Judging

Parliamentarian Expectations

[New for 2026] At this tournament, we scramble/resection chambers each round, which means we need more judges to serve as parliamentarians, and expect that all judges registered for this tournament must be able to serve in that role (though we do endeavor to assign more experienced judges to this role). We have made a free parliamentarian training course available, which takes about a half hour to complete. In short, parliamentarians must do the following:

1. At the beginning of the round, conduct the election for PO. **

2. Rule on any issues of parliamentary procedure, and (rarely) rule on submitted amendments or evidence challenges. **

3. At the end of the round, rank through all students in the chamber (usually 12).

** You may text/consult with tab should you have any questions, and we will guide you through your inquiry.

Compensation/Scheduling

If you were hired by a school, the coach at that school handles logistics for compensation, etc.; the tournament handles round-by-round assignments. Please be sure to communicate with the coach who hired you as to expectations, etc.

Standbys

Each round, we deliberately do not assign some judges in the event of emergencies, unknown conflicts, etc., so some judges may have to wait as a standby at some points, but that is part of what keeps the tournament running on time. Standby judges are expected to report to the judge holding area noted on their Tabroom "Pool" for each round by 15 minutes prior to a round's start time, so we can make replacements quickly.

Expectations for Submitting Ranks

All judges are expected to submit rankings of contestants within 10 minutes of the last speech of the round -- and -- remain in the contest room (including online rooms) until they have submitted those ranks. Further, all judges (including parliamentarians) must either rank the PO in their top 8 or give specific justification for non-ranking of the PO in comments. If this does not happen, we must contact judges to confirm their intentions, which can cause a delay in the overall tournament.