Please note that the following restrictions will be in place:

• Competitors may bring at most one guest. Please note in the survey sent out a week before the competition whether you plan to have a spectator join you.
• Everyone must wear a mask at all times, covering both nose and mouth. The only exception is while eating or drinking. There will be a short lunch break and everyone is asked to eat outside the venue. THIS RULE APPLIES TO EVERYONE, EVEN IF YOU ARE VACCINATED.
• Chairs will be pre-arranged to accommodate social distancing. We ask that spectators and competitors do not move chairs and remain seated unless competing or helping with the competition.
• Hand sanitizer will be made available at the venue. Everyone is asked to sanitize their hands upon entering the venue, and before competing, scrambling, running, or judging at the competition.
• The competition may be cancelled if the COVID situation in the US, Michigan, or Michigan Tech gets worse.
• If you have COVID, do not feel well, or are instructed to quarantine after close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID, do not attend the competition.

Competitors who choose not to follow these restrictions will be disqualified and will need to leave the venue. By registering for this competition, you are confirming that you have read and agree to these restrictions.

Risk Management Protocol

New Competitors:

-Before the competition, watch this great video made by WCA Senior Delegate Kit Clement with the basics of how it all works. Note that these materials don't show new COVID procedures, and these will be covered at the start of the competition. There are significant changes.
-We encourage first time competitors to test out the timing equipment before your first attempt! Feel free to ask a staff member how competing works.
-The competitors will be split up into groups for competing. You will be assigned a group, which you can find on the Groups Tab.
-On the day of the competition when your group number is called you bring your puzzle up and put it in the box that has a scorecard with your name on it. You will return to your table until your name is called to a solving station, and then you will remain at your solving station until you have completed all of your attempts.
-It's a good idea to arrive before the scheduled time for your event because if you are not there for the last call you might not be allowed to compete. The competition may run ahead of schedule and you don't want to miss your event.
-Read the "All Competitors" information below.

All Competitors:

-Be familiar with the WCA Regulations!
-Be familiar with the WCA COVID Safety Policy.
-We are going to need all the help we can get from volunteer judges throughout the day to make the competition run well. You may judge in any group you are not competing in and it is greatly appreciated!
-If you do not know how to judge all of the staff members are more than happy to teach you.
-Parents and spectators are welcome to judge too, it's a great way to have a new experience and be more involved with the event, other than competing!
-Flash photography is NOT allowed because it is very distracting to people while they are solving.
-You must NOT talk about the scrambles of an event while it is still in progress.
-Make sure all screens of any cameras or phones you have on the table are facing away from you and do not touch them during the attempt, otherwise this will result in a DNF (2i2).
-Please treat the venue with respect, pick up any trash, keep track of your puzzles, and respect other people's puzzles.

Schedule Changes:

-If the competition is running smoothly with plenty of volunteers and we get ahead of schedule, we will utilize A1a3 as much as possible to increase time limits and cutoffs to let as many people do their solves to the best of their ability as we can. However, if we are lacking volunteers or the competition begins to fall behind schedule, we reserve the right to make the limits stricter as needed. We don't want that to happen, so please consider helping out when you aren't competing!
-We will also actively utilize 9p3 in regards to second and final rounds. If you won't be present for a further round you made it to please let us know so we can drop you and move someone else into the round; similarly, if you aren't present when the further round begins we may assume that to be your withdrawal and drop you so the next competitor in the rankings can compete.
-For all rounds with a set number for how many advance to the next round, if that number is larger than 75% of the total competitors in that round only 75% will advance (i.e. for 21 competitors in 2x2x2 only 15 will advance instead of 16).

WCA Live

There are two ways to see when you're competing, both of which will be available here and physically at the competition. You can click the hyperlinks below to see the Google Docs copies.

The first is your Competitor Card, which summarizes all of your competition groups as well as any tasks you have been assigned. Experienced competitors will typically see "Scr" for scrambling and essentially everyone will have "Run" or "Judge". You are required to help out with any event that you compete in, so if you don't come for your assigned jobs your results in that event could be disqualifed.

The second is the Group Summary, which summarizes the competitors, judges, runners, and scramblers for each round. Again, you are required to help out with any event that you compete in, so if you don't come for your assigned jobs your results in that event could be disqualifed. If you're assigned for an event you aren't participating in, we'd still love your help, but you can try to find an alternate.

You'll receive a paper copy of your Competitor Card at registration, and the Group Summary will be posted around the venue.

The additional job of regular surface sanitation/cleaning is not listed, but the main organizers/staff will make sure this is happening. Cleaning supplies will also be available for anyone to clean their audience tables whenever they want, and you are welcome to do additional cleaning when you arrive at your competitor station.

Sponsored by TheCubicle! TheCubicle will provide gift cards for those who podium at this competition. Make sure to check out their store for all your cubing needs! Cube With Us :)

The amount of the prizes will be based on the competitor count. Check the competitor list for this competition and compare it to TheCubicle's sponsorship info.

Houghton can only be flown to from O’hare in Chicago, so any flights must connect through there. The airport is a 15 minute drive from campus.

Taxi services:
-Copper Country Limo & Taxi (906-370-4761)
-Mak's Taxi (906-523-7477)
-Lyft/Uber: there tends to be 0, 1, or 2 drivers working around the area. You can check, but don't get your hopes up. (Smart phone app, no phone number.)

For driving, there are two roads that lead into Houghton:

-41 from the east (the Mackinac bridge aka Michigan LP or Ontario, Canada)
-26 from the South-West (aka Wisconsin and beyond)

Both of these will bring you straight to the Michigan Tech campus, which is on the Easternmost side of the city of Houghton.

We won't be reserving a block of hotel rooms for this event, but there are several hotels/motels to choose from. There are two that are in walking distance and several more in Houghton. Here are some, listed by distance to campus:

-Super 8: 1200 E Lakeshore Dr, Houghton, MI 49931
-Downtowner Motel: 110 Shelden Ave, Houghton, MI 49931
-Radisson: 919 Razorback Dr, Houghton, MI 49931
-Holiday Inn: 1110 Century Way, Houghton, MI 49931

There also tends to be a lot of affordable AirBNBs in the area, so check their app or website if you're comfortable with that type of lodging.

Campus parking is free and not enforced on weekends or evenings, however, parking fees will be enforced on Fridays until 4pm.

For parking before 4pm on Friday you can use quarters or the Parkmobile app at a meter on campus or in Visitor Lot (27).

For Satuday and Sunday, you can park in any lot or at any meter for free except for lots 15E, 15W, 7W, 16, and dormitory parking. Lots are clearly labeled with large permanent signs.

The closest parking is the space by the J. Robert Van Pelt Library, but that tends to fill up especially since it’s used frequently by the rest of campus as well.

There is, however, nearly limitless parking by the Rosza Center on the far East of campus, which is less than a 6 minute walk to the MUB (on the sidewalk paths through the beautiful campus).

Note that there is significant road construction on and near campus, which may impact some of these parking options. Your best fallback is the Rosza Center parking lot.

Less than a 5 minute walk from campus is a small strip mall (200 Pearl St, Houghton, MI 49931) containing:

-Dominoes
-Subway
-JJ’s Wok N Grill
-Rodeo Mexican Kitchen
-Jims Foodmart

Heading into downtown, which is still walkable but more like 15-20 minutes, provides plenty of other options, such as:

-Jimmy Johns
-The Ambassador
-Joey’s Seafood & Grill
-Victoria’s Kitchen
-Hunan Garden
-Armando's Restaurant
-etc

Food will not be allowed in the Ballroom or anywhere in the venue, and please only bring drinks with twist on or sealable lids. If you must drink such a beverage in the venue, please make sure to be distanced and immediately restore your mask. If you need your mask off for a significant amount of time to eat or drink, you must do so outside. Campus has lots of picnic tables scattered about that you may use. If it is raining, we will see about reserving the indoor cafeteria and enforcing spacing.

If you are interested in being staff for the competition, please fill out the google form. This is for doing things such as scrambling, running, and sanitation; everyone is expected to help with judging.

https://forms.gle/Fjf4L74Kvx4xfC6g6

If the competition fills up, there will be a waiting list for anybody else that registers. In order to be on the waiting list, you have to have read the COVID Safety tab, register, and pay your registration fee. It is first come first serve for openings. If your registration does not end up being accepted by 5:00pm EST on Thursday July 22 (48 hours before the competition starts), you will be refunded your registration fee. Getting on the waiting list does not guarantee that you will make it into the competition.