I hold a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from the University of Montevallo and a Master's in Education, Art P-12.

I am looking for not only a strong case, but confidence with public speaking, articulation, and professionalism.

Smile, make eye contact, and prove to me you won the round with knowledge and grace.

My name is Caroline Cannon. I am a sophomore at Auburn University. I debated in my Junior and Senior years of high school, mostly Public Forum and a little Congress. I never did Lincoln-Douglas or Big Question, but I understand the basis of the two.

For Public Forum, evidence is critical. Have evidence for your points, and make sure they're recent enough. I will always choose to believe the more recent evidence unless you give me contextual reasons not to. Even if you have better reasoning in your argument, if you don't have the evidence to support it and your opponent has evidence to refute it, then I'm inclined to go with your opponent. Also, please refrain from spreading (don't speed-read) because I will not process the information at all.

Summarize your points in summary/consolidation. In the summary, no new points should be introduced, just a recap of the round. Carry all of your points throughunless you're collapsing (collapsing has been very effective for me before). I LOVE an off-time road map.

No new material in Final Focus. Even if you bring up new material, just know it is a waste of time because I will not flow it nor consider it a part of your argument.

If you go over time, I will not interrupt you, but I will stop flowing/stop considering what you are saying. Please don't interupt your opponent if they go overtime for the sake of respect.

If you're going to read an argument that could be triggering, read trigger warnings for the sake of both the judge and your opponent or you will lose speaker points.

No misogyny, racism, or any other kind of discrimination toward anybody in the room. If there is, you will be docked speaker points based on severity.

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. My email is carelican@gmail.com.

Hey! My name is Greta Christiansen, and I am a senior at Vestavia Hills and one of the captains of the LD team. I have primarily competed in Varsity Congress, LD, BQ, and Speech for the past three years....so I have a pretty good understanding of all events.

How I Judge:

• CLARITY IS SUPER IMPORTANT. If I cannot follow what you are saying (speaking too fast, mumbling, etc), I will warn you twice, and if it continues I will stop flowing. I cannot evaluate what I cannot flow.
• If you are rude or show poor sportsmanship, I will instantly dock your speaker points. Be nice! This includes packing up or being on your phone during the final speech.
• I will flow everything besides cross...but I do believe that cross is binding.
• Please extend arguments and WEIGH.
• I LOVE LOVE LOVE off time roadmaps! Please tell me what your plans are for your speech.
• Use up all of your time!!

For the Novice Tournament...

• If you run complex arguments, EXPLAIN THEM. Your opponents should be able to understand the basics of your arguments.
• Do not spread. It is unfair for you to speak at that pace at a novice tournament.

I will be disclosing after the round, but if you would like further feedback besides what I put in my RFD, email me at gretachristiansen7@gmail.com . I am happy to chat with you and do anything I can to help you improve!

Happy debating!! :)

Hi! I'm a current high school junior. I usually compete in PF (2nd speaker), Congress, and speech.

Debate:

Constructive:

Nothing much to say. Clear signposting, obvious claim-warrant-impact structure. I'm pretty tech, so I'll buy your points. If you say that Russia is planning to take over the moon, I will buy that until your opponents provides sufficient evidence that its not.

Cross-Exams:

I don't pay too much attention to cross exams, but use them to your advantage. Be confident. Ask questions. Discover your opponent's weaknesses. If you point out something brought up in cross in a later speech, I will flow it.

Rebuttal:

It is important to address all of your opponents' points. Please go down their case in an orderly fashion so I can keep up. Make it obvious where you are. I love the use of terms like turn and delink. Unless you are clearly collapsing, if you drop something, that counts toward your opponents (unless they fail to bring that up). Defense is sticky. If your defense is unaddressed, it flows through.

Summary:

Do solid frontlining in 1st rebuttal. Start boiling down the round and compare both sides. Why are you winning right now? Why should I affirm/negate this resolution? Why should I choose you over your opponents? Weigh. I would prefer it if you could collapse.

Final Focus:

Please tell me if your opponent abused their 2nd summary or 1st final focus to sneak in new arguments. I will probably notice, but abusing speeches results in a huge point decrease. If they drop and bring arguments up again, that's still dropped. Weigh and tell me the points you won and/or what your opponent dropped.

Overall, just be confident! When in doubt, yap it out!

For help/questions/email chains/contact info, my email is gaotd2008@gmail.com.

You can also DM me on Instagram @TopGao720.

I am a lay judge and have been judging speech and debate for about 6 years. I believe that debate should include a clear presentation of your arguments and evidence. I also believe your speeches should be well organized. In the end, I will value argument over style, but the way you present your arguments is important to my understanding of those arguments. If you call for evidence, please have a legitimate reason for it. I don't like spending a lot of prep time on it. I expect you to time yourselves, but I will be timing too. I like clear, organized flows with clear voters at the end. I weigh heavily on impacts so compare your impacts and convince me that yours are stronger. Please be civil and respectful to your partner and competitors.

My background is in theatre and speech. I love judging speech events and will typically vote for the presenter who has the strongest emotional connection to their piece and the audience. There must be an effective balance of design, style, and presentation. The pieces that showcase who you are as a performer as well as communicating something new and fresh are welcome.

Willing to give progressive a chance.

my email is ethan.schmidt10106@gmail.com - no post-rounding, only because we're on a tight schedule. i'll try to make my rfds as detailed as possible. email me if u have any questions!

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let's have a good round!

i have been in ld for 3 years, but it's been a bit since i have actually competed. i have observed many rounds, however, so everything should be fine lol

TIME YOURSELF. do not spread.

tech > truth (read below tho)

i will evaluate analytical args but not over evidence-based args

in terms of judging style, i would say I'm pretty lay. i obviously prefer trad debate, but plans/cps and theory should be okay, as long as you KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING and can debate it well (don't count on winning solely on tech if you can't; this is novice and accessibility issues will inevitably exist at some point). you can TRY to run k/phil if you explain it to me like I'm a baby, but that requires you really knowing what you're talking about, so i would advise against it. don't run trix. or friv.

just so i'm clear about prog debate at novice: i don't advise it, just because i generally find it abusive given the learning curve with ld, especially as a novice in local circuit. it can be extremely discouraging and does not foster an environment conducive for education (at novice specifically). if your opponent can respond to it, then sure; i'll evaluate it. otherwise, don't bank on winning the round JUST on a technicality. it will never hurt you to run a lay case at novice anyways :)

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i vote off the flow. not extended = not evaluated. pls extend. cross is not flowed but IS binding. i will only intervene if no resolution.

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things i like to see in a debate:

good fwk clash

line-by-lining

strategic weighing

strategic collapsing

link/case turns

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don't worry about your speaks. they should be high.

automatic L + minimum speaks for any hate speech, derogatory language, bigotry, etc. no tolerance for that in debate-especially not in ld.

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ok that's all. i think. YAY. i'm proud of u no matter what. i hope u get to learn a lot this weekend and leave feeling encouraged and motivated to become a better debater! just remember, it only goes up from here; your performance is in no way indicative of your future career in speech/debate!