2020 Mingua Beef Jerky/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16® Worker Assignments and Information

March 8, 2020 Basketball Working

First, let me apologize for the lateness of this precise information. At least one of our staff has talked to each one of you over the last couple of weeks to confirm things, but these last few days have been consumed nearly the entirety of each day with “what ifs” about the upcoming tournaments and the COVID-19 (Corona Virus). At the bottom of this note, you will see the information we shared with our qualifying schools this afternoon. That is genuinely all we know at this time. – Julian

The detailed information below should answer any questions you have, but as always, feel free to reach out for anything else. Below is a complete list of workers for this week’s tournaments, housing information, and other details just in case you need phone numbers. Before the event, if you have questions about logistics, addresses, and phone, signing in and payment vouchers, etc., contact Dan White at 502-432-1327. Once the event, you can contact me at 859-229-3916 or Mr. Cope at 859-351-1833 regarding specific issues surrounding the event.

Game schedule
The complete bracket is on the KHSAA website at https://khsaa.org/basketball/girls/sweet16/2020/girlstatebracket2020.pdf. All times are ET

Parking
Only our commuting workers, which at this point is solely Mr. RIngley, are provided parking passes to Lot 2 (across High Street from the arena).

Pass Gate

The pass gate is located on the High Street side of the arena, on the right of the lobby near the escalators. We will need you to sign only on the first day. The Pass Gate opens for workers two and one-half hours before each game.

Credentials
Those of you with season-long credentials will use those for admittance. Those who have season-long credentials and have not picked those up, they will be available at our pass gate.

Report Time
Pass Gate opens three hours before each session. You should plan on being at the arena on playing days not less than one-hour before that first game of each session, or earlier if you feel more comfortable. Teams can arrive two hours before the first game. Those charged with greeting the teams will need to be there at least two hours and 15 minutes before the first game of each session. 

Setup
On Tuesday for those that desire to help with move-in, chair back installation, and general re-familiarization with the facility, tournament staff is planning on starting that process around 2 p.m. in the arena, and most should be done by around 4:30. For those working with Joe on media setup, you may want to contact him to see if additional assistance is needed. If the service gates are not open in the arena lobby, you should be able to go around to the back of the building and sign in at the security guard shack.

Meal tickets
Each of you will receive a meal pass good for each session when you sign for the first time. There are bar-coded passes, which will only be valid one per session in the meal room, and only for the hour before the first game. For those with courtside duties (scorers, stats, etc.), they will permit you into the room one and one-half hour early if you desire. That same pass will also be scanned each time you enter the “chip and coke” room and will allow you in that room an unlimited number of times per session.

Dress
The dress is business casual. We do ask that the individuals at the scorer’s table keep in mind that you are the most visible representatives of the Association. Business Casual in most instances means

Appropriate business casual outfits for women include a skirt or dress slacks, blouse, sweater, twinset, jacket (optional), and hosiery (optional) with closed-toe shoes.

For men, appropriate business casual attire is dress slacks or chinos, a button-down shirt, dark socks, and dress or nice athletic shoes.

There is no one monitoring your dress; just many have asked. But be sure and come dressed. For your information, senior staff will likely be in a coat and tie each day.

Floor Level
Special note to floor control (media and teams, interview, etc.), please get with Commissioner Tackett and Mr. Cope upon arrival to be sure you are aware of logistical changes since last year.

Lodging
The lodging list is included below in the worker’s listing. HIL-indicates Hilton, HYA-indicated Hyatt.

IMPORTANT: If you cannot check in on the day listed, you MUST contact the hotel (859-231-9000 for Hilton, 859-253-1234 for Hyatt) and change the date of arrival. In all likelihood, if you fail to notify the hotel and fail to show, the room will be canceled, and we will not be able to guarantee your lodging.

Worker Assignments

The following are basic descriptions of the roles:

• Cheer Competition- A cadre of individuals to manage the cheer hospitality room, cheer competition, and monitor floor activities by cheer squads
• Clock and Score- Individuals to control the timing and scoreboard functions at the scorer’s table
• Floor Tech Assistant/Ball Boys- Helping with on-court activities including ball boys/girls
• Locker Rooms- Individual (s) to ensure teams are in the right locker room, keys are distributed and returned, notify team assistance with issues.
• Media Copy Manager- Assist communication directory with statistic copying and distribution
• Officials Chart- Maintain the electronic chart related to officiating
• Officials Security- Assist officials to ensure timing system is operational and serve as a communication conduit to officials
• Pass Gate- Assist with the upper (media, exhibitor, non-competing session teams) and lower (current session teams) pass gates
• Press Row Assistant- Assist with monitoring press row including post-game interviews
• Press Table/Ballboys- Assist with monitoring press row and assist with ball boys 
• Public Address- Public Address Announcers working under the direction of KHSAA staff and Technical Director
• Scorer- Official Scores
• Teams- To be assigned to each team to be with the team from the time they arrive until they leave, 1 per team. These individuals will not have teams in consecutive games. Assignments will be made upon arrival based on collaboration. Fred Brown will coordinate.
• Teams/Press Row- Same as Teams, but also assisting with press row monitoring.
• Technical Director- Coordinate technical aspects of timing under the direction of Communications Director and KHSAA Commissioner and Associate Commissioner
• WL Stats (3) – retained firm to manage all aspects of Stats and website distribution

Wifi Information –
For those desiring to connect, see below, you will use the Rupp Open Wifi. Like last year – connect to RuppArenaWiFi, open a browser (if one doesn’t automatically open) and agree to terms. No password required. On phones, the link to login is not easily found, so be sure and look around the screen before seeking Dan or Rob’s help.

A NOTE ABOUT THE CURRENT STATUS OF COVID-19 (Corona Virus) as of Sunday, March 8, 1:30 p.m.
Obviously we have as an organization, and I personally have, spent the last several weeks following the situation with the novel virus that is circulating as well as multiple briefings and information sessions with various professionals. The last 96 hours have been particularly intense, and nearly 24/7 for myself, with continual information and advisories, and we also have paid special attention to information from the NCAA, which also has several special events in the next few weeks and a superb panel of medical experts advising them on all of their necessary steps. We continue to rely heavily on the information from the CDC and state and local health representatives, and monitoring all available data.

As of this point, there are no plans to alter the arrangements or schedule for either State Basketball Tournament. We are working closely with the staff at Lexington Center and are one-hundred percent certain that all necessary steps are being taken to control what we and the facility can control.

We are keenly aware that normal illnesses that occur this time of year, such as the flu, remain at high incidence levels, and are occurring at MUCH higher incident rates than the Novel virus throughout our country.

Throughout this situation, we are learning a couple of very important points. Facts are not necessarily always present during social media and traditional media reports, but filtering through the noise to find the facts is very helpful for those making decisions.

Probably the best summary of the current position would be to echo the remarks made by Dr. Frank Hainline, the NCAA chief medical officer and senior vice president in his statement on behalf of their medical panel on Friday when he stated:
“The panel members believe that we need to better understand COVID-19 while continuing to work with local, state and federal health authorities such as the CDC,” read the statement. “The key is for all stakeholders and athletes to practice risk mitigation at all events. At present, the panel is not recommending cancellation or public spacing of athletic and related events scheduled to occur in public spaces across the United States.”

We as an organization cannot control individual decisions. We realize that some will desire not to attend, just as they might desire not to attend for other reasons. We also know that things can change and we will continually monitor all reliable, professional resources and keep you informed.

Without question, the three most important suggested steps remain the same:

• Hand-washing should be emphasized, now more than ever.
• Individuals who are sick should not plan on attending, and
• Those with particularly vulnerable health conditions, especially the elderly, should be encouraged to thoroughly evaluate their decisions to attend.

We will keep you informed of any developments regarding coronavirus which could impact the tournaments. But please know that all involved are, as always, committed to ensuring our events are as safe and seamless as possible.

Workers Listing

Volunteers or those billed under a separate business