[MRSSA News] Midwest Regional Tournament

[Mark Bortz]

Hello Everyone.

As  you know Cedar Rapids has just went through the worst flood ever  
recorded.
Many of you have been to our showsite.  We had 16' of water over the  
road that runs
beside our showsite.  The very top railing of our bleachers was 3'  
under water.
We were able to remove our storage pod, floating docks, and detach our  
new 40'x16'
main dock.  As the flood waters rose we floated the main dock back into  
the park near
the swimming pool.  So far it has survived without damage.  The report  
from this morning
indicated that the water fell faster than we expected and were unable  
to float it back to the
river.  It is now parked in the swimming pool parking lot.  We will  
need to get a crane to
lift it onto our dock trailer so that we can get it back to the river.   
It appears that the bleachers
have survived with only minor damage to a guard railing.  The water  
still covers a portion
of the bleachers but so far so good.  We will be able to further assess  
the condition of our
showsite this weekend as the river continues to drop.  Some images of  
the showsite area
as the water rose can be viewed at  
<http://www.showskiers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2849>.
I will send a couple of images in a separate email.

Earlier this spring we had secured city & state permission & permits to  
install an 8' x 100' stage on
our beach.  Unfortunately the river has not cooperated with us to allow  
the construction to occur.
We do not know if we will be able to get this completed before  
regionals.

We are currently expecting to be able to host regionals.  We should  
know more over the next
ten days.  Entry forms should be sent out in the next 10 days if all  
goes well.

Now on to more urgent business.
You should know that there are currently around 25,000 people displaced  
from their homes.
There are no available hotel rooms right now.
We do still have rooms blocked for the end of July.
I recommend that as quickly as possible you get a confirmed reservation  
for a room as
soon as possible.  We might not be able to hold the rooms unless you  
get them reserved.

I have attached the hotel information for the two hotels we have rooms  
blocked at.
Please tell them that you need a room from the Midwest Regional Show  
Ski Tournament block.

We have rooms blocked at the Cedar Rapids Marriott hotel (on the north  
side of town).
1200 Collins Rd, NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
(319)393-6600
The rate is $89 per night.  This is a nice hotel with good parking and  
interstate access.
You must call the hotel directly at 1-800-396-2153 for reservations.


We also have rooms blocked at the Clarion Hotel (on the south side of  
town)
319-366-8671  or toll free  877-949-2992   Here is the website for the
hotel, but to get the rate we have agreed upon, you need to call in.
http://www.clarionhotel.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=IA094& 
promo=gglocal
Sorry I don't have the rate handy but it is similar to the Marriott.
This hotel also has good interstate access and is a little closer to  
the showsite.

Mark