USSSA: The Road to the Olympics Showcase

The organizing bodies of PERSILAT (the International Pencak Silat Federation)  BOPI (Professional Sports Authority of Indonesia) and the United States Sport Silat Association (USSSA), would like to formally invite you to attend and participate in the upcoming “Road to the Olympics” showcase in Loveland, Colorado, from December 7-9, 2018. This showcase will lay the groundwork for generating awareness, interest, and goodwill for Pencak Silat in the US, in anticipation of its debut as a trial sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As part of these events, we will be hosting an international delegation of Pencak Silat ambassadors to show them the growing enthusiasm for silat in the US.

Event Registration

If you have not already done so, please RSVP with this registration form.  This will allow us to get an accurate headcount and to help facilitate communication.

https://goo.gl/forms/6b3YqBAOrZht325s1

Meeting Goals

There are a few main streams for this event:

1. Develop a plan for organizing regional and national competitions to field the strongest possible sport silat Team USA.
2. Acquaint attendees to sport silat with the rules, regulations and strategies for the sport silat events, so they can participate in future competitions as athletes, coaches or officials.
3. Provide opportunities to train and refine skills with accomplished experts in the various sport categories.

Those planning to train, should bring clothes appropriate for exercising as there will be many opportunities to learn about the competition forms and sparring formats.

Meeting Venue

All meetings and training sessions will take place at:

Inner Wave Martial Arts Academy
117 W 2nd St, Loveland, CO 80537

NOTE: The city of Loveland, CO is in Northern Colorado, and is NOT the Loveland Ski Area which is near Georgetown, CO.

Tentative Schedule:

Friday December 7, 2018

8:30AM – 9:30AM Meet and Greet (Coffee & Tea)
9:30AM – 10:00AM Introduction and Overview
10:00AM – 11:30AM Workshop: Jurus Tunggal (Standard, Single Person form)
11:30 PM – 1:30PM Lunch
1:30 PM – 3:15PM Workshop: PERSILAT sparring
3:15 PM – 3:30PM Break
3:30 PM – 5:00PM Workshop: Jurus Beregu (Standard, Team-Synchronized form)

Saturday December 8, 2018

8:00AM – 9:00AM Coffee & Tea
9:00AM – 10:30AM Workshop: PPSF Sparring
10:30AM – 10:45AM Break
10:45AM – 12:00 Roundtable: What USSSA can contribute to the world
12:00 PM – 1:30PM Lunch
1:30 PM – 3:00PM Workshop: Jurus Ganda (Personalized, 2-person form)
3:00 PM – 4:30PM USSSA Business Meeting / Logistics
4:30 PM – 6:30PM Rest, cleanup and transit
7:00 PM – 10:00PM Banquet and Recognition Ceremony (Venue TBD, not included with registration)

Sunday December 9, 2018

8:00AM – 9:00AM Coffee & Tea
9:00AM – 11:00AM Breakout training sessions
11:00AM – Closing and Goodbyes

Banquet

Join us for an evening of socializing, food and entertainment at the Northside Aztlan Community Center in Fort Collins, Colorado.  We will be serving an Indonesian menu accompanied by performances by the Gamelan Mulya Raras of Colorado College and the Inner Wave Martial Arts demo team.

This is a time to relax and celebrate what we are building as a community.

Time and Location

Time: 7:00PM to 10:00PM
Place: Northside Aztlan Community Center
112 E Willow Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524

Attire

Dress for the banquet is business casual to semi-formal.  Given that this is Colorado, that allows for a wide range from jeans + button-up shirt to slacks + shirt + tie to a full on suit.  In Indonesia standard attire for such an event is often dress pants + batik shirt for men, and batik dress + shawl for women.  Consider it a request to dress slightly nicer than you normally do.

Fees

To help offset the cost of food at the banquet, we are asking for a suggested contribution of $15 per attendee.  Additionally we will be “passing the hat” to show our appreciation for the time and effort put in by our guest instructors.

Accommodations

Cambria Hotel in Fort Collins is offering a group rate discount for the USSSA conference at $99 a night.  Room options are 1 king or 2 queen. Amenities include complimentary breakfast, 24-hour barista bar, pool, workout area etc…  This is where we will be housing our international guests.

The Cambria Hotel is about 20 minutes away from the meeting venue by car.  More affordable and/or closer accommodations can be found on AirBNB or on booking sites like TripAdvisor or Expedia.

Transportation

Flights

The vast majority of flights to Colorado are through Denver International Airpot (airport code DEN).   Despite its name, DIA is about 30-40 minutes by car or light rail to downtown Denver.  The airport is a little over an hour away from Northern Colorado by car.

Shuttle Service

If you do not plan to rent a car on your own, the most convenient way to get to Loveland or Fort Collins is via Green Ride shuttles.  They offer fares to select hotels, common stops as well as door-to-door service.

Car Rental

Car rental agencies are located on airport property and provide courtesy shuttle service to and from Jeppesen Terminal. Shuttles pick-up and drop-off from Jeppesen Terminal Level 5, Island 4, outside doors 505-513 (east side) and 504-512 (west side).

https://www.flydenver.com/parking_transit/car-rentals

Uber / Lyft

Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft are available in Fort Collins and Loveland.  Because of the distance, we do not suggest taking these services from the airport to Loveland or Fort Collins.

Visiting Northern Colorado

The cities of Fort Collins and Loveland are located at the foothills of the Rockies. Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University and Loveland has a burgeoning art scene. There are a wide variety of activities to match whether it be hiking, shopping or dining.  Northern Colorado is home to a large number of micro/craft breweries including the New Belgium Brewery.  For those interested in skiing, Snowy Range in Wyoming is an hour away, or the larger resorts are 2-3 hours to the south and west.

Weather

The combination of mountains and plains makes for interesting weather patterns.  We get over 300 days of sunshine a year, but any given day can be a buffet of weather variation. Expect December to be cold and dry.  While snow is possible, not much precipitation comes this time of year.  Temperatures can be as high as 50F (10C), but will cool drastically once the sun is down (20F/10C).

Gear and Dress

We suggest packing clothes to dress in layers as climate control can make the indoors warm, while outside temperatures are at or below freezing. Umbrellas are not often needed in this high mountain desert. Instead it is better to have a warm jacket (fleece) and a wind and water resistant outer layer as well as a warm hat and gloves.

Recreational Drugs

While cannabis / marijuana is legal in Colorado, we expect participants of this event to comply with Olympic anti-doping policy.