Bystrom,+Todd

Todd Bystrom I have been judging Lincoln/Douglas debate for 1-1/2 years for the Mountain View/Los Altos High School Speech and Debate Team. I do have limited experience judging upper-echelon varsity debate. I will flow the debate, although my flow may not always say what you want it to say. I will do my best to follow you, but cannot handle speedy debate. 200 words per minute is my maximum allowance, but going slower than this is no excuse for unclear speaking. I have a relatively traditional paradigm, including a high threshold for theoretical abuses and pre-standards voting issues. Please keep your jargon to a minimum – although I am familiar with terms like a “bright-line,” discussing PICs (plan-inclusive counterplans) will likely not result in a win. When assigning speaker points, I look to respect, fluidity, tone, and courtesy. Speaker points do not reflect quality of argumentation except for extremely offensive positions. As always, I do not wish to give you a free check to make bad arguments – my displeasure is simply expressed in the ballot in most rounds. Finally, I prefer to write comments on the ballot instead of orally disclosing.