Newsletter 3

August 2011
Hello everyone Getting to the really exciting stage now! Its August - in a fortnights time some of you will already be here; the rest will be packing and heading for airports. So lets start with the arrangements for meeting you.

Airport transfers
As we said, we cannot reasonably meet every single plane with an immediate offer of transport direct to Dundee. Now that we have almost all of your arrival details (and if you have not yet sent them please let us know as soon as you can or you may have to make your own way from the airport) we have been able to draw up a timetable which I append below. If you think your wait is going to be too long, you are of course at liberty to set off on your own but that will be at your own expense. Only last week I got on the airport link coach from Aberdeen Airport to the railway station; the bus http://www.stagecoachbus.com/Bluebird%20Jet.aspx goes every 30 minutes, costs 2.50 single, and drops you only a few hundred yards walk from the railway station. Check all UK train times here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ I have never used public transport to or from Edinburgh Airport but it is supposed to be excellent. http://www.flybybus.com/departures.html Should you plan to do this, it is probably much easier to get off at Haymarket station as less far to walk and all trains for Waverley stop at Haymarket on their way to Dundee. You may also travel direct from Edinburgh Airport to Dundee by coach. See http://uk.megabus.com/default.aspx I know even less about Glasgow Airport as it is on the other side of the country. Should you even contemplate making your own way, you should note that trains to Dundee go from Glasgow Queen Street station. http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/glasgow/journey_planning/glasgow_shuttle/ Thats probably a good link into stressing to you that strenuous efforts are being made to meet and greet absolutely everyone - even those who were misled by the airlines into believing that Glasgow Prestwick airport is anywhere near Glasgow! Here is the timetable we have established for Tuesday 16th August. Those arriving at other times have already contacted us to make individual arrangements. We very much hope that all our guests will take advantage of the airport transfers we have arranged and would ask you, in the event that you choose not to use them, that you let us know in advance so that we dont have anyone waiting for people who have set off on their own. If you are going to be in Glasgow or Edinburgh before the 16th but have requested use of the airport transfer service, Malcolm will have told you which coach to take. Airport Edinburgh Departure of transfer 09.00 10.50 13.30 15.30 20.00 22.40 13.20 16.15 Aberdeen 16.20 Nations who may be aiming to catch this coach if plane is on time Ireland(8), China(8), Thailand(9), Sri Lanka(7) Barbados(7), Mexico(6), UAE(7) + 5 individuals Romania(7), Slovakia(9) + 1 individual Greece(10), USA(4), Croatia(8) +3 individuals Chile(7), Israel(4) +5 individuals Philippines(7), Turkey(5), Czech Rep(7) + 5 individuals Argentina(6), South Africa(9), Indonesia(7), India(6), Namibia(8), Bermuda(6), +1 individual Netherlands(7), Kuwait(7), Poland(3 - transfer from Prestwick) Germany(8), Peru(7), Sweden(3)

Glasgow

As you walk out of Arrivals you should see a young person with a banner bearing our logo and World Schools Debating Championship in big letters. They will Edinburgh Airport + 44 7974 084143 look after you and see you to your transfer coach. Glasgow Airport + 44 7985 899933 If by any chance you cant see them looking out for you, Aberdeen Airport + 44 7985 875557 you should phone one of these numbers:

Arriving in Dundee
When you reach Dundee, all your info and your welcome bags will be laid out ready for you in DUSA, the Dundee University student union which will be the social fulcrum of the tournament. You will be shown to your room in one of the residence blocks: Belmont Tower, Seabraes, or the new Opal residence which is the one which has enabled us to expand the size of the tournament to accommodate all those who wanted to come. That is a wee bit further away so we will have a shuttle bus and some cars to take your cases there. As far as possible as was the case in Cardiff if you were there in 06 nations have been grouped together in the varying sizes of flats. Obviously this could not be made to work out absolutely perfectly so some people will find themselves with another nation in order to squeeze everyone in.

Accommodation
As we said before, the flats will contain a great deal of what you need. There is bed linen, there will be towels and crockery and cutlery for the few occasions on which we have been unable to provide meals, and for those all-important midnight snacks. I have found this page on the Dundee university website http://www.dundee.ac.uk/studentservices/supermarkets.htm Unfortunately the links to the shops dont seem to be live but you will see that there are numbers of possibilities for buying food items within easy reach and you can always Google the individual shops. The link at the bottom to International Grocers is however live and while Im on that subject, in response to a question from someone, we did check on the authenticity of the halal food provided by DUSA and they said their certificate is up on the wall for inspection. The kitchens have fridges, microwaves and cookers etc and each block has a laundry room with a bank of coin-operated washing machines. Each bedroom has its own en-suite and of course the doors will lock. Do bring your own toiletries / hairdryers etc the UK uses 13-amp 3-pin plugs so dont forget your converters. No smoking is permitted in any of the residence rooms.

Internet provision
Access to the university broadband is included and in some cases an Ethernet cable may be provided. If you have one in your laptop bag anyway, just bring it. If you dont, dont worry you can easily buy one here if necessary, and in many cases we hope that it wont be necessary. I append below the Universitys Acceptable Use Policy for the Internet pretty much standard conditions. Full internet access will be available from the bedrooms. Here are the links to the Acceptable Use Policy: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/ics/pubs/usingitresponsibly/regulationsfortheuseofcomputingfacilities/ http://www.dundee.ac.uk/ics/pubs/usingitresponsibly/codeofconductforuseofcomputingfacilities/ As we are a higher-education establishment, we have no restrictions as to the internet sites that users of our network can access, and so your school-age children may be able to view sites that either the organisers or their parents may not wish them to. We have no means to filter their access and can take no responsibility for their internet usage. Should they try to do something illegal (download copyright music or films for instance), or that breaches the policies noted above, we will disable their connection for the rest of the event.

General arrangements
If you have not sent us your Code of Conduct please ensure that you bring it with you. The Charity rules state very clearly that No participant shall be allowed to be involved in the Championship event unless: (i) he/she has signed such an undertaking (ii) in the case of a participant who is a debater, one parent or guardian has signed the undertaking.

It would be a huge shame if any delegate were to travel all the way to Dundee and then be unable to participate as a result of having failed to complete the Code of Conduct properly. It would be much easier and give us all peace of mind if this was completed and sent to us before the tournament began. Where possible we have tried our best to cater for different dietary and medical requirements. These arrangements have been based on the information provided on the booking form. However, even at this very late stage, some nations are still to complete the booking form and therefore we will be unable to meet any specific needs you or your team members may have unless you do so. The link to the booking form is https://reg.istrations.com/delegate/events/DNDWSDCDUNDEE On the Tuesday night, a hot two-course meal will be available in DUSA from 18.30 20.30. If you arrive later than this there will be soup / sandwiches etc; you are probably not going to want a meal at midnight if you are coming in really late. Then on the Wednesday it will be all systems go! As regards dress for the opening ceremony that evening, you are most welcome to wear national dress if you wish but it is not compulsory. We do hope, however, that everyone will be in national dress for the closing dinner in the Caird Hall after the Grand Final. As previously stated, we would request that a certain formality of dress is observed for all of the rounds; schools will not wish to see international visitors casually dressed for such an important occasion and please, no denim. While on the subject of schools, could I stress that on every single school campus there is a very strict No Smoking policy and we must insist that this is adhered to at all times. It is perfectly possible that if a school were to find someone smoking on its campus or in view of the school building it would just close its doors to the rest of the tournament and then we should all be in a complete pickle. You have no doubt been checking the weather - some of it has been quite nice recently! We should explain that we reckon that 15 is fine, 20 is pretty hot, 25 is very hot, and temperatures above that are unlikely. Dont forget your waterproof, and if you come from a hot country, bring a jumper! Best wishes to everyone and see you all soon

Irene
Irene McGrath Convenor, WSDC Dundee 2011