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Last Updated: November 8, 2024

The new rules don’t include allowing debaters to ask the judge his or her judging philosophy. Are debaters still allowed to do this?

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League Policies

  1. Yes, debaters are allowed to ask the judge for his or her judging philosophy or experience before the start of the round. The Debate Committee removed the rule that only allowed the First Affirmative Speaker to do this for two reasons:

    1. This year, we made an effort to simplify the rules, narrowing them to the ones that we can adjudicate well and penalize if needed.
    2. The rule had served its purpose to end lengthy discussions with the judge before the debate round.

    We believe debaters are capable of asking the judge for some brief information without getting into a long discussion. We are trusting them to keep the exchange very brief and start the round on time.