Talk at a reasonable pace so what your saying is understandable. NO SPREADING. Be clear and explain your arguments properly and fully. I vote for the team with the strongest reasoning and extension of evidence. I am a very lay judge so I don't prefer theory, K's, CP'S, or Tech arguments. If you run tech arguments you will be dropped. Debate is an educational activity where both sides debate reasonably and try to explain there points clearly and concisely. I will award speaker points based on confidence, persuasiveness, voice projection, argumentation skills, and poise. Please do not spread in front of me as I will not be able to follow. I can understand slightly faster than conversational but I would prefer conversational. I am a traditional LD judge so keep that in mind before your round starts.

If you speak faster than usual speed please share your cases so I can follow along.

Email chain: alwanimiami@yahoo.com

Talk at a pace understandable to the average human being. Be clear concise. I take notes. I am going to be voting for the team/person with the strongest, clearest and the best defended. NO SPREADING.

I am a lay judge. I do not like speed. I am a recent university graduate with a bachelors in Psychology and Women's Studies.

Sarah Botsch-McGuinn

email: sbotschmcguinn@gmail.com

Director of Speech & Debate-Cypress Bay HS (2022-present)

Director of Speech and Debate-Cooper City HS (2018-2022)

Director of Speech and Debate-American Heritage Palm Beach (2017-2018)

Director of Forensics-Notre Dame San Jose (2009-2017)
Head Debate Coach-Notre Dame San Jose (2008-2009)



General:
I’ve been a debate coach for the past 16 years, and Director of Forensics for 9 at NDSJ, one year as Director at American Heritage, 4 years at Cooper City HS and now at Cypress Bay High School. I primarily coached Parliamentary Debate from 2008-2017, including circuit Parli debate. I've been involved in National Circuit LD pretty extensively over the last 8 years, but have judged all forms of debate at all levels from local south Florida and northern CA to national circuit.

First and foremost, I only ever judge what is presented to me in rounds. I do not extend arguments for you and I do not bring in my own bias. I am a flow judge, and I will flow the entire debate, no matter the speed, though I do appreciate being able to clearly understand all your points. I consider myself to be a gamemaker in my general philosophy, so I see debate as game. That doesn't mean that there aren't real world impacts off debate (and I tend to be convinced by 'this will impact outside the round' type of arguments). **I don't vote on defense. It's important but you won't win on a defensive answer.**

While I do appreciate fresh approaches to resolution analysis, I’m not an “anything goes” judge. I believe there should be an element of fair ground in debate-debates without clash, debates with extra topicality, etc will almost certainly see me voting against whoever tries to do so if the other side even makes an attempt at arguing it (that said, if you can’t adequately defend your right to a fair debate, I’m not going to do it for you. Don’t let a team walk all over you!). Basically, I love theoretical arguments, and feel free to run them, just make sure they have a proper shell+. *Note: when I see clear abuse in round I have a very low threshold for voting on theory. Keep that in mind-if you try to skew your opponent out of the round, I WILL vote you down if they bring it up.*

I also want to emphasize that I'm an educator first and foremost. I believe in the educational value of debate and it's ability to create critical thinkers.

+Theory shell should at minimum have: Interpretation, Violation, Standards and Voters.

Speaks:
Since quality of argument wins for me 100% of the time, I’m not afraid of the low point win. I don’t expect this to enter into the rounds much at an elite tournament where everyone is at the highest level of speaking style, but just as an emphasis that I will absolutely not vote for a team just because they SOUND better. I tend to stick to 26-29+ point range on a 30 scale, with average/low speakers getting 26s, decent speakers getting 27s, good 28s, excellent 29s, and 30 being reserved for best I’ve seen all day. I will punish rudeness/lying in speaks though, so if you’re rude or lie a lot, expect to see a 25 or less. Additionally, shouting louder doesn’t make your point any better, I can usually hear just fine.

If I gave you less than 25, you probably really made me angry. If you are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic, ableist etc I will punish you in speaks. You have been warned. I will kill your speaks if you deliberately misgender or are otherwise harmful in round. I am not going to perpetuate hate culture in debate spaces.

Speed:
I have no problem with speed, but please email me your case if you are spreading. I will call 'clear' once if you are going too fast, and put down my pen/stop typing if I can't follow. It's only happened a couple times, so you must be REALLY fast for me to give up.

PLEASE SIGN POST AND TAG, ESPECIALLY IF I'M FLOWING ON MY LAPTOP. IF I MISS WHERE AN ARGUMENT GOES BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T TAG IT, THAT'S YOUR FAULT NOT MINE.

A prioris:
Please explain why your argument is a-priori before I will consent to consider it as such. Generally I am only willing to entertain framework arguments as a-priori, but who knows, I've been surprised before.


Theory:
Theory is great, as I mentioned above, run theory all day long with me, though I am going to need to see rule violations and make sure you have a well structured shell. I should not see theory arguments after the 1AR in LD or after the MG speech in Parli. I also don't want to see theory arguments given a ten second speed/cursory explanation, when it's clear you're just trying to suck up time. My threshold is high for RVIs, but if you can show how your opponent is just sucking time, I'm open to this. Also open to condo-bad arguments on CPs/Ks, though that doesn't mean you'll automatically win on this.

Disclosure theory: I'm unlikely to vote on this if your opponent isn't reading something very strange. I think education and disclosure is good but that doesn't mean I think someone should automatically lose for not. Keep this in mind. PLEASE I DONT WANT TO HEAR DISCLOSURE LITERALLY READ ANYTHING ELSE IM BEGGING YOU.

Most other theory I evaluate in round. I don't tend to go for blippy theory arguments though!

Critical arguments:
I love the K, give me the K, again, just be structured. I don't need the whole history of the philosopher, but I haven't read everything ever, so please be very clear and give me a decent background to the argument before you start throwing impacts off it. Also, here's where I mention that impacts are VITAL to me, and I want to see terminal impacts.

I prefer to see clash of ROB/ROJ/Frameworks in K rounds. If you are going to run a K aff either make it topical or disclose so we can have a productive round. Please.

Presumption:
In general I default to competing interp. If for some reason we have gotten to the point of terribad debate, I presume Neg (Aff has burden to prove the resolution/affirm. Failure to do so is Neg win. God please don't make me do this :( )

Weighing:
I like very clear weighing in rebuttals. Give me voting issues and compare worlds, tell me why I should prefer or how you outweigh, etc. Please. I go into how I evaluate particular impacts below.


I like clear voting issues! Just because I’m flowing doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate you crystallizing and honing in on your main points of offense.

I prefer voter speeches follow a: Main points of offense-->impact calc--->world comp model. If you just do impact calc I'll be happy with it, but I like looking on my voter sheet for what you feel you're winning on. It helps me more quickly organize my ideas.

Impacts:
I put a lot of emphasis on impacts in my decisions. The team with bigger/more terminal, etc impacts generally walks away with my vote, so go to town. This goes doubly true for framework or critical arguments. Why is this destroying debate as we know it? Why is this ___ and that's horrible? Translation: I tend to weigh magnitude heaviest in round, but if you can prove pretty big probable impacts over very low probability extinction impacts I'll likely go that direction.

You should be able to articulate how your contentions support your position/value/whatever. That should go without saying, but you would be very surprised. I don't vote on blips, even if we all know what you're saying is true. So please warrant your claims and have a clear link story. This goes doubly true for critical positions or theory.

Preferences for arguments:

If you want to know what I like to see in round, here are my preferences in order:

K debate

LARP

Theory

Phil

Traditional

Tricks

This doesn't mean I won't vote for a tricks case but I will be much sadder doing it.

I judged LD for the 4 years when my daughter was on the circuit and am now back in the mix with my son. Mostly, I judged in local and regional tournaments, but did a few JV rounds at Harvard, NSDA regionals, and NCFL nationals. I also debated LD when I was in high school (yes, we had LD last century), so I am more old school than new school.

General

- I am pretty big on framework and impacts. Give me a clear idea of how your arguments link to weighting mechanisms, impacts, etc.

- I will not do your job for you. Extend your arguments, draw links to your framework, and make it clear what you think the voting issues are in the round

- I judge strictly on what is presented in the round, but clearly bogus arguments or "evidence" will have little or no weight with me

- Be competitive but cool.

Speed

- I am not afraid of the spread, I can read fast enough to follow when you flash the doc - but during round when you are addressing arguments that are not on the doc, or identifying voters, or telling me why you win - then you need to SLOW DOWN.

- If you are discussing a deep philosophical idea, then it's probably a pretty good idea to slow down.

- Don't try to spread your opponent out of the round if they are clearly out of their depth, again = be competitive but cool

Theory/K

- I can't say I am the most well-versed theory judge ever. If you make a good argument that is well structured, then I am fine with it. That said, there is no way you can skew your opponent out of the round or sneak in some spike that automatically wins the round for you. So, I wouldn't spend too much time on it.

- I like the K and think it can really open up some interesting avenues for the debate. But, be careful of layering arguments that contradict your a priori arguments for why we shouldn't be having this particular debate in the first place.

- Have a STRONG link. I will be sensitive to the argument that the K is trying to grab infinite ground - because without the link, you are.

Speaks

- less than 25 means you were NOT COOL. You will know at the end of the round, or maybe during, if it gets to that point

- 25-29 most of the time, I will give low point wins if your logic/evidence/case was just better at the end of the day

- 30 for the exceptional

My daughter has been debating for three years and I’ve done some judging of public forum debates during that time. I’m not an expert on all the debate terminologies or formalities so a super technical debate may not gain an advantage.

The debate should be fun. It is about having a formal discussion about opposing arguments in a respectful and professional manner. Do not make personal attacks or derogatory statements, use offensive language or have rude behavior.

Many of the issues are complex so try to frame your case in simpler terms. The ability to incorporate wit into a difficult topic can be an effective indicator of your confidence in the subject matter. I value well-structured arguments that are presented at a moderate pace in a clear and consistent tone.

Theoretical ideas are good, but I’m an accountant so using facts, statistics and evidence to make a persuasive argument is better. Make the data relevant to your case and explain why it is important to your argument. I like to see challenging questions that can point out flaws or weaknesses in the opposing argument.

The time for cross should flow fairly with questions back and forth. If you can’t come up with a good question against the opponent, that suggests that they have the stronger argument, or you were not paying attention.

Finally, watch you time and be organized and concise. If you can’t make your case in the allotted time, then you are not doing a good job.

My son started competing in Lincoln-Douglas this year, so my experience is short but I am more than aware of the amount of work that is put in to preparing for a tournament - so I am committed to making the best decision on what is presented during each round. I am comfortable with traditional LD style of cases. I will base my decisions off of your strength in framework, clash, and impact. Please speak at a slower more traditional pace, so I can understand all of your arguments - especially when using a philosophical basis. I have been trained using NSDA standards for Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

Hi! My name is Charles Karcher. He/him pronouns. My email is ckarcher at chapin dot edu.

I am affiliated with The Chapin School, where I am a history teacher and coach Public Forum.

This is my 10th year involved in debate overall and my 6th year coaching.

Previous affiliations: Fulbright Taiwan, Lake Highland, West Des Moines Valley, Interlake, Durham Academy, Charlotte Latin, Altamont, and Oak Hall.

Conflicts: Chapin, Lake Highland

-----------TOC 24 UPDATES-----------

Not well-read on the topic.

In PF, you should either paraphrase all your cards OR present a policy-esque case with taglines that precede cut cards. I do not want cards that are tagged with "and, [author name]" or, worse, not tagged at all. This formatting is not conducive to good debating and I will not tolerate it. Your speaks will suffer.

All speech materials should be sent as a downloadable file (Word or PDF), not as a Google Doc, Sharepoint, or email text. I will not look at they are in the latter formats.

----------------------------------------

Mid-season updates to be integrated into my paradigm proper soon: 1. (PF) I'm not a fan of teams actively sharing if they are kicking an argument before they kick it. For example, if your opponent asks you about contention n in questioning and you respond "we're kicking that argument." Not a fan of it. 2. (LD) I have found that I am increasingly sympathetic to judge kicking counterplans (even though I was previously dogmatically anti-judge kick), but it should still be argued and justified in the round by the negative team; I do not judge kick by default. 3. Do not steal prep or be rude to your opponents - I have a high bar for these two things and hope that the community collectively raises its bars this season. Your speaks will suffer if you do these things.

-----------

Debate is what you make it, whether that is a game or an educational activity. Ultimately, it is a space for students to grow intellectually and politically. Critical debate is what I spend the most time thinking about. I’m familiar with most authors, but assume that I know nothing. I want to hear about the alt. I have a particular interest in the Frankfurt School and 20th century French authors + the modern theoretical work that has derived from both of these traditions. I have prepped and coached pretty much the full spectrum of K debate authors/literature bases. Policy-style debate is fun. I like good analytics more than bad cards, especially when those cards are from authors that are clearly personally/institutionally biased. Inserted graphs/charts need to be explained and are their own claim, warrant, and impact. Taglines should be detailed and accurately descriptive of the arguments in the card. 2 or 3 conditional positions are acceptable. I am not thrilled with the idea of judge kicking. Theory and tricks debate is the farthest from my interests. Being from Florida, I've been exposed to a good amount of it, but it never stuck with or interested me. Debaters who tend to read these types of arguments should not pref me.

Other important things:

1] If you find yourself debating with me as the judge on a panel with a parent/lay/traditional judge (or judges), please just engage in a traditional round and don't try to get my tech ballot. It is incredibly rude to disregard a parent's ballot and spread in front of them if they are apprehensive about it.

2] Speaks are capped at 27 if you include something in the doc that you assume will be inputted into the round without you reading/describing it. You cannot "insert" something into the debate scot-free. Examples include charts, graphs, images, screenshots, spec details, and solvency mechanisms/details. This is a terrible norm which literally asks me to evaluate a piece of evidence that you didn't read. It's also a question of accessibility.

3] When it comes to speech docs, I conceptualize the debate space as an academic conference at which you are sharing ideas with colleagues (me) and panelists (your opponents). Just as you would not present an unfinished PowerPoint at a conference, please do not present to me a poorly formatted speech doc. I don't care what your preferences of font, spacing, etc. are, but they should be consistent, navigable, and readable. I do ask that you use the Verbatim UniHighlight feature to standardize your doc to yellow highlighting before sending it to me.

-----------

Misc. notes:

• My defaults: ROJ > ROB; ROJ ≠ ROB; ROTB > theory; presume neg; comparative worlds; reps/pre-fiat impacts > everything else; yes RVI; DTD; yes condo; I will categorically never evaluate the round earlier than the end of the 2AR (with the exception of round-stopping issues like evidence evidence allegations or inclusivity concerns).
• I do not, and will not, disclose speaker points.
• Put your analytics in the speech doc!
• Trigger warnings are important
• CX ends when the timer beeps! Time yourself.
• Tell me about inclusivity/accessibility concerns, I will do whatever is in my power to accommodate!

I’m a parent judge. I will base my decisions off of your case’s strength in argument, so make sure you warrant and provide the appropriate support. Please speak at a slower more traditional pace, so I can understand all of your arguments. I have been trained using NSDA standards for Lincoln-Douglas Debate and have local tournament experience judging.

Updated: Fall 2023

About myself:

I have debated LD for 3 years. And I have Judged Variety LD prior to Covid-19 and during the pandemic. I graduated from the University of Florida in Business administration with specialization in Agriculture and currently Im in graduate school studying Health Administration.

I'm ok with any argument. If you found another Omar Lopera on the judge wiki that sounds like a parent. That's my father(yes we have same named). I'm completely different from my father to judging.

Spreading

I'm ok with spreading just as long if your opponent is ok with spreading. Personally, I think debates get boring if one debater is spreading, while the other debater doesn't understand what's happening. It's not productive nor educational for any parties involved. So please ask the opponent if there good with spreading prior to the round.

Secondly, I prefer if your spreading, please tell where you are on the flow and pinpoint to what argument are extending across the flow so I can clearly understand where the argument is. Please sign post with taglines and make sure you tell the warrant and impact of the extension as well. This just help with clarity on the flow.

Role of The Ballot

I Like the role of ballot, it just makes thing easier on my end to focus on what evaluation Im looking during the debate. If the ROB is just the resolution restated, I dont evaluate it because thats just the debate itself nothing new. ROB should be weighing analysis or something along those lines, or how I should think differently when evaluating the meaning of the resolution.

Larp debate

I'm ok with any plan text argument the consistent with the topic at hand. Give me IMPACTS and Warrants. I seen and alot of plan text arguments only talk about inherency of the problem but provide very little impacts, which makes the case not fulfill its purpose of providing benefits to voting aff

Phil debate

I personally love the idea of the Phil debate. However if its super deep philosophy, please explain in 1AR or 1NC what it means before you start laying the groundworks for your arguments. I want to make sure I clearly understanding your argument and not misinterpret it. Also, make sure you give me impacts and weighing especially if its ideal vs. policy debate. Also I need impact coming from phill debate, it makes thing much easier to evaluate if I can link a impact extending from phill framework. If the debate comes to two differentPhil perspectives a weighing analysis or comparative world analysis makes thing clear to evaluate.

Theory

I'm ok with theory. If it is a wordy interp, just simply explains what it means. I believe the theory is the highest level of debate. In my opinion theory debate gets muddled so I wouldn't focus all your time on it. Also please extend the voters it makes judging theory a lot easier. One last thing, do not try frivolous theory, I think its annoying and waste of time.

Kritks

I love Ks. Personally, I think the reject alt is boring, but I won't hold it against you. If you want my vote on the K debate. Really go in for Alt. Without the alt I tend to default aff since most K impacts are that aff continuing a system that bad, and if I don't see an alt then how I see it is why should I care about any of negative impacts if you yourself don't have a solution. So I see the first link, alt then impacts for Ks

DA's

I consider DA as an off so in my view it's above the aff. I see a DA's argument that doing the aff is worst than doing nothing. So aff has the burden to disprove the DA's.

Spikes

I'm not used evaluating theory spikes, honestly try avoiding them if you can. Im not going hold it against you its just that I'm used applying spikes on the flow. This more of your benefit since I don't misinterpret a good argument or burden you put on your opponent's just because I'm not used to evaluating them.

Speaker points

You shouldn't expect anything lower than 27. Unless you straight up punch the other debater.Other than that explain your arguments and you should be fine.

Lastly

Keep grudges at the door.

If their prefer pronouns that debater would like to use. Please address the debater by their pronoun.

Please ask any questions about the round.

New to judging LD. As such, I favor traditional style arguments over the more progressive elements of LD - lay arguments over theory, kritiks, Plans, counterplans, etc. I also detest, with a passion, speed at the sacrifice of clarity - I can't follow what I literally can't understand. If the message didn't come across from that - DONT SPREAD. I'll vote on pretty much anything as long as it is well-explained to me how it links into the resolution and why it is important. Clash is important, especially with framework. Make argument extensions - and don't just parrot the author name, actually re-explain the warrant. Weigh everything. At the end of the day, I vote for the debater that made my job the easiest - the person who's voters are the clearest, make the most sense, and best take into account your opponents strategies. In terms of round structure (like timers, seating preference, sit or stand in cross) anything is okay as long as both sides agree. You can email me your case or give me a physical copy, but I most likely won't use these unless I need to do serious evidence comparison.

msunrise819@gmail.com

I hope to see strong arguments presented by both sides during a debate round. In Lincoln Douglas debate, I look for philosophical context. It is important to not only display your advocacy, but to also be able to refute/outweigh your opponent's arguments. Lastly, please be respectful in all communication with your competitors!

I am the Director for an Engineering firm since 2012 and regularly prepare marketing and project presentations on civil engineering projects and infrastructure. I have judge in speech and debate for more than six years and enjoy the opportunity to judge.

I have judged sevral categories of speech and debate, but prefer judging Public Forum, and like to see well researched smart arguments.

Presumption

I do not presume to any side. I listen to student arguments. The stronger your argument during cross-examination the better.

Speed

Be clear. Be very clear. If you are spreading politics or something that is easy to understand, then just be clear. I can understand very clear debaters at high speeds when what they are saying is easy to understand. Start off slower so I get used to your voice and I will be fine.

Slow down for analytics. If you are comparing or making analytical arguments that I need to understand, slow down for it.

Time

I am a stickler to your debate time, please be careful. Watch your time during questioning/crossfire(s).

Theory

Make it make sense and interesting.

Evidence

I want to hear the sources/cards in the evidence. Be clear when reading evidence. I penalize for quoting non-existing cards for evidence.

Do not take it out of context. I do ask for cites. Cites should be readily available. Do not cut evidence in an unclear or sloppy manner. Cut evidence ethically. Do not take evidence out of context by cutting qualifiers like "might" or "maybe".

I am the head coach at Coral Springs High School. I have extensive experience with Public Forum, but I also judge LD from time to time as well. I've been involved with speech and debate since 2009, and I've been coaching/judging since 2012.

Here are a few things to consider when debating in front of me.

Speed: I can flow speed pretty well. That being said, I prefer rounds that can be flowed on paper rather than rounds where the speed is so excessive that I am reading off of a word document or email chain.

Off-time roadmaps: Please do not do them - if you need to organize your speech, do so on the clock.

Evidence ethics: Ethics can be a voting issue for me. If you believe your opponent is misconstruing a card, tell me to ask for it after the round. I will not arbitrarily call for cards that I personally find fishy, you need to tell me what evidence should be reviewed. If your evidence is being challenged, please retrieve it in a timely fashion. Speaks will be docked if you take an excessive amount of time retrieving evidence.

Decorum: Please be nice in debate rounds - while I ultimately make my decision based upon the arguments on my flow, I have no problem tanking somebody's speaker points if they are rude, offensive, judgmental, or otherwise unkind in a debate.

Experience: 4 years of public forum, 4 years of NFA-LD (one-person policy debate), and 2 years of coaching NFA-LD. I haven't coached debate in several years; however, I still occasionally judge.

1/7/2022 update - I understand and am willing to evaluate theory; however, I would prefer to judge a debate about the topic. I firmly believe that debaters should be mostly in control of the round and what is read and I certainly will not punish you for reading theory, but I personally enjoy debates that are centered on the topic.

I am still in the process of formatting my paradigm for the high school circuit, so please excuse its brevity.

I feel that debate should reward hard work. I will call for cards at the end of the round, and my ballot and speaker points will be used to reward the team with a greater quality and quantity of evidence.

I prefer substantive arguments and default to a logical-decision maker paradigm. I am rarely persuaded by theory arguments that are not topicality or shells that do not have real implications for the solvency of the affirmative.

You should engage in evidence and impact comparison. Impact comparison should be a full exploration of the link, internal link, and impact card to produce a full analysis of the probability, timeframe, and magnitude.

Speed is not an issue for me as long as it is reciprocal and not exclusive.

Updated for 2023-2024 Season

Please put me on the speech thread! Thank you.

Email: thelquinn@gmail.com

Titles: Director of Debate at Samford University (AL).

Meta-thoughts:

I’m not the smartest human. You’re maybe/likely smarter than me. Please do not assume I know anything you are talking about. And I would honestly love to learn some new things in a debate about arguments you researched.

Debaters are guilty until proven innocent of clipping cards. I follow along in speech docs. I believe it is judges job to police clipping and it is unfair to make debaters alone check it. I will likely say clear though, it's nothing personal.

I keep a running clock and "read along" with speech docs to prevent clipping. At the end of the round, I find myself most comfortable voting for a team that has the best synthesis between good ethos, good tech/execution, and good evidence. I will not vote on better evidence if the other team out debates you, but I assign a heavy emphasis on quality evidence when evaluating competing arguments, especially offensive positions.

Education/Debate Background:

Wake Forest University: 2011-2015. Top Speaker at ADA Nationals my Junior Year. 2x NDT First-Round Bid at Wake Forest. 2x NDT Octofinalist. 2x Kentucky Round Robin. Dartmouth Round Robin. Pittsburgh Round Robin.

Mountain Brook High School: 2007-2011. 3x TOC Qualifier. 2011 Winner of Emory's Barkley Forum in Policy Debate. Greenhill and Harvard Round Robin. Third Place at NSDA Nationals in 2011. Seventh Place NSDA Nationals 2010. Winner of Woodward JV Nationals.

Policy Thoughts:

Tl;dr: Offense/defense, the algorithm, cards are currency. UQ determines link unless otherwise said. Willing to pull the trigger on T/theory.

Flow: Most debaters should make analytics off their flows, especially in digital debate. Conversely, if you include analytics on your speech doc but I do not find you clear but I recognize where you are on your speech doc, I will not consider them arguments.

Condo: Im largely ok with conditionality. I think the best aff args against conditional are against contradictory conditional options. I do not really like the counter-interp of dispo. Im a much bigger fan of CI is non-contradictory conditional options.

• 3 or less non contradictory conditional options is ok to me
• 2 contra condo is fine
• 3 contradictory condo (including a K) and I am willing to vote on contra condo bad.
• For new affs, I think at most 5 contra condo is permissive. Anymore and I think you risk losing on theory.
• I think negs should take the 2 seconds it takes to have a CI that isn't "what we did." "What we did" is not really a good CI in debates.

CP Theory: If the 2AC straight turns your disad, no amount of theory will justify a 2NC CP out of/around the straight turned DA. 2NC CP's vs addons are different and chill/encouraged. Generic Process/ Conditions/ consult CPs cause me to lean aff on theory/perm, unless you have a good solvency advocate specific to their plan text which can prove its predictable and important for that area of debate. But I’m persuaded that a generic/predictable aff posted on the wiki can win a theory debate/perm do CP against a generic process/ conditions/ consult CPs. This is especially true with any Con Con CP. Con Con is the worst.

I hate judge kick. Do you want me to flow for you too? Maybe compose your speech doc while you're at it? I don't give the affirmative random permutations. Don't make me kick your trash counterplan for you.

T: My "favorite" standards are predictable limits (debatability) and real-world context (literature/education). I think a topicality interp that has both of those standards I will err on. Evidence that is both inclusive and exclusive is the gold standard. I tend to be more moderate with reasonability. I am not in the cult of limits. I err aff if I believe your interpretation is "reasonable" and that the negative did not prove you made debate impossible even if their interpretation is slightly better.

Kritikal Debate. I vote off the flow, which means my opinions on K debate are secondary to my voting. And I was 4-0 for Wake BD last year in some big debates against policy teams, so I'm going to vote for the team that I thought did the better debating (But are you Wake BD?). Im not really opposed to kritiks on the negative that are tied to the plan/resolution or kritikal affirmatives that defend a topical plan of action. I think where I draw the line is that I'm not a good judge for more performance based "affirmatives/negatives" that neither affirm nor negate the plan text/resolution. I lean very heavily neg on FW v non or anti-topical K affs. I think a good topical version of the affirmative is the best argument on FW. The role of the judge is to vote for the team who does the better debating. Debate is an educational game we play on the weekend with friends. I will not evaluate arguments that derive from actions/events out of the debate I am judging. Fairness is an impact and intrinsically good. I do not believe the ballot has material power to change the means of production/structures and thinking it does may even be problematic.

Please do not read global warming good. Global warming is real and will kill us all. And I am particularly persuaded by the argument that introducing these arguments in debate is unethical for spreading propaganda and should be deterred by rejecting the team. I'm way more persuaded by inevitability and alt cause args.

Hi. I am a parent judge who has a daughter who does LD. I have judged mostly (Florida local) PF. I understand slow, contention level debate and simple framework debate. My speaks are around 28.5 on average. Please pref accordingly.

Add me to the email chain if there is one: kavitharatn@gmail.com

If you want high speaks- be clear, be persuasive, and be explicit on the line by line. Signpost! I will attempt to flow.

Please don't read cps, das, dense framework, trixs, theory or ks in front of me. I will not be able to evaluate it.

Hi. My daughter is an extemper and I've been judging LD for a solid year. Please consider me a lay judge, as I do not like spreading and will not understand K's and advanced theory. I will judged based on who perceptually, logically, and argumentative wise won the round. Delivery will be considered and cross examination is very important.

I'm a Parent and have never judged before.

Don't talk too fast and make sure your arguments are well articulated and easy to follow.

Be respectful towards your opponent, debate provides students an amazing opportunity to learn so please don't use it as an excuse to be disrespectful.

kschwab@pinescharter.net

I've been coaching and teaching Debate (as well as the AICE courses Global Perspectives & Thinking Skills) for the past 14 years.

For LD/PF/Policy

Even though I have experience on the circuit and enjoy different types of cases, I am not a buyer of the belief that the technical should rule because sometimes format is not as important as content & understanding what you are running. I would consider myself a truth over tech although it will come to the clash provided not my own opinion on the truth. I will stick to the flow unless someone gives me a good reason to vote for them that is true and benefits the debate/educational event. I believe that kritiks, theory, LARP, etc... are all beneficial to learning and play into strategy, so I will vote in favor of anything IF you are able to prove the link is logically clear and strong enough in regards to what your opponent says is the reason for why I should not accept.

I do NOT have a preference for framework/cases - I've heard almost every kind by now and all types have won and lost my vote. Extinction impacts bore me without link work done, so I'd appreciate you at least have some linked harm impacts before extinction level even if final impact is extinction.

I can handle speed (even spreading) pretty well by now - if there is an issue with understanding or hearing I will say "clear" and will also check cards at the end for anything I missed...but please keep in mind that there are certain aspects in a construction that maintains well with speed and other areas that don't (i.e. - if you need me to understand how a philosophy or theory applies then allow me to absorb each part before rushing to the next because those are building block arguments, so missing one part can make the whole thing fall).

Congress:

This is a role playing event - I would like you to act better than our current congress :) I'm big on arguments... not on summation evidence (the kind that is just a quote that someone said the same thing as your claim). I like you to talk to us...be charming or intelligent or both if you really want my top scores. I love this event because when it's good it's so good. Have fun, be smart, and don't leave the chamber during session unless an emergency - there are plenty of breaks and I appreciate when students that don't take extra ones.

I am a parent judge who has been judging debate for 4 years. Please do not spread, I can understand slightly higher than conversational speeds but please be reasonable with your speed. I am open to almost any argument as long as you can explain it well enough so that I can understand it. I judge speaker points based on how respectful you were to your opponent, (If you are making obnoxious faces and rolling your eyes at your opponent then your speaker points will reflect that). I understand that debate can get competitive but just remember that we're all here to learn and have a good experience. :)

I coach at American Heritage and have been coaching privately for 6 years now. My email for speech docs is: Stevescopa23@gmail.com.

Conflicts for TOC external to my school: Cary Academy, David Huang

Shortcut:

Philosophy - 1

Theory - 1

Non-Identity Ks - 1/2

T - 2

Identity K's - 2-4 depending how you read them

Policy - 5/Strike

General: I'm tech > truth, read whatever you want. I have a low threshold for extensions of conceded arguments but they need to be extended in each speech. Also, if I don't think an argument has a warrant I won't vote on it. Speaks are inflated by good strategy and execution and capped by how bad i think your arguments are. If you're reading a bunch of unserious nonsense you might win but most likely won't get good speaks.

- I default to truth testing if no other RoB is read.

- I don’t evaluate embedded clash unless there is an argument as to why I should or the round is irresolvable without it.

- I do not believe you get new 2n responses to AC arguments unless an argument is made for why you get those arguments in the NC.

- I will vote on disclosure theory. Just don’t read it against novices or people who clearly don’t know what it is. I also won’t evaluate it if it becomes clear/verifiable the debater’s team won’t allow it or other similar circumstances.

- Don’t need to flash analytics to your opponent but I would like them

- Even if something is labeled an independent voter, if there is no warrant for why it is one, I won’t evaluate it as such. I also don’t really think “x author is sexist/racist/etc so you should lose” makes much sense. I’ll vote on it if you win it but it’s an uphill battle.

Theory: Go for it - this is probably one of the easier things for me to judge, and I really enjoy judging nuanced theory debates. Slow down on the interpretation a bit if it’s something more nuanced. I don’t “gut check” frivolous shells but obviously if you are winning reasonability then I will evaluate through whatever your brightline is. Also, for counter interps “converse of the interp” is not sufficient, if your opponent says “idk what the converse is so I can’t be held to the norm” I will buy that argument, just actually come up with a counter interp.

I really like RVIs and think they are underutilized so if you successfully go for one I will be happy.

T: T debates weren’t nearly as nuanced when I debated so you may have to explain some of the particulars more than you may be used to. I am also a sucker for semantics.

T “framework”: To be honest I am agnostic on whether affs should be T. I probably lean yes, but I also find non-T affs pretty interesting and fun to judge at times. I don’t consider an aff that doesn’t defend fiat but does defend the principle of the resolution non-T, and I am less persuaded by T in that sense.

Tricks: Sure, but speaks might suffer depending how they're executed and how dumb I think they are.

Ks: I really enjoy a good K debate. Especially psycho, baudrillard, nietzsche, and cap. The more specific the links the better. In a relatively equal debate i dont think i've ever voted for deleuze.

Larp: Probably the worst for this but will listen to it, just need to explain things a little more than you normally would. It is probably an uphill battle to win util vs other phil or Ks but possible if that's your thing.

Framework: This is my favorite type of debate and really want it to make a comeback. Great speaks if you can execute this well and/or read something that interests me.

Speaks: I average probably a 28.5. I assign them based on mostly strategy/execution with a little bit of content, but content can only improve your speaks not make them worse really (with the exception of disclosure probably). I like unique and clever arguments and well executed strategy - I would not advise you to go for a tricks aff if you are a larp debater just because I am judging you, do what you do well to get good speaks. I am also somewhat expressive when I think about how arguments interact so be mindful of that i guess. Also, if I can tell your 1ar/2n/2ar is pre-written your speaks will probably suffer.

How do I get a 30?

I won’t guarantee a 30 based on these strategies but it will definitely increase your chances of getting one if you can successfully pull off any of the following:

1) Going NC, AC really well with a phil NC

2) A good analytic PIC

3) Any unique fwk/K/RoB that I haven’t heard before or think is really interesting

4) A true theory shell or one I haven’t heard before

5) Execute a Skep trigger/contingent standard well

6) Successfully going for an RVI

Lay debates: If you are clearly better than your opponent and it is obvious that you are winning the round, please, dear lord, do not use all of your speech time just because you have the time - win the round and sit down so we can have a discussion and make it more educational than just you repeating conceded arguments for 13 minutes.

1. What is your debate background?

I am a parent judge and have judged secondary students for three years for several categories of both speech and debate. My experience has been in the categories of: Original Oratory, Informative, Lincoln Douglas, Extemporaneous, and Public Forum.

2. How do you judge?

I deliberate on overall presentation of debaters - i.e., arguments and delivery.

3. Please explain other specifics about your judging style?

I am not comfortable with the rate of speed of the competitor being any more than what would be considered slightly above the normal conversational rate.

Spreading is welcomed. Copy MUST be provided before starting your speech.

Judge heavily on substance and real world arguments.

Keep your tone friendly and civil.

They/Them

Programming & Operations Coordinator for Denver Urban Debate League / Editor-in-Chief Champions Brief LD

For online rounds please put me on the chain. Email: DSSQ62@gmail.com

Been around debate for 20 years (4 years as a competitor the rest coaching). I'm fine with speed as long as you're clear. I can understand spreading at high speed unfortunately time is catching up to me and I can’t write/type as fast as I once could so I'll say clearer or slower a few times as needed in order to make sure I can actually flow what’s necessary.

*Slow down a bit for online debates. I flow off what i hear. Sound issues inevitably pop up and while I may have the doc just in case; this isn't an essay contest.

Lincoln Douglas

I'll evaluate the round based on how I flow it so run what you want for specifics see below. Please ask me questions if you want to know more.

Framework

I judge a lot of util debates which is fine but I'm up for any kind of framework debate. I like a good complicated Phil heavy round. Skep debates are sorely lacking nowadays so I'm all for them. Haven't heard a good skep round in awhile. Don't be afraid to run nihilistic frameworks in front of me. If you can warrant it and defend it I'll listen to it (so long as it's not racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic).

K's:

Run them please. Admittedly I'm more familiar with classical K literature like cap, bio power and some psychoanalysis. I enjoy a good postmodern Phil round but that doesn't mean I won't listen to other K's. Identity K's and stuff like that are totally fine but make sure you're really clear on the link and alt level. K aff's are fine as long as they can win reasonability on T.

Topicality:

I default to reasonability it's hard for me to say there is an objective limit on the topic when language has multiple meanings. Have good interps. Warranted interps that have an internal justification for why they're true will probably be better than a random dictionary. Random violations that you know your opponents meet but you run them anyway as a time suck are bad. I likely won't buy a contested RVI but a good I meet is probably enough for aff's to avoid any offense on T for me. T violations function as a gateway issue. If the aff isn't topical they likely will lose especially if there is a topical version of the aff. If the aff can give me a good warranted reason why they don't need to be topical I'll vote on it. The standards debate is important if you're gonna go for T you need to go all in and spend time here really explaining why your interpretation creates the best model/the aff isn't debatable.

Theory:

Not my favorite but necessary at times. It's structured the same as topicality and starts with a "T" but theory isn't T. I default to drop the argument in less you tell me otherwise. Theory comes immediately before the layer in which it is criticizing unless you tell me otherwise. Frivolous theory is real, it's when you could easily answer arguments but decide to read theory. This shouldn't be your go to in front of me but I will vote on it if you win it. I'll listen to RVIs on theory but it takes an awful lot of work or the other debater just dropping it for me to vote on them. Better route is just answer the theory quickly and get to substance.

CPs & DAs

Yes please. Make sure you have an explicit CP text with a solvency advocate. Debaters jump from links to impacts really quick nowadays. Don't forget about internal links. They help tell stories in the 2AR/NR. Conditionality is probably fine in front of me but I think anything beyond testing the aff once methodologically and once pedagogically (one CP and one K) is getting abusive.

*Tech over truth only goes so far. If your technically true argument is morally repugnant don't expect me to vote for it. Don't be racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic, or transphobic that's likely gonna be an auto loss.

I look for clear justifications, a lot of direct clash, and no spreading. Please do not overlook the framework debate (Value, value criterion). No flex prep. Avoid tech cases; I don't like theory, but if you run theory explain and analyze carefully. I will ask that you keep time. Do your best and good luck!

Lina M. Sosa

I am a parent judge with experience judging on the local level. My daughter debates Lincoln-Douglas for Fort Lauderdale High School and this is her third year. I have more experience judging public forum than LD but I think I'm rather partial to the argumentation style and format of LD. 

I believe debate is an educational activity that not only the debaters but the judge should learn from. Thus, I believe speeches should be given at or slightly faster than conversational speed. If you spread, I will not be able to accurately evaluate your arguments. 

Arguments can be complex but must be fleshed out. I prefer traditional LD but I'm okay with LARP debate as long as it is well explained. 

Please ask for clarification on anything that may be unclear.

I am an assistant coach with some experience in debate. I debated in high school, but I have been out of the debate community until the 2018-2019 school year. I primarily prefer a lay debate but I can understand well-explained and topical LARP positions. I will not vote on theory, kritiks, or very dense framework because I will not understand it. I look for clarity in your arguments and clarity in speech. I will award speaker points based on confidence, voice projection, argumentation skills, and poise. Please do not spread in front of me as I will not be able to follow. I can understand slightly faster than conversational but I would prefer conversational. I will vote you down if you are overtly rude or offensive, regardless of how well you debate. If you want to run dense framework and theory, I am not the judge for you. All I ask is that you uphold the integrity of a traditional LD round and be respectful.v

I prefer if you don't speak too fast. Please give me a summary at the end.