I have been involved with debate as a participant, judge, school coach, national team coach, and UDL Executive Director. I have coached multiple state and national championships in the following events: Congress, LD, Policy, and World Schools Debate; Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking; and Prose/Poetry/Program of Oral Interpretation. I coached the 2023 WSDC World Champions as well.

I believe that speech and debate provides transformative life skills and that my role in the round is adjudicator/educator.

All speeches should be communicative in delivery, persuasive in style, and adhere to ethical standards in every aspect. Respect should be displayed to all involved, at all times.

In a competitive space, your role as a speaker/performer is to persuade me that your arguments/reasoning/evidence/performance is more compelling than the other competitors in the round. I will endeavor to base my decision on what happens IN the round and what I write on my flow, but I don't leave my brain at the door. Act accordingly.

I currently judge more WS rounds than anything else. WSDC/NSDA/TSDA norms should be adhered to. Speaking should be conversational as regards speed/style. Refutation may be line-by-line or utilize grouping, but you need to be clear where you are on the flow. Weighing is key. Stick to the heart of the motion and avoid the extremes. Unless the motion is US-specific you should provide international examples. Make it clear what your side of the debate looks like: what does the world of the Prop look like? the Opp? Framing/definitions/models should be fair and in the middle of the motion. Stakeholders should be clear; put a face on the motion.

A good debate round is a thing of beauty; respect your craft, the event, and your fellow competitors.

I have been doing debate for over 8 years now and have debated in pretty much every format possible both in America and Canada. If you have specific questions that aren't covered here, ask me before hand.

TL:DR - I like quality debates that are built on good strategic decisions that are appropriate in the context of your format. I do not believe in replacing thorough and nuanced logic and explanations with jargon, even in the interest of efficiency. IF YOU HAVE ME AS A WSD JUDGE, THERE IS A SPECIFIC SECTION BELOW.

While I can keep up with pretty much anything you run, I will not do any work for you. If you are competing in an American debate format and are running something progressive, assuming its appropriate for your format, make sure you do everything you need to do to make it a convincing and mechanically complete argument. That includes explaining what you're running and why you're running it. While I likely have experience with the progressive arguments you are running, in the interest of judging tabula rasa, I will pretend I have none.

I can keep up with spreading but would prefer not too. If you are going to spread, flash me your case beforehand.

I have nearly zero tolerance for tactics and strategies that are exclusionary to your opponent and other debaters in general, especially when those tactics are used against newer debaters. I will not awards losses for this behavior because I realize it is somewhat subjective, but I will adjust speaker points.

WORLD SCHOOLS SPECIFIC INFO

WSD is not an American format and I have zero tolerance for debaters that treat it like one. Understand the different assumptions and rules that underpin WSD before debating in it and do not assume they are the same as American debate formats because they are not. While there are many differences, here are some key ones to keep in mind:

- No cards

- No technical jargon

- No progressive arguments

- No spreading

- Greater emphasis on rhetoric and logic

- Debates must focus on the core of the issue rather than niche arguments

- It is acceptable to drop arguments if they are no longer important. Dropped arguments do not immediately mean a team has won

- MOST IMPORTANTLY: WSD debates are focused on the entire world, or some reasonably large segment of it, rather than just America

With that being said, WSD is a growing format in the US and I understand and respect that. People will make mistakes and default to habits from American formats and that is okay as long as you are not intentionally trying to change the format by bringing in American debate strategies and rules.