Judging question

[DavidSSabb94]

How does someone who has never judged a debate before start? Do they have information meetings on site? I need volunteers for judges (there's no way we could pay for hired ones) but I have no idea if it's possible for parents to do it.

[Jacobi]

Hi David,

The NFL is in the process of developing an online judge training and certification process that could be used universally (not judge for NFL competitions). The training process will be on a fully functional e-learning platform with sample videos (mostly novice, less-polished-than-national-final-rounds).

In the meanwhile, we have informational handouts online at: http://www.forensicsonline.net/forum...s.php?catid=42 There's also a rubric for judging Congressional debate at the end of the Congressional Debate Guide: http://www.forensicsonline.net/forum...ks.php?catid=8.

I also refer you to the Wisconsin Debate Coaches' Association resource page for judges: http://www.wdca.org/documents/ballots-how-to-judge

Each state and area is different. There are actually a couple states that already have a formalized training program, some areas have occasional workshops/clinics, but most of the country handles judge training in one of the following manners:

• School coaches (supposedly) train the judges they procure and bring to tournaments.
• Tournaments (supposedly) train or brief the judges they have on-hand to supplement the judges brought by participating schools
• Tournaments hold meetings to brief the judges on the tournament's expectations.

There are several areas new judges should focus on when they begin:

• The importance of following instructions -- of the individual tournament, of the governing league or organization, and of the coach hiring him/her.
• The importance of projecting a positive, professional attitude. Body language speaks volumes to contestants, so judges should show a genuine interest and attentiveness.
• Writing legible, constructive and specific critical evaluations of students. Honing in on a few key areas to improve with particular examples is more valuable for a contestant than general comments. Judges should never use the words "good" or "bad," because those aren't descriptive. Having adjectives handy, like the ones in the list in the NFL Coaching Guide (http://www.forensicsonline.net/forum...catid=19&id=88) is helpful.
• Understanding the importance of divorcing themselves as judges from their own personal views and biases, and evaluating students on the merits of their arguments and presentation.

All of these thoughts are elaborated upon in the Rostrum article I wrote last school year entitled "Training Judges for Educational Evaluation," http://www.nflonline.org/uploads/Ros...09_066_067.pdf.

Community volunteers and parents bring unique, real-world perspectives to the judging process. Any communication scholar will tell you -- and I hear this from my colleagues in the Department of Communication at Ripon College all the time -- that one of the problems with forensics is that our community of judges is sometimes too insular, meaning that our judging pools are populated with too many "insiders" who have done the activity for a significant period of time. Therefore, the ability to communicate a sophisticated idea in a simplistic manner (considered a highly employable skill, I might add) is sometimes dismissed in favor of shortcuts and downright sloppiness in taking communication for granted. Parents and volunteers are more common in some areas, and less in others.

I would talk to some of the other coaches in your area to determine what is accepted, and what training resources are available to your specific area.

My best wishes to you in this endeavor!