Dear Debate Directors, Coaches, Friends, and Colleagues:

As most of you already know, my good friend and Golden Desert tournament co-host Ted Belch has decided to step away from tournament directing eleven years after retiring, to actually enjoy his retirement! We will endeavor to live up to the high standards that Ted established for tournament administration and hosting throughout his incredibly distinguished career. Thus UNLV’s Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum is pleased to invite your school to the UNLV Golden Desert Debate Tournament.  The tournament will be hosted on the campus of the UNLV February 6-8, 2016.  We pledge to offer incredible high-level debate competition, reasonable fees, world famous Las Vegas style hospitality, and a tournament run efficiently, on-time, and fairly.

This year our tournament will have varsity and novice divisions in policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate and a varsity division in public forum debate. Tournament registration will be held exclusively on Tabroom.com.  The TOC Advisory Committees have designated the Golden Desert as a qualifier at the quarterfinals level in Policy and Public Forum debate, and at semifinals level in Lincoln-Douglas debate. 

All entries will be placed on a wait list until all fees are paid; the earlier you register for the wait list AND pay, the earlier I can confirm your entry and you can proceed with other arrangements.  Being on the wait list does not guarantee your entry in the tournament; payment does.  Please do not make plane reservations until I have removed all of your teams from the wait list. The Golden Desert Debate Tournament has $100 per school fee, which we will waive if you stay at one of our tournament hotels or you are a Clark County, NV school. 

Finally, as we move forward with the Golden Desert tournament, each year from now on, we plan to honor one coach as the "Ted Belch Coach and Educator of the Year." Details about selection criteria and the award itself appear later in the invitation. We look forward to welcoming you to FABULOUS LAS VEGAS in early February.  Please contact me directly if you have questions.

Dr. Jacob Thompson,

Tournament Director UNLV Golden Desert Tournament

Director, Sanford I. Berman Debate Forum

Associate Professor in Residence

Department of Communication Studies

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

CHECKS: Make all checks payable to: “Board of Regents, UNLV”

UNLV’s federal tax ID number is 88-6000024.

Checks must be mailed to:

Dr. Jacob Thompson

Dept. Comm. Studies, UNLV

4505 S. Maryland Pkwy

Box 454052 

Las Vegas, NV 89154-4052