The Jefferson City High School Debate and Forensics team needs about 30 judges for its annual tournament Friday through Saturday.
If you feel you are not qualified, don't worry. There are training videos and documents available on the team website, jaydebate.com, under "Judge Resources."
Head Debate and Forensics Coach Jordan Hart said, in debate, the judges are always right.
The judges will rank the students from who they think is the best to who they think needs the most work, and the ballots will have questions for the judges such as "Was the speech organized?" or "Were the thoughts well-developed?"
"It is the student's job to convince them," Hart said. "At the end of the round, if they weren't convinced by one team, then that should be the team that receives the loss, and the other team should receive the win.
"I think a lot of people feel like they're going to judge it wrong, or they're going to make a mistake. They are incapable of making a mistake."
The team will host 36 schools at this tournament. They need judges for debate and forensics, but they are mostly in need of judges for debate, Hart said.
Hart said the team can't run this competition without judges.
"Judging helps give back to the school in a way that allows our team to travel and compete," Hart said.
There are various judging time slots, but the times they most need filled are 7-8:30 p.m. and 8:30-10 p.m. Friday and 9:30-11 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday.
All judges will be offered a full meal.
Hart said judging debate is an enlightening and entertaining experience.
"This is such a unique opportunity to really see what the next generation can bring to society," Hart said. "A lot of people leave our competition and say, 'I have hope for our future,' because these kids are talking about topics that the judges themselves probably don't know much about, and it's so enlightening and so educational to be here. It's just a really good way to have your mind stretched and to be entertained."