[Announcement] Great Lakes Continental Qualifier
Ankur Gupta
this qualifier, we promise many things. Many, many things. We won't tell
you what those things are (that would ruin the fun), but we will promise
nonetheless. Here are the details:
Great Lakes Continental Qualifier
Time: Saturday, 23 April 2005, 11 AM for registration (Central Time)
11:59 AM start time (Central Time)
Venue: Room 218 (A&B), Stewart Center, Purdue University (details below)
Cost: FREE
Additional information: We will follow the standard constructed 3+F
format, 2 hours per round. We would like to declare this event to be a
Sandwich Tourney. . . ok, ok. Maybe not this one. Stupid silly sanctioning
rules.
Contact: Ankur Gupta, Prince of West Lafayette, ankurDOTguptaATdukeDOTedu
for more information. If you can't figure out how to contact me, you don't
deserve to play. :)
Other Events:
Friday night, starting at 6 PM, we will be hosting either a
small constructed tournament or a free play night, depending upon the
wishes of those who have succesfully arrived in Lafayette. More details on
this soon. Cost: $5 or FREE.
Saturday night, after the qualifier, do whatever you want. We have the
venue until late at night (midnight), and if that isn't enough for you
kids, we also feature several graveyard table spots. But rest up,
because. . . .
Sunday, we will host a set-wide draft event, starting at noon. That's
right. You heard us right. SET-WIDE. Final Nights, Sabbat War, Anarchs,
Cam, Black Hand, KMW, we've got them all. Start with a starter of your
choice (though not all choices may be accomodated due to demand for
certain starters), sit at a pod with others choosing starters from the
same set. Pick boosters from the sets you'd like. Draft. Mix. Play.
Cost: for cards plus $5 for prizes (still tentative). But hey, you can
afford this, right? Cause I mean. . . THE QUALIFIER IS FREE.
Cool Things to do in Lafayette other than play VTES:
Um, well, none. But, wait! We lied! Purdue is having their Annual Grand
Prix, which is a soapbox derby between all the fraternity/sorority houses.
It's a lot of fun to watch in and of itself, but there is also an
accompanying fair with rides and hot women. (And did we mention the
significant number of sorority girls? Mmm, tasty. . . .) We, the Lafayette
contingent of VTES make no guarantees as to your success with said hot
women. But we will root for you as you try your level best to "oust" them
and "score victory points".
Alternatively, if you have significant other type people. . . well, you
can't get in on the fraternity/sorority pie in good conscience, but you
could, like bring them along. We in Lafayette aren't particularly sure
what benefits that could possibly entail (rather, we choose not to think
about it), but you know, whatever. "Oust" them too. Then play V:TES.
Information will eventually be compiled on a website regarding hotels and
travel. The main campus of Purdue University is in West Lafayette, IN.
CRASH SPACE/HOTEL INFORMATION:
We have crash space. If you would like crash space (for the nominal fee of
dealing with locals more than absolutely necessary), please contact me at
ankurDOTguptaATdukeDOTedu. I'll be more than happy to try to make such
arrangements as long as they are available. Generally, we'll fill up on a
first come, first serve basis.
Lafayette is a small city. Thus, when a small event like a soapbox derby
between fraternity/sorority houses occurs, hotels fill up. Scary, huh? So,
make your reservations early! We recommend Family Inn for being cheap and
relatively close to the qualifier site, but here is information and
details about a number of different choices:
1) Family Inns of America, (765) 463-9511 for reservations.
1920 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47096. Double rates for the
22nd/23rd of April are $42.77/night plus tax. They are running a two day
package for $80.77 for that weekend, scoring you a net savings of $4 plus
tax. Now that's what we call efficiency. The room rate for the following
night drops down to $32.77 or so.
2) University Inn -- Conference Center and Suites, (765) 463-5511 or
(800) 777-9808 for reservations. 3001 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette,
IN 47906. We have a blocked rate for 15 rooms listed under the Society for
Creative Roleplayers (SCRAP). Be sure to mention this name when reserving
rooms. These rooms must be reserved by 8 April 2005 or they will be
returned to the general pool. Room rates are $70/night for a single and
$80/night for a double, plus taxes. If SCRAP fills 35 room nights for the
weekend, we will have a drawing for a free room for all 3 nights (22nd,
23rd, and 24th) to the winner. This hotel also provides a free shuttle to
pick up and drop off residents anywhere within a 10 mile radius. There is
no specific obligation to stay at this particular hotel; we just wanted to
make sure that rooms would be available to meet demand.
3) Ramada Inn, (765) 447-9460 for reservations. 4221 State Road 26 East,
Lafayette, IN 47905. We have a blocked rate for 20 rooms listed under the
Society for Creative Roleplayers (SCRAP). Be sure to mention this name
when reserving rooms. These rooms must be reserved by 1 April 2005. Room
rates are $55/night plus taxes. Though further away than the above two
choices, it provides relatively cheap rates. They're also right next to an
IHOP for what it's worth. Also no obligation to stay at this hotel.
4) University Club Hotel, (765) 494-8900 for reservations. 101 N. Grant
Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. This hotel is attached to the Purdue
Memorial Union which is adjacent to the Stewart Center (the qualifier
location). Room rates are $83/night plus tax. Its main selling point is
that you can walk to the qualifier from here.
5) Holiday Inn Select City Centre, (765) 423-1000 for reservations.
515 South Street, Lafayette, IN 47901. Rooms are $108/night plus tax.
It's downtown, it's expensive, and I hear it's nice. But there you have
it.
DIRECTIONS/TRAVEL INFORMATION:
The main campus of Purdue University is located in the city of West
Lafayette, Indiana. By far the easiest way to get to West Lafayette is by
car.
For those who wish to use a mapping program, the physical address of the
Stewart Center, location of the Great Lakes Qualifier is:
Stewart Center
504 West State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2058
Please note you'll need to park in the Grant Street parking garage.
(It's on Grant Street. You'll turn onto it from State/IN-26.) It costs
$10 per day during the week (or during a game day weekend), but most
weekends it is free (from 6:00pm on Friday until Monday morning). All
other garages on campus are restricted parking, but these open up after 5
PM each day and on the weekends (and is also free). Contact the local
organizer (me) for additional parking information.
Traveling NORTH from Indianapolis (and those coming west from Ohio):
Merge onto I-65 north.
Drive roughly 60 miles to the IN-26 exit: EXIT 172 (Lafayette/Rossville).
Turn left onto IN-26 W. Drive west (you'll want to be on the left lane
rather than the right lane) approximately 5 miles along a varyingly
circuitous and straight road.
Ignore the Purdue University signs, they're for football traffic.
Stay on 26.Once you have passed through downtown Lafayette and crossed the
bridge over the Wabash River, you've almost made it.
Turn RIGHT onto N. Grant Street (also known as just "Grant Street") and
park in the garage. Alternatively, turn LEFT onto Grant Street for
another garage. Or, you could find free street parking (which is harder to
do than you'd imagine; for your own sanity, park in one of the parking
decks).
Traveling SOUTHEAST from Chicago:
Merge onto I-90 E toward INDIANA.
Drive roughly 30 miles and take the IN-53/BROADWAY exit: EXIT 15.
Drive toward I-65 S and take the ramp onto I-65 S.
Drive roughly 85 miles and take the IN-43 exit: EXIT 178 (Brookstone/W.
Lafayette).
[Note: if IN-43 is flooded or under repair, drive a few exits down and
follow the directions above. If there is no detour sign, then:]
Turn right onto IN-43, which will become "North River Road/US-231".
Drive roughly 6 miles, and turn RIGHT onto IN-26 W/East State Street.
Drive a couple blocks and turn RIGHT onto N. Grant Street (also known as
just "Grant Street") and park in the garage. Alternatively, turn LEFT
onto Grant Street for another garage. Or, you could find free street
parking (which is harder to do than you'd imagine; for your own sanity,
park in one of the parking decks).
Traveling EAST from Champaign, IL:
Merge onto I-74 E toward Danville.
Drive approximately 70 miles and take the US-231 exit: EXIT 34 toward
Linden/Crawfordsville.
Turn LEFT onto US-231/IN-43/US-231N.
Drive approximately 25 miles, and turn LEFT onto IN-26 W/E State St.
Drive a couple blocks and turn RIGHT onto N. Grant Street (also known as
just "Grant Street") and park in the garage. Alternatively, turn LEFT
onto Grant Street for another garage. Or, you could find free street
parking (which is harder to do than you'd imagine; for your own sanity,
park in one of the parking decks).
For those not wanting to travel by car (pesky interstate Lupines are
always an issue when traveling by automobile), there are a few other ways
to travel to West Lafayette:
Air
West Lafayette has its own airport (LAF), but recently airline service has
been discontinued. Chartered flights are still available, however. See
the following website for more information on how you can charter a small
plane:
http://www.lafayetteaviation.com/General.htm?http://www.avcharter.com
The nearest airport is Indianapolis. Chicago's O'Hare Airport is also an
option. You may then either rent a car or take a shuttle to West
Lafayette.
Express Air Coach provides a shuttle service to and from O'Hare. They
drop off at Purdue University Airport (which is about 2 miles from the
qualifier location). Their website is:
http://www.expressaircoach.com/
Lafayette Limo provides a shuttle service to and from Indianapolis
Airport. They take passengers to most area hotels. Their website is:
Rail
Downtown Lafayette has limited Amtrak service each day boarding at the
Riehle Plaza located on 2nd Street. To book a seat, go to their website:
From Riehle Plaza, Purdue is a quick bus or taxi ride away (or a short
walk). There are also many hotels near Riehle Plaza. Ask your hotel
concierge for more information. For the undead, rail service is easiest,
as Amtrak is quite willing to accommodate your sarcophagi; however, for
human servants, you should choose another option as arrival and departure
times are quite limited and erratic.
Teleportation
The physicists at Pentex: Purdue are hard at work making your co-location
and personal gateway services more and more easy to set up and
successfully exploit! Our interspacial coordinates are Tau: 275.33x7
Modu: 1.792x2 Zed(alpha): 5.98333 Zed(gamma): 5.3. Tremere chantry
members should contact their local representative for more information
about apportation as the gauntlet here can be quite a burden.
Necromancers shouldn't even bother: use a car.
Getting Around in West Lafayette/Lafayette/Purdue
Maps of Purdue University and the general Laf/West Laf area can be
downloaded from here:
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/newsweb.maps.html
During the weekends there is regular City Bus service for a nominal fee
for non-students (free for students) and a local trolley service that runs
from Purdue to downtown Lafayette and back (free to all) for shopping and
getting to/from your hotel.
Maps and directions to other events are pending and will be provided at the
tournament.
Ankur Gupta
Prince of West Lafayette, IN