Updates

Transplant Games Information:
 

• We are excited to announce that registration for the 2010 National Kidney Foundation U.S. Transplant Games^® will open on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 10:00 AM EST.  For registration and housing details and to register, log on to transplant games.org.

   

  Register early and save! You can take advantage of early-bird discounts until Friday, March 19^Th. Standard registration fees begin March 20^Th.

   

  What's new for 2010?

   

  • Tailgate Party prior to the Opening Ceremony
  • Modified age groups for Children (13 and under)
  • Ballroom Dancing will be included as a demonstration sport.
  • Living Donors compete in selected competitions.
  • and more!

  • The 2010 Games will have an optional Grab and Go Lunch which can be picked up at the AEC - Games Hub daily for any attendees. -- Decide what will work for you...

   

  • Daily Sandwich Options:  Sandwich selection is on a first-come, first-served basis.

    • Choice of one of the following:

  • Smoked Turkey & Baby Swiss on Wheat
  • Choice Ham & Aged Cheddar on Vienna
  • Slow Roast Beef & Provolone on Marble Rye
  • Roasted Vegetable & Havarti Dill on Vienna

  • Plus

    • Individual Bag of Potato Chips
    • Whole Fresh Fruit
    • Home-Baked Gourmet Cookie
    • Soft Drink

    • $42 per person

• Hotels:

  • If you supported a hotel room for the Games with a credit card just before Christmas you should have received your room codes by now from Mary Grace Diane -- if you have not please let me know.  Also, if you do not feel you want those rooms right now let me know so we can see if someone else from the Team could use. 

  • Hotels will be available after one person registers for the Games -- if you are not part of a room block I would suggest that someone from your group registers ASAP -- you do not need to register the entire family on day 1 -- just enough to secure a room. Only one person per room should register for the hotel -- you will need to have the names of everyone staying with you to include at that time -- this is the only way shuttle transportation during the Games will be noted. 

  • The hotels where a majority will be staying are Best Western Inn on the Park and Concourse.  If rooms are not available during registration please add your name to the waiting list -- this is not uncommon as they attempt to add hotels only when needed.  Also, after April 30th any rooms from the room blocks which are unclaimed will be released to the general population.  There will be a room in Madison for everyone. 

   

• Shuttle Transportation:

  • If you register for a hotel room at the Transplant Games shuttle transportation will go along with it -- up to 4 people per room.  You will not need to register for the Games Shuttle add on during registration. 

  • If you have more than 4 people in your room -- any over that will need to purchase the Games Shuttle transportation pass option to get the logo on the credentials. 
     

• Transplant Center Codes for Registration!

  • PAPT:  University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

  • PAAG:  Allegheny General Hospital

  • PACH:  Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

  • WVCA: Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston WV

  • OHCC:  Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH

  • NYFL:   Strong Memorial Hospital, NY

  • GAEH:  Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

  • MNUM: University of Minnesota (Fairview University Hospital)

  • ILNM:   Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Kovler Organ Transplant Center, Chicago

  • PAHE:   Hershey Medical Center

Prior to registering for the 2010 Games, we encourage you to contact your team manager to learn of any special instructions and/or other information that is specific to your local team. If you have any questions or experience any challenges while registering, please contact Games registration and housing customer service at The Housing Connection via phone at 801.505.4133 (or toll free 800.TX.GAMES) or via email at transplantgames@housingregistration.com. Business hours are 7 AM to 6 PM, Mountain Standard Time.

• Please download the Team Pittsburgh Membership Form and send it in.
   
• As we discussed at the Team meeting I will soon be asked if I need to get a hotel block for Team Pittsburgh members.  In order to make the commitment I need you to complete the attached form and submit to the NKF office along with a deposit check.  Only Team members who submit a completed form and submitted a deposit will be provided with the access code for the hotel blocks.  If you take a room in the block and give it up prior to the Games without getting someone to take that room will be subject to the night rate for leaving a room unaccounted for -- only secure rooms which you will actually be using.

Also, on this form is the commitment for a seat on the bus to Madison -- you need to let us know how many people will be riding the buses and submit a $25.00 deposit so that we can place the order for the buses this fall (required by the bus company).  Download Hotel/Bus/Participation Form

• We are also requesting your intent for the 2010 Games be provided -- will you attend, are you uncertain or will you NOT attend the Games.  This information is vital to us as we really need to determine the budget for these Games and need to know who is and who is not planning on participating
   
• Hotel Costs
  • There are 8 hotels on hold in Madison for the 2010 Games
  • Costs are from $129 - $190 per room
  • Rooms are mostly 2 beds with some King’s available
  • Hotel agreed on at the meeting (Double Tree) does have a limited supply of air mattress to make additional sleeping within the room
  • The Double Tree price is $149.00 but is within walking distance to many food locations
  • The $25.00 shows your intent on staying at the Games and within the Team block.  Those submitting the holding fee will be provided with a code to enter during registration to secure a room within the block.  If you secure a room but then pull out before the Games and that room is NOT occupied by someone they first night then the room will be charged back to the Team and we will then request your payment for the room.  The $25.00 will be refunded or added to the disbursement after the Games when the room is used.  We must do this to prevent excessive rooms being blocked then not used.  Remember that ALL Teams will have the ability to block rooms at the Games – we are not guaranteed our first choice in hotel and it was agreed at the meeting that if that happened Mary Grace and I would choose a back-up location. 
  • Madison is looking to obtain mini-fridges for ALL hotel rooms – hopefully this is able to be done.
  • We have not been informed of the date we need to make the request for a room block but it should be in September
     
• Buses
  • We are awaiting a final figure on what the buses will cost to determine a per seat charge.
  • Also, we are hoping to find a few bus sponsors to help off-set these expenses
  • The distance is 610 miles – it took me 10.5 hours to drive in June (1+ hour just to get through Chicago)
     
• Download Hotel/Bus/Participation Form
   

• ATTENDEE PROFILES Urgent and Important Request - by February 1, 2010.
  It is important for us to receive interesting athlete, living donor and donor stories, which allow us to put a face on organ donation, transplantation and the Games. Please ask your team members to submit their profiles on the Games Web site. They could be selected to be featured in a Games media story and/or the program's home page. To fill out and submit the form, they can simply go to www.transplantgames.org and click on athlete, living donor or donor family profile form. Submissions are request by February 1, 2010 to enable us to pitch to publications that require longer lead time.
  
  Keep in mind that filling out this form only creates an opportunity for your team members' story to be used and does not guarantee placement.
  
  REGISTRATION OPENING & WEB SITE LAUNCH - February 8, 2010
  Registration for the 2010 Games will open on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 10AM EST. Your team members can log on to www.transplantgames.org or contact you for the paper registration form, which will be emailed to you on Thursday, February 5^th. Games registrants logging on to the site that day will see a new look and feel! The update Games Web site will launch with updated information and tools.
  
  As you know, The Housing Connection (THC) will once again serve as the official Registration and Housing Bureau for the Games.  Once the site goes live, if your team members experience any challenges while registering, please contact THC at
  
  The Housing Connection
  175 South West Temple, Suite 140
  Salt Lake City, UT 84101
  Customer Service Call Center: 801.505.4133, 800.TX.GAMES
  Fax: 801.355.0250
  
  COLLATERAL MATERIALS
  Prior to registration opening, an email with a link to download the registration booklet will be sent to 2008 Games attendees who indicated in their marketing preferences that they would like to receive communications from us via email. We will also be direct mailing registration booklets to attendees that preferred to receive information via postal mail. In addition, managers will receive a bulk shipment of registration booklets, followed by a supply of 2010 Games posters.
  
  BALLROOM DANCING POLL - Due Tuesday, February 2nd
  Due to the limited number of entries for the demonstration event for Ballroom Dancing and the seemingly overwhelmingly positive feedback from managers, we would like to conduct a straw poll to get an idea of how many of your team members have expressed a serious interest in competing in the event. Please send an email with your name, your team name, and number of individuals interested to zomak@comcast.net with ballroom dancing in the subject line

  
  FUNDRAISING
  All Games fundraising solicitations should advise donors that funds will be used for Team Pittsburgh and other local organ and tissue donation-related activities." This statement is included on every Games personal fundraising page on Convio.
  
  MEDICAL WAIVER - Coming March 29, 2010
  Individuals who have donated or received a lifesaving organ or bone marrow for transplant on or before October 30, 2009 are eligible to compete in this years Games with medical approval from their physicians. Since the medical waiver may not be complete prior to March 30, 2010, the form waiver will be available to you and your Team Members at the end of March.
  
  GRAB & GO LUNCH PLAN
  Attached is the menu for the Grab & Go Lunch Plan, which is recommended for your team members. Having the Grab & Go plan makes lunch and/or a snack available at their convenience.The Plan is $42 for three days.
  
  RESERVATIONS FOR CAMPING & R/Vs
  Camping and R/V hookups, with complimentary 24-hour restroom/shower facilities (ADA accessible) are available on the Alliant Energy Center grounds from July 30th thru noon on August 4, 2010. Camping sites are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.  Attached is the reservation form. Note: No phone reservations will be accepted.

Who is Team Pittsburgh?

We are the transplant recipient athletes, donor family members, living donors, families, friends, health care professionals, and spectators from Western Pennsylvania & Northern West Virginia communities who will proudly represent this region at the 2010 U.S. Transplant Games.

We may be your family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker.  We have survived a life-threatening illness or tragedy with high hopes to help others by raising national awareness of both the successes of transplantation and the desperate need for life-saving organ donors through our participation in the upcoming U.S. Transplant Games.  We are committed to this cause in order to help those who await their “gift of life”.  

What are "The Games?"

The U.S. Transplant Games is a four-day athletic competition among recipients of all organ and bone marrow transplants held every two years at sites all over the continental U.S.  The Games consist of 12 sports and 41 events.

As much as this very special event is an athletic competition that calls attention to the success of organ and bone marrow transplantation, it is also an incredible celebration of life among recipients, their families and friends.  Transplant recipients who do not physically qualify to compete are encouraged to join the local team and attend the Games as spectators so they can be a part of this gathering of recipients.  

The purposes of the U.S. Transplant Games are:

• To demonstrate to our nation’s public the collective and individual successes of the life-restoring therapy of organ and bone marrow transplantation
• To use the mass media to promote the success of organ donation and transplantation and to call attention to the dire need for organ donation through events and support activities before, during, and after the event
• To contribute to the successful rehabilitation of our nation's transplant patient community

To involve the entire transplant community--including it’s physicians, health care professionals, patients, donor families and related organizations--in a worldwide collaborative effort for the benefit of organ donation awareness

Team Announcements:

 

• Shop online at Avon and support Team Pittsburgh!      Participate in the Team Pittsburgh Avon Fundraiser. Support Our Cause With this Online Event. By shopping online through this website 40% of the proceeds will be contributed to the cause. Avon Event for the Allegheny Division of the National Kidney Foundation. Be Sure to Enter CODE:TEAMPITT1. To shop online at AVON follow the link www.youravon.com/lindsaydaniels  and then click: Online Events.  For any questions, please contact Lindsay Daniels at 724.322.0110.
   
• There are plenty of Sarris Candy bars available in Shelley's office in C900. Do you know of a location willing to display a case of Team Pittsburgh labeled Sarris Candy bars? This is a big fundraiser for the Team. Milk chocolate, peanut butter, crisp, almond, and pretzel rods are available for only $ 1.00 each. Now available! Sarris Salted Pretzel bar! The classic milk chocolate bar now loaded with broken pretzels pieces.  Salty, smooth, crunchy and sweet, makes it the perfect treat to eat

   

• Check for the latest photos and results from the 2008 U.S. Transplant Games.
   

© 2009 TeamPittsburgh.org.