2008 WINTER WORLD GAMES - FINLAND

Join Team USA and venture near the Arctic Circle ! From March 25-30, Team USA will be participating in the 2008 Winter World Games at one of the world's most prestigious winter athletics locations -- Rovaniemi , Finland ! The Winter World Games will also include The Nicholas Cup, which is open to all transplant children from 4 to 17 years of age and is held the last day of competition. For more information about The Nicholas Cup, please visit the Winter World Games site at http://www.rovaniemi2008.com/nicolascup.html. Register fast -- first 50 children are free!

If you are interested in becoming a part of Team USA , registration information is available at http://www.kidney.org/news/tgames/worldgames/teamUSA.cfm.

REGISTRATION & TEAM USA ENROLLMENT FORMS - Due by Wednesday, November 27, 2007
Registration for the Winter World Games, Nicholas Cup and Team USA 2008 is contingent upon receiving the corresponding registration forms. Sports registration changes will not be accepted after November 27, 2007. All participants (Competitors and Accompanying Persons) of Team USA 2008 must complete and sign the National Kidney Foundation's general waiver (Team USA Enrollment Form) for your registration to be officially accepted.

PAYMENT - Deposit due by December 10, 2007
To become an official member of Team USA , all registration forms and full payments must be submitted to Team USA Headquarters by the noted deadlines. Deadlines will be binding. A 20% deposit of your total registration fees is due by December 10, 2007. If you plan on using a credit card to make your payment, then the entire registration fee is due in full. The balance of your registration fee is due to Team USA Headquarters by no later than January, 28, 2008.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
· November 27, 2007 - Team USA Registration & Enrollment Forms Due

· December 10, 2007 - 20% Deposit Due (Must pay in full for credit card payment)

· January 28, 2008 - Balance Of Payment Due

· February 29, 2008 - Medical Certificates Due

PLEASE READ THE CONTENTS THOROUGHLY - Information and requirements change each Winter World Games year. Forms and/or correspondence sent directly to Finland will not be considered. Any and all inquiries sent to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) in Rovaniemi will be automatically forwarded to Team USA Management. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Team USA Headquarters at 800-622-9010 or via email - Nikki (nikkik@kidney.org) or Tiffany (tiffanyk@kidney.org). We will be happy to assist you.

Get ready for Finland !

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DATES TO REMEMBER:

March 25-30, 2008 Winter World Transplant Games
Rovaniemi , Finland
www.rovaniemi2008.com

July 11-16, 2008 NKF U.S. Transplant Games
Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
www.transplantgames.org

Cutting edge gifts offered in latest fundraiser

Barb Steele is having a Team Iowa fundraiser with Rada Mfg, which includes kitchen knives, utensils, gift sets, stoneware, quick mixes. etc. The orders will be in before Christmas.

"These would make great Christmas gifts to go along with the Team Iowa Cookbooks," Barb says, adding, "Rada Mfg has been around for years and their cutlery has a lifetime guarantee so anyone that has ever heard of Rada, knows they are good quality."

If anyone is interested in looking at a catalog before the November 18 Team Iowa meeting in Cedar Falls please contact Barb at Anika3131@msn.com. Otherwise, make sure to visit with Barb at the meeting.

Fast facts about transplants in the US

New numbers show 97,707 people are waiting for organ transplants, as of November 2. Here's how the numbers break down:

73,989 patients waiting for a kidney transplant.
16,745 patients waiting for a liver transplant.
1,646 patients waiting for a pancreas transplant.
226 patients waiting for a pancreas islet cell.
2,323 patients waiting for a kidney-pancreas transplant.
221 patients waiting for an intestine transplant.
2,655 patients waiting for a heart transplant.
110 patients waiting for a heart-lung transplant.
2,303 patients waiting for a lung transplant.
97,707 TOTAL PATIENTS*

For a more detailed look at statistics having to do with transplantation, click here

Rate of kidney disease up dramatically

The estimated number of American adults living with chronic kidney disease has increased from 20 million to 26 million people. That means the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is up by 30%, from 10% of the US population (1988-1994) to 13.1% (1999-2004). The data from 1988-1994 was the source of the statistic that 20 million American adults have CKD. Most of the 26 million people affected are completely unaware of their condition, according to a new study published November 6, 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The National Kidney Foundation has an article available on their website that gives an overview of the findings. Below are some highlights:

“Our study demonstrates chronic kidney disease in the United States is more common than previously appreciated. However, less than 1 in 10 individuals with kidney disease is aware they have a problem,” said Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. “The medical community is starting to realize that chronic kidney disease is a serious concern, similar to the increased awareness of hypertension in the 1970s and diabetes in the 1990s.”

“We at the National Kidney Foundation interpret this increase in the rate of CKD as a call to action for doctors, people most at risk, and their families,” says Allan J. Collins, MD, FACP, President, National Kidney Foundation.

"The low level of awareness of CKD is challenging the National Kidney Foundation to reach out to individuals with diabetes and high blood pressure, who are at increased risk,” says Joseph A. Vassalotti, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Kidney Foundation

“Americans and their physicians should be aware that chronic kidney disease is common, has treatable components, and its progression can be slowed substantially. Blood pressure control with agents that protect the kidney, blood sugar control, and avoiding medications toxic to the kidneys are the most important factors for patients with kidney disease to be educated about,” said study co-author Andrew S. Levey, MD, Chief of Nephrology at Tufts-New England Medical Center and Work Group Chair of the NKF's KDOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Chronic Kidney Disease: Evaluation, Classification, and Stratification.

Read the full news article on the National Kidney Foundation website.

For more information on kidney disease visit www.kidney.org/kidneyDisease

Transplant Athletics E-News, November 2007

In this issue:

1. 2008 Winter World Games - ROVANIEMI , FINLAND
2. Elite Athlete Program
3. 2008 Tackers Ski Camp!
4. TransScribe & TransWorld Journal

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2008 WINTER WORLD GAMES - ROVANIEMI , FINLAND

Join Team USA and venture near the Arctic Circle ! From March 25-30, Team USA will be participating in the 2008 Winter World Games at one of the world's most prestigious winter athletics locations -- Rovaniemi , Finland !

The Winter World Games will also include The Nicholas Cup, which is open to all transplant children from 4 to 17 years of age and is held the last day of competition. For more information about The Nicholas Cup, please visit the Winter World Games site at http://www.rovaniemi2008.com/nicolascup.html. Register fast -- first 50 children are free!

If you are interested in becoming a part of Team USA , registration information is now available at www.transplantgames.org. For more detailed information about the 2008 Winter Games themselves, please visit www.rovaniemi2008.com. As a critical step to becoming a Team USA member, please read and complete the registration materials that are available to download on our website.

PLEASE READ THE CONTENTS THOROUGHLY - Information and requirements change each Winter World Games year. Forms and/or correspondence sent directly to Finland will not be considered. Any and all inquiries sent to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) in Rovaniemi will be automatically forwarded to Team USA Management. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Team USA Headquarters at 800-622-9010 or via email - Nikki (nikkik@kidney.org) or Tiffany (tiffanyk@kidney.org). We will be happy to assist you.

Get ready for Finland !

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ELITE ATHLETE PROGRAM (EAP) - AUSTRALIA 2009

Attention all athletes -- the 2009 World Transplant Games will creep up sooner than you realize! With much success at the 2007 World Transplant Games in Thailand , Team USA claimed a total of 81 medals, 6 world records and countless individual and collective achievements all throughout the event. EAP athletes captured 36 of the total USA medal count including 4 new World Games records!

PROGRAM OVERVIEW: The Elite Athlete Program (EAP) is an initiative of the National Kidney Foundation designed to provide an opportunity for extraordinary transplant athletes to earn direct financial assistance to compete in the World Transplant Games. The program also raises the standard of health and fitness in all transplant recipients, promotes organ and tissue donation awareness, and elevates the National Kidney Foundation's visibility in the media and in the transplant community, both locally and nationally.

Teams who elect to participate in the Elite Athlete Program will have the opportunity to select one outstanding male and female athlete from their team after the 2008 U.S. Transplant Games and guarantee their team's representation on Team USA at the 17th World Transplant Games. The 2009 World Transplant Games will be held on the Gold Coast of Australia from August 22-30. As a participant of the program, your team will provide direct financial assistance to cover all or a portion of the expenses related to the athletes' participation in the World Transplant Games. An equal commitment will be allocated to one female and one male athlete. The associated cost to attend the 2009 World Transplant Games is estimated at $2,500 or more per person (including airfare). Now is the time to speak with your Team Manager about participating in and budgeting for the Elite Athlete Program!

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2008 TACKERS SKI CAMP!!

TACKERS is holding its eighth ski camp for young transplantees around the world, from January 5-12, 2008 in Anzère, Valais , Switzerland ! You don't have to be an experienced skier -- many who attend are absolute beginners and go for the fun and to try new activities! For any questions or registration information, call Liz Schick on +44 20 7871 0098 or e-mail at info@tackers.org.

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TRANSSCRIBE -- OCTOBER 2007

TransScribe E-Newsletter and TransWorld Journal are publications circulated by the World Transplant Games Federation (WTGF) providing updates for transplant athletics activities around the world, athlete highlights, team activities and successes, news and information for those in the transplant community.

TransScribe E-Newsletter information will be highlighted periodically in this Transplant Athletics E-Newsletter in the future. Read the latest information from the World Transplant Games Federation! Visit the following site to view the most up-to-date newsletter: http://www.kidney.org/news/tgames/worldgames/index.cfm

Limited hard copies of TransWorld Journal are available. If you wish to receive TransWorld Journal in the mail in lieu of email communication, please submit your first/last name, full mailing address and email address in the body of your email to transplant@kidney.org.


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DATES TO REMEMBER:

March 25-30, 2008 Winter World Transplant Games
Rovaniemi , Finland
www.rovaniemi2008.com

July 11-16, 2008 NKF U.S. Transplant Games
Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
www.transplantgames.org

Committees to Consider for 2008 Games

At the November 18, 2007 Team Iowa meeting, team members will have a chance to sign up for six different committees. This is something new for the 2008 Games. Following is a list of committees and their responsibilities. Please look them over and think about what you might be interested in doing. At the meeting, more details will be provided. You'll be able to begin the sign up process then.


Uniform Committee – this committee will be responsible for discussing the past uniforms provided for the team members; seeking alternatives; seeking pricing; and gathering samples by a specified date for Team Iowa to vote on.  Once a decision has been made regarding uniform needs for the Team, this committee will ensure that all team members are contacted for exact uniform sizes.  This committee will provide a link between the NKF of Iowa office and the individual team members for distribution of team uniforms.  Once uniforms are distributed to team members, this committee will no longer meet.
 
Team Sports Committee – this committee will be responsible for reviewing the Team Sports held during the U. S. Transplant Games; studying the requirements to participate in each Team Sport; talking to team members to determine interest in Team Sports; and being prepared to develop Team Sports rosters by a specified date for team members to sign.  Out of this committee, individual members will be assigned to a specific Team Sport, as a captain.  (As an alternative, this committee will appoint somebody to serve as each Team Sport’s team captain.)  The captain will be responsible for working with the Team to establish practice times and locations, attending their respective Team Sport during the Games to solve problems and determine which team members will play, knowing when and where their team members are to report at the Games for practice and competition.  Team Captains will be expected to review the rules of their assigned Team Sport and communicate that information to team members.  Once the Games take place, this committee will no longer meet.
 
Transportation Committee – this committee will be responsible for researching transportation alternatives for team members – such as the team bus; determining costs for each alternative; and being prepared to present these alternatives by a specified date for Team Iowa to vote on and/or sign up for.  This committee will take responsibility for determining pick up and drop off sites and the time schedule – to best meet the needs of the Team Iowa members as a whole.  This committee will serve as a link to those Team Iowa members using the group transportation and will disseminate all information needed.  Once the Games take place, this committee will no longer meet.
 
Registration Committee – this committee will be responsible for overseeing the Team Registration process.  Once deadlines are established by NKF (National) this committee will assist those Team Members needing registration assistance.  Members of this committee must be computer literate; have internet access; and be able to maintain confidential team member information.  Once registration has closed, this committee will no longer meet.

Membership Committee – This committee will be responsible for the recruitment of new team members.  Another responsibility will involve serving as, or finding someone else to serve as, mentors for first-time U. S. Transplant Games attendees.  Prior to the Games in 2008, this committee will work with the NKFI staff and Team Manager to develop recruitment materials and a recruitment strategy.  This committee will be responsible for implementing the recruitment strategy throughout the NKFI service area (all 99 counties in Iowa and 3 counties in Illinois).  The recruitment strategy will be presented to the entire Team for implementation.  This committee will work with the entire Team to identify potential new members and to follow up with all inquiries from potential new members.  As soon as Registration for the 2008 Games opens, recruitment of new members will temporarily cease.  At that time, this committee will identify all first-time Games attendees and assign them a mentor (somebody that has prior experience with U. S. Transplant Games).  Mentors will have a responsibility to assist first-time attendees prior to the Games and be willing to be a phone call away while at the Games.  This will be an on-going committee.  Once the 2008 Games are concluded, this committee will begin recruitment for the 2010 Games.  However, committee members will not be expected to serve indefinitely.
 
Marketing/PR Committee – this committee will be responsible for contacting the media and/or responding to requests from the media for information about the Team and the 2008 U. S. Transplant Games.  This committee will work with the NKFI Staff and Team Manager to develop factual information for publication that can be shared with the entire team for local publication.  This committee will also be responsible for identifying media outlets and presenting information for possible publication.  When the NKFI office is contacted by media outlets, a referral will be made to the members of this committee for individual comment.  This committee will continue until six months after the 2008 Games.  At that time, this committee will no longer meet.