[eDebate] Owen L. Coon Junior and Big Ten Championship

[Scott Deatherage]

Greetings, all.  I hope this note finds you well and enjoying a brief 
and productive break before the second season begins.

I write with news of a new tournament addition the calender.  I know 
it's late in the planning process, but Kevin and I hope that you and 
some number of your students will join us in Evanston in late January 
for a little debating affair, the Owen L. Coon Junior Memorial 
Tournament and 1st Annual Big Ten Championship.

We apologize for the late notice; the idea has been in the works and 
in discussion amongst coaches in this area of the country for some 
time, but logistics were wrecking havoc with an otherwise worthy 
debate competition.  A couple of changes in the last seven days have 
all of the sudden made the event viable:  cancellation of this year's 
Heart of America opened a weekend makes available space on our 
campus, and Katie LaValle's generous willingness to switch the 
Augustana weekend to the early weekend in February coalesced to make 
the late January weekend an available date for a tournament to 
emerge.    Hence:

Tournament Name:        Owen L. Coon Junior Memorial and 1st Annual 
Big Ten Championship

Competition Dates:      Saturday through Monday, January 26-28, 2008

We want to offer a quality alternative to teams in this area of the 
country who are running out of affordable spots for competition late 
in the season.  We also hope to offer a spot for teams looking for a 
warm-up prior to this year's regular season closer at Texas.  We'll 
be in Austin in force, an continue to encourage you to send strong 
students to that event.  The timing for this event is perfect for 
those in the region unable to make the trek to Texas, and idea for 
those looking for a little warm-up prior to that event.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONS:  We also want to make the tournament a fun and 
challenge event for those in our region of the country.  In the spirt 
of regional competition, we will award the top three squads from 
participating Big Ten schools (there are actually 11 schools in the 
"Big Ten,") Championship Awards.  We have a number of fun surprises 
planned for Big Ten participants.  See the invitation (and the 
tournament) for details.

Invitation, Hotel, Entry Fees:  We will post a complete no later than 
the end of this week.  I'm still finalizing the hotel contact; that's 
the hold-up at present.  Our goal is to offer an affordable option; 
accordingly, we'll cut-out the traditional "banquet" on Sunday 
night.  We'll try for a more casual event that will hopefully be fun 
for all and will keep the entry fee at an affordable price.

Look for a complete invitation both on edebate and at 
www.debateresults.com on Friday of this week, December 21.

Have a good break, and best wishes to all.  SD



Scott Deatherage
Director of Debate
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois