Kading,+David

I debated four years on both the local and national circuit (LD) at Kent Denver High School and graduated in 2013. To give you a better sense of my skill level, I competed in several bid rounds, but never attended TOC. I like to blame the fact that I had to cut back on travel my Senior Year, but that's probably just an excuse. I've not been super active in the debate community since then, maybe judging 2-3 tournaments a year, tops.

Here is the most important thing to know if I am judging you
 * How the round is evaluated and crystallization: ** As someone who has done debate quite a bit, let me say that you, as the debater, want me, as the judge, to do as little thinking as possible. Do the thinking for me!! At the end of the round, there should be crystallization, or summary, from the debaters about everything that has happened in the round. Break down the major ideas, and basically give me a holistic explanation of how all of your arguments are interacting with your opponent's and a picture of why you are winning. Typically this will start with the framework and move down to substance. If you do a good job of this, there should be no loose ends, and I should be able to write exactly what you say as my RFD. If you don't do this well, and there is still stuff out there that needs to be evaluated, then I have to start doing argument analysis myself. When this happens, it basically decreases the odds that you'll get the outcome you want, because you left stuff out idiot! Pet peeve, do NOT just re-summarize your case. I understand your case is probably involved, but if you just re-summarize your own arguments and don't address your opponent's at the end, you will probably lose.

Next, since half of you only check this page for one reason 1) Clarity and comprehension. If I cannot hear/understand the claim-warrant-impact of your arguments, this is bad for you. This seems simple enough to me, but also keep in mind that I don't judge super often, so I may be rusty where speed is concerned. So, if you have me as a judge, especially for the first 2-3 rounds of a tournament, for the love of God, slow down for your important tags and warrants. I want to understand your arguments, not just write down author names. 2) Opponent match-ups. Let's all remember a time where you were new to debate, maybe on the national circuit for the first time, had no idea what this "spreading" thing was, and got blown out of the water by some kid a year older than you. Long story short, don't be that kid!! As a competitive courtesy, check with your opponent about comfort level around speed before starting the round. If they prefer a slower debate, then don't spread. It's pretty simple. Now, technically, I can't stop you, and I will still evaluate your arguments, but if it's clear your opponent is struggling on basis of speed, just know that it will negatively affect my happiness, which is also bad for you.
 * Speed: ** Basic story: I don't care how fast you want to go. Just keep two things in mind.

Other useful tidbits you might be looking for:
 * Critical Arguments: ** I have a very high threshold. I am not inherently opposed, I have run this stuff as a debater, but if you're doing it, please make it good. If you don't know what good is, don't run it.
 * Theory: ** I default to a Reasonability framework, not Competing Interpretations. Theory has a distinct role in debate, and that role is to check abuse. If this is happening, theory is great. If there is no abuse happening, however, and running four shells is just your Neg strat, I will be very unhappy. So, yes, I have a high threshold, and will disregard those types of shells easily as long as a brief reasonability argument is made. Inversely, it's possible for you to win stupid theory shells if you justify a Competing Interps framework, but again this will be hard, and will open the table for RVIs of course, which I will totally vote on if your theory is dumb

Last thing you should know is that if the tournament allows me to, I will always disclose. And am very open to conversation after the round about how you could have done things differently. The important thing is that you're improving, so come chat with me if you want. And regardless of outcome enjoy your tournaments, its a fun time

Bonus: The more times you can say the words "rich and filthy" in the round, the more speaks I'll give you. This is not a joke. Aim for a filthy 30!!