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Type:Virtual Program, Day camp, After-school / weekend classes
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Focus:Public Speaking
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Cost:$383 to $585/week
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Ages:10 to 16
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Gender:Coed
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Main language:English
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Capacity:Varies
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Programs:View 1 available; 3 TBD
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Summary Profile
About Debate Camp
Debate Camp inspires youth to confidently speak, debate and think on their feet! In-person camps will be offered in Eastern Canada and Northeastern US. Sessions of our popular Online Debate Camp are available Jan to Dec 2021. We open young minds to world issues and help them engage in constructive dialogue and debate - while having fun! All ability levels welcome. Join us!- Special needs: Not available
- LGBTQ+ friendly community
COVID-19 Response
Debate Camp is currently planning for a limited re-opening of several of our Day Camps in June, July and August 2021. We have restricted our locations to regions in which we can safely access and generate staff teams within travel-restricted zones should these still apply in June, July and August. Debate Camp will continue to offer its popular Online Debate Camps across all North American (and UK) timezones throughout 2021.
We apologize to families in Western Canada and US regions, where we will not be re-opening in-person 2021. As well, we will not be operating our popular Overnight Debate Camp in Nova Scotia in 2021. The organization and travel-planning time required for the successful operation of these camps exceeds the present decision making time (February - April 2021) while we await clearance from government health authorities.
We are in consultation with Canadian and American recreational children's camping authorities, partner schools and government guidelines as part of our Health Partnership Plan for the safe operation of in-person camps. For locations where public health guidelines are giving indication that in-person day camps are permitted, we will open registration and contact families who have completed the online interest form.
We wish to thank ALL of our camper families who joined us online in 2020 - all 800+ campers we met via Zoom and continue to engage with in after-school and holiday camps.
View recent COVID-19 updates from Debate Camp
Photo Gallery
Video Gallery
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Programs, Rates & Dates
Programs and Sessions Calendar
Choose the right programs and sessions for your child; Debate Camp currently has 1 program available; 3 TBD.
Filter activities :
Virtual program
Coed
Ages: 10 - 16
Debate$383 to $393Virtual Program,
OnlineOct 04-22 $383 - $393 Virtual Program,
OnlineNov 01-20 $383 - $393
Financial Aid & Payment Details
Payment Options:
Deposit required with acceptance Yes Credit card payment Yes Discounts
Discount for 2nd child 10% -
Insider Reviews & Perspectives
The Our Kids review of Debate Camp
Nick Szymanis founded Debate Camp Canada after having achieved a long and impressive career in private schooling. He held teaching and leadership positions at Havergal, Crofton House, and was director of academics at Sterling Hall. Director Oona Craig has a CV that is similarly impressive. In all, this is an academic camp that is placed very firmly on a foundation of academic experience and expertise. It’s not a traditional camp, of course, perhaps particularly because it’s not about providing a wide breadth of experiences, but rather an intensive focus on one: debating. That said, there is more breadth here than you might assume. Debate is a tool, like any camp activity, to get at other things, including confidence, resilience, skill development, and effective collaboration. The kids that attend find themselves in a group of peers that share their interests as well as their academic disposition, and many come away—as with any camp—with friends and memories for life.
Visit camp's website
User reviews of Debate Camp — Read all 7 reviews
Summer 2018
Toronto (Parent)My daughter came to camp w/ an expressive communication disorder, and was encouraged to participate fully in all of the debates and activities-but was not pressured in a way that made her feel frustrated or discouraged. We... Read More
Summer 2018
Calgary (Parent)My son had an amazing week! Staff ratio to campers was ideal. Staff made the camp educational yet fun at the same time. My son returned each and every day talking about all the debates, all the arguments for /against, and ... Read More
Summer 2018
Boston (Parent)My daughter found your camp on a web search herself. She asked me to enrol her in the camp. I wasn't thrilled about the particular week in the summer, as it impacted our ability to schedule other 2 week camps. However, she... Read More
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Location & Site Details
Address
Forest Hill, Toronto, Bridle Path, Toronto, North Toronto, Toronto, Montreal, QC, Ottawa, ON, OnlineView all locations
Accommodations
Washrooms Facilities
- Flush Toilets
More details about accommodations: Debate Camp operates at CAIS accredited Independent Schools across Canada
Associations
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What's New
Director's Message
Nick Szymanis, Director
BA, MA, B EdDebate Camp creates a learning experience that is safe, welcoming, fun, and intellectually-engaging. Our program is meant to appeal to all ability levels, from the reluctant speaker to the already-accomplished debater.
We believe that learning is best served by engaging students in an academic experience, while at the same time ensuring they feel empowered to take risks.
We believe that "camp" creates a novel and secure learning environment in which campers feel safe to try new skills, think on their feet, see the opposing view, and to trust their teammates.
We feel that debating is not an elite skill for competition purposes only. We believe that to have advocacy skills, an ability with rhetoric, an ability to effectively organize one's thoughts, an ability to listen and be heard and to honour one's opponents with effective points and counter-points, are skills that all kids should try. We believe these are empowering skills that are highly relevant to life long learning.
Campers repeatedly inform us of how successful their academic experiences are - after Debate Camp, largely because they felt emboldened and confident in their ability to engage in discourse on subjects they felt unsure about only weeks previous. " I learned so much" is the most consistent feedback we get.
Moreover, we remain about training in the area of verbal advocacy; to stand, speak and be heard - an area requiring continued attention at a time when digital means provide so many alternatives to this. In the generation of the smart phone, of potentially less human-to-human conversation over substantial matters, what we teach is even more coveted...
Education has forever operated on a belief in the skills, ability and good intention of the future generation. Debate Camp is honoured to be invested in this work
More info on myself, my team and our great little camp - visit: www.debatecamp.com
In the News
November 17, 2016
Time to keep talking
Advice on speaking with kids in a troubled world.... Read More
December 2, 2015
Giving Kids the Edge: The Valuable Skill of Debating
Giving Kids the Edge: The Valuable Skill of Debating Debating helps kids retain 90% of what they learn By Nick Szymanis... Read More
Stories
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Debate Camp Canada
Debate Camp Canada has trained hundreds of eager speakers since it's start-up in the summer of 2002. Our camps have served the debate and public speaking communities in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The new location of our residential camp, to Windsor Nova Scotia stands to make us truly a national program, with campers from across Canada attending each summer. In addition, we have opened two new day camps in the Toronto area and one in Vancouver, to serve all those eager students unable to make it to our annual overnight camp. Over the years, Shawnigan Lake School and Rosseau Lake College have provided great campus environments in which our programs have developed. Many debate and public speaking tournaments both in Canada and abroad, boast the participation of multiple debate campers from past summers - many of which have returned in the ranks of staff once actively competing at the university level. Our best stories certainly involve those campers who came to us, hesitant and often shy about public speaking and graduated after a few summers, with renewed self-confidence in a polished set of abilities that in some cases reaped rewards in tournaments or even just their own school's academic program. Moreover, everyone certainly had fun in the learning process. Join us in continuing this fine tradition.
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Debate Camp Canada
Thank you for using Our Kids.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998.
Thank you for your interest in Debate Camp. They will be in touch with you shortly.
Thank you for using Our Kids.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998.
Thank you for your interest in Debate Camp. They will send you information about this session:
Thank you for using Our Kids.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998.
Questions about Debate Camp?
