Steve Woods 13 Years Judging

William Jewell College Approx. 60 Rounds on topic

How to use this document: You are either a.) reading this for fun instead

of prepping, or b.) reading the philosophy to figure out whether rate me a

"C" or strike me. I would presume anyone who has had me as a judge knows

what they think about me and would know that empirical experience with me as

a critic is your best indicator of my competence. It will be my purpose

here to convince you NOT to strike me.

1.) Upside: I will try to flow. I try to flow the text of evidence and not

just tags. Sometimes I will miss specific source cites because I got tag

and some text instead. Downside: I tend NOT to call for rounds after

debate. I am more interested in the debaters explaining the purpose of the

evidence in round rather than comparing briefs post facto.

2.) Downside: I don't vote on Topicality a lot. Evidence: Not in 9 years.

Upside: I won't use a T decision as an excuse to not wade through the

substantive debate.

3.) Upside: I'm open to a wide variety of arguments. My teams run critiques

and also straight up policy FIAT based stuff too. I don't feel that either

are privileged. Downside: I like the arguments to apply and link to what

the affirmative is doing.

4.) Downside: I might interrupt you during cross ex. Sometimes I have

questions I would like answered or will clarify my understanding of a

position. If I take up too much of your questioning time I will let you ask

questions beyond the 3.00 minute allotment within reason. Upside: Its not a

mystery what I'm thinking or as to what I am understanding or not.

5.) Upside: I see this as a team experience, don't really penalize debaters

for tag team cross ex or some limited and prudent prompts during speeches.

Downside: How far you go is up to your discretion, but you never have

certainty where my line of "limited and prudent" is drawn.

"Strike or Keep" quick pick question box

1. Can we go fast? I have no preference for or against speed. Please

be clear, use signposting language, and recognize I am not grabbing your

front lines as you read them.

2. Does he know what's up? I've been to 10 tournaments this year. Most

in the midwest so I've seen some visitors from the coast. I've cut a few

positions and cards on the topic . Probably still have to watch acronyms

and not presume I have heard everything, especially the argument you

haven't broken out yet.

3. Is he CEDA or NDT Personally I think that question should be

critiqued. Empirical facts: I debated 2 years of NDT and 2 years of CEDA, I

have coached 13 years of predominately CEDA circuit debaters. I like team

policy focus debate.

4. What kind of points does this guy hand out? I am usually in the middle

of the pack in terms of handing out points in average per round of any

judging pools where I have seen the stats done. I DO reward courtesy, humor

and neatness.

If you have questions please feel free to ask, and check with my debaters.