Camp File

In US competitive debate—particularly policy debate (CX), Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum—a camp file is a packet of researched evidence and pre-written arguments produced during a summer institute such as those hosted at the University of Michigan (Michigan Debate Institutes), Dartmouth, Georgetown, Northwestern, the University of Texas, Berkeley, Wake Forest, or Emory's National Debate Forum. Lab leaders and instructors assign students to cut cards (excerpted quotations from published sources, formatted with citation and tag) on the year's resolution; the compiled output is then released to all paying attendees, and in some cases sold or shared publicly through repositories like the openCaseList wiki.

A typical camp file might cover a single argument: an affirmative (a plan and its advantages), a disadvantage, a counterplan, a kritik, a topicality shell, or a case-specific answer set. It generally includes:

• Tags summarizing each card's claim
• Cites with author qualifications and date
• Highlighted text indicating what is read aloud
• Blocks—pre-written 2AC, 1AR, or negative responses
• An overview explaining strategic deployment

Camp files shape the meta of a debate season. Because hundreds of teams receive the same files, arguments that appear in widely-distributed camp evidence (for instance, a Michigan 7-week affirmative) often define what is considered "core" on a topic. Coaches and judges treat camp-produced evidence as a baseline; teams without camp access frequently rely on the openCaseList disclosure norm or programs like the Debate Drills group or the National Debate Coaches Association (NDCA) free files initiative to level access.

Critics argue camp files entrench inequities—programs that can afford $3,000+ camp tuition gain a research head start—while defenders note that disclosure practices and free-file projects have substantially widened access since the 2010s.