Interesting Ballot Comments

These are all real comments I or fellow club members have received on ballots:

Note: I love all judges, community, parent, and alumni. We appreciate the time and thoughts they give us. Some of these are just kind of funny.

"Great job! You were horrible!"
Also known as the self-contradictory ballot that makes you wonder if ballot check forced the judge to say something positive about your speech. My favorite was, "Your characterization was weak and not very believable. Drama was questionable and overdone." with the only other comment on the ballot being, "outstanding!" in peculiarly different handwriting next to Characterization. Um...what?

"I didn't know what I was doing so I voted on who spoke slower."
Not even who was clearer, more organized, or just a better speaker in general (although I've gotten those ballots, too). Who. spoke. slower. And in case you were wondering, no, it was not in their Judging Philosophy.

"You agreed to your opponent's value. And since you proved you could achieve both your value and their's much better than they could through your side of the resolution, you proved their value was highest. Since they won the Value Debate, and this is LD Value Debate, they win."
All the LDer's go *quadruple super facepalm*

"Your opponent was more assertive. I'm voting for them."
First off, they were downright rude. Second, they were wrong. Gr. Gr. Gr.

"You were a bit unmemorized and didn't seem to have it all together.  You stumbled over your words a bit. I loved it! It made you seem very authentic, like we were having a conversation!"
This judge gave me first place. She wasn't completely off her rocker, because I got a second and another first from the other judges. But I found this comment quite funny.

"Don't memorize your speech. It makes you seem unauthentic and robotic. Instead, have a general idea of what you're going to say under three main points and then wing it."
Wing it. This wasn't my ballot, it was a friend's. But you can imagine their confusion when they received this ballot in a platform. Lol.

"You hit the time at exactly six minutes. Be careful. You didn't go overtime, but I was really scared you were going to."

"You should paint your fingernails red to match the part of your speech where there's, 'blood on your hands'."
Actually some legit DI advice.

"You look great!!!"
Next to 'appearance' from a male judge. I'm not the only one who thinks this a bit creepy, right?

"Don't forget your hose."
I was wearing hose.

"You two would make a cute couple."
Thanks for shipping, judge, but I don't really want to date my debate opponent.

"Don't use a road map. This is Mars Hill, not Persuasive."
But...but...but my training! (I wasn't the only one to receive this kind of ballot, either.)

"You both should be lawyers."
This one's actually a really nice compliment, if you think about it.

"You should blink more often."
This was given to a friend of mine. I never noticed their blinking habits until then.

"You remind me of a TV preacher, in a good way."

~Kylie~

Skirt or Pantsuit? The Great Female Debater Question

Pantsuit VS. Skirt

ARE YOU READY?

FIGHT!

JK.

;P

Are you ready for one of the biggest decisions of your speech and debate career? Mostly joking. There are a lot of Pros and Cons to each side, and a lot of it has to due with your personality. I'll list all the major information here. At the end you should be ready to go (shopping).

Pantsuits

1. Pants are excellent for interpers. Bending down and crouching a skirt is near impossible. You have to be constantly conscious of which way your knees are aimed. Especially if you are doing an active interp, with lots of crazy blocking and moving. Its gives you more room, flexibility, and comfort. Which brings me to point two:
2. Pants are comfy. They may look stiff, but they're really like wearing pajama pants. No joke. 
3. Pants often have pockets, added bonus.
4. No nylons are necessary, unless you're a real stickler for the rules. In that case, footsie or knee-highs are all you will need. 
5. They match nearly any shoes.

Skirts

1. Skirts make you seem confident and precise. Pants are scientifically proven to appear less professional. A fact backed-up by my debate coach.
2. Skirts are more feminine.
3. Skirts rarely have to be re-hemmed for shoes. Pants often have to be hemmed differently for flats or heels
4. Skirts are less "blah" and leave more room for personal style. (Color, length, pockets or peplum?)
5. Skirts significantly reduce the chances of VPL (visible panty line).

There you have it! Narrow down which points are important to you and goooo shopping!