Clarification of KSHSAA and KSCA rule and interpretations

The KSCA has adopted the KSHSAA (Kansas State High School Activities Association) eligibility guidelines for participation in events run by the KSCA .

·        As of 1/09 we only run two events, the Kansas Grade Championship (Sept) and Kansas State Championship (March)

You may go to www.kshsaa.org and download the KSHSAA handbook for more information.

Rationale:  These rules are time tested, fair for all and already used in Kansas Schools

Here are the major KSHSAA eligbility guidelines.

·        A bona fide student (includes foreign exchange)

·        Applies to students in grades nine through twelve.

·        Currently enrolled in five or more subjects

·        Eight semesters of eligibility

·        Awards received shall not exceed $25 (see exceptions below)

·        Amateur eligibility (see exceptions below)

The KSCA executive board should deal with hardship issues.

Other KSCA issues:

The KSCA rules only apply in the State of Kansas.

The KSCA rules only apply during the chess season.

As of 01/09 the season begins with the Grade Championship (Sept) and ends with the State Championship (March)

The 100 mile rule is applied only in Kansas

The KSCA either runs, sanctions or approves tournament

• Run – KSCA directly organizes the tournament

• Sanction – This tournament is approved of by the KSCA and is a qualifier for the state tournament with specific sections, time controls, number of rounds and awards.  Typically a school or club will organize this tournament and use the KSCA database with an approved KSCA tournament director.
• Approved – This tournament is posted on the website and is not in conflict with KSCA by-laws or guidelines.

Students must play for the schools of attendance.

If they attend more than one school, then must play for the school in which they attend the majority of their classes.  If they attend multiple schools equally, then the school on file which administers the Kansas State Assessment shall be used as the school of attendance.

Sometimes students meet players from the same school and a new team is formed

Each student is assigned to the school in which they attend.

Schools are determined as registered by the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE).

One building, one school rule has been adopted for schools with multiple campuses.

The KSCA has structured it’s tournaments to be by grade instead of the classification of Elem, JH/Middle or High School.

Home Schools are allowed to compete provided they are registered with the KSDE.

• Home schooled students have the option of playing for the public school in the attendance area they reside. 

A Home School Association may not form a team. 

Rationale:  Associations are not schools as defined by the KSDE.

Chess Clubs may not form scholastic teams at KSCA tournaments.

The KSCA “sanctions” a tournament for state qualifications.  If a tournament is listed as KSCA then it is a sanctioned event.

All KSCA sanctioned tournaments are run with the same format, and minimum qualifications for awards.  These tournament qualify for State Honors

At the annual meeting, any organization, public/private, scholastic or club can request to hold sanctioned KSCA scholastic event, provided they follow by-laws.

• Every organization will be given one event before any other organization can ask for a second event. 
• No event will be run within 100 miles of another event.
• If two schools wish to run an event on the same weekend, the school which had the event the prior year has first option. 
• Once the scholastic schedule has been published, an organizer can request to be included within the schedule provided they follow the by-laws.

The KSCA may not schedule events in a particular region (within Kansas) for adult tournaments.  Communication is required from the organizer with the KSCA when the scholastic schedule is determined at the annual meeting in March.  If an organizer for scholastic tournaments wishes to hold an event, they may contact the KSCA for inclusion in the schedule provided they abide by the KSCA guidelines. 

The KSCA promotes scholastic chess in all areas of the state, rural and suburban.  The KSCA is aware of the impact of not regulating the number of tournaments and their locations within the state.  If number of chess players increases, then the number sections within the state may be increased.

As of 01/09, the state is divided into three sections, east, west and central.

The State Tournament is moved around the state.  Historically it has been from East to West, but with the addition of a third section, it is to be moved around the state from year to year.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can a student play in an adult tournament and/or be eligible for prizes?

If the tournament is outside the state of Kansas, the KSCA is not concerned.

If the tournament is within the state of Kansas and during the chess season a player may play and be eligible for prizes if there is not a KSCA sanctioned scholastic tournament within 100 miles of their residence, otherwise the KSCA permits players to play in any event.

FYI:  Some schools may not let players compete for prizes at any time during their scholastic career since they strictly follow KSHSAA guidelines.

Why can’t my child play in a local (KS) event when a KSCA event is scheduled at the same time?

The KSCA promotes scholastic events across the state.  The KSCA will not permit two local events to occur at the same time.  The KSCA can only regulate its own events.  If another event is occurring, you have the choice of determining in which organization you wish to participate.  Suburban areas have a significant advantage over rural areas in terms of attendance.  To promote chess in rural areas, the KSCA will not schedule an event within 100 miles of any other event.  If an organizer runs an event that conflicts with a KSCA event, the KSCA expect its members to support the KSCA event over the non-KSCA event.

Why can’t my child play in an adult (KS) event when a KSCA event is scheduled simultaneoulsly?

There are two issues here, prize eligibility and KSCA vs non-KSCA events.

In regard to prize eligibility:

This decision has a basis in the amateur eligibility rules that KSHSAA uses.  The KSCA realizes that we are not an activity regulated by the KSHSAA.  However many schools treat chess as a KSHSAA activity in their schools.  If a student decides to play for prizes, in essence they are becoming professional players.

The KSCA has drawn a line when an adult (prize) tournament coincides with a KSCA tournament.  Here a clear decision has been made to be eligible for prizes over a scholastic event.  If a student is chooses to be eligible for prizes they forfeit their amateur status.

Schools that treat chess as a KSHSAA activity are not permitted to play for money at all during their eight semesters of eligibility.

In regard to playing in adult tournaments for experience or other factors (ie time control)

            Some adult tournaments offer a reduced entry fee for scholastics.

KSCA tournaments are very competitive, and some are even more competitive than adult tournaments.  Students can compete in those events outside the chess season or on weekends when a KSCA event is not scheduled in their region.  The KSCA thinks a student has ample opportunity to improve their game with tournaments outside the chess season and in some instances within the chess season.  The KSCA goal is to keep attendance robust and healthy in scholastic events. 

I have been participating in chess with my children for years, why am hearing about this for the first time?

These guidelines have been refined and/or adopted over the last 40 years.  For example, in the past, a middle school student could play for the high school they would attend.  Coaches and parents manipulated these rules for team awards.  Hence the current guideline was clarified. 

A situation which may be an issue of concern in one part of the state may not be an issue in another part of the state.  The KSCA looks to the KSHSAA handbook for help in determining how to handle particular situations, even those that are chess specific, so as to create guidelines which can be used later.  In reality the KSCA cannot anticipate all situations.  The KSCA develops, refines or adopts guidelines as necessary

Many parents are unaware of these guidelines since they are not published.  For the most part there hasn’t been a need to write down the rules since the KSCA was a small community in which verbal communication was effective.  Now that the KSCA is growing, the need to refine and clarify and communicate the guidelines has become necessary.

Why is following the KSHSAA rules so important?

Any activity, sport or competition needs some type of guidelines.  The KSHSAA rules have been created by schools for schools.  It makes sense to work in a structure that school administrators already accept.  This is why you see chess active in many schools across the state. Since the KSCA follows the KSHSAA rules, school administrators accept those guidelines and in turn the KSCA’s.  It is important for chess to be in the schools in order for chess to be accessible to as many kids as possible. The KSCA was organized to create a scholastic chess environment exclusively for kids.