On July 28th from 7:30 am to 1:30 am, AYLUS volunteers helped coordinate the First Chess in the Park Chess Tournament at Allenwood Park! For the volunteers, the day was broken up into three parts: set up, proctoring, and clean up.
Set up took place from 7:30 to 10:00 am, where volunteers helped set up the playing hall. Chairs and tables were hauled over from a van to the park, boards and pieces were set up on the tables, and refreshments were given out to players. After the playing hall was set up at 9:00 am, volunteers helped usher in players and parents into their respective seating areas. Players were checked into the front desk, and parents found seating at benches that volunteers had moved over.
10:30 am marked the official start of games and the tournament. Pairings were given out to all the players, and organizers announced the rules for the event. While games were being played out, AYLUS volunteers had the responsibility to record the results of matches on their phones and to set up the boards. After each game was done, players were ushered from their board to a sitting area to wait for the next round. There were 7 rounds total, going from 10:30 am to 12:30 am.
Finally at 12:30 am, the end of the tournament, came the awards ceremony. All players were given favors of some toys, and the top three winners in each section (unrated, U800, and Open) were given prizes of Pokemon Cards, Stuff Animals, and Legos.
Concluding the end of the tournament, AYLUS volunteers helped clean up the playing hall, returning all chairs and tables back to the van and making sure the park was as clean as they had left it.
Overall, the First Chess in the Park Tournament at Allenwood Park could not have been this successful without the gracious help of volunteers. The help of AYLUS ensured that all players and parents understood where they were supposed to go and what they were supposed to do. Many parents and children were grateful for the event and hoped that another one would happen in the future.
Volunteers: Jake Wu, Jonathan Fan
Hours: 6 hours each
