What is the event crew?

When the last game ends, someone carries the result to the computer and hangs up the new pairings. That someone is the crew. Every chess event has a crew of helpers. The players look only at their own boards, so the crew takes care of everything else. They set up the room and keep the day on time. Help on the crew once, and you see a tournament from the inside. Any event counts: a club night with a mini tournament, or a school tournament. A weekend tournament that anyone can enter counts too.

The jobs

• Before the round, set up the boards, pieces and clocks.
• Show each player to the right board.
• When a game ends, collect the result from that board.
• Bring the results to the grown-up who types them in.
• Hang up the new pairings, the lists of who plays whom, for the next round.
• Reset the boards between rounds, and tidy up at the end.

The next round can only start when the last game has ended. That is why the crew watches every board.

One crew rule

The crew never decides what is right or wrong in a game. When something is wrong at a board, a player stops the clock and calls the arbiter, the chess referee. Your job is to fetch the arbiter, fast and quietly. Walk softly and talk only away from the boards, because the players need quiet to think.

Who sets up an event, and how you join

A grown-up is always in charge: a coach, a teacher, a parent or an organizer. An organizer is the person who plans the event. Before the event, ask that grown-up if you can help. Start small, at a club night or a school mini tournament, and say which jobs you can do. Every crew loves the helper who stays until the last board is packed away.

How you get the sticker

Your grown-up or coach checks it and hands you the sticker. The grown-up who ran the event can tell your grown-up or coach what you did. If you have no club, a chess day at the library counts. Your grown-up at home can check it too. Did you help at an event before you had the passport? It still counts.