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LD Debate Summer Camp | Values, Strategy & Judge Adaptation

Our Lincoln-Douglas Debate intensive camp experience blends practical technique coaching excellent staff with a foundation in philosophy and its application to LD debate. The program helps students construct compelling value-based cases, execute efficient rebuttals, and adapt to a wide range of judge preferences and paradigms.

Students leave camp with sharper logic, clearer frameworks, and the confidence to compete at a high level throughout the season. Being at Stanford University is a dramatic plus, and for many students, Stanford is the first environment where their curiosity feels fully supported. That shift—from “student” to “future scholar”—that comes from being on a truly world class campus, can be transformative.


The institute is divided into three divisions:

(Click below for more information about each division)

  • Novice Debate: Students entering their first year of competitive speech.
  • Varsity Debate: Students who have competed in individual events for one or more years.

VARSITY DEBATE CURRICULUM 

Week 1: Framework & Case Development

  • Resolution Analysis & Framing: Students explore philosophical ground, value frameworks, and strategic approaches to the topic.

  • Case Construction Intensives: Emphasis on crafting clear contentions, strong warrants, and comparative impacts.

  • Evidence Strategy: Instruction on selecting, extending, and comparing evidence effectively in LD rounds.

  • Rebuttal Structure: Varsity debaters refine efficient refutation techniques and strategic responses.

Week 2: Strategy, Weighing & Adaptation

  • Impact Weighing: Students learn to compare values, impacts, and frameworks to control ballot narratives.

  • Judge Adaptation: Adjusting rhetoric, structure, and argument selection based on paradigm differences.

  • Theory Basics: Introduction to common theory arguments, strategic use, and effective responses.

  • Advanced Rebuttal Strategy: Focus on 1AR efficiency and 2AR crystallization.

  • Tournament Simulation: Students compete in a final LD tournament with coach feedback and evaluation.

NOVICE DEBATE CURRICULUM

Week 1: Foundations of LD Debate

  • Introduction to LD Format: Understanding speech structure, timing, and judging criteria.

  • Values & Criteria Basics: Learning how to build and defend frameworks.

  • Introductory Case Writing: Developing clear contentions and logical reasoning.

  • Rebuttal Fundamentals: Practicing concise responses and argument extension.

Week 2: Development & Application

  • Collapsing & Focus: Learning how to narrow arguments in later speeches.

  • Weighing Basics: Introducing comparative evaluation between arguments.

  • Practice Rounds & Feedback: Regular rounds with individualized coaching.

  • Tournament Simulation: A structured final competition to build confidence and readiness.


o register for Parli Debate:

  • Camp Category:Competitive Debate

  • Camp Name: LD Debate

  • Camp Session:Select your session

  • Camp Major:Varsity or Novice

  • Price Option:Extended Day or Overnight




Program Grades Location Start Date End Date Price Options Register
LD Debate 9 - 12 Stanford University Jul 19, 2026 Aug 1, 2026 Enroll

Price Options for LD Debate

Extended Day Camp $2,585
Overnight Camp $3,950

Sample Schedule Lincoln Douglas Debate
8:00 am Breakfast in the dining hall (overnight campers)
8:45-9 am Extended day camper check-in
9:00 am Morning Lecture
10:00 am Morning Lab/Practicum / Practice Rounds
11:30 pm Lunch in the dining hall (included for all campers)
12:30 pm Skills Workshops / Afternoon Lab / Practice rounds
5:00 pm Dinner in the Stanford Dining Hall (included for all campers)
6:30 pm Office Hours (Wk 1) Lab/Practicum (Wk 2) 
6:30 pm Practice Rounds
8:00 pm Fun evening activities 
9:00 pm Extended day camper check-out
10:00 pm Floor check
10:30 pm Room check
Education Unlimited believes in small-group, immersive learning with subject matter experts and experienced teachers. We strive to provide industry-leading instruction to all of our students and hold all staff to the highest possible standards.
The LD Coaching Faculty are comprised of national championship caliber coaches who have had significant local, state and national competitive debate experience.

** If you would like to schedule a free phone or zoom consultation with Dr. Jacobsen prior to registering, please contact us at camps@eucamps.net

Dr. Trond Jacobsen - LD Division Director and Lead Instructor


Dr. Trond Jacobsen is a nationally recognized debate educator and innovator who served as Director of Forensics at the University of Oregon from 2013 to 2025, where he engineered the program’s growth in debate and mock trial into the largest program in the country. Under his leadership, Oregon won its 6th national championship since 1969, including the 2022 NPTE National Championship and the National Round Robin.

A leader in debate innovation, Dr. Jacobsen co founded the Collegiate, Advocacy, Research and Debate (CARD) format of evidence based policy debate in 2019. His teams have won many CARD tournaments, including the 2024 Tournament and Conference of Scholars end of year tournament. He is also the pioneer of the Debate+ innovation in CARD, which enriches the debate experience through bespoke educational programming.

Sustaining the top level parliamentary debate program he inherited in 2013, Dr. Jacobsen coached more than a dozen NPDA and NPTE semifinalists and quarterfinalists and many top speakers, including four different top speakers. Oregon debaters have placed first multiple times in all speaker categories (evidence, communication, and community) in both JV and Varsity divisions. He also led the continued rise of Oregon mock trial, which now ranks among the strongest programs in the West, with four trips to nationals, including the last three years, along with numerous tournament firsts and seconds at invitationals and AMTA regional tournaments, and many attorney and witness awards.

As a competitor, Dr. Jacobsen debated policy for six years, including four years at Oregon, where he broke to nationals all four years and advanced to quarterfinals twice. He earned speaker awards all four years, including 3rd speaker his final year, was the top speaker at 11 consecutive regional tournaments over two years, and with his partners won every PNW tournament at least twice.

Dr. Jacobsen holds a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Michigan and has taught courses in oral advocacy and argument, legal persuasion, public speaking, information visualization, scholarly search, and social network analysis.


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