Program Descriptions
1 Week - 6/28-7/4 - $1400
This program is designed for students that compete in World Schools Debate in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and/or Texas Forensic Association (TFA) competitions. The 1-week workshop will focus on fundamentals of public speaking, competition procedure, and will research and prepare arguments to build Proposition and Opposition cases for a prepared motion. Students will spend Monday-Thursday in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions in University classrooms and/or libraries researching and practicing. Students will spend Friday in a mock World Schools competition and will spend the evening doing a fun activity with their group. Students will depart Saturday morning.
2 Week - 6/28-7/11 - $2800
This program is designed for students that compete in World Schools Debate in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and/or Texas Forensic Association (TFA) competitions. The 2-week workshop will focus on fundamentals of public speaking, competition procedure, and will research and prepare arguments to build Proposition and Opposition cases for a prepared motion. Students will spend Monday-Thursday in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions in University classrooms and/or libraries researching and practicing. Students will spend Friday in a mock World Schools competition and will spend the evening doing a fun activity with the departing 1-week students. Students will spend the first Saturday morning with instructors receiving constructive criticism and performing speech redos regarding Friday’s debates and then participate in 4th of July activities in the evening. During the second week, students will do more targeted speaking activities, discuss advanced strategies for Impromptu motion case writing, and research and write Proposition and Opposition cases for additional prepared motions. The final Thursday and Friday of the workshop will feature a simulation tournament.
Meet the Staff
Davy Holmes, Curriculum Director
Davy Holmes (he/him) is excited to serve as the Curriculum Director for World Schools Debate at the 2026 UTNIF. An NSDA 2-Diamond Coach with 24 years of teaching experience, Davy is the Director of Speech and Debate at Dripping Springs High School. His World Schools teams are known for their consistent success at the highest levels of competition. His teams' recent highlights include 2nd place finishes at both the 2025 California Invitational and the 2025 TFA State Tournament. This success has extended to national championship tournaments, with quarterfinalist finishes at the 2025 Tournament of Champions and the 2024 NSDA National Tournament, as well as coaching the 2nd and 4th Top Speakers at the 2022 NSDA Nationals. A policy debater at heart, Davy's coaching philosophy emphasizes creative, in-depth strategy—like developing unique countermodels (when appropriate for the motion, of course!). He looks forward to building a rigorous and collaborative lab environment at UTNIF that helps students master advanced WSD tactics.
Registration Information
- Preliminary Application Fee $250 (Non-refundable first payment credited to full program cost; do this first!! Remaining payment is not due until June 1)
- Parents/guardians must agree to terms and conditions for application to become active (as part of the preliminary application). Please note that enrolled students cannot legally agree to the terms and conditions and as a result may not self-enroll.
- Additional forms will be sent electronically after the preliminary application has been received and processed
- STUDENTS: Go ahead and create your UT EID if you have not previously made one using the EID CREATION LINK
Check Payment
Checks should be made out to UTNIF and may be mailed to:
UTNIF
Dept. of Communication Studies
2504A Whitis Ave. (A1105)
University of Texas
Austin, TX 78712
Received checks will be credited directly to the student's account on the registration site. Please remember all relevant fees. No application will be considered without payment of the non-refundable pre-application fee, which will be applied to the final tuition amounts. Placements are made on a first-come first-served basis until we reach capacity. After June 1, please call to check availability as dorm spaces may be filled.
Other expenses
A $50 refundable cash room key/room fines deposit (no checks) will be due at registration. Deposits will be returned once any and all library charges and room charges are cleared, generally in two to three weeks after the conclusion of the UTNIF camps, but we can not guarantee a return until we have been able to process all bills from library and the dormitories.
Students will of course want to have money for sodas, pizza, magazines, handbooks, UT apparel, possibly an institute T-shirt, and supplies such as pens, paper, tape, file folders, expandos, interp binders, and boxes for filing, etc. We encourage students to bring computers, laptops, printers, etc. Students will be responsible for any copying of articles, scripts, and books necessary to complete their assignments (approx. and $30-$45 per oratory and interp student, and $50-$80 per debate and extemp student depending on how diligent they are in their work habits) and any and all library fines incurred.