Map to Laurel Mountain Elementary

Eight Sections!

Primary JV (Pre-K - 3, U500)
Primary Championship (any Pre-K-3)
Elementary Championship (any Pre-K-5/6*)
Elementary JV (Pre-K - 5/6, U600)
Middle School JV (5/6* - 8/9*, U800)
Middle School Championship (any 5/6*-8/9*)
High School Championship (all 9-12)
Open (ages 18 & up )

*Please review TCA section assignment guidelines at the bottom of this page*

Awards

Team and Individual Awards in all Scholastic sections. The individual and team 1st place winners of each section will be 2009 Region VI Champion for that section! Trophies are possible for the top 5 teams and top 10 individuals in each scholastic section. Note: Trophies will only be awarded for positive scores! Players earning a positive score (3 /5 or 3.5 /6) who do not trophy will receive a medal.  Teams are composed of students who attend the same school. At the end of the day, the top four scores from each team will be counted toward team awards within each section. You are not required to have a team in order to compete for individual awards. Awards go to all scholastic players who score 3.0/5.0 or better. Open section (limited to adults only!) also has individual cash awards along with Parent/Child trophies.

Postmark deadline for all checks: Wednesday, February 25th.

Early on-line registration deadline: Wednesday, March 4th, 12 midnight

Final on-line registration deadline: Friday, March 6th, 12 noon

Registration

Online Registration is preferred. The Early Entry Fee for all Scholastic sections is $18. Late entry fee is $30. Open section early entry fee is $25. Late entry fee is $35. Registrations without accompanying payment cause excessive check-in and bookkeeping difficulties. Please make every effort to pay when you register. The Early Entry Fee applies ONLY if you postmark your entry by February 25th or if you register online by March 4th, midnight. After these deadlines, you must pay the Late Entry Fee. DO NOT MAIL your entry or check after February 25th --we may not receive it in time! No entries will be accepted online after 12 noon on Friday, March 6th. All onsite entries will receive a 1/2 point bye in round 1, and begin play in Round 2. All incomplete registrations will receive a 1/2 point bye in round 1.

Verifying your entry online on our pre-registration list will help clear up issues in advance! We will make every effort to contact you (by email or phone) if we find a problem with your entry.

Schedule

Problem Desk 7:30-8:00 a.m. Once you arrive, if you are pre-registered, check the wall chart to be sure your name, USCF number, school name, grade, and section are accurate. If there are errors, go to the problem desk to report any issues immediately.

On-site registration 7:45-8:15 a.m. Scholastic players: Pay $30 on-site entry fee and USCF dues if needed. On-site entries will receive half-pt. bye for Round 1 & will not be paired until Round 2. Open section- you will be paired for Round 1.

Players report to your boards 10 minutes before start of round 1. Any player not at his/her board at the start of Round 1 may be withdrawn from the tournament with no refund.

Announcements for ALL JV Sections begin at 8:30 in mini-gym. All Scholastic JV Sections
Round	1	2	3	4	5	6**
Time	9:00am	10:25am	12:10pm	1:35pm	3:00pm	4:25pm
Time Control	G/30	G/30	G/30	G/30	G/30	G/30
As each JV section finishes, we will start award ceremony for that section! **JV sections with 40 participants will have 6 rounds. JV sections with < 40 participants will only have 5 rounds.

Announcements for Championship Sections begin at 8:20 in each playing hall. All Scholastic Championship Sections
Round	1	2	3	4	5*
Time	8:30am	10:30am	12:35pm	2:35pm	5:15pm
Time Control	G/45	G/45	G/45	G/60	G/60
Awards for Scholastic Championship Sections: 7:00-7:30pm. *One or more Championship section may begin Round 5 as early as 4:30pm. The start time for Round 5 will be posted outside each section’s playing hall at 4:15 pm. Players/Parents, you can also check with your TD or at your results table.

Open Section (Adults only)
Round	1	2	3	4***
Time	8:45am	11:15am	1:45pm	4:30pm
Time Control	G/60	G/60	G/60	G/60
Prizes for Open awarded around 7:00pm Prizes for Parent-Child will be awarded around 7:00pm-7:30pm ***Open section may begin last round sooner. The start time for Round 4 will be posted outside the playing hall at 3:30pm.

A few more details

Sets and boards will be provided for the tournament room only. Bring your own set for skittles play and analysis between games. Bring two sharpened pencils for taking notation and recording results (mechanical recommended no sharpener available). Bring your own clock, if you have one. (Players without clocks may participate, but they must use a clock if their opponent provides one or if the tournament director places one on the game.) Put your name on your equipment and belongings — sets, clocks and jackets look alike!

USCF rated

This will be a Swiss-system tournament, so everyone plays all day—there is NO "elimination". We will follow USCF rules including: touch-move, mandatory clocks if available, and notation. Primary and all JV section players will be excused from taking notation. A time penalty will be assessed for students in other sections who do not choose to take notation. Players must know how to play the game of chess! This is a rated tournament. Your USCF membership cannot expire before 3/31/2009. Indicate new or renewing membership when registering. More membership levels are available online. If you choose to renew or purchase your membership independently, please do so BEFORE registering for the Region VI Chess Tournament.

Byes

If you know in advance that you must miss a particular round, contact us via email asap to request a “bye”. This allows a player to skip that round with no penalty. One ½ pt. bye is available for any round that a player must miss, but only if notice is given before round 1 of the tournament. Any additional byes will be at 0-pts. Any player assigned a 1/2 point bye due to late or incomplete registration will not be eligible for additional 1/2 point requested byes. If you discover during the tournament that you must miss a round or leave early, please drop by the computer desk and let us know! We will assign a 0 point bye, and you won't be paired for that round.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals will receive a refund or tournament credit only if notice is received by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 6th. Call 512-244-1963 and leave a message (the machine is always on!) or contact us via email. Coaches, please do not ask for changes to your roster of players that involve transferring fees from one player to another. If a player must withdraw, a refund can be mailed after the tournament or credit be issued (if withdrawal occurs before the refund deadline of 5 p.m. on Friday, 03/06/08). Substitute players can register on-site (with the on-site entry fee and first round bye).

Food and Snacks

Food and snacks will be available for sale on site. Laurel Mountain Elementary Chess Club will be offering a wide variety of menu items on the concession stand including donuts, vegetarian dishes, ethnic meal deals, pizza, fruits, drinks and more. Do plan to order these delicious items on Saturday, March 7th during breakfast, lunch, and for a take home dinner! All proceeds will benefit the LME Chess Club. Remember, pick up your own trash and clean up your own spills! No smoking, no alcohol.

First Annual LME Chess Club Silent Auction

While the kids are playing chess, don’t miss out on great deals bidding on all the donated items and services from local businesses at the 1st Annual LME Chess Club Silent Auction! Chess Club wishes to thank the generous sponsors for their donations and support to the concession stand and silent auction.

NOTE: There will be some “down time” between rounds since many games will finish early. We will provide an area (outside the tournament room) for casual “skittles” chess and/or other indoor activities. Parents and/or coaches, please provide age-appropriate activities during the time between rounds. You are responsible for your players between games! No child should be dropped off at the tournament unattended.

Registration or Tournament Questions

Contact the Registrar. or call (512) 471-9008. Organized by Gary Gaiffe.

 

Special Information Regarding Section Assignments for TCA tournaments

Students play in sections based upon their current grade level at school. In TCA tournaments such as this one, Pre-K to 3rd grade students may play in either the Primary or Elementary sections. Elementary schools can have separate Primary and Elementary teams and compete for trophies in both sections, or they can keep all their students together in the Elementary sections. Primary section players’ scores will count toward team and individual standings only in that Primary section—they will not be included in Elementary section standings or the other Primary section standings. Most Pre-K-3rd grade players should play in Primary since the games should be easier in those sections. All students, including Pre-K must attend the school in order to compete on the school team. Pre-K to 3rd grade players with ratings under 500 may compete in the Primary Junior Varsity (JV) section or the Primary Championship section. Pre-K to 6th grade players with ratings under 600 may compete in the Elementary Junior Varsity section or in the Elementary Championship section.

Texas Chess Association rules require that 5th and 6th graders who attend a middle school play in a Middle School section. Sixth graders who attend an elementary school must play in Elementary. Fifth to 8th grade players who attend a Middle School and have ratings under 800 may compete in the Middle School Junior Varsity section or in the Middle School Championship section. Ninth graders who attend a Middle School may play in the Middle School sections, or they may play for the High School they will attend next year. Homeschooled students and students attending K-12 private schools play in Middle School in 6th grade and High School in 9th grade. For schools that include some other unusual grouping of grade levels, consult with the tournament director when you register to be sure you are in the required section. Team trophies for JV and Championships sections are completely separate. Scores from a school's players in JV cannot be combined with those of the players in Championship for team purposes.

Eligibility: The Scholastic tournament is open to anyone who lives in or attends school in TCA’s Region 6, which is comprised of the following Texas counties: Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal, De Witt, Edwards, Fayette, Frio, Gillespie, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Lavaca, Lee, Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Milam, Real, Travis, Uvalde, Washington, Williamson, Wilson.
Open section participants are not required to live within the Region.