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Polk Scholastic Chess (2022-2023 Season)
(Posted 2/5/2023; updated on 2/24/2023)

 
Dear Parents and Coaches,

Thank you all for your support at the 2022-23 tournaments. Listed below is a list of all qualifying players (those who have played at least 12 games in this season) for our Championship tournament in March 2023:
 
 
ALL PLAYERS SORTED BY SCHOOL TEAMS (NOTE: Players who chose to register and play individually, i.e. not in a team, are listed on page 15).
 
Players who have not played 12 rounds are not listed on these files and will not be able to play in this Championship tournament. 
 
How to report any discrepancies:   send an email to President@polkscholasticchess.com latest by Feb 19, 2023.
 
We hope to see you bright and early on Championship day (please put March 4, 2023 on your calendars) and check-in all players starting from 7:30 am and latest by 8:15 am!! 
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is the final event, and no re-entries will be allowed. 
 
Championship Day Agenda:
7:30 am: Check-in begins for ALL QUALIFIED PLAYERS 
8:15 am: Announcements 
9:15 am: Games begin
3:00 pm: Entertainment / comedy show
3:30 pm: Awards and Trophies to all players
5:00 pm: Closing  
 
 
We will plan to start the announcements by 8:15 am so that we can start the games faster. Like previous years, unless we have emergencies like the storms or hurricane, we will have four (4) games. We have tentatively planned to complete the tournament day (all four games) by tentatively 4:00 pm but will keep you updated via our Twitter feed. Lunch break will be approximately around 12:30 noon but may have to be slightly changed according to how your children play.

Once the general announcements are over, we will ask the parents to leave the hall so we can commence the games. Parents are not allowed inside the hall once the games begin, unless there is a medical necessity.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS WILL BE GIVEN AT 3:30 PM. So, after the game is over, please do not leave! 

We encourage you to read the tournament manual for the rules and regulations (available on our website). We encourage all players to play with a clock so as to have a fair game. Please teach your players that games like chess not only help them in improving their logical, analytical and strategic skills on the academic side, but more importantly, experiences of wins and losses at such tournaments make them a better person overall. Teach them to shake hands gracefully after the game is over.

Important info for COACHES:
1.    All of the tournaments will be Game 30. We will have four games on each tournament day.
2.    Please ask your players to bring their chess boards and Black and White chess pieces.
3.    Login to the Coaches Corner and ensure that all your players are registered accurately, with their PSC ratings if they have played in previous years. New players start with 100 points.
4.    We now record the coaches' attendance at the front desk, so that it is easy for us to provide that to the School Board for the stipends for school board employees who are registered as coaches. Please ensure that your presence at the tournament is recorded by our front desk team.
5.    Please complete and upload your paperwork on the Coaches Corner so we can submit it to the school board for processing on their systems. Please register online if you have not done so.
6.    We encourage you to study our chess manual online, and explain the rules to the kids. Please remind your players that in order to qualify for this Championship tournament in March, a player must have competed in at least 12 of the possible 16 rounds, and if they have played at least the minimum games, they will qualify regardless of their score in the previous four tournaments.
7.  If you are the coach of GUPPY and PRIMARY divisions, please print these pairing slips and bring sufficient copies with you. Young players make mistakes like sitting on incorrect tables, and these pairing slips help you in ensuring they are at the right table and their results are marked/approved by the TD.
Click here for Guppy Division Pairing slips
Click here for Primary Division Pairing slips



Important info for PARENTS:
•   CHESS BOARDS: Make sure your child brings a chess board (or the coaches can bring them from school). Kids lose their boards all the time, so I advise you to write the player's name on their personal boards.
•   If you are bringing chess boards, please ensure that the pieces are BLACK and WHITE.
•    Food: There may not be any options for food at the tournament site, as all food trucks are reported to be in Fort Myers area to help the hurricane impacted families. However, there are a few restaurants and fast-food places within 10 minutes' drive from the tournament venue. You can also have the food delivered to you by ordering online or bring from home. No on-site cooking with grills please. Please make sure you have snacks and drinks with you.
•    Chairs: We encourage you to bring your own chairs, tables and canopies. We have limited seating available for parents and coaches. There are NO ASSIGNED ROOMS OR CHAIRS for coaches and parents - seating should be treated as First-come First-serve basis. Please respect players and adults who have disability or health situations.
•    Weather: Please check the weather reports and have your kids dressed appropriately. Dress code as advised by Polk County School Board.
•    Twitter: Sign up if you haven't already for our Twitter feeds @PolkChess for tournament announcements, rounds and updates.
•    Safety: Please help us to keep the kids safe, by supervising them and also help keep the Civic Center property safe. Students that are not properly supervised by you (all day) will not be allowed to compete in PSC tournaments or rounds. In case of any Personal Safety issue, please contact the POLICE OFFICER on site or call 911 immediately.

No grills please - we do not want any accidents with any of the kids.

•    NO SMOKING POLICY: Please help us maintain our tournament premises smoke free, alcohol free and drug free. We strongly need parent involvement to make this happen for our kids.

•   Vendors: We might have a few vendors at our tournament. The vendors pay a fee so they can advertise at our tournaments and help us by keeping our registration fees low. We also have non-compete arrangement with them so no two vendors would compete for exactly same service or food on site. Please refrain from your business promotion activities unless you are registered with Polk Scholastic Chess. Contact us if you are interested in becoming a vendor at our tournaments.

Thank you for your continued support and participation.

Sincerely

Board Members
Polk Scholastic Chess



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WELCOME TO Mr. STEVE MORGAN


Please join us to welcome Mr. Morgan as our Tournament Director. He has been associated with Polk Scholastic Chess for more than a decade as a coach and mentor. Mr. Morgan has taught English and has been Chess Team Coach at Crystal Lake Middle School for 18 years. His teams have won 5 Polk Scholastic Chess Middle School Championships. He himself has played in over 50 chess tournaments. Born and raised in Southern California, Mr. Morgan moved to Florida in 2004 with his wife to raise his family. His sons Kyle and Shaun have played Polk Scholastic Chess for many years. Besides chess, he is an avid mountain biker riding 50-70 miles each week.



TOURNAMENT VENUE

The tournament venue is the Bartow Civic Center (2250 S. Floral Ave, Bartow, FL 33830). Click here for the Bartow Civic Center Google map.
 
 
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ON REPORTING TIME & CHECK-IN: On all the tournament days, the registered players present on that day should be checked-in at our tournament hall by the Coaches. For the first tournament, we have relaxed this deadline to 8:30 am. Parents, please ensure with the coach that your children/players are accurately checked-in at the front desk; our front desk team has school-wise check-in forms listing all players so that the coaches can appropriately check them in. This Check-in form ensures that the player is present on the tournament day and can be paired with an opponent on our computer systems. If your child has been registered as an independent player, you as parent/guardian must get him/her checked in.

FACILITIES LAYOUT (not to scale):

 
The dates for the tournaments are:

    First Tournament: Saturday, 10/15/2022
    Second Tournament: Saturday, 11/5/2022
    Third Tournament: Saturday, 12/3/2022
    Fourth Tournament: Saturday, 1/14/2023
    Championship Tournament: Saturday, 3/4/2023

(must have played 12 of the 16 rounds to qualify for the Championship) All of the tournaments will be Game 30.
 

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