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Debate Camp

Debate Camp

Hoosier DIGITAL Debate Camp 2020

Covid-19 Camp Update:

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

I hope all of you are safe during these difficult times. This message seeks to update you on the status of the IU Hoosier Debate Camp and our contingency plans for a Covid-19 summer.

The bad news: Indiana University has cancelled in-person camps this summer due to transmission risks associated with Covid-19.

The good news: The educational impact that you were seeking from attending our camp will be provided through an online platformusing our excellent faculty/staff and Indiana University resources. We will have live faculty engaging directly with our camp attendees. We will work with your students on how to develop quality arguments, how to research, and how to delivery top notch persuasive speeches. We will work with attendees by listening to speeches, hosting digital debates, and giving our expert feedback. In sum, we will make sure our camp attendees are receiving a the high impact educational experience that you seek while we all navigate through our contemporary situation.

We are prepared and ready for an online camp. The Indiana University debate team is ahead of the curve in participating in meetings and online debates with our peers around the Big Ten. In 2014, we were the first team in the nation to digitally include a debater at a college policy debate tournament, held at the time by Vanderbilt University. In 2019, we participated in several practice debate rounds against our friends from Minnesota, Michigan State, Wayne State and Wyoming. I along with my graduate students have been spending the last few weeks planning out our online curriculum, online platforms, and materials to meet the needs of our students.

For clarity, we will be moving forward with a digital debate camp.

Dates: We will use our current dates for the camp, July 6 - July 18th for Policy, LD, and Public Forum Debate styles. The camp experience will be modified to help balance screen time with outdoor time as well as family time on the weekends. We are also planning on revealing introductory class structures and additional dates for students who seek to hone core speaking, advocacy, and introductory debate skills.

As parents seek to locate quality online material for their children this summer, we will help fill in the gap. Middle school/high school students are encouraged to attend!

Demonstration Day!
On Saturday May 23rd from 3-5 PM we plan to host a free trial run of our camp experience for interested students. Details will be released soon.All families who sign up for more information will receive an invite!

Best wishes,

Brian DeLong
IU Director of Debate

Senior Lecturer O'Neill SPEA
Camp email: Hoosierdebatecamp@gmail.com

Camp Details (Pre-Covid-19)

The 9th annual Hoosier Debate Camp is a premier debate institute designed for high school students and middle school students.

We teach three divisions of debate and a NEW public speaking lab: Policy (CX) Debate, Lincoln Douglas, and Public Forum.

NEW in 2020! We have added a Speaking and Public Advocacy skills!

The Monday-Friday camp provides a fun and introductory curriculum focused on speaking and oratory around issues of public significance.

Our faculty have the experience to teach you the skills that you need to succeed.

Since starting the institute we have already graduated 500 students from 18 states. Our students have gone on to late outrounds at national tournaments, they have consistently won their state championships, their urban debate league championships, and other outstanding accolades.

Overall amazing camp! Excited for next season and I really feel prepared.
~2016 Attendee

Had a great time, and I learned a lot. The dorms were really nice, and the counselors were cool.
-2017 Attendee

For the questions that read “My lab leaders were knowledgable" and “My research and case writing skills improved” the scale was only 1 to 5. I wanted to rate 10/10. Thank you for a great camp!
2019 Attendee