Sirkay,+Vaishali

__ Background __ : I was a Policy (now CX) debater for all 4 years of high school. I have been judging high school debate for over three years. I have also had extensive public speaking training, so I look at speaking style as well. I have judged CX, LD, Parli and PF, at both the Varsity and JV levels.

I do flow all of my debates, so please know that I am carefully following all of your arguments. Therefore, if you drop an argument, I will know. I dislike dropped arguments and will consider that in my final decision. I do not like when debaters speak unnecessarily fast in order to intimidate their opponent or their judge. I am comfortable with spreading, so I will know if you are genuinely trying to get all of your arguments out, or if you are speaking fast with no substance. Speaking fast with no substance will also be weighted in my decision because I feel that that is not the mark of a good debater.

Good debates should have good clash. Good debaters should be respectful of their opponents, and therefore, when I award speaker points, I look for speaking style (given my training in public speaking), fluidity, tone and courtesy and respect for the opposing team. I do not like mean debaters, or talking over your opponents. I have awarded very low speaker points when a debater made disparaging comments about her opponent during the round. Her opponent stayed calm, and I awarded her higher speaking points for that reason.

Finally, I dislike the trend where LD, Parli and PF are turning into CX debates. Please don't mix these other styles with CX- I dislike 1:1 CX debates (which is what I sometimes see LD turning into).