Dear Colleagues,

You and your programme are cordially invited to attend the annual Aaron Thomas Memorial Invitational at Westwood High school to be hosted virtually on September 30th - October 2nd, 2021. We are committed to having an excellent judging pool that will be one of the best in the entire nation and beautiful, unique awards.

*Full Invitation Found Here*

          Additionally, we are actively looking for quality judges who have collegiate debate experience, if you know of any current college debaters please have them contact me. Interested judges should fill out the Judge Sign Up Tab. 

For those of you who were not blessed with the opportunity to know Aaron Thomas, he was one of the most joyous personalities to ever grace debate. An avid believer of debate's transformative power, Aaron was an exceptional debater at the legendary Kansas City Central programme where he racked up wins and friends amongst opponents and judges alike. He went on to debate at Kansas City Kansas Community College while actively volunteering at his urban debate league. Aaron was a pinnacle staple in the UDL in Kansas City where he coached multiple teams throughout high and middle schools where he was a friendly face and a beacon of support for countless kids. He was beloved by students and coaches throughout the national circuit and beyond. Aaron tragically died in a car accident on January 1st, 2015. His impact on the community was as heartfelt as his loss was sorrowing. His passion and dedication to students and commitment to solidifying opportunities for young people to learn and grow are the guiding principles in the hosting of this tournament.

We will offer awards for all elimination participants awards in each division as well as unique speaker awards. We will allow individual speaker awards to accept their placing with their choice of Walk Up music for our Virtual Awards Ceremony. Sweepstakes awards will be awarded to the top three placing programmes with a weighted formula that prioritizes the higher divisions of competition. We will also be presenting the Jane Rinehart Coach of the Year Award and will accept nominations up to the week prior to the tournament. Our goal is to have a true and proper awards ceremony that reflects the quality of the tournament while instilling a sense of fun in the vein of our namesake; please have your students be prepared for this occasion.

**All Urban Debate League programmes may register unlimited entries in all events for free**

Best,
Sohail Jouya
Tournament Director
Aaron Thomas Memorial Invitational