Spreading is okay, so long as I can understand you. Be respectful to your compedators and me. I do not like open cross examination. Argue against the evidence, not the individual. Logical/Common sense arguments usually win. Corrolation is not causation. 

Experience

18th year in debate. Currently the Director of Debate at SF Roosevelt from South Dakota. Debated 4 years in high school doing traditional LD. Since then I have coached circuit and conservative policy and public forum debate.

Big things - quickly

-Novice: if you aren't prepared for any of the below then don't worry! Just do your thing and welcome to the most educational activity on the planet! Also no matter how unprepared you feel, I didn't know the rebuttal even existed in my first debate! Is this activity hard? Yes. But doing hard things will make everything else in your life easy. All the nerves, preparation, late nights, and beat downs against people whose ACT score blew mine out of the water prepared me for a life where everything was much easier. Stick with it and you'll thank me later! Half of college freshman drop out in their first year, but debaters finish college over 95% of the time - that is no accident!

-Warrants win. Turns win. Weighing wins. Offense wins. Yes I flow.

-Big believer in collapsing in the 2nd rebuttal and 1st summary. Do not go for everything! Your first two speeches add up to 8 minutes and your last speech is 2. How do you expect to go for 8 minutes of argumentation in 2 minutes without sacrificing some serious quality?! Many have tried - all have failed.

-Evidence should be accurately applied throughout the entire debate. It is very annoying when you read 8 minutes of evidence and then never talk about it again. I could have been hanging out with my dogs.

-Quoted evidence is more credible than paraphrased evidence by quite a bit. Paraphrased evidence is more credible than analytics, but only by a little bit.

-I believe the activity is approaching the point where it should be the norm to send all the evidence you read over to your opponent, before your speech, rather than doing this inefficient 1 card at a time nonsense. Whatever you do, please be efficient and it won't be considered prep time.

-If you are at a TOC bid tournament and don't disclose on the wiki then you should consider me a solid 50/50 on voting for disclosure theory.

Small things - rant style

This event should be accessible to all--meaning please keep your rate of delivery in check. No... that does not mean you have to be painfully slow. In fact, you can go fast enough where a typical person would think to themselves "that person is speaking fast." That person, however, should not think to themselves "I can not understand them." 98% of PF debaters are within my expectation here--the 2% should know who you are. Both teams have the right to request their opponent to slow down if they are struggling to keep up. Debate should be for everyone and not just those who can afford debate camp and those who speak English as their first language. If both teams love fast debate, and everyone agrees to it, then let's go all out speed because I enjoy fast debate too (just give me a heads up).

Crossfire is less important to me than most--if something important happens, get it on the flow in your next speech. Grand crossfire is not an opportunity to bring in arguments you didn't get to in the summary. If it wasn't in the summary and the final focus, I probably won't vote on it. Yes, you should frontline in the 2nd rebuttal.

Public Forum time structures are probably not suitable for debating Kritiks with alternatives. However, debating ethics directly related to the topic and arguing it outweighs/should come first is good with me. If you're going the Kritikal route, you should have some fire links to the topic (my threshold is higher on that). Despite having extremely admirable goals and intentions, non-topical K's make this event less accessible and empirically do not make this space more inclusive - otherwise policy numbers would be thriving.

No plan texts or counterplan texts please (Note: a counterplan text is not saying 'another solution is better than the solution being presented by the resolution' -- that's just an argument and you should answer it...)

High threshold on theory. Despite being tech over truth 95+% of the time, I have limited tech expectations on theory since I don't want to punish students who couldn't afford debate camp to learn the technical aspects of theory. If something truly unfair happened in the debate, then go for it by arguing 1) we should have this norm and 2) you violated that norm. To beat theory argue it 1) shouldn't be a norm or 2) you didn't violate the rule or 3) we should have a different norm instead of the one you provided. If you argue theory every debate, I'm not the judge for you. It is a check on unfair debate practices, not a strategy to catch your opponent off guard. I believe I have voted on theory 2 times in the hundreds of rounds I've judged--I have yet to vote on theory in PF.

Random things:

-Link turns need to win a non-unique to be considered offense. You can win a debate with me by going for just this

-Post-dating is good, but you need a warrant for why the date difference matters

-Going for everything is a bad idea. In a typical debate, 2nd rebuttal and 1st summary should start the collapsing process. I agree with the coaches who call 'making choices' the most important skill in debate.

-I am a judge who sees most arguments in gray - not black and white. I struggle with most decisions and not because I didn't understand your arguments.

Finally, debate can be stressful--if you find yourself in an important debate with me as a judge, it might be a good idea to watch the following video. I may be stressed as well and watching it during prep time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZZkZPcxp_I

Questions? Just ask!

This is my second year judging,

I don't really like topicality--I'll vote on reasonability.

DA's, CP's, K's are good.

I don't really like theory.

Speed: 6/10

Choose the best answer:

A. Brownie points will be earned by incorporating Ayn Rand into your case.

B. Incorporating Ayn Rand into your case will earn you brownie points.

C. In your case, Ayn Rand will earn you brownie points via incorporating.

D. Incorporating brownie points into your case will earn you Ayn Rand.

debated in varsity pf for 3 years at roosevelt high school in sioux falls, sd with a little bit of experience in circuit debate. in my 3rd-ish year of judging debate. currently a junior at the university of south dakota studying political science. pronouns are she/her/hers.

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GENERAL STUFF FOR EVERYONE:

speak up and speak clearly, but don't yell.

anything racist, homophobic, sexist, ableist, xenophobic, transphobic, etc. will make you lose automatically. no questions asked. debate tournaments must be a safe and inclusive space for everyone involved, and we need to keep it that way.

i will dock speaks for rude behavior (consistent interruptions during speeches/questioning/rfds, belittling opponents or judges, bashing on an opponent for genuinely not understanding something, etc.).

i can generally handle speed but 1) i'll stop flowing if i can't understand you and 2) you need to be mindful of what your opponents may prefer.

PLEASE USE TRIGGER WARNINGS PRIOR TO THE ROUND IF YOU ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ANY SENSITIVE MATERIAL. i don't want anyone to feel vulnerable or threatened by any material that may have an adverse impact on them.

for debate, i'll disclose the winning team and try my best to give an RFD if time allows.

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***IMPORTANT - PLEASE DO NOT SKIM OR SKIP!***

i know circuit debaters enjoy using technical jargon, but i strongly dislike it when teams clearly use this sort of language to overwhelm their opponents and practically stomp all over them. this language isn't supposed to be used to take advantage of others, whether it's through confusing them or by making it seem like you know what you're talking about when it’s all just fluff.

that being said, i truly believe the round needs to be accessible to everyone in the room. you shouldn't have to use technical jargon every 5 words in a sentence to win the round. i care more about the quality of your args/ev and your ability to get me to understand and believe what you're saying rather than your ability to say "terminal defense" 20 times in a speech.

i'm not saying you can't use jargon at all, but what i am saying is that you should tone it down and focus more on delivering well-developed and coherent args at a baseline level of understanding. i may not be a true "lay" judge due to my debate experience, but i just don't have the time to learn resolutions anymore, so doing this will help me out a lot when it comes to understanding what both sides are arguing. i also want all debaters to have the chance to comprehend the round as a whole without potentially being thrown off by the constant use of such jargon - everyone should be able to learn in this setting!

if you can adapt to this, i'll be happy. if you have any questions (especially since i may not have been totally clear in this), that's cool too! but if you're the type of person who prefers to have a debate that is a complete mashup of jargon b/c that’s the only way you know how to win, i'm NOT the judge for you. if you're stuck with me anyway and get upset, i won't feel sorry nor will i waste any time arguing with you or your coach(es). this has been a fair warning to everyone. thanks!

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PF:

constructive: definitions are fine if absolutely necessary but keep them short. framework is really helpful to have b/c it provides a lens for evaluating the round. i prefer seeing 2-3 clear points of contention presented in a case (“contention 1 is...” or some iteration of that). CLEARLY STATE TAGLINES, WARRANTS, AND IMPACTS. a case w/o warrants and impacts is highly unlikely to get my vote.

rebuttal: put some sort of roadmap on top so i know where you're going. signpost clearly. personal preference = 1st rebuttal spends all 4 min on offense against the other case while 2nd rebuttal spends ~2 min on offense and ~2 min responding to 1st rebuttal's attacks. extend and cross-apply points when you can.

summary: again, provide some sort of roadmap. base this speech off of what has been said in the round thus far - no new args please. **clear and distinct voting issues** are really nice to have and make it easier for me to weigh the round on my flow. definitions don't count as voting issues.

final focus: basically just explain to me why you win the round with 2-3 voting issues. no new args or ev can be brought up. i will only weigh warrants and impacts that have been CLEARLY and CLEANLY extended throughout the round up until this speech. if it wasn't extended beforehand (i.e. brought up in rebuttal, dropped in summary, but brought up again in final focus), i won't weigh it.

ev: if you ask your opponents for ev after their speech or after crossfire, that's fine with me. i won't use your prep time while you're getting your ev unless it's taking an absurd amount of time. please refrain from calling for ev as a way to give yourself or your partner extra time to work on a speech. if i notice this, i'll dock your speaks.

NEW - how to effectively win my ballot: give me voting issues in summary/final focus so i know what to focus on for my decision. if you don't clearly state your voting issues (i.e., "our first voting issue is..."), i'm going to have to formulate my RFD around whatever i personally found interesting in the round, and i don't think that's in the best interest of any team. not having clear voting issues is an immense risk of losing my ballot.

other: do NOT try to run anything under the guise of theory, counterplans, kritiks, or anything similar. you will automatically lose if you do. i also stress quality over quantity. just because you read more ev doesn't mean that you win. i'd prefer to hear 1 good card from a reputable scholarly source rather than 10 mediocre cards from at-home blogs.

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EXTRA INFO:

if possible, i'll give an extra half speaker point (+0.5) to any debater who uses an effective (not half-assed) analogy in round that not only helps explain an arg better but is able to get a smile or laugh out of me. analogies can be a great way to understand a new or complicated concept, or they can be useful in simply portraying something in a different lens. i also think they help make the round more engaging, and i always appreciate debaters who strive to do that. we all get tired of going to rounds after a long day, especially towards the end of 2-3 day long tournaments. this is just a nice and simple way to help liven things up and bring energy back into the round!

i also know that i didn’t really touch on any other events in this b/c i wanted to keep this short and concise - if i’m your judge and we’re not in a pf round, i will happily answer your questions as best as i can, but please bear with me!

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if you have any questions that i didn't answer in this, please feel free to ask me!

Former varsity debater, current mixed martial artist (kidcobramma on the gram) Email is traevonkroger@gmail.com to include me in the chain. No prep for flashing within reason. Tag team cx is acceptable. Aff should defend topic, neg should have links. Theory+Topicality has to dive deep into the standards - I usually on't buy the argument that the aff has a topic that you were unable to prepare for. If you close on it, you better close only on it. Conditionality is cool but ks shouldn't be and aren't conditional. Cps are cool and can be very strategix, but I won't vote for it if I'm not told how the perm functions. Ks are ccol and all, I've been removed from debate for 3+ years and schooling for 2 years, I'm not going to be all to familiar with the wordyness and the jargon - explain them to me in depth, please.

This is pretty much copied from Luke Cumbee's philosophy, my high school coach

Quick things

I love to learn new things
If you have any specific questions--feel free to ask
No prep for flashing
Include me in the e-mail chain/flash drive exchange
Tag team CX is acceptable, but it doesn't score you any points
In your last speech—go for arguments and never go for everything
Clash matters -- do not run away from your opponent's arguments
Student safety (mental and physical) comes first

Experience

Debated policy 4 years in high school. I have a fair amount of experience in both circuit and traditional circles.

Good Debate

Every time I update this it always seems to be me finding a new way to say this: "Do what you do best--and justify what you do." Generally speaking--this means making offensive arguments, supported by multiple warrants, effectively applied to the round--no matter your argument preference.

Theory (+Topicality)

Higher threashold for theory than many--it generally requires a legitimate claim. I’ve voted on it before but it has to be developed and it has to dive deep into the standards. I generally default to competing interpretations unless convinced otherwise. Have offense against their interpretation and use the standards to prove substance to your theoretical objection. If you go for theory in any sense of the word, tell me whether it’s a reason to reject the team or argument and provide offense for that.

Also: 10 second theory shells deserve 10 second responses. Even if they are conceded--I would still probably default to reject the arg. If you want me to make your theory argument enough weight to make me ignore everything else in the debate and vote for you, then give it the time it deserves.

On conditionality: 1 is fine--2 is probably fine--3 is debateable--4 will be a fun/unique debate but probably not fine

Disadvantages

Link story is usually the largest uphill battle, so you should probably have more than one link
Specific links are good links
Disad turns case is important
Risk of uniqueness is a thing
Link turns need uniqueness to be offense

Counterplans

Not sure what else to say--CP's are strategic and should be used often. Ones that are specific to the aff are especially fun.

Kritiks + Performance + Clash of Civs + The only section you'll probably read

Although everything is up for debate... I do have a strong belief in addressing the topic. Negative is required to address the affirmative... affirmative is required to address the topic.

I'm not sure why it's my place to tell you what you should and should not argue. I've had students who preferred to argue policy arguments and I have had students who preferred to argue performance (and everything in-between). As a coach, I could not imagine not having them on my team--nor could I imagine discouraging the passion they had in their arguments. I am a strong believer in this community; therefore, I am also a believer that we should not exlude entire types of arguments, nor any debater, nor any lifestyle, etc.

What that does not resolve, however, is how I evaluate these debates. A couple of thoughts on that... Good debate trumps my preferences. Justify what you do/why you win. Smart arguments are good arguments. Clash is always a priority. Offensive arguments--well warranted--applied to the debate's nexus question.

This was intentionally vague: if you have a specific question feel free to ask.

Framework

FYI: these are stressful to judge--I generally default to offense/defense and vote for the team that did the best debating. Any shift from this framework usually requires a team who is doing the best debating anyway.

The direction I am moving is in favor of education. The last thing I want to do is have a student feel like they can't present their best strategy in front of me--I want to see you at your best. That being said--I do enjoy issue oriented debates more than Framework debates. I also have a general thought that it can be tough to do Framework debates well. I will also say that if you want to go the Framework route, you really need to develop the arguments well (simply saying the word education is not convincing)

2019-2020 season update:

I don't debate in college, so I'm becoming less familiar with super tech-y arguments and the intricacies of the resolution. Generally, I don't think you can ever provide too many warrants/explanation, especially with more complex arguments.

General--

- junior at the University of Missouri - Kansas City

-I debated for three years at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, SD, and I qualified to NSDA Nationals in Policy and Congress

-I'm always looking to learn new things

-Don’t be a jerk in round-- I have a very low tolerance for rude behavior, especially when the other team looks uncomfortable

-I’ll call for cards/want to be on email chain

-I have experience with stock issues and k debate and respect both styles

-debate your best-- I don’t want to prevent anyone from doing what they want to do

CPs--

I didn’t run CPs in high school; I'm unfamiliar with the mechanisms, but they're great when well-explained.

T--

I think the general problem with T debates for me is that they get bogged down in standards v standards and other minutia-- if the T debate is fleshed out to where clash can determine the winner and loser, then I'm cool with it

If you’re going for T, GO FOR IT-- 5 minutes in the 2nr, the abuse should be there and nothing else in the round should matter

K--

I ran Ks on aff and neg, mostly fem and psychoanalysis, and I think K debate is interesting

One caveat, I’m not familiar with lots of Ks, meaning you’ll have to explain the story and how it interacts with the affirmative/resolution

Framework--

I feel like the approach to framework should be less “fairness/limits” in their conventional sense and more “let’s make policy in policy debate.”

I default to a “how do I make the debate space better” mindset

DA--

Sell me on the link story-- I have a tendency to think link cards are pretty bad (see evidence quality standard at the top)

Case--

Extensions of warrants are really important-- I definitely do not understand all plan mechanisms after the 1AC

Theory--

In round impacts are important, sell me on why it’s important to vote on them

Slow down and flesh out the argument

Any other things-- just ask, I will answer all questions to the best of my knowledge :)