by
Ralph E. Bowman
[Based on 40 years as a Chess player, 27 years as a Scholastic
Chess coach, and 20 years as an Organizer and Tournament
Director for Scholastic and Adult tournaments]
Introduction...........................................................................….......... pg
1
Initial
Organization....................................................................…...... pg
1
Onsite
Visit...............................................................................…....... pg
5
Site & Hotel
Contracts..............................................................…....... pg
6
Schedule &
Incorporation.........................................................…....... pg
11
Main Organizing
Group............................................................…....... pg
11
Committees................................................................................…...... pg
12
Advertising.............................................................................……….
pg 13
Awards..................................................................................……….. pg
13
Chess
Control......................................................................……….... pg
15
Closing
Ceremonies...........................................................………..... pg
16
Commemorative
Items.....................................................………....... pg
17
Communications..............................................................………....... pg
18
Decorations.....................................................................………........ pg
20
Educational.....................................................................………........ pg
20
Emergency/Parking........................................................………........ pg
20
Entertainment.................................................................………........ pg
21
Food................................................................................……........... pg
21
Fund
Raising.....................................................................……........ pg
23
Grandmaster.....................................................................………..... pg
24
Hospitality......................................................................…….......... pg
24
Hotel
Liaison..................................................................…….......... pg
25
Opening
Ceremonies......................................................……........ pg
25
Post
Tournament............................................................……......... pg
26
Publicity.........................................................................……......... pg
27
Religious
Services.........................................................……......... pg
28
Security..........................................................................……......... pg
28
Site & TD
Liaison............................................................……....... pg
29
Team
Rooms....................................................................……....... pg
33
Tournament
Finance........................................................……....... pg
34
Tournament
Setup............................................................……....... pg
34
Transportation.................................................................……........ pg
35
Vendors...........................................................................……........ pg
37
Volunteers.......................................................................……........ pg
38
Website............................................................................................. pg
41
Other
items....................................................................................... pg
45
Closing
Remarks............................................................................... pg
45
There is no booklet currently available that goes
into specific detail about how to organize a USCF National Scholastic
tournament. The purpose of this booklet is to provide that information in
complete detail.
At the very beginning of the process it is important to have a small group
of people, two to six, that are to be the organizing process. This group
of people should all be persons who have been around chess tournaments for a few
years and have each attended at least one national scholastic tournament. For
the 1990 National High School in Kansas City our initial organizing committee
was composed of five individuals, all coaches of high school teams who had
attended national scholastic tournaments. For the 2001 SuperNationals II
in Kansas City our initial organizing committee was composed of four
individuals, three high school coaches (two of whom were the co-organizers of
the 1990 tournament) and a parent of three chess players.
When we first began in 1988 with plans for the 1990 National High School
bid we were criticized because we wanted co-organizers and a division of duties
between the co-organizers. One organizer is responsible for liaison with
USCF, the playing site, the Chief Tournament Director and all plans dealing with
the actual playing of games within the tournament. The other organizer is
responsible for all of the peripheral items and the many committees. The
exceptions are: 1) Awards Committee, 2) Food Concessions Committee, 3)
Commemorative Items Committee, 4) Fund Raising/Sponsorship Committee and 5) site
and hotel negotiations, all of which are the joint responsibility of both
co-organizers.
This organizing process needs to begin at least four
years prior for a SuperNationals and three years prior for a normal scholastic
national. Once this group has committed to bidding for a tournament, then
the process continues in the following chronological order:
1. Obtain a copy of the current Scholastic Regulations from the USCF office.
2. Make an estimate of the maximum number of players this tournament is
likely to draw. All further actions need to keep in mind this number.
Historically, for the spring nationals, the National Elementary is the
largest, National High School second largest, and National Junior High/Middle
School the smallest; however, location can change that in any given year.
After you have figured the maximum number of players you need to
figure the maximum number of people for skittles and hallway/lobby space. The
following formula is suggested for figuring total numbers of persons for which
you need to prepare: Elementary = Total Projected Players X 2.8; Junior
High/Middle School = Total Projected Players X 2.2; High School = Total
Projected Players X 1.4; SuperNationals = Total Projected Players X 2.1.
3. In many cases you will find additional doors opened to you and other doors
opened easier if you work with the local Convention and Visitors Bureau. Their
job is to assist organizations trying to bring visitors to this city. However,
be very careful, because a chess tournament is not like any other convention
these people have dealt with and consequently they may try to take over and do a
lot of your jobs for you. While this sounds nice, it usually ends up in
disaster at tournament time.
Many of these types of organizations can provide items like free
hotel(s) rooms for the visit of a site selection committee and also some free
meals for groups planning on bringing large groups. They can also provide
you with some important contacts for fund raising. You need to work with
them, without allowing them to control you.
4. Select a site. Make sure the sites you look at meet the square footage
requirements of the Scholastic Regulations for your projected maximum number.
Don’t forget about the above formula for Skittles/Hallway space.
5. Check on date availability of the site and all costs involved with that site.
While a contract cannot yet be signed, all the details, especially costs,
of the potential contract need to be worked out.
6. Check on hotel availability for all hotels within easy walking distance of
the site for those dates the site is available and get a commitment to room
rates. While a contract cannot yet be signed, all the details of the
potential contract need to be worked out.
7. If you have never organized a national scholastic tournament before, then
your next step is to find a Chief Tournament Director for your tournament.
This tournament director must be of at least National Tournament Director
level. If you are not personally familiar with any, the USCF office will
provide you with a list of possible persons. Because of their experience,
this person needs to be consulted on each of the following steps. However,
you need to understand that the Chief Tournament Director is only responsible
for the running of the actual tournament itself, all of the peripheral items are
the responsibility of the organizer(s).
8. Work up a proposed budget. This will take some serious thought and
work, because you are projecting costs for several years away and many things
can change in that time. It is always better to err on the side of caution
by padding the budget to take care of possible inflation, then to project too
low and end up in trouble. Copies of some previous tournament budgets are
available from U.S.C.F.
Items to be considered as part of the tournament expenses are:
a. Site rental
b. Tables and Chairs, if not included in site rental
c. Tournament Director’s (fees, rooms, meals, transportation)
d. Advertising (booklets, flyers)
e. Tournament programs
f. Awards
g. Rating fees
h. Security
i. Telephones and walkie-talkies
j. Insurance
k. Publicity
l. Supplies (to include special paraphernalia to recognize TDs, volunteers and
other tournament officials, items for the TD Back Room, etc.)
m. Incidentals
n. Concession supplies (commemorative boards and pieces, t-shirts, etc.)
o. Registration (web pages, personnel to handle advance entries, etc.)
9. Check with USCF about the deadlines for the tournament bid on which you are
working and submit your bid prior to July 1 of that year, if the bid is due
after August. If the bid is due prior to August, then it is recommended to
submit your bid prior to July 1 of the previous year. This is so it can be
discussed at the annual Scholastic Committee meeting held in late July or early
August.
10. At the annual Delegate’s Meeting in August, after submitting your bid on
July 1, it is extremely important to have a representative of your organizing
committee there to present your bid to both the Scholastic Committee and the
USCF Executive Board. Being able to have someone present to personally
answer questions about the bid is imperative to winning a bid for a group with
which the Scholastic Committee and/or Executive Board are unfamiliar.
If you don’t get a bid the first time, don’t give up! Remember,
that someone might be bidding against you who simply has a better site and/or
bid for this specific tournament. Be open-minded. There have been
years where there are multiple bids for one of the spring nationals and no bids
for another. In that event, your group may be asked if you are willing to
host a different tournament. Carefully consider the maximum number of
possible players in making your decision.
11. The playing site and hotels need to be made aware of the earliest date that
you can actually sign a contract with them. Communication with the
Scholastic Director at USCF may be able to provide you with this information.
If you are bidding for a
SuperNationals you are required to have an onsite visit by a committee for the
purpose of verifying the site meets all of the requirements for a tournament of
that size. Some other tournaments may require such a visit. You will
be required to provide rooms and meals for this visit. The local
Convention and Visitor’s Bureau may provide the rooms and some of the meals.
When choosing where to dine your guests, you want to try to show off the
local cuisine, but make sure that the seating available is good so that the
entire group can easily discuss things together. The first luncheon/dinner
meeting is perhaps the most important. This is just one step in
communicating clearly. It is not necessary to show this group hotel rooms
in every hotel; just those rooms that may be unusual, like suites.
Make sure you have experts on your playing site available to answer any
type of specific questions about it, for the visiting group.
After receiving
official approval of your bid the next step is to go back to the site and hotels
and get signed contracts. Copies of these final contracts must be on file
with USCF. It would be extremely helpful if you can have a lawyer
volunteer his efforts to look over these contracts.
a. Site Negotiations:
1. Make sure all of the tables and chairs needed for the anticipated attendance
are included in the price.
2. Make sure you can have complete access for 24 hours a day during the
tournament.
3. When is the earliest move in time and what is the latest move out time?
You need access to the playing room at least 24 hours in advance and
access to the TD Back Room at least 36 hours in advance.
4. What type of requirements does the site have for security?
5. Make sure that water is amply available for the players.
6. Make sure there are adequate rest room facilities. These need to be
serviced hourly and most convention centers are not used to doing this.
7. Make sure there are adequate skittles facilities. You need to provide
adequate indoor space for parents/coaches during and between rounds that is at
least equal to the playing site space.
8. What are the requirements and facilities the site has available for food
service? Are you required to use just one food vendor? Can you bring
in other food vendors?
9. Are there special rules/regulations about the sale of food/
chess/commemorative/other items at the site?
10. Are team rooms available at the site or in attached buildings?
11. Is there adequate parking available within a short distance? How much
does it cost?
12. Will this be the only activity at the site during the entire time of the
tournament? The noise of other activities could possibly cause problems.
Another activity at the site could severely limit parking availability and
skittles room.
13. Need keys for the TD rooms, concession rooms, and a master key for team
rooms.
14. If the site has escalators, the site needs to be contacted about the peak
times and which direction you want the escalators running during the peak times.
They will need to run in the direction of the Tournament Room during the
forty minutes prior to the beginning of each round and run normally at all other
times. Is this possible?
15. Several information booths will be needed. The location of these is
extremely important. Will there be a charge?
16. Need phone/modem lines in the TD room. There should be a minimum of
two phone lines, the phone number for one of them must be advertised well in
advance on the web site as a number to call for emergencies. There should
be a least two lines dedicated for modem use, high speed lines are recommended
if price is not prohibitive.
17. What about the cost of electrical hookups and locations of them? Are
there additional costs?
b. Hotel(s) Negotiations:
1. You need to make sure you have the best room rate possible for the players.
When negotiating room rates you need to know if your tournament is going
to need income from the hotels. If it does, then you want a higher room
rate so that the hotel will pay you a negotiated amount per room. There is
also an industry standard of one complimentary room night for every 50 room
nights used at that hotel. While high prices for rooms do not really hurt
attendance that much initially, they do leave a sour taste after the tournament
and have been known to hurt attendance at future events at this site.
2. You need to plan in which hotel to put the staff (tournament directors and
dignitaries). This hotel needs to be within walking distance of the site,
you don’t want your TDs caught in traffic when you are wanting to start a
round. A separate contract for this hotel needs to be negotiated; you will
want to buy out the hotel. You will need to plan in advance the number of
rooms needed, that requires discussion with your Chief Tournament Director.
As part of that contract you need to plan for at least two site visits by
the Chief Tournament Director prior to the tournament, the organizer is
responsible for providing room and transportation for the Chief TDs visits.
This will usually require a minimum of four room nights in advance to a
maximum of ten. The organizer is required to provide hotel rooms for the
Tournament Directing staff during the tournament. There will also be
guests, like the Scholastic Council and USCF Scholastic Director that you should
provide rooms for.
3. You need to make special arrangements with each hotel to feed breakfast to
the players staying at their hotel. This breakfast is usually best if
served buffet style as they will have to feed a lot of people in a short period
of time.
4. Are team rooms available in the hotels?
5. How will reservations be handled? A growing concern is about those
tournaments that do not have enough hotel rooms within walking distance of the
site for the projected maximum attendance. Some coaches make reservations
for more rooms then they will actually use and cancel them at the last minute.
This potential problem can be reduced if you require that the hotels
require non-refundable deposits for room reservations; usually within 60 days of
having the reservation made.
6. The hotels need to understand that when a school makes reservations that all
of those rooms need to be on the same floor, if at all possible.
7. Are there other scheduled activities at any of the hotels on your projected
dates which could limit the number of available rooms? Keep in mind that
you have to stay in close and continuous touch with your hotel(s); otherwise it
is possible that in the time between originally discussing the tournament and
when it has been approved and you are ready to sign a contract they may schedule
some other group into their rooms.
8. Make sure you have something in writing and signed with all hotel persons
with whom you have dealt. The hotel business has an extremely high
turnover rate. There is a very real possibility that the person you
originally negotiated with will not still be employed by that hotel in six
months. Keep in touch every few months to make sure of who to deal with in
that hotel.
9. The hotels need to understand that some schools will want to pay by school
district purchase orders or checks.
10. Most downtown/business area hotels have mostly rooms with one King-sized
bed. You need mostly double-double rooms, rooms that contain two double
beds. You need to check on the availability of roll-away beds at each
hotel.
11. Understand that you will be responsible for all rooms within your room block
(a group of rooms reserved for your group), meaning you will have to pay for any
rooms that are unused in your room block. On your web site don’t
advertise hotels you don’t have contracts with until the hotels you do have
contracts with are booked!
12. Should arrange with the hotels so that all pay TV and long distance
capabilities are turned off for each room, unless otherwise requested by the
coach/sponsor.
13. Be careful the hotels don’t overbook. Many hotels overbook for
conventions and usually have 10-20% cancellations; but chess tournaments
traditionally have less than 1% cancellations.
14. Need to check with the hotels every couple of days for the three months
prior to the tournament about rooms in the block not full and list full or
number of rooms available on the web site.
15. You probably will not have enough rooms within walking distance. You
will probably be able to boost attendance if you provide transportation
from some outlying hotels to the playing site. This transportation can be
expensive. One method of gaining financial assistance for this expense, is
to negotiate with the outlying hotels to pay a set fee for each room night.
You need to get your outlying hotels clumped in areas to reduce the number
of stops a bus will have to make.
The organizing committee needs now to set the
tournament schedule. The schedule of when rounds must begin and coaches
meetings are held is set within the USCF Scholastic Regulations. However,
the scheduling of side tournaments, educational meetings, religious services,
etc. are left up to the organizing committee.
At this point there is one final item to be considered, should the group
incorporate as a not-for-profit (501-(c)(3) organization? There are two
benefits to incorporating: 1) as lawsuit happy as our society has become, this
provides a measure of protection to those who are planning the tournament and 2)
fund raising efforts are much easier if people/business can take a tax deduction
for their donation.
You need to understand that this will cost a minimum of $500. You also
need to know that the process will take a minimum of six months, so you need to
begin the process at least two years out.
The previous items are taken care of by the original
organizing group. A lot of times the true success of a national scholastic
tournament, meaning how people feel about the tournament after it is over and
they are back home, is determined by the many peripheral items with which you
still need to work. These remaining items are best handled by separate
individual committees. Some of the committee assignments can be handled by
a single person and others need large numbers. This is the time you want
to begin getting as many people as possible involved in the development process
through working in these committees. When local people feel they have
ownership of something they work much harder for it’s success. Some of
these committees should begin working at least eighteen months in advance, while
others need to start only three months in advance. It is extremely
important that there be regular meetings of committee chairpersons so that all
are informed about what everyone else is doing. These meetings should be
at least once a month for at least the eighteen months prior to the tournament
and twice a month for the last two months.
The persons who are the Chairpersons of each committee are very important
and must be selected carefully. Sometimes a person may be an extremely
hard worker individually, but not be good at leading others; all of this must be
taken into consideration. Be especially careful that no one person is
chairperson of more than one committee that has duties during the tournament
itself. If that happens then usually one of the committees will suffer
during the tournament itself, no matter how carefully planned everything is.
Need good communication between Committee Chairmen on how their committee
relates to other committees. (Example: Volunteers Committee needs to know
about the posting of results for the Awards Committee.) The Commemorative
Items Booth should be run by the Commemorative Items Chairman and not a
Treasurer. Need good communication about what items are actually being
sold within the Commemorative Booth and their pricing to all workers. Need
to sell pencils!
The Organizer must be extremely careful about putting too much on his/her
own shoulders during the tournament. The main job of the Organizer during
the tournament is that of a fireman. A lot of little fires will come up
and they need to be put out. If all of the preplanning was carefully done
then none of these fires will be of major importance; but they will be important
to the individuals involved themselves, and they do take much of the
Organizer’s time during the tournament. Prior to the tournament the
Organizer’s main duty is to coordinate all of the Committee Chairpersons.
The Check List below is composed of a list of statements and questions of
items that need to be considered. Not every organizer will want to use
each of the committees, but we in Kansas City feel that the success we have had
is because of all of the peripheral items we offer to coaches and players
through these committees.
The following is a list of the committees you need to consider:
€Advertising Committee
1. Need to have a fancy four page, front and back of one long page, flyer.
The flyer will just have some pictures and some basic information and tell
that all other information will be on the website and the entry form.
2. The flyer needs to be ready 18 months in advance and distributed at all
national scholastic tournaments.
3. Need to do a mailing to all
State Affiliates to hand out at their State Championships. This
mailing needs to be done in January of the year before. First send a
letter to the Scholastic contact in that state asking the address of their state
championship, this needs to be mailed in November, 1 1/2 years before the
tournament.
4. Need to do a mailing to all scholastic affiliates 5-7 months out.
5. Need to check out www.onscreenads.com
for a method of advertising. This is an excellent way to reach non-USCF
members.
€Awards Committee This committee needs to
begin at least eighteen months in advance. All awards negotiations should
be completed at least nine months in advance. The USCF Scholastic
Regulations set out the minimum number of trophies and the minimum size of the
trophies. In addition to those awards we have found that the players
really like large heavy medals; after all you can’t easily showoff a big
trophy around school. When you mail out your bid information letter, do
not limit your letters to local trophy companies. You need to consider the
following in your bid information letter:
a. Decide what materials you want used in the trophies.
b. Decide what, if any, special design you want on the trophies.
c. Decide how many awards will be presented. You can offer more than the
minimum and should consider doing this.
d. Decide the size of the trophies. Remember that the USCF minimum
requirements are exactly that - minimal and It is recommended that you exceed
them.
e. Decide on whether or not you want additional awards, like medals, plaques,
etc. and how many of each. In Kansas City we always give medals to those
earning 26th place and higher. Our purpose is to give more awards than
USCF recommends in order to give more kids success at a National Championship.
f. Decide on when and where the trophies will be delivered. Is the bidder
supposed to set them up in a display and make sure all arrived safely? Who
is responsible for shipping charges or are they included in the bid? Keep
in mind that the setup has to begin at least one FULL day in advance for a
SuperNationals.
g. Decide if you want additional trophies/medals to sell as Participation
Awards. These are the same size as the smallest trophy to be awarded and
of the same design. Sales of these have been very successful at other
tournaments. At the 2000 Elem. they had 300 Participation Trophies and
sold all at $15.00 each (their cost was $12). At SuperNationals II we had
300 and sold all at $20.00 each (our cost was $12).
h. Need to provide 25th Place Tie trophies, due to new USCF regulation.
The purpose of this trophy is to give every player within the same score
group of the player who won the 25th place trophy. These trophies will not
have the section listed on them, just 25th place tie. You will need
at least 100 of them for a SuperNationals.
i. The person who sets up the awards on each stage must be on that stage for the
awards ceremony to point people in the right direction to find trophies. All
trophies of a section and type need to be together without regard to size.
j. Need to have signed contract with the company to handle the mailing of
trophies. Need to have specific time for them to them to set up on Sunday
afternoon as part of the contract. This greatly reduces having a lot of
trophies left over. This manner makes the recipient responsible for the
mailing costs.
k. The contract with the trophy person must stipulate that all trophies are to
be assembled and placed for display prior to 9:00 pm on Wednesday or there will
be a financial penalty. They will probably not be able to have access
until 8:00 am on Wednesday.
l. Do not start the Awards Ceremony until the lists for that section have been
posted about 15 minutes.
m. Need to have large signs or some type of identification for the medals table,
if they are offered and not handed out on the stage.
n. It has been suggested to have an advertised time in the Commemorative Booklet
telling when each section is to go to their seats by the Awards platform.
o. After the tournament, need to have 1) a storage place for trophies, 2) a
method outlined for how people can arrange to get them, 3) a deadline for
getting them, and 4) what happens with those not claimed.
p. Need to make plans on how those people who are leaving early can pick up
their award.
€Chess Control This committee needs to begin
planning six months in advance and have all plans completed two days in advance.
a. This is the main chess information booth and will be open from 3:00-10:00
pm on Wednesday, and 7:30 am to 10:00 pm on Thursday through Sunday.
b. It is this booth that has a list of all registered players so they can ³check
in².
c. Chess control is where players go to pay an additional fee to switch
sections.
d. This is where coaches report players to be dropped.
e. This booth must have walkie-talkie and/or telephone contact with the TD Back
Room.
f. This booth will be manned by a USCF person. There also need to be
several persons there to handle questions on local directions (restaurants,
grocery stores, pharmacies, Wal-Mart) and other items. At least two should
be working at all times, except Friday morning when there need to be at least
four on duty at all times.
g. Items that have been lost within a section will remain in that section until
the end of that day. At the conclusion of that day they should be turned
into Chess Control. All other lost items should be turned into Chess
Control immediately.
h. What is the policy for lost children, coaches, or parents? This is the
booth where lost persons must go, how will that be handled?
€Closing Ceremonies Committee This committee
needs to begin six to nine months in advance. All arrangements must be
completed at least one month in advance. The most important feature for
this committee is to provide a method of quickly getting awards out to
all winners.
a. This committee would also have the responsibility of providing a mailing
service for those individuals/teams who have won awards but have to leave prior
to the Awards/Closing Ceremonies. The tournament does not pay for this
mailing. The tournament is responsible for providing the opportunity for
someone to pay for their own mailing. This service must be available on
site from the time the last round begins (noon would be slightly better) until
about 1/2 hour after the awards ceremony on Sunday. There needs to be a
contract with the provider that sets minimal rates and that they will have their
booth set up during the times needed.
b. Many friendly volunteers are needed to help get people in place so the
ceremony can move along without unnecessary delays.
c. This committee will set up a booth for those persons who must leave early to
pick up their awards. They will set and advertise the policy for the
picking up of these awards.
d. Need raised platforms placed for best viewing by players.
e. Needs to decide to leave up section dividers or take them down. If they
are left up, the individual medals for a section could be handed out from a
table within that section.
f. Need to have people who have pleasing voices and the ability to pronounce
difficult names as announcers. There should be two for each section for
the main tournament, so they can take breaks as their voices need a break.
g. Don’t forget planning for the Blitz and Bughouse awards also. Need to
decide the location and advertise on web site.
€Commemorative items/Concessions Committee This is
a committee that needs to begin work about eighteen months in advance. This
committee needs to have all decisions made and materials ordered at least six
months in advance. This committee needs to make several decisions:
a. A specially designed logo for your tournament is recommended. This
committee would be responsible for the selection of that logo. This logo
will be used by several other committees so it needs to be chosen at least
eighteen months in advance.
b. What items will be sold? Items such as commemorative sets and t-shirts
have been the most popular. Commemorative pens, pencils, key chains, and
Participation Trophies have also been recommended.
c. Are you going to sell the items or negotiate with a vendor? If you are
selling, then how many volunteers will that take to run the booths? If you
choose a vendor, should the vendor be local? If there is a local t-shirt
vendor, do you want to order a specific number of t-shirts for the entire
weekend or do you want someone that could have a minimal amount the first day
and then make up more shirts at night? Do you want to have advance sales
from your Internet site? If there are advance sales, they could be picked
up at the Coaches’ Hospitality Room.
d. While there is one primary logo that will be on the commemorative boards and
t-shirts, there could be at least two and preferably three other designs of
T-shirts available. What procedure will be used to find the other designs?
However, there is the possibility that having more than one design could
result in having some shirts left over. Make sure your primary logo is
approved by kids in your area first, if they like it then it will sell better at
the tournament.
e. This committee is responsible for coming up with the methods of collecting
and distributing the commemorative sets.
f. Do local laws require you to pay sales tax on the items you sell
(commemorative sets, t-shirts, etc.)?
€Communications Committee This committee
needs to begin about six months in advance. They are responsible for all
signs, telephones, and walkie-talkies.
1. Signs
a. There needs to be a lot of signs all over the building. Large signs
(poster board size) on multi-colored backgrounds (not all white, but some
yellow, orange, light blue and light red backgrounds) work best.
b. If the site is very large it would be nice to have ³You are Here² signs
located around the building.
c. If the building is very large then place signs in numerous places telling
where the pairings and standings will be posted. You always want pairings
posted in at least two different places (playing room and skittles room).
d. If the signs are to be large the procedure is to design and print it on a
normal piece of paper. Then take it to some place like Kinko’s and they
can enlarge it to any size you want.
e. Need to have signs near the Kindergarten section telling them where and when
their awards ceremony will be held since it is usually before the other
sections.
2. Telephones
a. You need to have one phone number assigned at least six weeks in advance and
have it advertised on the website as an emergency number for relatives. This
phone should ring in Chess Control. However, it should be set up so that
after three rings and it is unanswered it will roll-over and ring in the TD
room.
b. In addition to the emergency number you will need at least one more line.
This second line must be exclusive for the TD room.
c. You will need some type of communication lines for posting the tournament
information on the internet during the tournament. You will need to
communicate with the TD in charge of the TD room (i.e. Back Room) about what is
best. However, the bottom line is what the charges are for such hook-ups
in your facility!
d. Listen to your Chief TD and Chief Back Room TD about the number of phone
lines that are needed.
3. Walkie-talkies
a. The walkie-talkies need to be the type with ear pieces.
b. The walkie-talkies need to have the capability of reaching anywhere in the
facility, especially outside the playing site.
c. You need to make sure the following people have walkie-talkies: Chief TD,
Chief Back Room TD, Chief Floor Director, each Section Chief, Organizer, and
Chess Control. This is the minimum number needed. Others might
include the concessions area, those in charge of refilling water stations, and
any other areas deemed necessary.
d. Make sure you have extra batteries for the walkie-talkies and battery
chargers.
e. The walkie-talkies are especially helpful during the setup day.
€Decorations Committee This committee is
responsible for providing decorations for the awards platform and any other
place that would be appropriate. With appropriate decorations it makes for
better photo opportunities and a better lasting image of the tournament after
they have their photos developed.
€Educational and other meetings Committee This
committee needs to begin about one year in advance. All planning needs to
be completed at least six months in advance so that they may be advertised on
the web site. The major importance of these meetings is to provide
information to coaches/parents about the effects, benefits, and promotion of
chess. These meetings will start at the beginning of rounds while their
players are playing and should last no longer than one hour. Need to be
careful not to double schedule a room.
€Emergency Services/Parking Committee This
committee needs to begin three to six months in advance. All notifications
should be completed at least one month in advance. This committee is
responsible for advance notification to police, fire, ambulance, and hospitals
of the event and arranging for special services, such as an ambulance, nurses,
and/or paramedics to be available on site. Responsible for reserving
parking lots, negotiating for reduced parking rates, and finding parking for
buses. Need to have a map on the web site showing all available parking.
Also should have a printed map available Thursday and Friday of available
parking for Greeters to hand out. Need to pay special attention to parking
for volunteers, they are volunteering their time so you don’t want them to
have to pay for parking.
€Entertainment Committee This committee should begin about twelve
months in advance and complete all planning at least six months in advance so
that everything can be advertised on the web site. The purpose of this
committee is to provide non-chess entertainment to the players, coaches, and
parents. This entertainment could be in the form of bands and other forms
of entertainment performing at various locations. It also includes having
a contest for the composition of the best theme music for the tournament.
This committee is responsible for providing large screen TVs in the
Skittles Room with Disney movies to keep younger kids busy, if that is wanted.
This committee is responsible for providing large screen TVs for the
showing of games. The cameras would be in the Tournament Room, but the TVs
would be in the Skittles Room. These could also be used during the Awards
ceremony to visually display what is being read. These would not be needed
if Demo Boards are used with adequate seating for viewing. If Demo Boards
are used, then this committee is responsible for purchasing, borrowing, or
renting them.
€Food Concessions Committee This is a committee
that needs to begin work about eighteen months in advance; however, you will
find that many food vendors do not want to talk about setting prices until less
than one year out. All negotiations are to be completed at least nine
months in advance. For many sites you are forced to deal with only one
vendor. The complaints voiced by the largest number of people at most
national scholastics has usually been about the availability, service, cost, and
quality of the food. The main problem with dealing with these people is
that they cannot conceive the fact that chess players are a completely different
type of group than they have probably ever dealt with before.
a. This committee needs to work out contracts with a vending service(s) for food
on site. The food service will need to understand that this is probably
not like anything else they have had. These children are not subsidized by
business’, they can’t take meals as a tax deduction, and many had to do a
variety of odd jobs just to get here. There is the possibility they will
make their largest income ever if they rely on making a profit on volume and not
on their normal pricing structure. You need to understand that most groups
that use convention centers never have the participants staying on site the
whole day, so the vendors are not used to it.
b. This committee needs to contact all eating establishments within walking
distance and notify them of the tournament, the anticipated numbers, and the
hours and days they can expect business. The biggest problem is usually
finding restaurants within walking distance willing to stay open on Sunday for a
late supper (after the Awards Ceremony).
c. This committee is also responsible for providing breakfast, lunch, dinner,
and snacks for the tournament directors and volunteers. This needs to be
coordinated with the Chief Tournament Director as far as location and times are
concerned. You need to check with the site to make sure they do not have
regulations against this or limit you to the caterers you can use.
d. This committee is responsible for providing water and cups to players during
the tournament in the Tournament Room and seeing that the water containers are
refilled frequently. If this is done by the site employees, then this
committee is their liaison. If this is done by volunteers the Volunteer
Committee Chairman needs to be consulted.
e. It would be beneficial if the Food Concessions could take credit cards.
What most will want to do is have a voucher they will sell for a set price
by credit card instead of individual purchases on credit card.
f. It would be beneficial if the Food Concessions could sell tickets for several
different types of complete meal combinations, all for the same price. A
coach could buy meal tickets and pass them out to his players. Then the
players would have the choice of which meal combination they would like. To
work best it needs to be advertised on the web site so that schools could bring
school checks already made out for the number of meal tickets they will need.
These tickets would be picked up in the Coach’s Hospitality Room.
g. Need to have something on web site to let you know of any special dietary
needs that players will need.
h. Need food available for long time periods. Many coaches don’t like to
eat until after the evening round has already started.
i. Need many booths and several types of food available.
j. Need to have lists of sit down restaurants within walking distance available
at Chess Control.
€Fund Raising/Sponsorship Committee This is
a committee that needs to begin work about eighteen months in advance. This
committee needs to try their best to have all fund raising completed at least
nine months in advance, since many of the things other committees are doing
relies on knowing how much financing is available.
a. The mass mailing of letters to CEO’s, VIP’s, etc. will rarely bring in
more than a few dollars. The only method of contact which is reliable is
the finding of persons within your group who have personal contact with business
persons who might be interested in contributing to and/or sponsoring the
tournament as a whole or a specific part of it (awards, commemorative boards,
tournament booklet, grandmasters, etc.). This is where parents of local
players can be extremely beneficial.
b. It is extremely important to have all fund raising efforts coordinated
through the chairperson of this committee!
c. This committee is also responsible for finding a source to donate the
necessary computer equipment.
d. The local Convention and Visitors Bureau can usually put you in contact with
organizations that give grants to groups helping kids and/or bringing business
to town.
€Grandmaster Lectures Committee This committee needs to begin
about nine to twelve months in advance. This planning needs to be
completed at least six months in advance so that it may be advertised on the web
site in advance. This committee would also be responsible for any
grandmaster/master simultaneous exhibitions. One might be able to find a
corporate sponsor for the Grandmasters. Must be careful to schedule at
times so it won’t interfere with the first two hours of rounds and should help
to narrow down player free time so they will make better use of food
concessions. Need to be careful not to double schedule a room. This
committee needs to decide how the simuls will be handled, money collected, etc..
This committee needs to provide have a volunteer to introduce the
Grandmasters at both the simuls and each lecture.
€Hospitality Committee This committee needs
to begin about six months in advance. They need to have
completed all plans at least one month in advance.
a. They need to man information booths. These booths need to be clearly
identified and open from 3:00-10:00 pm on Wed, and 7:30 am to 10:00 pm on
Thursday through Sunday. They would provide directions to local places of
interest, restaurants, bus schedules, rental vehicles etc.
b. This committee is responsible for coordinating with the Transportation
Committee for notices at the airport about transportation to the tournament site
area.
c. This group would be responsible for notices welcoming players on any
prominent signs in the area, especially at the airport.
d. This committee is responsible for setting up a Coaches Hospitality Room.
The lounge will be where coaches can pick up team pairings, team
standings, press releases with tournament statistics, etc. This needs to
be physically close to the TD Back Room.
€Hotel Liaison This committee begins work
two-three years in advance. The work continues until after the tournament
is completed.
a. Make sure that hotels abide by the reservation part of the contract.
b. Keep in touch with the hotels about numbers of reservations.
c. Close to the tournament make sure the hotels have plenty of normal and
restaurant staff, especially on Saturday and Sunday.
d. Negotiate to include parking for TDs staying at their hotel.
e. Make sure who you are dealing with at each hotel on a constant basis. Hotels
have a very high turnover rate in personnel.
€Opening Ceremonies Committee This committee
needs to begin nine to twelve months in advance. This committee needs to
have all preparations completed at least one month in advance. They need
to plan what will take place during the opening ceremonies. USCF National
Scholastic Regulations limit the opening ceremonies to 30 minutes! You
want to have some local dignitary present, this assists in providing publicity
to the event.
a. At the beginning of these ceremonies volunteers are needed to help players in
finding their boards.
b. All players should already be at their boards prior to this ceremony
beginning.
c. This ceremony will conclude with the Chief TD giving instructions to the
players.
d. Need raised platforms placed for best viewing by players of those speaking.
e. The Tournament Room needs to be open at least 45 minutes prior to the Opening
Ceremony.
€Post Tournament Committee This group of
people is responsible for things after the tournament has concluded. This
committee needs to begin about one month out.
a. They need to set a policy and be in charge of returning items from the Lost
and Found, if possible.
b. They will be in charge of getting awards to those who did not pick them up.
c. They will be in charge of all Commemorative Items that did not sell during
the tournament.
d. There are three major problems for this committee to consider: 1) all items
need to be removed from the tournament site immediately after the tournament, 2)
where will the items be moved to after the tournament and 3) how long do we
continue to try to contact people about items.
e. They need to set the policy for what will be done with the Commemorative
Items and Lost and Found items not claimed within a reasonable amount of time.
f. There will probably be some TD supplies left over. What should be the
procedure for dealing with them?
€Publicity Committee This committee needs to begin
about eighteen months in advance. Everything, except the commemorative
program booklet handed out at the tournament, needs to be completed at least six
months in advance. The commemorative program booklet should be have the
design completed at least three months in advance, but the number needed won’t
be known until two weeks out. Their duties are as follows:
a. To get out a flyer/booklet at the national scholastic tournaments the
previous year which advertises this tournament.
b. To work with USCF in mailings to scholastic affiliates/members.
c. To contact all local schools, within at least a 200 mile radius, about the
tournament.
d. To arrange for a commemorative tournament booklet for all players at the
tournament. The commemorative program booklet needs to contain
scoresheets. Need to provide oversized scoresheets for all K-3 sections;
if not provided within the commemorative program booklet, they must be provided
separately. This booklet can also be a fund raiser by selling advertising;
especially to next year’s tournaments.
e. To find out when all State Championships are and mail flyers to those held
prior to the advanced entry deadline. This flyer could offer a coupon for
a free commemorative item (pen, key chain, etc.). This will be the best
method of reaching those not affiliated with USCF or attending the previous
year’s nationals. This should be on brightly colored paper.
f. You need to send information to each Scholastic Affiliate in the Fall. The
poster would be ideal for this; however, the poster would have to have your
email address on it.
€Religious Services Committee This is an
optional committee that needs to begin about six months in advance, should you
choose to have it. This needs to be completed at least one month in
advance. This committee needs to arrange for a variety of religious
services at the tournament site or within a close walking distance from the
site. It is extremely important that the times and length of these
services do not interfere with the round times of the tournaments. It is
also important to make sure you have at the minimum the following services:
Non-denominational Christian, Catholic, and Jewish.
€Security Committee This committee needs to
begin about three to six months in advance. All final arrangements should
be completed at least one month in advance. This committee is responsible
for providing the security company both during the tournament hours and during
the non-tournament hours.
a. Need to check with the playing site as to their requirements for security.
b. We need night time guards for the area around the USCF book store, TD Back
Room, Playing Room, Skittles Area, and any other area containing valuable items.
c. The number of night time guards can be reduced if you have a group of
volunteers to sweep ALL areas and usher everyone, except TDs, out of the
buildings and locking all doors behind them. This will probably take five
or six groups of two, each group having one walkie-talkie. This sweep
would take place at 10:00 pm on Wednesday, 11:00 pm on Thursday, 11:30 pm on
Friday and Saturday, and 10:30 pm on Sunday.
d. During the daytime you need four roving guards throughout the entire area.
e. They would make sure there is access to the TD Back Room for the TDs
beginning at 6:30 am each day. The remainder of the building would not be
opened until 7:30 am each day.
f. The security guards would begin about 1:00 pm on Wednesday and continue 24/7
until about 9:00 am on Monday.
g. What security will there be to accompany your concessions people to the bank
to make deposits? This will probably occur once in the afternoon and again
late at night.
€Site and TD Liaison This committee needs to begin at least
twelve months in advance and be completed at least three months in advance.
a. Computers must meet certain minimal standards outlined by the Chief TD.
You want at least one computer for each section. Will need separate
computers for the Blitz and Bughouse. Obtaining computers may be done by
several means:
1. donated
2. rented
3. bought and then sold at the conclusion of the tournament.
b. Printers must be fast. Need one printer for each computer. At
this time the slowest printer should be 12 pages per minute. Need at least
two printers that are very fast (at least 17 pages per minute).
c. The TD Back Room must be the first room accessible and the computer equipment
must be the first equipment delivered to it’s location from whatever storage
is used.
d. Team sheets need to be available at the same time as the posted pairings or
before.
e. Need some place within each section for storing extra pieces and lost
articles. This needs to be a concealed area.
f. The pairings need to be posted at least 30 minutes before Rounds 2-7 and that
is when the Playing Room needs to be opened, if it has been closed. The
pairings need to be posted and the Playing Room opened at least 45 minutes
before the Opening Ceremony.
g. There needs to be a specific area within each section for unpaired players to
go for each round, especially the first round, so that pairing by hand can be
done if desired. This area needs to be clearly marked and have chairs.
h. There needs to be a handout for parents/coaches that is available at Chess
Control and the Coaches Hospitality Room and explains how certain situations
will be handled, such as ³no shows in the first round and other rounds²,
location of pairings, location of standings, location of information booths,
where parents can go and can’t go, the taking of pictures, the use of cell
phones and pagers, penalties for talking or signaling to a player during a
round, etc.
i. Need a place within each section where floor TDs can report violators of
rules so that the other TDs in that section can be made aware of these players.
j. At the time each round is scheduled to end there needs to be a required
meeting with all floor TDs within that section with their Section Chief.
k. Need to have the pairing program set so that no player in any section plays a
player from their own state in at least the first two rounds, preferably the
first three rounds.
l. Should you have Unrated sections? The Scholastic Regulations require
that Unrated players can only play in Championship sections. You can offer
a special section for Unrated players. However, it is suggested that if
this is done it is well advertised over one year in advance and all unrated
players be required to be in this section.
m. Need a contract with each TD. This contract needs to spell out what
that TDs duties will be, when he is expected to arrive and depart, what he will
be paid, and what duties are expected of them. All TDs need to be present
at a briefing meeting before the tournament, the Chief TD will select the time.
Each Floor TD must be present at their section meeting at the conclusion
of each round. Each Floor TD must be present in their section fifteen
minutes prior to the beginning of each round.
It is recommended that you set up a pay scale for paying the TDs.
That flat rate should be enough for the TD to pay their own
transportation, unless you have a method of getting good airfare, and still have
something left over for their services. The order of amount for salaries
from top to bottom would be: 1) Chief TD, 2) Chief Back Room TD and Chief Floor
TD, 3) Section Chiefs (both floor and back room), 4) Asst. Section Chiefs and
all other Back Room personnel, 5) Floor Directors [with a graduated scale for
NTDs, then ANTDs, then Seniors, then Local TDs]. It is recommended to
never use Club Level TDs for a National Scholastic. Local Level TDs should
only be considered when they submit a written recommendation from a Senior Level
or higher TD.
The easiest manner to pick a TD staff is in this order: Chief TD (at
least two years out), then the Chief TD picks the Chief Back Room TD, Chief
Floor Director, and Section Chiefs (at least eight months out). Then the
Section Chiefs pick the TDs to work in their sections. All person’s on
the TD staff must be approved by the Chief TD, the TD Staff is NOT the place
that an Organizer wants to put his friends! Please keep in mind that the
Scholastic Guidelines require the minimum number of TDs with the following
ratios: HS = 1/100, JH/MS = 1/75, and ELEM = 1/50. Based on estimated
attendance per section the Chief TD should let each Section Chief know the
number of TDs to get for his section. The Organizer is the only person who
should have the ability to approve paying someone over the set pay scale.
The following were the numbers of players per section for
SuperNationals II with the number in brackets being the minimal number of TDs
for that section based on the Scholastic Guidelines: K = 122 [3], K-3 U800 = 457
[9], K-3 Champ = 261 [5], K-5 Champ = 379 [7], K-6 U900 = 616 [12], K-6 Champ =
258 [5], K-8 U750 = 345 [5], K-8 U1000 = 416 [6], K-8 Champ = 357 [5], K-9 Champ
= 141 [2], K-12 U1000 = 486 [5], K-12 U1300 = 406 [4], K-12 Champ = 362 [4].
The minimum required number would have been 72 and we had 84. Keep
in mind that the K-5 and below sections need a lot of TDs for the first 30
minutes, especially the Kindergarten section!
n. The first TD meeting must train all Floor TDs how to operate all major types
of clocks.
o. What is the policy about skittles in the Tournament Room?
p. The organizer is expected to provide the TDs with hotel rooms and food.
The food is expected to be both good and plentiful. Remember that a
happy TD makes for a better tournament!
q. Every Section Chief should be required to check in at the conclusion of each
round with the TD Room (Back Room). At the end of one round is when they
should receive the information about membership problems, not at the beginning
or during a round.
r. In a SuperNationals the Elementary TDs are always finished first and should
give the TDs in the JH/MS and HS sections a break before leaving the floor.
s. If the rating supplement that is used comes out a week or less from the first
deadline date, then there should be no section change fee if that change is
required by the new rating.
t. Need to have one person, who has no other duties, to be in charge of updating
the website during the tournament.
u. Need to make sure that sufficient TDs are assigned to the Blitz and Bughouse.
Unless they are specifically assigned you will not have enough! The
more importance an organizer gives the side events the more attendance and
therefore the greater the need to prepare for it just like the main tournament.
v. Announcements to be made at the beginning of EVERY round:
1) When your game is over leave your section and do NOT return until the next
round.
2) It is each player’s responsibility to supply a clock. If you don’t
have a clock or cannot borrow a clock, then begin without a clock.
x. Need to have a private room near the Back Room where the Chief TD can hold
meetings with TDs or hear disputes.
€Team Rooms Committee This committee needs to begin about
eighteen months in advance. All team rooms need to be set up and
advertised for sale at least nine months in advance.
a. They need to decide on the prices of the rooms and setup the procedures for
selling the rooms. b. They are responsible for setting up the teams rooms with
tables and chairs and setting up a registration table for team room check-in.
c. They need to establish a contact person and their hotel for each team
room.
d. Need as many team rooms as is possible. For SuperNationals II we had 42
team rooms and sold them all and had 11 more schools on a waiting list.
€Tournament Finance Committee This committee should begin
planning at least one year in advance. All plans need to be finalized at
least one month out.
a. Responsible of all money at the tournament.
b. Set up policy for handling money.
c. Train all money handlers.
d. Set up ability to take credit cards for purchases (i.e. commemorative items).
e. Possibly try to arrange for portable bank cash machines at the site, if
security arrangements allow it.
f. There will need to be at least two bank deposits made each day, one in the
afternoon and one late at night. How will these be handled and who will do
it?
€Tournament Setup Committee This committee should begin at least
three months before the tournament. The planning should be completed one
month out, but the actual work needs to be completed by 9:00 pm on Wednesday.
This committee is responsible for:
a. Overseeing the setup of the tables and chairs in the Tournament Room,
Skittles Room, and Meeting Rooms.
b. They are responsible for the setting up of the boards and pieces.
c. They are responsible for the setting up of the dividers around each section.
These dividers are usually rented pipe and draperies, which can be very
expensive. Other tournaments have found it more inexpensive to buy PCV
pipe and assemble it into the configurations desired and then sell it at the end
of the tournament.
d. Need raised platforms for parents and media to take pictures. These
should be at least 4 feet tall and located in several locations around the room.
The Chief TD must be consulted about the location of these platforms so as
not to interfere with the smooth operation of the tournament.
e. The tournament room needs to be completely set up on Wednesday. This includes
the numbering of the boards.
f. Need to find tall poles (such as display sign holders used in department
stores) to advertise where each section is located. Perhaps, if enough
could be found, these could be used to display which board numbers are in any
given aisle. They need to be up high so little kids can see them over
taller kids and adults. If PCV pipe is used, large pieces could be used
for corners and some type of sign holder fixed to the top.
g. Need to set up a special place for Kindergarten parents to wait for their
kids.
h. Need to rent tall pipe and draperies for the background for Awards platforms
and photo locations.
€Transportation Committee This committee
needs to begin about twelve to fifteen months in advance. In order to
advertise on the web site all arrangements, this committee needs to complete
their work at least six months in advance. They need to either arrange for
transportation from the airport to the site hotels or coordinate with city
services for the large increase in numbers in the hours before and after the
tournament.
a. Responsible for providing information on web site for getting from airport to
tournament site area.
b. Responsible for providing a list of those rental car companies available at
the airport and their phone numbers on the web site. Need to contact those
rental companies and ask if they would get an extra large number of vans,
preferably 16 passenger vans.
c. Responsible for providing a handout at the airport about transportation from
airport to tournament site area.
d. If there are not adequate enough hotel rooms within walking distance of the
site then you need to find outlying hotels and provide bus transportation from
those hotels to the site. Don’t forget about those people who are
driving to the tournament - they need hotels kind of close; therefore, the
hotels you are providing transportation for should not be within 5 miles or if
they are the directions from those hotels to the site are difficult.
If enough activities are planned at the site, food is adequately
priced, and there is ample space in the playing site; then this transportation
is needed only once in the morning (to arrive at 8:30 am) and twice at night
(Thursday at 8:30 & 9:30, Friday & Saturday at 9:30 & 11:10, and
Sunday at 9:00 & 10:15). Probably the most inexpensive transportation
will be school buses; however, they will probably not be available for Thursday
and Friday mornings. This transportation can be financed by the following:
1) charge all outlying hotels $25 for having a line listing on the website, 2)
charge a 5% rebate of their room rate per room night for all of the hotels from
which you are providing transportation to the playing site, and 3) charge $100
for links to their site and $250 for a page on our server built for them. This
amount should cover about 60% of the cost of the buses.
A problem to be considered is how do you know only the proper people
are riding the bus? The best method for this is to have each school fill
out a form on your website that would contain the following information due two
months prior to the tournament: 1) name of the school, 2) city and state of
the school, 3) hotel where they have reservations, 4) name(s) under which all
reservations have been made, and 5) minimum and maximum numbers of people to
ride the bus (both players and non-players). Ten days before the
tournament this information would be due: 1) name of school, 2) city and state
of the school, 3) person at the tournament who will be in charge of this team,
and 4) names of all individuals (both players and non-players) who will be
riding the free bus transportation. This list can then be given to the bus
drivers to make sure only the proper persons get on the bus or tickets can be
provided. If there is more than one bus picking up at a particular hotel,
then a list of who is assigned to each bus should be posted in the hotel lobby.
Some type of signage should be on the buses to designate hotel designation
and number if more than one for that hotel.
€Vendors Committee This committee is
responsible for assigning booth space for all vendors selling or displaying
items at the tournament. This group has nothing to do with the
Commemorative Items booth.
a. All vendors need to be assigned to the same area.
b. You have three methods to charge vendors: 1) a flat rate, 2) a percentage of
their gross, or 3) a percentage of their net. The rates will depend on the
anticipated attendance. You will find it much easier if you come up with a
set amount for all three areas (such as $750 flat rate, 10% of gross, or 20% of
net) and then let the vendor choose which they want. It is recommended
that if you have a flat rate, that it be a high rate and something extra be
thrown in - like one room in the site hotel.
c. All booths must contain at least one table and two chairs. If they need
more of either, will you charge for this?
d. Unless you have dealt with a specific vendor previously you will need to have
written contracts with each.
e. An area should be supplied with video games and/or carnival activities for
kids between rounds. The more activities the kids have to keep them busy
and at the tournament site, the more receptive the food concessions will be at
keeping prices reasonable and staying open longer hours.
€Volunteers Committee This committee needs
to begin nine to twelve months in advance. Need to have all volunteers
lined up, assigned duties, and informed of those duties at least one month in
advance. After the tournament is over and everyone has gone home, it is
usually the work of this committee that provides the lasting impression of this
tournament!
There needs to be extremely close contact/coordination between this
committee and the other committees to determine how many volunteers are actually
needed in each specific area. Once volunteers are found they need to
receive constant contact. A volunteer is providing their time and efforts
at no charge; however, they need to be paid in appreciation. Part of that
appreciation is to keep in constant contact with ALL volunteers, at least once
every month during the six months. Let the volunteers know the status of
things and as much as possible get their input and ideas - this gives them
ownership and pride.
a. Scorekeepers. A nice added touch is to provide volunteers who are
familiar with the game to keep score for persons who are unable to due to
religious beliefs, such as Orthodox Jews on Saturday. Scorekeeping is the
responsibility of the player, it is their responsibility to provide someone.
This would be a nice service to someone who has traveled a great distance
and was unable to bring a person to keep score.
b. Runners. There are numerous times during a tournament when information
has to be relayed from one point to another and the person on one end does not
have a walkie-talkie. At least two should be available each round.
c. Need to come up with a special method of identification for volunteers by
type. This must be easily noticeable. Different colored hats (the
color for TDs must be distinctively different from volunteers), with the
tournament logo, are recommended because they can be seen for greater distances,
don’t need laundered during the tournament, and can be easily used after the
tournament. If the area is open enough vests can look real nice.
d. One group of volunteers will be needed to keep parents/coaches behind the
barricades to the playing sections. Need at least two per section. They
are also to watch for parents and coaches sending signals to players.
e. One group will be needed to pick up trash between rounds. This type of
trash will mostly be paper cups. Need at least one person per section.
f. Need web site location for volunteers to sign up.
g. Need a volunteer room for check-in, getting assignments, secure place to
leave personal items, etc.
h. Need volunteers as trophy guards (one for each awards platform).
i. A nice thing to provide would be a lockable room set up with computers with
internet access so that players may email home. There needs to be an adult
volunteer on duty in this room at all times it is open.
j. Volunteers will be needed to assist with the Opening Ceremony on Friday
afternoon and the Awards Ceremonies on Sunday evening.
k. Volunteers are needed to man Commemorative Items booth(s).
l. Volunteers are needed by the Hospitality, Entertainment, and Team Rooms
Committees (see committee chairs).
m. All volunteers need to be scheduled in shifts. They need some time off
just to enjoy what is going on. It would be best to have a published
schedule that was available at least 30 days in advance.
n. If Demo Boards are used for the top boards, then this committee is
responsible for getting volunteers to man the Demo Boards during each round.
SuperNationals II had thirteen sections and the top two boards from each
section were in a special section with demo boards for each board and audience
seating (26). It was suggested that only the Championship sections should
have their top boards and then it should be the top two or three board of that
section.
o. Need at least ten volunteers for the Kindergarten section and five more for
the K-3 section to escort these kids to the restrooms. The Kindergarten
volunteers will also be responsible for taking a kid by the hand and escorting
them to their parents.
p. If the decision is made to close the tournament room to skittles games
between rounds, then you need two persons per section to make sure no one plays
skittles (26) or you could reduce these numbers by having two on each entrance
(10).
q. Volunteers are needed to assist security in sweeping the building each night
to make sure all persons are out of the building. This should be at least
five teams of two.
r. Need volunteers to introduce speakers (GM’s) and meetings (one each room).
s. Need at least four volunteers available before every round to post pairings
and standings. Need to have the same people for each round and especially
before the Awards Ceremony. The standings before the Awards Ceremony must
be posted prior to copies being given to those on the stages. Need
to have some kind of display cases for standings so people won’t steal them.
t. Need two volunteers in each section to help with results sheets and putting
scores on forms, this will free up TDs.
u. Must have volunteers to monitor bathrooms.
v. Need to contact local adult chess clubs early (about one year out) and enlist
their support in getting volunteers. Another place to get volunteers
parents who attend the local scholastic tournaments during the six months prior.
w. Greeters - These volunteers are persons who must be available on Thursday and
Friday morning for the purpose of being outside on the sidewalks and near all
entrances to give necessary information about where to go. Maps of parking
and the facility should be available for them to hand out. They must be
familiar with the site. Retired persons groups make excellent volunteers
for this type of activity because they will be available during these times and
not have to take time off of work.
In today’s society people are becoming more and
more reliant on the internet as a method of getting information. For a
National Scholastic tournament to really succeed they must be able to have a
presence on the internet. The first step is to find a reputable,
experienced web master who will not only construct your site, but also register
it. You need to instruct your web master exactly what you desire to be
placed on your web site. A definite advantage to a web site is that if you
need to change something about the tournament and it is on the web site, you
have at least attempted to let people know of the change in advance. The
following are some suggestions of things to be on your web site:
a. Schedule - It is extremely beneficial if you can schedule ALL activities for
your tournament well in advance so that your visitors can better plan their time
prior to actually arriving on site. You also want to list other things to
see and do in the community for families that may plan on making a vacation out
of the trip.
b. Blitz and Bughouse - These side events are very popular with the kids. While
they may not have a lot of value in preparing a young person to become a
grandmaster, they do have a lot of value in helping a player get used to the
site and over their initial jitters about attending a national championship.
The organizer will be able to start off on a strong footing with the
visitors if they treat this tournament just as important as the main tournament
by advertising in advance when and where it will occur, what awards will be
offered, what rules will be followed, and scheduling the awards ceremony at a
time and place where ALL may attend. The entries for these side events
should be posted on the website in the same manner the main tournament entries
are posted. It is also extremely important to post the results on the web
site immediately after the tournament! It is recommended to advertise only
the beginning times of these tournaments and not specific round times; most of
the time they will be able to keep ahead of a planned schedule.
c. Hotels - All hotels that you have contracts with should be listed on your web
site. The information needed is: Hotel name, address, phone, fax #, email
address (if available), room rate, distance from playing site, and any other
information the individual hotels feel is important about their hotel. As
soon as a hotel is full, that fact needs to be added to the site. When all
of these hotels are full, then you need to add other hotels, even if you don’t
have contracts with them - remember the more services you can provide for people
the happier they are. It is recommended to put a map of the area on the
web site to show the exact location of these outlying hotels.
d. Facility - If you could have a virtual tour and/or map of the playing site
available on the web site this is a great aid to people finding their way around
once they arrive on site.
e. Registration - This is a method of providing those individuals who wish to
register online through a credit card to do so. You should also have an
entry form that can be printed off and used for mail entries.
f. Entries - You must have all entries listed as soon as received on the web
site. This web site must tell the players name, id number, rating, school,
section in which entered, and any problems their might be with the entry. In
this manner coaches can check to see that their entries are received and in the
proper section prior to leaving home. This saves a lot of hassles for the
first round. You must list entries for not only the main tournament, but
also the side events.
Blitz and Bughouse entries need to be listed on separate pages
in the same format as the main tournament entries. The results from Blitz
and Bughouse should also be listed in the same format as the main tournament
results. Players and Coaches have come to expect these ³side events²;
therefore, organizers need to pay as much attention to them as they do to the
regular tournament.
g. The web site needs to tell which rating supplement will be used.
h. Have maps on web site that show the areas around the site:
1) Parking
2) Places of interest (site-seeing attractions, theaters, shopping, etc.)
3) Map of board numbering within each section and location of sections within
the room.
4) Map to show the locations of all pairings and results within the building.
i. Need to have an email address on site for corrections to mistakes on posted
entries.
j. Online entries must have email address for response and then need an
automatic response to email confirming receipt of entry.
k. Need the GPS coordinates of the playing site on the web site.
l. Should have hotel listing
set up so that when they click on the word ³Hotels² they go to a new screen
that lists the ³Hotels within Walking Distance², ³Hotels with free bus
transportation provided to site², and ³Other Hotels². You need to make
sure the hotels meet the requirements in the statements on the page.
At the top of the ³bus provided² page should be statements
that these hotels have 1) ³Food available in hotel or within two blocks², 2)
³Located within a low crime area², and 3) ³Transportation from these hotels
to the playing site if provided free of charge ONLY IF you fill out the
appropriate email forms² (See Transportation Committee, #d).
At the top of the ³other hotels² page should be statements that
these hotels have the following: (#1 and #2 above), 3) ³Directions from these
hotels to the playing site are simple and easy to follow², and 4) ³These
hotels are less than a 40 minutes drive during rush hour².
m. Website needs a Transportation Section. This would provide a list of
all airlines and their toll-free numbers. This would also provide a list
of all rental car companies and their toll-free numbers. Any special rates
which have been worked out need to be listed here.
n. It is advisable to have the Chief TD prepare the special Tournament Rules
at least 30 days in advance and have it posted on the website.
o. You will need a minimum of two webmasters. These people will need to
work very closely together. There should be one of them who is clearly in
charge. The tournament can be crippled if something unforeseen would
happen to your ³one² webmaster and there was no one already there to fill in.
Pay them!
p. You might want to check into listing the website at www.trafficmagnet.net
or other similar sites.
q. Need to have a Tournament Info email available. This needs to be
an email to one person who is up-to-date on all facets of the tournament,
probably the organizer. This person needs to check their email at least
once each day and promptly reply to all inquiries - most will be very simple.
The last month you can plan on about 30 emails per day and prior to that
only about 5 per day.
Other items to be considered that were mentioned by some
persons at SuperNationals II
1. Need good pre-tournament communications between presenters/ vendors and
the organizer.
2. Can’t have all wood sets/boards at the top boards. Some coaches want
their kids to be relaxed and play on normal sets (i.e. plastic pieces).
3. Some coaches mentioned that you might get more entries to the side events if
we offered an incentive. Something to consider would be a $50 combined
advanced entry fee for the main tournament, Blitz, and Bughouse. If
someone entered all three in advance you might include a free T-shirt or
scorebook or something.
4. Need to have extra scoresheets at each TD table.
5. Need to have a pencil sharpener at each TD table.
6. The standings need to be posted before the pairings for Round 7.
Do not consider or use this work as a Bible! It
is simply a starting place. I have tried my best to remember all of the
important points I could and include them. However, no sooner do I shut
down the computer each time when I remember something else.
One of the great things about Scholastic Chess is that it continues to
evolve primarily due to the limitless imaginations of those involved. Be
sure to listen to the kids, for in their wisdom lie many of the keys for success
in these tournaments. Please don’t ever lose sight of the fact that we
are doing this for kids and not adults!