About Our Camp
Founded by rising juniors from Cherry Creek High School, our mission is to prepare the next generation of debaters for success.
We offer a hands-on approach to developing essential skills in clear, confident, and convincing communication. Our camp aims to combat the fear of public speaking and instill unwavering confidence in every participant.
Why Us?
Welcome to our Speech & Debate Camp! Founded by rising juniors Eric Chen, Vivaan Lal, and Rishabh Sodani from Cherry Creek High School, our mission is to prepare the next generation of debaters for success.
All of us have qualified to the NSDA National Tournament, and drawing from our own experiences and insights gleaned from upperclassmen, we offer a hands-on approach to developing essential skills in clear, confident, and convincing communication.
Our camp aims to combat the fear of public speaking and instill unwavering confidence in every participant. We have all been through the process of learning how to be great at speech and debate and will pass what we learned to anybody who attends. Join us as we delve into the heart of debating, providing a supportive environment where young minds flourish.
Key Learning Targets
During the course of the week, we hope that students will be able to learn the following learning targets:
- Students are able to identify different types of debate
- Students are able to speak clearly and concisely in front of their peers
- Students are able to understand what each subterm of a debate category means (e.g. Cards, Placards, etc.)
- Students are able to debate with other peers in an actual format
- Students are able to apply information learned in a round of debate
Beginner vs Advanced
Beginner Camp
We HIGHLY recommend that students without prior experience speaking in front of a large crowd or judge sign up for the beginner camp, as students will be taught the key fundamentals as opposed to more specifics in the advanced camp.
Perfect for students who are new to speech and debate or public speaking in general.
Advanced Camp
Required/Highly Preferred Skills:
- Ability to properly create and format a 3 minute speech
- Ability to deliver a speech with 3 key points and link arguments together
- Understanding of basic debate/speech terminology
- Ability to go through a full round of Debate without help
- Effective research skills to find evidence on topics
- Use of hand motions throughout speech
- Apply use of eye contact rather than read off a paper
Meet Our Instructors
Eric Chen
Eric is a rising junior at Cherry Creek High School who has earned the Special distinction rank by the NSDA. He is recognized as a CHSAA State Semifinalist and has qualified for the NSDA National Tournament in two events: Congress and Public Forum.
In other high-level tournaments, Eric has reached finals several times, including at Winter Wonder (the largest tournament in Colorado), Cheyenne East Holiday Classic (a large multi-state regional competition), and has gone to finals every single time when entered into National Extemporaneous Speaking.
Vivaan Lal
Vivaan is a rising junior at Cherry Creek High School. He currently holds the Distinction Rank and is a current speech district champion at Cherry Creek High School.
His accolades include being the champion of the Winter Wonder tournament, a multiple-time tournament finalist, as well as a state and national qualifier. Vivaan is skilled at presenting information and appealing to an audience.
Rishabh Sodani
Rishabh is a rising junior at Cherry Creek High School. Rishabh currently has over 575 NSDA points, one of the highest in the Class of 2027, and has earned the Special Distinction Rank.
Rishabh has also been a finalist in numerous Speech & Debate Competitions, such as Winter Wonder and the 5A State Tournament. Rishabh is an NSDA district finalist in Congress and International Extemp and is a qualifier for nationals in both events. He is also skilled at effective research and speech writing in short amounts of time.
Registration Information
Location & Time
Where: Koelbel Library (Arapahoe Libraries)
Address: 5955 S Holly St, Centennial, CO 80121
When: 9AM - 12PM daily
Beginner Camp: July 14th-18th
Advanced Camp: July 21st-25th
Cost & Payment
Cost for a Full-Week 15 Hour Camp: $100 (only $6 per hour!)
Special Discounts: Returning students and students signing up for both sessions receive a 20% discount (only $160 for both sessions).
Payment Options: Cash, Venmo, Check, PayPal, or any other convenient option.