NCGA National Gymnastics Championships Information

Meet Director: Kerry Ovalle Phone: 781-255-8799; Fax 781-255-0992
Email - ekjdovalle@hotmail.com 
Meet Dates: April 1, 2 & 3, 2004
Meet Site: Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Johnson Athletic Center -
                    120 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA

Quick Links... - Contacts 

NCGA Championships
Schedule of Events

Thursday, April 1, 2004

10:30 am   Athletic Training Room Opens for NCGA Athletes
11:15 am   Open Stretch Begins for NCGA Athletes
12:00 pm   Rotation 1 (2 teams per event with respective specialist qualifiers)
12:40 pm   Rotation 2
1:20 pm     Rotation 3
2:00 pm     Rotation 4 
3:00 - 4:00 pm - Coaches' meeting w/ Meet Referee
6:30 - 10:30 pm - Banquet - Walker Memorial, Bldg 50 - Morss Hall

Friday, April 2, 2004

8:00 am - 12:00 pm - Coaches' meeting 
3:30 pm - Athletic Training Room Opens
4:55 - 5:25 pm - Open warm-ups Flight A
5:15 - 5:45 pm - Open warm-ups Flight B
5:25 - 5:45 pm - Flight A warm-up first rotation
5:45 - 6:00 pm - Prepare for March-in
6:00 - 6:15 pm - March - in
6:20 pm (approx) - Flight A begins competition
                              Flight B begins warms up (20 minutes) 
9:30 pm - Awards Ceremony 

Accommodations for Participants - March 24th update - Host Hotel is Sold Out.  See Overflow Hotel

The University Park Hotel @ MIT  will serve as our host hotel. It is located at 20 Sidney Street in Cambridge, MA. We have a total of 130 rooms (88 double/double and 42 singles w/ queen size bed). All rooms are non-smoking. The cost of the rooms is $109/night plus 12.45% tax. This rate is flat for up to 4 occupants per room. Please call and make your reservations early. It is easier to cancel your reservations than it will be to find lodging after your qualification. You can make reservations by calling Ginny LePow at 617-551-0312 or emailing ginny_lepow@hilton.com. Please refer to NCGA Championships when making your reservations. Rooms will be held until March 21, 2004. Any unbooked rooms at this time will be released by the hotel. We strongly encourage all teams to stay at the host hotel. Due to the high traffic volume, continuous construction projects and limited amounts of parking, the University Park Hotel @ MIT was chosen due to its proximity to campus. 

Overflow Hotel 

Cambridge Marriott - Contact: Alex Racioppi at 781/537-5580 or alex.racioppi@marriott.com - Specify MIT Gymnastics Event for weekend of April 1st for a group/team rate.

Accommodations for Spectators

Families and spectators may contact the host hotel for availability. No additional rooms for spectators are being blocked off at the host hotel at this time. MIT has negotiated an 'MIT Athletics' rate of $119 per night at the host hotel, so have them ask for the best available rate associated with MIT Athletics. Click here for a listing of additional hotels in the area. Please make reservations early as the Boston/Cambridge area hotels tend to be filled on a regular basis.

Overflow Hotel 

Cambridge Marriott - individual reservations call 800/228-9290

Awards

*Top three teams receive team trophy. Individuals of first place team will receive Medals (twelve medals will be awarded; team may obtain more at own expense)

*First through sixth place on each event receive a medal and an All-American certificate.

*First through tenth place in the All-Around receive medals and All-American certificates.

*An NCGA Championship banner will be provided to the winning team. The banner will be part of the tournament expenses

*If two gymnasts tie with the same score, the next place is skipped. If three tie, the next two places are skipped, etc. If ties occur at sixth place for events or tenth place in the All-Around, all tied gymnasts will receive awards.


All-American in Academics and Outstanding Senior Athlete Awards 
Please click here to download nomination forms.

    1. Eligibility
A. Must be a senior or graduate student with 3.0 or better undergraduate cumulative GPA
B. Individual does not have to be in attendance
C. Nomination forms (see Appendix) must be submitted to the Meet Director prior to the end of the coaches' meeting on Thursday, April 1.
D. Nominee's GPA must be verified by Registrar on Nominee's form. Student must also sign on release of GPA
E. Athletes are eligible for Outstanding Senior and All-American in Academics only once and must be both applied for in the same year.

    2. Procedure
A. Nominees will be presented at the coaches' meeting on Saturday, April 3.
B. Outstanding Senior will be selected by a simple majority vote of the coaches.
C. Awards will be presented after Finals on Saturday, April 3.

    3. Awards
A. All nominees will be awarded All-American in Academics certificates
B. Top individual vote recipient will receive NCGA Outstanding Senior Gymnast Award

Banquet - Thursday, April 1, 2004 - 6:30pm 

This year's banquet will be held on the campus of MIT at Bldg 50, Walker Memorial located at 142 Memorial Drive.  Banquet tickets are $15 per person. All NCGA athletes, whether qualifying to the championships or not, are invited to attend the banquet. Following the determination of your travel party, please notify the meet director by email of the number attending the banquet or fax the form located here. Banquet money will be collected upon your arrival at check in for the practice session on Thursday, April 1. Please make checks payable to MIT-DAPER. Banquet money and entry fees may be included on the same check if you so desire. 

Certified Athletic Training

A Certified Athletic Trainer will be available throughout the entire competition and training session. Teams that will be traveling without a trainer or that have special needs beyond heat and ice should contact our coordinating ATC - Andrew Lee immediately upon qualifications. Please refer to enclosed letter for detailed information.

Check In

Coaches should check in with Kerry Ovalle at the Johnson Athletic Center (120 Vassar Street) for their Meet Information Packets. Payment for entry fees and the banquet will be due at this time. Please make checks payable to MIT-DAPER. [Everything can be paid in one check].

Coaches' Meetings

Competition/Warm-up Rotation

Warm-up and competition equipment will be located in one gym. Warm-up equipment will be located in the back of the arena and only a tumbling strip will be available (see equipment list). All equipment will be visible to spectators. Flights will warm-up, move to competition equipment and have a 3:30 minute touch on the competition equipment.  There will be a meet official timing each warm-up session. Each session will be 20 minutes in length and will begin after all four events in the competition flight have begun. We ask that when your warm-up rotation has finished, please have the competing gymnasts ready to march to the competition equipment and present to the head table. Since warm-ups and competition flights will be going simultaneously, we ask that the flight warming up keep cheering to a minimum so as not to distract from the competition flight. Music will only be available to the competition flight. 

Draw for qualifiers took place on March 22nd.

Flight A
Team 1 -  Gustavus Adolphus College with Rhian Paulson - Stout (VT,FX),  April Hubmann - Whitewater (UB) and Amanda DeJardin - Oshkosh (BB)
Team 3 - SUNY-Cortland with Ann Kingsnorth - Whitewater (AA)
Team 5 - UW-Eau Claire with Brianna Lentz - Oshkosh (AA)
Team 7 - Hamline University with Justine Russell - Oshkosh (VT, BB), Lesley Rick - Stout (UB) and Megan Finnegan - Whitewater (FX)

Flight B
Team 2 - MIT with Jenny Romano-Joseph - Springfield (VT), Jessica Cowden - Ursinus (UB, BB), Larissa Tabin - Springfield (FX)
Team 4 - UW-La Crosse with Jessica Furman - Ursinus (AA)
Team 6 - SUNY-Brockport with Kristen Grimmel - Ursinus (AA)
Team 8 - Ithaca College with Megan Hollern - Ursinus (VT), Jillian Harnitchek - Ursinus (UB) and Caren Normandin - Rhode Island (BB, FX)

Practice rotation on Thursday - two teams per event, both sets of equipment are available.

Competition rotation. (W-EVENT means Warmup-EVENT)

Entry Fee

Team $250.00
All Around $40.00
Specialist $10.00

Please make checks payable to MIT-DAPER. Entry fees are due on arrival and 
paid at check-in on Thursday, April 1, 2004.

Equipment - Please note - there are no 20cm mats.

AAI Stratum floor Palmer Springs
AAI Foam boarder system 
AAI Fem carpet 45'x45'
Foam carpet floor 42' x 42' x 2"
AAI Stratum floor tumbling strip
AAI Elite Uneven Bars 2 
AAI Free stand adapter for bars 2
AAI Elite Reflex Adj. Beam 2 
AAI Elite Domestic Vault Table 2 
AAI Stratum Vault Board 6 
AAI Contour Vault Safety Zone 2 
Vault Runway 2 
AAI Mat 7.5' x 5' 12cm NF V2 2 
AAI Mat 8' x 15.5' 12cm BF V2 8 
AAI Mat 7.5' x 15.5' 12cm BF V2 
AAI Mat 8' x 12' 12cm BF V2 6 
AAI Mat 7.5' x 12' 12cm BF V2 
AAI Elite Beam upright pads 2 
AAI Elite Beam filler pads 2 
AAI Skill Cushion 5'x10'x8" 8 
AAI Sting Mats 5'x10' 8 
Throw mats 7x10 8 

Music: We will have the capabilities for both tapes and CD's. If desired, teams will run their own music. We will have a volunteer available to assist with the music system itself or to play music for you should you need assistance. Please review music during the practice session on April 1. We do not have the capability to run two sets of music during warm-ups and competition on Friday, April 2. If you wish to review music during your warm-up session on Friday, please provide your own cassette/CD player and use headphones. 

Flowers

Flower choices will be available for order on Thursday during check in and the practice session. 

Fundraising Opportunity/ E-Ads

We will be offering a fund-raising opportunity for the NCGA and your own team through the sale of personal ads to be projected, slide show fashion, on a screen during the competition. Ithaca College did this when they hosted in 2002. We are offering this opportunity for your team and the NCGA. We will pay your team 50% of all the ads sold by your team for this tournament. The other 50% will go directly to our NCGA bank account. Personal E-Ads will be $25 and business E-Ads will be $50. Please keep in mind that according to NCAA rules a student athlete cannot promote a business or product. Businesses can support a specific team, but not an individual athlete. Click here for form containing the information that you will need to send out. Start lining up parents, club owners, alumni and friends to buy ads and support your program at this tournament. See Appendix for order forms.

Hospitality

There will be hospitality provided for all coaches, assistants, gymnasts, meet personnel and administrators during the competition sessions on Friday and Saturday. This will be located in the gym itself. Please ask the Meet Director or meet volunteer the location of the hospitality upon your arrival.

NCGA T-Shirts 

T-Shirts will not be pre-ordered. There will be a t-shirt company on site throughout the weekend available to print several options of logos on anydministrators during the competition sessions on Friday and Saturday. This will be located in the gym itself. Please ask the Meet Director or meet volunteer the location of the hospitality upon your arrival.

NCGA T-Shirts 

T-Shirts will not be pre-ordered. There will be a t-shirt company on site throughout the weekend available to print several options of logos on anything from t-shirts to sweatshirts and jackets. More information on this will follow, but everyone will be able to 'shop' for the t-shirt of their choice and the screen printing will happen right there at that time.


Spectator Admission Prices

Adults: $10.00/session or $15.00 for both sessions
Seniors/Students: $5.00/session or $8.00 for both sessions
MIT students and NCGA non-qualifying athletes (with student ID)
and Children 5 and under: Free

Travel Information

Cambridge, Massachusetts resides on the opposite side of the Charles River from Boston. It is home to MIT and Harvard University. It is a diverse city but a smaller sister to Boston. Please fax Travel Party Form to 781/255-0992 no later than Monday, March 29, 2004.

Air Travel 

Three airports serve southern New England. 

Logan Airport, Boston, MA - Located in Boston. Ground/Public Transportation available from the airport. Go to www.massport.com for more information.

T.F. Green Airport, Providence, RI - Approximately a 90 minute drive. Rental car is the best option from this airport. Prices for flights may be more inexpensive than to Logan. Check your airlines. Go to www.pvdairport.com for more information on this airport.

Manchester Airport - Manchester, NH - Approximately a 90 minute drive. Rental car is the best option from this airport. Prices for flights may be more inexpensive than to Logan. Check your airlines. Go to www.flymanchester.com

Ground Transportation

Rental Cars - Please contact the airport you will be arriving at for a listing of rental cars available. Most major companies are available at all three airports. 

Taxi Service - Taxis are available from Logan Airport in Boston to the MIT campus or host hotel. Approximate cost is $25 one way.

Limousine Service - Contact Logan Airport for limousine companies that service the airport.

The 'T' (Subway)

The 'T' is available from Logan Airport only. Take the yellow and white MBTA shuttle buses (labeled with a black 'T' on the side) available at the airport to the Blue Line Airport stop. Take the Blue Line inbound two stops to Government Center. Change trains here to the Green Line. Take any Green Line train outbound one stop to Park Street and change to the Red Line. Take the Red Line outbound to Kendall Square/MIT. Trains will be labeled "Alewife" or "Harvard". From here you will need to take a taxi to the hotel or gym. 


Directions from Logan Airport to the University Park Hotel @ MIT

Leaving the airport, follow the signs to the Sumner Tunnel. Entering the tunnel, keep in the right lane. At the end of the tunnel, keeping in the right lane, start down an incline and bear to the right immediately at the sign for Storrow Drive. Take Exit 26 for Cambridge/Somerville. Follow the Back Bay/Cambridge signs (do not take the exit for Cambridge/Somerville). Keep in the right lane and follow the Storrow Drive West signs. After passing under the pedestrian walkways, change to the left lane and take Exit 2AN. Turn right and cross the Harvard Bridge. You are on Massachusetts Avenue and now in Cambridge. Continue straight on Massachusetts Avenue and go approximately 7 blocks to Sidney Street. Take a left onto Sidney Street. The hotel will be one block down on your left.

Directions from T.F. Green Airport to the University Park Hotel @ MIT

Follow Airport exit signs to Route 95 North. Take Route 95 North into Massachusetts to Route 93 North. Take Route 93 North to Exit 26 Storrow Drive/Cambridge. Keep in the left lane and follow the Back Bay/Cambridge signs (do not take the the first exit on the right for Cambridge/Somerville). Now keep in the right lane and follow the Storrow Drive West signs. After passing under the pedestrian walkways, change to the left lane and take Exit 2AN. Turn right and cross the Harvard Bridge. You are on Massachusetts Avenue and now in Cambridge. Continue straight on Massachusetts Avenue and go approximately 7 blocks to Sidney Street. Take a left onto Sidney Street. The hotel will be one block down on your left.

Directions from Manchester (NH) Airport to the University Park Hotel @ MIT

Follow Airport exit signs to Route 93 South. Take Route 93 South into Massachusetts to Exit 26 Storrow Drive/Cambridge. Keep in the left lane and follow the Back Bay/Cambridge signs (do not take the the first exit on the right for Cambridge/Somerville). Now keep in the right lane and follow the Storrow Drive West signs. After passing under the pedestrian walkways, change to the left lane and take Exit 2AN. Turn right and cross the Harvard Birdge. MIT's main entrance, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, will be on the right at the second set of traffic lights.

Directions from the University Park Hotel @ MIT to the Johnson Athletic Center

Go out of the hotel and turn right onto Sidney Street. Follow one block to Massachusetts Avenue. Take a right onto Massachusetts Avenue. Go approximately 4 blocks to Vassar Street. Turn right onto Vassar. The Johnson Athletic Center is the third building on your left.

Directions from the Johnson Athletic Center to the University Park Hotel @ MIT

With the Johnson Athletic Center behind you, take a right onto Vassar Street and go to the first light. Turn left onto Massachusetts Avenue. Follow Massachusetts Avenue approximately 4 blocks to Sidney Street. Turn left onto Sidney Street. The hotel will be approximately one block down on your left.


Driving Directions to MIT

    From New York City, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Take Route 95 North to Route 93 North to Storrow Drive (Exit 26). Take Storrow Drive to Cambridge/Mass. Ave. exit. Continue over the bridge to Cambridge. At 2nd light, turn left onto Vassar Street. Johnson Athletic Center will be on your left.

    From Upstate New York and Western New England

Take Route 90/Mass Pike to Exit 18 (Cambridge/Allston). This is a left hand exit. At the end of the ramp you will go through two sets of traffic lights. Follow the signs to Cambridge. Cross the River Street Bridge and continue straight ahead for about one mile to Central Square. Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue. MIT's main entrance, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, will be on the right at the second set of traffic lights.

    From Northern New England 

Route 93 South to Exit 26 Storrow Drive/Cambridge. Keep in the left lane and follow the Back Bay/Cambridge signs (do not take the the first exit on the right for Cambridge/Somerville). Now keep in the right lane and follow the Storrow Drive West signs. After passing under the pedestrian walkways, change to the left lane and take Exit 2AN. Turn right and cross the Harvard Birdge. MIT's main entrance, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, will be on the right at the second set of traffic lights.

Parking

Due to the location of the MIT Campus, construction projects and high volume of traffic, parking spaces are at a premium. There will be no parking available on campus for Thursday's workout. Lots available for use during the competition are located on Vassar Street, directly across from the entrance to the Z-Center. The Vassar Street West Garage and the West Annex Lot will be available during competitions for spectators.

Forms

1. E-Ads/Fundraiser Instructions and Form
2. Travel Party Form
3. Hotel Listings
4. Letter from ATC
5. NCGA All-American in Academics/Outstanding Senior Athlete Nomination Form
6. Restaurant Listings or check restaurants in www.boston.com
7. Banquet Reservation Form
8. Personnel Directory
9. Intent to Participate Form
10. Eligibility Form

Personnel Directory

Eduardo Ovalle - Tournament Coordinator
781/774-4302 (work)
781/255-8799 (home) eduardo@mit.edu

Kerry Ovalle - NCGA Meet Director
781/255-8799 (home)
781/255-0992 (fax) ekjdovalle@hotmail.com

Catherine Rocchio - NCGA Alumnae Reunion Coordinator
508/655-5872 ncga-reunion@mit.edu 

Maureen Kelly - Special Events Coordinator
617/452-4153 mpkelly@mit.edu

Professor Candace Royer - Department Head - Director of Athletics
617/258-4497 clroyer@mit.edu

Thomas Cronan - Head Certified Athletic Trainer
617/253-3473 cronan@mit.edu

James Kramer - Sports Information
617/258-5265 jdkramer@mit.edu

John Benedick - Assistant Director of Athletics - Intercollegiate Sports
617/253-9892 h2ocoach@mit.edu

Dan Martin - Assistant Department Head - Facilities and Operations
617/253-5003 djmartin@mit.edu