Competed/ Graduated in Oklahoma under the GOAT and now NSDA Hall of Fame coach Michael Patterson

As far as policy and all debate goes I try to approach every round with tabula rasa so have fun and run whatever you normally run as long as it is not sexist, racist, homophobic, or anything hateful.

"racism....its bad kids...don't do it"- Michael Patterson

No spreading if possible your judges should still be able to understand almost every word and enunciate.

I don't think the debate should be a monologue of zombies, crack the occasional joke trust me I'll laugh even if I don't find it funny. All while still keeping decorum.

Hello!

I competed for three years on the ACTAA & NSDA circuit in multiple IEs & Congress. While I didn’t compete in debate much beyond IPDA, I have gained quite a bit of experience this past year as a judge.

General Etiquette

- I don't mind if you time yourself, just keep in mind my times are going to be what goes on the ballot

- Stand when you speak

- Both the competitors asking questions and the ones answering should be standing during cross exams/questioning blocks

- If you have extenuating circumstances around your physical mobility & can't be standing up and down like that, just let me know, it's no biggie

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Congressional:

The two things I'm looking for in congress are

a) stage presence-- How dependent are you on your legal pad/laptop? How much are you looking up and addressing the chamber as opposed to just reading from a script? How well are you using your space?

and b) clash-- Past the first aff and neg speeches, you should be debating previous points at least a little bit. Bringing up new information is all well and good, but you also need to be refuting points from the delegates on the opposite side. I'm personally a fan of calling someone out by name to refute and combat their point. The more clash the better.

I generally don’t flow arguments in congress unless there is something peculiar about the debate or the comment I have to you specifically pertains to the argument. I’ll really just give feedback on how you handled yourself during the speech

As a closing note to keep in mind: I understand that congressional legislation can get political and you're going to be inclined to argue with what you personally agree with, but you should understand that debate is not about what you believe, it's about your ability to argue. There are going to be times when you have to argue for something you don't agree with and refusing to do so is going to harm the flow of debate.

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Case Debate & IPDA

A.Don't Spread. I can't flow what I can't understand.

B. My Flow:

1. Weighing Mech/Value/Criterion

- You should also give a brief description/explanation on whatever you propose. Some people use different definitions of the same thing & we all need to be on the same page

2. Definitions

- I have auditory processing issues. Make sure you say your definitions clearly & don’t rush through them. Help me make sure I have a crystal clear understanding about the basis of your argument.

3. Any Identified Burdens

4. Contention titles

5. Claims & paired cards

- Take care not to spread/rush through your sources. I value evidence highly and want to know your cards

6. Rebuttal

- when it comes to rebuttal speeches, the way I flow gets less structured– I will write down pretty much anything I hear that obviously pertains to a previous argument so that I can go back & analyze if any points were dropped/missed & to determine what point flows to who

C. Speaker Points

- While I appreciate a bit of engaging words and style, it’s not necessary. As long as you can get through your speeches with minimal stumbles and with relative smoothness you’ll get good numbers

- It is poor sportsmanship to bring up new points late into the argument when your opponent doesn’t have time to properly refute. This will result in low speaker points.

- It is even worse sportsmanship to make comments about your opponent’s debate style or competency during off-the-clock roadmaps. I have seen this happen too many times & I’m completely sick of it. This will result in low speaker points.

- I will be 'grading' speaks points based off of the following: Delivery; Courtesy; Appropriate Tone; Organization; Logic; Support (if needed based on the weighing mech); Cross Exam; and Refutation. Some things, like organization and delivery, are more important than the others, like cross.

bonus if you got this far: i'll give you an extra speaker point if you reference jujutsu kaisen or hunter x hunter

Background/ Experience:

• I have taught communication and/or coached competitive debate and forensics since 2011.
• I judge on state and national circuits.

Likes:

• I like clash, clear argumentation, and make sure to warrant and impact your claims.
• Respect each other.

Dislikes:

• I do not tolerate bigotry or racism in a debate.
• Spreading outside of policy or progressive LD
• One sided debate in congressional

Voting:

• I take a tabula rasa (clean slate) approach.
• When it comes to the material of the case, I look at who can best present the argument and why their case outweighs their opponents.
• I use a combination of evidence, argumentation, clash, speaking skills, etc... to determine the winner.
• I do not disclose the win/loss at the end of a round unless directed by Tab.

Congressional:

• Delivery should be extemporaneous in nature. A smooth cadence with interaction with the chamber is great.
• Be sure to maximize your allotted time.
• Evidence should be used for substantiation.
• Decorum should simulate that of a congressional chamber, that being said it is good to remember to have fun as well.
• I use a combination of delivery, evidence, analysis, decorum, and speaks to determine both speech value and rankings.

Bentonville West High School English Teacher

I have been an English teacher for eight years- specializing in writing studies. I want to see your speaking & delivery skills as much as I want to see your arguments developed. Make clear arguments and focus on line-by-line analysis. When it comes to splitting hairs for a win, I will go with the team with line-by-line argumentation.

Adapt your case structure/speaking style, to adhere to this request. I'm a speaker and writer. I expect solid speaking skills. I can deal with fast speaking as long as you are clear. If you do speak quickly, make sure you're clear. If I miss your argument because you're not clear, it could cost you the round.

Be sure to read arguments that have a clear link to the resolution and framework. If I don't understand the argument itself or don't understand how it links, there is no way I can evaluate it.

You're not going to win rounds with me in cross. Just because you bring a point up in cross does not mean I will flow it. If you want it considered, bring it up in your rebuttal. Keep it professional. A true debater can give their points without sounding demeaning or disrespectful. It will cost you the round with me. Learn to disagree respectfully. On that note, while not a debate or forensics coach, I am not novice at understanding the intricacies of argumentation. Don't use debate jargon in these rounds. Speak to me as if I had never heard the word debate before. That's the design of these styles. Your judge could be anybody- respect them but also understand that if they're not persuaded, you didn't do your task.

If you have any questions, please ask me before the round.

Avoid arguments that are homophobic, sexist, racist, or offensive in any way. Be respectful to your opponent and judge. Use professional language at all times.

This is your debate so have fun with it! Best of luck to you!!

As a judge, I will be looking for a few things:

1. When presenting your content, aim for clarity and depth, incorporating relevant evidence and examples.
2. I'll be paying attention to your delivery—vocal variety, body language, and eye contact all matter.
3. Time management is crucial, so be mindful of the allocated time for your presentation.
4. Remember to maintain professionalism throughout, respecting your fellow participants.
5. Best of luck to each of you!

As a judge, I am looking first and foremost at speaking skill. A well planned and spoken speech ranks high on my radar. I also place value on evidence based speeches. Your evidence should be current and relevant. Confidence, kindness, and professionalism are key, as well.

I am a new parent judge and have only judged at one debate/tournament.

I would encourage clear, but passionate speaking. Please make sure and use a speed you think a new judge can understand.Never assume I have knowledge of your specific topic. If you don't think a child would understand it, assume I may not as well.

Good luck to you all!

1. Be Professional ALWAYS
2. NO SPREADING. If I can't understand you, I will stop flowing the debate. This means if I can't understand you, there will be points automatically flowing to the other side. Unless you share your case with me, you should be speaking at a conversational or slightly quicker rate.
3. Clash is key!!! Go line-by-line and pick apart every bit of your opponents case while you build your own case back up.
4. Good debaters are good communicators and good speakers. Make sure you look up at me. You shouldn't have to read your case word for word the entire time.

Decorum is of utmost importance - both verbal and nonverbal.

This should be a civil discourse between competitors.

Do NOT attack your opponent personally - attack the resolution and the claims.

Debate is a speaking activity, so, no, I do not want you to share/email/drop, etc. your case to me. I will judge what you say, not what's written in your case.

Speaking style is also critical. Do not spread or even talk fast - if I can't understand or if I struggle to keep up with what you're saying two things happen: (1) I will miss key information and (2) I will get frustrated and not be able to judge you. If I miss an argument because you are speaking too fast and are not clear, then you didn't make it.

Do not be monotone in your delivery and look up during speeches. KNOW YOUR CASE!!!

You should not have so much information that it requires you to speak faster than normal conversation pace/speed. Be efficient with your words.

I want to know how to judge the round, so supply and use your MW or V/VC or Framework!

I want to see clear links between your claims and your WM, V/VC, Framework.

I want clear CWI's.

You need to clearly and effectively refute all of your opponent's claims. Debate requires CLASH - if there is no clash, then you have not debated. It is the responsibility of each debater to add to and create clash throughout the round.

I flow the round, so I am well aware of what has/has not been dropped or deconstructed - don't claim your opponent has dropped points when they haven't!!! This can cost you the ballot!

Debate the resolution you have been given and nothing else!

Do not have a side debate about who has the best evidence - present the evidence and I'll decide as the judge, I don't need you to try and persuade me - or any other issues not related to the given resolution.

I don't need a road map - you should be clear enough in your round that I can clearly follow you.

Have fun!!! The world will not come to an end if you do not win this round! Always be looking for what you can learn from each round you debate.

Win. Lose. Learn!

On a lighter note, my favorite K-pop bands are The Rose, EXO, BTS, Seventeen, NCT 127 & NCT Dream -- if you work K-pop lyrics into your case/refutation, you won't receive any extra points, but it'll make me smile ????!

I'm a parent judge who has a student who competes in speech. I'm excited to get to hear some great debates! Please be sure to explain the topic to me and persuade me with the arguments, while also being good speakers

I am both a speech and debate coach, who primarily works with speech events and IPDA style debate.

Speech Events:

In interp, I focus on technical ability but also your understanding of the emotions in the piece. I want to see sincere displays of emotional depth that appropriately connect with the overall theme.

In public address and platform speaking events, I value organization and clarity in your speech. I am a fan of visual paragraphing provided it is done well--your movement should look natural and enhance the presentation not distract. INFO should be well rehearsed with their visual integration, but I understand that accidents may happen due to travel/stands.

ALL Debate Events:

Above all, I value good sportspersonship! I will not tolerate rude behavior towards opponents because we are here to clash ideas, not clash each other. I am opposed to the practice of spreading, as it does not give judges enough time to process information and flow. I typically evaluate rounds based on the following criteria (in order): validity and logic of argument, organization of points, round decorum, and speaking presence.

Rachel Mauchline

Durham Academy, Assistant Director of Speech and Debate

Previously the Director of Forensics and Debate for Cabot

she/her pronouns

TL;DR

Put me on the email chain @ rachelmauchline@gmail.com

speed is fine (but online lag is a thing)

tech over truth

Policy

I typically get preferred for more policy-oriented debate. I gravitated to more plan focused affirmatives and t/cp/da debate. I would consider myself overall to be a more technically driven and line by line organized debater. My ideal round would be a policy affirmative with a plan text and three-seven off. Take that as you wish though.

Lincoln Douglas

I've judged a variety of traditional and progressive debates. I prefer more progressive debate. But you do you... I am happy to judge anything as long as you defend the position well. Refer to my specific preferences below about progressive arguments. In regards to traditional debates, it's important to clearly articulate framework.

Public Forum

weighing.... weighing.... weighing.

I like rebuttals to have clear line by line with numbered responses. 2nd rebuttal should frontline responses in rebuttal. Summary should extend terminal defense and offense OR really anything that you want in final focus. Final focus should have substantial weighing and a clear way for me to write my ballot. It's important to have legitimate evidence... don't completely skew the evidence.

Here are my specific preferences on specific arguments if you have more than 5 mins to read this paradigm...

Topicality

I enjoy a well-articulated t debate. In fact, a good t debate is my favorite type of debate to judge. Both sides need to have a clear interpretation. Make sure it’s clearly impacted out. Be clear to how you want me to evaluate and consider arguments like the tva, switch side debate, procedural fairness, limits, etc.

Disadvantages/Counterplans

This was my fav strat in high school. I’m a big fan of case-specific disadvantages but also absolutely love judging politics debates- be sure to have up to date uniqueness evidence in these debates though. It’s critical that the disad have some form of weighing by either the affirmative or negative in the context of the affirmative. Counterplans need to be functionally or textually competitive and also should have a net benefit. Slow down for CP texts and permutations- y’all be racing thru six technical perms in 10 seconds. Affirmative teams need to utilize the permutation more in order to test the competition of the counterplan. I don’t have any bias against any specific type of counterplans like consult or delay, but also I’m just waiting for that theory debate to happen.

Case

I believe that case debate is under-covered in many debates by both teams. I love watching a case debate with turns and defense instead of the aff being untouched for the entire debate until last ditch move by the 2AR. The affirmative needs to continue to weigh the aff against the negative strat. Don't assume the 1AC will be carried across for you throughout the round. You need to be doing that work on the o/v and the line by line. It confuses me when the negative strat is a CP and then there are no arguments on the case; that guarantees aff 100% chance of solvency which makes the negative take the path of most resistance to prove the CP solves best.

Kritiks

I’ll vote for the k. From my observations, I think teams end up just reading their prewritten blocks instead of directly engaging with the k specific to the affirmative. Be sure you understand what you are reading and not just read a backfile or an argument that you don’t understand. The negative needs to be sure to explain what the alt actually is and more importantly how the alt engages with the affirmative. I judge more K rounds than I expect to, but if you are reading a specific author that isn’t super well known in the community, but sure to do a little more work on the analysis

Theory

I’ll vote for whatever theory; I don’t usually intervene much in theory debates but I do think it’s important to flesh out clear impacts instead of reading short blips in order to get a ballot. Saying “pics bad” and then moving on without any articulation of in round/post fiat impacts isn’t going to give you much leverage on the impact level. You can c/a a lot of the analysis above on T to this section. It’s important that you have a clear interp/counter interp- that you meet- on a theory debate.

I do not have a lot of judging experience, but I will try and be as fair as possible. Please speak slowly and clearly. If you rush I may not understand what you are saying. Thanks!

Bentonville West High School Speech & Debate Coach

I have been a coach and competitor in the forensics/speech/debate world for 20+ years. I specialize in speaking. Speaker points are important to me. Sloppy or disorganized speeches can cost you the round. Please don't just read to me. I want to see your speaking & delivery skills as much as I want to see your arguments. Make clear arguments and focus on line-by-line analysis. When it comes to splitting hairs for a win, I will go with the team with the best line-by-line argumentation.

Back your claims and counterclaims with solid cards. I'm an analytical thinker when it comes to debate rounds. I want to hear your claims back with more than your opinion.

I am a tab judge and willing to listen to any argument. However, don't kill a dead horse or bet your case on minuscule points. Support your claims with professional backing. Make your points clear and understandable. Make sure you link to the resolution.

I enjoy a clearly organized debate with strong signposting, road-maps, and line-by-line analysis. Organization is key to keeping the flow tidy as well as maintaining clash throughout the round.

PLEASE DON'T SPREAD. Adapt your case structure/speaking style, to adhere to this request. I'm a speaker. I expect solid speaking skills. I can deal with fast speaking as long as you are clear. However, I'm a traditional judge. Don't spread in styles outside of CX. If you do speak quickly, make sure you're clear. If I miss your argument because you're not clear, it could cost you the round.

Be sure to read arguments that have a clear link to the resolution/framework. If I don't understand the argument itself or don't understand how it links, there is no way I can evaluate it.

You're not going to win rounds with me in cross. Just because you bring a point up in cross does not mean I will flow it. If you want it considered, bring it up in your rebuttal. Keep it professional. A true debater can give their points without sounding demeaning or disrespectful. It will cost you the round with me. Learn to disagree respectfully.

I am by no means a lay judge, but I judge PF & WSD rounds as if I am. Don't use debate jargon in these rounds. Speak to me as if I had never heard the word debate before. That's the design of these styles.

If you have any questions, please ask me prior to the round.

Avoid arguments that are homophobic, sexist, racist, or offensive in any way. Be respectful to your opponent and judge. Use professional language at all times.

This is your debate so have fun with it! Best of luck to you!!

I am a communications teacher (I was never a debater) therefore I focus more on the educational aspect of the debate. Please do not assume that I understand all debate terminology and techniques. I need you to educate and persuade me through organized speeches and clear explanations.