2009 Washington State High School
State Team Championship
Friday & Saturday, February 27 & 28, 2009

Site

Mount Vernon High School, 314 North 9th Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. (See Google maps driving directions)

The tournament is in the cafeteria.

Take these directions with you on tournament day!

Format

Five round Swiss System matching 5 player teams (2 optional reserves are allowed).

Pairings and final standings use the team points system (all board scores count!). Teams from the same league will not be paired in the early rounds whenever possible, and when not counter to the basic rules of Swiss pairing.

Pairing is by computer with hand adjustments.

Eligible

Teams: Must place in top half plus one team in each league. If an eligible team chooses not to participate, the next eligible team may replace it. Check with your league director.

Schools without a league available are "independent" and may enter. Schools with former leagues that have ceased league play are also eligible.

Individuals on a team: The WHSCA website (www.whsca.org) has the complete eligibility policy but here’s a brief summary: 1) Must be registered for a majority of their program at the school they represent 2) A home schooled student or a student at a school without any chess program may appeal to WHSCA to play for the closest available public school. 3) Such school should be their resident public school (if one is explicitly stated in district policy) or, if not applicable, the closest public school with a program.

All appeals should be made in writing or received via email at least 10 days before the State Team Tournament. Email to dellinger@seaprep.org or use the special fax for Dave: (206) 323 – 6509 (only for eligibility questions! Registrations go to Kirk at the fax number below). Failure to provide sufficient notification (by Feb 13, including coach’s phone number) may result in a player not being able to compete in the tournament. Make sure your contact information is present on your entry form.

Special note: No school can enter this tournament without a full team (of five). Please do not show up without a full team or you will not be allowed to compete. Also, we will not typically allow varsity players to play in the JV Individual.

Ratings

This tournament is rated in the Northwest Scholastic Rating System. No memberships required.

We will use the latest ratings from the NWSRS database. League ratings are available at any time on the WHSCA website www.whsca.org. Contact Kirk with any questions wa_ratings@nwsrs.org.

Special note: Players must play in order of playing strength. Our rules allow a 150 point variance of ratings on team placement if coaches and captains feel a player is not correctly placed by the rating. Variances of order greater than 150 points should be explained carefully in the registration, and may be challenged by the TDs. Normally players with unusually high provisional ratings may play out of rating order.

Time Control

Round 1: Game/60 minutes with a five second delay.

Rounds 2-5: Game/90 minutes with a five second delay.

Recording of games is required except in the last 5 minutes on either player's clock.

Schedule

Friday: Check in no later than 3:30 pm; verify team roster and JV Individual players. Teams not checked in by 3:30 will be fined clock time in round one. As agreed in 2002 coaches meeting, this rule will be enforced. Plan to arrive early!

Players' meeting at 3:35 pm — important!

Friday rounds 4:15 pm, 7:00 pm

Saturday rounds 9:00 am, 1:00, 5:00 pm. Round times will not be moved up.

Awards 8:30 - 9:00 pm

Tie Breaks

All ties for place and trophies broken by team Solkoff except a tie for the title itself.

Title tie broken by all-team speed (5 minutes) match, played with USCF touch-move rules.

Bring

Sets, boards, clocks, writing utensils. Score sheets provided. PLEASE COME EQUIPPED!! BRING CLOCKS & SETS!

Awards

Trophies (or better) to top twelve teams, including rotating and permanent trophies for the top team. Medals or other awards for members of winning team. Medals or other awards for all-stars (top score) at each board.

Tournament Pairings & Chief Floor Arbiter

Kirk Winges will manage computer pairings, Paul Zurybida and Randy Walther will be the chief floor judges. Supported by staff secretaries.

Host

Mount Vernon High School Chess Team

Concessions

Concessions are uncertain at this time.

Lodging

Best Western Cotton Tree Inn, 2300 Market St, Mt. Vernon, WA 98273. Tel. 360-428-5678.

Entry Fee

Varsity: $60 per team, fees can be paid in advance or at check in. No Purchase Orders accepted. Cash or checks only.

E-mail: wa_ratings@nwsrs.org by Wednesday, February 25th at 6:00 pm.

Mail: Your mailed entry must be received by Wednesday, February 25th.

Fax: Complete entry may be faxed by Wednesday, February 25th at 6:00 pm.

The official team entry form is recommended but optional. At a minimum you must show the full team players in proposed board order, substitutes clearly noted – subs can play in JV individual – and grades noted for new players. For unrated players use the word “new” but grade must still be provided.

Absolutely no entries on site. Absolutely no telephone entries. Please respect the fact that this is the most complicated tournament to run of the year and that considerable work must be done with the entries prior to the tournament. Failure to register on time or making last minute changes causes great difficulty for the organizers.

Please help us make this tournament run smoothly by getting your information in before the deadline, and trying to take every step possible to ensure there are no last-minute changes.

Make Checks Payable To

WHSCA (Washington High School Chess Association).

Mail to: WHSCA, PO Box 2157, Lynnwood, WA 98036-2157

Questions or Problems

Call: Kirk Winges (206) 794-6010 or wa_ratings@nwsrs.org

Day of event phone (206) 794-6010 – Kirk's cell phone.

Reminder: contact Dave Ellinger for eligibility questions, Kirk Winges for everything else.

2009 State JV Individual
Friday & Saturday, February 27 & 28th, 2009

Site, Ratings, Time Control, Schedule

All the same as for State Team, above.

Come equipped with sets, boards and clocks!

Format

Five round Swiss system individual tournament, computer paired, no limit on number of players from a school.

Eligible

This is not an open tournament!

Individuals are eligible if their school is fielding a team in State Team and if they have not played with their varsity team except as a sometime substitute.

This tournament is only for JV players accompanying their varsity teams but players listed as substitutes for the team event can play in the JV individual. Just make sure you advise the TD staff in advance if you are moving from the JV Individual to the team event at some point during the tournament.

Special note: Players (two alternates named in your registration) in this event may replace players on a varsity team and still receive a half point bye in the JV event. To do this, make sure the Tournament Director knows your intention before the conclusion of the previous round.

Awards

A suitable number of nice WHSCA trophies. Medals for best performances in each grade, grades 9 through 12.

Entry Fee

$12 per player--a 100% pre-registered tournament.

No registrations accepted on site or after Wednesday, February 25, 6 p.m.

Note: Whatever your form of registration, make certain you give the grade of each player in both sections of this tournament!

Tournament Director, Make Checks To, Further Info

As in State Team announcement above.

Questions or Problems

Call Kirk Winges, as numbered above.