The Marathon

We offer full on debates, with complete affirmatives and well-researched negative strategies.  Imagine five different affirmatives to choose from, all of them researched by a staff of college debaters and coaches who have written some of the most successful arguments ever.  Now imagine receiving all five affirmatives as you check in on day one.  

Students will receive introductory theory discussions to make sure everyone has a grasp of the basics.  These theory discussions we call “Pods.”  Each student will receive practicums on debating Topicality, Kritiks, Counter-plans 1 and Counter-plans 2. 

Once students have rotated through these initial four theory seminars they will then have the ability to sign up for electives where they choose topics which best fit their needs and interests. We feel that if students have the option of choosing electives while they are debating on a daily basis, they will choose topics that are immediate interest to improving their ability to debate: to correct the mistakes of yesterday’s debate or to prepare themselves for arguments they’ll debate that night. 

After the first week, we’ll have a tournament, then we’ll break into research groups and you students will test out their new skills in the library producing their own arguments and filling holes, and then we’ll end with a rematch.  That’s right, a second tournament!  If you want to learn debate by debating the topic, this institute is for you.  If you want to learn new ways to pretend you’re awake during lectures or start a poll on the most comfortable couch in the library, there are many other workshops for you.