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4^th Annual January Thaw

Presented by Northern Lights Junior Volleyball

January 27- January 29, 2012

Minneapolis Convention Center

Schedule Information - Click here

Pre Tournament & Hotel Information

A low cost and high quality tournament for teams wanting the Convention Center playing experience and exposure but at a price that is less than a National Qualifier.

This is one event you will definitely want to put on your 2012 calendar!

Ages:	Girls 12's, 13's, 14's, 15's, 16',s, 17's, 18's This tournament does allow Regional Age waivered teams.

When:	Friday January 27: All teams will play Friday at 3:30pm. Saturday January 28: All teams will play on either a morning wave or an afternoon wave. Sunday January 29: Bracket day. The last matches of the tournament are scheduled to end at 4pm.

Format:	Pool play on Friday & Saturday followed by bracket play on Sunday.

Location:	The main location of the tournament will be at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Officials:	The tournament will supply USAV Certified "up" officials for all courts.

Colleges:	This tournament will be running the University Athlete software for the college coaches recruiting players. This tournament is one of the first recruitable tournament dates in 2012, and last year there were many college coaches in attendance. *List of College Coaches who are currently registered with University Athlete to attend.This changes rapidly as the event date gets closer. List of College Coaches who registered with University Athlete for this event. in 2011.*

Registration:	Registration for this event will be open on October 1st. Registration will be hosted on signuptoplay.com. The entry fee for this event is $440. Simple Registration Instructions

Hotels:	We have set up some room blocks at a few of the downtown hotels, and they have guaranteed us the lowest possible rate for that weekend. You may contact the following hotels and make your own reservations. All three of these hotels are within 2 blocks of the convention center and are connected by the Skyway system. You won't even have to put on your winter coat! Hyatt Hotel: 1300 Nicollet Mall, Mpls MN 55403 Rate=$94 per night, 1-4 people Phone: 1-800-233-1234 tell reservationists you are with the January Thaw Northern Lights Volleyball Tournament. Internet booking: Hyatt On-Line Reservations Hilton Hotel: 1001 Marquette Avenue, Mpls MN 55403 Rate=$99 per night, 1-4 people Phone: 612-376-1000 tell reservationists you are with the January Thaw Northern Lights Volleyball Tournament. Internet booking: Hilton On-Line Reservations Millennium Hotel: 1313 Nicollet Mall, Mpls MN 55403 Rate=$89 per night, 1-4 people Phone: 612-332-6000 tell reservationists you are with the January Thaw Northern Lights Volleyball Tournament. Internet booking: Millennium On-Line Reservations Holiday Inn Express: 225 South 11th Street, Mpls MN 55403 Rate=$89.95 per night, 1-4 people Includes hot breakfast. Phone: 612-341-3300 tell reservationists you are with the January Thaw Northern Lights Volleyball Tournament. Internet booking: Holiday Inn On-Line Reservations Click on "Have a group code" and Enter the code JTV.

Tournament Information

Photography Information

The company which will be doing the photos at the January Thaw will be Jen Sing Studios, and their website is Jensingstudios.com They are also on Facebook: JS Studios.

Team Check In Location & Times

There is no coaches meeting for this tournament. However, all teams are advised that the coach or club director should arrive at check in at least 1.5 hours ahead of their first match on Friday night at the Convention Center, but no later than 4:30pm. To check in you will need the bar coded check-in form that is printed from signuptoplay.com. All players and staff listed on the check in form must have valid USAV numbers that have been input into signuptoplay.com. No handwritten changes on the barcoded check in form are permitted.

Click here for an example of the required Check In form.

The Check In location is by Meeting Room L100. This is located outside of Hall A, on the lower level. To get there, go to the escalators in Lobby B (just outside of Hall B and the Auditorium), take the escalators down 2 flights and the Team Check In table will be located to your left.

Check in will be available starting at 1:30pm and ending at 4:30pm.

ALL TEAMS MUST BE CHECKED IN BY 4:30 PM --EVEN IF YOU DON'T PLAY UNTIL 6:30 PM.

Practice times

Due to the starting times of event and our set up, there are no practice times available on Friday at the Convention Center. The court area will not open until 2:30pm.

Warm up Volleyballs Supplied

Northern Lights is pleased to be able to supply warm up balls and ball carts on all courts. Teams should not bring any volleyballs to the tournament, security will not allow them inside the playing area.

We did this last April with the Northern Lights Qualifier and it was a huge hit. No more forgetting the balls at home or in the gym! Please read our Warm-up Volleyball rules sheet and inform all players of the rules. Please take special note of last year's new USAV warm up rules which prohibit warm up with volleyballs on unoccupied courts and in any aisles.

Athletic Trainers - Located in Meeting Room L100

Athletic Trainers will be on duty at the Convention Center starting 45 minutes prior to the first match. The AT's will tape you free of charge if you supply the tape. If they supply the tape it will cost you $2.00 a roll. The athletic training staff will be located in meeting room L100 on the lower level outside of Hall A.

Coolers & Portable Chairs

The Minneapolis Convention Center has a No Cooler or outside food policy. They will no longer allow coolers, bags of food, etc, anywhere inside the building. This means you cannot bring coolers, bags of food, etc into any part of the building including the lobbies. This is a Convention Center Policy, not a Northern Lights Policy.

No portable chairs are allowed in the Minneapolis Convention Center. Please do not bring them, the security guards will not allow them inside. There are chairs at all courts for spectators.

Tournament Admission

In order to keep the team entry fee low, the January Thaw Tournament is charging an admission for spectators at the Convention Center. Tickets can be purchased at the Convention Center. $15 for a 3 day pass or $6 daily. Players and coaches will be issued wristbands at team check in.