02.25.19 Maine's largest tournament of the year is just a few days away. The Maine Scholastic Team Chess Championships are scheduled for Saturday, March 2nd at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. In this post, we bring you some important information regarding the tournament including parking, registration, payment, food, and a snow date in case of inclement weather.

Thanks to Michael Dudley for contributing to this report.

Information

Registration Form

Rules Supplement

Hello, Coaches, Parents, Players, Drivers, and Volunteers!

Five days and counting until the event! Some frequently asked questions about Team States are coming up, and I want to answer all of them to all of you so that we are all on the same page. In an effort to remain consistent, I'll be referring some of these answers to previous Coaches' Memos regarding particular issues; others are new issues that have come up.

1) PARKING: Parking will be in two locations, the Hollywood Casino parking garage (which is free) for cars, and the Bass Park parking lot for buses. Buses should drop their teams off at the Rotunda Entrance on Buck Street and park up the hill at Bass Park.

2) PAYMENT: In order to reduce the amount of effort spent tracking down coaches for payment, we are requiring payment at the door upon arrival. Teams must have submitted payment to Shannon Levesque (MECA Treasurer) at the door before the beginning of the event. Teams who have not paid before 9:15 will not be paired. The ability to pay with cash, check, or card will be available. Furthermore, MACC can refund check overages with cash. Receipts will be available.

2a) CHECKS: Checks must be made out to the Maine Association of Chess Coaches. The address for MACC is 255 French Street, Bangor, Maine, 04401. If your school is paying with a check and bureaucratic processes prevent you from bringing a check on time, please email me in advance so we can discuss your options for payment.

3) SUBMISSIONS: All submissions must be put in through the Google form. No email, print, phone, fax, or any other submissions through any other means will be accepted. That said, if you are having trouble with submitting your team's roster, please email me as soon as possible.

4) DAY-OF REGISTRATION: There is none. All teams must be registered by 11:59:59 PM on Thursday, 28 February 2019. If you're in doubt about the makeup of your roster, register as many players as you can and we can scratch them later. That is much easier than registrations on the day!

5) FOOD: The Cross Insurance Center allows no outside food or beverages. A food vendor will be available on site, and there are several restaurants within a few blocks of the Cross. However, if a student on your team has a documented medical condition or allergy, the Cross is prepared to accommodate those individual scenarios. Please email me for details or questions.

6) SNOW DATE: There is the possibility of a mix of rain and snow on Saturday settling in by mid-afternoon. If snow does rear its ugly head, it looks to be light. That said, we are planning a potential snow date of March 23rd. Please stay posted!

7) QUESTIONS: I am always open to more questions! That said, some of them might have already been answered by me in previous emails or in the tournament literature. Please check your Coaches' Communiques or the tournament literature online before you send in a question...there may already be an answer!

Thanks again, and we're excited for the countdown to States!

My best,

--Mike Dudley
Maine Chess Association President