Topics available
Test topics are available for both the main (REF) and the pilot (ELC) tasks from the active participants part of the TREC web site (you need to be a registered participant for TREC 2010 to be able to access it). Some additional notes on the ELC topics have been posted on the mailing list.
The submission deadline for both tasks is Sept 30. This is definitely a hard deadline for the REF task; as to the ELC task, it may be subject to extension.