Hi All, 

In the lead up to next year's USUDC Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo would like to host a regional tournament the weekend of March 20 (this is the first weekend of our spring break, so that's when we can get class rooms). We're in the planning/discussion stages now, so we're looking to get on the calendar and to partner with the community to begin planning a great event. So there will be more details to come, but here I will briefly lay out our vision as it exists now. 

The intended purpose of this tournament is to crown a  USU Western Region Champion prior to the USUDC, though the tournament would without a doubt be open to every university that wishes to participate, with every school being allowed to break and win the tournament (as is the case with international competitors at USUDC, we'd crown an east coast, mid west, or southern winner the Tournament Champion, and the highest ranked Western team the Western Champion). In our vision the West starts at the states containing the eastern edge of The Rockies (New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana) and ends in Hawaii and Alaska. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cal Poly SLO,  we're located in the heart of the Central California Coast, which means a few things: 
1) WINE COUNTRY! Our local wines are sooooooooo good! 
2) It is unreasonably beautiful here, our weather is phenomenal, and people are generally friendly and happy. We've been ranked one of the happiest cities in America.
3) There's great access to the beach, kayaking, and hiking trails.
4) Our night life here is pretty good, with everything including fine dining, diners, grills, tap houses, wineries, micro breweries and music venues. All of these things are generally quite abundant in our historic down town by the Mission.
6) If you're catholic or interested in architecture and history, we have a historic Mission that might interest you. 
7) Local cuisine is among the best California has to offer, and there are In-N-Out's in near by Atascadero and Arroyo Grande (I know from La Verne's Nationals bid that In-N-Out is a community priority).
8) There are also many national and international debate title holders, both students and faculty, in California who we hope will be interested in supporting our tournament, perhaps as members of our adjudication core. 

I hope that the community will voice it's support for this event and that we'll be able to bring even more interest in BP debate to the West Coast.

Stay Cool, See you next school year, 

JP