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Five Star Speech & Debate

-Summer Camps

-Custom Tutoring

-Webinars

2026 Summer camp options

Public Forum at Wake Forest - 2026

Five Star founder Zac Grant will lead Public Forum sessions for the 2026 RKS Debate Workshop at Wake Forest University.

Zac will be joined by staff from 3-Time National Champion Wake Forest Debate. WFU is the only college ever to win debate's Triple Crown - NDT, CEDA, & ADA - in one year (2023).

Dates include two one-week sessions -- July 5-11 & July 12-18. Students seeking custom/advanced training are encouraged to attend both weeks. This is a residential on-campus experience for passionate 9th-12th grade learners at one of America’s most revered private universities. On request, local students may enroll in a commuter option. The camp is governed directly by Wake Forest University. To register, visit:

The RKS Debate Workshop at Wake Forest University for options from $695-$3,250.

The first 16 students who apply, are accepted, and pay their deposit by the deadline for each week will be admitted. Additional capacity will be added based on enrollment.

Enrolled students also receive complimentary access to our Five Star Debate PF Topic Analysis Webinars ($480 value) for Jan, Feb, Mar & Apr 2026. For questions, please reach out to Zac using the contact form below.

Five Star Charlotte Workshop - 2026

Five Star is proud to renew our Charlotte commuter program for summer 2026. Under the guidance of Five Star co-founders Steve Combs and Zac Grant, both middle and high school students will gain key insights and master essential skills across the most popular formats, including Extemporaneous, Impromptu, Oratory, and Public Forum Debate.

Our approach empowers students to unleash their full potential for success at local tournaments governed by the North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities (NCASA) and Tarheel Forensic League (TFL).

The Novice-Intermediate Workshop will run from Sun, July 26 to Sat Aug 1. The Intermediate-Advanced Workshop runs from Sun Aug 2 to Sat Aug 8. Our venue is the Cornwell Center, 2001 Selwyn Avenue, on the campus of Myers Park Baptist Church. The fee for either week is $495

or $895 for both. For more information use the contact form below or email zac@fivestardebate.com.

About Five Star Debate

Our Mission

At Five Star Debate, we provide transformative coaching experiences, customized to elevate each student’s unique strengths. With our exceptional team of seasoned experts and associates, we don’t just teach public speaking and debate—we empower students to find their voice, unleash their true potential, and thrive with unshakable confidence in every forum they face.

Zac Grant, Co-Founder

Zac has returned to coaching speech & debate following his corporate career during which he raised $77 million for nonprofit events and charities. Zac believes in putting one’s debate skills to practical use in real life and looks to inspire his students to be their best – just as he benefited from the coaches and colleagues who opened the world to him when he was a student himself.

As a debater, Zac represented the University of Kansas where he won First Place or First Speaker awards at numerous nationally significant tournaments including Harvard, Emory, Northwestern, and the National Invitational (DSR-TKA). At NDT, Zac and colleague Mark Gidley were the #1 overall at-large bid, selected for their body of work throughout the full season (Copeland Award).

As a coach, Zac was Assistant Director of Forensics at UNC Chapel Hill, where he led the program to wins at Kentucky and Wake Forest and served as Executive Director of the National High School Debate Institute. He was selected along with Lenny Gail from Dartmouth to represent the US in the biennial US-Japan Debate Exchange.

Zac’s recent return to debate from corporate life began in 2023 at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, where he coached PF teams to victories at numerous local and regional events, including Charlotte Latin, Districts, TOC Series III (12-0) and elims at NSDA Nationals in Des Moines, where he also served as a final round judge in Extemp Debate. In both 2024 and 2025, Zac coached novice debaters all the way through Districts to NSDA Nationals in Policy/CX.

Dr. Steve Combs, Co-Founder

Dr. Combs is a lifelong learner and educator having served as a professor, department chair, dean, vice president, and chief executive officer for colleges and universities in 6 US States as well as in Japan.

As a member of the Trojan Debate Squad at the University of Southern California, Dr. Combs attended 52 tournaments, taking first place at 19 tournaments and second or third 17 times, including twice

taking Second Place at the National Debate Tournament. He still holds the national intercollegiate record for most career victories (440).

Dr. Combs was a highly successful Director of Debate at

Claremont McKenna College and Occidental College. Dr. Combs has taught at numerous summer forensic institutes, including the University of Redlands, University of Kansas, University of North Carolina, University of California at Los Angeles, Baylor University, University of Arizona, Georgetown University,

and University of Southern California. He also directed summer debate programs at Claremont McKenna College and Stanford University.

Dr. Combs' PhD dissertation examined parallels between the modern decline in civility and insightfulness of public political discourse and tendencies in competitive intercollegiate debate practice that undermine its accessibility to general audiences.

It is alleged that Dr. Combs earned his MA degree at the University of Kansas, where he coached Zac Grant and they paired up to win the Missouri Valley Championship, 6-0.

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