While many of these judges have had extensive experience as debaters, being a good judge often requires different skills than being a good debater.
Many excellent debaters find it difficult to make the transition f rom debater to judge.
This essay is designed to provide some advice to former debaters who find themselves judging a debate. Attending a tournament implicitly involves accepting the rules on disclosure, judge and participant behavior, and so on, set up by the tournament. Participants attend the tournament assuming that these rules will be followed, and directors hire judges assuming that they will follow these guidelines. If a judge disagrees with these rules, that judge should either attempt to change the rules or the judge should stay away from the tournament if the judge feels the rules are too oppressive. Second, judges should behave in a mature, professional manner at the tournament.