I am not a native English speaker, so speak slowly and speak clearly. I vote for the argument that makes the most sense and who defends their arguments. Please present your facts clearly as the speeches progress. I will not be timing, so time yourselves. Debate is about having fun too, so enjoy the experience.

Hi, I'm Alina (she/her)! I'm currently a junior neuroscience major at UTD.

My little cousin participates in his school's speech and debate team and he recruited me to be a volunteer judge lol. As an FYI, I've never competed in any sort of speech and debate events before.

I judged PF for the first time in September 2023, and this'll be my first time judging LD.

Helpful info:

• I'm a volunteer and I've read over some information about LD debate and watched a demo video, but I'm new to judging LD
• Tbh I kinda wanna hear y'all spread lol but pls don't start off your speech at max speed (you can start at ~80%) then work your up
• No rudeness!
• In general, I listen for well-structured, logical, and cohesive arguments and counters. Just connect the dots and I'll vote your ballot.
• Email chain pls: alinalandam@gmail.com

Looking forward to judging and hearing you speak! :)

Should Debaters use Rapid Delivery (spreading)?

No. I don’t like it. It isn’t good public speaking, and it certainly isn’t persuasive.

How Should Debaters Approach Constructive Speeches?

A few well-developed arguments prove more persuasive than a larger quantity of arguments., Arguments should each be addressed individually.

How Should Debaters Approach Rebuttal Speeches?

Rebuttals should provide voters to address the important issues advanced in constructive speeches., Rebuttals should extend arguments individually which debaters advanced in constructive speeches.

How Should Debaters Approach Evidence?

Citations after article introduction are preferred.

How should debaters use values, criteria and arguments to support a value position?

Build the value that is not overly complicated and should be relatable, and criterion should not be over technical.

What arguments (such as philosophical, theoretical or empirical) do you prefer to support a value position?

Empirical, but a highly persuasive philosophical approach can potentially work just as well.

Please explain your views on kritik arguments.

Critical arguments should provide substantial evidence for their support: as in every criticism needs at least one "For example" or at the very least a thorough clarification with a credible, referenced source.

How should debaters run on case arguments?

Make sure all claims are supported with specific, defined examples. Avoid paraphrasing

I am an English teacher who is volunteering my time. I will always listen with an open mind.

In Oratory, Info, and Impromptu: I value your originality, creativity, and persuasive presentation of ideas of personal importance. Cite your sources, explain their importance, and tell me why it matters.

In DI, HI, DUO: It is crucial that you tell a story in a meaningful and impactful manner. Characterization, gestures and facial expressions, and, vocal variation will all add to the overall decision.

Overall speaking skills or/and argumentation are critical to winning! But remember the most important thing is that you learn!

I mainly judge PF events. I am an avid history and current affairs buff. I also do research on resolutions that are being debated so I can follow positive and negative arguments.

As a judge I will be evaluating debaters for their overall persuasiveness, which in my view has 2 elements:

1. Logic of argument: The argument must be coherent and it must be in the context of the resolution. It is important not to drift away from the resolution. Drift happens when a debater discusses implications of the resolution and then implications of implications and so on. Use the resolution as a guide and tie your arguments back to the resolution at hand. And, successively build your position, while undermining your opponents arguments.

2. Presentation style: This includes clarity of speech and body language. Debaters have limited time so they must speak at a good clip but it cannot come at the cost of clarity in speech. Vigorous but respectful disagreement with opposing team is expected. Before, starting your speaking time give a one sentence overview of how you will proceed. For example, "First I will refute my opponents positive or negative points, then I will explain and provide evidence of the points I made in my opening remarks", etc. Finally, a word of caution about "spreading", it does not work. If your goal is to read out loud as many words as you can in your allocated time, you will almost certainly loose points.

The golden rule is not to loose your audience. As a judge, I am the audience and debaters will have my undivided attention. But if a debater loses me, they will lose points.

Hi, my name is Holly Garrison (They/Them) and I'll be your judge.

I have done debate for long enough to understand how most of this stuff works. I'm the student coach at Colleyville Heritage.

You don't have to but if you do make an email chain add me at Hollydebate22@gmail.com

PF

• Tech over truth(If you make an argument back it up)
• I'm okay with progressive arguments
• Please don't spread My therapist said it was bad for me
• No bigotry, please
• It's PF so please don't run a K, there isn't enough time in a round to do the discussion justice so you are just reading it for a win
• When it comes to weighing my value, unless otherwise disproven, is utilitarianism(most good for most people)
• I don't flow crosses but I do pay attention
• #abolishgrandcross

LD

Short and Simple

• I will value any argument so long as it is not racist, sexist, homophobic, or anything bigoted.
• DO NOT spread. Even if you have a speech doc if you are not coherent I will not flow your argument.
• I'm very tech so if you are going to present an argument please provide some sort of evidence(either analytic or sourced)
• I prefer if teams disclose without it being a big deal but feel free to not disclose as long as you are speaking clearly
• I have experience with a lot of the theory arguments but if you are unsure if you should run something then show up early and ask me
• I don't believe in Trick arguments so please don't try to run anything intentionally abusive just to get the win
• If you have any questions about anything specific or anything after the round please email atHollydebate22@gmail.com

Long and Complicated

Framework- I will value any framework. I do believe when submitting a framework you should have some definitions of your value and your criterion that way there can be an actual framework debate. I'm decent with framework debates but I've never really enjoyed them; however, I will still flow all framework debates. I also do not need a philosophy with your framework but if you have one more power to you.

Disclosure- I would prefer if everyone discloses sometime before your speech. I'm open to any form of disclosure(Speechdrop, Email chain, the new tabroom speech drop, case list) so long as I get the speech doc. I also don't believe in this new contact disclosure theory so please don't run that.

Spreading and Speed-Even if you sent me your speech doc I do not want you spreading. I can handle speed but if I cannot understand you I will shout "clear" to tell you to slow down. If you speed back up I will not be able to flow as I can only flow so fast. I am ok with a fair amount of speed but just please don't be doing 6 contentions and a framework in 6 minutes.

Topicality -I need either limits or grounds to flow them and I need appropriate voters to properly value them. Do not just stand up and call your opponent abusive and tell me to strike them. Tell me why your opponent's argument shouldn't be valued or I will still keep it on my flow.

Theory- Like topicality, I typically need some grounds and you CANNOT just stand up and call your opponent abusive. Theory(when done well) will be valued first before impacts so please if you are reading some sort of theory or theory shell please just do it well.

Kritiks- I've read some of the literature(Edelman, Puar, Marx, Engles, Fisher) but I've never loved K debates. If you want to read a K I do have high expectations because you are purposefully changing the round away from the resolution so I need this to be a well-thought-out argument if you are planning on running some like a K.

DA's- For the Disadvantage to win it needs to either Turn, Outweigh, or Solve the case. And I am not going to be doing the work for you on this one. Tell me why you are winning and show me where you are winning.

Counter Plans- I will always love counter plans. I think, when done well, they are really strong. Just make sure that if your opponent doesn't provide their own plan text your counter plan is against the whole resolution.

Perms- I understand perms and I think they are strong counters to counter plans but I need proper answers to the counter plan and not just "perm do both"

Plan/No plan aff- I do not require a plan on the aff and I'm ok with any type of affs so long as they're clear and understandable. So long as the argument isn't bigoted I'll flow it.

I prefer if everyone keeps their own time. I will have a stopwatch going to keep your time but the round will go a lot smoother if you keep your own time. I will allow a grace period of about 10 seconds before I just stop flowing and I will cut you off after about 25 seconds over.

I

flow what I hear so if you're clear I'll flow it. I flow on a computer so please do not accuse me of not flowing.

Also, try to pay attention during the round but if you need to check your phone or type something just don't be disruptive

If you have any questions before or after the round please email me at Hollydebate22@gmail.com

Let's have a good round y'all

I am a new parent judge.

In PF, I’m traditional. I don’t like spreading in PF and there should definitely not be CPs, Theory, Kritiks, or anything like that.

I competed in Policy Debate and Extemp at the Varsity level in High School where I lettered and was awarded Distinguished in the NFL. I also competed in numerous public speaking events and contests both in an academic and business environment. Hosted a radio program, acted in legitimate theater, commercial stage productions, conducted commercial seminars nationwide, and acted in motion pictures and a member of SAG.

I look for developed, effective, public speaking delivery utilizing your personal style. I do not like spreading in any Debate. I reward logical arguments, persuasive rhetoric, solid evidence based on quality not quantity. You must be able to convince me to win the ballot. I reward those who can adapt their arguments as needed to make their point. Don't rely on reading a manuscript from a computer without fleshing out the information as appropriate. I reward debaters who are well informed on the topic and are able to apply evidence that supports their contention.

Decorum, respect, and courtesy, are required from all contestants. Bullies will not prevail or be tolerated. All students are respected regardless of their culture, background, or individual preferences.

Please no spreading! Be concise and clear. Ultimately what decides the round is how cohesive the team is and the unified voice. Also how you attack your opponents contentions.

Hello, I’m a former debater that has competed in UIL, TFA, and NSDA tournaments at both the state and national levels. I’m ok with any arguments as long as they make sense and are warranted.

Participated in PF Debate and IX all 4 years at Richardson HS

Now attending Southern Methodist University

General Paradigm: Honestly as long as you explain your arguments well and tell me why they matter (I'm big on impact calc.), I'll flow any case. This means clear warrants and links. I like to have my job be easier so tell me right from the start what I need to vote on and what stuff is important in the context of the round. If you don't do that I'll be forced to become a policymaker which means I may default to impacts that you may not have focused on. Summary and final focus speeches should be mirrored. This means the arguments that you flesh out and extend are the same ones you should be speaking about in the FF. Don't bother bringing up dropped/dead arguments near the end of the round. You are just gonna be wasting my time. When extending args, include the (warrants, links, and impacts). There is no excuse to not do this considering summary speeches are 3 minutes now. Again for me focus on Impact Calc. Make sure you give me voters on why your args matter, and why you win.

Speed: I can deal with moderately fast speed as long as you are clear. Slow down on taglines and for warrants that are crucial to your case. I will say clear once if I cannot understand/keep up. (Do not try and policy spread. I will not flow.)

Keep your own time. I will be keeping time as well.

I may ask for evidence at the end of the round

During CX , feel free to go all out. The more clash the better , and be well mannered during CX. Do not be afraid to go at it , but do it respectfully

Feel free to ask me about anything I may not have covered.

Hello Debaters!

Good for you at checking paradigms.... I judge several different types of debate:

As a communicator, you should be able to adapt to your audience...ie Judge.

Have fun! Debate is a wonderful activity where you can be smart, have fun, and learn at the same time.

Some items I think you should be aware of that I think weakens your presentation:

Being rude, forgetting to tag your cards, not having cards formatted correctly, and not making some kind of eye contact with judge during cross.

DO NOT say please vote for Aff/NEG...your argumentation and evidence should demonstrate your side should win.

Things to help your presentation: Smile, being polite, and organizing your arguments with internal signposting...sharing cards and evidence before using them.

Public Forum- DO NOT PROVIDE AN OFF TIME ROADMAP- I do not need it.

Please have started the email chain and flipped as soon as you can.

include me in the email chain macleodm@friscoisd.org

Or use a speech drop

General Ideas

There is not enough time in PF for effective theory/K to run. I will not vote for you if tricks or theory are your only arguments. I expect the resolution to be debated and there needs to be clash.

I think you should be frontlining offense (turns and disads) in rebuttal. Straight up defense does not need to be frontlined, but I do think it's strategic. Summary to final focus extensions should be consistent for the most part. Overall, the rule of thumb is that the earlier you establish an argument and the more you repeat it, the more likely I will be to vote for it, i.e., it's strategic to weigh in rebuttal too, but it's not a dealbreaker for me if you don't.

To me warrants matter more than impacts. You need both, but please please extend and explain warrants in each speech. Even if it's dropped, I'll be pretty hesitant to vote on an argument if it's not explained in the second half of the round. Also, I have a relatively high standard for what a case extension should look like, so err on the side of caution and just hit me with a full re-explanation of the argument or I probably won't want to vote for you.

The most important thing in debate is comparing your arguments to theirs. This doesn't mean say weighing words like magnitude and poverty and then just extending your impacts, make it actually comparative please.

Technical Debate

I can flow most of the speed in PF, but you shouldn't be sacrificing explanation or clarity for speed.

I will try my best to be "tech over truth", but I am a just a mom of two five year olds and I do have my own thoughts in my head. To that end, my threshold for responses goes down the more extravagant an argument is.

If you want me to call for a piece of evidence, tell me to in final focus please.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me before the round.

Policy I am a stock issues judge when adjudicating Policy. I am fine with speed/spreading with signposting and roadmaps.

I can't stand the K. Please don't run one. Debate the resolution or run a T argument but very rarely will I vote off case arguments.

Parli/World Schools- Need to see fully developed warrants, impacts and confidence. I love stories and learning new TRUE stuff...

LD- I love debates about Criterion and no neg cases are great if ran with logic, links, and detailed examples. Tell stories. I will buy it if presented professionally and with logic. I need weighing of worlds and chrystalization.

Congress- Please make sure to reference previous representatives speeches and show me you have been flowing and are responding to what has been said in round.

Showing decorum and being polite- like thanking the previous representative always a good thing :)

PLEASE DO NOT ask if I am ready- I am always ready or I will say to please wait.

World Schools- I love the decorum/Parli element and terminology usage. Attacking the premise of arguments, call out logical fallacies, and weigh the worlds please....Make sure to give examples that are not just made up- I know Harvard studies everything, but please refrain from making stuff up.

I do appreciate puns/tasteful humor and use those POI requests and answers strategically.

My name is William Mathison. I'm the coach at Colleyville Heritage High School.

I'm the most familiar with PF and LD.

If you spread make sure to add me to your SpeechDrop or email chain. I can flow directly off of the doc but if I can't understand you while spreading, you'll lose speaker points.

Preferences

1 - CP/DA/Advantages

2 - T, Theory (the good kind)

BE ADVISED. RUNNING A K OR NON-T AFF WILL LIKELY RESULT IN BEING VOTED DOWN.

3 - Kritiks

4 - Non-T Affs, Tricks (if the opponent can't understand them, neither will I), Friv Theory, Performance/Identity K's, Spikes

Timing

10-15 second grace period at the end of the speech if you're in the middle of a sentence. Don't abuse this.

PLEASE USE STOPWATCHES. PLEASE LET ME KEEP TIME AND DO NOT INTERRUPT THE OTHER TEAM WITH AN ALARM OR TELLING ME THEY'RE OVER TIME.

Speaker Points:

30: Perfection

28-29: Great with some notes

26-27: Needs significant work

25: Offensive comments were made

Add me to your email chain! mathison.debate@gmail.com or add me on your speech drop.

I have competed in or coached various debate formats for over 20 years. Namely, I competed in policy debate for 7 years and competed and coached public debate for another 12 years. Ultimately, I value being a tabula rasa judge at the core.

For PF in particular, my desire is to see debate focus predominantly on persuasion and reasoning. Evidence should be a guide to the debate, not the debate itself. Impact calculations should be obvious, explained, and well defended by logic and reasoning. Debaters should not depend on evidence to speak for itself, nor should they be unable to explain basic warrants when prompted. Kritical argumentation and topicality should only be used if it is applicable, provides needed negative/con ground, and should not be used as a time suck. Finally, debaters should be well rehearsed with signposting and telling me where they want arguments on the flow; I shouldn’t have to make that judgment for them.

For email chains: jbagwell05@gmail.com

I have been a public speaker during my school, college and work years. Its something I have always enjoyed doing.

I am not an expert in PF by any stretch but understand the format. Things which appeal to me - clarity of thought / argument, research and data backup in framing arguments, voice projection and intonation, and ability to ask sharp and direct questions.

Please do not be too fast in speaking, please be respectful to your opponents at all times, and please stick to schedule.

I hope to enjoy this tourament with you guys and wish you all the best!

I am a parent judge, and I have mainly judged PF on the TFA circuit.

Public Forum Debate

Please speak slowly and clearly. Facts are great but I mostly focus on how you use common sense to present your statements and arguments. You will have my vote if you demonstrate how quickly you think critically to defend and counter.

Keep the flow and repeating your arguments are ok, as long as you word differently each time adding more substance.

Congressional Debate

Clear, engaging speaking is what will have my ballot in your favor. I love to see engaging speakers bringing up round-changing statistics and warrants. Public speaking goes a long way in Congress, so please use it effectively. As for questioning: try and convey something by taking up an offensive position against the questioner/questionee (not sure if that's a word but you get the gist). Whoever does this the best will get the higher rank from me.

POs usually get the bare break unless it seems like you aren't well-practiced in your parliamentary procedures and/or don't know how to operate a chamber off the top of your head.

That being said, good luck everyone!

I am a lay judge, but I have judged a reasonable number of rounds. You may speak fast, as long as you are understandable. Cite your sources as much as possible. If you call for evidence outside of cross-ex, you will be using your prep time. Also, please avoid asking really long questions during cross-ex, andactually let the other team answer. I give speaker points based on strategy and presentation. I may dock your speaks if you take forever to pull up a piece of evidence. To avoid this, please start an email chain and add me at subashri.r@gmail.com.

Debate is about having fun, so enjoy it!!

I competed in Speech and Debate from 2020-2023 in mostly speech events (informative, oratory and extemp) but I have competed in every TFA debate event (CX, LD, Congress, PF, and Worlds). I judge mainly on organization, content and delivery, in that order. Treat me as a flay. I will flow the round, but I will only flow what I understand. I value weighing and clarity above all else. If I can't understand it, I won't vote for it.

Debate:

PF - I personally believe that this is the most clear-cut debate event, and I consider clash and weighing is the most important thing in this event. Not only does it clarify and remind me what happened during the round, but it also engages the opponent's arguments and provides me with a better basis to make a decision on the debate. That third speech is critical to gaining my vote and make sure your arguments are linked and extended or they will be forgotten.

LD/CX - I'm not well versed in theory, Ks, phil, etc. so I don't advise running those. If you do, be prepared to explain a lot because there is a 90% chance my brain has short-circuited and comprehend anything besides simple arguments. I enjoy CPs and disads a lot, but I need it to be explained thoroughly. Make sure your arguments are warranted and extended cleanly or I won't evaluate them at the end. Speed is fine but again - I will only flow what I understand and my flow is what I will base my decision on.

Congress - Please, please, please be creative. I think Congress is one of the most fluid events with so many different avenues to take, and yet more often then not, competitors fall into the same mold and it makes it very exhausting to judge. Half of Congress is delivery and production but the other half is content and argumentation; if you can only do one or the other, I will rank you lower. Questions shouldn't just be asked for the sake of questions.

Worlds - Strategy, content and delivery is key. Have a clear framework to build your arguments off of. I don't care too much about the particulars of arguments and value the holistic understanding more. That being said, your argument needs to be realistic and should be extended. Voters are especially important in this event and I really value delivery.

Speech:

I define speech events as those that require no acting or interpretation and rely on arguments. I am well versed in speech and value delivery first and then content. Fluency breaks, forgetting part of your speech and limitations of the human body happen to everybody so don't stress too much about it; how you recover after is what matters. Have fun, be passionate and don't let your audience affect your performance.

Extemp: My only caveat here is that organization of the content has a higher value then the delivery of the content. How you present your argument and how your organize it to defend your position matters more than whatever flowery words you use.

Interp:

I believe that connecting with your audience is one of the most important parts of this category. You are telling a story and the number one job of a storyteller is to make your audience care about your story no matter who they are. Everything you do needs to be intentional - every movement, every word, every tone should be used for a reason. Screaming, crying and extensive action are not necessary to tell the story and should be used to convey the feelings of the story, not the details. Your blocking and voices should be consistent throughout and there should be meaning behind every performance.

Hi , my name is Satya Vanukuri. I am a parent judge . I'm a novice at judging. I'm open minded looking for well spoken arguments, slow , clear and loud speeches .

Clearly state why you think your argument is better and deserves to win. Go Slow.

Hi there!

Most importantly, I want y'all to know that I am a parent judge, and a novice one at that, but I assure you, you'll have my full attention and respect during every round I judge.

Any homophobia, sexism, ableism, racism, etc. against your opponents or your own teammates will result in an automatic loss. I will immediately stop following the debate and will report the behavior to your coaches.

Debate is about respect. If you don’t show respect your opponents, or me, that will significantly impact your speaks and your ballot. Attempting to make your opponent feel bad about themself is not acceptable, and it will have a negative impact on your score.

Speed is ok, but please articulate and speak at a volume that I can hear from several yards away. Spreading is difficult to flow, so please avoid it whenever possible.

Please don’t present any Theory or K’s, because I don’t know how to flow those.

I most likely will not disclose after round; I like to take time to articulate my thoughts on your performance in writing out of respect for the work you've put into your debate.

If you want to send me pictures of your cats, or see pictures of my cats, my email is acwlazlowski@gmail.com :)

As a judge, and a mom, I’m always rooting for you and want you to do well! GOOD LUCK!

Speech:

First off, I’m gonna be biased here, speech is my ABSOLUTE favorite! Here are some individual things you can do to maximize your success in these events.

General:

Creativity, character, and confidence! That’s how you can impress me and get a great ranking if I’m your judge.

Being respectful during other’s speeches is absolutely necessary. If you don’t want someone texting, eating, moving whilst you’re trying to give your speech then don’t do it to others!

If you make a mistake, remember, I DON’T KNOW! I don’t have your script! Stay calm, and keep going!

Info:

If your boards fall, don’t worry! Im not going to rank you down for it, accidents happen. I look for clear speakers, with a well structured speech. Sourcing is always good, make sure the information you cite is relevant.

Oratory

Similar to info, annunciate and make sure to truly convey your message. Movements and actions are always fun and engaging!

Interp:

Y’all there is a line. Interp can be one of the absolute best events to experience as a judge, but not if the content is excessively vulgar. Im fine with swearing and vulgar pieces, but please just don’t make it nasty to where I want to leave the room. Please? This is mainly for HI but don’t abuse other people’s trauma! Make your character come to life, make it seem natural!

This is for DI specifically, I’m probably going to cry. And maybe a lot. But! Please don’t feel like you haven’t impressed me if I’m not sobbing; some pieces are more touching for personal reasons than others are. Just make your character as moving and piece as powerful as possible and you will like your rank!

Extemp:

This event is pretty easy to judge in terms of what I look for:

-structure (Intro 3 points conclusion)
-sourcing (Not just for the “I added some sources to my speech,” check box, but rather to support your point and what you’re saying”

-Hey it’s out of your control if you get a boring question, keep me interested and engaged and it won’t really matter what your question is!

-Avid supporter of Taylor Swift if you wanna use an AGD for her… (Favorite album is 1989 of course)

Other speech events:

I don’t know a whole lot about other speech events, but I love to see new events and see new styles of Speech! If you don’t see anything on here for specifics, ask me about them or maybe even tell me something useful for judging before.

Congress:

This is one of the first times that I'm judging Congressional Debate. Please be patient. I've learned how to judge it, but some of the logistics of the round may throw me off because congress is based off of role playing congressional officials.

I value not only speeches, but also the way you behave in questioning, recess, etc. If you give really great speeches, but you are disrespectful or rude in questioning, you’re not going to like your rankings.

Again, I reiterate, I'm really big on respect. You guys all work so hard to prepare so I ask that you give everyone in your chamber the same level of attention and respect you'd like to receive yourself. If you are respectful to me and most importantly, your opponents, I'm more likely to rank you higher for exhibiting the respect the round and your opponents deserve and keeping the round running smoothly.

For my PO: I appreciate you running the round and making it as efficient as possible. If you run a good chamber, I will give you a good rank. If you run a chaotic chamber with frequent mistakes and pauses, your rank will most likely be impacted. PLEASE bring it to the attention of the PO if there is a mistake in round. I want to make sure the round is running as fair as possible

In speeches I look for an equal balance of content and style. I look for people being active in the round as well. If person A gives one great speech throughout the entirety of the round, and person B gives three decent speeches but is always questioning and very active, person B will be who I most likely rank higher.

I think Congress specifically has really good potential for personality as well. I appreciate fun AGD’s, a good tone, decent volume, and smile. The point here is to have fun and be confident. Make judging fun for me as well, and your rank will affect it.

Try not to rehash, and if it reaches a point in which it’s just the same 4 points over and over, move to previous question. I want to make sure everyone gets a speech.

Recess is not for prepping a speech, it’s not fair to take time away from others because you didn’t prep. Please try to keep the chamber running!

I wish you all the best and I’m super excited to see you in round! Good luck!