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1 Jan 2003 – OSCO was founded with a website as it’s
primary communications tool to provide the much needed organization and
promotion for scholastic chess in Oklahoma. The OSCO website’s home page has now
logged over 1600 visitors.
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1 March 2003 - Organized the 2003
Oklahoma State Scholastic Chess
Championship Tournament, with the help of over 30
volunteers and donations from several companies
and individuals. This was the largest scholastic chess tournament in 2 years
with 178 players in grades K-12. Awards included a $1000 scholarship for the top
player to represent Oklahoma at the Denker Tournament of Champions. All players
and clubs that participated in the tournament automatically became members of
OSCO. Charter Officers and Policy Board Members for
OSCO were elected at this tournament. Residuals from the tournament provided
funding for OSCO to begin pursuing it’s stated goals for the promotion of
scholastic chess in Oklahoma.
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4 March 2003 – This date was proclaimed by Tulsa Mayor
Bill LaFortune as “Scholastic Chess Awareness Day”.
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22 March 2003 – The OCA Special Committee on Scholastic
Chess proposed its unanimous recommendation to the OCA Policy Board that
responsibility be assigned to OSCO for effectively promoting and facilitating
scholastic chess in Oklahoma, and conducting both Oklahoma state scholastic
championship tournaments in a quality manner. This recommendation will be voted
upon by the OCA membership at it’s annual members meeting at 7:30 am on Sunday
29 June, before round 4 of the Oklahoma State Open and Championship Tournament
in Stillwater.
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Numerous Front-page articles on scholastic chess have
appeared in the Tulsa area in the last year.
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The OSCO website continues to grow, including the
clearing house of tournaments that extends a full
year ahead. OSCO members are notified regularly by email of upcoming scholastic
chess activities and tournaments. Planning has already begun for the OSCO
organized Oklahoma State Grade Championship on 25 October 2003 in Owasso.
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Due to the efforts of OSCO and it’s over 40
volunteers, several new scholastic chess clubs are
planning to start in the next school year. Additionally, OSCO will be promoting
the formation of additional clubs and chess in school curriculums at the
Oklahoma State Gifted & Talented Teachers Annual Conference in Oklahoma City.
OSCO is indeed growing the number of Oklahoma’s youth who are able to experience
the benefits of chess, and the numbers who will go on to provide a future for
adult chess and the Oklahoma
Chess Association.
