Monday 20th February 2006

Gents

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on your selection in the National Team to participate in the 2006 World Baseball Classic
You will be joining twenty-nine of your other country men to participate in the biggest baseball tournament the world has ever seen

I have attached a copy of the team here so you can see who you will be playing with

There is only just over two weeks to go before we begin our training camp in Ft Myers Florida, and there is still plenty to organise within that timeframe
I ask for your assistance in providing me with all the information we need over the next two weeks in a prompt manner
Please keep a close eye on your email as we will be sending you plenty of information

Travel
Some of you will already be in the USA before the start of our training camp on the 3rd of March, whether that be because you reside in the USA or because you have gone over early to Spring Training
For those of you that already are or will already be in the USA, you will be flown from your Spring Training site into Ft Myers on the 2nd of March (unless of course you are already in Ft Myers or close enough to, to get yourself there)
I need you to tell me asap where you will be on the 2nd of March so we can make any necessary travel arrangements
If for some reason you will not be reporting to our team hotel on the 2nd of March (and you will need to clear this with Jon Deeble), then I also need to know when you plan on reporting
The rest of the team will be flying from Australia on the 2nd of March, which will have us arrive into Ft Myers on the 2nd of March
I will send out flights details in the near future
Should we progress through to the second round and beyond, the team will be transferred from location to location via private chartered jet
At the completion of our participation in the tournament (whenever that may be), all professional players will be returned immediately (the day after our participation is over) to the site of their Spring Training and all amateur players will return to Australia
This will obviously be a work in progress as we do not know at this stage when our participation in the tournament will end

Team Hotel Information
I have attached an information sheet that has the details of all team hotels we will be staying in as we progress through the tournament
Each player will receive his own room at all hotels and you also have the opportunity for your wife (or partner) to stay with you during the tournament in your room
It is important that you inform me asap if you intend on taking your wife or partner to the tournament
Major League Baseball is also insisting on having each individuals credit card to go against each room
This is for room incidentals ONLY (eg mini bar, movies etc)
The cost of the actual room and taxes will of course be paid by WBC Inc
Therefore, please send me your credit card details (name, number, expiry date an type of card eg Visa, Mastercard)
These details will only be kept by myself and given to the team hotel, so they will be secure

Team Schedule
This is a generic breakdown of our teams schedule throughout the tournament
The finer details of each day will of course be given to you each day when the team is together
March 2 - Team arrives into Ft Myers
March 3 - Training camp - Boston Red Sox Spring Training facility - Ft Myers
March 4 - Training camp - Boston Red Sox Spring Training facility - Ft Myers
March 5 - Exhibition game against Boston Red Sox - Training camp - Boston Red Sox Spring Training facility - Ft Myers
March 6 - Transfer to Orlando
March 7 - Game v Italy at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex
March 8 - Training
March 9 - Game v Venezuela at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex
March 10 - Game v Dominican Republic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex
March 11 - EITHER transfer to Peurto Rico OR to Spring training sites/Australia
I have attached a game schedule here for your reference as well
NOTE: Schedule for post-round 1 will be distributed if/when we qualify for round 2

Uniforms and Equipment
World Baseball Classic Inc will be providing all uniforms, caps, bats, batting helmets and other equipment
I have attached a list of items that WBCI will be providing you with for the WBC
The WBCI remain the owners of this property and may ask for any of it back at the conclusion of the tournament
As you can see, the only pieces of apparel and equipment that you really need to bring with you are
fielding gloves
cleats
sliders
street clothes
You are of course welcome to use your own equipment (eg bats) during the tournament, but you must have these prior approved by the WBC Inc
If you do intend using your own equipment, please send me through the details of the item so I can send them onto WBCI for approval

Tickets
You will each receive two tickets to each game that we are playing in for your family and friends to attend that game

I think that’s about all for now for this message
If there are any urgent questions you have, please contact me
For now, please get back to me immediately with the information I have requested in this email
What I need from you now
------will your wife/partner be staying with you at the team hotel
------your credit card details
------for those of you in the states, where you will be on the 2nd of March
------for those of you not reporting on the 2nd, when will you be reporting
------if you inetend on using any of your own equipment, details of it (name and brad of bat etc)

Thanks guys

Brett Pickett
High Performance Manager
Australian Baseball Federation