Here's all the info you need for the convention this weekend

 

Public Transport and Parking

There is a train station and a tram stop, both named East Didsbury, right next to the venue. These connect with Manchester Piccadilly Station which is the main train and tram terminal in Manchester, you can get anywhere from here.

There is a big car park on the high school grounds where you can park for free all weekend.

 

The venue is next door to a large entertainment centre so you can get a cheeky Nando's on Saturday night if you fancy it!

 

Arriving

When you arrive you will need to register and sign the waiver at our reception desk. The majority of people will be arriving on Friday so please do allow plenty of time to get registered and settled before the warm up starts. We'll be taking registrations from 12pm on Friday. Similarly on Saturday, a lot of people will be arriving in time for the first class so try not to rock up five minutes before if you need to register. You only need to sign in once when you first arrive, not each day. There will be places to leave your things, but I don't think we'll have access to lockers so be mindful of valuables. Obviously no jewellery can be worn during classes and we can't have bags and shoes etc around the rigging area as they're a trip hazard and we might need to move them. We can't be responsible for everyone's things so what you do with them is your responsibility.

We will have a little studio map on the reception desk so you can see where each area is, but over the weekend sometimes we do have to move things around for safety and logistics so if you find yourself lost at all just ask our reception staff.

 

Warm Ups

The warm ups will be on Friday at 1.45pm, and on Saturday and Sunday at 9.30am and 1.45pm. If giant warm ups give you anxiety or you don't have a class at that time you don't have to participate but you will need to warm yourself up. You will also need to re-mobilise after the breaks as the instructors won't be doing full warm-ups.

 

Injuries

If you get injured in class, you need to immediately tell your teacher. They will either administer first aid or get a staff member to administer it. There will be a first aid station in the main hall and all your MAAC staff are first aid trained as well as most of the teachers. We will have first aid including plasters, bandages and ice packs. If you require medical attention we will either call an ambulance or one of our staff will drive you to the hospital. It's imperative you tell your teacher immediately, no matter how small, so that we can assess what needs to happen. If you injure yourself in a break, you can grab any MAAC staff member or any teacher, or you can attend the first aid station.

If you have any pre-existing injuries please do tell your instructor about them at the beginning of each class so they can modify things if necessary, and so they're aware of any limitations you might have. Remember, it's on you to know what your body can handle, especially as the convention progresses and fatigue sets in. Your teachers will never push you to do things above your limit but it's your responsibility to know when to stop. If you want to video moves your instructor is teaching please do ask at the beginning of class as not everyone is happy for their teaching to be recorded.

 

Food & Drinks

There is a giant Tesco across the road just 8 minutes walk away so you can fully stock up on food and snacks for the convention. We will have our favourite coffee vendor Phil back in again for all your caffeine needs and we'll also have some gorgeous cakes available to give you a much needed sugar boost.

 

Swapping Classes

You can book and unbook your classes all weekend, and you'll likely find that others are doing the same, especially people who may have overestimated how much aerial they can do in a weekend....! If there's a class you really want, keep an eye on it and you might find it comes available. If you have any issues with booking or unbooking either drop an email to us, or if it's urgent head over to reception and they can fix it for you.

As you are probably well aware, the server going down on booking day meant I had to book some people into oversubscribed classes. For the most part this worked out evenly as I dropped people out of one class and into another, so we only have a handful of classes that have more than 15 in them, and for most of them we've been able to make sure extra equipment is rigged so you won't have to worry about not getting enough aerial time. I want to thank everyone for being so understanding when this happened, this was my absolute worst case scenario and when it happened I thought it was going to be an absolute nightmare but you were all so nice about it and I really appreciate that.

 

Hoodies & Merch

We will have some merch stalls for you and if you've pre-ordered your hoodie you can pick it up at the merch table. We have some new colours in for this year and we'll also have some discounted equipment for sale as well including ropes and chains. You can also order discounted chains to have shipped to you later since they're super heavy and not a friend of public transport...

 

Videos & Recording

Please be aware that people will be videoing themselves all weekend and it's impossible to avoid catching people in the background so you might end up in someone's video. We will also have staff videoing for promo at various times. We do also ask that if you're videoing yourself you be mindful of your camera placement - I'm not banning tripods but you need to be sensible about where you put them, we will not be liable for someone tripping over a tripod, nor will we be responsible for cracked phone screens!

 

Safety & Rigging

If you've been to MAAC before you know the deal with the rig - it's on giant chain hoists so it can go up and down easily, but the entire grid moves and it's absolutely huge. We will be changing the rigging almost every break and NO ONE can be in the rigging area when this happens. When we move the rig we shout about it and we place staff at the edges to stop people walking under it when it's moving but every single year on almost every break we get someone trying to sneak past, either intentionally or obliviously, and this can be very dangerous. Please be sensible and vigilant when the rigging team are doing things and listen to what they tell you. If they shout at you across the room, it's only because you've scared them and they're only worried about your safety. Head injuries are not fun even if you do get a cool scar. Also, SURPRISE! We have two rigs this year. So double the trauma to our rigging crew if you wander around underneath them when they're moving.

 

You'll also need to be mindful of the crash mats - they are a huge trip hazard and we strongly suggest not walking across crash mats during the convention. They will have rubber mats under them but we can't fix them to the floor and they can slide a little.

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Time Between Classes

If you've got a break when classes are on, you can go and hang out in the dining area, you can go for a walk or you can go and stock up on food at the supermarket, you don't have to stay in the venue and you don't need to sign in and out. If you do stay in the rooms with classes, be mindful that you're not in the way. Please don't video classes you're not attending.

 

If you've never been to MAAC before and you're nervous that's totally understandable. If you're on your own or you're feeling anxious and want to be around people you are welcome to go and hang around the reception desk and make friends with Oli and Nyl. You will also find that most veteran MAAC attendees are very friendly and you'll likely get adopted over the weekend.

Conversely, if you're feeling overwhelmed and need to not speak to people for a while we'll have a quiet zone where you can go and recharge.

 

If you have any additional needs that we can help make your experience better just let us know and we'll do our best to make the weekend magical for you.

Finally, I'm devastated to say I won't be there this year, for the first time in ten years. I emigrated to Australia in 2024 and I had a baby 8 weeks ago so I just can't make the flight back. I'm 9hrs ahead so I will be awake up until about 1pm UK time each day (and periodically every few hours after that, thanks to tiny baby..) so you can always catch me on email. I can't wait to see all your videos and pictures and I really hope you each have the most amazing time. Kit will be the new me this year, although he's drawn the line at wearing a pink wig. Next year, come hell or high water, I will be there.

 

Maria xx