jamaica chess federation RULES
JAMAICA'S JUNIOR CHESS PLAYERS OVERSEAS PROTOCOL
JAMAICA CHESS FEDERATION
PROTOCOL FOR JAMAICA’S “JUNIOR” CHESS PLAYERS (INCLUDING QUALIFICATION FOR JAMAICA JUNIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS AND INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION)
1. Annually, the Jamaica Chess Federation (“JCF”) hosts the Jamaica Junior Absolute and Female Chess Championships.
2. A person eligible to play in the Jamaica Junior Absolute and Female Chess Championships is one whose age does not exceed twenty (20) years during the year of the Championships. In other words, someone who will be no older than twenty (20) years between the 1st January and the 31st December in the year of the Championships.
3. The following persons will qualify to play in the Absolute Junior Chess Championship which will be a twelve-player round-robin:
• The defending Absolute National Junior Champion provided he/she is still eligible. If such a person is ineligible for any reason (including exceeding the age requirement) an additional spot (5th place) will be available to a qualifier from the Grand Prix
• Junior Grand Prix Winner. That is the Junior who places the highest in the Grand Prix held for the year preceding the Absolute Junior Chess Championships.
• Junior Grand Prix 2nd place
• Junior Grand Prix 3rd place
• Junior Grand Prix 4th place
• Highest Rated FIDE Junior Players (Min 1600 FIDE & 18 Games for activity)
• Highest Rated FIDE Junior Players
• Highest Rated FIDE Junior Players
• Highest Rated FIDE Junior Players
• Highest Rated FIDE Junior Players
• Council Discretion
• Council Discretion
4. To qualify to play in the Female Junior Chess Championship which will be a twelve-player round-robin:
• Defending Female National Junior Champion. If such a person is ineligible for any reason (including exceeding the age requirement) an additional spot (5th place) will be available to a qualifier from the Grand Prix
• Female Junior Grand Prix Winner. That is the female Junior who places the highest in the Grand Prix held for the year preceding the Absolute Junior Chess Championships.
• Female Junior Grand Prix 2nd place
• Female Junior Grand Prix 3rd place
• Female Junior Grand Prix 4th place
• Highest Rated FIDE Female Junior Players (Min 1400 FIDE & 18 Games for activity)
• Highest Rated FIDE Female Junior Players
• Highest Rated FIDE Female Junior Players
• Highest Rated FIDE Female Junior Players
• Council Discretion
• Council Discretion
• Council Discretion
5. The following factors are to be borne in mind by the Council in exercising its discretion: (a) Rating
(b) Performance in the Grand Prix
(c) Illness
(d) Whether or not played in the National Junior Championships
(e) Why that person did not play the National Junior Championship
(f) Former National Junior Champion
(g) Activity of the player
(h) Any other reason or factor that the Council determine from time to time
(i) Had to have begun playing in the Grand Prix in the qualifying year
6. Including those persons selected by way of the “Council Discretion”, if there are not sufficient qualifiers in the Absolute or Female Junior Championships to arrange a twelve-player round-robin, each Championship is to be organized as a round-robin with the smaller group of persons who qualify. Subject to the number of qualifiers the format may be a double round-robin.
7. In each year there are a number of international tournaments to which the JCF is invited to register players to represent Jamaica. These invitations generally allow the JCF to register one Official Player per age/gender category and to register any number of “Additional Players” per age/gender category. This document provides an outline of the general guidelines and requirements to qualify for Jamaica’s Junior Chess Championships and participation in the above international events. The principles herein will be applied to any other international tournament opportunity that arises though such tournament may not be specified in this document.
8. The JCF has a long-term interest in the development of Jamaica’s chess players, which is enhanced by participation in regional events. The JCF therefore encourages participation in these tournaments.
9. While players registered as Official Players may be entitled to receive financial assistance from tournament organizers (for example, free entry and accommodation), the JCF does not otherwise recognize any distinction among players registered by the JCF to participate in an event. All players registered by the JCF for a regional tournament will be equal members of the Jamaican Delegation and will be treated as such. Furthermore, the terms Official Players and Additional Players are for tournament registration
purposes only and are not to be reproduced in any public communication from the JCF.
OFFICIAL PLAYER” POOL
10. In each year the National Age Group Chess Championships (“NAGCC”) shall be used as the youth chess tournaments for selecting the Official Player Pool for each age category (“Absolute” and “Female”) for that particular year.
11. In each year the Official Player Pool for each Age Category (“Absolute” and “Female”) will comprise those who place in the top five (5) of the respective Age and Gender categories of NAGCC for that particular year.
REGIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENTS
The CARIFTA Youth Chess Tournament (“CARIFTA”), the Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess Tournament (“CAC”) and the Pan American Youth Chess Festival (“PAN-AM”) are tournaments open to all chess players who are members of National Chess Federations of specific geographic blocs and with Official Categories as per the table below:
TOURNAMENT NAME |
OFFICIAL AGE CATEGORIES |
GEOGRAPHIC ELIGIBILITY |
CARIFTA Youth Chess Tournament |
U12, 16, U20 |
All members of National Chess Federations in CARIFTA member countries |
CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN YOUTH CHESS TOURNAMENT |
U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 |
All members of National Chess Federations of countries that border the Caribbean Sea |
PAN AMERICAN YOUTH CHESS FESTIVAL |
U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 |
All members of National Chess Federations of countries that in the North American, South America, Central America and the Caribbean |
12. Hereafter CARIFTA, CAC and the PAN-AM Tournaments are collectively referred to as the “Regional Tournaments”.
13. Organizers of the Regional Tournaments typically invite each eligible National Chess Federation to register an “Official Player” and “Additional Players” for each of the Official Categories in the respective tournaments.
OFFICIAL PLAYERS
14. For the Regional Tournaments, the JCF will select the Official Player for each Official Age and Gender category, from among the players of the Official Player Pool of that age and gender category, with preference given by the order they placed in the NAGC of that year.
15. For example, if the first placed finisher in the NAGC for a particular Age/Gender category is, for any reason, unable to commit to attending a Regional Tournament then the second placed finisher in the NAGC, for the particular Age/Gender category, will be considered the Official Player for that Regional Tournament.
16. If the second placed finisher in the NAGC for that particular Age/Gender category is, for any reason, also unable to commit to attending the particular Regional Tournament then the third placed finisher will be considered the Official Player for that Regional Tournament. And so on.
17. If none of the players in the Official Player Pool for that Age and Gender category is able to attend the particular Regional Tournament in question then the JCF will decide what will happen to any financial benefits given to the Official Player by the JCF or by the event organizer.
18. In the absence of any players from the Official Player Pool for that Age and Gender category, if there are other players who can commit to participate in the Regional Tournament in that Age/Gender category, the highest rated among them will be designated, for administrative purposes, the “Official Player” for that Age/Gender category in that Regional Tournament. The policy or principle being that benefits offered by the JCF and other federations should be utilized as best as possible in the interest of the players.
“PERSONAL RIGHTS”
19. The Regional Tournaments often offer Official Player status, in subsequent tournaments, to players who win their particular Age/Gender category. These players are included in the Jamaican Delegation by “Personal Right”.
PROVIDED HOWEVER that the JCF reserves the right not to register that individual in any subsequent tournaments taking into consideration, among other things, any disciplinary matters involving the individual (pending or otherwise); any policy decision of the JCF whether preceding the acquisition of the said “Personal Rights” or otherwise; and the status of the relationship between the JCF and the respective Federations organizing the said subsequent tournaments.
“ADDITIONAL PLAYERS”
20. For CARIFTA, the JCF encourages participation by Jamaican players who are locally competitive in their Age/Gender category.
21. For CAC, the JCF encourages participation by Jamaican players who are locally competitive in their Age/Gender category at the CARIFTA level.
22. For PAN-AM, the JCF encourages participation by Jamaican players who are locally competitive in their Age/Gender category at the CAC level.
23. PROVIDED HOWEVER that any player who is a member of the JCF in good standing (including the up-to-date payment of membership fees), with Jamaica as his/her CCA or FIDE country, who meets the age, and any other relevant, criteria, can be registered as an Additional Player. This registration will allow him/her to attend any of the Regional Tournaments as a member of the Jamaican Delegation.
24. In the event that the organizer limits the number of Additional Players who can participate, preference will be given to persons wishing to play based on a combination of the following: (i) placing in NAGC and (ii) performance(s) in prior Regional Tournaments if applicable.
25. All players must register for the Regional Tournaments through the JCF. A player’s age for the Regional Tournaments is his/her age as of January 1 of the particular year or such other stipulation as FIDE, any regional governing body, the JCF or appropriate Organizer shall decide from time to time.
PLAYERS QUALIFYING FOR MULTIPLE OFFICIAL PLAYER POOLS
26. A female player can be in both the "Absolute" and "Female" Official Player Pools of any Age Group category depending on where she finishes in the NAGCC.
27. If such a female player is at the top of both the Absolute and Female Official Player Pools she can choose in which category (Absolute or Female) she wishes to represent Jamaica.
a. In these circumstances, if she chooses to represent in the Absolute section of the relevant tournament, then the Official Player Pool for the Female category of that Age Group will be so adjusted and the second place finisher in the Female section of that Age Group category automatically becomes the “Official”, representative for the relevant tournament.
b. Alternatively, if the female player chooses to compete in the Female category, then the second place absolute finisher automatically becomes the “Official” absolute representative.
28. A player can be in the Official Player Pools of multiple Age Group categories depending on where he/she finishes in those categories in the NAGCC.
29. If such a player is at the top of multiple Age Group Official Player Pools he/she can choose in what category he/she wishes to represent Jamaica.
In these circumstances, the Official Player Pool for the category he/she chooses not to represent Jamaica will be so adjusted that the second place finisher in that Age Group category will automatically become the “Official”, representative for the relevant tournament.
30. If for any reason the National Age Group Championships (Absolute and/or Female) are not held in a given year the Official Player Pool for each Age Category (“Absolute” and “Female”) will be the same as it was in the last year that the NAGCC was held.
In these circumstances if ALL the players in the Official Player Pool in an Age/Gender category are unavailable or have graduated to a higher age category then among those available to attend, the Official Player Pool for that age/gender category will be considered to be the individuals with the five highest ratings at December 31 of the immediately preceding year.
NATIONAL JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES
31. In each year the National Junior Chess Championships (“NJCC”) shall be used as the youth chess tournaments for selecting the Official Player Pool for the National Junior Representative (“Absolute” and “Female”) for that particular year.OFFICIAL PLAYERS
32. In each year the Official Player Pool for each ender category (“Absolute” and “Female”) will comprise those who place in the top three (3) of the respective gender categories of NJCC for that particular year.33. For the CARIFTA U 20, CAC U20, Pan AM U20 and similar “Junior Tournaments”, the JCF will select the Official Player for each gender category, from among the players of the Official Player Pool of the gender category, with preference given by the order they placed in the NJCC of that year. For example, if the first placed finisher in the NJCC for a gender category is, for any reason, unable to commit to attending a Junior Tournament then the second placed finisher in the NJCC, for the particular gender category, will be considered the Official Player for that Junior Tournament.
34. If the second placed finisher in the NJCC for that particular gender category is, for any reason, also unable to commit to attending the particular Junior Tournament then the third placed finisher will be considered the Official Player for that Junior Tournament.
35. If the top three finishers are unable to commit to attending the particular Junior Tournament and there are other players who can commit to doing so in that gender category, the highest rated among them will be designated, for administrative purposes, the “Official Player” for that gender category in that Junior Tournament.
ADDITIONAL PLAYERS
36. For CAC U20, the JCF encourages participation by Jamaican players who are locally competitive in their Age/Gender category at the CARIFTA U20 level.37. For PAN-AM U20, the JCF encourages participation by Jamaican players who are locally competitive in their Age/Gender category at the CAC U20 level.
PROVIDED HOWEVER that any junior player who is a member of the JCF in good standing (including the up-to-date payment of membership fees), with Jamaica as his/her CCA or FIDE country, who meets the age, and any other
relevant, criteria, can be registered as an Additional Player. This registration will allow him/her to attend any of the Junior Tournaments as a member of the Jamaican Delegation.
38. In the event that a Federation or organizer limits the number of Additional Players who can participate, preference will be given to persons wishing to play based on a combination of the following: (i) placing in NJCC and (ii) performance(s) in prior NJCC Tournaments.
39. All junior players must register for the Junior Tournaments through the JCF. A player’s age for the Regional Tournaments is his/her age as of January 1 of the particular year or such other stipulation as FIDE, any regional governing body, the JCF or appropriate Organizer shall decide from time to time.
TIMING OF THE NJCC
40. The National Junior Chess Championships ideally should be held at different times to give females a chance to participate in both the Absolute and Female tournaments. If a female wins both categories, and is in the Official Player Pool for both categories she earns the right to choose in which category she will represent the country.
41. If for any reason the NJCC (Absolute and/or Female) are not held in a given year, the Official Player Pool shall be the Official Player Pool arising from the last NJCC held. If all players in the Official Player Pool so determined are no longer juniors then the Official Player Pool for each gender shall be the three highest rated juniors in the Absolute and Female lists, respectively.
JCF NOTIFYING WINNERS OF NATIONAL TITLES
42. Players who qualify for the Official Player Pool for each age/gender category based on their placing in the NAGCC and/or NJCC must be so notified by the JCF no later than 3 weeks after the completion of the respective tournament. Such notification will include, among other things, the deadlines for confirmation of the player’s participation for each tournament as well as the estimated costs of participation, net of any financial benefit available. The deadlines for confirmation for each tournament will be four (4) weeks prior to the registration deadline for each tournament.
43. The players so notified must inform the JCF of their availability and ability to participate in the relevant event, inclusive of the ability to finance the costs of participation, within the confirmation deadlines specified for each tournament. A player who fails to respond affirmatively within the deadline specified for a tournament will be deemed to be unavailable for that
tournament and will be considered removed from the Official Player Pool for that tournament.
44. A qualified or selected player who confirms availability for a tournament and is, on that basis, designated and registered as the Official Player for an age/gender category and who subsequently fails to participate in the tournament without good reason will forfeit the right to remain in the Official Player Pool for subsequent tournaments during the relevant period, whether it be the current year and/or the following year. It will be in the JCF’s sole discretion to determine if the player failed to participate “without good reason”.
SELECTING A (NATIONAL) TECHNICAL DIRECTOR FOR “JUNIORS”
45. The JCF Council is to appoint a “Technical Director” (hereafter called “the TDJ”), on such written terms acceptable to the JCF and the TDJ, whose responsibilities shall commence on the 1st January each year or, alternatively, for such period as the JCF and the TDJ shall agree.46. The Council, through its Secretariat, is to invite applications for the position for the TDJ stating, inter alia, the relevant qualification criteria, the job description and the period by which such applications should be submitted to the Council.
47. The Council is to establish a committee of at least three persons which will consider any applications submitted and arrange for interviews of the applicants. The members of this committee do not have to be members of the Council. Further, they must not be persons having any conflict of interest regarding the said position or in relation to the applicants for the said position.
48. The Council is to liaise with the person appointed the TDJ to develop an annual plan including setting performance targets for individual and team events.
49. In addition to other criteria to be established by the JCF the TDJ must, among other things, be a member of the JCF in good standing; have good character; and must have a good track record (in the JCF’s opinion) of training juniors.
50. Leading up to a tournament, the TDJ will have the responsibility of organizing training sessions for the players in the Official Player Pool and any other
juniors the JCF Council may, from time to time, decide should be a part of any such training regime.
51. The TDJ’s said duties will still exist whether or not the National Age Group Champions have their individual coaches or trainers.
52. Ideally, and provided the JCF can afford to do so, the TDJ is to accompany delegations to the Regional Tournaments, or other international events approved by the JCF, as a representative of Jamaica. PROVIDED HOWEVER that if the TDJ is unable to attend, the JCF, in its sole discretion, may appoint a replacement TDJ to accompany any delegation.
53. For avoidance of doubt, the inability of the JCF to finance the travel of the TDJ to a tournament does not preclude the registration nor participation of Official and Additional Players from Jamaica.
54. The JCF will, when possible and subject to the availability of resources, cover the TDJ’s expenses to the Regional Tournaments or other international events approved by the JCF.
55. If the JCF is unable to finance the travel of the TDJ and the TDJ can afford, and is willing, to do so from his or her personal funds, the TDJ is allowed to do so without there being any obligation, financial or otherwise, on the JCF to reimburse the TDJ for any such expenditure.
CHEF DE MISSION/HEAD OF DELEGATION
56. The JCF is to ensure that someone is appointed as Chef de Mission, or head of delegation (hereafter “HOD”), for each Jamaican delegation participating in a Regional Tournament or other international event to which the JCF is sending an official representative. This appointment should be in place at least fourteen (14) days before the delegation is scheduled to depart Jamaica.57. In the first instance, the HOD is to be selected by the President of the JCF from the members of the JCF Council who are committed to going to the tournament with preference being given to someone with previous experience as HOD at international tournaments. Alternatively, the HOD will be an adult who is already committed to attending the event, whether or not he or she has a child or is the coach of a player attending. In these circumstances, the appointment of a HOD will not impose an additional financial burden on the JCF.
58. The HOD will be responsible for ensuring that the necessary arrangements are in place to address the relevant administrative, chaperone duties, logistic and/or technical matters for the event or tournament.
59. If, for whatever reason, there is no appropriate or suitable person from among the members of the JCF Council to be appointed HOD, the President will designate one of the adults attending the event or tournament as HOD.
OTHER JUNIOR TOURNAMENTS
60. The same principles herein will be applied to participation in any other youth tournament to which the JCF has been invited to send representatives, such as World Juniors or World Youth.
JCF FINANCIAL SUPPORT
61. The JCF will, in its sole discretion, determine which, if any, Regional Tournaments, it can support financially in each year. In the event it chooses to support participation in a particular Regional Tournament, such financial support will be offered first to Official Players registered for that Regional Tournament.
62. The JCF is under no obligation to support any player’s participation in any Regional Tournament. Generally, players will be required to raise funds for their participation or to fund themselves. 63. For each calendar year (January 1 – December 31) the JCF should reserve funding, subject to the availability of existing resources, to meet the travel requirements of junior representatives to Regional Tournaments.
JAMAICA CHESS FEDERATION 2017 February 25