Speaker Points
The judge has the responsibility of not only voting for the side that he or she thinks won the round, but also giving each speaker "speaker points." This is a numerical evaluation of the debater's speaking skills ranging from 1–30. The standard variation, however, is 25–29.5, with 30s reserved for "the best speaker you've ever seen." Half points are allowed, such as 26.5, and at the end of a debate tournament the best speakers are recognized. At most tournaments, the teams who "break" into elimination rounds - where the winner of the entire tournament will be decided by single-round elimination - are selected primarily by win-loss record, with ties broken, and match-ups determined, by speaker points.
Read more about this topic: Judge (policy Debate)
Famous quotes containing the words speaker and/or points:
“The most attractive sentences are, perhaps, not the wisest, but the surest and roundest. They are spoken firmly and conclusively, as if the speaker had a right to know what he says, and if not wise, they have at least been well learned.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“He is the best sailor who can steer within the fewest points of the wind, and extract a motive power out of the greatest obstacles. Most begin to veer and tack as soon as the wind changes from aft, and as within the tropics it does not blow from all points of the compass, there are some harbors which they can never reach.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)