At my kids debate championship

They asked us not to look the children in the eyes while they speak

Is that a new thing? Like a zoo?

lol. that's funny. 

as a former debater - looking judges in the eyes is very distracting. easy to over-interpret their micro-expressions and lose your train of thought.

as a former coach - this is a key skill and it sad to see your league abdicate their responsibility for building strong communicators.

Oooo sorry I misinterpreted. I assumed you were talking about parents in their capacity as judges. That's still...kind of weird but /shrug

Eye contact with the Judges is encouraged, and part of the judging at the end even?

But not eye contact with the parents 😄