Folks,
With apologies in advance to those of you who are both Board members and
team captains, following is general information about the meet that has
been sent out to this year's team captains.

1) Hotel. This year's host hotel is the Marriott San Ramon. From I-680
exit on Bollinger Canyon Road. Go east to Sunset Drive, where you will
take a left. Go left on Bishop Road to the Marriott. Still need a room?
Call Nick Meier, from Marriott's event Booking Center, at 408-986-6637;
email is nick.meier@marriott.com. He can help find back-up
accommodations if the Marriott is full.

2) Road races. Both the 5K and 10K will start close to the Marriott,
rather than from the track this year, due to logistical issues. The 5K
will be run entirely on the Iron Horse Trail, just south of Bollinger
Canyon Road; the start/finish is less than half a mile from the
Marriott, right next to the Residence Inn. It will be an out-and-back
course, flat and very fast, with only one (guarded) street crossing. The
10K will be run in the Bishop Ranch corporate park and will consist of
two figure 8 loops; the course is also flat and fast, and also less than
half a mile from the Marriott. Maps will be posted on the web
(www.uscaa.org) as soon as complete; the courses will be certified.

3) Track location. The meet will be held at Foothill High, due to
construction at our initial venue of Cal High. It is approx. 7.5 miles
from the Marriott, less than 10 minutes driving time. To get there from
the Marriott: go south on I-680 to Stoneridge Road. Turn right at the
end of the ramp onto Stoneridge Road. Take a left on Foothill Road. Go
straight approx. 1 mile. High school is on your left. Track is at the
south end of the campus, parking is available in front of the tennis
courts. Maps will also be available at the hotel and on the web.

4) Party, party, party. This year the party will be at the San Ramon
Community Center in the Fountain Room, about half a mile from the
Marriott at the corner of Bollinger Canyon and Alcosta Blvd. Hours are
6:30-11pm, with food being served until approx. 8pm. Tix are $15 in
advance, $17 at the door and after 1pm Sunday. Drinks are $2 for beer
and wine, $3 for premium beer. Got requests? Please forward them to me
in advance, if possible, so the DJ can prepare. Finally, please help us
make sure our conduct reflects well on our teams, our corporations, and
the USCAA as a whole - and enables us to get our deposit back.

5) Party Part II. The party will resume from 11pm 'til ??? at the
Marriott - the hotel shuttle will whisk party-goers from the community
center back to the hotel, where the fun will continue.

6) Shuttle to track. The city has volunteered to provide us with free
shuttle service between the hotel and the track, making a few runs in
the morning and a few in the afternoon. BUT I will only request this
service if we can provide reasonable assurance that the shuttles will be
well utilized. So please let me know if your team would be interested in
this service, how likely you would be to use it, and how many folks you
anticipate would use it. If there appears to be sufficient demand, I'll
work with the city to establish a convenient schedule.

7) Volunteers. As most or all of you know, we depend on volunteers to
make the meet go smoothly. Every team is expected to cough up one
volunteer slot or more for every 10 athletes - with emphasis on the "or
more" to really help us out. As you continue to round out your team
rosters, please sign up for slots on the volunteer schedule circulated
by Linnea Olson, our volunteer coordinator serving with Cindy
Richardson. We depend on you, and our membership depends on their fellow
athletes, to help out in these much-needed positions.

8) Scoring. This will be our first year scoring the meet without the
services of the scoring program's creator, however we are blessed to
have the services of two terrific individuals from ExxonMobil who have
extensive scoring and officiating experience. We'll ask for your
patience in advance as we work through any first-year glitches.

9) Rules and regs. There are changes, so be sure to brush up on the
rules and regs - view and print from the USCAA website.

10) Canopies and coolers. If you haven't yet made arrangements, contact
Danny Moon (danny.moon@lmco.com) or visit our website - you will want to
be covered!

11) Membership. Please remind your athletes that membership is required,
and to get their forms in ASAP.

12) Advance promo packets. For a very limited time, we will offer
advance sale promo packets that include a 2003 t-shirt, program, party
ticket, commemorative 25th anniversary video, and more, at a discounted
price. I'll send out a notice when it is on the web and ready to buy, so
get ready - you'll only have a week or so to make your purchase.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know!
Thanks,
Andrea
NIT