Holding a chess tourney over holidays is not easy but volunteers get things done

#ChesswithCoachLarry

Now that the hubbub of the holidays is behind us, we have a moment to reflect. How did everything get done? We had school plays, church programs, sporting events and other yearend celebrations. Volunteers! Parents, Teachers, students, friends and others pitched in and worked together and made events happen.

A good example was the chess tournament that Holy Trinity Catholic School held over the Christmas break. They had no idea how to organize or conduct a chess tournament, but they knew enough to ask me for help. And I know enough to enlist a registered tournament director (David Murray) to handle the official rules and regulations of the tournament.

To help with the planning and operation, the call went out to the parents to volunteer, and many stepped forward. Some knew nothing about chess but still wanted to help. Volunteers did their part to put together a flyer to send out, posted information on the web, got trophies, bought snacks for the concession stand, arranged playing rooms and set up chess boards. This is what needs to be done before the tournament even starts.

During the tournament we had to make sure each player got to the right board and got all their questions answered. As the games ended, we kept track of the results so we could do the player pairings for the next round.

At the end we gave out trophies to the winners. There were winners and losers. Laughter and crying from the players. Many said they were looking forward to the next tournament. Success!

I would like to thank the following volunteers who made the tournament happen: Bushra Ayoub, Genny Richardson. Maureen Caldwell, Danny Mamchik and Thu Mai. Thu’s son Henry and daughter Vianna helped and played in the tournament too.

Principal Ashley Sheridan was the driving force working to make the chess tournament a success. There’s no substitute for a fearless leader!  But don’t forget to thank the volunteers who get things done behind her.

If you would like more information or a flyer, please contact Coach Larry (larryball48@yahoo.com).

Chess lessons make a great Christmas gift. If you have a child or grandchild interested in chess and would like one-on-one private lessons, please contact Coach Larry (larryball48@yahoo.com)