Soper,+Ben

Debate Experience: High School Policy Debate: Debated four years at Bingham High School. College Policy Debate: In my first semester at Weber State University.

I’ve judged a few high school rounds this year, but I don’t really know how the topic has evolved or what popular acronyms might be.

Arguments: In general: Go for what you want, what matters more is how you develop the argument, and explain it. If you want me to evaluate certain arguments over others, tell me. T: T debates are fine, I don’t think my threshold on T is high in either direction. That being said, I’m less willing to pull the trigger on T when teams don’t impact T beyond buzzwords. I’m not saying you can’t label standards with those words, I just think you should probably explain why things like education or fairness are important to debate.

Theory: Theory args are acceptable, if you can articulate a scenario for abuse. I’ll probably default most theory args might not be reasons to reject the team, but that all depends on how you frame that argument. Counterplans: Counterplans are fun, make sure they’re competitive, make sure there’s a net benefit. Shadier counterplans like word PICs aren’t my favorite arguments, but I’ll vote on them if you articulate a net benefit. Disadvantages: CP/DA debates might be my favorite negative arguments in debate, make sure your disads are either net benefits to the CP or are packaged with some case turns/impact defense, otherwise the aff will probably beat you in a body count debate. THE KRITIK: K’s are fine, just be willing to put in the work necessary to explain the argument. I know some greatest hits, but there are things I might not understand without some explanation. You don't need an alternative to win on a Kritik if you can phrase it as an effective enough case turn, that being said, having an alternative makes it much easier to resolve those debates if your alternative can resolve the impacts of the case. Case: Case debates are underrated, but do what you have to do for your negative strategies. Read impact defense. Impacts: Comparative impact calc is something that makes resolving debates much easier for me. Questions of magnitude, timeframe, and probability are important and you should talk about those, but take it to the next level and talk about how your impacts interact with each other.

Delivery: Speed is fine, clarity is better. Don’t hide behind your laptop for the whole round. Don’t prep steal. Don’t be a jerk to other debaters, don’t be a jerk to your partner. Maybe try and have a little fun, who knows.

Speaker Points: I don't think a speech deserving of a 30 exists. I'll probably stay within 27-29 speaker points. If you're a meanie I'll probably dock your speaks.