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Registration Form Instructions
(updated 31 Oct 08)

Full Name

Please provide the player's full name. This helps us to distinguish their national rating from those of other people with the same name.

School

Please use the full name of the school the player is currently attending. We also need the city and state of your school, to distinguish between other schools with the same name. During summer months, use the school the player last attended. Schools are used to identify teams for team competition and awards. Players attending alternative education facilities may register as a student of the school they would otherwise be attending.

Team Definition: Team competition is based on schools. All “school team” members must have their primary enrollment in the same school. No combined schools are allowed. A school is defined as the same building or connected buildings under the same name. Students who are homeschooled should see the note at the end of this page for determining their team.*

Those taking exception to this definition that regularly meet and play together as a club will be allowed to compete as a “club team”, but not be eligible for team awards. The Chief TD at a tournament will be the final ruling authority regarding challenges to the above definition.

Grade

This is the grade the scholastic player is in currently, or has just completed. For homeschoolers, please use the grade the player would be in according to the player's birthdate.

Gender

This helps us with any gender specific awards.

E-Mail (optional)

This address may be used to send notices of future tournaments and other OSCO information. Email addresses are not given to any other organization and are not visible to others on the email distributions.

1st Round Bye

If the player expects to be late and may miss the first round, a 1/2 point bye may be requested. When the player arrives, they must check-in with the tournament director to be paired in the tournament. Players who register at the door will recieve a first round 1/2 point bye. If there are an odd number of pre-registered players in the first round, the first door registration for that section may be asked to play in the first round.

Section, Rating, Member Number and Expiration (no longer required on registration forms)

Sections are listed on the tournament flier. You do not need to list a section, rating, member ID number or any expiration date on the registration form. All players rated 1100 or more in either the current Chess eXpress Rating system or published USCF rating for the tournament month will be placed in the Premier section. Current Chess eXpress ratings are used for all other sections. Any USCF or other rating rating will only be used for other sections if the player does not have a ChesseXpress rating. Players that are unrated, or have a non-Chess eXpress rating that does not properly reflect their skill level, will have an initial Chess eXpress rating assigned by the Tournament Director based on the performance rating of their first tournament as calculated by the pairing software. This less arbitrary initial rating assignment should help the player's rating to stabilize at the correct level more quickly.

The tournament director will place all players in the appropriate section, based on their rating and grade level. Due to the overlap between sections, 6th graders rated under 700 will be placed in the section with players in other grade levels from the same school , or in the K-6 Under 700 section if there are none.

When you check-in, you can check to see your rating and what section you are in. At that time, if needed, you may request a section change from the tournament director on the pairing computer. Players may 'play up' in the next higher rated section if they are within 100 points of their section's upper limit.

Please call 918-812-1591 with any questions, comments or concerns about this process.

USCF Rating Notes for Premier Section Players.

• Published rating: The "published" rating is the current rating captured early each odd numbered month, and then published at the beginning of the next even numbered month. The published rating is then normally used for that even numbered month and the following odd month. This rating will be listed under the General tab of the Member Details page at the USCF site. To find this page, go to www.uschess.org/msa/ and search using the member's name or USCF number.
• Current rating: The player's rating may have increased from a recent tournament and be available at the USCF Web site by looking under the Tournament History. This rating may not yet be officially 'published'. Players may use a higher current rating to play up. Players may not use a lower current rating to play in a lower rated section.

*Homeschoolers

For team purposes, homeschoolers should use the following guidelines to determine their school (team):

1. If the player is actively a part of a public or private school-based club, use the name of that school provided the student resides within that school's boundaries.
2. If the player is not practicing with any group, write 'homeschool'. The player is not officially on a team, but will compete for all individual awards.
3. If the player is practicing with a homeschool club including family-based clubs, this group is a team provided that the members all reside within the same congressional district. Use the name of the club on the line following 'school'. The team must be listed as an OSCO affiliate at www.okschess.org. OSCO affiliation is free and your club may be listed by providing name and contact information to OSCO. Please contact your club director if you have any questions.