Registration Forms

School

Please use the full name of the school the player is currently attending. 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 or has just completed. For homeschoolers, please use the grade the player would be in according to the player's birthdate.

Section

Sections are listed on the tournament flier. Players are divided into sections according to their grade and according to their chess rating. Players who have participated in rated tournaments will find their rating at www.uschess.org/msa/. If a player has not played in a rated tournament, they will be unrated (UNR). Information on obtaining a USCF membership is outlined under the USCF# directions below.

• Unrated players: Play in the lowest rated section allowed by grade level. An unrated player in 5th grade would play in the K-6 U700 section rather than the K-4 U500 section.
• Rated players: Current ratings may be checked at www.uschess.org/msa/. The section is then determined by rating and grade. Assuming the following sections: K-4 U500, K-6 U700, K-12 U900, K-12 U1100 and K-12 Premier:
• A student in 7th grade with a 695 rating would play in the K-12 U900 section
• A student in 3rd grade with a 1325 rating would play in the K-12 Premier section
• A student in 1st grade who is unrated would play in the K-4 U500 section
• A student in 6th grade with a 897 rating would play in the K-12 U900 section
• A student in 5th grade who is unrated would play in the K-6 U700 section

For team purposes, players may 'play up' a section if they are within 100 points. In the above example, the 6th grade student is allowed to play in the K-12 U1100 section if they choose to do so. The Premier section is not an open section, and a 1000+ rating is required to compete in that section.

Note: Sections are determined by the last published rating. The following information is provided to help determine the player's section on the registration form. Sections and ratings are checked by the tournament director prior to round pairings, and questions on section placement may be answered during the check-in procedure the day of the tournament.

• 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.

E-Mail

This address may be used to send notices of future tournaments.

USCF#

All players in a USCF rated tournmant are required to have a USCF membership which provides them with a monthly magazine and an official rating for games played at rated tournaments.

This number may be obtained from the player's USCF card, by visiting www.uschess.org/msa/, or from the address label of the Chess Life magazine.

If the player does not have a USCF membership or needs to renew that membership, the player may renew with the tournament registration fee:

1. Include the amount for USCF membership/renewal with the tournament registration fee on one check made out to the organization holding the tournament according to the directions on the tournament flier. The tournament organizer expedites USCF registrations by making one payment to the USCF. USCF memberships are $15 for age 12 and under, $17 for ages 13-15, $23 for ages 16-19, $33 for all in a family under age 20, and $62 for the entire family at the same address.
2. Write the number of the check and the amount paid for USCF membership on the tournament registration form. Please completely fill out the registration form. This form contains the information necessary to process the USCF membership.

USCF memberships may also be paid the day of the tournament during the check-in process.

Rating

Current published ratings may be obtained from www.uschess.org/msa/ and are described above under section determination.

Expires

The expiration date is listed on the USCF member's card or may be obtained from www.uschess.org/msa/ by looking up the member's information.

1st Round Bye

If the player expects to be late and may miss the first round, a 1/2 point bye may be requested.

*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.