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

Dear Competitors, Thank you all for registering to compete in the 2009 MIT Open Competition. We hope you will all have a great time at our comp! Please review the rules and your registrations carefully to make sure that you are dancing at the appropriate level. We had numerous reports of people registering at inappropriate levels, PARTICULARLY in pre-champ level. If you need to change your registration, please do so by Wednesday, 4/15. Please note that the YCN point system will be applied to ALL competitions you had previously competed in, whether they are YCN competitions or not. The rules are posted at http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/rules.html A description of the YCN point system is at http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp/ycnpoints.html If you are considering competing in Prechamp, please read the following as this will hopefully clarify the rules. If there was only one open level (a level permitting open choreography) in a competition you had previously competed in, YCN points would be applied to that level as pre-champ points. If there are two levels allowing open choreography with names other than pre-champ and champ, YCN points will be applied to the lower level as pre-champ points. Points earned in the higher level will be doubled in the calculation for pre-champ eligibility at MIT. Again, YCN points will be applied to ALL comps. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. We're looking forward to seeing you all at our comp! FIL 2009 MIT Comp Registrar