I'm a Varsity Debater for UNLV

I believe in tech over truth. Meaning, I prioritize arguments that are explicitly stated in the round and I don't assume arguments are relevant in the round just because theyre written in evidence - OR vaguely existentially referred to. This means I'm prone to give very little weight to shallow extensions or poor analysis on evidence/arguments in the round. Plausible analytics are good and will earn you speaker points. Blatant falsehoods, the reverse. You're not expected to waste your entire speech perfectly explaining every ounce of every piece of evidence -- you need to prioritize your speech time and use analysis on key arguments to prove why you are correct and they are incorrect. Debate is an oratory activity, that values truth, education and critical thinking. Meaning: you have to say your argument and cleanly extend it for it to be weighed in the round. OR give me a clear voting issue that is worth weighing against their perfomance/advocacy.

Give me simple, technical reasons to give you the ballot.

I'm pretty middle of the road when it comes to voting. I think every formulated argument has a safe place to be discussed in a round, as long as it doesnt focus on adhoms, and it challenges both teams on what they advocate. This means I think that teams require clash on the neg and the aff. The Neg SHOULD link to and ENGAGE the Aff.

I will not vote on an argument that says "they should lose because they don't talk about X." That, in my opinion, is not productive, logical, or engaging. So make sure you have coherent links.

I'll vote for a K if it makes sense. I'm open to performances and changes in debate norms as long as they still advocate for their presence in the debate community(and reasonably follow speech times/norms). However, saying "Debate is Bad" is not a good idea in front of me(!!!WHICH is distinct from saying their form of debate is bad!!!). It's pretty hard to win that kind of argument considering you have submitted your own entry into the competition.

Be clear, early on in the round, about whether or not youre going for your alt, and make sure your alt solves some aspect within the context of the round. I am not okay with shifty reconceptions in the last rebutle because it is blatant lying and theoretically impossible for the opponent to develop a consistent answer. Stand your ground and say what you need to. Clash makes for good and warranted debates.

FW and T are voting issues. They are aprior questions that determine how judges should write their ballots.

Reorganize the debate if its confusing. Use the line by line and list things with structure to be as clear as possible.

There's a fine line between sassy and rude - just be mindful of it. There's nothing wrong with standing your ground but try to be courteous towards your opponents. It's a tense and competitive environment. I get it.

I will vote on Presumption if theres little to no risk of the aff.

CP's need a Net Benefit, otherwise they are just defense and I'm forced to weigh whether or not it's "inherently" competitive. They usually aren't.

Feel like post-rounding? I will end my RFD immediately.

Good luck, have fun and please take something to learn and grow from each round.

Do it to it. Play to win.

Go. Fight. Win.

I was a varsity LD debater in high school. Keep your own time. Speak clearly. Explain how I should weigh your arguments. Be polite to your opponents, a little sassy is different from rude.

I want to be on your email chains: ilanacohentms@gmail.com

Ian Cook, student at The Meadows School in Las Vegas, NV. I debate Varsity Policy.

Contact: cookerlv@gmail.com

If you do a handstand before the round I will vote for you. It doesn't have to be good.

CASE/GENERAL

I mostly debate policy over K arguments, so if you're reading a K aff make sure to deliberate. I judge novice teams. If one team makes a big mistake that I catch, I won't vote on it unless their opponent points it out. I'll make sure to let you know after the debate. Please add me to email chains. If you don't, make sure to not speak too fast.

K

Again, I prefer policy arguments, but I won't vote policy over the K. As long as the team presenting the K is clear enough for both their opponents and me it should be fine. It can be tricky for novices to respond to the K, so I'll give a bit of wiggle room for minor mistakes.

T

I like topicality. However for me to vote neg on T the neg needs to win all parts of it, considering winning T means winning the entire debate.

DA/CP

Should be fine as long as you make your links clear, and use impact calculus to make it clear why I should vote for you.

CX/SPEAKS

The longer you take to respond to a question, the lower your speaker points get. Also, avoiding questions will lose you speaker points. Keep in mind, though, that I don't evaluate speaks based on Cross-x as much as I evaluate speaks. I won't take prep for flashing or sending email, but if you take too long or your computer magically breaks I'll deduct speaks. Make sure that if you aren't taking prep time your partner isn't prepping for their speech.

I'll reserve judgement round by round.

However, I want a couple things to be known.

First, keep the rounds clean. Honestly, I'll vote for most things, however if you ask yourself whether this is okay to run, then don't run it.

Second, if I can't understand what you're saying I'm not going to flow it.

Finally, I expect, as high school students, that you have the maturity to solve in round issues. Let me know if you need my input during round.

Ask me anything else within round.

My name is Trimaan Malik. I debated LD, PF, and Congress in high school. I was a policy debater for one semester for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

I am a pretty straightforward and easygoing judge. I care more about what you are saying than how well you speak. I look for a clear and concise road-map so everyone in the debate understands the arguments.

Please make sure you flow in policy. It is not a good sign when you respond to an argument that was not said in the round, but you saw it on the speech doc.

In PF debaters should have evidence to back up their claims. Even if they make amazing arguments their speeches hold no merit without evidence. They have to remain topical. PF is not the place to provide an "alternative". Just focus on the topic and you will be fine!

For LD I look for the value/value criterion and framework to see if it really applies to your arguments. I am not too strict about evidence in LD, but I am more of a traditional judge and I like to have analysis in the round. It is good to hear a piece of evidence, but I want to know how it applies to your arguments. Although I prefer classic LD debate, as a judge it is my responsibility to treat every round fairly regardless of my preferences but I prefer no spreading during the debates. I can still understand spreading, thanks to my debate class at UNLV (thanks Dr. Thompson!), but I would like to preserve some element of classic LD for progressive cases.

Most importantly, show respect to your opponent(s). I want to make sure the environment is comfortable for everyone so nobody feels like they were screwed over.

Hi my name is Sydney Ramenofsky and I have 3 years of debate experience from the Meadows School.

I would like to be flashed all evidence before the debate starts.

I don't mind speed and spreading as long as both your opponent and I can understand you. If I don't hear or don't understand an argument I will not flow it so it will not be considered in my decision. I will say clear if I cannot understand you.

I personally prefer it when you flow but I will not take off speaker points if you don't.

Please time yourselves, you are not children and I am not your mother. 

Be respectful to your opponent in cross ex and ask good questions to make the round more interesting. 

PLEASE make eye contact with your opponent, you are not debating me so don't act like it.

Remember to have fun and do your best, GOOD LUCK!!!