2007-08 MAINE STATE SCHOLASTIC CHESS TOURNAMENTS

HIGH SCHOOLTEAMS

This year's State Scholastic Tournaments will be held at the Memorial Union at the University of Maine Orono Campus. All Team events will be held March 8 this year. ALL TEAMS MUST BE PRE-REGISTERED. PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRES THAT ALL INFORMATION BE RECEIVED BY THE TUESDAY IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE TOURNAMENT. After the Tuesday deadline, team members may be changed due to illness, etc., but no team will be allowed to enter after the deadline. Additions to rosters on the day of the tournament will be allowed to compete only in the Novice section, so include all possible players in the pre-registration materials. Changes must be kept to AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM and must be made by the Thursday afternoon preceding the tournament, if at all possible. This will allow us to start Round 1 as close to 9:00 as possible. Pre-payment for the teams is strongly urged as this will speed up the registration process, but you may pay on the day of the tournament. Please check in with the registration desk to confirm your presence and correctness of the entries prior to 8:30AM. Any late team (e.g., travel difficulties) may request a 1/2-point bye for the first round, but the request must be made by 8:30 AM on the day of the tournament. Call the Tournament Leader to request the bye by the previous evening if at all possible, or the cell phone number (day of the tournament only) provided below to contact the tournament site.

SEND COMPLETED ENTRY FORMS TO THE TOURNAMENT LEADER (BELOW).

HIGH SCHOOL TEAM TOURNAMENT LEADER:

Ron Lewis Phone: 207-781-3962

189 Middle Road E-Mail: raltiger@aol.com

Falmouth, ME 04105

Cell phone - day of the tournament only - 207-239-0287

TOURNAMENT DATES:

HIGH SCHOOL (9-12*) TEAMS: MARCH 8 (SATURDAY)

SNOW DATE / CANCELLATION: TEAM EVENTS MARCH 15 (SATURDAY)

TIME CONTROLS: GAME/60

*NOTE: The high school NOVICE AND RESERVE Sections are open to any K-12 student, i.e., any K-12 student may play in these sections as a team of 1. One player lower than 9^th Grade may be on any Championship Section team provided that the coach states that a high school player to fill the slot could not be found.

CHAMPIONSHIP SECTION

ENTRY FEES: Championship team events are USCF-rated and cost $22/person (Scholastic - age 12 and younger), $24 (Youth - age 15 and under) or $30 (Young adult – 24 and under); this includes USCF Scholastic membership for one year. The USCF membership portion of the entry fee may be waived upon proof of current USCF membership through the date of the tournament (see registration form). For USCF members with verification of USCF membership expiration date, the entry fee is $5/person

FORMAT: Each high school team will consist of 5 players ranked from strongest to weakest. We will follow the match play, five-player format where a school will play against a 5-person team from another school. EACH HIGH SCHOOL MAY ENTER ONLY 1 TEAM IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP SECTION. All other players from the school must be entered in either the Reserve or Novice sections (see below). NOTE : a school may enter as a team with less than five players provided they agree to lose 1 game point for each missing player per round. (An individual player, i.e., not representing the school, may be assigned by the TD to such a short-handed team, but that player does not earn points toward the team's score.)

RESERVE SECTION

ENTRY FEES: $30/Person for Young adult (age 24 and under), $24/Person for Youth (15 and under at time of expiration) or $22/person for Scholastic (age 12 and under); includes 1-year USCF membership. USCF membership portion of the entry fee may be waived upon verification of current membership through the date of the tournament (see registration form), in which case the cost is $5 per person..

FORMAT: This will follow the National format. Students will play a four-round Swiss-system tournament. The team total will be the sum of the scores of the school's TOP THREE finishing players in this section.

NOVICE SECTION

ENTRY FEES: $5 / INDIVIDUAL

FORMAT: Same as the Reserve Section. Trophies will be awarded in the Novice Section, but the games are unrated, USCF membership is not included and the teams will not be competing for the state title. This section provides tournament experience at a modest cost to the school. The team score will be the total of the top three players’ scores.

PRIZES:

TEAM COMPETITIONS: 1st and 2nd PLACE TEAM TROPHIES / DIVISION. INDIVIDUAL TROPHIES TO PLAYERS FROM TOP TEAM (limited to number of players included in team score).

INVITATION TO THE INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT (no additional fee) will be extended to any Board 1 with a score of 3 or better (High School Championship Section). Any other player will need a score of 3.5 or better during the HS team events (Novice Section excluded). The top girl scorer in the Championship and Reserve sections are also invited. However, the Individual Tournament is open to any State of Maine K-12 student upon payment of the entry fee regardless of results of participation in the team event.

NOTE ON TEAM MEMBER ELIGIBILITY: All members from a team competing for the State title must attend the same school. Home-schooled players are exceptions. Home-schoolers playing for a school team must utilize the chess program closest to the home-schooler's home. Some exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis with suitable notice (two weeks before the event) to the Board of Directors.

CANCELLATION: In the event of a snow storm/other, go to the http://ChessMaine.net web page for news, or if you can call the Tournament Leader, that would be a great help. Please be sure that your home phone numbers are on the registration forms. If the Team event is cancelled for March 8, the make-up date is March 15.

FOOD: Food service will be available on site for the events. Drinks and food will NOT be allowed at the playing tables!

COACHES MEETING: There will be a meeting of coaches just after the start of Round 2 for all tournaments except the individuals.

CHESS NOTATION: Recording of games is REQUIRED for all high school tournaments.

DIRECTIONS: Directions to the Memorial Union may be found at www.umaine.edu/locator/ and clicking on “Directions”. Plenty of parking is available behind the Union Building.
2007-08 MAINE STATE SCHOLASTIC CHESS TOURNAMENTS

HIGH SCHOOLTEAM REGISTRATION FORM

MAKE AS MANY COPIES AS NEEDED (ONE FORM/TEAM OF 5). BE SURE TO COMPLETE ALL INFORMATION REQUESTED!! Incomplete forms (missing USCF #'s, birthdates, etc.) just means more work for the organizers. In the spirit of cooperation, please make sure all the information is complete and accurate. The Coaches’ home phone number is especially important in case the TL needs to contact you for additional information. You can find out a player's ID number, expiration date and rating by looking at their magazine label or visiting the ratings page of the USCF website at www.uschess.org. Thanks. Please supply the same player information for entries to the Individual tournament.

SCHOOL NAME:___________________________________

ADDRESS: ___________________________________

___________________________________

HS TEAM EVENT: CIRCLE ONE : CHAMPIONSHIP * * * * RESERVE * * * * NOVICE

LIST PLAYERS IN BOARD ORDER (Order is NOT important for the Reserve or Novice Sections). If the $5 entry fee is circled, the coach or entrant must supply the player’s USCF ID and membership expiration date indicating the player is a USCF member current through the date of the tournament. Include middle initial with the name; the information listed below is needed for USCF membership purposes.

#1 NAME:__________________________ BIRTHDATE:_____________ Entry Fee: Circle One

ADDRESS:_______________________ USCF #:________________ $30; $24; $22; $5

________________________________ RATING/EXPIRATION:________________

#2 NAME:__________________________ BIRTHDATE:_____________ Entry fee: Circle One

ADDRESS:_______________________ USCF #:________________ $30; $24; $22; $5

________________________________ RATING/EXPIRATION:________________

#3 NAME:__________________________ BIRTHDATE:_____________ Entry fee: Circle One

ADDRESS:_______________________ USCF #:________________ $30; $24; $22; $5

________________________________ RATING/EXPIRATION:________________

#4 NAME:__________________________ BIRTHDATE:_____________ Entry fee: Circle One

ADDRESS:_______________________ USCF #:________________ $30; $24; $22; $5

_________________________________ RATING/EXPIRATION:________________

#5 NAME:__________________________ BIRTHDATE:_____________ Entry fee: Circle One

ADDRESS:_______________________ USCF #:________________ $30; $24; $22; $5

_________________________________ RATING/EXPIRATION:________________

COACH: ______________________________________________________ Total fee enclosed:

PHONE#: Home _________________ Work _____________________ ______________

ADDRESS:_________________________________________________________

______________________________ E:mail:_______________________________________

**MAKE SURE YOU HAVE INDICATED THE DIVISION FOR EACH TEAM LISTED!!**

**PLEASE MAKE ALL CHECKS PAYABLE TO KATHY RICHARDS, TREASURER, MAINE ASSOCIATION OF CHESS COACHES (MACC)**

**MAIL OR EMAIL COMPLETED FORMS TO THE TOURNAMENT LEADER (see Page 1).**

PLEASE BRING AS MANY BOARDS, CLOCKS AND SETS AS YOU CAN!!!!

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE

1. Having people other than the TD available to answer any questions about the tournament, pairings, etc., is a great help. This frees up the TDs to concentrate on the pairings that will, hopefully, result in an accurate start time and less time between rounds. If you or a parent are familiar with chess tournaments and are willing to volunteer, please indicate this on the registration sheet. This is especially important for the hour preceding the first round.

2. Due to the great amount of paperwork involved using this format, team coaches will be asked to complete as much of the tournament information as possible during the tournament. Please be cooperative.

3. ALL COACHES NEED TO REPORT IN AND MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THEIR TEAM ROSTERS BETWEEN 8:00 and 8:30AM. (These last minute changes should be avoided if at all possible.)

4. Note USCF new membership levels – Scholastic $17; Youth $19; and Young Adult $25; add $5 per person for tournament entry fees.

5. If you have any ideas for activities between rounds, please contact the Tournament Leader.

6. Due to the increasing size of the tournaments, the number of kids present poses challenges. Coaches and chaperones please be diligent in knowing where your kids are and intervene where behavior is inappropriate or the noise level becomes unacceptable for the setting and for the tournament players to concentrate on their games.

For other chess information and results, see the Chess Maine web site at http://chessmaine.net.

SOME HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR FIRST-TIME SCHOOLS: Each player (with the exception of Elementary School) is expected to record their game to his/her best ability and be able to operate a chess clock. All teams should bring as much equipment as possible. No one (except coaches) should talk to any player who is playing in a match. Coaches are allowed to suggest, in the presence of the TD, playing for a win or a draw based solely on team points and not on board position.

If you have ANY questions about the tournament, please contact the Tournament Leader. The chief mission of the Maine Association of Chess Coaches and this tournament is to offer to as many kids as possible, a positive chess playing experience.