Three ways in. One standard of coaching.

Students in grades 6 through 12 from middle to high school are welcome to join Break Debate. We operate similarly to a school debate team, fostering a collaborative and supportive community. Debaters of all ages and experience levels are encouraged to join, ensuring that everyone feels included and has the opportunity to grow and improve in a welcoming environment.

Break Debate offers personalized tutoring, seminar classes based on the Socratic method, comprehensive topic preparation, and onsite help at tournaments. We focus on tailored learning plans, collaborative topic prep, and real-time coaching support, ensuring debaters are fully prepared for every tournament.

Students can sign up for tutoring sessions through our Break Learning app. Coaches will guide students using personalized curriculum depending on student needs, focusing on core skills like argument generation, strategy development, time allocation, and speech efficiency. Additionally, our seminar classes take place twice a week and are split between content-focused lectures and application-based discussions, using the Harkness and Socratic methods to simulate real debate environments.

Our faculty is carefully selected based on exceptional debate performance, strong teaching backgrounds, and experience. They undergo rigorous training to stay updated with the latest debate strategies and curriculum, ensuring that students receive top-quality instruction.

No, Break Debate only requires a 2-hour weekly commitment for seminar classes. The rest is flexible, allowing students to decide how much additional time they wish to invest in debate. We streamline preparation by handling large portions of topic work and guidance, helping students work smarter, not harder, so they have more time for school. In fact, studies show that learning debate improves SAT scores and overall academic performance, thanks to the extensive reading, writing, and critical thinking skills developed.

Three season plans. Break Foundations is $1,500, for students building fundamentals. Break Essentials is $3,000, built for competitors who want flexibility. Break Circuit is $4,000, the full program. A $500 early-enrollment discount applies to Break Circuit only, bringing it to $3,500 before the deadline; Foundations and Essentials have no early-enrollment discount. Additional drill hours are $75 on Foundations and Essentials, and a discounted $60 on Circuit.

Yes. Break Debate offers need-based financial aid indexed to the federal poverty guidelines published annually by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Families at or below 200% of FPL pay $1,200 for the full Break Circuit season; the schedule steps down through 50%, 30%, and 15% reductions as income rises, and families above 500% of FPL pay full tuition. Aid applies to Break Circuit only, not to Foundations or Essentials; additional Circuit drill hours stay at $60 per hour for every family. The calculator at breakdebate.com/financial-aid shows your expected price before applying. Applications go to accounting@breakdebate.com with your most recent Form 1040 (Schedule C if self-employed) and a short written statement. Recent hardship (job loss, serious medical events, the death of a primary earner) can be submitted alongside the tax return for placement in a more favorable tier.

If you withdraw mid-season, we refund what you haven't used: completed topics are billed at the topic-plan rate, the deposit is non-refundable, and the remainder is returned. Onsite-coaching refunds are 50% of the tournament fee when the student cannot attend and we have advance notice. One-on-one session fees are refunded in full.

Onsite coaching is an add-on available on every plan, not bundled into one tier. We split the total cost of sending a coach to a tournament in person evenly among the students attending it, aiming for a 1:4 coach-to-student ratio; the in-person tournament list lives on the Services page and shifts with participation each season. When in-person coverage isn't possible, online onsite always supplements wherever students compete. Onsite has consistently yielded over a 30% increase in tournament success compared to students who don't receive in-person help.

Yes, all students must sign a conduct agreement. This agreement ensures a respectful and safe environment, covering rules about respect, professionalism, communication integrity, attendance, disclosure practices, and proper use of preparation materials. Violating the agreement may result in penalties, including suspension or expulsion from Break Debate with no refund.