Andrew Giblon Head of Delegation - Introductory Email September 11

Hi all. Many of you already know me, and I’d like to introduce myself to those of you who don’t. Please bear with the length of this email, as there is much to communicate and to do between now and the WYCC.

I am Andrew Giblon – I am both honoured and excited to have been selected as Head of Delegation (“HOD”) for our Canadian WYCC 2011 team. I have served as Assistant to the Canadian HOD at the WYCC in 2009 and 2010, and at the NAYCC in 2011. This will be my fourth time in the past five years attending the WYCC, so I have considerable relevant experience at what happens at this type of tournament. I have also become an average adult tournament chess player (about 1500 rating) within the past 3 years by learning chess with my daughters, so I have at least some appreciation of your games and what you are going through as players, and a good understanding of chess tournament rules (although I am not trained or certified as an Arbiter). 

Gary Gladstone, who is well known and respected in the chess community, has been selected to serve as Assistant HOD. Gary was previously a CFC Governor, is an active chess parent in the CMA and CFC community, and he also served as Captain of the Canadian Team at the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad Team in 2010, so Gary has significant relevant experience for this type of tournament. Gary will be assisting me and the delegation with all of the tasks mentioned below.

Patrick McDonald, our CFC Youth Co-ordinator, is in the process of finalizing several key tasks:

·         List of all players and accompanying persons

·         Hotel selection

·         Costs and payments due, with the help of my wife Cheryl Giblon

In preparation for this trip, I have already sent several emails to the team about visas to Brazil, vaccinations, time zone differences, funding to the team, payments due to the CFC, deadlines, hotel booking, coaches, pre-WYCC tournaments, WYCC tournament schedule (double-round days), WYCC tournament regulations (lateness), etc. Once Patrick’s activities listed above are finalized, and so that you are aware of how I can help you, I will have primary responsibility for a number of tasks, mostly once we arrive in Brazil:

·         Organize our Canadian team activities, provide updates to the team

·         Provide guidance about the tournament conditions, e.g. double-round days, lateness to games, how to file a protest, etc.

·         Liaise with the WYCC organizers, the CFC Youth Co-ordinator, and the CFC

·         Ensure that everyone on the Canadian team has a hotel room, is registered in the tournament, and gets an accreditation badge

·         Organize daily Canadian team meetings to provide updates, recognize big achievements, answer questions, address concerns, circulate the daily WYCC bulletin (which includes game score sheets from the previous day)

·         Assist with any protests by or against the Canadian team, mediate any conflicts within the team, assist with medical or safety issues, etc.

This is by far the largest team that Canada has ever sent to the WYCC: at last count (and these numbers are still subject to change), we have 42 players and 35 accompanying persons, for a total of 77 in our contingent, so we need to be highly organized.

Please keep in mind that everyone mentioned in this email is an unpaid volunteer. Gary and I are committed to helping to make this event a memorable and positive experience for each of you. In order to make that happen, we will need your help for several additional key volunteer positions, so please let me know ASAP if you want to volunteer yourself or someone else you know is capable for this role:

1.       Coaches. We already have one confirmed coach, IM Nikolay Noritsyn. Nikolay was Canadian champion in 2007 (second youngest ever at age 16), and a member of the 2008 and 2011 Canadian Olympiad team. Nikolay has been coaching for many years, including at the Roman Pelts Chess Academy, as well as private students including his brother Sergey who this year became Canadian Boys U8 champion. Given our team size, in my opinion we need at least 3 coaches (for example, the US has a ratio of about 7 players per coach), and it will still be more than a full-time commitment from each coach. We also have 2 additional qualified applicants who have been identified in earlier emails. We will be working with Patrick and with the CFC to determine what is feasible. Each coach is expected to set up a daily schedule with their assigned players for pre-game preparation and post-game analysis. We will also explore the possibility of having some type of pre-WYCC training, e.g. a camp (not easy with people from across Canada), circulate puzzles via email, etc.

2.       Blog Writers / Editor. We need someone who takes primary responsibility to write and post a short article each day with our highlights, e.g. total team score, major upsets, big comeback wins, observations about Brazil and Caldas Novas, etc. Hopefully, many parents and players will want to post articles as well. For good examples, please see http://wycc2010.blogspot.com/ and http://2009cyct.blogspot.com/

3.       Photographers. We need ideally 2-3 volunteers (given our team size) who can take a photo of each of our children just prior to each round, ideally shaking hands with their opponent. Professional experience is not necessary. This is an intense task for about 30 minutes each day and it’s best to write down the board numbers of your assigned players / sections in advance. Then the photos (as well as any videos taken) need to be uploaded to our team blog.

4.       Fundraising Lead. We are anticipating some additional expenses, e.g. for additional coaches and perhaps for team shirts, that will require additional funds. I would like someone to take the lead to help look for corporate sponsors and to organize fundraising events, e.g. simul exhibition, car wash, etc. Funds would be used for the benefit of the entire team, not just individual players.

I also want to bring to everyone’s attention that we have some players on our team who had outstanding performances at recent WYCCs:

1.       Richard Wang, WYCC Boys U12 bronze medal winner, 2009

2.       Qiyu Zhou, WYCC Girls U8 silver medal winner, 2008 (and Girls U10 6^th place, 2010)

Next steps for everyone include:

·         Finalize your participation and hotel selection with Patrick, if not already done.

·         Arrange your payment with Gerry at the CFC office.

·         Obtain your Brazil visa.

If you are no longer going to the WYCC and want to be removed from this distribution list, or if you know of anyone who is missing from this list, please let me know.

If you have something you would rather discuss privately with me, please email me and we can set up a time to talk.

Regards,

Andrew Giblon