Dear Players, Coaches, Parents, Family, and Volunteers,
First, thank you all for coming out to participate in our 2022 Metro Atlanta State Qualifier Event.
Two months ago when I took over the responsibility of GCA, I was told that it was impossible to put together a State Qualifier in time for the 2021-2022 calendar year. Well, this past Saturday we did just that, Scholastic Chess at the Championship level is back and well in Georgia. Thank you to all the players, coaches, volunteers, and parents who worked so hard on such short notice to make this a reality. I sincerely appreciate each one of you!
I wish I could say that we pulled it off without a hitch. I was not expecting that to happen and chose my shirt for the day appropriately (“I never lose, I either win or I learn”). Suffice to say I went home after a long day on Saturday, but with a lot of lessons to come back stronger next year! The three big problems we will improve for our next event are as follows:
-
Registration - I was told this would be a problem, but having no experience in this area I did not recognize the issues I was warned about and did not take corrective actions when they arose. This caused a long delay in starting the tournament on time. We will fix this issue and evaluate our current registration system.
-
Directing the Tournament. What is a minor mistake in an adult or small scholastic tournament may become a major issue in a large scholastic tournament. In the last round, two individuals who were controlling traffic at the door turned to put up chess sets in the last round while the last two games were in their final minutes. Parents took this as their cue to stream into the playing hall, over the objection of the TD’s. Normally we close the doors to the tournament hall, but for some reason did not in this tournament. We were not very effective about getting the parents out and starting the games in a timely manner. We forgot to put clocks on the slower games in at least one round. We failed to check pairings before posting each round or the final results. The later problem led to the K-8 results being reported incorrectly. We promise to improve and correct these issues at our next event!
-
3) Not enough volunteers. This was particularly problematic early in the day when everyone had questions. It became clear at the tournament that it was a communication and recruitment issue and not an unwillingness of people to help. Fortunately, we have time to correct these problems before March 26th. We will be seeking more help and if you would like to volunteer at this event, please send us an email at president@georgiachess.org. GCA is a volunteer run organization, and all our TD staff are paid a small stipend, but we mostly rely on volunteers on a non-paid basis to run our event effectively. If you have any experience being an ambassador, scorekeeper, or TD please contact us.
For schools that did not qualify for the 2022 K-8 State Team Championship, you may still have an opportunity to attend. 34 Schools qualified, with just over 45 teams. Capacity for the event is capped at 420 players, or about 70 teams. COVID 19, the short planning and execution of the event, and the fact that the event coincided with spring break for many schools contributed to many schools not qualifying for the 2022 K-8 State Team championship. For that reason, we have established a waiting list for teams to use in order to register on a first come, first serve basis to register their teams to be included in the event.
‘
Teams will consist of 4 players (and up to 2 alternates) to play in sections K-1, K-3, K-5, or K-8 based upon the age and grade level of the students on the team (More details to be posted in the TLA). Each school can decide in which sections they wish to compete (no limit). Registration will be limited to 420 total players, the capacity of our host facility, representing all of Georgia. This is a rated tournament, so USCF membership is required. This is a rated tournament, so USCF membership is required. If you do not have a USCF membership (new members only, not renewals), you can purchase it at the time of registration for an additional $15 (or $20 to join or renew on the USCF website Become a Member | US Chess.org.). USCF membership is absolutely required to participate in this event.
As some schools will be disappointed by the 4 man teams, that not all their players will be able to play, we will have a booster section, where for an additional fee you may invite up to 4 additional alternates. Alternates can participate in the booster tournament that will compete in parallel for separate prizes. The booster section will also be a rated 4 man team tournament.
Cost is $175 per team and $125 for the 4 additional alternates should you wish to use them.
Please forward all questions to k8statechamp@georgiachess.org. I look forward to seeing you all at the next event, and hope you will continue to support us by participating at our events!
With Warm Regards,
President, Georgia Chess Association
J. Parnell Watkins, Jr.
770.744.8595