UTRECHT, the Netherlands - The World Mahjong Championship is made by the people who remain backstage. Els, Diana and Marco Kuijpers run the Daja Shop, but they also do all kinds of jobs for the organization.

The volunteers

“Can you can back later?” Els Kuijpers is a bit stressed today, the last day of the World Championship. Since she has a beautiful handwriting, Jeroen Meijers of the Organizing Committee has just asked her to fill in the names of all players on the certificates they will receive after the tournament. That means writing 208 names.
Daja is a commercial hobby of John and Els Kuijpers. They are selling mahjong stuff; mostly on line, but at most tournaments in the Netherlands they have a little stand where they sell their things. It was also Dajamahjong that provided the sets for the World Championship. The participants apparently like them: all sets are sold out.
Jeroen Meijers: “We had ordered sixty sets for the event. The Dutch mahjong association has bought 25 of them, for its own tournaments. The rest of the sets is for sale.”
But after the first day of the world championship, all the sets already were sold. “In the advance sales, not many sets were ordered. So we were a bit surprised by the massive demand.”

Water

During the first two days of the WMC, the shop was located in the Grand Cafe of the Venue, because of the bad weather. “There were large pools of water on the location if the stand. Not until yesterday we could build the stand. But first people had to pump away the water, and after that some cubic meters of sand were brought in.”
The people of the stand not only sell things, they also do all kinds of jobs for the organization. You want to join the dinner? Just tell Diana, John’s and Else’s daughter. (By the way, she studies in Japan, so every now and then she provides Daja with the latest mahjong stuff from that country.) You want to pick up your EC Riichi T-shirt which Gemma Collinge has sent? Turn to the Daja stand. You want to buy some of the merchandising of the Colombine House, the mascot of the WMC. You know where to go.
Els comes running in, finally.
How are the sales going, Els.
“Very well, thanks.”
And off she goes again. Still one hundred certificates to go.

More info on the website of Dajamahjong.