Kansas State University

This debate camp is for debate students of all experience levels interested in expanding their skills in policy debate and preparing for the upcoming season. This camp is designed to be useful for both students who compete in local high school circuits in places like Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, as well as students with national circuit debate aspirations. This camp is built on a belief that training in core argumentation and debate fundamentals, skills such as flowing, refutation, warrant analysis, evidence comparison, impact calculus, and judge adaptation, are useful for students regardless of whether they will be debating in front of lay judges or in front of college debaters and national circuit coaches. This is a skills-intensive camp rather than a research-intensive camp. Students will receive a starter core of evidence. Students will spend time refining their cases, engaging in practice speeches and speaking drills, learning more from topic experts, and getting hands-on, one-on-one feedback from K-State College Professors, Debaters, and Debate Coaches.

We will be following a basic structure of morning lectures and afternoon lab times. Both labs will attend the same lecture in the morning. In the afternoon, the camp will divide into lab groups for tailored instruction.  

We reserve the right to make changes to fit the needs of the students we have enrolled.

Experienced Educators: The K-State Debate camp will focus on providing students with high quality debate instruction from experienced debate educators. Our entire staff is required to go through background checks and Minor Protection training through K-State University. Our lab leaders are not just debate coaches; they are trained classroom teachers with years of experience in the classroom setting. We will focus on bringing our unique pedagogical experience into the debate classroom. We will provide engaged, experiential learning environments where students learn by doing.

Tailored Instruction: Our instructors understand the unique situation that students face in local debate circuits in places like Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Our instructors began our careers as high school debaters in Kansas and Missouri, debating in front of lay judges, high school coaches, and college debaters. We understand both debaters’ desires to learn about advanced debate techniques like line-by-line and Kritik debate, as well as debaters’ need to adapt those skills to different audiences throughout the season. We understand the unique needs that Midwestern local debate students have, and are ready to provide them with a camp experience that matches those needs.

Affordability: Our cost of attendance makes this camp an accessible experience for debate students who may not otherwise be able to afford a multi-week debate camp experience. Additionally, this would be a great camp for students who are looking for a top-off experience after attending other camps.

Track Record of Success: In the past three years, the K-State Debate camp has more than doubled in size, bringing in debaters from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Our camp students have gone on to be national qualifiers, state finalists, and state champions.

Students will need a laptop computer with Microsoft Word. More information about what to bring to camp will be provided as we get closer to the start date.