You asked, we answered...
Check below to see answers to frequently asked questions. If you didn’t find the answer to your question,
do not hesitate to send us a message at contactus@sqlbits.com
Please be patient with us as SQLBits is run by a group of individuals who share the responsibilities around our day jobs.
We will reply to your questions as soon as possible. Thank you!
SQLBits 2023 - Hybrid Event
Some people really want to get together, others want or need to stay apart from big gatherings for a while. We still want everyone to be able to access the unique experience that is SQLBits so you can meet us in Newport (Wales), or you can be with us over a remote connection – the choice is yours, the content is still going to be the absolute top quality from the best speakers in the world of data.
Yes. The dates of SQLBits Dungeon & Dragons Hybrid event are Tuesday 14th - Saturday 18th March 2023.
Yes, our event platform includes chat lounges, networking and sponsor areas for you enjoy throughout the conference. We had great feedback about the virtual experience in 2020 and 2022 so we are bringing it back in 2023 with a magical twist!
All virtual attendees get a 30% discount, which is applied at checkout!
Yes you will be able to change from in-person to virtual, but you do need to log a ticket with our helpdesk to process this for you. (contactus@sqlbits.com)
If you did change, then you'd get a refund for the difference so long as this is done more than 30 days before the event - see refund policy for other details
Any in-person registration will also get virtual access, so yes if you register as in-person you can attend some days in-person, and some virtually if you want.
General Questions
You can see all our Training day session here!
Our general sessions agenda is yet to be made available, but we can assure you that our speakers provide awesome sessions year after year and it won't disappoint!
Yes, we’re planning our usual curry and pub quiz on the Thursday night and our world-famous party returns on Friday night!
We encourage you to dress according to our spectacular D&D theme and to bring your family and friends along!
We’re still monitoring the COVID-19 situation carefully and will do everything we can to keep the event as safe as possible.
Yes. We offer a 5% discount.
Please provide us with your user group or meetup name, and the leader’s email address to contactus@sqlbits.com, and we’ll mail out a discount code to them, which they can distribute.
Of course!
Please email us at sponsors@sqlbits.com for more details of how you can support the event!
Yes, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free or similar requests can be made when you register.
We will work with the venue to try and accommodate your requirements, but regret that this may not always be possible.
Special requests must be made during registration, at least 7 days before the event starts.
Of course! We love to have help from people enthusiastic to support the SQL Community.
Please complete this form to get on our mailing list and we will get in touch when we are planning the helper coordination for the next SQLBits, or email us at helpers@sqlbits.com
The recordings of the general sessions (Thursday, Friday & Saturday) can take from a few weeks to a few months to be uploaded ready for viewing, it's totally unpredictable!
We hope to be able to make them available in a couple of weeks, however processing over 250 hours of video does take considerable time and resources so we appreciate your patience.
Please note that training day sessions (Tuesday and Wednesday) are not recorded.
The speaker slides should be available shortly after the event, however not all speakers have permission/want to upload their slides. So we cannot guarantee they will all be available for you to revisit.
I’m afraid that we’re not able to provide a certificate of attendance, as we do not log what you attend during the event.
We are constantly reviewing government advice and regulations, as well as following all the steps our venue has to offer. Your health, safety, and comfort has been, and continues to be, our number one priority.
This may not be a frequently asked question as much as some information we think would be useful for everyone at SQLBits. We will be providing for attendees, speakers, sponsors (etc):
- The option to use a creche (childcare facilities) at the conference (FREE)
- Onsite therapist and providing an anonymous helpline number, this could be personal issues you're struggling with or anything conference related, we just want you to be happy and comfortable at SQLBits.
- A multi-faith prayer room
- Community/Quiet zone
- A sign language interpreter
- Mobility aids
And many more options to help everyone feel included in our community, feel free to get in touch if you have any queries, and we will do our best to accommodate.
Payment/Pricing
At SQLBits we don't want anyone to feel excluded. If you would like to attend SQLBits but are struggling due to cost (This could be for any reasoning e.g. student, parent, carer - anything) please get in touch with our team at contactus@sqlbits.com and we can assess the ways we can help you attend SQLBits.
We only accept credit cards. We do not accept purchase orders and invoices, due to the additional overhead required to process these payments. If you want to invoice, this comes with a fee.
If you have problems paying then please contact us!
You can pay online via credit card within the registration platform on our website! We accept Visa, Mastercard, and Amex. No others. You can download an invoice via your account and confirmation email!
We do not accept payment in-person at the door or via cheque, sorry.
Registrations MUST be paid in FULL, at least 24 hours before the start of the event, or your registration will not be valid, and you will not be allowed in.
Early Bird discounts are based on the date that you pay, not on the date that you register. So ensure you pay in full, to get the early bird discounts.
Yes, we are a VAT registered company providing services within the UK so we have to charge VAT at UK rates.
All fees are subject to UK VAT at 20%, even if you are registered for VAT within the EU, but outside of the UK.
Attending a SQLBits conference is classed as a supply of services, and the supply takes place within the UK, therefore UK VAT is chargeable for all attendees, regardless of their location.
We offer a 5% discount (which is automatically applied) for those who spend £2500 (before VAT), and a 10% discount for those groups who pend over £5000 (before VAT). Enjoy!
Registration
You only need to pre-book session selections for Tuesday and Wednesday, which are full day training days where you spend the whole day learning about a single topic in detail. These must be pre-booked at the time you register.
On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (general session days) you can choose which session you want to go to as and when you choose. Be sure to watch out for the popular session as room capacity is fixed and seats are taken on a first come, first served basis.
To swap/change training day sessions, please head to your confirmation email and click the link to modify your booking!
Sorry, sessions come at a first come, first served basis. So book early!
Spaces may become available (so check daily) or you can join virtually.
Yes, you can pick and choose one or more days during registration.
Remember, the Saturday is totally free!
You are more than welcome to book through a training provider, but please note that doing so does not change any costs.
Please see the Contact Us page!
You will be able to amend you tickets by logging in using your email (username) and password which you created upon registering, in this portal you can change and adjust your booking.
Our cancellation policy is, full refund up to 17th November 2022. Then up to 30 days before the event (18th Feb) we'll charge a 40% admin fee, with the remainder refunded. If you were to cancel within 30 days of the event (from 19th Feb), no refund will be available.
As SQLBits went ahead in 2022, in a hybrid format, all our attendees who had to move their 2020 tickets were told they had the choice to attend virtually or in-person for 2022. meaning those who couldn't travel due to COVID-19 could still attend, with the notice that 2020 tickets would not be carried over for our 2023 event.
Travel & Accommodation
You can book the Coldra Court Hotel through SQLBits! The rate is £95.83 + VAT and is based on single occupancy and includes breakfast. Please note this is on a first-come, first-served basis as we only reserved a specific amount of rooms.
To secure your room, will have to book directly with the hotel and quote the following code prompt on the ‘Book Online’ tab on the home page: SQL130323.
To secure your room, go to 'Book now', under 'Discount Code Type', select 'Block Booking', and under 'Enter Code' enter SQL130323, otherwise, it says there are no rooms available automatically.
Alternatively, you can call 01633 413262 to book directly from this allocation. At the time of booking, guests will be required to make a full non-refundable, and non-transferable payment for rooms.
This is a 20minute walk from the ICC Wales (SQLBits venue) or a 4 minute drive. We will be providing a shuttle service for free, but details will be revealed closer to the time.
Hotel rooms are only available through our registration for confirmed speakers.
If you are not a speaker, please book your hotel room through your favourite hotel booking website.
The closest hotels to the venue are:
- Celtic Manor
- IHG Holiday Inn Newport (0.5 miles)
- Premier Inn, Newport (0.8 miles)
- Coldra Court, Newport (0.9 miles)
SQLBits plans on providing a free shuttle bus to/from the three hotels above that are not on the Celtic Manor site. Note that this is provisional, and the details have yet to be confirmed.
The rules around travelling into England are changing frequently so please keep reviewing the information provided by UK Government. If you are travelling into an airport outside England you will need to locate the regulations for that particular location (England/Northern Ireland/Scotland/Wales details).
The closest train station is Newport which is a 14 minute drive away from the ICC Wales.
Please see their 'Getting Here' leaflet for more information.
Extra information from the ICC Wales!
Delegates attending a conference at ICC Wales can now enjoy an exclusive rate when travelling by train with Great Western Railway to Newport. Please be aware that these train tickets will be valid only with proof of attendance at a conference. Tickets can be booked up to 3 months in advance, subject to availability, one ticket at a time. Please see below for more details!
The nearest airports to the ICC Wales are Cardiff and Bristol which is a 40 minute driving time from the venue.
Airport |
Driving Time |
---|---|
Cardiff |
40 mins |
Bristol |
40 mins |
Birmingham |
1hr 30 mins |
Heathrow |
1hr 45 mins |
Manchester |
3hrs 15 mins |
Thanks to Newport’s brand new fflecsi ‘on-request’ bus service, ICC Wales is quick, easy and inexpensive to reach from any location across the city, including Celtic Collection hotels and venues. Simply book fflecsi online or via the app and they will pick you up from as close to your location as possible and drop you off where you want to go!
As fflecsi doesn’t run to a fixed route or timetable, you can expect to be on board within 15 minutes of booking, with journey times normally no longer than 25 minutes when travelling across Newport. Bookings can be made up to 7 days in advance, with single trip tickets from only £2 or buy a City Day ticket for £4 adult, £2.50 children giving unlimited access to the whole of the fflecsi and Newport Bus city network.
Visit the website to find out more, or download the fflecsi app from your app store.
Other Newport Bus services travel on the Chepstow Road with the closest bus stop located a five-minute walk from ICC Wales.
The ICC Wales is within driving distance and has 2000 visitor parking spaces on-site.
For more information on travelling my car, please see here.
Parking tariffs:
0 – 5 hours £6
5 – 8 hours £9
8 – 12 hours £12
12 – 24 hours – £24
The parking area at ICC Wales includes 20 cycle racks with direct access to the Convention Centre atrium.
There are four National Cycle Network routes in Newport as well as a cycle path linking the city to Cardiff. More details can be found on the Newport City Council website.
As well as being on the site of the Celtic Manor Resort, ICC Wales is conveniently located within a 10-minute walk of neighbouring hotels including the Holiday Inn, Premier Inn and Coldra Court Hotel by Celtic Manor.
There can be more information found on the ICC Wales website which you can view here.
ICC Wales Address: (Celtic Manor)
Coldra Woods
Newport
South Wales
NP18 1HQ
United Kingdom
If you have any questions please get in touch at contactus@sqlbits.com
To get your discounted train ticket please visit - https://www.gwr.com/your-tickets/ways-to-save/business-travel/conferences-and-events
Some examples include:
Standard Return example (London Paddington – Newport) – £42 per person
First Class Return example (London Paddington – Newport) – £86 per person
Please be aware that these train tickets will be valid only with proof of attendance at a conference. Tickets can be booked up to 3 months in advance, subject to availability, one ticket at a time.
- Once you have clicked the link please select 'Newport' from the booking list, this will redirect you to a page where you can make a booking to 'Newport Conference'.
- The next step is to input your details such as one way or return journey and what date/time you'd like to depart and return
- Please note that you will potentially have to show the ticket officer your conference booking to get on the train. Your confirmation email should be fine for this and tell them SQLBits is at the ICC Wales!
Speakers FAQ
There is no limit on how many sessions you can submit, so keep submitting until you've ran out of ideas!
We aim to provide as much support as is possible for all speakers and for speakers new to SQLBits. We can even help partner you up with as more experienced speaker to help raise your confidence, or perhaps a mentee. For more information take a look at our speaker guidance!
As in 2022, we are using Sessionize to hold our Call for Speakers. You can submit my following the appropriate links in our Speaker Guidance (please read the guidance before submitting a session - it's important!)
General sessions submission deadline is at 10:00pm (GMT) on October 28th 2022.
Training Day session submission deadline is 10:00pm (GMT) on October 17th 2022.
It takes a few weeks to collate all the feedback from attendees, but we hope to get these published to our speakers as a priority!
Our call for speakers is currently OPEN, to take a look at our speaker guidance to prepare yourself to submit a session - click here! We have talks on various subjects covering Microsoft data technologies, including SQL Server, Azure, Big Data, Power BI, Machine Learning, and soft skills.
At SQLBits we aim to support our speakers and ensure to make it as easy as possible to attend our event. To do this we will be offering to all our speakers:
- The option to use a creche (childcare facilities) at the conference
- Onsite therapist and providing an anonymous helpline number, this could be personal issues you're struggling with or anything conference related, we just want you to be happy and comfortable at SQLBits.
- A multi-faith prayer room
- Speaker room/quiet zone
- A sign language interpreter
- Mobility aids
- Finance support
And many more options, feel free to get in touch and we will do our best to accommodate.