Frequently Asked Questions: Winter Regional 2020


FIND PACKING LIST HERE: southern.ncsy.org/packinglist


General Information

1) The 411: What, Who, When and Where?

2) Who is the Southern NCSY Winter Regional staff?


Payment Information

3) How much does it cost and what does that include?

4) When is payment due?

5) Are there any Payment Plan options?

6) Are Scholarships Available?

7) How does the Scholarship Raffle work and where can I get raffle tickets?

8) What are all the dates that I need to remember?



Registration

9) How do I register for Winter Regional?

10) Do I have to fill out all of the information in my registration profile?

11) What if I am having trouble registering? Who can I contact if I can’t log in to my account?

12) Can I register without making any payments?

13) Why do I need two waivers?  Why is it so important? What is the waiver for?

14) What medical information is necessary?

15) What if I need to cancel?

16) How do I know if I have a guaranteed spot on the Shabbaton?



Transportation

17) What are the bus locations and times of Departure & Arrival?

18) How do I select which bus I would like to be on?

19) How much luggage can I bring?

20) Will the buses be traveling together and will I be able to change buses at any point?

21) Will the bus be stopping at rest stops along the way?

22) What can I do/bring to make the bus ride more comfortable?



Food

23) What food is included on the Shabbaton?

24) What if I have special dietary needs?

25) What are reliable food certifications?

26) What food do I need to bring?



Accommodations

27) What are the sleeping arrangements at Winter Regional?

28) Can I request who I want to room with?

29) What if I don’t have anyone to request as a roommate?

30) What do I have to bring to this Shabbaton?



Program

31) What will we be doing?

32) Will I have any free time with my friends to enjoy the grounds?

33) What activities will there be on Sunday at the Ober Gatlinburg?

34) How much spending money should I bring?

35) Do I have to go skiing, what if I want to sit it out?

36) What happens in the case of a medical emergency?
37) What should I bring with me for skiing?



Communications

38) What if I need to reach my teen over the weekend?

39) What if I have additional questions?



 ANSWERS:

 General Information

1) The 411: What, Who, When and Where ?

Head North to the winter with Southern NCSY!  Chill out with teens from across the South for the coolest weekend yet. Enjoy the warmth of a traditional Shabbat experience at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville.  On Sunday, get ready for a thrilling day of skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing in Ober Gatlinburg.
Shabbaton Schedule:  Departure times will vary by city, beginning late Thursday night, February 13th and returning early Monday morning, President’s Day. February 17th. We will Arrive on Friday morning and enjoy some of the sites. Our fun-filled, inspirational Shabbat will be spent together at the hotel, before heading to Ober Gatlinburg on Sunday for skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing and Ice Skating. Introductory group lessons are included.

2) Who is the Southern NCSY Winter Regional staff?

Get to know our staff members: http://southern.ncsy.org/staff/


Payment Information

3) How much does it cost and what does that include?

The cost is $499 Early Bird Special/$549 Regular Cost.

4) When is payment due?

An initial deposit of $100 is due to hold your spot.
On Wednesday, February 5th, 2020 – your full payment* is due.

5) Are there any Payment Plan options?

Yes. To break up your payments over a longer period of time, you can choose to split up your payments when you register for the event.  Just select the option when you check out.

6) Are Scholarships Available?

Yes!  We really want to help you so please visit our Finance Your Journey page for more details.  The deadline to apply is January 27, 2020.

7) How does the Scholarship Raffle work and where can I get raffle tickets?

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, every dollar in raffle sales you generate, goes DIRECTLY to your Winter Regional Balance! That means if you can sell 50 tickets, you are on your way to ski! See HERE for complete prize list and rules. (All of the prizes for this raffle have been generously donated or sponsored by friends of NCSY).
  • Send this link to friends and family to sell tickets online: southern.ncsy.org/raffle.
  • You can get tickets by contacting your City Director or by requesting raffle tickets that can be mailed to you from our office
  • In past years, NCSYers like you used great initiative and because of their determination were able to attend Winter Regional for FREE.
  • If you made your $100 Deposit or arranged for a payment plan but ended up raising the full amount  (meaning all $549 IN CASH of your registration), you can be entitled to a refund.

8) What are all the dates that I need to remember?

January 27, 2020 – Deadline for applying for a scholarship
February 5, 2020 – Must be paid in full to hold your spot

Registration

9) How do I register for Winter Regional?

The first thing you must do before you are able to register is to create a MYNCSY account.  Go to southern.ncsy.org and click on REGISTER. Please note that there are two different account types.
FOR PARENTS: As a parent, you have the ability to control your teens registration. To do this, please select that you would like to create a parent account. Then you can enroll your teen(s) and then register them for events.
FOR TEENS: As a teen, you are able to create your own account and you can register yourself for events.

10) Do I have to fill out all of the information in my registration profile?

Yes. It is very important that you fill out all of the information in your profile.  As we will be traveling relatively far for this Shabbaton, we really must have your medical information on file including Insurance Carrier, Group # and Pediatrician name and phone number.

11) What if I am having trouble registering? Who can I contact if I can’t log in to my account?

Contact Lillian Aharon at lillian@ncsy.org.

12) Can I register without making any payments?

In order to be fully considered as registered, we need a $100 deposit.

13) Why do I need two (or three) waivers?  Why is it so important? What is the waiver for?

There are three waivers – An NCSY Custodial Waiver, a Ski/Snowboard Resort Waiver and a separate waiver should you decide to go SNOW TUBING.  They are important because they allow us to be responsible for you over the course of the weekend.

14) What medical information is necessary?

It is very important that we have basic information like Health Insurance Company, Policy or Group Number, Pediatrician Name and Phone number, any allergies or medications that will be take on the Shabbaton.

15) What if I need to cancel?

If you cancel your registration:

By January 20: Can be refunded 100%.

Between January 21 – February 5:

If paid in full:  Can receive 50% cash refund and 50% NCSY credit (OR Full NCSY Credit).

If NOT paid in full:   Can only be eligible for 100% NCSY Credit in actual dollars paid toward event.

Between February 6-13: If cancellation occurs during this time without extenuating circumstances, there will no refund or NCSY credit given.

 

16) How do I know if I have a guaranteed spot on the Shabbaton?

Once your registration and payment (or payment plan) is complete, as well as the two (or three) waivers, you will receive a personalized boarding pass (via email) to be presented at the departure bus. You can either show your paper boarding pass or flash them the one on your phone.  Once everything is confirmed with a staff member on the night of departure, you will receive a wrist band indicating that you are clear to board the bus.

Transportation

17) What are the bus locations and times of Departure & Arrival?

Please refer to our website which will be updated as we near the date of the event and will continue to be updated on a regular basis.

18) How do I select which bus I would like to be on?

The City that you choose to depart from should be the same that you return to. If you would like for your departure bus or arrival bus to be different than you home city, please be sure to select the correct departure and return bus.

19) How much luggage can I bring?

Once your registration and payment is complete, you will be sent a boarding pass that will allow you one piece of luggage plus a carry on and any bus essentials.

20) Will the buses be traveling together and will I be able to change buses at any point?

The buses will be traveling together but teens may not change buses.

21) Will the bus be stopping at rest stops along the way?

Yes. 

22) What can I do/bring to make the bus ride more comfortable?

You can bring a light blanket, a pillow, something to drink and your favorite snacks. Snacks will be provided but it’s always best to bring food that you like (make sure it has a reliable Kosher Certification). See list here.


Food

23) What food is included on the Shabbaton?

Teens should eat dinner at home on Thursday before boarding the bus. From Thursday late night until Sunday night dinner all meals will be provided by NCSY. This includes additional snacks and drinks on the bus as well as Friday morning Breakfast before arriving in Tennessee.

24) What if I have special dietary needs?

We are equipped to accommodate special dietary needs such as allergies, gluten free and vegetarian.  If you require a special diet please make sure you indicate this is in the medical notes section of the Shabbaton online application.


25) What are reliable food certifications?

Please see this list of Reliable Kosher Certifications.


26) What food do I need to bring?

You should definitely eat dinner at home Thursday night. It will keep you from being too hungry on the overnight bus ride to Tennessee. Feel free to bring any snacks or drinks that you would prefer as long as they have a Reliable Kosher Certification.


Accommodations

27) What are the sleeping arrangements at Winter Regional?

Boys and girls will sleep separately in the Crowne Plaza Knoxville.

28) Can I request who I want to room with?

Yes, you can.  When you register, you can make your rooming requests.

29) What if I don’t have anyone to request as a roommate?

There are a lot of wonderful teens on the Shabbaton and our coordinators will put you with a great group, allowing you meet some new people.

30) What do I have to bring to this Shabbaton?

It will be very cold in Tennessee at night. So make sure to bring warm clothing. WEATHER IN GATLINBURG

Here is our list of packing suggestions:

southern.ncsy.org/packinglist

Program

31) What will we be doing?

Our Sunday ski adventure will take us to Ober Gatlinburg  for the day. Participants will have the option to choose between either skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, ice skating and some Ripley’s adventures.  The Shabbaton price includes gear basics such as lift tickets, ski boots, skis & poles or snowboard, and a beginners level group lesson.

 32) Will I have any free time with my friends to enjoy Downtown Gatlinburg?

Yes.

33) How much spending money should I bring?

It all depends. There will be an opportunity to purchase some snacks at the rest stops. Also, there will be an opportunity to rent Extra Skiing Equipment; this includes, bibs (snow pants similar to overalls) for $12 a piece.  Prices for rentals: Jacket ($12), Pants ($12),  Helmet ($6).   There will also be some touring the Gatlinburg strip where teens may want to get some Tennessee or Skiing paraphernalia and coffee or tea.

34) Do I have to go skiing, what if I want to sit it out?

There will be a place where NCSY’ers can socialize who either don’t want to ski or are temporarily sitting out.

35) What happens in the case of a medical emergency?

We will call any numbers or send messages to emails addresses that we have on file for you as well as any to any of your emergency contacts.

36) What should I bring with me for skiing?

Check out our packing list here: southern.ncsy.org/packinglist


Communications

37) What if I need to reach my teen over the weekend?

There is cell phone reception in Gatlinburg or you can call Lillian Aharon at 866-887-5788 ext 104.

38) What if I have additional questions?

Please contact your local City Director directly with any specific questions: southern.ncsy.org/staff