Hello Competitors! I've collected a lot of useful information for you, to prepare you for Cambridge and the 2010 MIT Open. Scan the contents below to see what is useful for you! See you this weekend, Shannon McArdel 2010 MIT Open Competition Coordinator - Directions to MIT - Avoid the Red Sox Traffic - $5 Parking by the Competition Venue - Registration Packet Pick Up on Friday - Schedule Update - Competitor Show Ticket Pickup **IMPORTANT** - Buying Additional Show Tickets - VIP Seating - Lecture Tickets and Venue - Housing - Scholarships for Open Finalists - Secure your Belongings—bring a padlock! - Heel Covers are Required - Vendors - Food _____DIRECTIONS TO MIT_____ The comp is at Rockwell Cage, 106 Vassar St, Cambridge MA. http://whereis.mit.edu/?selection=P26&Parking=go There are 2 entrances: one on Vassar St, and one on the south side by the Student Center _____RED SOX GAMES_____ There are Red Sox Games at 7:10pm on both Friday and Saturday; 1:35pm on Sunday. Allow extra time if you plan to arrive near the start or end of these games and try to avoid routes through downtown Boston. Kenmore Square will be extremely slow, as will Storrow Drive. _____PARKING_____ $5 parking is available on Saturday and Sunday in the West Garage on Vassar St, right across from the competition Venue. http://whereis.mit.edu/?selection=P25&Parking=go If this garage fills up, you may park in the West Annex: http://whereis.mit.edu/?selection=P26&Parking=go If you need to exit and re-enter the garage during the day, request a ticket from the attendant. However, this will not guarantee you reentry as the garage may fill up. _____REGISTRATION PACKET PICK-UP_____ The registration desk is inside Rockwell Cage: http://whereis.mit.edu/?selection=P26&Parking=go Avoid the morning rush and pick up your registration packet on Friday evening, between 8:00 and 10:30pm. You will not be able to get your competitor number and compete until you have paid for registration. On Saturday and Sunday, the Registration Desk will open at 7am. _____SCHEDULE_____ The first event each morning (Beginner International Waltz on Saturday and Beginner International Cha Cha on Sunday) should be in line in the on-deck area at 7:50am. For all following events: please use this schedule as a guide, and be prepared to dance **45** minutes before your scheduled start time. Saturday 7:15 - Doors Open 8:00 - Beginner Standard 9:00 - Intermediate Standard 10:00 - Advanced Standard 1:00 - Newcomer Latin/Rhythm 1:05 - Advanced Rhythm 1:30 - Open Rhythm 2:45 - Newcomer Standard/Smooth 3:00 - Advanced Smooth 3:15 - Open Smooth 4:30 - Pre-Champ Standard 5:30 - Champ Standard 6:30 - *** Clear the Ballroom! *** 7:00 - Performance by Mirko and Edita 7:45 - Pre-Champ Latin 8:45 - Champ Latin 10:00 - Good Night! Sunday 7:15 - Doors Open 8:00 - Beginner Latin 8:15 - Intermediate Latin 10:15 - Advanced Latin 1:00 - Beginner Rhythm 2:00 - Intermediate Rhythm 5:00 - Beginner Smooth 6:00 - Intermediate Smooth 7:30 - Good Night! _____SHOW TICKETS_____ To get your Competitor show tickets, you will need Photo ID and a Show Ticket VOUCHER. Vouchers are included in your registration packet, and serve as a receipt for payment. Please present this voucher along with photo ID to the Will Call Desk, in exchange for your show ticket, between 11am and 6:30pm on Saturday. _____BUYING ADDITIONAL SHOW TICKETS_____ Online ticket sales are now closed, but Student, Adult and VIP tickets will be available on Saturday for $15, $25 and $65, respectively. Tickets may be purchased at the Ticket Sales Desk between 11am and 6:30pm. _____VIP SEATING_____ On Saturday afternoon and evening, the first row of seats is reserved exclusively for VIP ticket holders. This will be enforced throughout the evening session; please do not occupy these specially-marked seats unless you have a VIP badge visible or readily available upon request. _____LECTURE TICKETS AND VENUE_____ This year’s lecture will be held at 1:30 pm (note the 30-minute time change), in the Sidney Pacific Multipurpose room, which is located in this building: http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=NW86&go=W33&zoom=16&lat=42.36127108986245&lng=-71.09986782073975&open=object-NW86&maptype=mit It is a 12-minute walk from the competition venue. Paper maps and human guides can be found at the Information Desk, on Sunday. Tickets for the lecture are available for purchase online at http://web.mit.edu/~mitbdt/www/ecommerce/lecture2010.html and will also be on sale at the competition venue on Saturday afternoon, if capacity permits. _____HOUSING_____ Did someone volunteer to let you sleep over this weekend? Make sure to contact them, plan in advance, figure out where to park overnight (if necessary) and bring your pillow, sleeping bag, toothbrush, etc. Maybe even consider a little thank-you gift like cookies or hugs. _____SCHOLARSHIPS FOR OPEN FINALISTS_____ If you are the recipient of one of our scholarships, you will receive a form to fill out with your name, mailing address and SSN. Your scholarship will be mailed to you after we confirm your eligibility for the event in which you competed. _____SECURE YOUR BELONGINGS_____ MIT and the MIT Ballroom Dance Team are not responsible for any lost or stolen goods. As in any large event or venue, please ensure your belongings are supervised. Consider bringing a padlock to the competition, to secure your valuables in one of the day-lockers available in the locker rooms. _____HEEL COVERS ARE REQUIRED ON THE DANCE FLOOR_____ Lack of heel covers can result in disqualification and removal from venue. Heel covers are required on all ladies shoes. Suede stars will be available for free at the information desk. Additionally, our vendors may have heel covers for sale. _____VENDORS____ Patterson’s will be selling shoes and dancewear on Saturday. Take the Lead will be selling merchandise on Sunday. Consider stopping by! _____FOOD____ Dunkin Donuts in the Student Center will be open at 7:30 am on Saturday and Sunday. An Au Bon Pain is located in the hallway by the Vassar St entrance. In the Student Center there are additoinal food venues including La Verde’s grocery store and Subway. Further options are available within a 10-15 minute walk from the competition venue. For a full description of options, check out: http://web.mit.edu/visit/eat.html

The 2010 MIT Open Ballroom Competition will be held on April 24 and 25, 2010! It will again be held again in the Rockwell Cage at MIT. More information will be on the comp website at http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp as it becomes available. Hope to see you there! FIL

Hi, On behalf of the MIT Ballroom Dance Team, we hope you enjoyed our competition! We have many items in our lost and found. If you had lost something, please describe it and we will see if we have something matching that description. Email Jeff about this directly at jeffrey.mccollum@fmglobal.com Hope to see you again next year! FIL

Hello Dancers! As this big weekend approaches, there are several things we would like you to keep in mind! A lot is going on at the MIT campus, and we want to ensure that you can find and enjoy the Ballroom Dance Competition. Please look over the contents below and find what useful information you can. 1. Schedule Updated 2. Friday Check-in 3. Parking on Campus 4. Finding the Rockwell Gym 5. Add/Drops 6. Rules 7. MIT Spring Concert and Other Distractions on Campus 8. Registration and Payments 9. Housing 10. Red Sox Traffic _________________________ 1. SCHEDULE UPDATED: http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/schedule.html Be prepared to dance ***30*** minutes before the scheduled start time for your event. The first event on Saturday will be Beginner Waltz. All competitors dancing in this event must be check in, in line in the on-deck area by 7:45 am. Competitors who are not in line may not be allowed to dance in the event. Throughout the day, competitors are required to enter the dance floor through the on-deck area. All competitors must check in with the deck captains when their events are called. Competitors not in line when called may not be allowed to dance. 2. FRIDAY CHECK-IN: Pick up your registration packets and competitor numbers early, and avoid the Saturday rush. The Registration Desk will be open from 9pm to 11pm in Rockwell cage, the competition venue. If you anticipate any problems with your registration, please try to register Friday night. Note that competitor numbers can only be picked up if all associated registration fees have been paid. For Teams: all members must have paid in order for the Team's registration packet to be picked up. Map and directions are at http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/directions.html 3. PARKING ON CAMPUS: Please use the West Garage, on Vassar St. Details at http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/directions.html Note that there will be a lot of traffic at MIT this weekend so please plan accordingly. 4. FINDING THE ROCKWELL GYM: We encourage you to use the Student-Center entrance to Rockwell, as there will be a large bus parked on the Vassar St entrance which will obscure your travels. Visit http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/directions.html for directions, again. :-) Isn't our website useful!?! 5. ADDS/DROPS: The deadline for Adding or Dropping an event is 45 minutes before the start of the relevant ***session.*** (Not just 45 minutes before your event. Plan ahead...) Adds will only be permitted if it does not change the number of rounds required to run the event. If an event is "full" you may want to hang around and hope that someone else drops and opens up a space for you. ***No walk-ons*** permitted--you must be registered for an event, in order to dance it. 6. RULES: We really want you to be able to dance your event! Please make sure you avoid any behavior that could get you disqualified---like lifting your partner over your head, dancing Bronze after you have timed out, or competing in a level in which you would be ineligible to dance based on our rules. ***Pre-Champ Dancers*** take particular note of our rules as they are different than those of USA Dance events. A thorough description with FAQ is at http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/rules.html 7. MIT SPRING CONCERT: Concurrent with our competition, there are numerous activities taking place on campus for the MIT Spring Weekend. Be prepared for lots of college kids running around *not* wearing ballroom costumes.... And be prepared for some pedestrian traffic. At 8pm the Spring Concert is being held in the adjacent arena, Johnson--this venue shares a lobby with Rockwell. We will direct competitors and spectators to use the entrance and exit on the Student-Center side of the gym, to avoid getting lost in lines of music fans. 8. REGISTRATION AND PAYMENTS: Just to reiterate: you must pay your registration fees before you can pick up your competitor number. Payment must be received for BOTH the leader and follower in a partnership before the leader's number will be released. Online payment is now closed, so bring your checkbook with you to the competition--and seriously consider stopping by Friday night to settle your business transaction. 9. HOUSING: We were able to find housing for all visitors who requested a dormitory floor on which to sleep! Yay! Make sure to contact your host **BEFORE** you arrive, and make sure you are bringing the necessary accessories: Sleeping bag, pillow, toothbrush... Whatever your host cannot provide for your comfortable sleeping experience. Consider setting up the rendez-vous with your host at the Rockwell Gym on Friday--it is a great, central location. Because there have been issues in the past, I'll remind you: Don't bring your pets along, as cuddly as they are. 10. RED SOX TRAFFIC: The NY Yankees will be playing the Boston Red Sox at 4:04pm on April 25th. Traffic will be inescapable from about 3pm if not earlier. Expect back ups on the Massacusetts Turnpike, Storrow Drive and possibly 93. Local roads including Massachusetts Avenue will also likely be congested, even as far up as MIT. Plan accordingly so you will be safely inside the gym in plenty of time for your events. Please check our website for updates, and see you on Saturday! Shannon and Esther 2009 MIT Open Competition Co-coodinators http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/ mitbdt-comp-coord@mit.edu

Dear Competitors, We are proud to present a one hour lecture with Luca and Lorraine Baricchi on Sunday, April 26, 2009 on the MIT campus. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase online for $30 at http://mit.edu/mitbdt/www/ecommerce/lecture2009.html. Space permitting, tickets will also be available at the door for $35. We are working to finalize the time and location as to accommodate the most competitors. Please look for updates by email and at the competition venue. MIT Competition Committee