Gokey,+Peter

__**A few quick tl;dr notes**__

1. On T, I will most likely default to competing interpretations. I generally enjoy the argument. I pay attention to the limits issues, and think TVAs are persuasive.

2. I'm fine with K stuff, and enjoy some K v K rounds, but I'm primarily a policy guy. It's not an issue of ideology, but rather familiarity.

3. Conduct matters. Be nice. Be civil. I don't like post-rounding. Treat your opponents with respect. This stuff impacts speaker points.

4. On Ks, I am basically agnostic on how I view alternatives. Some Ks, the alt is essential a CP. Others, it's a methodology. I'm good with either, and default to how the K was presented unless challenged.

5. I'm fine with a lot of technical, process-oriented policy arguments. Creative CPs are fascinating to judge in rounds.

6. I'm a flow/clash judge. Good line by line matters to me.

7. I am basically a tab/flex judge. I don't like being terrible prescriptive in my paradigm because I'd rather hear you do what you do than impose my beliefs on the round. I recognize debaters approach the activity in very different ways, and I appreciate the diversity.

8. You're always free to ask me specific questions in lieu of this paradigm being


 * __More detail - useful to read to get a sense of my background, that often informs my judging__**

I have 29 years of judging, coaching, and classroom experience. A majority of the rounds I've judged have been policy debate rounds, although I have as many years of LD judging experience as I do policy experience. I have also judged Congress, Public Forum, and all NSDA and Minnesota individual events for a number of years. I am the head coach of Wayzata High School in Minnesota, new this year, and have been coaching at Edina HS in MN for the last 6 years. I've judged at 12 tournaments this year so far, mostly on the national circuit.

I tend not to have too many pre-conceived notions about what should happen in a debate, and am usually quite brief when asked in person about my judging philosophy. I am a flow judge - as such, I am happiest when the line-by-line is clear and am at my unhappiest when the round is muddy and/or there is poor signposting. I like it when in the final speeches, debaters create voting issues. Good debaters verbally write my ballot for me. I would rather have to decide whether the voting issues presented to me in the final rebuttals are valid than have to wade through the issues myself. Most debaters prefer that, too - it leaves less to chance with me. The phrase tab/flex usually sums up my judging approach well - you do you, and I'll evaluated how that works out.

I do pay attention to CX, even if my non-verbals make it seem otherwise. In general, debaters are wise to ignore my non-verbals - I could simply be making faces because of back pain or something like that.

It's been close to 20 years since I've studied philosophy. I like many critical arguments, both on the aff and the neg, so feel free to run your Ks. But I am not be fully in tune with the nuances of several arguments so the communicative burden is on the debaters to ensure their position is well explained. The closer to the core of the topic the K argument is, the easier time you'll have with me. That said, I am an old fashioned policy maker at heart, but that should not be read as a mandate for your argument selection in front of me.

Speed (in and of itself) is fine. If I can't comprehend you, I will give you two verbal warnings, and after that - what makes it to my flow is what is on the official flow of record for the round.

I am not much of an evidence reader, but I do like being on email chains. I believe this is a verbal activity so it's on the debaters to verbally clarify important details in cards. I will read cards carefully when there is an ethical dispute or there is a very specific point that I need clarified.

As far as argument evaluation goes, I'll look at procedurals first, then framework, then substance. I prefer deciding rounds on substance, but I have also voted on theory and T a lot in my time. The more case-specific the arguments (whether it's uniquely case specific or a generic argument thoughtfully tailored to the affirmative) are preferable to completely generic arguments.

That's about all I can think of. Please ask!