I hope that it is correct to use this forum for this kind of post...

I have been attending HSCA events with my daughter for the last year
now and we have enjoyed them thoroughly. A thought occurred to me
though that these events could be used not only for competition, but
education as well. Perhaps for an event scheduled to start at
9:30AM, mini-seminars could be offered starting at something like
8:45 for students. There could be three seminars running in
parrallel at three different levels that could each cover one topic
for about 30 minutes and students could determine which one they
would be interested in based on their abilities.

There would be some logistical problem (namely finding places to do
it), but I would expect that with all of the chess coaches attending
the events, it should be possible to find three volunteers per month
to teach the seminars (and H.S. students could probably even be used
in some of the beginner classes).

It just seems like an idea like this would provide a greater
incentive to attend the event (and be on time!) and help strengthen
chess in the Houston area as well.

Regards,
Curtis Thetford