Affirmative: First Annual Debate Camp a Success
August 25, 2025
Earlier this month, Thetford Academy hosted the inaugural session of the Upper Valley Speech and Debate Camp (UVSDC). The camp, designed for students rising into 7th to 10th grade, is a new collaboration between the debate teams of Hanover High School and Thetford Academy.
Student leaders from both teams – TA senior Daniel Mann and Hanover’s Oliver Benedict – planned the camp’s curriculum and led participants through a week-long introduction to the art of debate. The ten young debaters, hailing from Hanover, Lyme, and Thetford Academy, spent the week learning about speech writing, rhetoric, and persuasion. They debated the silly (is a quesadilla a sandwich?) and the serious (should public colleges cap tuition?), practicing for the camp’s culminating tournament.
One participant’s parent summed up the week: “I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with the program and my son’s reaction to it. I have rarely, if ever, seen him so engaged in something non-sports or video game related. It really has had a wonderful impact on his confidence and self esteem.” Can’t argue with that!