March 13, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

San Francisco State University is pleased to announce the Golden Gate Season Opener and the SF State – City College of SF Individual Events Swing September 26-28, 2008 to be held on the campus of San Francisco State University. This will be a full-service tournament offering two preliminary rounds in two divisions (Novice & Open) of all 11 AFA individual events at each half of the swing, two divisions (Novice & Open) of NPDA Parliamentary Debate, and three divisions (Novice, Junior, Open) of policy debate. We will have six preliminary rounds of debate and the appropriate number of elimination rounds based on the entry.

Competitors wishing to compete in both parliamentary debate and individual events may do so, but should they qualify for the third elimination round in parliamentary debate they must withdraw from the second half of the swing (fees will be refunded).

The tournament hotel is the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport (650-347-1234), which is a beautiful convention hotel property where we hosted the 2005 CEDA National Tournament.  The Hyatt is offering us an incredible rate (at least by SF standards) of $99 per night.  However the block is very limited so you are encouraged to make your reservations immediately.  It will be very difficult to find reasonable accommodations once the block closes.  If you are interested in extending your stay in San Francisco, the Hyatt will honor that rate for three days before and three days after the tournament dates.  If you encounter any problems making reservations, please contact me as soon as possible.

If you are flying to the tournament there are 3 Bay Area airports and flight costs can vary dramatically.  San Francisco International (SFO) is just minutes away from the Hyatt and all else being equal should be your top choice.  Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC) often have substantially reduced fares and are only 30-45 minutes away from the Hyatt.

We are very pleased to finally be able to invite our friends and colleagues to San Francisco and we look forward to being your hosts in September.  Tournament information is available at our website, www.sfstateforensics.com, and we hope that you will contact us if you need any additional information.

Sincerely,