We had an "off-day" yesterday as we were attending several situations in our business on a busy Monday, yet we appreciate the questions coming into our "bureau" for answering. 1. Is the taxi at the airport pre-paid or do we pay the taxi when we arrive at the hotel?
The airport taxi is pre-paid in order to avoid the trampling of tourists, so their fee is paid at a booth. My wife Claudia Munoz as well as my teenage daughter Faith will be receiving the American and Canadian Delegations at the airport on October 1, 2009. For those that have participated in international tournaments, you know that never has a Head of Delegation or an assistant ever waited on you in an airport - we are to break that mold. Because we realize that their is a language issue, Claudia my wife, will be at the airport to receive you and make sure that you get on the correct taxi with clear indications to the driver. I will be at the hotel lobby waiting for both delegations. We had always stated the things we would do differently if we ever were in the position to head a team, now is our chance. We hope that the standard we set will forever be followed by other delegations. The only family we might not be able to provide airport service is for the parents of Deepak Aaron who arrive on September 30 at 8:50 p.m. We also should be arriving on the 30th, but after a long 20-hour drive from the U.S.-Mexico border. I might be to knocked out to get out to the airport. By the way, the picture of the vehicule you see above, it is called a "PULMONIA". Those carts are the taxis used in Mazatlan, however, from the airport to the city, you will probably ride in a regular vehicule.
2. What is the hotel website address?
www.olasaltasinn.com.mx
3. Will Monroi annotators be allowed in the tournament?
In 2007, the tournament itself was broadcast by Monroi, however only the top 3 boards were transmitted. I would believe that in this tournament as well Monroi's can be used. I will probably know more about this after the technical meeting on October 1, 2009.
4. Is my son allowed to give a souvenir to his opponent prior to the game?
In 2007, we saw a Canadian girl, who later went on win the gold medal, give her opponents a souvenir prior to the first move. We thought greatly about that generous act because it was a lesson in international chess. Our children will have the opportunity to interact for several day with children from other nations. Irregardless of the policies and politics of our three countries with each other, our children are free of those politics. I would not only suggest BUT HIGHLY ENCOURAGE that every player on both American and Canadian teams buy an inexpensive gift to give as a token of friendship to their opponents. The Canadian girl, whose name I believe was Alexandra, she gave her opponents a post card with her name, email address and messenger. I would notice the smile that her opponents would give when they received such thoughtful gift. Since that day, we have followed Alexandra's example. In the Pan American 2008, our daughter purchased some postcards from Texas to give as a friendship token to the 9-competitors from South America and the Carribean she faced. When she was invited by GM Susan Polgar to the Susan Polgar Invitational 2009 at Texas Tech University, we were asked to bring a gift indicative of our state to be given to the first round opponent, so Claudia brought a can of PACE PICANTE SAUCE, which she gave to the representative of Vermont. So, I would HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you as parents to bring this up with your children - it is a friendship seed which will sprout into long lasting friendships in international chess.
Tomorrow I will be posting the names and ratings of the official players of Mexico for this NAYCC 2009.
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