Judges

A panel of three judges is used to score each match of the competition. A judges role is to gauge a team’s breadth and depth of thought as applied to a specific case and score it on and official scoresheet based on scoring criteria provided by NHSEB. A judge cannot not have any obvious conflicts of interest, i.e. be a coach or parent of a participating team, teachers from the school of a participating team, etc. A judge does not need to have a background in philosophy or ethics education nor come from the field of academia. They should be familiar with the case set in advance of the competition, listen earnestly and take notes during the team’s presentation, so they are prepared to ask thought provoking questions based on the case and the presentation of the presenting team during the Q&A portion of the round. These questions are geared to force the teams to think on their feet, since that can’t prepare in advance for the questions. They also give judges more insight into the breadth and depth of the team’s analysis of their case.

Moderators

Moderators, one per match, are the time keepers of the match; helping the event stay on schedule and ensuring that all teams have equal opportunities to express their arguments. Moderators are provided with a script they are strongly advised to adhere to and minimize the impulse to improvise. This year the NHSEB has also added a Composite Scoring Report form to the moderator duties. It will be the moderator’s duty to fill in the judges score from that round, signing the form to verify its accuracy, and giving opportunity to coaches to photograph or take note of it before turning it in. The ability to read and manipulate a stopwatch are the are the skill sets needed to be an effective moderator. Also teams may be nervous, so a calming, at ease, demeanor is beneficial.

Room Staffer

Room staffers are assigned to each competition room to make sure judges and moderators have all the tools (cases, pens, pads, water, etc) needed for the round. They make sure the teams, judges, and moderator are in the right room at the right time. They work to solve minor issues that may arise and if they can’t solve them they quickly seek out a primary event organizer. They are the first person people see when entering a room and thus set the tone by bestowing smiles, pleasantries as people enter the room. A room staffer should be prepared to step in as a Judge or Moderator if the need warranted.

Registration/Hall Monitor

People in this category will help check-in teams and volunteers and/or be assigned to specific areas of the building to direct teams to their correct competition rooms. Directional assistance is vitally important at the start of the competition as teams may not know the lay of the building and its important they find their rooms quickly in order to not delay the start of the round. This role will involve a lot of standing.