What Does a Chief Adjudicator Do?

The Chief Adjudicator (CA) is responsible for the quality and fairness of adjudication throughout a debate tournament. While the tab director manages logistics and the tournament director handles operations, the CA oversees everything related to the substance of the debates: motions, judge training, panel allocation, and adjudication standards.

Core Responsibilities

1. Motion Setting

The CA leads the process of creating or selecting motions for every round. This involves:

  • Drafting an initial set of candidate motions across different topic areas
  • Testing motions with a motion committee for balance, clarity, and depth
  • Selecting the final motion set that provides variety and appropriate progression in difficulty
  • Writing infoslides where necessary
  • Preparing backup motions in case of unforeseen issues

CAs typically start working on motions weeks before the tournament, refining them through multiple rounds of review.

2. Adjudicator Briefing

Before the tournament begins, the CA delivers a judging briefing that covers:

  • The tournament's specific rules and format variations
  • Speaker score scale guidelines and expectations
  • How to handle points of order, POIs, and protected time
  • The process for submitting ballots and feedback
  • The standard for oral adjudications — timing, structure, and tone
  • Specific guidance for any format-specific judging challenges

3. Panel Allocation

The CA, often working with a deputy chief adjudicator (DCA) team, allocates adjudicator panels for each round. Good panel allocation requires:

  • Matching judge strength to debate importance — the strongest panels go to the strongest debates
  • Ensuring institutional conflict rules are respected — no judge from the same institution as a competing team
  • Balancing experience across panels — mixing experienced chairs with developing wing judges
  • Rotating judges — avoiding the same judge seeing the same team repeatedly
  • Using feedback from previous rounds to adjust judge assignments dynamically

4. Adjudicator Development

Good CAs invest in developing the judging pool throughout the tournament:

  • Providing individual feedback to judges after reviewing their ballots and feedback scores
  • Shadowing judges in rooms to observe their deliberations and oral adjudications
  • "Breaking" (promoting) wing judges to chair positions as they demonstrate competence
  • Addressing problematic judging patterns — such as score compression, biases, or poorly reasoned decisions

5. Dispute Resolution

When adjudication disputes arise — a team believes a decision was clearly incorrect, or there are concerns about judge behaviour — the CA is the ultimate arbiter. They must:

  • Listen to concerns respectfully and thoroughly
  • Review the relevant ballots and, if necessary, speak with the judges involved
  • Make fair decisions based on established tournament rules
  • Communicate decisions clearly, explaining the reasoning

Working with the CA Team

At larger tournaments, the CA works with a team of Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs). Effective CA teams:

  • Divide responsibilities clearly — e.g., one DCA handles panel allocation, another handles feedback review
  • Communicate constantly during the tournament — a shared group chat or in-person check-ins between rounds
  • Present a unified front on adjudication standards — DCAs should not contradict the CA's briefing

Preparing to Be a CA

If you aspire to be a chief adjudicator, here is a development pathway:

  1. Judge extensively: You need deep experience as both a wing and chair adjudicator across many tournaments before taking on the CA role.
  2. Join CA panels: Serve as a DCA first to learn the operational aspects — panel allocation, motion review, and feedback management.
  3. Study motion-setting: Analyze motion sets from major tournaments. Read post-tournament reports that discuss motion quality.
  4. Seek feedback: Ask experienced CAs for mentorship and feedback on your judging and adjudication leadership.

Using NekoTab as a CA

NekoTab provides tools that make the CA's job significantly easier:

  • Adjudicator allocation: Smart panel assignment with conflict detection and scoring
  • Feedback aggregation: Review adjudicator feedback scores across rounds to identify trends
  • Motion management: Store and manage motions for each round
  • Real-time standings: Monitor team and speaker rankings to identify potential issues