This is the Tournament Portal for our Spring West Tournament in Blagoevgrad. The upcoming tournament will be held at the American University in Bulgaria and the Southwestern University on February 16-17, 2019. Registration for the tournament has closed.
LETTER OF INVITATION
The official letter of invitation for the tournament is available here. If you want a customized letter mailed to your school, e-mail us at info@bestfoundation.bg.
PRESS RELEASES
Tournament press releases in English and Bulgarian are coming soon!
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
All tournament events will be held at the AUBG Main Building, and not the Campus - directions to the Main Building can be found further down in this page.
Saturday, February 16th
9:30 - 11:00 - Team Check In
10:00 - 12:00 - Judge Briefing Session 1
11:00 - Opening Ceremony
12:00 - Round 1 Flight B: Oratory, Prose, and Duo
Judge Briefing Session 2
13:30 - Round 1 Flight A: Debate (Prepared) and Poetry
14:30 - Lunch
15:00 - Round 2 Flight B: Oratory, Prose, and Duo
AUBG Campus tour - 1st group
16:30 - Round 2 Flight A: Debate (Impromptu) and Poetry
AUBG Campus tour - 2nd group
18:15 - Quarterfinals: Varsity Prose, Varsity Oratory
Semifinals: Novice Oratory, Novice Prose, Duo
19:30 - Quarterfinals: Poetry
Round 3: Debate (Prepared)
20:30 - Semifinals: Varsity Oratory and Varsity Prose
Sunday, February 17th
8:30 - Semi-finals: Poetry
Round 4: Debate (Impromptu)
10:00 - Finals: Prose, Oratory, and Duo
11:30 - Finals: Poetry and Debate
13:30 - Closing Ceremony
JUDGING
We welcome all high school graduates with C1 or higher English to judge at our tournaments. If you are new to BEST and our tournaments, visit our Judging Basics page!
We will reimburse all judges for their transport if they use trains or buses, but we strongly encourage taking the most affordable option when possible (usually trains). Please purchase your ticket back from the tournament location as well, as we cannot reimburse you without being presented tickets. We will provide food at the tournament site, and we will also cover one night of hotel accommodations for regional tournaments. In exceptional circumstances when a judge can’t make it to the tournament site before 11am on Saturday, we will cover two nights of hotel accommodation.
Judge registration for the tournament has closed.
TEAM ROSTER AND HOTELS SPREADSHEET*
The team roster and hotels spreadsheet has been closed. If you have any corrections to make, please e-mail us at info@bestfoundation.bg.
In compliance with European GDPR laws, any student under the age of 18 who wishes to attend this BEST tournament needs to have this photo release form printed and signed by their parent/guardian and bring it to the tournament. If a student’s coach fails to send photographic proof of the filled in form to BEST by registration deadline, the student’s registration is void.
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
Scholarship application for the tournament has closed.
TRANSPORTATION
You can call the following taxi companies for transport between hotels and the tournament site.
Tip-Top Taxi - 073 833 333
OK Taxi - 073 882 121
Eco Taxi - 073 886 666
Mega Lux - 073 882 828
Here’s a list of all hotels which will host BEST participants throughout the tournament. For coaches, you will have received information about which hotel you’re booked in approximately a week before the tournament.
The tournament will take place at the American University in Bulgaria’s main building, which can be found on this Google map:
FOOD
Here is a list of restaurants and large grocery stores in Blagoevgrad.
DEBATE MOTIONS
Novice prepared motions:
THBT in areas of socioeconomic deprivation, schools should train students in vocational skills to the exclusion of the liberal arts.
THBT the primary aim of the criminal justice system should be rehabilitation, not retribution.
THW allow children to attend any primary school regardless of geographical proximity.
Novice impromptu hints:
Romance
Quotas
Varsity prepared motions:
THW offer conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to low-income families to reward their children's school attendance.
THW ban private healthcare.
TH, as the United Kingdom, would hold a second referendum on leaving the European Union.
Varsity impromptu hints:
Parenthood
Voting rights