Camp Options

1 week, 2 weeks or SPA?

The Hoosier Debate Camp has one and two week options for each style of debate. We also provide an introductory Speaking and Public Advocacy (SPA) session for students who wish to build fundamental communication skills. 

For students who are looking to focus primarily on improving debate skills, including research, competition style debate that covers contemporary controversies of public and moral significance, choose debate! We will prepare you for success in debate in both your local and national circuits! 

For students and parents who want attendees to present speeches with confidence in a non-competitive but more focused environment through presentations of oratory and advocacy, SPA is for you!

Two Weeks (June 22 - July 6th)

More time with our incredible staff! The skills honed in debate are applicable throughout your lifetime. To be well-rounded and confident orators, it requires constant development and adaption of your speaking abilities to dynamic audiences and situations. Two weeks with our staff will result in a a foundational understanding of debate, a working knowledge of the year's debate topic, along with advanced and targeted lectures and drills to increase your overall success. We make sure you enact the knowledge derived in lectures through practice, practice, and more practice. 

The Perks!
**More tournament rounds: Two week students will debate in two tournaments, one at the end of the first week and a second at the end of the last week. This guarantees 8 valuable tournament rounds. 
**More practice debates: Each debater will engage in at least three practice debate rounds each week. 
 **More redoes: After practice debates, campers will "perfect" their speeches with one-on-one teaching with our staff. **Advanced lectures: 1 week students may learn the critical and foundational basics while two week students will go more indepth. Some of our staff have been in debate for 15+ years and we learn something new about debate and our topics every day. 

1 Week (June 22 - June 29th)

1 week camp attendees are promised a curriculum that focuses on providing you with a solid foundation. Debate camp is a bridge to the season, we want our camp graduates to have the skills to hit the ground running with the skills and momentum to reach their goals. Each attendee will engage in at least three practice debates, targeted “perfection” redos with our staff, and a real tournament at the end of the week.

Debate fundamentals include:
**Topic knowledge (Policy especially)
**Evidence analysis, production, and organization
**Deliver speeches with confidence, organization, solid logic, and ethos
**Cross examination – handle the truth and ask strategic questions
**Preparation is the key to success – know what to do before and in between tournaments
**Learn to debate local and national level competition
**Form and structure of arguments in debate
**We will work on the skills YOU need to improve!

Speaking and Public Advocacy (June 23 - 28th)

Speaking and Public Advocacy (SPA) is a new summer session class for Bloomington and area residents who are seeking to improve their confidence and speaking quality. 

This Sunday through Friday camp is filled with fun introductory speaking activities and assignments that will help your young orator develop and work on the canons of rhetoric. From being inventive about a topic, utilizing stylistic skills to wow their audience, arranging quality talking points in logical and quality order, to utilizing memory devices to speak extemporaneously and finally delivering the speech in a pristine final package. Our camp's goal is to delivery fundamental building blocks for our attendees to ensure that they are developing the quality and art of the essential human skill of communication.