disad- Explain the story/scenario of how the aff causes a specific impact and why that impact is the most important. I prefer you use traditional impact calculus in your framing.
Counterplan- Provide a competitive counterplan and explain the NET BENEFITS of why the counterplan is better than the aff
Topicality- Prove the aff is untopical and tell me why it’s important
Kritik- Unfamiliar- explain every argument clearly. I strongly advise you not to run one. If you chose to run a K, narrow the argument down to the impacts of the K.

I did LD for 2 years and coached for another two at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. I am now coaching debate at Oakland Catholic High School, and this is my first year back in a few years.

I'll vote on anything. However, if you're going to go for something, it must be extended in each speech. You should try and write my ballot for me at the end of the round by giving me 2-3 of your best arguments and going for them. If I look confused it is because I am confused, so try to not do that. I pay attention to cross x, but I don't flow it.

Be confident but don't be rude, there's a big big difference. I prefer that you have more offensive (your flow) than defensive arguments (your opponents flow), but you need to have both in order to win the round.

I will let you know if you are going too fast.

If you have any specific questions let me know and I'll be sure to answer them before the round.

About Me

I attended and debated for Rutgers University-Newark (c/o 2021). I’ve ran both policy and K affs.

Coach @ Ridge HS in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Influences In Debate

David Asafu – Adjaye (he actually got me interested in college policy, but don’t tell him this), and of course, the debate coaching staff @ RU-N: Willie Johnson, Carlos Astacio, Devane Murphy, Christopher Kozak and Elijah Smith.

The Basics

Yes, I wish to be on the email chain!

saied.beckford@rutgers.edu

COLLEGE POLICY: I skimmed through the topic paper and ADA/ Wake will be my first time judging this season. Do with this information what you wish.

GENERAL: If you are spreading and it’s not clear, I will yell clear. If I have to do that too many times in a round, it sucks to be you buddy because I will just stop flowing and evaluate the debate based on what I can remember. Zoom through your cards, but when doing analytics and line by line, take it back a bit. After all, I can only evaluate what I catch on my flow. UPDATE FOR ONLINE DEBATES: GO ABOUT 70% OF YOUR NORMAL SPEED. IF YOU ARE NOT CLEAR EVEN AT 70%, DON'T SPREAD.

In general, I like K’s (particularly those surrounding Afro-Pess and Queer Theory). However, I like to see them executed in at least a decent manner. Therefore, if you know these are not your forte, do not read them just because I am judging. One recent pet peeve of mine is people just asserting links without having them contextualized to the aff and well explained. Please don't be that person. You will see me looking at both you and my flow with a confused face trying to figure out what's happening. Additionally, do not tell me that perms cannot happen in a method v. method debate without a warrant.

I live for performance debates.

I like to be entertained, and I like to laugh. Hence, if you can do either, it will be reflected in your speaker points. However, if you can’t do this, fear not. You obviously will get the running average provided you do the work for the running average. While I am a flow centric judge, be it known that debate is just as much about delivery as it is about content.

The bare minimum for a link chain for a DA is insufficient 99% of the time for me. I need a story with a good scenario for how the link causes the impact. Describe to me how everything happens. Please extrapolate! Give your arguments depth! It would behoove you to employ some impact calculus and comparison here.

Save the friv theory, bring on those spicy framework and T debates. Please be well structured on the flow if you are going this route. Additionally, be warned, fairness is not a voter 98% of the times in my book. It is an internal link to something. Note however, though I am all for T and framework debates, I also like to see aff engagement. Obviously these are all on a case by case basis. T USFG is not spicy. I will vote on it, but it is not spicy.

For CPs, if they're abusive, they are. As long as they are competitive and have net benefits, we're good.

On theory, at a certain point in the debate, I get tired of hearing you read your coach's coach's block extensions. Could we please replace that with some impact weighing?

Do not assume I know anything when judging you. I am literally in the room to take notes and tell who I think is the winner based on who gives the better articulation as to why their option is better. Therefore, if you assume I know something, and I don’t … kinda sucks to be you buddy.

I’m all for new things! Debating is all about contesting competing ideas and strategies.

I feel as though it should be needless to say, but: do not run any bigoted arguments. However, I’m well aware that I can’t stop you. Just please be prepared to pick up a zero in your speaking points, and depending on how egregious your bigotry is, I just might drop you. Literally!

Another thing: please do not run anthropocentrism in front of me. It’s something I hated as a debater, and it is definitely something I hate as a judge. Should you choose to be risky, please be prepared for the consequences. (Update: voted on it once - purely a flow decision)

For My LD'ers

It is often times difficult to evaluate between esoteric philosophies. I often find that people don't do enough work to establish any metric of evaluation for these kinds of debates. Consequently, I am weary for pulling the trigger for one side as opposed to the other. If you think you can, then by all means, read it!

Yale Update: Tricks are for kids.You might be one, but I am not.

I'm gonna have to pass on the RVIs too. I've never seen a more annoying line of argumentation.

In general, give me judge instructions.

On average, tech > truth --- however, I throw this principle out when people start doing or saying bigoted things.

For PFD and LD.

Simple Paradigm, I am a traditionalist when it comes to PFD or LD so I know, when judging on the circuit I will be blocked, but this is not Policy.

Debate the resolution, not something you bought from a college student or topic you find enlightening - the resolutions are chosen, and voted on, for a reason.

It is helpful to "bullet-point" and number your arguments.

Do not bring in new topics/arguments when summarizing. This is unfair to the opposing team who will have had no opportunity to rebut. Doing this will lose points.

So, with that in mind, life is simple, right? If LD your Value should simply win out and and your VC better convince me that all those contentions and sub-points make sense, especially since you (please!) slow downed so I can actually hear them. If you speak too quickly and I cannot catch what you say, it is as though you didn't say it. =) Yes I like smiley faces, life is fun, take a step back and enjoy it! Nevertheless, if I do not catch what you say this will likely result in lost points. This also applies to PFD.

Similarly, acronyms are great short hand but do not assume I will be familiar with them. Define them at the outset before using them freely.

I like consistency in the points made and creative solutions to challenges. Twists in an argument and subtle nuances can be fun as well as win the day! Quantification of issues versus qualification of emotions, and specifics versus generalizations are both approaches which work well. Best is when your position paints a consistent and coherent picture, and exceptions and rebuttals are removed by logic and data. Logical arguments supporting your position are far more important than rewording the same statement, except when there is a need to clarify ambiguities or terms.

If PFD, well your contentions and impact better win out too! Good cards everyone, good cards and roadmap please. If you have evidence for me to see, then make sure I see it. You are responsible for confirming it was received and can be read by me.

Finally, if you want me to tell you when it is time, or 5 seconds or other time before your time is up tell me in advance and be explicit. This includes prep time. It is your responsibility to communicate this and to be sure I received and accepted the message. This is not the time to be subtle. You will only lose points if I have to tell you that you went overtime.

Oh wait, almost forgot, remember this is not policy ! If I am judging policy, well that is a whole other matter.

Coach since 2014

For the most part,you'll be looking at this paradigm because I'll be your LD judge. cross-apply these comments to PF as applicable and to policy if/when I get recruited to judge policy.

Speed and Decorum:

Send me your case. This should go without saying, but let me know that you've actually sent me your case. I won't look for your case unless you tell me to look. Speechdrop.net or tabroom share is probably best rather than email.

I don't care if you sit/stand. Really, I don't. Just generally try to remain in the room. I won't be shaking hands.

Please time your speeches and prep time. I may not keep accurate time of this since my attention is to the content of your speeches. Flex prep is fine if all debaters in the round agree.

Debate:

I do not prefer theory. I'm usually left feeling that most debaters let it overcomplicate their arguments or worse. Some may even allow it to further make debate inaccessible (especially to those who are likely already crowded out of this forum in some other way). Please don't run it unless there you see literally NO OTHER WAY to respond to your opponent's arguments. Even then, I may not evaluate it the way you want or expect. If you planning to run dense or tricky theory, you should find a different judge.

You have an absolute obligation to articulate your arguments. Even if I’m familiar with the literature or whatever that you might be referencing I *try* to avoid filling in any gaps.

Signposting = GOOD! Flipping back and forth from AFF flow to NEG flow then back to AFF Flow to NEG Flow....BAD.... VERY, VERY, VERY BAD!

Tricks = no. Thanks.

I will not vote for arguments that are ableist, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, etc. This should go without saying, but for the sake of anyone who needs to see it in writing, there you go.

Above all, strive to make sense. I do not prefer any “style” of debate or any particular kind of argument over another. Regardless of what you run, if your case relies on me to connect the dots for you or if it is a literal mess of crappily cut and equally crappily organized evidence sans warrants, you will probably be sad at the end of the round.

Hi I am Malcolm. I went to college at Swarthmore. I am an assistant debate coach with Nueva. I have previously been affiliated with Newton South, Strath Haven, Hunter College HS, and Edgemont. I have been judging pretty actively since 2017. I very much enjoy debates, and I love a good joke!

I think debates should be fun and I enjoy when debaters engage their opponents arguments in good faith. I can flow things very fast and would like to be on the email chain if you make one! malcolmcdavis@gmail.com

In general I flow (on paper) (if you find me flowing on my laptop, know that I am sad and desire paper) primarily by listening rather than following along on the doc, but do not let me slow you down. DO let your opponents slow you down respect clears from them more than from me. I believe I have a baseline obligation as an educator to ensure the round is safe for all participants. I also have an obligation to the tournament to make sure we have the round in a timely fashion. I shan't be convinced to act against these obligations.

if you aren't ready to send the evidence in your speech to the email chain, you are not done preparing for your speech, please take prep time to prepare docs. (Prep time ends when you click send on the email, not before).

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pref shortcuts:

Phil / High Theory 1

K 1/2

LARP/policy/T 1/2

Tricks/Theory strike

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PF Paradigm (updated for toc 2024):

I will do my best to evaluate the debate based only what is explained in the round during speech time (this is what ends up on my flow). Clear analysis of the way arguments interact is important. I really enjoy creative argumentation, do what makes you happy in debate.

email chains are good, but DO send your evidence BEFORE the speech. I am EXTREMELY easily frustrated by time wasted off-clock calling for evidence you probably don't need to see. This is super-charged in PF where there is scarcely prep time anyways, and I know you are stealing prep. I am a rather jovial fellow, but when things start to drag I become quite a grouch.

I am happy to evaluate the k. In general I think more of these arguments are a good thing. LD paradigm has more thoughts here. The more important an argument purports to be, the more robust its explanation ought to be

Theory debates sometimes set good norms. That said, I am increasingly uninterested in theory. I am no crusader for disclosure. I will vote on any convincingly won position. Please give reasons why these arguments should be round winning. Every argument I have heard called an "IVI" would be better as a theory shell or a link into a critical position.

I think debates are best when debaters focus on fewer arguments in order to delve more deeply into those arguments. It is always more strategic to make fewer arguments with more reasoning. This is super-charged in PF where there is scarcely time to fully develop even a single argument. Make strategic choices, and explain them fully!

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LD: updated for PFI 24.

philosophy debate is good and I really like evaluating well developed framework debates in LD. That said, I don't mind a 'policy' style util debate, they are often good debates; and I do really love judging a k. The more well developed your link and framing arguments, the more I will like your critical position.

I studied philosophy and history in college, and love evaluating arguments that engage things from that angle. Specific passions/familiarities in Hegel's PdG (Kojeve, Pinkard, Hyppolite, and Taylor's readings are most familiar in that order), Bataille, Descartes, Kristeva, Braudel, Lacan, and scholars writing about them. Know, however, that I encountered these thinkers in different contexts than debaters often approach them in. In short, Yes PoMo, yes german philosophy, yes politics of the body and pre-linguistic communication, yes to Atlantic History grounded criticisms, yes to the sea as subject and object.

Good judge for your exciting new frameworks, and I'd definitely enjoy a more plausible util warrant than 'pleasure good because of science'. 'robust neuroscience' certainly does not prove the AC framework, I regret to say.
If your approach to philosophy debate is closer to what we might call 'tricks' , I am less enthusiastic.

Every argument I have heard called an "IVI" would be better if it were a theory shell, or a link into a critical position.

I really don't like judging theory debates, although I do see their value when in round abuse is demonstrable. probably a bad judge for disclosure or other somewhat trivial interps.

Put me on the email chain.

Happy to answer questions !

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Parli Paradigm updated for 2023 NPDL TOC

Hi! I am new-ish to judging high school parli, but have lots and lots of college (apda) judging and competing experience. Open to all kinds of arguments, but unlikely to understand format norms / arguments based thereupon. Err on the side of overexplaining your arguments and the way they interact with things in the debate

Be creative ! Feel free to ask any questions before the round.

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Policy Paradigm

I really enjoy judging policy. I have an originally PF background but started judging and helping out with this event some years ago now. My LD paradigm is somewhat more current and likely covers similar things.

The policy team I have worked most closely with was primarily a policy / politics DA sort of team, but I do enjoy judging K rounds a lot.

Do add me to the email chain: malcolmcdavis@gmail.com

I studied philosophy and history in college, and love evaluating arguments that engage things from that angle.

I aim for tab rasa. I often fall short, and am happy to answer more specific questions.

If you have more specific questions, ask me before the round or shoot me an email.

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Speech is cool, I am new to judging this, I will do my best to follow tournament guidelines. I enjoy humor a lot, and unless the event is called "dramatic ______" or something that seems to explicitly exclude humor, it will only help you in front of me.

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As a judge, I prefer for debates to stay on resolution / topic, does that mean I am more traditional, yes. The formats were formed for a reason and that should be followed. If you get too progressive, well please see what I initially started my paradigm with.

As for speed, can flow very well, however if it sounds like you are choking and cannot breathe, well you just dropped those contentions, cards, points, whatever you were trying to establish. In most things, quality outweighs quantity, like do you attend three, four, five colleges at once, no, no you do not that, you pick the one of highest quality and focus on that, so in that vein, remember, this is not policy, but either PF or LD and looking for quality during the rounds.

Please respect each other and have a great debate.

Hello,

I’m a parent judge. Please run traditional rounds only and speak slowly so that I can understand.

Good luck!

I was a policy debater in high school and college. I have coached students in policy, LD, and PF, but policy is what I enjoyed the most. I view debate as a game. First and foremost, games are fun, so debaters should enjoy what they are doing. Why give up your weekends if you are not having fun? My role is to adjudicate the game in whatever domain the students prefer, but I really hate to intervene. If I must intervene and do your work for you, I will lower your speaker points. I am fine with speed, but please understand the difference between effective and ineffective speed. Ks are fine but please provide an alternative. Counterplans are cool, but I will also vote on counterplan theory if well explained. Finally, some people think it is important that you know that I am an English teacher/grammarian because I like T debates, but again, please explain the violation. Don’t be blippy. Here is my email address: tomdurkin@verizon.net

Hello, Debaters,

Before the round begins, please email me your cases. Thanks! This is my first year of judging debate. I have been trained to judge by my team's coach, and I know the fundamentals of LD debate and the different speech events. Please speak slowly throughout the round. Make sure you state your value, value criterion, all your taglines, and any other critical points especially clearly. If you go too fast for me to understand and flow a point, that point will not help you to win the round.

Remember that quality is more important than quantity. Be selective and focus on winning a few key points and explaining why those points matter the most.

My decision will be based on which debater (a) showed the most insightful thinking, (b) more effectively countered the opponent's points, (c) presented and defended the strongest arguments, and (d) had the most eloquent delivery.

Lastly, remember to always be kind, courteous, and respectful to each other. Thank you for reading my paradigm and thank you in advance for doing your best to debate accordingly.

Two primary beliefs:

1. Debate is a communicative activity and the power in debate is because the students take control of the discourse. I am an adjudicator but the debate is yours to have. The debate is yours, your speaker points are mine.

2. I am not tabula rasa. Anyone that claims that they have no biases or have the ability to put ALL biases away is probably wrong. I will try to put certain biases away but I will always hold on to some of them. For example, don’t make racist, sexist, transphobic, etc arguments in front of me. Use your judgment on that.

FW

I predict I will spend a majority of my time in these debates. I will be upfront. I do not think debate are made better or worse by the inclusion of a plan based on a predictable stasis point. On a truth level, there are great K debaters and terrible ones, great policy debaters and terrible ones. However, after 6 years of being in these debates, I am more than willing to evaluate any move on FW. My thoughts when going for FW are fairly simple. I think fairness impacts are cleaner but much less comparable. I think education and skills based impacts are easier to weigh and fairly convincing but can be more work than getting the kill on fairness is an intrinsic good. On the other side, I see the CI as a roadblock for the neg to get through and a piece of mitigatory defense but to win the debate in front of me the impact turn is likely your best route. While I dont believe a plan necessarily makes debates better, you will have a difficult time convincing me that anything outside of a topical plan constrained by the resolution will be more limiting and/or predictable. This should tell you that I dont consider those terms to necessarily mean better and in front of me that will largely be the center of the competing models debate.

Kritiks

These are my favorite arguments to hear and were the arguments that I read most of my career. Please DO NOT just read these because you see me in the back of the room. As I mentioned on FW there are terrible K debates and like New Yorkers with pizza I can be a bit of a snob about the K. Please make sure you explain your link story and what your alt does. I feel like these are the areas where K debates often get stuck. I like K weighing which is heavily dependent on framing. I feel like people throw out buzzwords such as antiblackness and expecting me to check off my ballot right there. Explain it or you will lose to heg good. K Lit is diverse. I do not know enough high theory K’s. I only cared enough to read just enough to prove them wrong or find inconsistencies. Please explain things like Deleuze, Derrida, and Heidegger to me in a less esoteric manner than usual.

CPs

CP’s are cool. I love a variety of CP’s but in order to win a CP in my head you need to either solve the entirety of the aff with some net benefit or prove that the net benefit to the CP outweighs the aff. Competition is a thing. I do believe certain counterplans can be egregious but that’s for y’all to debate about. My immediate thoughts absent a coherent argument being made.

1. No judge kick

2. Condo is good. You're probably pushing it at 4 but condo is good

3. Sufficiency framing is true

Tricks

Nah. If you were looking for this part to see whether you can read this. Umm No. Win debates. JK You can try to get me to understand it but I likely won't and won't care to either.

Theory
Just like people think that I love K’s because I came from Newark, people think I hate theory which is far from true. I’m actually a fan of well-constructed shells and actually really enjoyed reading theory myself. I’m not a fan of tricky shells and also don’t really like disclosure theory but I’ll vote on it. Just have an actual abuse story. I won’t even list my defaults because I am so susceptible to having them changed if you make an argument as to why. The one thing I will say is that theory is a procedural. Do with that information what you may.

DA’s

Their fine. I feel like internal link stories are out of control but more power to you. If you feel like you have to read 10 internal links to reach your nuke war scenario and you can win all of them, more power to you. Just make the story make sense. I vote for things that matter and make sense. Zero risk is a thing but its very hard to get to. If someone zeroes the DA, you messed up royally somewhere.

Plans

YAY. Read you nice plans. Be ready to defend them. T debates are fairly exciting especially over mechanism ground. Similar to FW debates, I would like a picture of what debate looks like over a season with this interpretation.

Presumption.

Default neg. Least change from the squo is good. If the neg goes for an alt, it switches to the aff absent a snuff on the case. Arguments change my calculus so if there is a conceded aff presumption arg that's how I'll presume. I'm easy.

LD Specific

Tricks

Nah. If you were looking for this part to see whether you can read this. Umm No. Win debates. JK You can try to get me to understand it but I likely won't and won't care to either.

I did public forum for 4 years in high school and have been coaching it for 3 years now. I am going to divide this into 3 parts because I usually judge PF, LD, and policy (occasionally). Also apologies if this is all very long and confusing! If you have any questions, please ask me before the round and I will answer! Or if you have questions about the round after it's over, ask me!

Public Forum

I am okay with speed. However, send me your case if you think you will be speaking fast. I need to understand what you are saying if you want me to vote for you. I like to see clear and clean extensions of your links, warrants, etc. I have been seeing a lot of shadow-extending recently and if it happens in round, I can't vote for you on those arguments, cards, warrants, or whatever it is. You don't need to weigh too much in your rebuttal, but you need to start weighing in summary for me to vote for you. In PF, I prefer a line-by-line debate that has a lot of warranting, making it clear what arguments you are winning, whatever it may be. And make sure to signpost too. For summary, I think that the round needs to be brought down to 1-3 key issues on your side and your opponent's side as to why you are winning and starting impact calc. Basically, summary should be treated as a longer version of final focus. For final, I like impact calc that does a good analysis on both sides, with good warranting with why you win and why you win the impact debate. And don't be rude in the round to your opponents, such as being mean during cross or during your opponents' speeches. I am more likely to vote you down solely based on that.

Lincoln Douglas

I have been judging LD for probably the last 2 years, so I have a lot of experience of the format and how the round works. And also with the background of PF that helps too. My big thing is that I love a framework debate. If you win framework, I am more than likely to vote for you. Because (unless your opponent accesses your framework too), you have the better explanation for why we must evaluate the round based on that interpretation. If both debaters agree on framework, then it becomes a round based on who accesses framework better, becoming more of a standard "line-by-line" debate. If both sides don't discuss framework enough or just drop it, then I will resort to judging it similar to a PF round.

Policy

For the national circuit - I apologize if I am your judge. I will do my very best but please do not spread. I hate spreading and most people doing it aren't amazing at it. I would rather you speak clearly and focus on good arguments.

For the local circuit - I know most of you don't spread, but don't do it regardless.

email - johnevans201413@gmail.com

Aanya Ghosh

aanyaghosh23@gmail.com

I usually take on the longer side to decide debates (~10 minutes average) even if it's not close sorry!!!!

You can ask questions but if the post rounding gets excessive and I'm just answering the same question over and over again I'm just going to leave :/

PLEASE try to be clear if you are spreading through analytics at top speed and ur not clear I won't feel uncomfortable not voting on something that was incomprehensible

General

I debated for four years at Lexington High School in MA (1A/2N). I accumulated 9 bids and qualified to the TOC four times, consecutively double-qualifying in CX and LD. Coaching Lex + some independents.

I would prefer not to judge lay/traditional rounds but I will adapt to you.

I don't care where you sit/stand as long as I can hear you. You don't have to ask me to take prep.

The email chain should be formatted as follows:

Tournament Name Year Round # Flight # --- AFF [Team Code] vs NEG [Team Code]

Tech > Truth whenever possible. I will try and adhere as closely as possible to the flow to adjudicate debates, save for morally abhorrent arguments or callouts. Clarity >>> Speed. I will listen to CX. I don't care if you tag-team/open CX. Prep can be cross, but cross is never prep. Compiling a doc is prep, but sending it doesn't count. I don't have defaults--please don't make me flip a coin.

I will hold the line on new arguments -- I should be able to trace a line from the 2AR to the 1AR.

For new 2NR evidence, my thinking is as follows: if it's supporting an evidentiary position held in the 1NC and is responsive to new 1AR evidence, then it's generally permissible (for example, if the 1NC reads heg bad and the 1AR reads new heg good cards). However, I err against the 2NR introducing new evidence that could have been read in the 1NC (e.g. reading a new impact scenario for a disad) ABSENT the 1NC justifying why they should get to. Any defaults I have can be easily changed and only apply when no arguments have been made regarding the matter.

Policy

Evidence matters just as much as spin, and the latter is distinct from lying. Yes zero risk if it's won. I like impact turns. Cheaty counterplans/permutations are yours to debate.

Kritik

I consider myself agnostic in these debates--have been on both sides.

Neg teams should read framework and link walls in the 1NC. I will hold the line on new 2NR framework interpretations that seem to have emerged from nowhere. Please don't pref me if you read overviews that take up half of your speech.

Fine for clash/fairness/skills 2NRs as well as counter-interps/impact turns. I enjoyed going for kritiks and presumption versus K affs.

Philosophy

I'm familiar with most common frameworks, but over-explain super niche stuff. I would prefer to see a robust defense of your syllogism and not hedging your bets on preclusive end-all be-alls such as "extinction outweighs" or "induction fails".

Determinism is probably one of my favorite arguments to hear and I will especially enjoy if you read Van Inwagen!

Theory

I don't care how frivolous it is. Reasonability and drop the argument are underutilized.

For policy: I am a good judge for theory; I won't intervene and will vote on anything (1 condo, new affs bad, hidden ASPEC (if I flow it)).

T

Precision should be articulated as an internal link to clash and limits in the 1NC. LD should have more policy-esque T interpretations that define terms of art in the resolution.

Tricks

I didn't really go for these when I debated but I'm not opposed to judging them--just make them easy for me to evaluate.

Saying "what's an a priori" is funny one time maximum.

PF

Given my background, I probably care very little about lay appeal relative to your technical skill in terms of determining who gets my ballot (but it will, of course, factor into speaks). Good for spreading/tech arguments, just don't execute them badly. I would prefer that you read cards; if not, at least have formal citations when paraphrasing.

PLEASE share evidence/cases before your speeches with me (and probably each other), whether it's via an email chain, SpeechDrop, or Tabroom file share.

If you disclose in PF, I will give +0.1 speaker points for having a wiki page and +0.3 if you have open-source disclosure for most rounds (let me know before round/before I enter speaks).

I won't default to sticky defense; just make a short reason as to why it is or isn't valid.

Speaks

I'm probably a speaks fairy; I think they are oftentimes interventionist and will take into account their effect on seeding/clearing. I won't dock speaks for reading any particular style of argument. I will for being egregiously rude.

Speaks are lowkey relative depending on how tired I am but I usually inflate anyways

Technical efficiency above all will be rewarded, but here are some extra things you can do to boost your speaks (pre round ideally):

• Sit down early and win and/or use less prep (let me know)
• Read entertaining/funny arguments I haven't seen before
• Bring me food (protein bars/shakes/preworkout please!!! fruit tea boba, black coffee, energy drinks (Celsius, sugar-free Monster, C4), anything with caffeine, healthy snacks) +0.5
• Correctly guess my astrological element, zodiac sign, and/or moon and rising signs. You get 3 tries for each variant.
• Correctly guess my favorite three-stage Pokémon evolution (NOT eevee)
• I will bring my speaker preround and if you play a song I like
• Beat me at Gamepigeon Word Hunt/Anagrams or Monkeytype 30 second no punctuation typing test
• W references (Drake, Naruto, Serial Experiments Lain, South Park, Gone Girl)

EXPERIENCE: I'm the head coach at Harrison High School in New York; I was an assistant coach at Lexington from 1998-2004 (I debated there from 1994-1998), at Sacred Heart from 2004-2008, and at Scarsdale from 2007-2008. I'm not presently affiliated with these programs or their students. I am also the Curriculum Director for NSD's Philadelphia LD institute.

Please just call me Hertzig.

Please include me on the email chain: harrison.debate.team@gmail.com

QUICK NOTE: I would really like it if we could collectively try to be more accommodating in this activity. If your opponent has specific formatting requests, please try to meet those (but also, please don't use this as an opportunity to read frivolous theory if someone forgets to do a tiny part of what you asked). I know that I hear a lot of complaints about "Harrison formatting." Please know that I request that my own debaters format in a particular way because I have difficulty reading typical circuit formatting when I'm trying to edit cards. You don't need to change the formatting of your own docs if I'm judging you - I'm just including this to make people aware that my formatting preferences are an accessibility issue. Let's try to respect one another's needs and make this a more inclusive space. :)

BIG PICTURE:

CLARITY in both delivery and substance is the most important thing for me. If you're clearer than your opponent, I'll probably vote for you.

SHORTCUT:

Ks (not high theory ones) & performance - 1 (just explain why you're non-T if you are)

Trad debate - 1

T, LARP, or phil - 2-3 (don't love wild extinction scenarios or incomprehensible phil)

High theory Ks - 4

Theory - 4 (see below)

Tricks - strike

*I will never vote on "evaluate the round after ____ [X speech]" (unless it's to vote against the person who read it; you aren't telling me to vote for you, just to evaluate the round at that point!).

GENERAL:

If, after the round, I don't feel that I can articulate what you wanted me to vote for, I'm probably not going to vote for it.

I will say "slow" and/or "clear," but if I have to call out those words more than twice in a speech, your speaks are going to suffer. I'm fine with debaters slowing or clearing their opponents if necessary.

I don't view theory the way I view other arguments on the flow. I will usually not vote for theory that's clearly unnecessary/frivolous, even if you're winning the line-by-line on it. I will vote for theory that is actually justified (as in, you can show that you couldn't have engaged without it).

I need to hear the claim, warrant, and impact in an extension. Don't just extend names and claims.

For in-person debate: I would prefer that you stand when speaking if you're physically able to (but if you aren't/have a reason you don't want to, I won't hold it against you).

I'd prefer that you not use profanity in round.

Link to a standard, burden, or clear role of the ballot. Signpost. Give me voting issues or a decision calculus of some kind. WEIGH. And be nice.



To research more stuff about life career coaching then visit Life coach.

Hello Debaters!

This is my first year of judging debate. I have been trained to judge by my team's coach, and I know the fundamentals of LD debate. Please speak slowly throughout the round. Make sure you state your value, value criterion, all your taglines, and any other critical points especially clearly. If you go too fast for me to understand and flow a point, that point will not help you to win the round.

This is my first year of judging debate. I have taken part in several meets and I'm familiar with the structure of LD debate. Please speak slowly enough that I can understand every point - if you state a point more quickly than I can understand, then that point will not help you win the round. Make sure to state your value, value criterion, each contention, and any other crucial points clearly. TRY TO EMPHASIZE YOUR IMPORTANT POINTS.

Also, before the round begins: PLEASE SEND ME YOUR CASES. (My email is rjacobhoopes@gmail.com)

Remember that quality is more important than quantity. Be selective and focus on winning a few key points and explaining why those points matter the most.

My decision will be based on which debater (a) showed the most insightful thinking, (b) more effectively countered the opponent's points, (c) presented and defended the strongest arguments, and (d) had the most eloquent delivery. These criteria are in order from most important (a) to least important (d) for me. I especially appreciate when debaters engage thoughtfully with the opponent's points.

Lastly, remember to always be kind, courteous, and respectful to each other. Thank you for reading my paradigm and thank you in advance for doing your best to debate accordingly.

Have fun debating!

Hello, Debaters,

This is my first year of judging debate. I have been trained to judge by my team's coach, and I know the fundamentals of LD debate. Please speak slowly throughout the round. Make sure you state your value, value criterion, all your taglines, and any other critical points especially clearly. If you go too fast for me to understand and flow a point, that point will not help you to win the round.

Remember that quality is more important than quantity. Be selective and focus on winning a few key points and explaining why those points matter the most.

My decision will be based on which debater (a) showed the most insightful thinking, (b) more effectively countered the opponent's points, (c) presented and defended the strongest arguments, and (d) had the most eloquent delivery.

Lastly, remember to always be kind, courteous, and respectful to each other. Thank you for reading my paradigm and thank you in advance for doing your best to debate accordingly.

Hello Debaters,

Before the round begins, please share your cases. Thanks!

This is my first year of judging debate. I have been trained to judge by my team's coach, and I have already judged at LD tournaments. Please speak articulately throughout the round. Make sure you state your value, value criterion, all your taglines, and any other critical points. If you go too fast for me to understand and flow a point, that point will not help you to win the round.

Remember that quality is more important than quantity. Be selective and focus on winning a few key points and explaining why those points matter the most.

My decision will be based on which debater (a) showed the most insightful thinking, (b) more effectively countered the opponent's points, (c) presented and defended the strongest arguments, and (d) had the most eloquent delivery.

Lastly, remember to always be kind, courteous, and respectful to each other. Thank you for reading my paradigm and thank you in advance for doing your best to debate accordingly.

Competitors:

Thank you for taking the time to read this paradigm, I trust that it will provide the necessary information to your success in this round.

What I value most in PF/LD debate:

1) Logically sound arguments. It does not matter how eloquent your speech sounds if your contentions are not logical and thorough. However, this does not mean that a good delivery is unnecessary; a solid delivery helps one properly convey the points of their argument. This is just to say that I don't want you to waste time on flowery language and irrelevant words that make one sound intelligent, if it is at the expense of your argument. Just speak plainly and strategically. Spreading is okay; but, if you are slurring your words it will be increasingly difficult for me to follow your arguments.

2) Good Cross-Ex. This back-and-forth is vital, and often where the winning team separates themselves

3) Be competitive, but always show respect to your opponent. This is a debate, so the conversation should be intense. However, this does not come at the expense of disrespecting your opponent or acting in an unprofessional manner.

1. Clarity of thought and how you make your point.
2. Eye-contact: maintain good contact with all involved and not talk to one person.
3. Tone- should be assertive and not aggressive.
4. Overall body language/ gestures when in debate- avoid being dismissive about your opponent.
5. Time management.

I am not a technical judge. Communication skills are more important, thus do not spread. Refer to link for an example of spreadinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FPsEwWT6K0
Thank you!

I am an experienced LD judge and former coach. By all measure, I am a traditional judge. I want to see clearly outlined value structure and clash between opposing values. I expect you to link your impacts to your warrants. Crystalize your voters and remember; it is your responsibility to show the judge why you have won the round. I believe flow tech is vital. It is the responsibility of the debater to extend dropped arguments not the judges'. I have no issue with speed. I will vote on any argument as long it functions within the structure of Lincoln Douglas Debate. Also, never forget this is a public speaking event; if you are speaking you are standing.

I am a new parent judge. Please email your case before your round starts. libailing@gmail.com

I believe debate is not a competition about talking fast, you will be judged on what you say so do not spread. Being persuasive and aggressive is fine, just make sure you don't say or do anything that is offensive. Having good evidence comparison is really good, but I prefer analytical rebuttals in the argument. Weigh over arguments at the final speeches to tell me why you won the round.

Traditional judge, prefer slower speed

I'm a new parent judge. To me, tone is important, but the better argument and analytical rebuttal win. If you'd like to share your documents and cases with me, please email to clu130@gmail.com. Thank you very much!

Good luck, debaters!

Strath Haven '23

Georgetown '28

LD (14 career bids; TOC quarters 2x; won a few tournaments + RRs), dabbled in CX

PFI (2/2024) Update - Topic: I'm relatively out of debate/not cutting prep. While I have (some) general knowledge about the Middle East and follow the news pretty closely, I don't know the topic meta, which means . . . I need clear case lists for T debates (which you should already do! see the T section) and you should explain non-intuitive acronyms (yes, I know what ISIS stands for).

PFI (2/2024) Update - Paradigmatic: This paradigm got quite long, you don't need to read through everything. I like policy debates, I can adjudicate K/T debates, and loathe trix/friv theory. I'll always vote on the flow, even if that means voting for an argument I don't like, so please don't make me do that. (Caveat: argument = claim warrant impact, which means "condo is a voting issue for strat skew" = 0 weight the same way "zeno's paradox means we can never reach an end point so vote for me" = 0 weight)

https://ld.circuitdebater.org/w/index.php/Library

Yes, I want to be on the email chain! amanaker17@gmail.com

Speechdrop heg, but email is fine too.

Absent an email chain, don't be a sad panda, use an SDI flash drive!

I probably hold similar views to Jeffrey Kahn, Gabe Morbeck, Ben Morbeck, and Eli Manaker. I share a brain with Iris Chen and there is a 99% chance we vote the same way in every round. I am a marginally more fascist Elmer Yang, less-dead inside Tej Gedela, the antithesis of my family members (Sophia Tian/Shrey Raju), and strive to judge like Sam McLoughlin.

I read almost exclusively policy until the end of my senior year, so my ideal 2NR is probably DA+CP or impact turns, but I went for the K a decent amount (shoutout to the clown AFF), so I'm comfortable in most non-pomo kritik debates.

Tech > truth

You do you, debate is a game, let's all have fun and make this a nice, non-offensive, non-toxic place, etc.

I do not flow author names.

I'm very expressive, but smiles tend to indicate amusement rather than agreement with your argument.

Concessions do not need temperature! Arguments are not "cold conceded" or "hot dropped."

I'm probably less dogmatic than this paradigm makes me seem. Except for tricks. Grow up and read a real argument.

LD:

Tl;dr: pref me for policy, meh for K, strike for anything else.

***Most of this paradigm is geared towards circuit debate, if you're a novice, don't worry about it.

I don't flow author names. Yes, you can insert re-highlightings. I care more about evidence than most judges and do not think reading evidence is intervention -- arguments have as much weight as the warranting they get, which means that reading the words you said from a piece of evidence determines whether you have made an argument, or just written a tag-line.

Policy:

Impact turns are fun! If the 1NC is 7 minutes of impact turns (not spark/wipeout), you will enjoy your speaks.

I am a card carrying, Kool-aid drinking member of the "politics is sick bro" club. I love international relations and anything related to foreign policy. This means I am a fantastic judge for voting on "case/DA has as close to zero risk of impact as is possible in debate" (zero-risk =/= a thing) because most arguments in debate are so mind-bogglingly stupid they should lose to CX + smart analytics.

Cheaty counterplans are fun, but I'll be sympathetic to cheaty perms. I adore counterplan competition debates. Like, ADORE. (2/2024 Note: probably adore them less now cuz I haven't seriously thought about how to write perm texts in almost a year.)

Turns case is not offense, it is comparative impact calc and/or complicates AFF solvency.

"I think I care about evidence quantity much more than most judges. Reading 5 cards on something in the 1AR is much more likely to get you back into the debate than explaining why you think its wrong." -- Gabe Morbeck.

Look, honestly, if you have me in the back for something that's not a policy round, I'm going to want to vote for whoever was making policy arguments. I'll always vote on the flow (provided you're making complete arguments, so not trix), so as long as you don't drop a bunch of things, and you give me a way to justify a policy ballot, I'll probably vote on it.

Kritiks:

I'm not a "no plan, no ballot" person, but I'm also not not a "no plan, no ballot" person. Fairness is an impact. Impact turns vs K AFFs = <333333.

K vs policy AFF: neutral ideologically + good for both sides

topical K AFF: neutral ideologically + good for both sides

non-topical K AFF: will vote on the flow, but persuaded by T

K vs phil: how did you get me in the back . . . I will be confused . . .

AFFs should probably get to weigh case versus the K. Links are often more important than arbitrary, impact-justified frameworks. Unless your opponent has specified it makes them uncomfortable, I don't think a debater's identity influences argument choice. Pomo is nonsense, albeit fashionable. Condo probably justifies perf cons (e.g. security K + ME War DA), but the more egregious (multiple Ks) the abuse, the more likely I am to vote on condo.

I am quite comfortable not voting on arguments I didn't get or don't understand (especially when it comes to dense phil/pomo, it doesn't matter if the argument is dropped if I can't understand it). If I can't explain your argument back to the other team, I'm not voting for it.

Theory:

Slow on theory and analytics, please. I cannot stress enough that I would prefer slow + efficient >>>> speed, because I just won't be able to flow a million blips.

"Independent voting issues" are rarely voting issues. Infinite condo is good, but I am willing to listen to a condo 2AR (I will just be pre-disposed against it). RVIs make me sad. The 1AR gets theory, but reasonability and/or RANT are most likely sufficient to answer it. The only kind of spec I like is "spec your favorite multi-purpose fighter jet" (answer: F-35).

You should disclose open source. Period. I'll still evaluate the flow, but will err heavily towards os theory. Disclosure interps beyond that (cites, round reports, etc.) are significantly less appealing (e.g. if you're reading tournament name theory, the chance I vote on it is minimal).

Topicality:

I would prefer a DA+CP strategy, but I actually really like topicality vs policy AFFs (actual topicality, e.g. T-Appropriation on the JF22 LD topic). Please give case lists at the top. I'm typically unpersuaded by LD silliness that says semantics is completely divorced from pragmatics -- you need a definition to win a T debate, but you also need offense and reasons why that definition should be preferred.

Extremely unlikely to vote on Nebel-T/plans bad; chances are they violated another T shell --- read that! (Side note: please call it T-[topic word] instead of T-Nebel . . . what is this, T-Tassof again?) Far less likely to vote on the "grammar DA"/Niemi, and it is absolutely not an RVI.

Trix:

Here is what will happen if you read trix: I will sleep/do some homework and then vote for whoever tried to have an actual debate.

Phil:

I actually really enjoy pure philosophy (e.g. Sophia-style phil (Prospect ST)), but you should not be preffing me for it if you read trix-y phil/super complicated stuff because I won't make a good decision. If you end up with me in the back, explain your theory the way Oscar explains what a surplus is to Michael (for uncultured people who haven't seen The Office: explain like I'm 5).

Examples --> Ava understands --> W + good speaks.

Epistemic modesty makes exactly zero sense --- how do you combine weighing deontic and consequentialist impacts? Collapsing to calc indicts will make my eyebrows go like this: v

Trad/What If I Hit a Novice And Don't Want to Make Them Sad But Also Want to Win???:

You can be circuit, but be nice and make the round educational (e.g. don't read 10-off, spread at 40% speed). I won't dock your speaks if you sit down early.

Note for PFI: I did lay-debate in high school, and while I personally enjoyed circuit LD more, I'm comfortable evaluating these rounds. I will always judge by the flow, but that doesn't mean you need to change your strategy for me.

PF:

I'll probably be able to evaluate rounds fine, but don't know event specific norms. Please read actual evidence(why do PFers not cut cards properly??? Your cards should be cut! They should be disclosed on the PF wiki (https://hspf.debatecoaches.org/)! They should be sent out in a speech doc!). The faster you go and more evidence you read the happier I'll be, but do not do "progressive" PF. There is an event for that. It is called policy. Stop ruining PF.

Speaks:

CXes where you are knowledgeable and funny = higher speaks.

***I WILL NOT BE ADDING SPEAKS FOR ANY OF THE NOTES BELOW -- the only reason I'm not deleting them is because I am sentimental and they bring me happiness; plus, I remember being a smol freshman who read paradigms in her free time cuz she wanted to learn everything about debate, so for anyone else who needed to get a life as much as I did, here are some funnies:

-.1 per each time you say "LARP" instead of policy. In the wise words of my wife: "LARP??? we're not at a FURRY convention???" --- Sophia Tian

-.1 per every 10 seconds spent reading an underview

-.1 every time you add temperature to concessions. It's annoying and inefficient.

+.5 if you answer Peters 04 with Byman 10

+.1 if you say "heehoo" correctly

+.5 if you say "heehoo" in front of Elmer (recordings of reaction, please!)

+.1 for a good SNL reference or HS impact quote. (I have an embarrassingly encyclopedic knowledge of both). Remind me before RfD or I'll forget.

+.1 if you're "free to be me." I will laugh hysterically. Please ensure I have not passed out from lack of oxygen. Let me know before RfD.

+.1 if you use Jeff Winger's explanation for Lacan. Flag it before the RfD.

+.1 if you guess who wrote the joke paradigm.

---- OLD (JOKE) PARADIGM ----

Introduction

Hi! I’m Ava Manaker (aah-vaah man-acre). Call me Mrs. Wikipedia or "The Cub" else I give you an L0. No, I do not want to be on the email chain but if you really want me to be and lose a speak, here is my email: amanaker17[at]gmail[dot]com.

Overview

I am a debater at Strath Haven High School, but I secretly wish I went to Mission San Jose High. As a debater, I primarily read Kant+trix, but I’m very tab. Here is my preference of argumentation to judge (in terms of comfortability and desire):

1--Trix/Friv Theory

2--Phil/High Theory Ks

3--Legit T/Theory/IdPol Ks

Strike--Larp

PS: If you tell me your favorite song by Troye Sivan or Why Don't We, I'll give you an extra speak.

Larp

I hate it! I hate it with all my heart! The only larp argument I like is spark, I won’t vote on anything. Is this intervention? Yes. Do I care? No. Oh also, weighing is overrated!

Kritiks

I only like high theory. If you read identity politics, I will vote for the other side on presumption. Weighing case and perms are not persuasive--when responding to Ks, people should only make link or impact turns.

Phil

Love it! I am most versed in Kant and virtue ethics. Not persuaded by util. Please explain the syllogism clearly.

Theory

I love friv shells - it makes debate entertaining. A good 2nr/2ar on a frivolous shell gets you a W30. I’m willing to vote on actual shells, but they’re soooo boring like c'mon people get creative. Default drop the debater, no rvi, competing interps. Don’t make me default stuff or you’re forcing me to intervene, and that’s on you.

Tricks

YASSSS!! My favorites are logcon and external world skep, but I’m just as willing to vote on the resolved a priori and evaluate the debate after the 1ac. Just remember, I don’t flow off the doc, but for tricks I’ll make the exception so I can follow along.

Speaks

Unlike many judges, my range is a 0-30. You start at a 25. If you’re good, I go up by increments of 1. If you’re bad, you get an L0.

If you guess who wrote this paradigm (correctly), I'll give you plus .1.

I've been involved with forensics for a very long time, mostly as an extemp coach but also as an LD coach.

I prefer that the students establish the ground rules but here are some of my concerns.

Speed is not your friend. If you speak too quickly, my pen will drop, and I will stop listening.

Analysis is important. Repeating an argument without evidence, logic or some type of rational support is a waste of your time.

Be courteous.

I prefer that you refer to a specific argument as opposed to saying carry my subpoint 2.B.

Direct clash with the opponent earns your speaker points. Avoiding issues will cost you speaker points.

TL;DR:

· Make it clear and easy for me to see why you won and you'll probably win.

With More Words:

I've judged and coached extensively across events but at this point spend more time on the tab side of tournaments than judging.

If you want the ballot, make clear, compelling, and warranted arguments for why you should win. If you don’t provide any framework, I will assume util = trutil. If there is an alternate framework I should be using, explain it, warrant it, contextualize it, extend it.

Generally Tech>Truth but I also appreciate rounds where I don’t hate myself for voting for you. That being said, I firmly believe that debate is an educational activity and that rounds should be accessible. I will not vote for arguments that are intentionally misrepresenting evidence or creating an environment that is hostile or harmful.

I am open to pretty much anything you want to read but, in the interest of full disclosure, I think that tricks set bad communication norms within debate.

General Stuff:

Most of this is standard but I'll say it anyways: Don’t extend through ink and pretend they "didn't respond". In the back half of the debate, make sure your extensions are responsive to the arguments made, not just rereading your cards. If they say something in cross that it is important enough for me to evaluate, make sure you say it in a speech. Line by line is important but being able to step back and explain the narrative/ doing the comparative analysis makes it easier to vote for you.

Weighing is important and the earlier you set it up, the better. Quality over quantity when it comes to evidence-- particularly in later speeches in the round, I'd rather slightly fewer cards with more analysis about what the evidence uniquely means in this specific round. Also, for the love of all that is good and holy, give a roadmap before you start/sign post as you are going. I will be happier; you will be happier; the world will be a better place.

Speed is fine but clarity is essential. Even if I have a speech doc, you'd do best to slow down on tags and analytics. Your speaks will be a reflection of your strategic choices, overall decorum, and how clean your speeches are.

Evidence (PF):

Having evidence ethics is a thing. As a general rule, I prefer that your cards have both authors and dates. Paraphrasing makes me sad. Exchanges where you need to spend more than a minute pulling up a card make me rethink the choices in my life that led me to this round. Generally speaking, I think that judges calling for cards at the end of the round leads to judge intervention. This is a test of your rhetorical skills, not my ability to read and analyze what the author is saying. However, if there is a piece of evidence that is being contested that you want me to read and you ask me to in a speech, I will. Just be sure to contextualize what that piece of evidence means to the round.

A Final Note:

This is a debate round, not a divorce court and your participation in the round should match accordingly. If we are going to spend as many hours as we do at a tournament, we might as well not make it miserable.

Sure, I'd Love to be on the Email Chain: AMurphy4n6@gmail.com

Put me on the email chain: hannahowenspierre@gmail.com

About me: I debated for four years in LD at Edina High School in Minnesota. I've only ever debated and judged traditional debate, but I've watched progressive LD rounds. I was also the NSDA 2022 National Champion in LD and 2023 Top Speaker in LD. I won the 2023 Minnesota State tournament as well.

TLDR: Offensive rebuttals and extensions of offense are the key to winning any debate

Cases: Most importantly, have quality evidence. Don't mistag or miscite sources. Make sure to portray your sources accurately and don't extrapolate or exaggerate the claims they make. And make sure your sources are credible. Quality evidence from peer-reviewed studies, meta-analyses, etc are always preferable

Cross-Examination: This mostly goes towards speaking points AND it's good to incorporate into rebuttals. Too often cross is wasted on clarifying Q's. It is designed for offensive attacks and leading questions. Think about a lawyer's CX. CX in law is designed for trapping your witness and pointing out flaws in their case. The same is true for debate. Not just to ask about things you forgot to write down that you then don't even use. And always use the full cross-time.

Rebuttals: The biggest thing is clash. This means having offensive and specific blocks against your opponent's case. Offensive blocks are otherwise known as turns. I count evidence critique as a very good rebuttal as well. Evidence critique is often the most effective rebuttal in my experience. Don't let cross-application of the case be the only form of “rebuttal," because that's not a rebuttal, it's just restating your 1AC or 1NC. Signpost. Number your arguments and answer arguments in the order they were presented.

Clear extensions of arguments in rebuttals are also key (Extend contention 1 which says....). Extensions should contain the claim, warrant, and impact but they can still be brief. Explain the link and impact chains clearly and concisely. I was a big fan of pre-written extensions for the sake of clarity and time.

Weighing impacts is really important. In every debate, there is at least one argument being won on both sides (OK, almost every debate). The easiest way to do this is through specific impacts such as terminal impact evidence. Describe how many people are affected, how severely, etc to weigh against opponents' impacts.

Framework debate determines how you weigh the round. It unfortunately usually ends up being a wash, because both sides have arguments for/against the FWs but don't weigh why those arguments are most important/weigh under their opponent's framework. You should always do the second thing.

I will vote directly on the flow and weighing provided. Drops=conceded argument and weigh heavily in the round. I don’t have any ideological preference for specific arguments and will vote for literally anything as long as it’s extended and well explained. Tech>truth

I am a coach / moderator of the Forensics Team at Villa Maria Academy High School in Malvern, PA. Our team is just getting up and running again after a hiatus. I have judged both novice (JV) and Varsity Lincoln Douglas at tournaments that my students have participated in, and as a judge, I place a high value on respect, communication, and organization of ideas. As a debater, please attack the argument not your opponent. Always be respectful and civil in a debate.

I will flow as you present, and I do not believe you need to spread to get your all of your clear ideas out. If I cannot hear it, then I cannot flow it. I like a clear value and criterion outline with clear contentions. I value debates that focus on what the affirmative and negative debaters actually said rather than on memorized scripts. I will notice if you cross exam or rebut "something that wasn't said" as I flow with detailed notes and follow the arguments closely. I tend to be more of a traditional judge than a progressive judge.

I have been judging Lincoln-Douglas debate for two years. This is my first time judging Big Questions. I am a psychiatrist accustomed to listening. I will be able to understand and follow your presentation better if you make your points clearly, maintain good eye contact, and enunciate with clarity and appropriate expression, especially if giving a rapid-fire line of reasoning. Quality vs. quantity is important. I can only judge by what I am able hear and understand well.I find well-formulated and supported arguments persuasive. I respect and appreciate your dedication and hard work. Best wishes!

I am looking for topicality does the thesis of the affirmative really meet the standards of debate. I also look and see what evidence is being used and if it used effectively and not just some random piece of evidence that is biased. You see their is the subjective and objective facts in each debate. I also look at see when you quote evidence is up to date and plausible to support your thesis. I expect language to be respectful to each other if you are aff or neg. I do not like to use profanity in this educational setting. Do you use your time wisely? Does someone leave two or three minutes left in a rebuttal if so why? Doing crossfire do you answer questions properly or ask probing questions to help you win the debate. I value good speakers and good flow.

Policy Debate

It is the responsibility of the debater to look at the paradigm before the start of each round and ask any clarifying questions. I will evaluate the round under the assumption it has been read regardless if you did it or not. I will not check to see if you read my paradigm, nor will I give warnings of any kind on anything related to my paradigm. If you don't abide by it you will reap what you sow I am tired of debaters ignoring it, and myself in a debate round my patience has officially run out.

1. I hate spreading slow down if you want me to flow your arguments if it is not on my flow, it is not a part of the round. It doesn't matter how well it is explained or extended. At best, depending on the speech, it will be a new argument or analytical argument and will be evaluated from then forth as such. I do want to be part of the email chain, my email is thehitman.310@gmail.com, note that just because I am part of the email chain does not mean I flow everything I read. I only flow what I hear so make sure I can hear your arguments. Beware I will be following along to make sure no one is cutting cards and I will call out teams for cutting cards so be sure to do things correctly. I will drop cards before the team and continued cutting will result in me stopping the round and contacting tab. Additionally, I will not yell clear, and I will not give time signals except to inform you your time is up. I find doing this splits my attention in a way that is unfair to the debater and often distracts debaters when called out. You will have my undivided attention.

2. I hate theory and have only voted on it once (current as of 4/12/22). In particular, I do not like disclosure theory and think it's a bogus argument, as I come from a time when there was no debate wiki; as a result, I am highly biased against this argument and don't advise running it in my round. Also, regardless of the argument, I prefer they be related to the topic. I am just as interested in the topic as I expect debaters to be. On that note, I am willing to listen to just about anything as long as they are well articulated and explained(See 3). I have heard some pretty wild arguments so anything new will be fun to hear. Know in order for me to vote on an argument, there needs to be an impact on it, and I need to know how we arrive at the impact. But I want to know more than A + B = C, I need to know the story of how we arrive at your impact and why they matter. I will not simply vote on a dropped argument unless there is no other way to vote and I need to make a decision, I consider this Judge intervention, and I hate doing this. You, as a debater, should be telling me how to vote I will have to deduct speaker points if I have to do any work for you. Keep this in mind during your rebuttals.

3. At the beginning of each round, I am a blank slate; think of me like a 6 or 7-year-old. Explain arguments to me as such. I only evaluate things said in a round; my own personal knowledge and opinion will not affect me. For example, if someone in a round says the sky is purple, reads evidence the sky is purple, and it goes uncontested, then the sky is purple. I believe this is important because I consider anything else judge's intervention which I am highly opposed to and, again, will result in a speaker point deduction. That being said, I default to a standard policy-making framework at the beginning of each round unless I am told otherwise. This also applies in the context of evidence, your interpretation of the evidence is law unless challenged. Once challenged, I will read the evidence and make a decision based on my understanding of the evidence and how it was challenged, this may result in my decision on an argument flipping, the evidence being disregarded, and/or the ballot being flipped.

4. Be aware I do keep track of Speech times, and Prep, and go solely by my timer. My timer counts down and will only stop when you say stop prep. Once you say "Stop prep" I expect you to be ready to send the file. I do not want to hear I need to copy arguments to a file to send as a part of an email chain. I will run prep for that. It should not take long to send a prepared file through the email chain, and I will wait until all participants receive the file before allowing the following speech to start but do not think you can abuse this I will restart prep if it takes an abnormal amount of time. Also extremely important to note I will not stop my timer for any reason once speech has started for any reason outside of extreme circumstances, and technical difficulties do not count. If you choose to stop your timer to resolve your issue before resuming, know that my time has not stopped and your speech time is being consumed. Also, aside from using your phone as a timer, I expect all debaters to not be on their phones during the round (this includes in between speeches and during prep). I think it is disrespectful to debate as an activity and to your opponent(s), and will deduct speaker points for it. Keeping that in mind, I will not evaluate any argument read off a phone, especially if you have a laptop in the round.

5. In JV and VCX, Cross-X is closed, period. NCX, I will only allow it if you ask. If you don't, it is closed. If you decide to have an open CX anyway, I will deduct speaker points.

6. Last but not least, be respectful to me and to each other, and I would appreciate a good show of sportsmanship at the beginning and end of each round. Any disrespect will result in a speaker point deduction on a per-incident basis. Continued disrespect will result in notifying tournament staff and lower-than-average speaker points. Although I do not expect it will go that far.

E-Debate:

A. Cameras must be on at all times. I will not flow teams with cameras off. Do not be surprised if you lose because I did not flow it you have been warned. I will not be lenient with this as I have been in the past.

B. Prep time will be run until speeches are received in the email chain. DO NOT assume you control the time as mentioned above. I am keeping time and will go by my timer. I WILL start the speech timer if you end prep AND THEN send the speech. I have zero tolerance for this, as teams consistently abuse this to steal prep. You should know how to send an email; it should not take long. If you are having genuine technical issues, let me know as the tournament has Tech Time, I can run that timer instead, otherwise, I will run speech time. DO NOT make light of this I am tired of being ignored as if I am not a part of a debate round.

C. Make sure I'm ready this should be common sense, but for some reason, I have to mention it. If you start a speech before I am ready, I will miss some arguments on my flow, and I will be highly annoyed. Your speaker points will reflect this, and you may lose the round as a result if it was a key argument that I did not flow.

D. Also, spreading on camera is a terrible idea, and I highly advise against it from a technical perspective and my general disdain for spreading. E-Debates are tricky enough with varying devices, internet speeds, and audio equipment affecting the quality of the stream, spreading in my experience is exceptionally disadvantageous, do so at your own risk.

E. REMINDER, I Control speech and prep timers, and speeches DO NOT stop because you are reading the wrong speech or can't find where you are at on a document; once the timer has started, it stays running until speech time is over. I do not know why I have to mention this, but recent judging experiences have told me it must be mentioned.

Lincoln-Douglas

I am very new to judging Lincoln-Douglas Debates. As such, I am relying on the debater to frame the debate for me, particularly in the rebuttal. Arguments should always be responsive to what your opponent is saying if you wish to win them. Explain how your arguments interact, and your line of argumentation means that line of argumentation weighs in your favor. In general, I think all arguments should be filtered through the lens of your values and criterion. That work must be done by the debater, not the judge. Additionally if what you say matches what is on my flow the chances of you winning are high.

I want to be on an email change, I ike to follow along as evidence is being read. My email is thehitman.310@gmail.com

Particularly in rebuttals make sure you are filtering aregumens through Value, Criterion and FW.

Kailee Roney (She/Her)

Email Chain: Kaileeroney@gmail.com

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Affiliate

Oakland Catholic High School '21

If I am judging you, please keep in mind that I am not specialized in any specific debate form. Please go slow, warrant your arguments, and refrain from using jargon. Please keep your delivery clear. I appreciate clear analysis of why you should win in the final rebuttals.

Hey, my name is Justin Thomashefsky and I'm a coach at Truman High School. I competed in LD/PF from 2008 - 2010 and Policy during the 2010-2011 season. I've been judging / coaching debate since 2012 and have circuit Policy/LD experience

General debate things

I'm good with speed.

I'm good with K's (see policy for more info)

Disclosure theory is pretty meh to me. But if you make good arguments on it I guess ill vote for it.

Please analyze warrants in your evidence! This should go without saying.

Policy

I'm much more comfortable judging a policy round but I have a decent amount of experience judging critical rounds.

T - I default to reasonability but you can definetly convince me to evaluate competing interps if you win it on the flow. You need to win in round abuse to get my ballot. This goes extra for theory

K - I'm familiar and comfortable with standard K's (security, capitalism etc.) but you may lose me with high theory literature.

Please frame my ballot in your last speech. It should be clear what I'm voting for at the end of the round.

Open cross is fine but let your partner speak!

LD

For lay rounds: Debate warrants! Don't waste time on the Value/VC (Meta-ethic/standard) debate if you're both functionally the same framework. All the framework debate should come down to is what lens I should evaluate the round through

For circuit rounds: I'm not huge on the squirrel theory stuff that's been going on in circuit LD. I'll try to evaluate whatever you put in front of me but just like with T you really need to win in round abuse to get my ballot. For the rest just read policy stuff

I prefer to see lay rounds in LD. So if you're at a tournament with me that has a weird mix of lay and circuit you might want to default to lay. BUT I'll weigh whatever arguments you put in front of me in any style.

Hello,

I am a new parent judge and would highly discourage debaters from spreading. Keep the speed a little over conversational. I do not understand K's + Theory and in general lack understanding when it comes to progressive debate. I prefer traditional substance. Make sure to clearly weigh impacts and explain to voters, with so much going on in the flow it helps me as the judge decide the winner. In general please refrain from abusive/hateful arguments and overall conduct yourself in a mature manner. I will not tolerate any sort of hate speech to any group.

Hey goofs, I'm Charles

I debated LD at Harrison High School for two years, and I'm attending Brandeis University. I've won a few tournaments in JV and varsity divisions, so feel free to run a slew of argument types (see Shortcut). I don't care if you sit, or stand, or lay down. Above all, this is an educational activity, so be kind, informative, and clear. I want to be on the email chain even if no one else is ... zenhausernc@gmail.com

NYCFL UPDATE

I know a thing or two about the NCFL, so let’s have fun! Lowkey I’m not in the mood to hear circuit prep if you have it, but you do you. Let’s remember that trad isn’t the same as lay: in front of me feel free to use any jargon, and what have you. I like being on the email chain and I like seeing evidence even if the round is trad, so please send docs to, at least, me. If you're a school that cuts cards, please don't make the round all about evidence if you're hitting a school that doesn't have cards. I'll vote on your arguments, but at least respond substantively as well. NORMALLY……I give out what some might consider "good" speaks. I’ve been told by the higher ups that I must adhere to a very strict speaker scale, which looks a little something like this!

29.5-30: I wish I could frame your speeches – hard to imagine a better speaker
29.1-29.4: you were consistently excellent
28.8-29.0: you were effective and strategic, and made only minor mistakes
28.3-28.7: you hit all the right notes, but could improve (e.g. depth or efficiency)
27.8-28.2: you mainly did the right thing, but left something to be desired
27.3-27.7: you missed major things and were hard to follow
27.0-27.2: you advanced little in the debate or cost your team the round
26.0-26.9: you are not ready for this division/tournament
Below 26: you were offensive, ignorant, rude, or tried to cheat (MUST come to tab)

A couple problems with this: 1. This is not a scale for speaks, just general quality. E.g, 27-27.7 involves judging debaters based on if they’re winning or losing the round (you advanced little…or cost your team the round; you missed major things…). This is bad because YOU are getting lower speaks even though your speaking ability may be top tier, so the scale is inaccurate and deflating your speaks. The scale is also bad because multiple categories involve both speaking ability and debating ability, which is bad because the judge doesn't know if they're awarding the speaks based on speaking or argumentation (it should be speaking!). The 29.1-29.4 and 29.5-30 categories are not mutually exclusive...you can be consistently excellent and want to frame someone's speech. Additionally, since there's no low point wins the tournament encourages handing out speaks parallel to winning and loses, which isn't fair for small schools or talented speakers. If you are a terrific speaker but you hit someone who can outpace you by spreading like crazy or reading positions that are unfamiliar then you would lose and get worse speaks, even though your fluency and clarity may have been outshined your opponent.

2. As you’re probably aware, the average speaks on the circuit tend to be around the 28.5-.8 range, and if you received 27s you must of either been quite offensive or had a very unfortunate round. This scale is mainly made for parent judges, which by itself isn’t bad at all. However, when you are TRAINING your judges to use a scale that is inaccurate to the speaker and rest of debate culture around speaks, you create an unrealistic mindset for the judge that devalues the ability of the speaker, and creates psychological harms to the debaters.

3. There’s no variation. If a circuit judge knows that a debater gave a round that was worth a solid 28.9, to a parent listening to the same round (even if it’s completely trad or lay) would give you an epic 27.5. If I wanted to give everyone higher speaks than the scale allows it would throw off the pool, because some debaters would get consistently high speaks and others would get consistently low speaks. This allows for an unfair competitive advantage, which ruins the integrity of the tournament, and allows for the possibility of sending some of the least qualified to nationals based on the breakers.

4. As paying debaters (kids), yall deserve a better, accurate, and specific scale that allows for variations in winning/losing and speaks quality.

5. The speaker scale sent in the live doc isn't even the same as what's shown to judges in Tabroom on the ballot. This is bad because judges who aren't aware of the difference will assign speaks using different metrics, so the whole thing isn't consistent either way....AND the debaters don't know why they recieved certain speaks because judges may be using different justifications which impedes educational benefits from debate.

I would personally not want to use this scale. BUT, that’s neither here nor there, as I’m being forced to. So just know that if your speaks seem low, you probably got higher speaks in my book. Now, if I suddenly die under suspicious circumstances for disclosing this information, know that it was the elite upper crust of the NYCFL…don’t let me die in vain; live your life, have fun, let’s have a good tournament!

LD:

YOU (average LARP debater) DON'T WANT TO PREF ME! I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF A TRAD FLOW JUDGE. Even though I know stuff, a lot of the "stuff" is not stuff I want to evaluate, or can keep up with. LD circuit debate is kinda stinky at times, so I encourage you to be the different round that I hear. That being said, I have experience in most of the circuit. Just know that while I can keep up with some spreading, I have a quite low threshold for super speed and will clear you. To quote Thomas Berg's paradigm (in the context of tricks, but I'm applying it to spreading), if you lose the round because "I don’t understand the third sub point of your 22nd underview don’t post round me and say i didn’t warn you." Just make sure that what you spread through is on the doc, sign post with all your heart, and it should be peachy keen, Avril Lavigne. I'm ALWAYS ready for CX, I love CX :)

Shortcut:

TraK - HIGH SUPREME 1

Ks/K Affs/Non-T Affs - 1

Trad - 1

Interesting Phil - 2 (Pragmatism, some deont, burdens NCs, etc.)

LARP/T - 3/4 **READ THE BREAKDOWN**

Theory - 4 minus

Whitey Phil - 4/5 (Your typical Kant business)

Tricks - nah, strike

Extinction impacts - boring, overplayed

TraK: You've probably stumbled upon this thinking 'What in the heck is even that?" TraK is the mixture of Trad and K debate. I was above all a TraK debater. It's all about reading kritikal arguments with a trad approach. If you pull up in a round and do this effectively you win at life.

Kritiks: I freaking love Ks etc, I'm more than comfortable evaluating almost any K position as long as the links and alt are well explained. Performance is epic (please do perform!), but not without its faults. I used to run a non-topical Aff, so I can vote on yours, and will be less lenient towards T against one.

Trad: I prefer trad over most styles of debate. However, I think it can be sucky if it's not creative. So please, feel free to have fun, goof a little, but remain clear. I think my favorite style of debate is a mixture of kritikal arguments in a trad format (or TraK, as the cool kids call it nowadays).

Interesting Phil: Complicated stuff, always wished I ran more interesting phil. I see this stuff as more fun than anything else. A not so fine line between things like burdens NCs and Kant or Baudrillard, so don't confuse these. That being said, I am not an expert in many phil positions, so run these at your own discretion, and thoroughly explain the philosophy, especially if it's dense.

LARP/T: Big fan of the CP-DA game, PICs can be very clever as well. What I do NOT enjoy are long link chains that impact out to util extinction scenarios, especially since util is like kinda freaking racist. BUT, I will evaluate them, just know it's not my favorite thing by far. T is interesting, if there are real warrants for a violation, of course run it and I will evaluate. I'm even somewhat tolerant of clever T shells that aren't frivolous when I'm in a silly goofy mood. But, if you're reading T against a non-T Aff, it's kinda like slapping someone who said they are being slapped. Granted, if the shell is completely dropped, I will evaluate. There's tons of great ways to respond to non-T Affs that I'd be happy to share if you chuck me an email!

Theory: You know when you're reading a shell just to waste time, and so do I, so basic theory shells like disclosure are fine, but once you start getting into frivolous theory shells (or friv th) like shoelace theory, I become less tolerant. While I understand the basics of theory and how it functions on the flow, I do NOT necessarily enjoy hearing rounds that devolve to theory...my brain feels sticky, and I get worried I’m evaluating the round incorrectly. I believe that theory debate is a question of reasonability, that is to say, the burden heavily lies on the person reading the shell to justify why the violation reasonably warrants DTD or whatever you go for. In this way, I have a preference for reasonability over competing interps, and rounds that devolve to theory tend to do so over what the interp is, which is the definition of irresolvable because no one gives a reasonable warrant for which one is better. I also love the RVI! Naturally, only go for it if you think you're winning the shell, but I have little apprehension to vote on it. Theory debate in the squo is heavily focused on setting the norm, so much so that it can justify the most extreme punishment for minimal harm of a violation, which is why I err on the side of reasonability and the RVI.

Whitey Phil: I will evaluate any argument I can understand (please pick up on the staleness of this sentence). I had experience hitting these positions, but I never ran them myself, so my understanding is limited. I'm not a fan of a priori knowledge, I don't particularly like evaluating it. I think Kant was racist (probably because he was) and hearing the words of a racist spread throughout debate rounds is yucky to me.

Tricks: Strike me. While I understand and can appreciate how goofy some tricks are, they are uneducational and I will not tolerate them. Additionally, many tricks are ableist or racist, some (if you're lucky) are both! I would hate if this ages well, and you think, "Looking back on my life, I see I was surrounded by foolishness. - 2023" If tricks manage to sneak their way into the round, I will not evaluate them. I won't tank your speaks, but you won't win from them.

PF:

I'm pretty new to Public Forum (or PoFo, as my west coast friends like to call it), but I have a lot of experience and success in traditional LD debate, which I've been told has some similarities. I've judged one tournament of middle schoolers, so that's my experience. I suppose be clear, persuasive, sign post, and give a clear ballot story!

As a brief underview: I love a good silly, goofy, quirky kinda round, so have lots of fun with your cases and your speeches! That being said, be nice, and be kind to all.