O'Rourke,+Thom

Judging Philosophy for Thom O’Rourke University School of Nashville

The key thing to know about me as a judge is that I am old. I graduated from high school in 1989 and debated last in college in 1993. What that means is this: I like disadvantages and counterplans with net benefits. I like, shudder to think, case debate. I like a good t debate. I like cross-x that helps set up arguments to be made later in the round. I like people who sound good.

Fast is fine as I can flow, but debaters today can go faster than I can flow so expect me to tell you if I am not getting things.

I am not crazy about; kritiks or PICs. I will vote on them, but they are hard to win in front if me.

I like people who are nice to their opponents and teammates. It is ok to be friendly. I won’t rat you out to the debate community for having a soft side.

Funny is awesome. Condescending is not.

I still believe judge adaptation is a skill high school kids should learn. It is your activity, that’s true, so you should get to set the tone. However, it is still about education, and having different kinds of judges sets the bar higher for you.

I have been doing policy debate since the 6th grade, so I can handle most things. Just know I am not “debate cool.” By that I mean, I do not know all the arguments and acronyms etc. because I gave up working at camps.

Most importantly, learn, have fun, and make the most of this great activity.