***For all of the lifetime of this page, this page will be a work in progress (W.I.P)***

**Up to date for Plano West TFA (10/18-10/19/2024) still subject to change through the event**

Hiii Everyone!!!

--email: measama380@gmail.com--

Some background about me:

I am Hebron Alumni, currently 21 years old, and a Graduate at UNT, studying computer science. Some things I like are video games, watching k-dramas, listening to k-pop, and most of all spending time with friends. I have officially debated in NCX, NPF, and VPF. But I have learned and practiced all forms of speech and debate. I never got a chance to go to state or TOC, due to unfortunate circumstances. I have always enjoyed debating, because of the freedom it gave me, to talk about the real world, without any censorship from adults. With that being said, I appreciate those who truly give their best to their event.

If you can tell me who my bias is, then I will give you the win ;)*its a joke, but I will up ur speaks If u get it right

Context to Debate:

Debate is not mathematics. The round does not exist as a confined 3-dimensional space with certain laws of conservation. Debate is a form of conversation where members of the discussion are presenting their point of view and trying to persuade the listener to agree or join their side. With that being said, I expect that everyone in the round understands, that I am also a human being like everyone, and am prone to making a mistake. I will try my 110% to be objective in the round, so don't dismiss what I have said. You might not like it, and think I am wrong, but understand that all decisions made are still subjective to what made sense in my brain. I have been in your shoes, so please be patient and understanding with me, and we will have a great time.

*****Disregard of the rules of ethics and mannerism in a round is an immediate loss, I Do Not Care!*****

IE:

I base all my decisions on the criteria presented by NSDA, which differ between each event, if there is anything of concern that happens during the round please let me know immediately so we can fix it.

Congress:

I base all my decisions on the criteria presented by NSDA. I uphold congress to the same integrity as CX, LD, and PF. If there is anything of concern that happens during the round please let me know immediately so we can fix it.

CX, LD, PF:

(*For Online Tournaments*)

Pre-round expectations:

I expect everyone to have read the paradigm before entering the call. The only question that should be asked is those pertaining to statements that are not clear or have not been discussed on the page.

-->see the rest of the paradigms under the in-person section<--

(*For in-person tournaments*)

Pre-round expectations:

I expect everyone to have read the paradigm before entering the room. The only question that should be asked is those pertaining to statements that are not clear or have not been discussed on the page.

During the round:

All of Crossfire will not be noted down on the flow, I will probably listen to the crossfire to make sure that it is still civil, and noted down any points that might affect speaker points. A reminder: Crossfire is for you to ask questions and clarify anything in the round with opponents. Anything that is brought up and you want me to vote off it, you must bring it up in your following speech.

Progressive Arguments (aka disad, theory, k):

I am fine with any progressive argument except Disclosure Theory. PF is not CX, there is no reason to run such an argument. If you still feel like running it, I will not even consider it part of the round when voting, if I didn't buy the reasoning or analysis. Further, if you run a progressive argument without changing it to be at the VPF level, and I don't understand, I simply won't vote off of it

Overview and Under view:

I encourage having it, so I can have some parameters to vote off of, but I will not take it under consideration if it has not been carried throughout the entire round, in each speech (except rebuttal, ask before the round for more details).

Contention:

I expect that the contention is readable in 4 minutes without having to spread. So here is your fair warning, DO NOT SPREAD, if I can't follow you at your speed, I will either stop flowing or only write what I hear. This will probably hurt you. So be careful. IF you want to read really fast, send me the speech doc before the round, and make sure that it is the one you are reading. If you fail to do so, I cannot be held responsible for what I missed. I want clear signposting when you transition from Uniqueness, Link, Internal Link, and Impact.

Rebuttal:

For the first speaking team, I expect to hear a full frontal attack on the opponent's case. You can preemptively defend your case, but I will On the other hand, I expect the second-speaking team to attack and defend their case in the 4 min. Be sure to warrant analysis. I love to hear about turns on links and impacts, which creates ground for the clash needed in a debate round.

Summary:

NO NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE SECOND-SPEAKING TEAM! I expect to hear a summary of the round, with collapsing. Be sure to have Impact calculus or weighing.

Final Focus:

Give me voters. Why should I vote for you? NO NEW EVIDENCE!

Speaker Points:

I am not progressive in speaking. Don't spread, speak with emphasis on tags, speak clearly and loudly, and if you can make me laugh, you get higher speaks.

After the Round:

I plan to disclose if I can come up with RFD within 5 minutes. If the round is muddled then, It will take more time, be patient.

The Use of Evidence:

I will ask you to show me evidence if I find it unclear, couldn't hear, or suspicious. I might ask you to pull up the original article, so be ready to find it; the only excuse I will take if the wifi is poor or lacking. I will try to search it up on my computer too, but if I can't find it either, we have problems.

jasper '24, plano west '26

nats x1, g-toc x1, tfa outrounds x2 (champ x1)

Bolded is TLDR

Yes, if you are any of the -isms then you will be dropped with lowest speaks possible and be reported to tab.

Overall, I'm a tech judge for substance and a flay for prog.

I'd like to think of my style of judging as fairly simple. I look to the weighing debate first, and whoever is winning, I look to their case. If there's a significant risk of offense, I vote there. If there's not, I look to the other team's case and if there's a significant risk of offense then I vote there. If both teams have no offense, I presume neg but can be convinced otherwise. If both teams have marginal risk of offense, then I'll go back to the weighing to see who's winning under a lens of marginal offense (disclaimer: I will 99% intervene so don't do this to me).

By extension of that, the weighing debate is probably the most important thing in the round since often both teams have significant risk of offense. I'll reward smart weighing mechs with high speaks but oftentimes the weighing debate is where warranting and intuition go to die; please don't add to that. I think try or die weighing is a little overrated, and I need some very good reasoning why it uplayers everything else in the round. Even then, there is such thing as 0 risk of offense. Also, if you make link level weighing (e.g. prereqs and short circuits) then you need have it accompanied by other weighing mechs (like timeframe) to uplayer the opposing team's link ins.

I think non-utilitarian frameworks are often run in a way that requires the team to win defense on the "big stick" case to be fully persuasive - why does 1996 literature address nuances and the specific situation of the opponent's case? I'm not easily convinced by intervening actors either; most of the time this is read as new, underwarranted defense. You may still read these arguments, but you'll likely find it easier to pick up my ballot by sticking with a utilitarian framework.

Email chains are good. Send docs for all pieces of evidence you read BEFORE you speak. Send marked docs if you diverge from those. I won't flow off them, but it's helpful to be able to check evidence. Do not send Google Docs where you turn off copying functionalities and delete the doc after the round. Send a PDF or docx. For some reason, some people are requiring that you send analytics that are on your flow to the email chain. I personally disagree and think that if you're giving responses off your flow it doesn't need to be in the doc. That being said, I think no laptop rebuttals are very very underrated and when executed well, can be far more persuasive than a completely scripted rebuttal.

Speed is fine. As long as I have a doc and you are clear (I'll say "clear" twice and then just do my best which prob isn't what you want), go crazy. However, if you're obviously spreading your opponents out of the round, your speaker points will often be less than what you want. That being said, speed should be strategic. There's no point in going 300 wpm where every other word is "uh" and you have terrible word efficiency. Not only does it make it more mind-numbing to listen to, but it also can be really bad because I won't know what to actually flow. Also, just because you're spreading doesn't mean you should be devoid of any vocal inflections. I don't want to hear a 4 minute monotone blur of this background noise in your spreading because everybody is going to tune out. You can speak fast and still preserve your vocal style like you're speaking at a normal pace. Read the idea, not just the words on the page.

On substance rounds, I think that spamming contentions often leaves me in a situation where I don't know how to evaluate arguments and where the backhalf frankly has little to no warranting. Reading 2 or 3 arguments with solid warranting and spikes and maybe a hidden link is far more appealing to me as a judge than 5 blips of arguments. By extension, turns in rebuttal also require all parts of an argument: uniqueness (a little more lenient on that), link, internal link, impact, AND WEIGHING. I'm not voting for a turn without warranting or an impact in rebuttal that somehow gains all of those things in the backhalf.

Conceded arguments are true, but only the conceded parts. For example, if you read evidence that a certain policy leads to a certain bad outcome, but the other team isn't advocating for that policy, then I'm not voting on the argument. Moreover, teams can respond to weighing based on conceded arguments, so just because you conceded a turn or hidden link doesn't mean it's a game over issue for you. If you concede weighing, then it'll be tough but you can still justify why your weighing uplayers.

For theory, I default to yes RVIs, reasonability > CIs, and DTA. Why? So you actually read warrants why RVIs are bad, why CIs are better, and why you should DTD. An "RVI" for my sake is a defensive argument on the theory layer (e.g. a counterinterp that debaters don't have to disclose is probably responded to via no RVIs while a counterinterp that debaters SHOULDN'T disclose is not an RVI). If you really want to convince me otherwise, you have to explain why when you originally read the shell. Frivolous theory is fine, but if you are reading it against novices, expect your speaks to be a little lower than what you want.

On kritiks, I am definitely not the judge for you to be reading it. I am somewhat familiar with these arguments and will do my best to evaluate and do all that stuff, but I am a substance debater at heart and especially with K affs am very clueless on the lit and how to break certain areas of clash. If you still want to read it, go ahead, but explain the argument so a person not well-versed with the lit can understand.

Most importantly, safety is the number 1 priority in a round. If you feel uncomfortable during a round, please do whatever you need to do to make sure that's not the case, and let me or tab know if we have to do something about that.

Hi there! I’m a new judge!

For Debate-

tech > truth, tabula rasa, Currently debating for jasper pf. Shoutout Ryan Chang.

-round etiquette is important and I don't condone abusive behaviour - if I feel you make the debate space unsafe, I will give you auto loss and lowest speaks

-fine with any speed - if your opponents can't handle speed, it is courteous not to spread. At that point, you would be winning not because you have genuinely won, but just because your opponents can't hear what you said

-if you are going very fast, send me and your opponents your case

-will evaluate any arguments tbh but like ur in middle school w middle school times if u read a shell i'll kms (tricks may go over my head if you don't implicate them)

-I'm generous with speaks it's definitely possible to get 30 speaks (see below)

-If you have questions please ask.

For IE's-

did OO for a short while so i get how time signals work but id prefer if an audience member did it

be captivating. tell a story.

-don't be loud just to be loud. use your voice in a purposeful way

-this is your opportunity to make your voice heard.

-Be respectful to all groups of people. I do not tolerate racism sexism homophobia transphobia etc.

-pauses and emphasis

-freytag's pyramid

-movement and blocking are important- don't just stand there

-vocal modulations

how to get extra speaks ???? -

wordplay in your speeches +1

give me food +2

ask meaningful questions before round +1

perform a drake song (an excerpt not the whole thing) +1.5

I'm a typical "some random guy's parent", that already tells a lot. So please address your argument clearly and speak slowly, please DO NOT spread. I will weigh style and arguments equally, and weigh analytics over evidence. Good luck guys!

Hello! I'm Mr.Bergeron, and I'm excited to be judging your round today. I have a background in coaching and competing all platforms of debate (minus Congress), both at the high school and collegiate levels. I competed in these formats before transferring to UT Austin, where I continued my involvement in individual events. Today, my judging approach is rooted in the importance of flowing, realistic links to evidence-supported impacts, and an evaluative weighing of the round.

Judging Criteria:

1. Flow:

   • I will be closely following the flow throughout the round. Clear organization and strategic use of cross-applications will be rewarded.
   • Be sure to signpost and extend arguments throughout the round

2. Realistic Links to Evidence:

   • Ensure that your links to evidence are well-explained and supported.

3. Impacts:

   • Impact analysis is key. Clearly articulate the implications and significance of your arguments in the round.
   • Show how your impacts outweigh your opponent's, and be ready to explain why certain impacts should be prioritized over others.

4. Weighing the Round:

   • I appreciate debaters who engage in active weighing throughout the round. Compare and contrast arguments to guide me in evaluating their relative importance.
   • Make sure to address and resolve conflicting impacts, demonstrating a deep understanding of the round's dynamics.

5. Evaluative Approach:

   • My decision will be based on a comprehensive evaluation of the entire debate. This includes the quality of arguments, strategic choices, and overall performance.
   • I value debaters who adapt to their opponent's arguments, demonstrate critical thinking, and can pivot their strategy when needed.

Remember, clarity is key. Speak at a pace that is comfortable and clear for you, your opponents, and me (I am fine with speed but be clear and remember the event I am judging in). I look forward to a thought-provoking and well-debated round. Good luck!

Southlake Carroll '22, UTD '26

nehapaulina04@gmail.com (put me on the chain please! and reach out to me if you have any questions/concerns/literally anything)

Background: Hi! I'm Neha. I debated for Southlake Carroll for 5 years, 3 in PF and 2 in worlds. In worlds, I did the ¼ and 3 and I won TFA state in 2021. In PF, I qualified for TFA state in my freshman and sophomore years and I broke at a few bid tournaments. I’ve been judging a mix of PF and WSD ever since I graduated. Some of my friends whose paradigms I generally agree with are Sanjay Shori, Shabbir Bohri, Jay Namdhari, and Neel Kanamangala.

TLDR; tech > truth, down for anything that isn't offensive/exclusionary

My view on debate: To steal a quote from Shabbir, "debate is a game, you make the rules, i attempt to make the least biased decision possible based off those rules." My paradigm is simply a list of preferences, and preferences can be overridden by good debating. You have the freedom to run whatever argument you want and I will do my best to judge it fairly. However, the ONLY exceptions to that are arguments that are morally irrepressible. Debate should be a safe space for everyone. I have 0 problem dropping you if you or your argument are exclusionary - including, but not limited to, sexism, homophobia, racism, purposely misgendering, etc. I promise you it's not hard to not be a jerk.

I flip a coin for presumption, heads is aff/prop tails is neg/opp. Feel free to make arguments otherwise. If you're questioning whether to send a doc, err on the side of yes - I reserve the right to ask for one.

Things that matter for both PF and Worlds: I couldn’t care less about what you wear or whether you sit or stand, please do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable. Tech > truth but my threshold for tech decreases the more you forgo truth. In simpler terms, run whatever argument you want, but the more ridiculous it is, the more I’m willing to buy responses to that argument. Speaks: I think speaker points are a really dumb system ESPECIALLY in WSD. so I'm pretty generous on these, as long as you don't annoy me you'll be fine. Auto 30s if it's a bubble round but only in PF, sorry WSDers but speaks inflation is just not as common in this event :(.if you make a joke about/somehow make fun of anbu subramanian: for pfers, auto 30. for wsders, +1 speaker point

I don't necessarily need a trigger warning for suicide-related arguments but please be respectful when talking about that topic.

-WSD-

Given that my background is in PF, I am 100% more tech than your average worlds judge. This could either be a good or bad thing for you.

Content: Like I mentioned earlier, I’m tech > truth, so feel free to run whatever argument you want as long as it’s well-warranted. This is a hot worlds take but I strongly believe and will die on the hill that principle arguments are outweighed by the practical 100% of the time. That being said I won't be biased against them (I know especially for impromptu it can be hard to think of another argument) and I'll evaluate them just like any other argument, but if you want me to vote on the principle you have to weigh unless there's no other offense to vote off. If I'm given 2 competing arguments and no weighing then I default practical > principal. Worlds arguments are stock and repetitive 90% of the time, so I absolutely love seeing unique strats/cases.

Strategy: This is the aspect of the debate I pay the most attention to since at the end of the day, I am a flow judge and whoever wins on the flow wins the round. I absolutely love seeing weighing, I think it’s a really important aspect of debate that a lot of WSDers ignore. If you win the weighing, and you win your link into the weighing, you win the round. Please be comparative to your opponent’s specific arguments instead of just repeating yours over and over. I also love it when teams make a clear worlds comparison analysis.Please, for the love of god, resolve model debates by being comparative and giving me actual argumentation rather than just repeating "tHeIr mOdEl iS aBuSiVe" over and over.

Style: To be quite honest, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that any respectable form of debate would have style make up 40% of the decision. For me, content and strategy will always be significantly more important than style, so don't try to win the round by neglecting arguments in favor of a performance. That being said, I do appreciate humor and seeing your personality in the speech, as long as you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. The main way I award style points is by how organized and easy to flow your speeches are. I genuinely don’t understand why this activity is so bad at signposting, please tell me where you are on the flow or else I won’t know what to do with your argument.

-PF-

It’s been a while since I’ve been involved in PF, so you’d probably best classify me as a flay judge. While I’m not up-to-date on the topic, I catch on to arguments pretty quickly. I can keep up with some speed but if you’re planning on going >200wpm, please send a doc!!

**If I'm judging you in novice: Don't worry about reading this closely at all, I don't expect novices to know the ins and outs of technical debate and will judge accordingly. I will not hold you to the same expectations as varsity, so please feel free to debate in whatever style you like instead of worrying about technicalities just to adapt to me :)

Substance: No new frontlines to any responses from first rebuttal and no new defense in second summary. If you don’t give me a full extension of offense in summary AND final focus (full extension = uq, link, internal link, impact) I’m probably not voting on it. I'm ok with giving novices leeway on this but if I'm judging you in varsity then no excuses. Disads/offensive overviews are fine in first rebuttal but not second. No sticky defense. No new arguments (including weighing unless there's literally no other weighing in the round) in final focus.

Cross: I can’t even put into words how much I don’t care about cross. I’m not voting off anything in cross so if anything important was said, it needs to be in a speech. Please feel free to use cross for prep if you want (#abolishgrandcross), however if you choose to do it, whatever you say is binding.

Progressive: I think progressive arguments have a place in PF, but tbh I'm probably not a good judge for it. I will not accept “bUt tHiS iS pF" as a response unless your opponent straight up drops it. If you're reading multiple off-case arguments please make it clear when you're going from one to the next.

Theory: I’m most familiar with basic theory shells such as disclosure, paraphrase, etc, but you would make my life 10x easier if you ran them in shell format. I default drop the debater (except on T where I default drop the argument), competing interps, and no RVIs, but if you can’t read and warrant paradigm issues you’re getting 20s. I'm ok with blippy shell extensions in the back half of the round. If you're planning on running a more complex shell then please slow down and overexplain it. Please clearly delineate between the different parts of the shell. I'm not up-to-date enough on current pf norms to have many set beliefs, but I do strongly believe that disclosure is good and less strongly that paraphrasing is usually bad. This is not to say you can't win against these shells with me as a judge, but it might be an uphill battle.

Kritiks: A lot of Ks in PF are bad. Your alt needs to solve. I have a very basic understanding of basic Ks so you should definitely really overexplain (especially high theory and non-T/performance Ks) and send me a doc. If you read a floating PIK in PF i’m dropping your speaks. ROTB is fine as long as you run it properly. Perfcons on both theory and Ks are very persuasive. Dumb rhetoric on T-FW like saying it’s violent will annoy me.

Everything else: run them at your own risk just please overexplain

Evidence and Prep: I expect all evidence to be sent cut w/ tags. If it takes you more than 2 minutes to send evidence after your opponent calls for it, I'll start docking your speaks. I will read all evidence sent on the chain, and will ask to see any other cards only if I am explicitly told to do so. please extend ev by author name/year AND what the card said! I try my best to write down all author names but if you're going too fast I won't be able to catch everything (hint: you can avoid this issue by sending a doc!). I don't like evidence debates but I understand they happen a lot in PF - indicts are fine but I would much rather hear defense. Flex prep is fine. I won't time your prep but I will not be lenient on any instances of obvious prep stealing.

Conclusion: While I have a special place in my heart for this activity, debate is super stressful and toxic, so please try to and do whatever you can that makes sure you have fun, because if you're not then there really is no point :) and finally, as the great aamir mohsin once said, "call me sticky cause I'm always posted" (I'm ngl idk what that means)

I am a parent judge, and have been judging debate (PF and occasionally LD) for about three years.

For debate, most important is that you are able to convince me of your arguments. Use evidence / cards and make sure to tie in those cards to your arguments. Manage your time carefully when you get into detailed explanations / rebuttal. Speed is fine as a long as I am able to understand what you are trying to convey. Be respectful to others. Although this is a tournament, make it a fun. educational experience. Humor is always appreciated !

Here are some guidelines, but I am not going to penalize you if you don't follow these, as long as your arguments are clear and convincing.

1. If you are a novice, you may want to spend, maybe, half a minute in your rebuttal, building on some of your arguments from the constructive speech. Even though its a rebuttal, there may be times when you feel that the constructive did not do justice to one or more argument.

2. If you bring up something interesting during crossfire which you think will help your case, try to bring it up in your next speech, to give it more emphasis.

3. Compare using weighing, impact, etc.. That's a good way to summarize your case.

Again, these are suggestions only. You have practiced hard and long, and don't change your flow to adhere to these.

Adding me to our email chain is not mandatory. You can add me if you like, but I am judging by what I hear from you.
abhijeetc23@gmail.com

Good luck !

Hi! My name is Eshaan, and I have been involved in the debate community for a while. I have some experience judging PF and LD.

Here are some pointers that I look for:

Be clear. If I have trouble understanding you, I will have trouble taking proper notes on your speech. Speaking fast is fine as long as you are clear and stay at a reasonable speed.

Be nice in the crossfire. This is a chance to poke holes in your opponent's arguments, but it is important to be respectful as this part of the round can easily get very heated.

Have a clear analysis. I try my best not to intervene in the round and only to vote on arguments made in the debate. I will be willing to vote on an argument that I may otherwise disagree with if you explain your side well. However, you must properly explain your arguments and why I should evaluate them with strong analysis.

Follow standard procedures. Try not to go overtime unless you are just finishing up a sentence. Do not go overtime with your in-round preparation time either. I may time parts of the round, but hold your opponents accountable.

If you have any questions about my paradigm, feel free to ask me before the round. Good luck!

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.

Logic, reason, explanation, impacts. Speed is fine, but winning isn't achieved by numerosity alone: a single quality argument can win the day, particularly if I'm convinced (by you) of why that issue/point matters more than all the others.

Kritik is fine; progressive plans/args/cases are fine--in both cases the argument just needs to make sense.

For congress, I really like crystalization speeches. I tend to observe that bill/reso sponsorship speeches handicap the speaker's ability to demonstrate their thoughtful analysis of counterarguments, so folks should endeavor to give speeches in the whole lifecycle of the debate on bills throughout the session (e.g., don't just give 3 sponsorship speeches). Rehashing previously-argued points without adding value is frowned upon. Last, thinking/arguments that demonstrate an appreciation for second order and third order consequences of a bill are highly respected.

Bit of background: former debater; competed on national circuit in Congress and Extemp; competed statewide in LD, Policy, PF, and Oratory. Now a practicing lawyer. I read, a lot.

Speech kid turned judge. Please try to accommodate on speaking speed/clarity and no theory/kritiks.

kahanaromi@gmail.com for any email chains.

NOVICE JUDGE ONLY

for the chain: arrmanloveschai@gmail.com

hi! i’m arrman (he/him). i’ve debated for the past three years as plano west LK and formerly jasper LK. qualled to gtoc and nats four times each.

please just don’t be problematic, swear it’s not that hard fr

my fav judges: katheryne dwyer, ceci granda-scott, bryce piotrowski, ilan benavi

if both teams agree, i’d love to judge a lay round, best type of debate, minimum 29.5s

a few thoughts on debate:

debating without a laptop is the only real debate. analytics are so underrated. evidence is so overrated. speed is good as long as it’s accessible. theory isn’t as much of a norm setter as people make it out to be. PLEASE paraphrase in rebuttal. don’t read pre written extensions. weighing is the most important part of a round. READ HIDDEN LINKS. k debate is wonderful below 1000ish words. tech debate can still be persuasive. please never read probability weighing, it’s always just new defense.

that is all!

substance debate, s/o will pirone:

If parts of your argument are uncontested, you do not have to extend warrants for conceded internal links in summary and final focus. Definitely extend uniqueness, links, and impacts though. This also applies to impact turns—if your opponents' link is conceded by both sides, you don't have to extend it.

Stolen from Nathaniel Yoon’s paradigm: I will disregard and penalize "no warrant/context" responses on their own. Pair this with any positive content (your own reasoning, weighing, example, connection to another point, etc), and you're fine, just don't point out the lack of something and move on. This also applies to responses such as "they don't prove xyz" or "they don't explain who what when where why"—make actual arguments instead.

Well-warranted analytics are great, blippy analytics are a headache.

In almost all circumstances, link weighing is preferable to impact weighing. Don’t just say extinction outweighs and move on—do comparative analysis on why your link is better(larger, faster, more probable, etc).On a similar note, make sure to resolve clashing link-ins/prereqs—otherwise, I will be very confused and probably have to intervene. This also means that 1FF can read new link weighing mechanisms to resolve clashing prerequisite arguments, as long as they weren’t conceded in first summary.

Defense isn't sticky. That said, I am very lenient towards blippy defense extensions in first summary if second rebuttal doesn't frontline something at all, just make sure it's there.

theory, s/o ilan benavi:

I default to spirit > text, CI > R, No RVIs, Yes OCIs*, DTA

If there are multiple shells introduced, make sure to do weighing between them

*OCIs good is the one thing in my paradigm that you cannot alter with warrants. If you win that your shell is better under a model of competing interpretations, or win turns to your opponents’ interp, you win

Lots of judges like to project their preferences on common debate norms when evaluating a theory round. That's not me. I prefer comprehensive disclosure and cut cards, but I'll vote for theory bad, ridiculous I-meets and anything else u can think of and win (that "and win" bit is most important)

Theory should be read immediately after the violation. You must answer your opponent's shell in the speech after it was read (unless there is a theoretical justification for not doing this)

Not a stickler about theory extensions — most LD/Policy judges would cringe at PF FYO’s dropping a team because they forgot to extend their interp word-for word the speech after it was read. Shells don’t need to be extended in rebuttal, only summary and final focus — I do expect all parts of the shell to be referenced in that extension

Substance crowd-out is most definitely an impact, and reasonability can be very persuasive

k debate, s/o ceci:

I learned the basics of Ks and hit a couple in my career, but not super well versed in literature. Just explain clearly, and know that if you're having a super complicated K round you are subjecting yourself to my potential inability to properly evaluate it. With that:

• Identity/performances/talking about the debate space/explaining why the topic is bad = that’s all good.

• If you run ‘dadaism’ or ‘linguistics’ I will be upset that you have made me listen to that for 45 minutes, and I’ll be extra receptive to reasons why progressive arguments are bad for the debate space; you will definitely not get fantastic speaks even if I begrudgingly vote for you because you won the round.

I hate reading Ks and just spreading your opponents out of the round. Please don’t make K rounds even harder to keep up with in terms of my ability to judge + I’m hesitant to believe you’re actually educating anyone if no one can understand you.

when RESPONDING to prog: i've found that evidence ethics are super bad here. It makes me annoyed when you misconstrue critical literature and read something that your authors would disagree with. Don't do it

Trix are for kids. If I hear the words “Roko’s Basilisk” I will literally stop the round and submit my ballot right there so I can walk away and think about the life choices that have led me here.

speaks (how to boost them):

no laptop done well - 30

no laptop done not well - 29

speed but you’re clear - good

speed but you’re unclear - 28

hidden links - YAY

lots of analytics - YAY

reading a para shell against rebuttal evidence - 27

and if there’s anything i can ever do to make debate more comfortable for you, don’t ever hesitate to lmk

- arrman

Hello,

My name is Atul Kapoor. I am a lay judge with a solid amount of judging experience. Please explain your arguments clearly, and speak at a pace with emphasis on quality of your argument rather than quantity. Do not spread and do not overload your speech with debate jargon. I will do my best to judge only off what I am given in the round, so please do the work for me and don't make me have to intervene. Please add me to the email chain at kapoor.atul@gmail.com.

I don't base my judgment on your crossfire, so please don't use it to persuade me. Crossfire is for you to understand your opponent's case and address it in your next speeches. Pretend I'm not listening during crossfire. Make your case in the next speech.

If you're presenting an extinction argument, make sure it's believable. For instance, arguing that affirming or negating healthcare for all could lead to nuclear war and extinction seems far-fetched. If your opponents present an extension argument that seems implausible, address it. It shouldn't only be me thinking it's not plausible.

I assess your speaker points based on clarity, articulation, appropriate speed, and eye contact.

I will do my best to disclose my decision when I am allowed to, and will leave feedback on the ballot. Above all, remember to have fun and be respectful to your opponents!

Best of luck!

If you plan on speaking above 200 wpm, you need to send a speech doc 2 minutes before you begin speaking. If you don't, I can't guarantee that I'll catch everything you say and if I don't catch it, I can't judge it.

Please be respectful to myself and your fellow contestants. If not, your speaker points will be docked and you may lose the ballot regardless of arguments made.

I am a traditional parent/judge who votes off the flow, so if you plan on reading progressive arguments, make sure you explain them well.

Offense and Defense is sticky within reason.

As a parent judge with one year of experience, I prioritize clarity, logical structure, and respectful engagement in debates. While I'm still becoming familiar with technical jargon and advanced debate theory, I appreciate arguments that are clearly explained and well-supported with solid evidence.

I value debaters who present their points in a well-organized manner and make it easy for me to follow the flow of the debate. Persuasion and logical reasoning are key factors in my decision-making, and I look for arguments that not only present strong reasoning but also engage with and respond to the opposing side’s points thoughtfully.

Respectful discourse is important to me, and I expect debaters to address each other’s arguments professionally, avoiding any aggressive or dismissive behavior.

I also focus on the quality of evidence presented and want debaters to explain why their arguments matter by discussing real-world impacts. Rebuttals and clash are crucial to a strong performance, as I expect debaters to directly address the other side’s key points.

Since I am relatively new to judging, I may not fully understand technical or theory-heavy arguments, so if you choose to use them, please explain them in a clear and accessible way.

Ultimately, I strive to make an informed decision based on how well the debaters communicate their arguments and engage with the debate as a whole.

CONFLICTS JOHN PAUL II HS, JPII, PLANO ISD

I teach AP World History, World History-Honors and World History at Clark HS - Plano ISD. At my previous job, I was the assistant debate coach for four years where I specialize in research in all forms of debate, foreign and domestic extemp.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Decades ago at Jesuit of Dallas and Georgetown University in the 1970s and early 1980s I debated. While I began in Policy/CX, I gravitated towards Model UN debate on the college circuit. As a teacher I was the Academic Decathlon lead coach for 15 years and assisted with it later as an administrator for a total of 23 years. While coaching I learned to judge LD, PF and Domestic and Foreign Extemp. Since 2015 I was the Assistant Debate and Speech Coach at John Paul II HS and have added PFD. Since 2021, I have worked in Plano ISD and now judge as Plano and my school need me.

My degrees are a BS in Foreign Service and a Masters of Arts in Modern History. I am bilingual in Spanish and German and have been a teacher since 1988. I have also been a public school district coordinator of social studies, foreign languages and gifted education as well as a high school coordinator of curriculum. I have taught college and currently teach AP World History. I am a national consultant for AP World History and a national reader of AP essays.

JUDGING, PARADIGMS, PREFERENCES

I am familiar with almost any and every topic you will have. I was trained to be a diplomat and opted not to work for the Central Intelligence Agency or Defense Intelligence Agency on moral grounds. I am a voracious daily reader of newspapers, magazines, fiction, history, politics, economics and religion. And I have a strong philosophical background thanks to eight years of a Jesuit education. I am not a big fan of theoretical arguments so much as substantiated points and I really need to be able to follow your case. Roadmaps and sign-posting help! I am a big-picture judge. Defending against a single card or argument is not as important as the whole case. And I would rather see a few well-articulated points than a lot of little points which seemingly bury me and your opponent under minutia.

As a judge I am very traditional - I prefer old-school value and criterion! I hate spreading – do not lose accuracy and articulation for speed. Please stand when you present. And while I know students like to flash cases, somehow I grew up in a day when this was like giving away the playbook. I like it when debaters ask to see each other’s cards and evidence. I do not like shocks or oddities that involve contradiction of reality and thought. But as I have told my own debaters after returning from summer camps, I will try to accurately and intelligently judge any debate. Be forewarned however.

Just because I speak German and am familiar with Kritik theory does not mean that I am a fan of it. I am also not a very good judge of Kritik so run it at your own risk. Please take time to explain your K to me and do not assume I have read your authors, content, etc.

If you have any questions before the round starts please don't hesitate to ask. I will try my best at the end of each round to highlight a few things each debater can improve upon – I will even suggest cases, reads, and cards. I do not like to disclose because I have to read my notes and think sometimes before making a final decision. I do give low point wins but rarely. My hopes are that you will always debate to the best of your abilities.

Lastly, debate should not be a diatribe or show of hostility. For me while debate can be confrontational, in so many ways I am a British barrister or solicitor. I would prefer that all debaters be civil towards each other – treat the room as if you were in a court of law. And this judge insists upon professionalism and correct decorum. I would rather not have to cite any participants for contempt in speaker points. And I deplore racism, ethnic bias, gender bias, homophobia, and religious bias either for or against a faith or lack of faith.

LINCOLN DOUGLAS

Your evidence is important. And just dropping a card, a name and a citation is dumb without an explanation to what the source believes and why it supports your argument or refutes your opponent’s argument. State or question the qualification of authors and compare their warrants. This is critical in Advanced Placement historical writing and in all debates I judge!

It is my opinion that current debaters waste Cross-Examination time far too much. Learn to use it well. Please ask and answer questions.

While Policy has a 2AC, LD does not have it in the same way. This means that AC has to use the 1 AR much more aggressively than Policy. I like to see 1 AR go on the offense on as many of the negative positions, points as possible. This scores voters for me.

Please tell me why you should win, why your opponent should not win and prove it. It is likely your final statement in a court of law. And you can win or lose on how you handle voters. I vote on what I have been able to flow and understand. This begins with who in my opinion won the framework debate. Then I look for evidence to either substantiate my belief or refute it.

PFD

I love PF. As with other types of debate, I prefer substance to delivery and style. Content is rarely a problem for me. I read constantly. My first year with PF I researched and presented Catalonian independence as my first venture into teaching PF. For me it was part of being a Spanish-speaker, an FC Barcelona fan and a historian of European history and politics!

CX

While this was my initial introduction in 1973 to Debate at Jesuit, later I was lost to other types of debate. I wanted to be a diplomat rather than a lawyer. And as a devout Catholic with strong Jewish tendencies, life is often more about abstract issues of faith and philosophy rather than the law which the old Romans so loved. Ergo I found I like other forms of debate. However in a crunch when a tournament needs to push a ballot and procure a judge, I would do it. But like my Latin, my CX is rusty. I understand more than I know but am really out of touch. So it is best if you assume nothing if you have me in a CX round. I will have a lot of ideas about your topic as I have successful CX students in our program. They constantly ask me for research.

Bottom line - I am a Stock Issues Paradigm judge. Avoid spreading - speak slowly. After all slowing down still means you could be speeding! And flesh out your arguments.

COMPUTERS

Computers have become a part of debate whether I like it or not. All debaters should have to suffer making cards, carrying vast card files around, and developing both research skills and muscles. OK, enough reminiscing.

Flash, jump cases and documents in a timely manner – before or at worse, immediately at the end of a speech to allow them time to prepare. I will not count the time against you.

Debating with a laptop is a choice but also sadly a necessity. If your opponent does not have one, be prepared to show him/her your laptop or surrender it to him/her as needed. Your need to prep is outweighed by your opponent’s need for that information.

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!

Treat me like a lay judge, so please don't spread-if I'm a bit slow, please bear with me

I'd prefer if you didn't run theory shells or Ks, but if you choose to do so, please explain in depth.

Racism, sexism, homophobia, or rudeness/bigotry of any kind will result in 0 speaks and an auto loss

Tech > truth, but keep your arguments sensible

I encourage you to share your case document (PDF format) with me at r_prasanna@yahoo.com

Speak Loud and clear.. Have fun debating!

I am a parent judge, who has 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 super long questions during cross-ex, and allow the other team to 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, enjoy it!!

I'M A NEW PARENT JUDGE. This is my first time ever judging a debate.

I expect the debate topic to be explained clearly and not too fast. No spreading.

Rudeness will result in low points.

I am a current PF debater for Grapevine Highschool, I have history in LD and Congress. I have broken at Emory and multiple local tournaments.

Im a pretty chill judge feel free to talk about music and pop culture or just talk about rounds with me. That being said I like a light round but don’t sacrifice that for taking away from serious topics.

If you insult your opponents or make any derogatory claims except a loss

I definitely prefer more lay appeal. I like composed articulate speaking and points. That being said I’m good with progressive arguments NO DISCLOSURE THEROY though. For spreading all I ask is send me the file if you intend to spread. DONT SPREAD AGAINST A NOVICE.

PF:

GIVE ME OFF-TIME ROADMAPS

Please extend your arguments and impacts through all speeches.

Rebuttals: First Speakers should really just attack the opposition but remember to extend. Second Speakers: I expect both offense and defense.

Summary: Give me offense and defense then weighing

Final Focus: VOTERS what does the round collapse to? What should I vote off of?

Evidence abuse: If your evidence is inappropriately highlighted I will not weigh the card. So make sure the card says what the tagline does or I will be very disappointed.

Crossfire: I prefer aggressive crossfires not rude just aggressive I also do weigh crossfire in the round so if you concede to a question I will take that as a valid warrant.

I go off the flow I’m aware of what my paradigm says but if you’re opponent for example concedes a question and you don’t bring it up then obviously it doesn’t matter. I can’t read you’re mind please explain to me your warrant don’t just say “they concede and drop this”

Debate is fun, these are serious topics but to quote the poet 21 Savage “how many problems you got? A lot” we all have actual problems in our lives with real magnitudes, timeframes, and probabilities so please enjoy and have fun in debate don’t make it another thing you’re constantly worried about.

I will give you extra speaker points for jokes and references.

I am the coach of a highly successful speech and debate team in Plano, TX. I am a two diamond coach in the NSDA and coach all debate events. In college, I was a policy debater and still enjoy the nuances of policy debate. Overall, I follow the logic in debate. I don't care about how you look, but I always follow the logic. As such, I always flow every round. If I am sitting there looking at you while you are delivering, that is a bad sign because you are not giving me arguments to flow. I am quite happy to give a low point win if one debater is a fantastic speaker but the other debater had the best arguments. My paradigms for the different debates are as follows:

L/D: I am more of a traditionalist with L/D debate. You can speak fast, but I want to know you can communicate. Don't spread. I enjoy the philosophical aspects to LD, but as an old policy debater, you must back up what you say with evidence. Give me a value and go deep with your framework. Because I was a policy debater, I do enjoy unique cases and actually believe that a K is fun in LD. So, feel free to give a unique perspective on your resolution. However, as I stated earlier, communicate it to me. In Policy, I don't care about the dressing, but in LD I do.

PFD: Show me you can work as a team. I am fine with you dividing up the workload. I am a framework judge. Really explain your FW, don't just say, "Judge, you must vote this way if..." In reality, I can do what I want. If I really should vote a certain way "if.." then explain why fully. For your rebuttals, group your arguments. Kick out what doesn't work. Again, give me something to flow. I want deep warranting. Explain, explain, explain.

Policy: I love policy! Topicality is one of my favorite arguments. Disads need to be bad, really bad. Don't give "might happens" as the fact that they "might not" is running through my mind. Don't whine and call arguments by your opponent abusive, unless they truly are. I rarely agree when debaters call the opponents arguments abusive. This is debate, research and develop arguments of your own and stop complaining that you didn't have time. Your harms need to be significant as do any advantages. K's are fine, but they better be explained well.

Speech: For oratory and Informative speaking, I am looking for a unique perspective on the topic you chose. With Informative, inform me. I don't mind advocacy but I am not looking for a Persuasive speech. I do not want an act, I want to know you care about the topic you are presenting and that this is a speech, not an act.

Interp: I try really hard not to take notes during your performance as I want to give you my full attention. If you can make me forget that I am timing you, that is a great thing indeed. It means, you took me to a new place, time, thought and away from the real world for the moment. That means you hit the mark! I love that. I enjoy all types of selections, those with many characters and those with one. I judge on how well you performed that selection.

Congress: Congress is a wonderful event. I want you to clash with the other debaters in the chamber. If we are in the fourth or fifth speech on a particular piece of legislation, you better be bringing something new for argumentation or your speech will not be ranked high. I judge on the quality of your research.

hi guys! i'm currently attending jasper high school, and i'll be going to plano west in a year. i've been debating for 4 years approx, and i'm well-versed in pf and most ies.

read bold for tldr

PF:

add me to the email chain, rishtish4@gmail.com

for general etiquette, don't be rude/racist/sexist/homophobic/etc. because debate is supposed to be about having fun and education. basically, if you make the debate space unsafe i will drop you and and best give you lowest speaks. please don't be rude in cross or to your opponents in general, just be chill and have fun debating.

i'm generally good with speed as long as you send a doc. I'll flow what i can understand if you don't send a doc. don't spread just for the sake of spreading, make sure the arguments you make are good and can win you the round.

for speaking,try not to only look at your computer the whole time. it's generally a good skill to be able to make eye contact with judges in lay rounds, plus i don't want to hear 1 hour of speeches of a doc because then it's pointless to have speakers.do your best to have vocal inflections. remember, you are still giving a speech. it's going to be really boring to me if everything sounds the same. for big numbers and impacts, having vocal modulations to show me what's important will help a lot.

i evaluate by looking at the weighing first. if you are winning the weighing, I'll look to you're case first and see if you're winning case. if you're not winning case, I'll look to the second most probably link into the weighing if there is one. if neither side links into weighing, ill look to the side with the most offense and the best weighed impacts in the round. that being said,please extend weighing in summary and final. defense is not sticky. i won't shadow extend things for you. also,please do comparative weighing or metaweighing so i get a sense of who's weighing i should look to in round.

substance: I'll understand most arguments but I'll need you to explain them thoroughly in the backhalf of the debate if you want me to vote off of it. i need clear extensions of the whole argument extended in the backhalf. if you want to make responses to their case, the responses should be in rebuttal. I'll grant a little leeway if your extensions of responses are slightly blippy in the backhalf as long as they were super well warranted in rebuttal. make sure you collapse in the backhalf. if you want to go for 3 arguments in summary, that's fine but i'm going to be really confused on where to look especially if you don't weigh. PLEASE SIGNPOST!!

theory: i'm probably not the best person to read theory on. i understand how theory debate works but i've never really debated it much myself. if you're going to read interps, you need to have warrants for every part of your shell. you buy yes RVIs or DTDs or anything, make sure you read warrants. i'll vote on the interp that best wins under the best weighing that is done in the round. the best bet would probably be to read offensive counterinterps and just weigh them.

kritiks: i like k debate but if you're going to read k's or responses to k's make sure you don't just read cards but actually explain what each response means in the context of the round. if an argument only gets crystallized for me in like 2nd summary i'm probably not voting on it. that being said, i won't vote of new arguments past 2nd summary unless there's conceded warrants as to why new responses should be allowed. but also if you're reading k's in middle school what are you doing.

congress:

i don't really know much about congress, but just make smart arguments and be perceptually strong. look at my pf paradigm for info about how i evaluate arguments in general

IEs:

same thing applies here as it does for debate, don't be rude, sexist, homophobic, etc. or i will rank you super low

OI: freytag's pyramid, tell a story and be captivating

binder events: please look up from your binder and don't just read off of it, i won't be able to connect to you as well if i never get to look at your face

memorized events: have fun and use facial expressions, don't just be loud to be loud, if you mess up it's totally okay but just try to keep going, use blocking appropriately and make sure it works with the scene (basically have purposeful movements)

oratory: i'll try to also listen to content just as much as delivery, i will like most subject matter as long as it doesn't discriminate against a certain group of people, make sure your speech is organized (just make sure i'm not confused by the end of the speech), have good organization

extemp: i'm not going to lie i have very little experience in extemp, i'll mostly focus on delivery and how well you present yourself, i'll do my best to follow content so make it easy for me to understand your points, please come to round prepared (one time someone pulled up to round and didn't know he was supposed to draw lol), please use an AGD and have all the components of a speech

just have fun and do your best :)

I debated Public Forum 4 years in High school

All I ask is that you speak clearly and at an understandable pace. If I can't hear you I cannot flow your arguments.

I default to weighing the round off of impacts I suggest making time in your speech for impact analysis, especially in summary and final those speeches should be used to crystalize your main arguments not try and extend everything that has been said in the round. Use framing like probability, timeframe, and magnitude to your advantage by comparing directly with your opponent's impacts and tell me why your arguments are more important.

Make sure you warrant clearly. Impacts don't mean much if you don't have a solid link chain you can defend and is logical.

I also like hearing unique and niche arguments.

Besides that it's your round debate it how you like.

Aidanwevo@gmail.com

Hello, I'm a parent judge. I prefer slower and clearer speaking. I will vote on arguments with the best logic and supporting evidence.

Have fun!