Bordwell,+Dan

i debated four years at coon rapids high school from 2000-2004. i have judged in the twin cities since then. i am currently the head coach at coon rapids. i teach at wayzata high school and have my masters in education. i also have a ba from the university of minnesota in political science with a history minor. my areas of study included democracy and development, us and world history post-wwii, campaigns and elections, and more. i have coached at coon rapids since 2007.

enough of that:

it would be safe to assume that i am very much a twin cities, pseudo beyond that judge. (where ever minnesota debate is, that is where i am. it has evolved, so have i.)

a few things:
 * 1) i like a way to weigh the round. have a criterion or agree with your opponent. whatever. as long as i have a way to weigh, it's all good. impact back to these at the end in the form of voters. since i could be judging a million rounds a tournament, i would love to be lazy and know where i need to look to decide who should win.
 * 2) speed: i HATE it when debaters use speed for unnecessary reasons. i respect speed to the extent that a. it is needed (as in not ending with 1 minute left in your speeches) and b. i can still flow it. i want to hear your ideas and if you are talking too fast, then i can't hear/understand your ideas.
 * 3) i will not disclose. i feel that it does not add anything to the round. i will, however, give you an opportunity to ask questions before and after the round. this does add something to the educational validity of the round.
 * 4) here is what i know of topicality and kritics. on the streets they are called 't' and 'k'. this is not trying to dissuade you from using these; i have voted on k's before.
 * 5) buzzwords are lame. it is uber lame for a round to come down to buzzwords. i probably won't vote on it. also, don't give me a "debate is education bloc." i am a teacher, i care about education. but seriously, step up to the plate.
 * 6) as a coach i will NEVER write a bloc for one of my debaters. as debate is to be an educational experience, i find this completely wrong. that does not mean that it is not done in the community. thus, if you are going to be giving blocs, DO NOT MAKE IT OBVIOUS that you are reading from something. for all i know, your coach or teammate competing at various toc tournaments wrote the bloc, not you. i say boo to that. also, 96% of the time, the blocs are missing something that is on the flow. you are not addressing the real argument and i should think that this is a bad thing.
 * 7) don't flow through ink. jon brown is a friend and he will write a nasty ballot. i am slightly nicer, but don't do it.
 * 8) i will give you an opportunity before and after every round to ask questions. i hope to answer them in the spirit of educational discourse.