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The SDI Strategy Forum is the most successful and innovative new debate program of the last several years. It offers a specialized workshop designed to focus on specific negative strategies and advanced preparation skills.

Learn from some of the best coaches in the nation how to:

* Develop and execute negative strategies against the best affirmatives on the topic. This includes file-making and strategy sessions on the prominent affirmative cases you will face when you get home, including those written by other debate institutes. We'll show you how to use the 1AC as a starting point for case specific negative strategies and how to construct and defend ultra-specific winning strategies.

* Defeat new affirmative cases. During the season you are guaranteed to encounter cases that are new and unfamiliar. We will teach you skills for debating against these affirmatives, including how to adapt current strategies to unique circumstances, how to make your generic positions applicable, and even how to adjust your cross examinations and prep time during debates to maximize your success.

* Prepare strategies on the fly. You won't always have time to create a full negative file. We'll show you how to quickly improve files, how to write blocks against a case, and how to prepare for cases between tournaments when your time is limited.

 

"The SDI fifth week is the most valuable week of debate instruction that I've EVER been associated with. It's focus on in depth case negative strategies helps debaters learn how to do great case hits and ensures they will have good arguments against cases that will be run all year long." -- Tim Mahoney, St. Marks

 

Don't expect boring, mass lectures at the SDI Strategy Forum. We have created a truly unique learning environment with all students in a single cooperative lab group with a 4 to 1 student-teacher ratio. This is an unparalleled opportunity for you to get personal skills attention from some of the best debate thinkers in the nation. Dedicated research time will be supplemented with daily drills and practice speeches. All files will be copied and shared for every participant. We will also provide a 5-week SDI Evidence CD, which will contain a digitally scanned copy of all the files produced during the "Case Hit Camp". Another high-tech innovation will be video-taped debates. Each participant will have at least one debate video-taped (and burned onto a CD for you to keep) so you can hear and see yourself speaking in an actual debate. The SDI Strategy Forum is a unique opportunity and a great value.

 

Dates & Admissions Info

The 2007 SDI Strategy Forum will run from August 4 - 12, 2007. Please note that this session is nine days long and concludes on a Sunday. Application will be open to students not attending the 4-week SDI, but applications from 4-week SDI students will be given priority in the admissions process. Cost for all five weeks of the SDI is $4100, $1000 for the fifth week alone.

Senior Instructors at the SDI Strategy Forum

Tim Mahoney  - Debate Coach at the St. Mark's School of Texas - Coach of the 2002 NFL National Champions and 2002 TOC Finalists. As a college debater Tim advanced to the final round of 10 tournaments, winning seven of them. As a college coach his teams reached the elimination rounds at 9 consecutive CEDA National tournaments, and he qualified teams for the NDT every year after the merger. In his last year of college coaching, his top team was in the quarter finals of both the NDT and CEDA Nationals.

Will Repko - Head Coach at Michigan State University - Will is the founder and co-director of the SDI. During his eight years as the head coach of MSU, Will has coached 35 teams into elimination rounds at CEDA Nationals, including 3 Finalists and 3 Semifinalists. He has also led 15 teams into elimination rounds of the NDT, including 5 NDT semifinalists, one runner up, and two national champions. He was named the 2000 Coach of the Year and is an amazing institute instructor.