The Northwest Select High School Tournament was the result of several concerns among college and high school debate coaches, including the lack of informational exchange between Washington and Oregon teams and an extended opportunity for summer debate institutes and recruitment possibilities. The objective was to have a top-quality tournament hosted each year by an alternate college. A committee of college and high school debate coaches invited 12 teams from each state based on their records. Called the "Heart of the Northwest," the first tournament took place in 1981, and was won by Washington schools. The following year, the Oregon schools won. Overall response to this concept of rewarding excellence with invitational competition was favorable. However, four problems discouraged participation and resulted in the cancellation of the 1983 tournament: (1) the December date was a hindrance to full participation, (2) a prestigious California tournament became a source of conflict, (3) a central geographic location was too far for outlying schools to attend, and (4) elements of over-competitive rivalry entered into the attitudes of the high school teams around the two states. Interest still remains high in this type of select tournament and --provided these problems can be overcome--future programs may be able to regenerate the Heart of the Northwest Invitational Tournament. (HTH)