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Beehive Bonanza

2018 — University of Utah, UT/US

Policy Judges Paradigm List

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Robbie Allison Park City

Last changed on Mon June 13, 2022 at 1:43 AM PDT

Robbie Allison

updated june 2022

experience + background

University of Southern California 2022; BA Political Economy. Minor, Int'l Policy and Management

Loyola High School, Assistant Coach LD - 2 years - present.

4 year policy debater @ USC (NDT-CEDA circuit),

4 years national circuit policy @ Park City HS, Utah

Park City High School, Assistant Coach Policy, 1 year.

put me on the email chain: robbie.allison63@gmail.com

TLDR:
Did a decent amount of topic research for Autonomous weapons. I’ll know the acronyms etc

NSDA 2022 PF: I know the topic area well from years of college-level research on the international politics of the indo-pacific region including American and Chinese foreign policy, international trade, and domestic politics.

Go as fast as you want, please cite author names for evidence, and maintain consistent signposting and organization.

Do your impact analysis at the top of the speech. Overviews are not necessary after constructive speeches.

All other preferences in this paradigm apply equally to PF as they do for other events.

LD specific things @ bottom.

Go for what you're good at. I am well-versed in most k and policy/ir/econ literature but that doesn't mean buzzwords are a good way to debate. Good evidence matters (i'll always read it) but good explanation, organization, and presentation is what wins the debate. The biases I do have I keep isolated from how I evaluate arguments. I make my decision by comparing what was said in the final speeches with respect to what I think the core framing issue / impact is of the round, I assume offense has higher risk / more innate power than defense and is at worst defense. Shadow extensions and evidence that isn't explained doesn't count. Risk is determined (usually) by either uniqueness or evidence quality, and risk of X impact getting solved / occuring is what most debates boil down to - it's in your interest to appeal to this in your speech.

embedded clash is good and if you do it I will do my best to put things together for you without intervening. I will vote on zero risk. these need to be consistent with previous speeches (obviously.)

Yes Tech over Truth. (racial slurs, racism good, marginalized people don't care about their rights, etc. are not tech and you'll probably lose for saying these things)

Specific Arguments

Clash of civs debates: fairness is whatever you want it to be and clash isn't always good (aff should impact turn it and neg should get u.q. with a TVA), you need to explain your wishes into existence and not simply announce them. Structural vs. procedural fairness is a legitimate distinction but easily susceptible to spin and tech tricks.

Politics DA: you better have a good one - I might be skeptical, doesn't mean you shouldn't read it if you believe if its the best strategy etc

Cheating CPs: I'll vote on theory but probably with higher burden on aff to prove abuse than other situations, read them. 2nc CPs and CPs without solvency advocates don't hold up well to good aff analytics.

Theory, T, etc: i default to reasonability and no RVIs. The burden of proof is on the non-violating team (neg in T debates) to prove competing interps are good or their interp is true / better for debate. Caselists, specific applications to the topic and deep discussions of evidence are best here. I don't want to hear 2 minutes of fairness good but rather real internal link analysis about the interp's effect on the topic.

Do more case debate, don't read overviews in front of me, and extend defense when going for the squo.

Indict evidence and compare it, don't just read blocks, and if you do then don't read them full speed. rebuttals should start with decision framing overviews and then quickly go to line by line, i don't need your 2 minute kritik overview.

rona notes:

I am debating on zoom this season as well. It's terrible for everybody involved but luckily we are still able to debate. Make sure you have a verbal confirmation from me before you start a speech or cross ex, I may or may not have my camera on. Keep your mic muted if your not speaking. I think many debaters would benefit from going a little bit slower given the above, especially in rebuttals. I don't want to miss things and mic / internet / audio quality varies. This being said, don't slow down too much that you sacrifice tech advantages. Don't worry too much about speed, I will be fine. Finally, cross-ex: try to give a pause after the other person finished to start speaking.

Specific rona speaker notes:

Watch your judge while you speak even on zoom. I'm moderately expressive and will nod, smile, laugh etc. depending on what u say. All of this however isn't necessarily representative of my overall thoughts on the round.

I flow on the computer, and the screen i flow on is different than the zoom one so if I'm not looking at you its probably because im flowing. if you're talking and I'm not typing you're probably doing something wrong

aggro/intense cross ex is fun, BUT it's VERY EASY to mess up in zoom debates - patience is a virtue. I already watched the first presidential debate and don't need a repeat.

i like history and empirical explanations - use it in your arguments

Speaker point scale is below, but I am on the inflation bandwagon.

ld and policy: general decision-making process, preferences

I value detailed, impactful, and thought through extensions/applications/comparisons of relevant evidence and arguments over anything else when deciding rounds and close clashes. If you want to win something, spend time on it. If you want to beat something, spend time on it.

I don’t have preconditions for what type of argument you should read. I believe judges that refuse to hear/vote on arguments based on certain ideological predispositions are, frankly, weak and dogmatic. The role of the judge is to evaluate the arguments in front of them as objectively as possible. Exposure to things that challenge our worldview and make us uncomfortable is where debate derives its educational, competitive, and interpersonal value. Do what you do best. Specific tech preferences are below. This doesn't mean that I will always vote for your performance aff but it also means I will not always vote for t-fw or traditional policy approaches.

With the above in mind, I find many framework args more and more repetitive, boring, and unpersuasive. Good TVA's, novel interps and evidence, and nuanced process and mechanism analysis that relate to the impacts of the aff will solve this problem for you. If you're going to read a basic ass FW shell and then feed me DanBan clash good lines the whole time without engaging the substance of the affirmative, the round will not go well for you.

I mostly read policy arguments but end up spending a lot of time researching k lit and debating these arguments, and I have a good grasp on them but keep in mind I may not know all of your author names or niche theoretical references and terminology.

speed is fine. stop going full speed through theory blocks and k overviews. Thanks

If an argument has been largely ignored by the other team and consistently impacted and extended by other, my standard of explanation for the former is very low.

If it's in the 2nr/2ar and wasn't in the previous speech, I won't evaluate it - if you're going to extend a piece offense for 3 mins in your rebuttal that's been relatively small the entire round, it's in your best interest to make the location of the ev for the argument apparent or remind me where its been extended etc. - this may seem standard/obvious to many - but ya'll would be surprised.

This is especially true for kritiks. If you have a theory of power, a link, an alt, etc. that's been unaddressed but wins you the round, you still need to explain what it is and why it matters in rebuttals - tagline extensions will never work for me

Please avoid overviews longer than 1 minute, or tell me beforehand so I can flow them somewherew

Embedded clash is cool, I will make those connections for u if they are logical

'insert this rehighlight' doesn't count - read your recut.

buzzwords - policy, econ, and IR buzzwords (academic, not debate-based) are cool with me and make the debate more efficient. K buzzwords are a different story, I will understand your language but if you don't explain the words unique to your theory of power it won't go well for you.

Condo is good (usually)

k, t-fw things

If you read a plan, impact framing and impact/scenario analysis is important to me.

If you don't read a plan, that's fine - Be ready to explain your alt clearly, and why its strategy or mechanism substantively engages whatever you are critiquing. Against T-FW, beat the TVA and tell me why your model is better for debate.

If you read T-FW, fairness is an impact but you should explain a (carded) TVA

Death is bad

‘fiat Is illusory’ and generic state links aren’t enough to win a kritik in front of me – apply your links specifically to the aff and you will have a much easier time

Also, identity arguments are good when deployed in a manner that provides a strategy or solution (alternative) to alleviate impacts for yourself and others like you. When they are deployed for/about you alone and against your opponents positionality, I will be very easily persuaded by the other team’s indict of your method, epistemology, and discourse.

Floating PIKs are cool if the 1ar doesn't have theory. Floating piks and ‘alt solves the aff’ are two different things. The theory is also two different things. One is theoretically questionable and the other is a root cause argument.

I love the perm debate on kritiks, impact or explain the chronology and mechanisms of the perm to win – if the k is a speech act, so is the aff.

fiat is usually legit and good

policy neg things

Counterplans need solvency advocates unless aff doesn't call u out - I really enjoy techy/cheater counterplan debates - obvi if you drop / lose theory ill still vote u down but this shouldn't discourage u from going for them

Case turns are underappreciated

Politics debates are the best or the worst - I value recent ev a lot more here. These debates are when uniqueness, specifically link uniqueness, is very important. Your predictive models for political outcomes need to be detailed and well warranted – I believe impact defense and well-thought out aff analytics are usually enough to beat an obscure, weakly carded politics disad. When packaged well, intrinsic arguments have an unrecognized truth and strategic benefit.

Bad evidence really is bad and having good cards is important - I will often break ties with evidence - whoever's argument more consistently aligns with the ev usually has more truth behind their overall thesis - and the quality of that ev matters. This being said, warranted extensions and applications of your evidence need to be made throughout the round. This also means I value good explanation and knowledge of this evidence, especially in rebuttals and cross-ex. Comparative arguments are your best tool to win evidence - if you win that your ev is better than theirs, you have a much higher chance of getting my ballot.

I default to 'yes judge kick' unless there is a debate about it. 'no judge kick' in the 1ar/2ar doesn't count unless its a cross app from a condo shell from the 2ac

speaks

I use the following scale:

Below 27 – you did something unsavory that I would probably mention during the rfd – severity determines scale.

27-27.9 – within this range, you likely behaved in a perceptually bad way, spoke unclearly, or had a below-average speaking/cx performance

28-28.7 – average speaking performance: clear, organized, small errors/quirks but no big deal.

28.8 – 29.5 – above average speaking performance. Varies relative to other team’s skill but exceeds regardless in speaking style, flourish, and organization

29.6 – 30 – exceptional performance. Impressive speaker.

LD things

I make decisions off of evidence comparisons often here because there's so little time for developed clash in round. This is to say good analytics are good, but good evidence is better.

time allocations are unbalanced in LD. I give the affirmative a little more leeway in the depth of their explanations given this. This does not mean I'll vote on your 2ac one-liner.

Please signpost...

for the love of god dontspreadfullspeedthroughyourdamnanalyticsandtheoryblocks its bad for you unless you know your'e crystal clear and trust me you aren't saving that much time.

Topicality in LD is odd in LD (my opinion). If you're going for T in front of me, make sure you can connect your interpretation to the aff (in either direction) and tell me why your interp is good for debate or why theirs is bad (or both). Topicality impacts in LD are odd bc your topic only lasts 2 months lol

Please include some decision framing in your rebuttal

A few things I stole from Ben Rosenthal that I also explain how I evaluate this debate:

1. I won't vote on an RVI

2. T- bare plurals / T subsets is hard to win in front of me, LAWs topic is one exception

3. I think asking your opponent what cards you read/didn't read counts as cross-ex or prep. you should be able to flow and listen to their speech - asking for a marked copy is what you can do without sucking prep, but if you ask about specific warrants etc. that's going to be your prep time.

4. Framing contentions don't substitute for impact explanations, and you can ditch your pre-scripted 2AC case overview

5. Theory needs to be more developed - pick and choose your arguments that you make better, because if the only word I can flow is "condo" then I won't vote for it, even if dropped.

6. if you're reading phil explain yourself - I don't know LD norms and buzzwords for these arguments

If you have more specific questions or accommodations feel free to ask

Vance Allred Jordan HS None

Justin Baker Skyline

Kyle Bernstein Lone Peak HS None

Madeline Brague Rowland Hall

Last changed on Sat February 16, 2019 at 2:17 PM MDT

Please put me on the email chain - madelinebrague@gmail.com

Quick version for 5 minutes before round:

I am most fluent in critical literature, but I would MUCH prefer a good policy debate to a sub-par K debate. If you read a politics DA, I need more than a single generic link (some damn good analytics can do it for me in some cases). I love a well-executed K, but I would say I'm equally sympathetic to framework and policy turns. Just win your arguments and know that I'm not a good judge for extremely ticky-tacky debate on the exact political implementations of a plan mainly because I usually don't care (process counterplans, I'm looking at you).

***NOTE: please PLEASE don't start top-speed, it's very difficult for me. A few minutes into the speech and you're good to go full speed but don't start there, ESPECIALLY on T or framework or case overviews (full-speed analytics are a hellish nightmare). Start as though you're giving a 2nr overview on T. If you want more info, see below.

Now the details for all you people-pleasers:

A bit about me - I debated for Rowland Hall in high school and currently coach for them. I love debate because it is what you make it. If you win the argument (and I agree that you won it), I'll vote on it. I debated using mostly critical literature when I was the captain, but I usually had policy partners. We went for framework 95% of the time. This means that I am *technically* most experienced with critical jargon, but please don't go for a K that you don't know rather than giving me a solid policy debate. To quote Misty Tippets, "Debate is for the debaters."

Judges I hope to emulate:

Shanara Reid-Brinkley, Daryl Burch, Calum Matheson, Kinsee Gaither, Misty Tippets

About speed:

I'm totally good with speed—but debaters tend to start at top speed and then gradually slow down as they lose steam, which is bad. I cannot catch your arguments when you start that way, and I WILL NOT say "clear" or "slow" to let you know, because it's your job to debate and speak in a compelling way that makes me want to vote for you. Maybe this is more of a problem for me than other judges, but please PLEASE please start slower so I can get used to your voice.

Preferences by argument:

Disads - I love a good link analysis and case turns that don't rely on the threat of nuclear war. DA's are obviously the building blocks of debate, so use them. Remember that generic blocks by themselves won't necessarily get you too far because it's a debate, not a monologue.

Politics - I gave this its own section because I can very much appreciate a politics DA with killer link analysis and a "legitimate" internal link chain (let's be real, they're all stretches). However, please do not run a politics DA when you only have generic links unless it's literally the only argument you have against the aff. When the link is that any aff being passed ever triggers the link, I have a lot of sympathy to the whole non-UQ argument (which makes it very hard to win this DA in that scenario).

Counterplans - if you have a decent net benefit, I think counterplans are great with one exception: process counterplans. I think most debaters tend to run these without a solid internal link to the net benefit, and I just don't think they're very strategic. If you win them, I'll vote on them, but remember: using unexplained political jargon—policy trigger words like "due process"—will not help you at all in front of me.

Topicality - I think case lists are really important for actually winning an impact for both sides. This means both sides should have one! Don't just randomly assert that one side loses or gains a bunch of ground without proving it. Remember that as the neg, you need to win that your model of debate is good in all instances, not just this round. For the aff: I don't have a definition of reasonability that I'll hold you to, because there are lots of interpretations of what it means and I don't think it's necessary to prefer one over the others. But YOU need to define it for me.

Kritiks: I think these have the potential to be both the best and worst arguments in debate. Know your literature and use your evidence! I will likely know your literature—so anything from afropessimism to Baudrillard is fine—but even if I understand your jargon-filled cards, you need to prove to me that YOU understand them (if you don't, at least try to fake it till you make it). The best K debaters will work closely with aff evidence and arguments, not dismiss them as irrelevant to the "real questions" that your shut-in scholars like to ponder.

Planless/nontraditional affs - I'll jive with whatever you're throwing at me as long as you can defend it. Some relation to the topic is probably good, but if you can defend why not then I'm down. I ran these a lot and will likely have a basic understanding of your literature, but I think a good TVA can be deadly. You need to prove that 1) you DO solve things, 2) it's the BEST way to solve those things, and 3) those things are important. Please make your solvency mechanism and impacts clear.

Framework - I think this is a strategic argument when done right, and I enjoy a good defense of the model of debate that you think is most productive. Fairness is the only true impact in my opinion—you can win education is good, but I don't think you can win that you're the only ones who access education. I think framework as an impact turn/pseudo-counterplan is very strategic, and you can have education/game net benefits. It will help you to weigh framework against the mechanism of the aff in front of me. Framework against a critique will VERY rarely be enough to win the debate on its own but can be strategic in hedging against the offense of a K.

Theory - I usually feel good about voting on these kinds of arguments until the impact debate, where teams hope that if their opponents drop it then I'll automatically vote. I'll be very sympathetic, and certainly don't beat a dead horse on the theory flow, but please actually explain your impacts! There has to be a reason why it matters that they dropped it!

Stuff I like -

- a joke or two—stop taking this activity so damn seriously

- showing legitimate respect towards the other people in the room

- detailed links to minutiae in the aff

- 1ARs given off of paper (except for reading a card)

Pet peeves -

- Saying "CX was DAMNING on this question." No it wasn't. Just say "CX proves that..." and don't be so condescending.

- Yelling over people in CX just to prove a point. The judge can never hear what's going on when both speakers are trying to talk over each other and you're being rude.

- Not flowing the 2AR/just randomly gazing off into space during the 2AR. The debate hasn't ended, so you're still a debater...act like it.

- Using lots of your prep time to ask CX questions just to be annoying to the other team. I'm not listening at this point.

- Spreading through blocks. If they're that long, then you should shorten them.

- Saying "obviously debate doesn't leave this room when we say the government should do something." Oh really? I thought you were a senator. My b

I hope this goes without saying, but I will not tolerate any kind of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, queerphobic, ableist, or otherwise exclusionary discourse/conduct. Doing so will result in lowest possible speaks and an automatic loss for me.

Bailey Brunyer Copper Hills HS

Last changed on Fri February 21, 2020 at 1:12 PM MST

Please put me on the E-mail chain: baileybrunyer7@gmail.com

I am a debater at WSU and I have been apart of the debate community for 5 years. I have debated and/or debated against almost every argument that you have probably ever heard of. I have been switching between being the 2A and the 2N almost my whole debate career. Honestly just do whatever you want and if you win it, I will vote on it. Here is some more specific shit.

Affirmative

There are two thing that you need coming out the 1AC

1: An impact that is generated for the status quo

2: A way to solve those impacts

If you don't have both or either of these, there is very little chance that I will vote for you

All of debate is a performance and all research must first require an interpretation of how debate should look or happen. I believe that the best interpretation is that there is always room for any interpretation about debate. Form there we can debate on which interp is just better, that may include predictability or it may include inclusivity.

Offense is key! if you don't have this on at least one of the flows, there is very little chance that you could win. I believe that a team could win on running only defense, but no one wants to give or listen to that 2NR. I don't think that enough 2As will go for things like the theory level threshold of the link. For example, I think there is something to be said about fill-in DAs because it seems to not be an effectual consequence of the Aff but rather just something that happens after the plan. On the other side, I think that there are issues with that arguing swell. The takeaway should be that DAs should not just get away with the links that they read if they seem unfair on a meta level of any offense.

CP/Alternatives

I really like seeing unique CP/alternatives but if you don't have a net ben then there is no reason to vote for them if the Aff. teams reads a perm, duh. Even if you have a boring CP but you think it could win, then read it. With that said, I think it would be really cool to see some perm theory.

Theory

I really like seeing good theory debates but something that I would like to see more theory shells talk about voting issues that are more kritikal but I done;t mind education and fairness being the voting issues.

Devon Cantwell Hire 8 rounds

Last changed on Fri January 5, 2024 at 1:27 PM EDT

** Updated for the 2023-2024 Academic Year**

She/Her/Hers

Evidence: Apparently I need to put this on here now, but evidence standards will always be an a priori issue to evaluation for me. If there is a procedural argument that is brought up on the standards for evidence (example: distortion, not being able to access source for evidence, clipped evidence, or non-existent evidence). I will default to NSDA evidence standards unless there are other standards governing evidence evaluation. I will also only evaluate evidence that has been brought up on an ethics violation. Once an evidence ethics argument has been made, I will stop the round and vote immediately on that issue before anything else in the round proceeds. I see evidence as a core ethics argument that impacts the ability to go through anything else in the round and impacts my ability to trust any evidence that has been read by a team with evidence issue.

General Background: I’ve been in the world of policy debate for about 15 years, ranging from participation to coaching. Way back in the day, I debated at both Topeka High and Washburn Rural HS. I also debated in the regional circuit for University of Kansas for a few years and coached in Kansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. I have a deep love for the activity. I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Political Science and I study immigration surveillance as part of my research.

Topicality/Procedural Issues: I vote on these. While I default to competing interpretations, it's important that you are answering all levels of the argument-- including the impact level of the debate. If you are negative and hope to win the round on T, you need to make sure you have a complete argument out of the gate to vote on. I should see a definition, interp, link, and impact level to your argument and I should see the aff responding to these. Cross-apply this to any procedural argument as well (such as ASPEC, condo bad, etc.)

Disads- There needs to be a terminal impact (or at least solid analysis as to why that impact outweighs aff impacts in the round), a risk/okay probability of the disad happening (otherwise, why does your UQ matter?), and a plausible link to the aff. Generic DAs are fine, but there needs to be a plausible link, even if just at an analytical level.

Counterplans-- I tend to be alright with CPs and lean negative. I think most are generally smart. However, that being said, the CP needs to be both rhetorically and functionally competitive. I think Affs can/should be held accountable for clarifications made on positions and that those links apply across both CP and DA grounds.

Kritiks-- I'm fine with these, however, keep in mind that I am studying political theory in a Ph.D. program, so if your whole knowledge of your K is from a long series of back files on the K or from reading a few paragraphs of Nietzsche, this might end badly for you. I tend to prefer Ks with wider reach (capitalism, feminism, racism, etc) and less so Ks of particular authors, mostly because they are generally done poorly. If you run a K, it is EXTREMELY important that you provide a clear narrative of a) the role of my ballot, b) the world of the alternative, and c) how I should prioritize impact calculus in the round.

General Notes:

- If you are going for more than 2 major things in your 2NR/2AR, there is a low chance you are going to win the round. Similarly, if you don't provide an impact calculus, you likely will not like the decision I make at the end of the round.

- Negative strategy-- there needs to be some sort of offense in the round. A defensive strategic approach has rarely won my ballot.

- Please don't be unpleasant during the round. I can almost guarantee that if you are, it's not aligned with the quality of your argumentation and it's just going to be a long round. For me this looks more like arrogance or intentional cruelness-- I'm fine with bluntness, anger, frustration, etc. If you are unsure what I mean by this, please ask.

- I pay attention to the rhetoric used in the round. Slurs and derogatory language will almost assuredly earn you lower speaker points.

- Both teams should start impact calc early, use this to frame your speeches and line by line, and use impact calc to prioritize voting issues and role of the ballot.

- I reward debaters who make an effort to deeply engage with the topic area and issues.

- Squirrel affs are rarely good affs. They generally have poor structure, poor solvency or advantage foundations, and generate poor debate. I would rather see a super mainstream topic that prompts a lot of clash in the round than an aff that is poorly written for an ambush factor.

- In more policy-centered debates, I may err more on the tech aspect of the debate. In other cases, I may give some leniency on tech if the arguments are "true" (understanding that truth can be a subjective value).

- I'm starting to realize through my working social justice that I'm more easily affected by detailed narratives of sexism, racism, ableism (esp. invisible disabilities), and sexual assault. Trigger warnings aren't very helpful for me as a judge (I don't have a choice to opt out of them and I don't think that I would want to) but know that I may ask for a minute to just breathe or get some water between speeches, so I can have a clear head for the next speaker if there is a particularly vivid or powerful speech. This is by no means a common thing that I do, but I did want to add this to affirm the value of self-care in this activity.

- Add me to the email chain: devon.cantwell@gmail.com

- I flow on my computer, so please make sure you take a beat at the top of flows before jumping in and please slow down to about 70% for analytical arguments, especially if they are fewer than 5 words. I have physical pain in my joints, especially at the end of long days of judging. This doesn't make my ability to assess your arguments any less, nor does it impact my competency. I will do my best to say "slow" if my joints can't keep up.

- If you think you might want my flow of the round, I'm happy to send it. Please try to give me a heads-up before the round starts, as I organize my flows a bit differently when they are being distributed. Also, send me an e-mail after the round to remind me to send it to you.

TL;DR: You do you. Have fun. Be a decent human in the round. Learn some things.

Jennifer Cantwell Northridge High School

Deena Carey Parker School

Shannon Chamberlain Northridge High School

Jason Daniels Dixie HS

Christopher de Freitas Hire 8 rounds None

Amy Dethorn Brighton High School None

Sidd Devaru Skyline

Leo Doctorman Hire 8 rounds

Last changed on Thu December 17, 2020 at 9:34 AM MDT

Leo Doctorman

He/Him

Yes email chain(and questions): leodoctorman@gmail.com

Affiliated with Rowland Hall Debate(Asst. Coach)/John R. Park Debate Society

Experience: 4+ years policy @ Roho

Currently Debating @ University of Utah

Tl/dr:

You do you. I vote off the flow but have lost of opinions.

Background:

4 years national circuit policy at Roho
Currently debating LD and BP collegiately
I was a 2N

My beliefs about debate:

Efficiency/Clarity>Speed
Clash over tricks
Kritik is a verb
Engage, don’t exclude
Case debate = undervalued
Cross X = binding and important
Debates are won before they begin
Truth is important, but tech can define it
There is inherent value in research and discourse
Debate is game!

Overview:

I have a deep appreciation of debate as an activity and as a community. I will strive to do everything I can to ensure a equitable debate. Debate is a game, and games are fun.

I will try to not intervene with my decision. I vote off the flow. All that I ask is that the 2NR/2AR slows down(a bit) and works to write my ballot. If I can’t flow it, it’s not in the RFD.

Don’t ask just put me on the chain. If you don’t flash analytics then slow down on them. In addition, generally slow down on tags. Otherwise I’m cool with speed so long as you’re clear. In fact, speed is good. Emailing is not prep if you are quick about it.

Some truth claims are non-negotiably false, dropped or not. Racist, Sexist, Anti-Semitic, etc. claims are always false.

My Voting Process: After the round I will reread all evidence I view as pertinent to my decision. I will probably take a while to decide. I will write the easiest ballot possible and won’t do work for you if I don’t have to. Disclosure and critiques are good for everyone and I will always try to provide these.

What my ballot does: My role as a judge is to determine the winner and loser. That’s it.

My ballot probably isn’t the link to upending debate norms. There is no narrative or radical argumentation that gets tied to my ballot. You need to win a spillover argument to change my mind. Judge instruction is good. If you want me to do a certain thing with a ballot, make the argument.

General:

(I’m stealing this format but I personally found it helpful)

Policy-----------x--------------K

Tech--------x------------------Truth

Fiat is good-x----------------------------------Fiat is bad

Cross-X is a speech------------x-------------------Cross-X is prep time

K affs: I don’t mind K affs. But they need to do something. It should also be tangentially related to the topic. I think K affs are ideologically good for debate, they are also pretty strategic.

K affs that have clear, strong advocacies that are well developed and backed up will make for an excellent aff round. Inability to access your discussion through the USFG is convincing. Justify everything you do.

Performance is an ends to a means. If you read a poem but don’t attach it to an argument you’ll probably lose. Same goes for narratives.

T-USFG: At the end of the day, the T-USFG debate is less about if ‘rules are broken’ and more about if the K aff ruins the fairness/education/etc. A well run T versus a K aff is very convincing. T with a TVA is even more convincing.

Fairness----------x-------------------------Dm/skills

1 off T----------------------------x--------Diverse strat

Theory(Non-T): Meh. Not really my schtick. If its dropped, I’ll vote on it. Don’t replace answers with theory. Don’t plan on going for theory before round. I’m probably sympathetic to a Neg’s multiple worlds, but I think condo is a good arg if a team is truly skewed out of the round. Theory is a check on abuse, use it for that. Nothing more.

Condo good-x--------------------------- Condo bad

T: It’s cool. Being on topic is important. Go for it if you need to. I will scrutinize your interpretations as a means of determining reasonability. I believe that in-round impacts definitely exist. Impact it out. Tell me where the abuse stems from. The most important part of T, next to your interp, is the internal link to your impact. Why does not defaulting to your interp explode limits? Even if you lose that your interp isn’t as good, it can still garner impacts if you win that it is uniquely key to limits. 2NR/2AR needs to slow down a bit and delineate standards.

Limits good(depth)----------x-------------------Overlimiting bad(breadth)

Reasonability-------------------x-------------Competing interps

Kritiks:

After I started doing Parli in college, I have shifted to the K pretty dramatically. I have a pretty good knowledge of many lit bases and I love the K debate.

Kritik is a verb. You should be doing something with the argument, not simply describing why “cap is bad”. You should provide a stable alternative, preferably not just rejecting the aff.

Framework is underutilized by both the aff and neg. I start my judging process on every K debate here. I’m probably willing to frame out a team that doesn’t have an interp, or looses that they get to weigh their arguments.

I believe strongly in kritical specificity. The more specific, the better. Contextualization is key.

If you can’t explain your alt, you’re in trouble. Be ready to define what the world of your alt looks like. It’ll make your life easier on the perm debate. Mechanisms to deploy your alternative(i.e thought experiment, rejection, counter-methodology, fiat, etc.) are very important.

Yes floating piks----------x--------------------Tell me why not

Perms--x------------------------------obviously

VTL is inherent------x----------------------------Sometimes No VTL

Reading a K you don’t understand-------------------------------x--Reading a disad

CPs: CPs are great. A good CP debate is awesome. CP specificity is important, and should probably have a solvency advocate. I’ll vote on a perm if the aff beats the net benefit and/or proves it’s not mutually exclusive. Solvency deficits won’t necessarily lose you the CP if you explain how you solve sufficiently. Solvency is a net benefit.

Explain your perms

I’ll judge kick if you can justify it

2NC CPs are probably abusive.

Lit=legit----x-------------------------------- “I don’t like weird CPs”

DAs: Specific DAs are good. Generic links usually kill uniqueness. Overbroad uniqueness usually overwhelms the link. This being said, very few disads are ‘true’, but they can be true enough. Impact calculus is important and undervalued. I also think that ‘topic DAs’ are a good fall back and can be debated very well. A creative politics disad will impress me. The newer the cards, the better the disad is.

Case: Case debate is undervalued. I think it’s a perfectly fair strategy to read fewer off and incorporate a higher level of clash on case. Turns, such as dedev, can end up being strategic 2NRs. Circumvention arguments can turn into NBs for a CP. One thing that’s difficult to judge is the brightline for presumption. This being said, never go for defense unless you think it’s a clear cut win.

Pet Peeves:

Old politics cards
Not knowing your K
Excluding opponents
Too many buzzwords
Extending cards not warrants
Not disclosing. Lacking a wiki page or at the very least disclosing past 2nrs/ the aff will go very, very poorly in front of me. It is good for big and small schools. The exception is new affs.
Miscut/cited evidence: If you aren’t giving cites, I’ll ignore the cards. If you’re doing anything more sketch than that, I’ll drop you.
Not having evidence: Obviously not for obscure/new args. Analytics are still cool. But for topic disads/CPs, or common affs, it just doesn’t make sense. The wiki is a thing. Go recut some evidence. There are thousands of well-cut cards coming out of camps. No excuses.

Speaker Points:

I will award good speaking with good speaker points. I will award wittiness, passion, efficiency, strategy, clarity and boldness with good speaks. I appreciate aggressive debate, but not overtly rude debate. I will detract speaks for exclusionary language, unintelligibility and strategic issues. My speaks reflect strategy and execution as much as speaking. If I can’t understand I’ll say clear maybe twice and then stop flowing.

My speaks reflect the tournament.

Misc:

Baudrillard---------------------------x-Balsas

Death Good-------------------------x-Death Bad

Dalton Edwards Roy High School None

JD Elbrader Roy High School

Catherine Goodman Park City

Tyler Gordon Herriman HS

Last changed on Fri November 30, 2018 at 11:49 PM MDT

"Quotes are for... people who can't think of something intelligent to say on their own." ~Bo Burnham

*Hi, Tyler here, two big things that I am tired of in debate are: 1. people thinking that I will flow their speech off of their speech doc 2. Debaters expecting me to understand everything about their arguments. I do not know everything, contrary to popular belief. If you choose not to read my paradigm then you are putting yourself in a position where I probs will vote you down. Read and adapt. Welcome to debate.*

I did policy debate for four years in high school (just because I say that does not mean I am any good. Lots of people say that but it doesn't mean much.). Graduated in 2016. I am here to judge whatever arguments you throw at me (as long as you EXPLAIN them.). I will try my best to flow whatever you say (see speed section). Although it will not effect the round be nice to the other team. *There is a difference between passion and being rude.*

Quick paradigm; TL;DR;

- Run what you want.

- Speed is fine, don't go too fast. Make sure as the aff you are extending your case through. Use your rebuttals to solidify your arguments.

- Please explain why my ballot is key.

- Don't assume I understand your K or K aff, they take explaining.

- I have a very basic understanding of the topic, so I could probably follow along, but explain your case anyways.

I would say here I am a tabs judge but I don't want you to read that an just go off of that because I feel like that 'type' of judge has become meaningless, everyone is a tabs judge. I will try my best to remove my personal views on anything, but (like any other judge) we have thoughts and feelings too. I am not your perfect judge (there isn't one out there I don't think). I will evaluate anything if you can explain it to me.

FAQ

Speed

So speed is fine; make sure to be clear though. Please go slightly slower on tag lines and analytics. If you decide to do an overview (which I pray to the flying spaghetti monster you don't) do not just spread through it. *I want to be able to flow your arguments and if I can't then there is no way I can evaluate them.* I place part of the blame on myself for not being a faster flower but at some point the blame goes from me to the debater. Although speed is a strategy that I understand and used it myself, debate is still a competition of communication. If you are anything like me and have paragraph long tag lines on your K slow the hell down on them. I was a silly debater and thought that everyone could write/type as fast as I could talk.

Arguments

Run whatever you would like. I can understand most arguments. ***Please don't assume I know what you are talking about though, K's and K aff's take explaining. I may have debated for 4 years but that doesn't mean I understand every single one of your DA's or CP's and how it works. Please make sure to explain.*** I like to think that I was a well versed high school debater, but in reality I relied heavily on a single K, so EXPLAIN. I do love a good line-by-line, I think this is a super strong way to prove your arguments. If you fail to explain your aff solvency or your alt solvency, why my ballot is key, then I have a really hard time voting for you. You need to give me a reason to vote for you.

Knowledge on the topic

I have read through a bunch of the Open Ev files so I have a basic understanding of the topic. I have also had some coaching from a few friends. So I should be fine. ***I am sad that I have to say this..... but this topic can be... Xenophobic. You run what you want, and you can say what you want and I will evaluate it. Think about it though, are you willing to forgo your morals just to win a debate? There are plenty of other arguments that you can and should run. Just a thought.***

Philosophy

I am not terribly well versed in a wide variety of philosophy so if you are going to go deep on me please make sure you are explaining so I can understand what you are talking about. I should be able to follow along as it is but make sure you don't lose me. If you lose me, then I also have a hard time voting for you because I have no idea what I am voting for. I am not going to be a judge that just pretends I know what you are talking about. ***I am a college student, working full time and trying (failing) to have a social life outside of all of that. I do not have time to read the latest book on theory. I probably have a low understanding of what you are talking about, so run what you are going to run but explain it to me.***

Performance

I did a variation of performance aff in high school, it was parody. I am cool with performance however if it is violent in any way I will not be tolerated. Like I said before make sure that you explain your arguments, even if they are performance I will need a reason to vote for you.

Case Evaluation

The Affirmative has to prove to me that the world of the Aff is going to be better than the world of the Neg or the status quo. So as the Aff make sure you hold tight onto your case, whatever that may be. If you have to make the choice between abandoning your case to attack the neg or sticking with your case, stick with your case 100% of the time. You can still kick out of advantages strategically, but if you drop everything I have nothing to vote on. Do not abandon your advantages because the neg does not talk about them, extend them through please, because I will not do the work for you.

That all being said - I really do want to be the best judge that I can be, and I try my best to take my time in evaluating your arguments. At the end of the day I do have to vote, if you do not like my decision I have no problem talking it over, but please remember that I am giving up my personal weekends, time and sleep to be here for you. I am trying my hardest and if you think my decision is BS, I will say sorry here, go back to your team and tell them you had a BS judge last round and rant about it for the short amount of time you have between rounds. Debate cannot function without debaters willing to debate and judges willing to judge. If you have any other questions please ask them! I would love to help out in whatever ways I can.

-Tyler Gordon

tyler@debatemail.com

Add me to email chains, please and thank you!

CHANGE LOG (All times are in MST):

12/1/2018 06:48 -

+"I may have debated for 4 years but that doesn't mean I understand every single one of your DA's or CP's and how it works. Please make sure to explain."

+Formatted TLDR

-"P.S. This is my first year doing this but if you want to see a paper copy of my flows then just shoot me an email."

11/28/2018 13:32 -

+"Debate cannot function without debaters willing to debate and judges willing to judge."

Courtney Hamilton The Davidson Academy Of Nevada 8 rounds

AnnElise Hatjakes The Davidson Academy Of Nevada

Last changed on Sun February 17, 2019 at 5:43 PM EDT

In terms of experience, I have been coaching for 2012 and am comfortable with just about anything you can throw my way. For policy, I will vote on anything from topicality to a kritik provided that I've been given enough reason to do so. For LD, I like the framework debate to be carried through the round, but if it's dropped by both competitors, I can evaluate the debate on a contention level.

Policy

While I don't mind tag teaming, know that a natural consequence of this practice is immediately highlighting which team member is stronger. I understand that one partner may know more about one subject area than the other, if that person is never required to answer/ask his/her own questions, he/she will never improve. With regard to spreading, I don't see this as a good strategy, and furthermore, I find it problematic in that it frequently privileges debaters who can afford to attend expensive debate camps or schools with well-funded debate programs. It is not the judge's job to parse evidence--it's yours. I typically evaluate the round based on impact calculus at the end and value clean line-by-line argumentation over evidence dumps. I'm much more swayed by your ability to make cogent arguments than your ability to speak quickly and power tag cards.

As an LD judge, I value unique framework arguments. LD has been taking on many of the characteristics of policy with a preference for evidence over analysis. I don't fault debaters for this shift, but I do like to see LD debaters prioritize the elements (like framework and philosophical principles) that make this event unique. As with policy, I will vote on whatever the competitors show me I should vote on, but the debate will be cleaner if you narrow the focus of clash so that there aren't two distinct framework-level and contention-level debates. See above notes on spreading.

I disclose*

*Disclosure provides an opportunity for debaters to ask specific questions about the round. Saying, “But didn’t you hear when I said...” or “But why didn’t you vote on...” are not questions intended for learning, and I won’t answer them. Yes, I did hear you and you did not win for the reasons I just said.

Maria Hiatt Lone Peak HS

Carrie Hurst Lone Peak HS None

Dan Jeffrey Lone Peak HS

Olivia Kavapalu Rowland Hall 8 rounds

Last changed on Fri December 6, 2019 at 9:39 AM MDT

Olivia Kavapalu

Debated for: Bingham, UT in CX and LD

Please add me in the email chain: ojkavapalu@gmail.com

Overview:

Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess

Paparazzi, catch my fly, and my cocky fresh

I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin')

I'm so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces

My daddy Alabama, momma Louisiana

You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bamma

I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag

I see it, I want it

I stunt, yellow bone it

I dream it, I work hard

I grind 'til I own it

I twirl on them haters

...

You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation

Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.

- Queen Bey

Line-by-Line:

Tabula Rasa. I will adapt to you rather than you to me. It's not my place as a judge to exclude or marginalize any sort of argument or framework. I will vote on K, T, CP, case, FW, performance, theory, DA's.... whatever. I personally enjoy hearing a good K debate, not that I'm more inclined to vote on this genre of argumentation especially if the articulation/construction is handled poorly. Down for the K, performance, or topical aff. Anything goes with me.

I'm big on organization. Hit the line by line hard. Don't just give me 3 min overviews or read a bunch of cards off the line, then expect me to conveniently find the best place on the flow for you. Do the work for me. I flow on paper OG style, so don't drop arguments. I can handle any level of speed, but be clear.

I will work hard to make the debate accessible and a safe place for you and your arguments. If you have access needs during a debate, wish to inform me of your preferred gender pronoun, or if there is anything you wish to communicate privately, please let me know or send me an email.

My judging philosophy is very short for a reason. Its your debate, not mine. Just stay organized and tell me where and why to vote. Write my ballot in your 2NR/2AR.

To LD:

In addition to what you should have read above, I'm big on the FW debate. You could have the most glorious plan/K but if I think the FW articulation is lacking, don't expect to win. Stretching the resolution is fine but know that I expect a strong T debate.

Side notes that may be worth your time:

Speaker Points Scale - I'll do my best to adhere to the following, unless otherwise instructed by a tournament's invite:

30-You sound as good as or better than Morgan Freeman, you have the eloquence of Shakespeare. You could convince the Pope that God doesn't exist.

29.5-This is the best speech I will hear at this tournament, and probably at the following one as well.

29-I expect you to get a speaker award.

28.5-You're clearly in the top third of the speakers at the tournament.

28-You're around the upper middle (ish area)

27.5-You need some work, but generally you're doing pretty well

27-You need some work

26.5-You don't know what you're doing at all

26 and lower-you've done something ethically wrong or obscenely offensive that is explained on the ballot.

Honestly, I copied most of this stuff from other coaches wiki's (names given here) - Mark A. Hernandez Sr., Hannah Shoell, John Shackelford?

Hmu if you have any questions or want to hear my thoughts on Beyonce and Jay-Z latest collaborative album or analyze the conditions that lead to the low concentration of Pacific Islanders in debate. I'd love to chat.

Nicole Kelso The Davidson Academy Of Nevada None

Jeremy Lam Viewmont High School

Last changed on Fri October 4, 2019 at 10:47 AM MST

He/Him/His/They/Them

I've done forensics for 4 years in a lot of different events. I competed 3 years in high school and one year in the collegiate parliamentary circuit. Overall, I'm familiar with the mechanisms of debate and comfortable with procedurals and critical arguments.

Send Files to jeremylm21@gmail.com

Specifics:

Speed:

My first language isn't English and have severe ADD, so if you spread too quckly or are unclear I will not be able to flow you. I won't flow from the file you send me on my computer, I only do so to check evidence. Although, I will "clear" and "slow" you a few times before I stop flowing. Overall, you can go fast as long as you're clear on tags, and if you're not then I will clear/slow you. SLOW ON TAGS AND CITES. I would also prefer if you didn't spread in rebuttals.

Make the round accessible to everyone, I won't accept spreading if it's used to create a barrier against those who aren't familiar with speed. Slow or clear when your opponents ask you to.

HOW TO GET CRAZY HIGH SPEAKS:

Most of my formal debate experience comes from collegiate parliamentary where cards and evidence are not used. This means a couple of things: first is that I heavily value analysis and strong warrants, second is that I'm terrible at flowing citations. In your constructive speeches it is very important for you to label each part of the argument (i.e. uniqueness, links, impacts) in each position which makes it easier for me to flow. Thus your extensions should look like "Extend the link analysis on advantage 1," instead of "Extend the xxx card."

Theory:

My threshold for theory is relatively low compared to formal policy judges. Just like all most arguments, if you can warrant it, I will flow it. The same condition applies to reverse voting issues as well. When answering theory I use standards for measuring abuse in-round, so be sure to do sufficient analysis on them and be thorough in the voters. I'll leave the evaluation debate up to you.

Kritiks:

I think K's, K Affs, and Performance Affs are intriguing and awesome. However, I am not familiar with most of the literature base with the exception for basic critiques, like Capitalism. The best way for you to win critical arguments with me is to include an analysis that treats me like I'm 10 years old. Referring back to the Speed section, my first language isn't English and I have ADD, so when you use intricate vocabulary while speaking quickly, I probably won't be able to follow your speech.

It's important that your framework is strongly warranted. My unfamiliarity with critical literature makes it so I default to a policy framework if the framing of the K isn't explained well. You'll also have to convince me the alt is better than the plan, it's usually not enough for me to vote on the K as a linear disadvantage.

Side Note: Please don't run identity criticisms without being a part of the specified marginalized identity that you are using unless you have a specific method to engage in the discussion. Commodifying the struggles of a marginalized group won't win you the ballot.

In/Out of round conduct:

USE TRIGGER WARNINGS (sexual assault, violence/gore, racial slurs, etc.) AND TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THEM BEFORE THE ROUND BEGINS. I will not stand for malicious actions towards other competitors, if you fail to use someone's correct pronouns on purpose, call them racial slurs, or blatantly disrespectful, I will reflect it on the ballot. I understand that in-round aggression is inevitable, but please keep it to a minimum. I view debate as a safe space for debaters to voice themselves in ways they otherwise wouldn't have outside of the activity, please treat it as such.

I don't care if you sit/stand for cross. If you take too long to flash evidence I will count it towards your prep.

Unless told otherwise, I usually disclose at the end and give critiques. I also save my flows for the day, so if you have questions outside of round I'd be happy to answer them or give feedback.

LD:

Everything that I wrote above applies in this event, if it's a progressive round. Although, it's important to mention that I do not think that specific debate formats should be limited to a single style of debating, thus progressive or traditional methods of debating are both fine with me; if you want to treat an LD round like a Policy round, then go for it. I'm not super familiar with the format of LD debate so please time yourselves. Additionally, you will have to warrant the hell out of your Value/Criterion and tell me why it's more applicable to the topic and why it's better than your competitor's, I expect a lot of clash in this area.

Overall:

Speak clearly, warrant your arguments, be respectful, and have fun.

Nicholas Lassen Copper Hills HS 8 rounds

Last changed on Fri March 12, 2021 at 3:36 AM MDT

Updated 10/1/20 for UK

nicholasjlassen@gmail.com please include me on the email chain- you're also welcome to email me for any other questions as well

I debated in high school and college and I am the current head coach at Bingham HS in South Jordan, UT.

College Topic: I am well versed in debate but relatively new to this topic. Please explain important acronyms the first time you use them.

High School Topic: I have several tournaments on this topic already and I am pretty familiar with the literature base.

Theory - I really enjoy a good topicality debate. However, my expectation for the negative to win is that they can clearly define the impacts of the argument i.e. how has the aff been unfair to you directly, what grounds have been lost, why is your model for education better? I dislike time suck theory that you are never going to go for-i.e. things like incredibly thin pics such as capitalize the L in the word lands and disclosure theory. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you want me to vote on theory, you have to be good at articulating the impacts.

CP's - I believe that counter plans really need to be mutually exclusive either through actor or avoidance of a DA or something or else, otherwise it's really easy to buy the affirmatives claims of the perm. The permutation should be a test of competition towards the counterplan. In the plan v counterplan debate it is important to prove why your side is net beneficial either through some DA story or winning some solvency mitigation towards the aff or the CP.

DA's - My expectation on the DA debate is really articulate the link story. I think a lot of generic da's are easy to non/unique out of. As far as the link story goes, I need a good internal link chain. Please make sure that I can see how we get from the aff to point b and then point c.

Politics - I have a strong tendency to default to more recent evidence on politics disads. This can definitely create a research burden but if you want to run politics then you should know that this means that a lot of the time, it boils down to a recency/card quality debate.

K's

Aff - I want to know that your K aff means something. I am much more likely to buy into your criticism if there is some sort of personal connection. Make sure you are ready for the framework debate. I need to know why your framework is better for education than the negative or why I should choose to recognize your role of the ballot versus theirs.

Neg - I am open to most K's on the neg. I know it practically impossible to have hyper specific link cards for every aff. But with that in mind, please articulate how the aff links through a thorough analysis. Please make sure that you articulate the alternative well if you want to go for it -I want to know what the world of the alternative looks like and what happens when I sign my ballot neg. If I am left confused about what the world of the alt looks like, it will be hard for you to win the debate.

Method v Method

The one point I want to make here is that I have a higher threshold for voting on the permutation then i do in a plan v cp debate. I hold the aff to a similar burden as the negative, I would not let them just stand up and coopt your advocacy so I most likely wont let you stand up and just say perm do both and gain 100% access to their advocacy. I want the competing ideologies weighed against each other and to know why your world is "better" then the opposing teams.

Please don't be rude, disrespectful, racist, sexist, transphobic, etc. I will doc your speaks and most likely drop you. It's not welcome in debate or in society overall.

Wesley Mathis Roy High School

Marla McPherson Desert Hills High School

Kimberly Mendieta Logan HS None

Courtney Nilson Hire 8 rounds

Isaiah Poritz Rowland Hall 8 rounds

Last changed on Fri February 16, 2024 at 8:53 AM EDT

Isaiah Poritz

Rowland Hall ‘18

Emory University ‘22

Please put me on the chain --- isaiah.poritz@gmail.com

You should view my philosophy as a description of my ideological predispositions in the absence of a well flushed out argument. A complete argument that doesn’t have a response or isn’t handled correctly will always override these predispositions.

Cliff Notes

- I’m not familiar with the immigration topic so a bit more explanation would be helpful.

- I love technical debates with lots of moving parts but I also need some pen time so slowing down a bit will be helpful. Organization is also very important to me.

- I would say I am slightly more interested in and comfortable with policy related arguments but you should not be discouraged from reading kritiks that engage the aff.

- I tend to give the Neg lots of leeway. Rarely do I think the 2AR should be going for theory. In general, I’m not very interested in debates about the rules of debate.

- When debated poorly, I think K Aff v. FW/T-USFG debates tend to have the least amount of clash but can be fascinating when done well, so stay organized and respond to each other's arguments. I lean towards defending a topical aff absent clash.

- Research and strategy development are my favorite aspects of this activity. I love to see debates where both teams have taken the time to research each others arguments, regardless of argument style. This also means evidence is important and I will be reading it after the round.

Kritiks

- Links should be specific and solved by the Alt. I have a difficult time voting for criticism of the status quo.

- Not a big fan of lengthy overviews.

- I think both sides should spend some considerable time debating framework. I am more likely than most judges to include or exlcude an aff or K based on framework.

K Affs and FW/T-USFG

- I think that affs should be related to the topic and that debate itself is good activity.

- I feel like these debates often lack clash and force me to intervene more than I would like to. Organization, line by line and technicality are more important than ever in these debates. Ranting about fairness in the 2NR without responding to the aff won’t automatically get my ballot.

- I’m indifferent about the whole fairness or skills impacts for framework but I think it hurts the neg to extend both in the 2NR.

- I don’t like debates about the people in the room. My decision does not render a judgement about a debaters identity and I will not vote on a model of debate that requires me to do so.

Disads

- Zero risk is possible but that needs to be put in the context of who is controlling what offense.

- I’m not very receptive to generic aff arguments that are like “low probability of the DA cuz you multiply the probability of each internal link.” Framing args along with specific responses will go a long way.

- I really love well thought out turns case args. Spending a little time outlining a story about how each part (not just the terminal impact) of the DA interacts with the solvency mechanism of the case can be very persuasive to me.

Counterplans

- The aff needs to actually impact out each of its solvency deficits and likewise the neg should provide well articulated sufficiency framing.

- 2NC counterplans are fine but the 1AR gets new responses.

- I’m not great for theory in general. I think condo is good and the aff is much better off providing substantive responses.

Topicality

- I tend to believe that most topics are not so bad that limits are infinite and neg ground is zero but I understand the strategic importance of topicality.

- I think reasonability is often misunderstood and underutilized by aff teams.

Speaks

- Organization and line by line is the best way to help your speaks.

- I reward debaters that research and execute well thought out strategies.

Kelli Purser Copper Hills HS

Zachary Schofield Hillcrest HS None

John Shackelford Rowland Hall 8 rounds

Last changed on Wed January 3, 2024 at 8:43 AM MDT

John Shackelford

Policy Coach: Park City, UT

***ONLINE DEBATE***

I keep my camera on as often as I can. I still try to look at faces during CX and rebuttals. Extra decimals if you try to put analytics in doc.

I end prep once the doc has been sent.

GO SLOWER

****TLDR IN BOLD****

Please include me in email chains during the debate (johnshackelf[at]gmail). I do not follow along with the speech doc during a speech, but sometimes I will follow along to check clipping and cross-ex questions about specific pieces of evidence.

Here is what an ideal debate looks like. (Heads up! I can be a silly goose, so the more you do this, the better I can judge you)

- Line by Line (Do it in order)

- Extending > reading a new card (Your better cards are in your first speech anyway. Tell me how the card is and how it frames the debate in your future analysis)

- More content >Less Jargon (avoid talking about the judge, another team, flows, yourselves. Focus on the substance. Avoid saying: special metaphors, Turns back, check back, the link check, Pulling or extending across, Voting up or down. They don’t exist.)

- Great Cross-examination (I am okay with tag team, I just find it unstrategic)

- Compare > description (Compare more, describe less)

- Overviews/Impact Calc (Focus on the core controversy of the debate. Offense wins)

- Engage > Exclude

- Clarity > Speed

- Making generics specific to the round

- Researched T Shells (Do work before reading T. I love T, but I have a standard on what is a good T debate)

- Arguments you can only read on this topic!!

Popular Q&A

- K/FW: More sympathetic to Ks that are unique to the topic. But I dig the 1 off FW strat or 9 off vs a K.

- Theory: Perfcon theory is a thing, condo theory is not a thing. I like cheating strats. I like it when people read theory against cheating strats too.

- Prep time: I stop prep time when you eject your jump drive or when you hit send for the email. I am probably the most annoying judge about this, but I am tired of teams stealing prep and I want to keep this round moving

- I flow on my computer

Want extra decimals?

Do what I say above, and have fun with it. I reward self-awareness, clash, sound research, humor, and bold decisions. It is all about how you play the game.

Cite like Michigan State and open source like Kentucky

Speaker Points-Scale - I'll do my best to adhere to the following unless otherwise instructed by a tournament's invite:

30-99%perfect

29.5-This is the best speech I will hear at this tournament, and probably at the following one as well.

29-I expect you to get a speaker award.

28.5-You're clearly in the top third of the speakers at the tournament.

28-You're around the upper middle (ish area)

27.5-You need some work, but generally, you're doing pretty well

27-You need some work

26.5-You don't know what you're doing at all

26 and lower-you've done something ethically wrong or obscenely offensive that is explained on the ballot.

All in all, debate in front of me if your panel was Mike Bausch, Mike Shackelford, Hannah Shoell, Catherine Shackelford, and Ian Beier

If you have any questions, then I would be more than happy to answer them

Khalid Sharif Juan Diego Catholic High School

Scott Smith Parker School

Jordan Stephens Green Canyon High School

Carolyn Stewart Parker School

Austyn Thomas Salem Hills HS

Mark Veeder Sky View

Curtis Wardle Logan HS

Last changed on Fri March 19, 2021 at 8:07 AM MDT

Curtis Wardle

curtiswardle@gmail.com

435-757-6164

TLDR: debate however you would like in front of me. I'll evaluate whatever you give me to the best of my ability.

Speed: 6. If you aren't clear, then it makes my job infinitely harder. If you spread through the standards on T, Theory, and other analytic arguments, I won't feel guilty if it doesn't make it onto the flow. I can only evaluate what I was able to flow.

K: cool

CP: Cool

DA: Cool

FW: Cool

T: Go for it

Performance: Go for it.

Over/underviews: Please

Non Topical affs

I am open to new uses of time, performance, and affs that are not topical. However, I feel it is the burden of the affirmative to provide solid framework telling me to evaluate the round differently than if I were a traditional policymaker.

Topicality I'll be honest here. As aff, I was frequently non topical and as neg I read T all of the time. I am okay with T hacks, and I won't punish an aff outright so long as they can provide ample reason why their aff would be preferrable to the topic. I will default to competing interps on T debates generally.

Debate authors: this is my pet peeve. Debate people are great for advice at camp, they're not gods on the T flow. Cut it out. "Don't use me in round," Steve Knell, 2015

Kritiks

I don't really feel like I should have to put a section in here for K's but, here we go. I was a K hack that read Queer Theory/Ableism all of senior year. I believe that the K is a valid argument, and provides great (if not real world value,) intellectual value. I am familiar with queer, fem, and ableism literature as well as biopower. If you choose to read other identity critiques or something that isn't a "generic K," I may call for evidence. I will evaluate arguments I am unfamiliar with to the best of my ability.

Perm

Most CPs are totally able to be permed. I require debaters explain how the permutation is functional first, and evaluate whether or not the perm harms the integrity of the kritik if that becomes relevant. I am happy to grant perms, but if you do not tell me how the perm would function, I will most likely conclude neg.

Honestly, disads are my least favorite arguments. If you want me to vote for it, you're best going for a CP/DA strategy.

Andre Washington Rowland Hall 8 rounds

Last changed on Sat November 3, 2018 at 4:06 AM MDT

Assume I want to be added to your email chain: andre.d.washington@gmail.com

Andre Washington
Rowland Hall St. Marks
Assistant Coach

IMPORTANT CHANGES: After 5 years of judging a wide range of debate styles, I think I've come to the conclusion that I just can't connect with or enjoy the current iteration of HS high theory debate. Being able to act as an educator is an important reason for why I judge, and I don't think I can offer that in your Baudrilliard debates anymore.

This will be my sixth year with the program at Rowland Hall, and 10th year of debate overall.

I love debate and want students to love it as well.

Do what you want, and do it well. ---

Kritiks: Despite the revision above, you absolutely should still be reading the K in front of me. I am fine with the K. I like the K as it functions in a greater neg strategy (ie, I'd rather judge a 5 off round that includes a K than a 1 off K round). However, I went 1-off fem K in highschool for many rounds, so I am genuinely pretty accepting on this issue. Given that I don't spend a great deal of my time working through K literature, I think it's important that you explain these to me, but that's basically what a good K debater should expect to do anyway.

Disads: I cut politics every week. I love both sides of the politics debate and can benefit you as a judge on how to execute these debates well.

Counterplans: Counterplans of all shapes and sizes are a critical place to form a strategy and I enjoy these debates. Theory is to be argued and I can't think of any predisposition.

Topicality: I think that debaters who can execute "technical" args well are enjoyable enough to watch and judge, and I think I can probably benefit as a judge to any technical debater. I think that any violation, on face, has validity and there are no affs that are so "obviously" topical that they cannot be beaten on T.

Kritikal affs: I am not ideologically opposed to K affs at all and even enjoy these debates, although I primarily work on and with policy affs so I would say explanation is still key.

Framework: I find that good framework debaters know how to make the flow accessible to the judge. I think that there are a number of compelling claims and debates to be had on framework, and they can be just as strongly argued as anything else (including your kritik or kritikal aff).

Doug Welton Salem Hills HS

Last changed on Mon January 8, 2024 at 6:47 AM MDT

I have judged Policy yearly for the past 15 years. I prefer LD and PF, but I am familiar with the ins and outs, but I don't know them intuitively as I have never competed in Policy. I am willing to try and follow whatever you present. However, I expect you to communicate with me. I am the judge, not your opponent. What that means is this, you need to tell me what you are doing and why. Slow down and communicate with me. When I say slow down, what I mean is this:

1. I don't follow speed. I try, but I won't get most of what you say if you are going a million miles an hour. However, I understand the strategy and need. If you spread, you need to slow down and tell why I should care about what you just said. Give me a quick, slowed down summary of what you said, and why I should care.

2. Make taglines very clear! Don't assume I heard your 'next DA' when you're going a million miles an hour. If you want it on my flow, make it clear what it is and where to put it. Spread the rest, but slow down for taglines and summarize what you just said! This is especially important for the 1AC and 1NC.

3. Email chains are helpful, but not. It is nice to have an email chain, but if I have to read the email to understand what you are saying, why give speeches? Also, trying to follow evidence because I can't understand you makes it difficult for me as a judge. I will refer to reference, but will not pour over it after a round to determine a winner. Doing that means I don't need to hear from you. I could sit at home and read your evidence to determine a winner. Don't rely on chains.

Lincoln Douglas

I prefer traditional LD Debate with a Value/Criterion. I have voted for flex-negs, and other more progressive type arguments, but I prefer debates that use Value/Criterion. Don't spread! If you spread in LD, I won't flow. You can go at a crisp pace. In fact, I prefer a crisp paces, but...spread and you will most likely lose.

Daryl Workman American Leadership Academy

Last changed on Fri January 5, 2024 at 5:47 AM MDT

Experience:

Speech and Debate Coach, 8 years

Teacher: History, Language Arts, Civics, and Constitution

Judged PF, LD, Policy, Congress, BQ, and most IE events.

Style:

Cases based solely on theory are often very flimsy but are not altogether invalid. If an opponent is running theory alone, that does not promise a win. You should adequately address their arguments as well as supporting your own topicality.

Spreading anywhere outside of policy debate seems inappropriate most of the time. In policy rounds it should be tempered. If it is in your case but not in your speech, you might not be able to use it and it may be difficult for your opponent to use it against you, but they won't have to.

Novel arguments that are well tied to topicality are always enjoyed, but don't promise a win.

Flow:

Most of my flow is primary contentions and how well they are supported vs attacked. Not significant detail but I can follow cards just fine. Contradictory cards from opponents are just as valid unless you can prove otherwise.

Presentation skill:

Unless something stands out as amazing: Logos>Ethos>Pathos>eye contact

Debate events aren't memorized speeches. If you want me to look up and make eye contact so you can guess what I am thinking, you will get less notes in the process and neither of us will enjoy the round nor the results.

Speech events of any kind maintain the opposite expectation. They should be memorized and make connections. Interps don't require eye contact but you get to decide the value of the 4th wall.

Flagrant violations will always negate your efforts.

Ad Hominem attacks against an opponent will be disciplined in your scores. If they are minimal, you might be warned. If they are excessive or major, they will be addressed through your coach, the tournament director, and possibly your admin or the NSDA.

Calling your opponent stupid in round or after the round in ear shot of the judge is a great way to forfeit a well won round.

I respect your coach and the tournament director but I am not afraid to debate with them either.

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2018 — University of Utah, UT/US

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