Dear Colleagues, Friends, and Competitors,

San Francisco State University is pleased to announce the second annual Golden Gate Season Opener and the SF State – City College of SF Individual Events Swing September 18-20, 2009 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 second 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 and last year’s season opener. The Hyatt is offering us an incredible rate (at least by SF standards) of $105 per night. The cut-off date for the hotel block is Friday, September 4, 2009. You are encouraged to make your reservations as soon as possible. If you encounter any problems making reservations, please contact Alexis Litzky as soon as possible, at alitzky@sfsu.edu.

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 driving minutes away from the Hyatt.

We will also be offering childcare for the entire tournament, for a nominal fee. If you are interested, please contact Kristina Whalen at kwhalen@ccsf.edu.

We are excited and look forward to hosting our friends and colleagues in San Francisco this 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,

Alexis Litzky & Kristina Whalen