An official end of the 2008 SPNI no comments
Source: Susan Polgar Blog
The last SPNI players and their parents were picked up and brought to the airport. This marks the official end of the highly successful and enjoyable 2008 SPNI.
Special thanks to Jerry Perez, Dr. Hal Karlsson, Dr. Rich Rice, Chase Watters, Peggy Flores, Paul Truong, Mr. and Mrs. Grimaud, Randy Wheeless, and all other volunteers for transporting the players and their families from and to the airport. This was truly a team effort to provide first class service to all the players and their families.
I am looking forward to even a bigger and better 2009 SPNI. None of the players have visited the magnificent Texas Tech Campus prior to this event. At the end in the players’ survey, approximately 40 of the 52 players expressed interest to attend TTU in the future. In fact, some have started the process to apply.
The idea of SPICE is not to compete with incredible college programs like UTD and UMBC, etc. My idea is to provide young players with the opportunity to earn scholarships to attend a wonderful and supportive university like Texas Tech. While getting an excellent education, they would also have a chance to improve their chess by receiving weekly instruction from me and to stay active and compete in chess. Without this opportunity, many will just drop out of chess.
Once again, special thanks to TTU and all our sponsors, as well as everyone who was involved in putting together a fantastic event.
Source: Susan Polgar Blog