Toronto Code Sprint 2009

Venue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We (Tom Kralidis) are currently searching for a suitable venue in Toronto that combines reasonably priced accommodation with a meeting room for sprinting and proximity to Toronto night life in the downtown area.

Timing
When: Mid-February to Mid-March, 2009.

Duration: Four days.


 * Option 1, Feb 14-17, 2009
 * Option 2, Feb 21-24, 2009
 * Option 3, Feb 28-Mar 3, 2009
 * Option 4, Mar 7-9, 2009
 * Option 5, Mar 14-17, 2009
 * Option 6, Mar 21-24, 2009

Purpose
Get together project members to make decisions and tackle larger problems. We have chosen a mid-North American location because this code sprint is targeting members of the "C Tribe" (eg, Mapserver, GRASS, GDAL, Proj, PostGIS, MapGuide) and many members of the "C Tribe" are clustered in the area. Toronto is also a major travel hub, for sprinters traveling from afar. Other tribes are welcome to join the sprint, of course, but we hope that "C Tribe" members will give this event special consideration.

Costs
Participants should plan for the following costs:


 * Travel to Toronto, variable depending on where you are.
 * Accommodation for four nights, $180 to $500 depending on whether you room share.
 * Shared venue cost, $50 to $0 depending on whether we can arrange sponsors.
 * Meals. Dinners at least, we may be able to cover lunches/morning snacks if we can find sponsors.

Participation
We are planning for attendance of 20-40. Please add your name and the projects you are hoping to sprint on, if you have a strong intention to attend. If there date options you cannot attend, please note them next to your entry.


 * Paul Ramsey (PostGIS, Mapserver, Proj) (unable to attend option 5)
 * Tom Kralidis (MapServer) (would be nice if spanned over weekend)
 * Frank Warmerdam (GDAL/OGR, PROJ.4, MapServer, QGIS, OSGeo4W) (March is better than February)
 * Thomas Bonfort (mapserver)
 * Howard Butler (MapServer, GeoDjango, GDAL, CS-Map, spatialreference.org) (Options 5 and 6 not preferred)
 * Jeff McKenna (MapServer docs, MS4W) - prefer weekend dates
 * Steve Lime (MapServer) - option 4 as a last resort (kids spring break)
 * Daniel Morissette (MapServer, GDAL/OGR) (can't do option 2, prefer options 3 to 6)
 * Yewondwossen Assefa (MapServer) (prefer options 4 to 6)
 * Andrew Ross (or someone else from Ingres) (GEOS, GDAL/OGR, Proj.4, CS-Map)
 * Denise MacLeod (GEOS) (not option 5 or 6 - kids spring break)
 * Chuck Thibert (GEOS)
 * possibly 1 or 2 LizardTech engineers (Michael P. Gerlek as contact point), for GDAL & friends - no significant date preferences