Novice and Varsity Programs
Novice Program
The Winter Debate Institute novice program is designed for students with less than a year or no experience competing in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Students in this program will not only receive a crash course in the structural components of Lincoln-Douglas debate, but will also gain an intensive introduction to the January/February NFL topic. On Saturday, students will sit in on lectures given by our fantastic faculty members on topics ranging from an introduction to LD to an analysis on the January/February topic. Students will receive the Winter Debate Institute Evidence Packet on Saturday night to help them write cases. Throughout Sunday, they will work with WDI instructors to complete full affirmative and negative cases. The novice track is a fantastic program for students with limited debate experience who wish to get a jump start on the January/February topic.
Varsity Program
The Winter Debate Institute varsity program is designed for students with at least a year of experience competing in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Students will gain a rigorous introduction to the January/February NFL topic this weekend and are expected to arrive at camp with cases already written. Saturday will offer students topic-related lectures, office hours for case revisions, and lab meetings for blocking and brainstorming arguments. By the end of Sunday, students will have participated in three critiqued debate rounds and will have had a chance to meet with faculty members for one-on-one for drills and rebuttal redos. Finally, all students will receive the Winter Debate Institute Evidence Packet compiled by our faculty members to help them in further research and casewriting on the topic. The varsity track is an excellent program for any experienced debater wishing to make the most of his or her tournaments on the January/February topic.