Summer Camp

Students who attend our summer camp come from different backgrounds, schools, and even regions of the United States! To help students connect with one another and build relationships, our schedule features activities designed to give students the opportunity to work together and collaborate.

We prioritize debate focused activities, such as partnership meetings and mentorship sessions. Daily debate-related community building activities give students the opportunity to work with their partner for the camp tournament, set goals with instructors, and ask any questions they may have.

Yet, we still want our students to have fun! At camp last year, we hosted an ice cream social, movie night, game night, visited UMD’s infamous TerpZone, a pizza party, and even a murder mystery party!

At the Potomac Debate Summer Camp, we have fun and get things done.

Prior to arriving at camp, all students are required to complete a diagnostic quiz to inform our staff about their experience, background, and knowledge. We use this data to sort students into “labs”, which are learning groups comprised of 8 to 14 students.

Labs are designed to allow students to learn at the appropriate level for them – students with no debate experience will be placed in a novice learning lab! Our camp instructors personally review each diagnostic exam to make individualized curriculum plans for students within their labs.

Labs meet multiple times per day with the same peer group and teachers to focus on mastering debate concepts. No matter if a student is new to debate and needs to learn the basics of how to refute an argument or the structure of a debate round, or they are looking to champion the annual Harvard University debate tournament by hoping to learn advanced round strategy and progressive argumentation – we will support students in their individual learning journey.

Built into our schedule is time for students to attend “electives”, which are the “choice” blocks offered to campers to focus on their various areas of interest. Electives feature a number of different learning styles, from lectures, to discussions, to activities/drills. Electives give students choice, allowing them to explore their interests.

Throughout camp, students will have the opportunity to attend multiple lectures, while also being exposed to other instructors outside of their dedicated lab group. Sample electives from the previous camp session include: Advanced Weighing & Impact Calc, Lay Debate / Adaptation, Responding To Theory & Kritiks, Judge Adaptation & Reading Paradigms, Round Vision & Strategy, and more.