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#1 Rated Speech and Debate Summer Camp For Novice & JV Debaters

CDA Launch - Summer Camp

Launch is a 10-day intensive for students who know the basics of debate but need structured coaching to break into consistent competition. Students leave with topic-specific research, a full evidence packet, and the skills to hold their own in a Varsity round.

Key Info

July 12 - July 22

Residential Camp

6-12th Grades

Middle - High School

Schaumburg, Illinois

Location

8:1

Student Teacher Ratio

Hurry Up! Only Limited Seats Available.
HOSTED BY
Pfbc logo

5+

Camps

450+

Student Camped

98%

Parents Satisfaction

30+

Coaches

Our goals

Camp Curriculam

Goal illustration

Public Speaking Foundations

Days 1–2 start with improv games and impromptu speaking drills — no debate jargon, no pressure. Students respond to a variety of prompts: some build impromptu speeches, some prepare a short argument under time constraints, and others train quick thinking on their feet. The goal is to get every student comfortable speaking before introducing competition.

  • Improv and public speaking games
  • Impromptu & extemporaneous speech drills
  • Limited-prep argumentation exercises
  • Foundational communication skills through lectures
10 days of learning by doing

The Schedule

The 10 Day Arc

Day 1-2Public Speaking & Improv Games
Day 3-4Research & Argument Construction
Day 5-6Intro to Public Forum & Demo Rounds
Day 7-8Guided Practice Debates
Day 9-10Camp Tournament

Sample Day

8:30 AM
Lecture with Active RecalLECTURE

Students will review skills learned asynchronously with guided questions from staff.

9:00 AM
Skill Workshop - Coach LedWORKSHOP

Coaches will walk students through an activity to practice core skills reviewed in that morning's lecture.

10:30 AM
Live Practice RoundLIVE ROUND

Students will do their first practice debate of the day and get extensive feedback from the coaches judging.

12:00 PM
Lunch + Round DebriefBREAK

Eat lunch!

1:30 PM
Small Group LabLAB

Groups of 6–8 with one coach. Targeted improvement and skill-building based on the feedback from morning round.

3:30 PM
Case Writing BlockWRITING

Guided time to update or cases based on feedback from the morning round.

5:00 PM
Live Practice RoundLIVE ROUND

Students take skills from the day's activities to do their second practice debate of the day, also coach-guided and with extensive feedback.

6:30 PM
Optional: Evening ExtensionOPTIONAL

Evidence research, coach office hours, or additional drills for students who want more.

The Program Directors

The Camp Captains

Bryce Piotrowski

Head Coach | St. Luke's

Bryce coached Public Forum for the Lakeville Debate Team, growing the squad from a couple of students to a nationally competitive squad of a dozen debaters. Bryce also served as the President of the student-run Minnesota NPDA and is the foudner of Public Forum Boot Camp

Katheryne Dwyer

Director of Debate | Civic Debate Academy

Katheryne was top speaker at Harvard , top-5 speaker awards at Valley, Blake, and Bronx, semifinalist at the TOC, 2x champion of the Valley, finalist at the Harvard, and semifinalist at Blake. As a coach, Katheryne has worked as an assistant at Taipei American School as well as ISD and NSD

Christian Vazquez

Assistant Coach | The Blake School

Christian has worked as an assistant debate coach at the Blake School. Since then he has coached multiple invitational, state, and national champions, (NDCA and TOC) and was a Senior lab leader at the Harvard Debate Council’s Summer Workshops

8:1 student-to-teacher ratio

#1 Ranked Faculty

NDC faculty are not just award-winning debaters, they are some of the most effective teachers. Each staff member goes through dozens of hours of training and is dedicated to the success of every student

Senior Faculty
Katheryne Dwyer

Katheryne Dwyer

Director of Debate, University of Chicago

Malcolm Davis

Malcolm Davis

Lead Travel Team Coach, Coach at the Nueva School

Ishan Dubey

Ishan Dubey

Lead Travel Team Coach, Coach at Strake Jesuit

Henry Anastasi Scott

Henry Anastasi Scott

Lead Travel Team Coach, University of Pittsburgh

Anika Gupta

Anika Gupta

Lead Travel Team Coach, Harvard University

Bryce Piotrowski

Bryce Piotrowski

Lead Travel Team Coach, Director of Debate at St. Luke's School

Veer Prakash

Veer Prakash

Lead Travel Team Coach, NYU Stern

Oliver Alferness

Oliver Alferness

Lead Travel Team Coach, Brown University

Vina Hung

Vina Hung

Lead Travel Team Coach, University of Michigan

Nathan Lee

Nathan Lee

Lead Travel Team Coach, Duke University

Kabir Iyengar

Kabir Iyengar

Lead Travel Team Coach, Emory University

Riki Balu

Riki Balu

Lead Travel Team Coach, Cornell University

Eva Redmond

Eva Redmond

Lead Travel Team Coach, University of Wisconsin Madison

Sienna Vaughn

Sienna Vaughn

Lead Travel Team Coach, George Washington University

Arrman Kapoor

Arrman Kapoor

Travel Team Coach, University of Texas at Austin

Ruhi Kurdikar

Ruhi Kurdikar

Lead Travel Team Coach, Northwestern University

Charlie Yang

Charlie Yang

Travel Team Staff, University of Pennsylvania

Aumrita Savdharia

Aumrita Savdharia

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Southern California

Aidan Krishnaney

Aidan Krishnaney

Travel Team Staff, University of Pennsylvania

Ali Sidiqyar

Ali Sidiqyar

Lead Coach, Vanderbilt University

Cailyn Min

Cailyn Min

Travel Team Staff, Georgetown University

Kayte Chan

Kayte Chan

Travel Team Staff, University of Southern California

Derek Song

Derek Song

Travel Team Staff, Georgetown University

Michi Synn

Michi Synn

Travel Team Staff, Harvard University

Saanvi Goyal

Saanvi Goyal

Travel Team Coach, Dartmouth University

Dylan Liu

Dylan Liu

Travel Team Staff, Yale University

Sana Mehra

Sana Mehra

Travel Team Coach, Stanford University

Justin Wang

Justin Wang

Travel Team Staff, University of California San Diego

Bryan Zhao

Bryan Zhao

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Columbia University

Dhruv Patil

Dhruv Patil

Assistant Travel Team Coach, New York University

Max Emanuel

Max Emanuel

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Chicago

Rahul Rani

Rahul Rani

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Northeastern University

Ben Hodges

Ben Hodges

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Quazi Ishaan

Quazi Ishaan

Congressional Coach, Stanford University

Helios Lung

Helios Lung

Congressional Coach, University of California, Berkeley

Fadhil Lawal

Fadhil Lawal

Congressional Coach, Vanderbilt University

Peter Hablinski

Peter Hablinski

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Dartmouth University

Seth Small

Seth Small

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Texas Austin

Cameron Ingram

Cameron Ingram

Assistant Travel Team & Policy Coach, Western Kentucky University

Spencer McElligott

Spencer McElligott

Assistant Travel Team & Policy Coach, University of Iowa

Zaid Ashruf

Zaid Ashruf

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Columbia University

Aarav Jamdar

Aarav Jamdar

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of California Berkeley

Michael Aiello

Michael Aiello

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Notre Dame

Ben Rask

Ben Rask

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Virginia

Natalie Wang

Natalie Wang

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Stanford University

James Yu

James Yu

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Williams College

Sophia Xiong

Sophia Xiong

Assistant Travel Team Coach, George Washington University

Shoumili Tarafder

Shoumili Tarafder

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Michigan

Amudhan Gandhi

Amudhan Gandhi

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Maryland College Park

Yang Bai

Yang Bai

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Texas Austin

Deanna Ma

Deanna Ma

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University College London

Aryan Sethi

Aryan Sethi

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Toronto

Gia Patel

Gia Patel

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of California Los Angeles

Andrew Li

Andrew Li

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Yale University

Raghav Ashok

Raghav Ashok

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of California Berkeley

Jash Lohani

Jash Lohani

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Arizona State University

Thelonious Kurland

Thelonious Kurland

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Chicago

Leo Hao

Leo Hao

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Georgetown University

Divija Rao

Divija Rao

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Nicholas Willett

Nicholas Willett

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Nicholas Athanassiou

Nicholas Athanassiou

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Michigan

Roger Li

Roger Li

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Stanford University

Willie Tsai

Willie Tsai

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Cornell University

Nikhil Daniel

Nikhil Daniel

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Harvard University

Anuraa Venkat

Anuraa Venkat

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Columbia University

Connor Chun

Connor Chun

Assistant Travel Team Coach, University of Michigan

Shuarya Shah

Shuarya Shah

Assistant Travel Team Coach, Case Western Reserve University

Why Choose at CDA?

Experience the CDA Standard

Low Student-to-Staff Ratios

Not 30. Not 20. Our labs are small by design so every student gets coach time, feedback time, and round time daily. Staff step in during practice to guide, not just observe.

Educators, Not Just Competitors

Our curriculum is built by classroom teachers and nationally recognized coaches with results at NSDA Nationals, TOC, and state championships across every region of PF since 2016. They teach — not just lecture.

Camp Tournament Built In

Every camp ends with a multi-round tournament in a low-stakes, high-support environment. Staff guide the experience so the focus stays on skill development and ethical competitive practices.

Evidence Packet to Take Home

Students leave with guided research and a full packet of evidence on the September/October competition topic — ready to use in their first tournament of the season.

Travel & Stay

Hotel & Logistics

Students will stay in a secure, comfortable hotel with separate accommodations, 24/7 supervision, and well-maintained facilities for a safe and pleasant stay.

Duration : 10 Nights

Jul 11- Jul 22

24/7 Supervision

On-site Staff throughout

3 Meals per day

Included in Tuition

Accommodation Details

VENUEUniversity of Illinois, Chicago
NEAREST AIRPORTO’Hare International Airport (ORD) · 35–45 min
HOUSINGJames Stuckel Towers, UIC, Chicago
AIRPORT PICKUPFree Airport Shuttle (Residential)
PARENT VISITSDay 5 (Open Day) + Day 10 Tournament. Announced separately.
CHECK IN & CHECK OUTJuly 12, by 2:00 PM – July 22, after 11:00 AM
SUPERVISION24/7 Security and Adult Supervision

Amenities Included

A/C Classrooms
Small Group Feedback Sessions
Camp Certificate
Fun Day
Work with Varsity Students
Room and Board Included
Find your FIT

Check which CDA Camp is Right for You

CDA Speak

No experience? No problem. A guided 10-day introduction to public speaking and debate — from improv games to your first competitive round.

CDA Launch

For students who knows basics and wants to start competing. Structured PF Coaching, Practice Rounds and an evidence packet to take into the season

PFBC Varsity

Intensive training for experienced competitors. Advanced strategy, elimination - round prep, & coaching from staff with NSDA & TOC, Championship results.

recommended

Bundle Camp + Accelerator and Save

CDA Launch

Schaumburg

Launch is a 10-day intensive for students who know the basics of debate but need structured coaching to break into consistent competition. Students leave with topic-specific research, a full evidence packet, and the skills to hold their own in a Varsity round.

Junior Varsity
July 12 - July 22, 2026

$3,595

CDA Accelerator

Online

Pre-camp classes that build speaking and argumentation skills before day one. Students arrive prepared, not playing catch-up.

$649

OFFER PRICE

$4,044

$4,244

Affordability

Debate camp is an investment in your student's confidence, communication skills, and competitive future. Tuition includes a prep package and weekly mock and drill sessions at no extra charge — plus financial aid and early bird discounts to help make it work.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Tuition Amount$3,595
Comprehensive Prep PackageIncluded$800
Post Camp SupportIncluded$960
Average Financial Aid Award-$1,300
Early Bird Discount-$300

Financial aid is awarded on a case-by-case basis. Click here to schedule a financial consultation with us.

What’s on your mind?

Frequently Asked Questions

CDA offers both online classes across the country and in-person class in Chicago to fit students’ needs, ensuring flexibility and access to high-quality coaching regardless of location. The National Debate Club Travel Team is hosted online with in-person and online tournaments.

Summer Camp Experience Preparatory Program

A 9-week online prep course for intro students attending camp, focused on building fundamentals and structured practice. Requires camp registration ($3,995), with bundled pricing reducing total tuition to $3,744.