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We will be having a meeting of all of the
chess team parents and students after chess club next Tuesday, from
4:30 - 5:30 pm. We will plan on an hour meeting, but hope that it will
take less time. We have a number of things to discuss.
If the Elementary and Middle School teams want to do well at the state
(and possibly national) competitions this spring, they have some work to
do between now and then. While they did well this past Saturday, the
reality is they have a ways to go to be competitive at the state level.
Our wins are based on their playing in lower level divisions, which is
possible at HSCA tournaments. At state and national meets, the divisions
are based on grade ranges (1, 2. and 3 = primary, 4 and 5 = elementary,
6, 7, and 8 = middle school....) So, you don't get lower ranked 7th
graders able to play with 1st graders. The only ability divisions are
between varsity and junior varsity levels within their grade range. Right
now, we have only 2 middle school players with ratings over 900 (varsity
level for middle school), only one over 800 at the elementary level (4th
and 5th grades) and only two over 700 in primary. We would need at least
4 in each group to field a full varsity team in the 3 grade ranges. This
is a bright group of kids and with the right effort and focus, I think
they could be very competitive by March. But, it will take some work.
The big question is how many of our kids are even interested in working
harder for a bigger pay off. We push them hard academically, so it is
fine with me if the answer is they are happy with their chess just the way
it is. However, if they want to be a competitive team by next March, we
need to start working towards that goal now. I am just trying to guage
interest right now.
So, please talk to your kids about their chess playing. How interested
are they in working for a higher goal? The kids have a full week off at
Thanksgiving, 2.5 weeks at Christmas and another week in March.. We
might want to set up some special training times during those periods.
Would you/your child be interested?
So, come with your calendar and have given the issues some thought.
Martha
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