Liverpool Quadrangular

[David G Congalton]

The costs need to be fair & to do that is charge everyone the same but to make that fair you need to work out the costs for the players & officials first - then the parents.

Jacqui, the costs were fair and all players were charged the same. All parents were e-mailed on Sunday 21st October with as much detail about the trip as I had at the time. The parents received one of two e-mails depending on whether they had booked the Premier Inn themselves or required accommodation provisionally booked on behalf of Chess Scotland. For the sake of clarity I have posted below the entire original e-mail sent to those who had not booked independently. The e-mail does contain a couple of errors, such as bus drop off point, that were corrected in subsequent correspondence.

From the e-mail you will see that the basic price for a player was £80 and that this only went up when an adult decided to accompany them.

Dear All,

Firstly, I would like to congratulate all those selected to represent Scotland at this years Liverpool Quadrangular tournament. Since my return to playing chess in the last three or four years I have certainly seen an increase in the number of good junior players taking part in events during that time and it is a great achievement to be one of those selected.

In order to plan and organise everything I would be grateful if you could let me know, as soon as possible -

• who will be accompanying the selected player(s)?
  
  Chess Scotland has booked rooms at the Premier Inn for the squad and this will allow me to allocate rooms to players and their families. Please let me know as soon as possible so that I can make the necessary arrangements.
  
  I am assuming, unless otherwise advised, that everyone travelling (adults and children) will need a seat on the bus but would be grateful if you could confirm the number of seats required and your pick up point.
  
  I’m also assuming that everyone will take advantage of the special meal prices and all meals (except Friday and Sunday evening at the service station coach stop) are included in the price below. I would be grateful if you could confirm the number for meals and any special dietary needs. The restaurant does cater for vegetarian diets and other special dietary choices or needs.
  
  On Friday and Sunday evening those travelling by bus should bring some money with them if they wish to get something to eat at Gretna Services.

Once I have the information above I will be able to advise exactly how much cost of the trip will be.

As I mentioned, this year we have decided to use the Liverpool West Derby Premier Inn as the accommodation base for the squad, instead of the hostel type accommodation used last year, which was generally felt to be only just adequate. Unfortunately, this makes the cost slightly more expensive than last year but is more than compensated by the higher standard of the accommodation, as well as excellent value for breakfasts and the Saturday evening meal.

The cost of the trip for those that have not independently booked accommodation is outlined below. This price includes

• Two night’s accommodation in a family room at the Liverpool West Derby Premier Inn. Players travelling on their own will be accommodated in a shared room with up to two other players
  
  return coach travel from one of the pick up points on Friday and Sunday
  
  return travel to the playing venue on the Saturday and travel to the venue on Sunday
  
  breakfast on Saturday and Sunday
  
  lunch on both days
  
  evening meal on the Saturday at the Beefeater restaurant adjacent to the Premier Inn

Price with accommodation
Price
1 Junior £ 80.00
1 Adult + 1 Junior £ 220.00
1 Adult + 2 Juniors £ 255.00
2 Adults + 1 Junior £ 280.00
2 Adults + 2Juniors £ 315.00
2 Adults + 3 Juniors £ 350.00



The provisional travel schedule is –

FRIDAY 30TH NOVEMBER

1400HRS DEPART DUNDEE RAILWAY STATION LAY BY RIVERSIDE DRIVE

1445HRS PERTH BROXDEN SERVICES

1530HRS EDINBURGH FORTH ROAD BRIDGE CAR PARK ON LEFT

1615HRS BOTHWELL SERVICES

1815HRS GRETNA SERVIES WELCOME BREAK (45MIN STOP)

TRAVEL TO LIVERPOOL -

SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER

AM (TIME TO BE CONFIRMED) DEPART WEST DERBY PREMIER INN TO LIVERPOOL COLLEGE SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR COMPETITION

RETURN BACK TO WEST DERBY PREMIER INN AFTER COMPETITION

SUNDAY 2ND DECEMBER

0900HRS DEPART WEST DERBY PREMIER INN TO LIVERPOOL COLLEGE SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR COMPETITION

1330HRS DEPART LIVERPOOL COLLEGE SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR RETURN JOUNREY

1600HRS GRETNA SERVIES WELCOME BREAK

1800HRS BOTHWELL SERVICES

1845HRS EDINBURGH FORTH ROAD BRIDGE CAR PARK ON LEFT

1930HRS PERTH BROXDEN SERVICES

2000HRS DUNDEE RAILWAY STATION LAY BY RIVERSIDE DRIVE

The provisional playing schedules are –

Saturday – 1.30pm to 7.00pm
Sunday – 10.00am to 12.30pm

However, Peter Purland of the ECF is currently abroad on holiday and quoted these times from memory. He is back on the 5th of November when I will confirm the times with him.

The Saturday playing session has an impact on the evening dinner time. The restaurant has scheduled the squad in for 7pm but this shouldn’t be too much of an issue as the venue is only 10 to 15 minutes from the Premier Inn.

In the next few days I shall send out parental consent forms and medical information forms (which obviously will be confidential) for the children taking part. I would be grateful if you could take the time to complete them and get them back to me as soon as you can.

Finally, I’m sure Robin or Donald will correct me if any of this information is incorrect or has been changed but if you have any questions, concerns or need any further information please let me know and I will do my best to help.

Kind Regards

David Congalton
Finance
Chess Scotland