Policy Debate Program Descriptions
1 Week Skills - 6/22-6/28 - $1175
This program is designed for students that compete in Policy Debate debate in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and/or Texas Forensic Association (TFA) competitions. Students will receive a set of evidence for the 2025-2026 Arctic Circle topic at the beginning of June. The week workshop will focus on practice debates for the upcoming topic. Students will spend Monday at a Topic Lecture and will orient themselves to the other workshop members. Students will spend Tuesday-Friday participating in at least one full-length practice debate per day.
3 Week Comprehensive - 6/22-7/12 - $3350
This program is designed for students that compete in Policy Debate debate in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and/or Texas Forensic Association (TFA) competitions. Students will receive a set of evidence for the 2025-2026 Arctic Circle topic at the beginning of June. The 3-week workshop will focus on wholistic policy debate preparation and training. Students will receive a Starter Pack Evidence set at the beginning of June. Students will receive a series of lectures for the upcoming topic as well as lectures regarding common arguments and policy debate theory. Students will learn research skills and produce new files during the course of the workshop. Students will develop skills through practice speeches and full-length practice debates. The camp will conclude with a full-length tournament.
Meet the Staff
Ari Davidson, Curriculum Director
Students will learn from curriculum director Ari Davidson. Ari Davidson (she/they pronouns) is joining the University of Texas as a graduate teaching assistant this fall. She is a recent graduate from Wake Forest University, where she participated in Policy debate for four years. Ari was the 2023 American Debate Association national champion and the 2023 Cross Examination Debate Association national champion. She also received invites to multiple prestigious Round Robins such as at Dartmouth and Weber State, was a 3-time First Round At Large Bid to the NDT (honoring the Top 16 teams of the regular season), won multiple major national tournaments including Gonzaga and the American Debate Association National Championship, and was a Top-10 speaker at every tournament she attended her senior year. In high school, Ari competed for Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, CA, primarily in Lincoln-Douglas debate. In her senior year of high school, Ari reached the elimination rounds of the TOC, won several major national tournaments including the Octafinals-bid St. Marks, and was a leader of a squad that still holds the LD record for the most team bids to the TOC in a single season. While Ari primarily specialized in Kritikal arguments throughout her college career, she has always valued flexibility in both argumentation and knowledge in order to help debaters become the best versions of themselves that they can be. Ari is very excited to work with everyone at the UTNIF this summer!