Mailer #3

2015 Texas-Mexico Steel Bridge Competition

Included in this mailer:

Confirmation Request

Schedule

Hotel Information

Parking Information

Competition Logistics

Banquet Information

All other details

Dear Texas-Mexico Regional Universities & Guests, Hello! This is your 2015 Texas-Mexico Regional Steel Bridge Competition Mailer #3, the third of 3 packets (finally) to be sent to each participating school. Please read through this package in it’s entirely, (this one has a TON of information) and SAVE THIS MAILER! Enclosed you will find the following information:

1. Confirmation Request 2. Schedule 3. Hotel Information 4. Parking Information 5. Competition Logistics 6. Banquet Information 7. All other details

Please confirm receipt of this mailer by emailing chandni.patel12@yahoo.com with the simple message of

“received Mailer #3.” No need for an unnecessary form. All mailers, forms, documents, rules, etc. will be available to you and your officers on the UT ASCE website, under the Competition 2015 Tab, http://www.ut-asce.org.

If you have any questions regarding the competitions, schedules, or locations, please let me know. I will try my hardest to answer your questions and address your concerns. In addition, if you have any special accommodations that need to be made, please let me know so I can best meet your needs. Can’t wait to see everyone in an incredibly short amount of time. Best Regards, Chandni Patel The University of Texas at Austin American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter 2015 Steel Bridge Competition Coordinator Email: chandni.patel12@yahoo.com Tel: (404) 274-2480

SCHEDULE Date: Friday, January 16 2015

3:00 pm: Check in begins @ AT&T Conference Center.

5:00 pm: Parking Lot opens up for your use (you do not need a parking pass for Friday)

7:00-9:00 pm: Captains Meeting. ECJ 1.202

Date: Saturday, January 17 2015

7:00 am: Check in Recreational Center

7:30 am: First two teams will begin building. Recreational Center

9:00 am-11:00 am: Breakfast Recreational Center

*Noon: Check out time @ AT&T Conference Center if staying one night

1:00 pm-3:00 pm: Lunch Recreational Center

7:00 pm-10:00 pm: Banquet and Awards Ceremony Alumni Center

10:00 pm: Return to Rec Center to dissemble bridges

Midnight: All vehicles must be removed from parking lot

Date: Sunday, January 18 2015

Noon: Check out time @ AT&T Conference Center if staying two nights.

Addresses of Locations: AT&T Conference Center 1900 University Avenue, Austin, TX 78705

Parking Lot 2004 University Avenue, Austin, TX 78705

Captains Meeting Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall, located on UT campus

Competition** Recreational Center, 2001 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, TX 78705

Banquet Alumni Center, 2110 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, TX 78705

**NOTE: Competition location has changed from previous 2 mailers.

CAPTAINS MEETING The Captains Meeting will begin at 7:00 pm on Friday, January 16th. If you need to pay any late registration fees, this is where you will do that. You and your team will be receiving your competition t-shirts, as well as a folder with your nametags, schedules, parking passes, and other information. Below, you will find a map of campus with the location of the meeting marked, as well as the best path to get there. Inner campus can be slightly tricky to navigate, so please allow yourself enough time to stumble around a little. The meeting will be your only chance to ask Kelly (the head judge) any questions you may have, so please plan to attend the entire meeting, and be on time. Unfortunately, ECJ is on the other side of campus from the AT&T Center. I apologize for this, and I tried really hard to move it closer, but the majority of the buildings on campus are still closed this weekend, and I had to make what was available work. If you are coming from the AT&T Center, you will walk right through the heart of campus. Walking down Speedway, you will cross 24th street, and see a Double Dave’s trailer on your right hand side. Continue walking down Speedway, and past an incredible amount of construction. You will see an open plaza, and walk right along the construction border. When you are on the opposite side of the plaza, the building on your far right is ECJ Hall. Keep walking down the stairs, and you will see three glass doors on your right hand side. Enter through these doors, and the room will be right in front of you. See the map below for a visual of my attempt at being Google Maps. If you are still confused on how to get anywhere, please let me know and I will make sure to get my message across.

PARKING For the duration of the competition, I have reserved a parking lot on campus for your use. The address for the lot is

2004 University Ave, Austin, TX 78705, and above you will find the map with the location marked. You and your team have access to this parking lot from 5:00 pm on Friday, January 16th, until midnight on Saturday, January 17th.

For teams not staying at the AT&T Center, you can drive to campus and park in this parking lot for the Captains Meeting. For teams staying at the AT&T Center, I recommend walking to the Captains Meeting, as it is on campus,

and you will quickly realize that driving on campus is nearly impossible. The reserved parking lot has a limited number of spots, and was not easy to get a hold of. Because this weekend is incredibly busy for our University,

please see the following chart for how many spots in the parking lot are reserved for your individual team.

# of paying participants # of parking spots

1-4 1

5-9 2

10-14 3

15-18 4

19-24 5

>25 6

I understand this might not be ideal. But with the number of teams attending (17!), participants, judges, and the extreme demand for parking on campus, this is fairest way to ensure everyone is given a fair section of the reserved parking lot. If this is going to be a problem for you and your team, please see the following section. I’ve reserved the entire lot. No one will be able to buy tickets, and as such, part of this system runs on y’all’s honesty. I know how many people are coming from each University, and based on the above chart, there are enough spaces for everyone. Now, if for some odd and unexplainable reason, a school is unable to find their reserved spots, we have a problem. With everything going on I would really hate to have to leave the competition to handle a parking problem. Ideally, I won’t ever be setting foot in the parking lot. To make this process easier, in every welcome folder will be a set number of “parking passes.” These are going to be real simple, and I’m going to ask that you put one in each car, as you leave for competition. And again, if this is a problem for your University, I’m more than happy to help you find another place to park, preferably before competition, and not in the middle of.

ALTERNATIVE PARKING EVERYONE is required to have moved their vehicles from the parking lot by midnight on Saturday, January 17th. At this point, the competition is over, and any teams that have decided to stay the extra night will be responsible for finding their own parking. I won’t leave you completely in the dark though, and have listed some other options for

parking, if you need it.

1. Pay to Park: Pay to Park machines are located almost on every street surrounding campus. ALWAYS read the signs (The UT Police Department is creepily good at knowing when someone is illegally parked), but most of these machines stop charging after 6:00 pm on Saturday, and are free on Sunday. Because they’re free, they won’t be easy to find, but if you’re moving your cars at 11:00 pm, your chances are pretty high. If you need more details on where exactly these machines are located, just let me know, and I’ll be happy to help.

2. AT&T Conference Center: If your budget allows it, and you don’t feel like lurking through campus to find parking, the AT&T Conference Center provides parking as well. Definitely more expensive than the Pay to Park machines, but it’s an option you don’t have to search for.

3. Parking Garage: There are a ton of parking garages on campus, and the ones closest to the competition and the AT&T Conference Center are the Brazos Garage, Manor Garage, and the San Jacinto Garage. The prices for these can be found online or at the garage itself.

Just some things to be aware of: If I haven’t mentioned it enough times before, this is move in weekend for our University, and parking is going to be TIGHT and HEAVILY ENFORCED. Please do not park in a spot illegally, I would hate for that to be a lasting impression of your visit to Austin. If you or anyone on your team has parents or family coming in to see the competition, all of the above 3 options for parking can also apply to them, but they will not be

allowed to park in the reserved parking lot, to be fair to all of the paying, competing teams and the judges.

COMPETITION DETAILS The Recreational Center (Rec) will not open to the general public until 11:00 am. It will be opening early specifically

for our competition (and for your family and friends of course) and as such, please be sure to wear your nametags at all times, so the staff can easily identify you. There are multiple levels in the Rec, and the competition will be held on

the 2nd floor gymnasium. There is ONE loading dock that will lead directly to the gym floor, where the entirety of the competition will be taking place. Kelly will reiterate this at the Captains Meeting, but the schedule is going to incredibly tight all day, and we simply can’t afford to fall behind so early in the day. So please be on time to the

loading dock, and be ready to start building!

After you and your team have checked in, you will simply be hanging out until it’s your turn to build your bridge. Again, it’s really important that when it’s your turn to compete, you’re on time and ready to go. This year, because

we have such a large number of teams, we will be having three load stations, and hopefully three build stations. Hopefully this will help manage the areas with the most congestion.

Breakfast & lunch will be served on the 3rd court in the same gym. It’ll be painfully obvious when you arrive.

Whenever you and your team are ready, feel free to go over and grab your meals. In each teams welcome folder there is a breakfast and lunch “ticket” attached to each nametag. B is for breakfast, and L is for lunch. DO NOT LOSE THESE! As you would expect, when you’re ready to get your food, simply hand them off to the volunteer there. This in order to make sure that everyone who deserves a meal gets a meal. Nothing as frustrating as expecting delicious breakfast tacos only to be disappointed with a container of lonely salsa. ALSO: you will be provided with a drink at

lunch, but it’s going to be a long day, so please remember to bring water bottles and stay hydrated.

After you and your team are done with everything and your bridge is in the display area, you are more than welcome to stay and watch the rest of the competition. The banquet will begin at 7 pm SHARP, and will be over at 10 pm. At this point, the competition is officially over. Each team will need to come back to the Rec to take apart

and remove their bridge from the gym. The Rec’s regular hours end at 7 pm, so at this point, only essential persons from your team should be in the Rec. Once your bridge is ready to be removed, you will take it to the loading dock

and that’ll be it!

I will definitely be at the Captains Meeting, going over the schedule and logistics of the competition, and there to answer any and all questions. If anything doesn’t make sense or needs clarification, please do not hesitate to email,

call, or text me.

BANQUET Yum. This year, the banquet is going to be one classy meal. It will be located in the Alumni Center, right down the

street from the Rec Center, so definitely within a 5 minute walk. BUT, be aware: you might want to wear something slightly nicer than your competition shirt. 100% not required, but it will be a place to celebrate the competition, and as such, is a very nice venue and meal. So I encourage you and your team to dress up a little, if you have the ability to do so and really enjoy the last part of the day. It’s there to celebrate not only the day of the competition, but all

of the endless days in the shop, countless hours designing, the blood, sweat, and tears that you and your team poured into your bridge. So end it with a bang

CONCLUSION I hope you are all incredibly stoked for this competition. I am looking forward to meeting each and every one of you,

so please be sure to come by and introduce yourself if I don’t get a chance to meet you at the Captains Meeting. And as always, if I can do anything to help you, please do not hesitate to contact me.