Hey everyone, if you're reading this chances are I'm probably judging you so here some things I generally value in rounds. This will mostly apply to WSD as it was my event of choice for 4 years.

Things that make my job hard:

• Debating on margins (restrictive definitions, abusive framing)
• Not being comparative and charitable to your opponents

If this happens, I need reasons as to why I should prefer one interpretation over the other. If the debate comes down to two ships sailing in the night I can't resolve it without intervening.

Things that make my job easy:

• Clearly identifying the clashing material of the debate and weighing between and within those clashes.
• Weighing the framing of arguments and clash on a meta-level (things independent of layered rebuttal e.g. the role of the argument, why I should prefer a specific type of argument as opposed to another)
• Weigh the mechs/warrants behind the argument - tell me why your reasons matter more/are better than your opposition esp. in the case where there are shared impacts which happens more often than not simply due to the nature of WSD.
• Weigh impacts if they are differentiated.
• Be strategic. Don't carry down an unwarranted framing debate to the third speeches especially when there are far better ways to allocate time in terms of forwarding arguments, making good weighing, even-if statements, or just biting the bullet and engaging. More times than not if the framing is that ridiculous, I'll buy the ref coming from O1, it doesn't matter if your opponent sticks to a bad framework if I not leaning towards it anyway. Don't overcompensate! Good judge direction and being explicit from the onset will be more than enough to sway me in favor of your side.

A combination of the aforementioned stuff is the best way to get a decision you agree with from me. A lack of these things will result in a level of intervention that you probably won't like.

I'm not super authoritarian when it comes to style. If I can flow it and you signpost you'll do fine. I think the most refined speeches are a combination of content, strategy, and style, but I’d pivot more towards content and strategy rather than semantics and rhetoric.

True Principle Arguments are fun to see in action but they need to be properly extended and weighed against the practical otherwise I’ll just have a spot on the flow of a principle that was well established but poorly leveraged against other arguments. p.s. not enough to just say the principle matters more, there's need to be analysis i.e. if you're running a reparations argument examples of weighing line(s) could be:

• Practical benefits that place X group of people secondary are immoral because of the unique historical injustice committed against them (urgency)
• We ought to fulfill this principle because of this specific condensed harm that has affected a population for decades vs a marginal harm that affects people temporarily (intensity of harm)

all and all, trust yourself, debate well, and have fun

if you have questions you can reach me at ebenezer.g.appiah@gmail.com

LC Anderson22

UT26

email for email chains:

eliza.avramova@gmail.com

pf: speed is fine, cards should be well cut, bring up everything you want me to know in your speech, framing should happen in constructive or top of the rebuttal, disclosure also needs to happen in constructive, no new offensive arguments past rebuttal - offense needs to be extended in summary, your links should be coherent, if something important happens in cross, make sure to also mention it in subsequent speeches, summary and final focus should mirror each other, tech > truth but remember that one to an extent determines the other, for progressive arguments i will try my best to evaluate them but probs not to the extent of an ld/cx judge so keep that in mind when running them; postround me till you understand my decision

congress: clash! warrant your arguments and weigh your impacts - comparative framework works best since there are so many arguments made in the round / internal links need to be coherent / i am open to diff types of arguments and structures / too much rehash = lower rank, but a good constructive with clash will be ranked high. make sure to be engaging (don't rely too much on reading off the pad), but remember that this is a debate event in the first place - no canned agds pls - try to find a uniqueness that works for you; sources (reputable and academic in nature) need to be cited and used always, with that being said your research is just one part, but your analysis is what matters most / good crystals will be ranked high - but it needs to go above weighing in the comparative framework --> in addition to that extend your side with new impact or evidence, win the side and debate overall. pls don't use a questioning block just to agree with a speaker, this time should be used for rebuttal. be convincing, but respectful; be active - congress is all about strategy / win the game; being aggressive (yelling and getting mean) doesn’t make you win the round

• for po's: i will rank you, but you need to know rules/structure of debate and be able to move the debate along smoothly, i shouldn't need to interfere, but i will always keep a chart to keep track - if there are consistent errors i will rank you lower

ie: do what you need to do, all topics can be super interesting, but make sure to always be aware of your surroundings and give proper trigger warnings

feel free to ask me questions before the round starts!

have fun!!

Hi, I am a graduate who competed for Dripping Springs High School participating in mainly PF and Worlds.

Email:

brett.banks@utexas.edu- Add me to the chain, please!

Worlds:

I am a blank slate and treat this event as truth > tech. I have plenty of experience with this event so I know the ins and outs. This event is all about clash so please avoid being repetitive.

PF:

Tech > Truth within reason here. Add me to the chain.

LD/CX:

Very much traditional here, however, I am open to voting on anything. Just try to simplify any complicated arguments for me. I will almost always vote on the shortest path to the ballot.

Speech:

I honestly have no idea how to judge a speech event properly so just try to be fluent.

Hey dudes !

I am a rad debate dad. I’ve judged world schools pretty frequently and consider myself to be a pretty okay judge. I’ll vote you up on style content and strategy, but really try and sell what you’re saying to me.

truth> tech

signposting will help you a lot

im a proud speech dad:)

speech events for me:

info, OO :

am I being informed , am I being persuaded and am I being entertained? This all is important to me in these events

try your best to know your material back and forth so you are able to make the best presentation possible when it’s Go time ????

DI, HI:

Does your piece move me and bring emotion to the surface-is it thought provoking ?

Congress : this always is entertaining to me

a good mix of speech and worlds debate here-

Please know your bills and cases for them - I pay attention close to that as well as the cross fire of questions afterwards and how you respond or how you are asking the questions if you are in that case

PF/LD-

this is all about your cases being built very strong - so this is research and memory and able to be quick on your feet in the crossfire questioning

please no spreading

amen.

let’s have some fun!

General Paradigms:

-My greatest emphasis in a debate round is impact (what are we debating, if not the topic's impact on people/society as a whole?)

-I place great weight on logical progression of ideas, and the closer your links line up, the better off you will be

-Be cautious when using jargon since I only have limited debate experience

-Speak slowly and clearly. It does not matter how good your argument is if I can't understand it. DO NOT SPREAD. Whatever speed you believe is not spreading, slow down an additional 50%.

-As someone with extensive speech experience through choir, theatre, and voice acting, I am always listening for speaking quality as well as arguments, and a good presentation can take you a long way.

Event Specific Paradigms:

-IE Events: always make sure that any modulation in your performance is motivated. Emphasis, speed, and volume are all well and good but they do nothing if their placement doesn't make any sense

• PF/LD: always be sure to keep track of your arguments. If you make a claim about your opponent's argument that is not true, it illustrates that you are simply reading off a pre-prepared script without actually properly engaging in the debate.

Worlds School's Debate

This is the event I am most comfortable with, as I competed in this event for 4 years and spend a considerable amount of time judging/coaching WSD.

I will vote for the team that best proved their argument was true. For practical arguments, this means establishing characterizations, giving me multiple (preferably independent) mechanisms/links, and giving me clear impacts. For principle arguments, that means establishing that the principle is true and explaining to me why/how you fulfill the principle and why your opponents violate it. All arguments should be comparative (!), don't just critique your opponents world, actively/offensively tell me why your world is better. And of course, weigh your arguments (!) whether that be impact weighing, mechanism weighing, or metaweighing. Metaweighing is an easy way to get multiple paths to the ballot and score some strategy points.

It is not enough to prove to me that your world is "good" or that your opponents world is "bad", you must prove to me that your world is comparatively preferable to your opponents.

I very much prioritize content over style, as far as style goes all that matters is that you're speaking at a reasonable rate, your speech is easy to follow, and that you are not just reading off the paper but rather genuinely giving a speech. Can def score some extra points for good rhetoric/structure tho

PF/LD

I have judged PF/LD a decent amount 2 years, and will vote for the team with the least mitigated link chain and most strongly weighed impact, just debate good

If you ever have any questions or would like further feedback, you can reach out to me at diegocastilloo@icloud.com

If you get me as your judge in any event outside of these three, I am so sorry

Would prefer not spreading, but if you do then please send me a document.

I'm Jasmine, I did 4 years of Speech in high school and I now compete in the JV bracket of intercollegiate policy debate for Trinity University.

Email for the speech docs: jasmineevenstad@gmail.com

Policy debate:

Please don't talk too fast. I am still pretty new to this. I have one and a half years experience in novice and JV college policy debate (I do not have prior high school experience). Please don't assume that I know everything that you're talking about including jargon (I know most of the policy glossary at this point but still) just to be safe I would really like for you to explain your arguments and what they should mean for me as the judge. I need you to be persuasive and clear with how you're clashing with the opponent. I'm a big fan of K debate. When judging other debate events it is frustrating for me when I subjectively agree with one side, but if that side simply is not making the arguments well enough I will not connect the dots for them so it is up to you to persuade me. I guess that makes me a tabula rasa judge, or blank slate.

World Schools Debate:

Speeches should utilize all three criteria (content, style, and strategy) in order to deliver the most convincing presentation of their case. I will evaluate holistically based on which team employs these criteria the best and therefore is most convincing. Use POIs strategically in order to poke holes in the opponents case and make them explain their reasoning/evidence/analysis, which you could use in rebuttals later. Make sure to clash with the opponent, clearly point out where their case is flawed, by the end of the round you should make it very clear why the world of the Prop is better than the Opp, or vice versa.

Prose/Poetry/HI/DI/POI:

I really appreciate a performer who really embodies the character in order to get the messaging across. A memorized, meaningful intro is important. I'm not looking for constant yelling/crying, rather theatrics that are used to get the mood across. Stay in character, "popping" is important too, use timing, think meaningful pauses and switch up your tone/pacing when necessary. Remember it is a performance, so do what you can to clearly portray the author's/your message that you are sending with this piece. I also pay attention to and appreciate good cutting--think structure, plot, etc. The piece should be cut around a clear distinguishable climax, and structured in an order that makes sense to tell the story to the audience.

FX/DX:

This is a challenging event (but so rewarding!) The important thing to me is not a flawless delivery (though that is very impressive), but a speech that is well structured with a clear, defensible answer to the question. Clever intro that ties into the rest of the speech (revisited again at the conclusion) are always appreciated! You should have 2-3 reasons to support your answer, each one with your own intelligent analysis andsources. The extemp walk is super useful too, (muscle memory) and a good way to demonstrate structure within your speech.

Info:

This was my favorite event in high school! The most important thing here is a good, interesting topic that you analyze thoroughly and with a unique perspective. The most important word in Info is implications. What are the implications of your topic? Don't just tell me about it, tell me why in detail why I should care and how it affects me. I LOVE an interactive, creative visual, it is important that you use it purposefully, not just cause. A visual should enhance your points and be used at the right moment so as to not distract from your speech. Delivery is important (be clear and loud), but do not be robotic! Show some personality and of course humor is always appreciated.

Oratory:

Oratory is a super cool and unique event. The point of an oratory is to make the audience think about your topic in a way they never have before. Your speech should leave the room with a new perspective on your topic that they may want to incorporate in their own lives. I.e. If your topic is about, say, coffee, I should be left educated and with a brand new perspective of thinking about coffee. Be persuasive! Show me that your unique thoughts on coffee are worth every second of your ten minutes. Be engaging, loud, clear, and persuasive in your delivery. Humor is always appreciated.

Hi guys, I'm Suchit. I've debated at Coppell ('23) for 4 years, primarily in world schools, but I have some minimal experience in LD. Half the reason I'm involved in debate is that I have fun doing so, so let's keep it that way and avoid being problematic (racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.)

If I'm judging you in PF/LD, I'm not the most experienced with the format, so slow down a bit for me. You don't have to go conversational, but I'm not used to people spreading. I'd probably be best described as a flay judge. I'm willing to vote on anything, but it's your responsibility to prove why I should vote on it/why I should care. If you're running a k, you're going to have to explain it well to make me feel comfortable voting on it.

WSD:

The biggest thing I have is to be fair when you're debating. If your strategy is to straw man your opponents or use abusive models/definitions, I'm probably not going to vote for you. I like to see well-warranted arguments with impacts that are weighed in the context of the round. I'll try not to intervene whatsoever, but typically, the worse an argument is (in terms of warrants, how true it is, if there are any contradictions, etc.), the lower the burden on the other team there is to refute it. That isn't to say that I won't vote for an argument that I don't like/believe; if an argument is untouched down the bench, I'm left to assume that it's true.

I love principled arguments and have found myself voting on them a lot recently, but that's typically because the practical is too messy or isn't explained well enough. I have no qualms with valuing a principle over a practical, but you generally need to do a lot of work explaining why I should vote on it.

Speaking of which, weighing is a huge thing for me. I'll vote for anything (unproblematic of course), but only if you tell me why I should. This isn't just within a clash, but on an overarching level (meta-weighing). Tell me why some arguments matter more than others. Tell me why some impacts are more important than others. If I don't get any of this, I'm left to intervene and choose what I believe is most important, and you definitely don't want that.

If you have any questions about a round or want further feedback, feel free to reach out to me at suchitineni@gmail.com

email: vadajanak@gmail.com

pronouns: she/her/hers

About me-

My name is Vada Janak :)

I currently coach at LBJ Early College HS in Austin. Go Jags!

I competed for Tuloso-Midway HS (2016-2020)

I did CX, LD, WSD, and Big Questions on the debate side in high school. I also did Congress and Extemp. I've placed state and nationally in WSD and placed at the state level in CX. I qualified to the national tournament each year of high school, and collected bids to the TOC & NIETOC.

TLDR:

First, do what you're good at! I would much rather judge a round that you are comfortable having than judge one where you are trying to match my paradigm word for word.

Given that you:

1) explain the claim, warrant, and impact to your arguments. You will have a better chance of me correctly evaluating your arguments the way you want me to.

2) Make sure, on that note to properly explain your positions, don’t make an assumption that I know your DA scenario, K jargon, or weird philosophies. Help me out, so that I can help you out

3) Have comparative analysis of evidence, arguments, and/or performative styles as it compares to your own and how I ought to prioritize impacts as it relates to your framing of the round.

4) Be Persuasive, it will go a long way to making me to sign my ballot your way if you can make the round enjoyable, touching, funny, etc – it will also help your speaks.

-Please note: there is a clear distinction between persuasion and passion and being rude. I do not take kindly to rudeness, and it will show in your speaks.

5) Write the ballot for me in your last speech, tell me how you win. Take risks, and don’t go for everything. Make me think, “woah, cool, gonna vote on that” “When what they said in the last rebuttal was exactly how I prioritized stuff too, judging is soooo easy [it's often not :(]". If you tell me how to vote, why I should vote that way, and why it matters for the round, it will be an easier ballot for you.

6) It has also been a while since I have judged policy in person so please read slower (faster than convo speed but slow enough that you're not gasping for air every 4 seconds), at least on analytics. If you want to sample a speed for me before the round, just ask and I will let you know if that is too fast.

The real one:

1st: policy

2nd: WSD

3rd: LD

Policy:

I was most comfortable doing a blend of traditional and progressive CX in high school. I ran PTX DA's, T, and Cap K the most out of every argument on the Neg. I ran soft left policy affs on the China, Education, and Arm Sales topics, but I ran a K Aff on immigration.

Affs:

You can run either a plan, K Aff, or a performative aff. I am more familiar and understanding of plan text aff's, but I really appreciate the literature and concepts behind the K aff's I have seen. Given that, I will probably need those types of aff's to be explained more in the later speeches and probably read at a slower speed.

DA's:

DisAds are probably my favorite cup of tea. My go to has always be the politics DA. I am familiar with probably every DA there is. Case specific links are always preferred. Don't just read 4 generic DA's unless that's all you have. However, if it is pretty generic, it will take less work for the aff to tell me no link. Also explain the internal link! The more you tell me about how we really get from the plan text to nuke war the better time we will both have. And please please please do real impact calculus and evaluation. Don't just say "The DA outweighs the case." Tell me why.

T:

I am a firm believer in the idea that a well ran T can be voted on in the 2NR. Given that, if you go for T, it should be the ONLY thing in the 2NR, and it should be easily explained and have voters.

CP's:

Tell me how the CP works, why its mutually exclusive, and specifically how it actually solves the aff and prevents the DA. And if you're going to put 8 different planks, tell me how each of those is important. If the Aff doesn't perm the CP or give me a good reason why it doesn't solve, I'll more than likely vote for it. If it is not specified by either team, I assume the CP is unconditional.

K's:

Like I said above, not my cup of tea, but I would like them to be. I'm familiar with Cap and Neolib, so anything out of that area will need to be explained. Please use case/resolution specific links. You can read your "state action links" cards, but the aff has a pretty good footing to tell me why that's a bad link. UNLESS, state action is unique to your K and you explain to me how this isn't the same thing you read every round. Typically, the impact to the K and the Aff are drastically different so please tell me how to evaluate your systematic oppression impact to their nuke war. I hold K's to their alt's. Unless the Neg tells me why, how, and when the alt happens/who can engage with the alt/how the ballot plays a role in facilitating the alt, the Aff pretty much has free reign to tell me that the Alt doesn't solve.

Theory:

If your opponents have given you a real reason to run theory please do! I strongly believe in debaters having discussions with each other about how one of their actions was bad for debate. I also will vote off of Condo bad, especially if you read more than 5 off :)

WSD:

This was by far my favorite event to compete in in high school. I think that it offers the most real world skills and provides the most real education

I started competing in WSD in 2016. The event has drastically changed since then, but I believe how it was 2016-2018 was the best version of it. In 2020, I was 2nd top speaker at TFA state and 12th top speaker at NSDA Nationals to give you some perspective.

I'll evaluate the round in the three ways the ballot allows me to: style, content, and strategy. I will take into consideration the "flow", but just because you "lose the debate" in a technical sense does not mean you automatically lose. Nor if you win the technical parts does it guarantee that you will win the ballot.

Style:

Persuasion, tone, speed, and attitude in the round are things I will consider for your style points. Use your ethos, pathos, logos. This is WSD so do not spread. I also will dock your style points if you're rude or disrespectful to your opponents or to me. Also, don't just read off your paper for the entire first and second speeches. This event has lots of extemporaneous elements to it.

Content:

The first speech is super important to make sure that you can get full content points in the whole round. If the meat of your case isn't good, then you're going to have a rough time in the other speeches. If you're not defining words in the motion, explaining how your model works (if there is one) or giving synthesized examples in the different points, then you're going to have a hard time getting points here. Believe it or not, it is easy to tell when words are coming out of your mouth but nothing is really being said, you know? Just be logical and thoughtful with your words.

Strategy:

This is the most undermined point area in WSD in my opinion. It might be the lowest about of possible points, but most people rarely get them. If you set up your different points in a strategic way, ask POI's that you'll use in your next speech, and organize the debate to tell me not just why your opponents are losing, but also, reasons that you're winning, the points are yours to have. I appreciate organization and I believe that the way you set up your speech is a strategy of itself, so keep that in mind too.

POI's:

Please please please ask/state POI's!!!!!!!!!! Far too often do people not ask enough. A good POI will help get you points in style, content, and strategy. Even more so, ask POI's when your opponents are on a roll because you don't want to let them talk for 8 mins uninterrupted. BUT. Please note, there is a very clear difference in a good "aha! gotcha" POI and a rude uncalled for POI.

Also! you don't have to take every POI you get asked, but if you ignore every single one I will think you do not know what you are talking about or that you are not paying attention.

BIO:

Education:

• Pursuing a B.B.A in Management and a B.A in International Relations & Global Studies at UT Austin
• Pursuing a minor in Sociology and a Certificate in Core Texts & Ideas

Debate Teaching/Coaching:

• Space City Camp Instructor (Summer '23)
• Middle School Debate Coach at Coppell Debate Academy (22-23)
• Coaching Intern at Coppell High School (22-23)
• World of Words Institute Instructor (Summer '23 & '24)
• Victory Briefs Institute Instructor (Summer '24)

Hey y'all! I'm a freshman at UT Austin who debated at Coppell High School (in Texas) for about 4 years; 3 years in World Schools Debate and a dabbling in Extemp, Congress, & Policy. I also debated for Team Texas my senior year and the NSDA Longhorns my junior year.

The tl;dr of winning my ballot: Win your asserted arguments, have a clearly delineated claim, warrant, impact structure with a strong (and mechanized) link-chain, and make sure you weigh your impacts vs the other side. BE COMPARATIVE and CHARITABLE! make sure to have fun :)

I don't have an issue with speed – unless you're unintelligible – but if I ask you to slow down please do so.

I'll automatically vote someone down if they're being discriminatory or harmful in any way shape or form, those rhetorics have no place in debate so be careful about what you say.

Longer Ballot:

• Make sure you engage on the most important parts of the motion; be clear in your weighing and have logical extensions (throughout the whole debate!)
• Weighing at the end of the round should be comparative and charitable of both sides best/worst grounds
• I'm going to buy most arguments at face value – unless they're ridiculous – so whoever bestproves their argument and weighing is going to win --> if someone makes a dumb argument but you don't refute it, I'm taking it at face value – no judge intervention!
• Prop Teams: You have to establish a compelling framing at the top; given the skew in the Opp Block you need to set up your Prop 3 to get as far ahead as possible --> I'm not taking new arguments in the P4 (but equally if the O3-4 is new content I'll dock it)
• Opp Teams: Use the block strategically – don't repeat content and make sure you sound different (but cohesive)
• Weighing – in my opinion – functions on two levels: factual/tangible content & in round (meta) weighing
• Principled arguments: I'll buy them and they can win rounds but only if they're weighed effectively; I need to hear from the top why I should prefer this argument over any possible/potential practical from the opposing side – don't hang your principle and then tell me to vote independent of practical
• Regrets: don't be daft, they're inherently retroactive in nature so if you make a mechanizing argument I'm going to look at you funny. the biggest thing is to make sure your counterfactual is believable and likely
• Stylistically have fun! I loved the style aspect of WSD when I debated and I think its about being your own speaker, the more fun I have the better the speaks for the round lol

Have fun and good luck :)

If you have any questions reach out at sahith.mocharla@gmail.com, always happy to help!

They/Them pronouns, -0.5 speaks every time you refer to me as she or he. If you can't get it right, just use judge or my name (Kait). Easy as that.

Put me on the email chain please: knash1@trinity.edu

Experience

I'm on the Trinity University Policy debate team. Freshman Comm major.

2023 NSDA Student of the Year Finalist

In high school, I debated for the Hendrickson Debate team. I did Policy my freshman year and PF for 3 years.

I went to Nationals for World Schools three times, in 2023 we made Octofinals and in 2022 we made Trips, in 2021 we didn't break.

I participated in Extemp (foreign and domestic) all 4 years of HS. Made it to Nats twice.

I've dappled in Oratory and Info.

My biggest rule for all rounds - be respectful or I'll down you (ie: no racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia...)

PF specific:
Flow Judge, Tech over Truth

General: I would like to see weighing and ballot directive language in your rounds. Tell me where you're going or else I won't be able to write it down, hurting your chances of winning. Also, reading tons of contentions (4+) with no link chain and then trying to persuade me to vote on it is a dumb idea.

Theory and Ks in PF: I'm okay with theory, but if you run it, run it well. As a personal belief - I don't think Ks belong in PF unless they are formatted correctly- there is not enough time and most of the teams running Ks are doing it as a strategic tool for winning against other people who are unfamiliar, not because they genuinely believe in the advocacy of the K. This is BAD. Please don't run a K unless you genuinely care about that topic AND you are a) willing to go all in on the K (because that is what must happen in order for your advocacy to work and for you to have enough time to sufficiently run it) and b) you have READ THE LITERATURE of the K. If you just got something from an older team member and/or saw it on a wiki, then it isn't for you. Read the lit.

Framework: If you provide a f/w, then it must a) have an actual function in the round as it relates to your case and b) you have to carry it throughout the round. I will not vote for f/w that you drop after constructive. If another team does run f/w, you either have to answer it or link in. If you don't and they extend it all the way through, they will win.

Spreading: Hey, you do you. However, if you are not being clear I will say CLEAR and if after one warning you do not fix it, I will stop flowing.

Cross X: Look at me, not the other person because I'm the one you're trying to persuade. Be kind, but firm. Don't take all the time...I'll down your speaks.

Speaks

30-29: Great job! I generally like your speaking

28.9-28: Good job, you could use some drills though

27.8-27: Some blips that you need to work on. I'll give in round feedback specific to your speaking.

26.9-26: You defineitly need some work. You were either pretty aggressive or couldn't get through a speech.

25.9-25: You were super aggressive/offensive and I most likely had to stop the round.

Policy Specific

As mentioned before, I've been in Policy before, but I'm just now getting back into it. That being said...

Speed:

Go as fast as you want, but send speech docs to me and your opponents if you know you're going to spread (more so if you know you're not the most articulate). Slow down a bit for the 2AR and 2NR. That being said, I will flow what is spoken in the debate, not the speech document.

Speaking:

Borrowing from Aly Mithani here:

" -I will call you out if you are blatantly stealing prep and it will hurt your speaker points.
-For paperless teams, I do not run prep time for saving/flashing the speech unless this time starts to become excessive or it becomes evident that prep is being stolen.
-It drives me crazy when debaters are disrespectful to each other. There is no reason why competitiveness needs to turn into aggression. Treat the debate space like a classroom.
-Another pet peeve: debaters who do not seem to legitimately enjoy what they are doing. Debaters who go through the motions are usually the ones that end up with the lowest speaker points from me. Even if you are not keeping up with the technical aspects of the debate, if you remain engaged and committed throughout the debate, I will definitely feel more comfortable with giving you higher speaker points."

Overall:

I will vote for anything that isn't against the biggest rule at the top of the paradigm. As long as you have sufficient offense and defense, run it. I think the best way to repsond to everything is going line-by-line and grouping responses.

I will work on buffing up this part of my paradigm, but I'm looking to keep judging Policy so I can do so.

Extemp

Borrowing from Audrey Fife "I look for confident, clear speakers who know how to sound and appear like they belong in the room. I love to see competitors that remind me how much I miss doing speech! Wow me with your content and keep my attention with your presentation."

I think that extemp is such an important event and you should treat it as such! Try to make at least 6 minutes and give at least 5 sources. When I did extemp, I went for the following outline, which I think is really great for making your speech digestable:

AGD: Attention Grabber!

Link: link it into your speech

BKD: Give background of the subject you are talking about (usually put a source here)

SOS: why this matters for the judge/people all around the world. Why should be care?

Q: question

A: answer

Preview: State your 3 answers

Each point I gave had 2/3 sources and I think thats a great strategy. Don't just cite the sources, though, incorporate them into your speech. I think jokes are an great way to relate to your judge, but please don't cringe me out with a bad/sexist/homophobic/anything joke.

Somebody who is able to fill their speech with pauses instead of UHHH and UMMM if more preferable than the latter competitor. Make eye contact, make me laugh, make me emotional, and you got a good chance of getting top 3 in the room.

Other than that, good luck and have fun! If you have (respectful) post round questions, feel free to email me! I prefer this to in person post rounding as I get very flustered.

UPDATE FOR WSD @ TFA:

WSD didn't exist when I was in high school, but I judge it almost exclusively now including into deep elims of TFA State, UT, and Berkeley so my experience is not null.

Big things for me: I like clash, I want yall to answer the question, and I reward good on the spot analysis of your opponents argument, don't get so caught up in your case that your forget to answer your opponent's argument. Also I am fine with speed, but I don't think its necessary in worlds and honestly I prefer speech's that are stylistic and given like a PA. Please let me know if you have any questions and congrats on making it to state!

IE: I am pretty open to any stylistic choices or preparations of a speech/script, it is an Interpretation after all, so creative choices are welcome!

Extemp- You should have ample amount of evidence for the three main claims you decide to make. Please have your speech as structured as possible as it makes it easier for me to follow along and judge. It’s better for your speech to run 5 minutes, but be clear and conscie than for you to stay up there for seven minutes rambling on.

OO/INFO- There should be at least three sources in your speech. I don’t mind when you try and break the very formulaic structure of OO or info, but I should be able to easily follow along. I.E. you dont have to go “But first, then, finally” but hey whatver works for you, works for me, speak clear, be confident, and have fun up there.

HI- Use your space, HI is about physical humor as much as its about the jokes you are telling! Racist/misogynistic/Xenophobia etc humor is not funny. It’s not.

DI- Be careful with your content, DI’s are serious and I understand that, but be careful with how graphic you get. I am not a squimish judge so curse words dont bother me and mature material is fine, just try and be as tasteful as possible. And DONT mis-represent a character I.E. if you are playing a forty year old mom who just suffered the loss of her son, thats fine, but if you are speaking for an identity you cannot identify with, maybe not. DONT USE SLURS. Even for effect. It’s not needed. Use the space and be comfortable with silence. There is a lot of pauses and silence in DI and when its intentional l it works really well, so dont be afraid of it!

PR/PO- Don’t let your binder fall flat. I don’t think there is one right way to hold the binder, but there are a million wrong ways. It’s awesome when you find a way to incorporate the binder for techy stuff, but its def not necessary.

Lingering thoughts..

Your teaser should give me a clue about what your piece is about, (AND IT SHOULD BE MEMORIZED) it doesnt have to be a summary, but a couple of lines to let me know where the piece ie headed is great!

TIME. Be concious of it. Don’t run 10:29 or 10:30, once the fist is up WRAP IT UP.

If you forget your piece, take a moment to pause and collect your thoughts, try not to show it in your face and dont worry about it too much.

Be respectful to other performers, if you are on your phone, eating loudly, sleeping, or being distracting in anyway. I might factor it into your rank. It’s not cool, respect eachothers work.

Earl Warren '19

UT Austin '23

Email: morgan.tucker02@gmail.com

I primarily competed in Congress primarily but also did LD, DX, and IX.

Overall, I'm cool with just about anything. Do what YOU want, but do it well.

Congress Paradigms

Please engage in clash if you're past the 3rd speaker. i mostly give 4-6 rankings for speeches. i'll normally rank the PO 4-8 if they didn't mess up big time.

LD and PF

- don't be mean.

'Progressive' Argumentation. I am willing to evaluate essentially all arguments and am somewhat comfortable evaluating most args. I am most familiar with framework, meta-weighing, kritiks, plans, cps, disads, and (kinda) theory. trix are bad but I am able to evaluate those args If I must—run them at your own risk. Run what you want to run because that's what I did when I debated. I think that limiting different/"progressive" forms of argumentation in any debate space is bad.

Extensions. Extensions are really really important. I see too many talented teams lose because they don't extend or don't extend fully. All dropped responses are conceded—100%. Extend your link(s), warrant(s), and impact(s) if you want the argument(s) to be evaluated, especially if it's contested. If the argument is not correctly extended entirely through, then, it cannot be evaluated. With that in mind, please extend what you want to win on in every speech. My threshold for extensions on K, theory, etc. is higher than it is for substance, please explain every part of the arg in every speech so I can follow.

Weigh. You should weigh, it will likely help you win. Like most args, conceded weighing is true weighing. Use it to your advantage. If there are two arguments, then I will default to ANY weighing that is present. If there is no weighing, I will be forced to make the decision on my own.

Speed. Speed is fine as long as I can understand/follow, but keep in mind that I have never been the best at flowing. I am very comfortable letting you know if I can't keep up. I will say 'clear' three times before I dock your speaks if you don't slow down.

Team cases are the worst, I prob won't be very happy to hear and judge a case that I have heard before and will likely give lower speaks. Team cases ruin the integrity of debate and make me sad :( -- The purpose of debate isn't to win, it is to develop yourself and your cognitive reasoning. Case writing and research is essential to that.

Read me. If I look confused I'm doing that on purpose; it's because I'm confused. If I am nodding, it means I agree with you. I tend to be pretty expressive and I will when I am judging too.

I primarily debated and coached in the World Schools format across high school and I am currently on the parliamentary debate team at Harvard.

PF/LD:

I am not experienced with PF/LD, so please slow down for me (I have a background in world schools, which was largely a conversational pace or a bit faster than conversational pace)

I would say I am described as a flay judge. Please impact out and tell me why I should care for arguments you make. I do not have experience engaging with k's or technical concepts within the format, so I will be unable to successfully adjudicate such rounds.

(Referenced Suchit's Paradigm)

World Schools:

I appreciate extensive frameworks and substantives that clearly cover the claim, warrant (very important), and impact. Please impact and weigh, especially in the latter half of the debate, since it makes my job as the judge easier. As you answer the opposing arguments, make sure to engage on their highest and lowest ground to cover all bases. Do not be abusive, but try to characterize as much of the debate as you can.

In terms of style, please try to be engaging and clear! I would prefer every speaker to accept at least one POI.

Lastly, have fun when debating!!!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at vinayakaumang@gmail.com

He/Him

Judge or Shauri is fine, if you call me Mr. Yedavalli or sir part of my soul will wither away

Add me on chains - hendricksondydebate@gmail.com

Did policy debate + speech events at hendrickson hs

LD:

I'll understand most of what you talk about, but I honestly have no clue what a trick is so I'm probably not the judge you want to run it in front of, unless you like explain it to me pre-round or something and believe in your teaching abilities.

I'm decently familiar with k lit bases but try to explain your K like I have no clue what you're talking about

PF:

Tech > Truth

Do your thing I'm a policy kid but that probably means I'll have a higher standard for progressive pf stuff. If you run it well though then I'll vote on it.

Have fun, try to gain something from your rounds, and be chill.

CX:

Top Level stuff

Overall I'd put myself at about 60% K debater and 40% policy debater so you should probably just run whatever, that being said I'm really bad about knowing K lit bases so don't assume I'm gonna understand more niche k topics.

I got indoctrinated into policy debate by Aly Mithani so if you want a better paradigm just look at his and imagine a more K version of it

Being fun is fun, try to enjoy yourself during rounds, make jokes and stuff, try to care a little bit, it just makes tournament days go by a bit faster so it'd be cool if you weren't a cx robot but if not that's cool too I guess.

If you're stealing prep trust me I'll notice, stare at you and take off speaks.

Open cx, prompting, spreading are all chill but my flow is mid so if your gonna do a card doc try to be clear on analytics

I'll follow along with your doc and read your cards

I'll probably forget to start a timer at some point so time yourself and your opponents

If your a varsity debater hitting a novice you do not have to destroy someone new to the activity to make yourself look/feel good your not gonna lose the ballot or anything but I'll just be bummed out and you'd probably prefer that the person filling in your speaks is not bummed out.

Don't be a bad person - y'all can figure out what that means

Biases

I think condo is probably good, and if a team that everyone in the room knows is losing goes for theory I'll have a harder time being objective on it

If you read an RVI I will unconsciously and consciously take you less seriously for the rest of the debate

I think competing interps > reasonability, but T v policy aff is something I'm not great at judging and if it's muddled I'd probably be biased by if I just think the aff should be part of the resolution

As someone who has only been a 2N I have a neg bias when it comes to most things about the model of debate cause I think the neg side is already on the short end of the stick

Entertainment bias: I kinda just like seeing more creative strategies and usually it'll help speaks in particular eg (against planless affs running a pik that displays research instead of. framework + cap, or adv cp with 1AC ev as a solvency advocate)

If your opponents read something that you'd think any slightly competent judge would ignore (i.e. absurdly random and subjective procedurals) feel free to give a thumbs down and move on. On the other side if you read one of these your kinda just throwing away time.

Framework/T-USFG

I evaluate this through a lens of offense-defense of each teams model of debate

Aff teams have to give a clear role for negative teams within their model of debate and should be able to adequately differentiate that from if the sides were just swapped in a given round because ssd just solves that

I think debate probably is just a game (I read K's against warmakers all of last year but will definitely pick up the phone if Lockheed Martin gives me a job offer). Though at the same time being stuck within this space probably does change your subjectivity at least a little bit (I'd feel kinda bad about working for a hedge fund)

Fairness isn't a terminal impact and definitely is non-unique but it's the aff teams job to prove that; clash > fairness

Remember this is about a model for the entire debate space not just how this round should've gone - negative teams have to make it clear that their model of debate makes the space as a whole better.

T

I will evaluate all T arguments mostly from a competing interps standpoint unless you give a compelling reason to evaluate it on reasonability (prefer reasonability isn't compelling)

If you do read a T even as a time suck - it is your burden to provide a case list if you're not able to give one then the aff will win on that flow 95% of the time.

I lean more towards limits than aff ground because I see policy debate as inherently aff biased.

Evidence quality matters otherwise it's a race to the bottom

Neg teams using clash have to explain what ground they are losing because of the affirmative or just why it makes the research burden too high to clash with well.

In order to win a T debate you must explain why your model would be better for debate examples are good for this but including one or two examples with a good explanation for its value is significantly better than spamming examples without reason

Ks

I'm into Ks, I think they're fun and (usually) good at educating debaters. That being said I'm definitely not as well read on as much K lit as I should be so if you go [X author obviously means Y] it will not be obvious to me. Also buzzword spamming is kinda weird but I should be able to get what your saying.

If you are running an identity K and you're demonstrably not within that identity I understand that as a debater you're a vessel for your scholarship but optically you do kinda lose the inherent moral high ground you get by reading a K

I don't really get why perf con doesn't justify severance on a reps K, but if you can give me a good reason then I'm down cause it (probably) is good for education.

Perceptually I don't really like seeing one-off K teams completely ignore the case debate in the neg block imo it just supercharges aff framework offense, in the 2NR though more power to you.

Fiat is fake and policy affs are often just as utopian as K-alts, but you should still have a coherent solvency mechanism for how your alt works.

The only K I think I'm legitimately biased against are psychoanalysis Ks: imo psychoanalysis is probably pseudoscience and kinda patronizing, if you could equally run psychoanalysis or some other K against a team in front of me I'd choose the other K but if you'd be substantially better off running psychoanalysis just send it and if I vote you down feel free to be upset at me.

CPs

I definitely prefer counterplans that actually engage with the specific processes of the plan to generic agent counterplans.

Agent CP's will often get the job done for me just fine, but I think more specific ones especially using 1AC cards as solvency paired with a DA is much more compelling for me as a judge and much more frustrating for an opponent to go against

Adv CPs are cool, and Adv CPs made with a random unhighlighted portion of a 1AC solvency card are super dope

I'm about 50/50 on whether your cheaty counterplans are chill or not so I wouldn't base any cp decisions for a round based on me being the judge

DAs

Yeah I don't really have much of an opinion on these they're kinda the most fundamental neg arg, just make the story of it make some sense as the round goes on.

For politics DAs I don't really like the idea of just handing a team the uniqueness debate because they cut an article slightly later than the other teams, so as a neg team I just want you to do a little bit of work to contextualize why that actually means your ev should be preferred and for the aff team try to get at warrant comparisons because like 75% of the politics uniqueness cards that I've ever read didn't have a legit warrant.

Misc.

Death good args are not good

Wipeout will be listened to but given a side eye

Good formatting of a doc that you send is good and makes your arguments easier to follow

There's a fine line between banter and disrespectfulness, try your best to not cross it

I'm not 100% sure about how my face looks during a debate but if I look upset I'm probably just thinking and if I look happy then just keep doing what you're doing

Try to give me time to switch flows, so just slow down a bit at the top of your new flow.

I'll probably default to judge kick but it's liable to switch based on arguments

Light blue >>> green > yellow > anything else