T. H. Rogers to Host Chess Tournament October 8th
Hopefully this email finds everyone
well, that you are getting your lives and homes back in order, and
your cars have gas. If school was in session today, we would have
spent a lot of time talking to the kids about the chess tournament
we are hosting in 11 days. However, there is no school, so please
read all of the following information.
T. H. Rogers will host the Houston Chess Association's (HCA)
October tournament. This is a terrific opportunity for lots of
our students to participate in a tournament and see what it is
like. HCA runs the major scholastic tournaments in the city,
sponsoring one a month during the school year. Our October
tournament has grown into the largest local scholastic event
during the Fall semester. As such, we will need a lot of
volunteer help. Again, please read the following information
carefully and because time is short, register for the tournament
and sign up to volunteer right away.
Playing in the Tournament
Like most scholastic events, this will be a 5 round swiss-style
tournament. That means everyone plays all 5 rounds. No one is
eliminated. The tournament will take most of the day. Check-in
will be from 8:30 - 9:00 am. Rounds will begin around 9:30 am.
Awards will be handed out around 4:30 pm. Parents, please note:
this is not school and this is not baby-sitting. Not every parent
needs to be there all day, but if you will not be there, you must
make specific arrangements with another parent who accepts
responsibility for watching your child. You may not just drop
your child off and leave. If this is your child's first
tournament, I would recommend highly that you be there for the
entire day.
We expect virtually all of you who signed up for chess team to
participate in this event. Unless you have a direct conflict,
this will be the easiest tournament to get to for the entire
semester. Children not on the team can also participate. We do
ask, however, that they have passed the club's pawn test before
entering any tournament. The pawn test just shows that they know
the rules of the game. If they don't know the rules and can not
pass the test, then they don't belong in a tournament yet. Beyond
that, local tournaments are designed so that children at all
playing levels can participate in an appropriate section and have
a chance of success. They don't have to be the best players in
the school or in their grade, just have an interest in playing.
If you plan on participating:
- You have a choice of sections.
If this is your very first tournament and you are wondering
if you will like it, you can opt to play in one of the
non-USCF sections. These unrated sections give students the
opportunity to try playing in a tournament without investing
the $13 to become a United States Chess Federation (USCF)
member. Also, the rules are a little less strict regarding
the use of clocks, etc. If you are not on the T. H. Rogers
chess team, you may choose which ever section you want to play
in, USCF G/30 or non-USCF.
If you are on the chess team, we expect you to play in a
USCF rated section. If your rating is under 1200, check G/30
(G/30 refers to the time control on the clock. It gives each
side 30 minutes.) If your rating is between 1200 - 1400, you
can choose G/30 or G/45. If it is over 1400, you should be
playing G/45.
Please check the expiration of your USCF membership.
Probably half of the club expires in October. While you can
can join or renew on the day of the tournament, it really
slows down the registration process. Therefore, we are asking
that you take care of this now. You can join or renew online
by clicking
here or by calling 1-800-388-KING (388-5464). A
Scholastic membership for children 14 and under costs
$13/year. A Youth membership for kids aged 15-19 is $20/year.
Discounts are available for multi-year memberships. See the
web site for details. Please take care of this right away.
If you do it online, please print a receipt. You may need to
show it at registration Saturday, October 8th. If you are
joining the USCF for the first time, and your child played in
any of our in-house tournaments last year, please contact
me first:
timartha@swbell.net. I will need to give you their JTP
(junior tournament player) number so they do not end up with 2
records at the USCF. This applies only to those who have
never paid for a USCF membership, but still played in our
inhouse tournaments last year.
- If you need a bye.
<>In the past, we have had a number of parents ask if their
children could participate in just part of the chess
tournament. The point of hosting a tournament is to encourage
participation, to allow kids the opportunity to play who might
not try a tournament otherwise. Therefore, we are again
allowing "byes" for a maximum of 2 of the 5 rounds. For
example, if a child needs to miss the entire morning for a
soccer game or whatever, but can get there by the start of the
12:30 round, they can play the 3 afternoon rounds. Of course,
they would have to understand they won't be in the running for
a top finish.
So, how does this work? If the student asks for a one round
"bye" in advance, they would be given a 1/2 point for that
round. If they need to miss 2 rounds, they would get no
points for the 2nd missed round. In other words they would
come into round 3 with a 1/2 point.
The restrictions would be:
- Mr. Liptrap would have to know by 4 pm October 7th how
many and which rounds.
- Byes will be given for 2 rounds at most.
- Only one half point will be awarded whether the student
misses one or two rounds.
Dealing with exceptions is always a lot of work. Please do
not ask for a bye frivolously. Legitimate direct conflicts
are the only reason to request one.
- Get your entry form and payment in
in a timely manner.
<>Entry forms can be printed from:
http://www.chess.jliptrap.us/hcathr05.htm. If you plan
on mailing it, you should do it right away. Once you
register, please email me that you will be attending. To get
the lower $10 rate, entry forms must be postmarked by October
3rd and include payment. October 3rd is this coming Monday.
You may also register online at:
http://chess.jliptrap.us/enter.htm
and pay $12 that Saturday morning.
Parent Volunteers
We will need significant parental support to make this a fun and
successful event. As you know from our parent orientation
meetings in August, we ask every family to provide at least 3
hours of help to the chess club per semester. You don't need to
know how to play chess yourself, as we have many non-chess related
needs.
For this tournament, I need parents to help with the following:
- Friday Afternoon / Night Setup:
This is a big job. In particular, I could use some dads to help
get the protective floor down in the gym and to get the tables and
chairs moved in. The tables need to be set up and tagged with
board numbers. The cafeteria needs to be arranged, signage put
up, balloon swords made, .... We will start all of this at 3 pm,
Friday afternoon. Last year, with a big crew, we were done around
6 pm.
- Saturday Volunteers:
We will need people to work the concession
stand (selling pizza, juice, muffins, etc... starting around 8
am), working the goodie table (making snow cones, popcorn, handing
out prizes, etc....), and supervising the playground areas.
- Saturday Cleanup: Tables
and chairs have to be stacked, the floor rolled up, the cafeteria
cleaned.... Again, it would help to have some dads to manhandle
the flooring and the tables.
We have just a week and a half to pull this together. Yachin Bao,
our club's volunteer coordinator, and I are looking forward to hearing
from you soon!!
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