[2019 ARML] - ARML update - flights, t-shirts, and elite teams

Hi Everyone,

Here are a few notes you should be aware of. Please read this entire email. You should also have received Moor's email with details about tomorrow's practice; if you didn't see that one, it's on the website.

TRANSPORTATION

We are starting to coordinate transportation for ARML this year, and all students attending ARML will need to get there using one of the following three options:

(1) Ride the bus

This is the default option, and the one most students will use. The bus will leave from San Jose on Thursday morning, May 30, and will return to San Jose on Sunday evening, June 2. If you are planning not to take the bus both ways, you must let us know which of the following two options you plan to use.

(2) Parents bring you to ARML

If your parents are coming to Las Vegas, you may arrange your own transportation with them. If you choose this option, your parents must check you in and/or out at the designated checkpoint at UNLV. We will let you know the week of ARML where and when these checkpoints will be.

(3) Fly to ARML on approved flights

Students flying to ARML without their parents must travel on one of our approved flights, each of which will have one of our coaches as a chaperone. Chaperones will be in touch with students and their families the week of ARML to coordinate meeting at the airport. Here are the flight options:

SACRAMENTO

Southwest 591, May 31

SMF-LAS, 6:00-7:15am

Southwest 5047, June 1

LAS-SMF, 7:40-9:10pm

OAKLAND

Southwest 1456, May 31

OAK-LAS, 5:30-7:00am

Southwest 5136, June 1

LAS-OAK, 8:00-9:30pm

SAN FRANCISCO 

Southwest 1078, May 31

SFO-LAS, 5:10-6:35am 

Southwest 3308, June 1

LAS-SFO, 6:45-8:20pm

SAN JOSE
Southwest 2063, May 30 (THURSDAY)
SJC-LAS, 10:00-11:15pm 
Southwest 6874, June 1
LAS-SJC, 8:00-9:25pm

For any student who purchases one of the May 31 flights and one of the June 1 flights and sends us confirmation at arml@mathleague.org by midnight on April 30, we will rebate $100 of the ARML fee you have paid. Please note that the Thursday night flight out of San Jose is currently NOT eligible for the $100 rebate as we are strongly encouraging students to fly in on Friday if they are not taking the bus. Fares are likely to go up as people start buying tickets, so purchase them early if you're planning to fly. Also note that this $100 refund will not necessarily apply to other flights we open up or to purchases made after April 30; if we approve new flights or extend the deadline for claiming refunds I will post details, but DO NOT ask about other Bay Area flights for now.

Remember, NO student goes to ARML unless it is on the bus or one of the flights we approve or pre-approved travel with their parents, as we need adult supervision at all times on the trip. Flight rebates will be issued after ARML is over.

For parents interested in going to Las Vegas, you may feel free to book any flight you choose and to make your own arrangements for accommodations in Las Vegas. If you are traveling independently to Las Vegas, we'd still like to know your transportation details so we can coordinate various aspects of the trip with you (for instance, we may be able to assist you with ground transportation, or we may ask you to volunteer to chaperone one of the flights if you are taking one of the approved flights).

T-SHIRTS

One of the great traditions of ARML is for teams to design matching t-shirts to wear on the day of the competition.  We invite you to submit a design for this year's SFBA/NorCal team t-shirt!  After designs are submitted, the full team will vote on their favorite.

Designs should consist of a front design and a back design.  To keep screen-printing costs low, you can use either (a) three colors on one side and one color on the other, or (b) two colors on each side.  Keep in mind that we traditionally get different-colored shirts for each team, so it's best if your design works with a variety of background colors.  We generally can't use different design colors for different background colors.

When submitting your design, send an email to arml@mathleague.org with exactly four files:

A .png file (.jpeg is okay in a pinch) of the front design, preferably superimposed on a t-shirt shape to show how it's positioned

A .png file of the back design (like the above)

A vector-graphics file (such as .tif) of the front design

A vector-graphics file of the back design

The .png files will be used on the ballot for voting on designs, while the vector-graphics files will be sent to the printer if your design is chosen.

Designs generally identify the team as "SFBA/NorCal", "Bay Area/Northern California", or similar.  You might also want to include "ARML", "2019", or other such things.  None of these are mandatory.  Please do not include anything offensive in the design; coaching staff reserve the right to censor or edit as necessary.

The deadline to submit designs is May 1st.

TEAM SELECTION

We are ready to announce the first ten students selected for elite teams. Each of these students will be on either the A1 or A2 team; exact placement will be determined later. We expect to announce another wave of elite team students next week, so if you haven't gotten your payment in yet, be sure to send that through our website or hand Tim a check at the beginning of practice tomorrow. We do not select anyone for an elite team until we have received their payment. Here are the first ten students:

[redacted]

For reference, below is a complete list of students who have paid their ARML fees up to this point. Also, be sure to spread word to your friends about ARML; we'd love to bring as many students as possible this year, and it's not too late to join the team!

[redacted]