Dear <Coach>:

Congratulations on your success at the <State> Science Olympiad State Finals competition, and for qualifying for the National Tournament to be held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 19 - 21, 2005.

Your team should be proud of its accomplishments and commitment to high achievement in science education.

Click on the "Team Registration" link - you will need the following information to login(emailed to you):

Username: <un>

Password: <pw>

Please note that your Username above is NOT your NSO Team Number (B1, C1, etc., which was provided by your State Director). If you are not sure of your Team Number, please contact your State Director (generic list of Team Numbers is also provided on the first registration page) - do not guess or put down some arbitrary number, since your entire registration is keyed off of this entry. Please follow the online instructions and fill out the forms completely. In addition to providing your team information, you will have the opportunity to formally register for campus housing, order merchandise, and purchase tickets.

Plan to "Come Early and Stay Late" to enjoy all the campus activities and events planned around the National Tournament. For a description of the events and activities, please see:

http://www.nso.uiuc.edu/sch/campus_sch.asp

Items available for advance purchase include:

NSO T-Shirts - $10 each

NSO Mugs - $5 each

BBQ/Streetfest - $13 per person - Friday, May 20, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Team Banquet - $17 per person - Saturday, May 21, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. Division B / 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Division C

Allerton Park Day Trip - $50 low ropes course / $60 high ropes course - Thursday, May 19, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Campus Housing is intended for team members, coaches, and a reasonable number of chaperones. We cannot accommodate extended families, friends, relatives, and others not formally part of the team. Rooms are standard dormitory facilities with two single beds per room. Reservation numbers and listed prices are per person. Floors will be divided into male and female designations. Exceptions will be made only where there is no alternative (e.g., one parent who is serving as a coach/chaperone who is also bringing 1-2 children). Other guests should arrange non-campus housing - a list of local hotels with reservations blocked for the NSO is provided at: http://www.nso.uiuc.edu/lodge/ The Champaign County Convention and Visitor's Bureau is maintaining a waiting list for area hotels - please call Dawn or Lukas at (217) 351-4133 or e-mail at dawnb@champaigncounty.org.

The completed online registration and payment in full are necessary to confirm all campus housing reservations, as well as advance order any related merchandise, and are due within one week of qualifying or by April 25th, whichever date is later. Reservations for campus housing and orders to purchase merchandise not paid by this deadline will be canceled. The only exception is for teams that have their state finals competitions on April 30th - these teams must submit the online registration by Monday, May 2 and submit payment in full by Monday, May 9. A single check or money order payable to the "University of Illinois" should be sent to:

National Science Olympiad Registration
University of Illinois
c/o Howard Guenther
416 Swanlund Administration Building
601 East John Street
Champaign, Illinois 61820

Please note that your registration cannot be changed online after it is submitted. Please contact Howard Guenther directly at 217-244-7466 to request changes or report problems with the registration process.

Teams are also required to complete and/or provide the following:

- Form 1: Parent/Guardian Consent Form and Health Information (attached, 2 pages) - submitted at the time of in-person team registration or mailed by May 6, 2005

- Form 2: Responsibility Form (attached) - mailed or faxed by May 6, 2005

- Form 3: Publicity Waiver (attached) - mailed or faxed by May 6, 2005

- Tax exemption letter or document - mailed or faxed by May 6, 2005

Our fax number is: (217) 244-3716

Teams and/or individual competitors not submitting Forms 1, 2 and 3 will not be allowed to compete. Teams not submitting appropriate tax exemption documents will be charged applicable state and local taxes on all purchases.

The Opening Ceremony will be held Friday, May 20 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. in Assembly Hall, followed by the Competitors' Swap Meet and Coaches Meeting.

The Awards Ceremonies will be held Saturday, May 21, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Division B / 8:30 - 10:00 p.m. Division C. Admission to the Awards Ceremonies will be by ticket only - projection into an overflow facility is planned.

Live streaming video webcasts are planned for both the Opening and Awards Ceremonies, accessible at: www.nso.uiuc.edu

Teams are permitted to ship items prior to the event. Please allow sufficient time for delivery (there are no deliveries on Saturday). The shipping address is:

National Science Olympiad
University of Illinois
c/o School of Chemical Sciences Receiving
254 Noyes Laboratory
505 South Mathews Avenue
Urbana, Illinois 61801

We are also pleased to announce that Wolfram Research, Inc. is awarding free Mathematica software to all high school teams. Instruction sessions will be held as described in the attached document. Advance registration is required at

Parking, campus shuttle, quiet study areas, and guest computer access information will be provided on arrival.

Congratulations again - we look forward to seeing you in May!

-Howard Guenther
2005 National Science Olympiad Co-Director