Frequently Asked Questions
details for 2023 coming soon!
Registration
A. No, the event is open to everyone!
Event Details
A. The address is:
Columbia International University
7435 Monticello Road
Columbia, SC 29203
Monday, June 26 Check-in 2:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern Time
Sunday, June 25 Check-in 2:00 pm Eastern Time (Recommended Staff Assistant and Area Team Member)
Parking is free all over campus, no sticker is needed. Please don’t park in reserved or handicapped spaces.
A. Dorm Check-out is from 6:30–8:00 am Friday, June 30. If an early departure is needed, please contact housing@iccinc.org to make arrangements for room checkout and inspection.
A. The closest airport is Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE).
ICC does not provide shuttle service from or to the airports for convention participants. Remember that Columbia is in the Eastern Time Zone, as is CIU.
- Meals: Monday Dinner – Thursday Banquet
- International Student Leader Reception
- Family Fun Picnic
- Special labs and training
- Media Premiere
- Coaches Luncheon
- Formal Banquet Ticket
- iCON T-shirt (students only)
A. We like to call it Smart Casual. This includes collared shirts or dress blouses with slacks/khakis/nice jeans or skirts/dresses. Smart Casual is appropriate throughout the convention (including the International Showcase) unless otherwise noted.
- Monday: Theme Party—dress up!
- Thursday is “T-shirt Day” on which students can wear the iCON t-shirt and jeans (no shorts).
- Thursday is the Formal Banquet. Business attire is appropriate, or dress as formally as you wish. Gentlemen: coat and tie. Ladies: dresses, pantsuits, or gowns. Please no t-shirts or jeans.
A. The theme this year is coming soon! This event is hosted by our Global Student Leadership Team.
A. Be sure to bring anything you’d like for taking notes: a notebook, pens/pencils, sticky notes, or electronic devices.
- We welcome and even encourage student speakers and leaders, ages 13+ to bring their electronic devices, cell phones, laptops, and cameras to this ICC Training Event.
- As cultural communicators in the 21st century, we will practice using these forms of media to effectively communicate to those around us. We will also spend some time discussing the proper use of the digital and “virtual” resources available to us today.
- All electronics and cords must be clearly labeled with the owner’s name and contact information.
- Parent/Chaperone Note: Talk with your students about taking responsibility for keeping track of their electronics, for respecting other people’s electronics, and for appropriate conduct in the digital world. Students who bring electronics are expected to take care of them and conduct themselves appropriately. ICC takes no responsibility for the property of participants.
A. Preparation is an important part of getting the most benefit from iCON.
Student Leaders in the Apprentice and RSA roles will receive separate communication about advance assignments.
All other students in tracks have no advance assignments.
A. We refer to parents as “coaches.” As a coach, you will take part in workshops, discussions, General Assemblies, and activities, all geared to help you take everything at iCON back home with you. Topics to be presented include:
- The ICC philosophy of communication training
- How to train students to think biblically and speak culturally
- What it means to be an irresistible mentor
- The importance of developing competence and character
- Building Life-giving Community
- Resources for training communicators
- Personal leadership development
A. You can purchase guest tickets for the banquet. Check out the Meals portion of the Registration page.
A. We have a great week in store for YCC students! Check-in is with their parents Monday from 2:00–4:00 pm. YCC students will check-in for the beginning of their programming at 8:30 Tuesday morning.
YCC programming runs each day from just after breakfast until near dinner-time Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. YCC Registration includes the Thursday night Banquet.
Housing
All students who stay in the dorm must have a chaperone residing in the dorm with them.
A. Housing will be available on CIU’s campus! More details coming soon.
Local Hotels – Feel free to stay in a local hotel. There are many options available in the area. All students whom you are chaperoning are to stay with you in the hotel.
A. Yes.
- Be sure to bring a pillow, sheets, a blanket or a sleeping bag, and a towel.
- Beds only come in twin size and are the long kind, so bring twin XL or two flat sheets.
- Don’t forget to bring your toiletries!
- Picture an empty dorm room — only a bed with a mattress!
- For those flying, we have a limited number of linen sets for a charge. Email peoplecare@iccinc.org.
A. Yes you can! Make sure you purchase a registration that includes housing. Those who have reserved a campus dormitory unit are free to make arrangements with others who are registered for the International Convention. Use this Special Request Housing Form to make your request known.
A. No. If the chaperone is next door to two students, all is well. Just make a note of this on the comment section of your registration or on the Special Request Housing Form indicating which students you would like where.
A. Check out will be 7:00 – 7:30 am Friday morning. Please be ready to have one of our volunteers check your room and turn in your key as soon as possible so we are all able to leave on time. You’ll get your $20 deposit back at this time. If you need a different check-out time due to flight departures, please let us know.
Tip: Be out of the shower rooms at least by 6:30 am that morning.
A. If your family has special needs and/or questions, please feel free to email them to our People Care Team at peoplecare@iccinc.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.
A. There is a phone number posted at the concierge desk and at every entry/exit to the building. Call this number with facility issues.
A. We are thrilled to be housed on the Lipscomb University campus!
- All are 2-twin-bed dorm rooms. Mirror and sink found in bathrooms down the hall.
- The dorm-room temperature is not able to be changed, even though thermostats are on the wall, so bring something warm just in case.
- Dorm floors will be designated male and female, as well as a family floor.
- Community bathrooms
- Bathrooms are at the end of each hallway, male on one end, female on the other. Each has 5 toilets, in stalls with walls that reach the floor, and 4 sinks.
- Couples, dads with girls, or moms with sons staying on the family floor will use their respective bathroom facilities.
- There are no kitchens, refrigerators, or washing machines in the dorms.
- Room Arrangements
- If an adult is chaperoning two students, an air mattress or other bedding can be used on the floor for all three to stay in the same room.
- Lipscomb bed mattresses can NOT be used for sleeping on the floor.
- ICC is not allowed to move beds or furniture in and out of rooms.
- There is no price discount for sleeping on the floor as ICC will be charged per person NOT per bed. Therefore, if you are chaperoning two children, one will be on the floor.
- In the comment section of your registration, please provide anything you’d like the ICC staff to know regarding preferences for your room arrangements. We’ll contact you as we get closer to make sure your needs are met.
- Students serving in residential leadership roles, such as Recommended Staff Assistants and our iCON Media Team, will have ICC-appointed chaperones housed on the same floor.
- Private rooms: you may upgrade to a private single room by purchasing the Private Room add-on when you register.
- KEY DEPOSIT: Bring a $20 bill or check when you check in if you’d like to be able to lock your room. You’ll get it back when you turn in your key!
Note: The iCON schedule offers very full days of activities you won’t want to miss so you won’t be spending much time in your room. These accommodations are perfect for our needs.
Local Hotels – Feel free to stay in a local hotel. Nashville is a metropolitan area, and there are many options available in the area. All students whom you are chaperoning are to stay with you in the hotel, including Bison Inn.
A. Yes.
- Be sure to bring a pillow, sheets, a blanket or a sleeping bag, and a towel.
- Beds only come in twin size and are the long kind, so bring twin XL or two flat sheets.
- Don’t forget to bring your toiletries!
- Picture an empty dorm room — only a bed with a mattress!
- For those flying, we have a limited number of linen sets for a charge. Email peoplecare@iccinc.org.
A. Yes you can! Make sure you purchase a registration that includes housing. Those who have reserved a campus dormitory unit are free to make arrangements with others who are registered for the International Convention. Use this Special Request Housing Form to make your request known.
A. No. If the chaperone is next door to two students, all is well. Just make a note of this on the comment section of your registration or on the Special Request Housing Form indicating which students you would like where.
A. Check out will be 6:30 – 8:00 am Friday morning. Please be ready to have one of our volunteers check your room and turn in your key as soon as possible so we are all able to leave on time. You’ll get your $20 deposit back at this time. If you need a different check-out time due to flight departures, please let us know.
Tip: be out of the shower rooms at least by 7 am that morning.
Note: breakfast is not provided on Friday morning.
A. If your family has special needs and/or questions, please feel free to email them to our People Care Team at peoplecare@iccinc.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.
A. There is a phone number posted at the concierge desk and at every entry/exit to the building. Call this number with facility issues.
Meals
We care about your food needs!
- There are no kitchens or any kitchen appliances available in the dorms; however, you will be happy to know we have planned menus with several special dietary needs in mind.
- Participants with dietary restrictions should bring supplements for themselves since the dining hall will not be able to make special food items to accommodate every dietary restriction that our participants may have.
- It will also not be possible to ask for a list of ingredients for items on the food line as that is beyond what we can expect from an operation of this size. There will be many items on the dining hall menu that fall within the parameters of many food sensitivities.
- Check with peoplecare@iccinc.org in late June to see a menu. Bring an ice chest if your supplements require refrigeration.
Columbia International University Campus
A. We’ll be sharing the CIU campus with faculty and students. Buildings on campus are used primarily for classes, and they may be in session around you, so we’ll need to respect these platforms. Use sidewalks around the campus, staying off the grassy areas unless there is a specific activity planned for a particular grassy area.
A. As with all college campuses, there is an extensive security system in place. In case of a security-type concern, ALWAYS call campus security before calling 911. Updated campus security phone number coming soon.
A. If you have a physical limitation that prevents you from walking around a college campus or climbing stairs, please let peoplecare@iccinc.org know the exact nature of that disability so that we can plan for your needs.
Parking information coming soon.
Lipscomb Campus
A. We’ll be sharing the Lipscomb campus with faculty and students. Buildings on campus are used primarily for classes, and they may be in session around you, so we’ll need to respect these platforms. Use sidewalks around the campus, staying off the grassy areas unless there is a specific activity planned for a particular grassy area.
A. As with all college campuses, there is an extensive security system in place. In case of a security-type concern, ALWAYS call campus security before calling 911. Campus Security = 615.966.7600
A. If you have a physical limitation that prevents you from walking around a college campus or climbing stairs, please let peoplecare@iccinc.org know the exact nature of that disability so that we can plan for your needs.
A. Parking is readily available on the Lipscomb Campus in the summer months and no parking sticker is required. Be sure to obey all instructional signage and handicapped parking signs.