The Georgia Chess Association will host the 2014 Georgia K-12 Grade Level Championships beginning November 09, 2014 9:30 am, at the Marriott Atlanta Perimeter Center; 246 Perimeter Center Pkwy, NE; Atlanta, GA 30346. In addition there will also be a “2014 Grade Level High School” tournament. This seems ambiguous in that a school is either a “grade” school, or a “high school.” This can be found on the GCA website (http://www.georgiachess.org/event-1790330), along with this: “If you have already registered and paid for the Grade Level tournament, you do not need to register again for HS. This is for 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th graders only who still need to register. You will need a code – contact gradelevels@georgiachess.org to receive it.”
Also to be found on the website is this, “Waitlist for Georgia Grade Level tournament.”
“This is a waitlist for the 2014 Grade Level Tournament on 11/9 at Marriott Perimeter Center. Priority will be given to smaller sections where an additional player would benefit the group (typically 9-12th) as well as children of volunteers.”
“When you register for the waitlist you will get a confirmation email that you are registered for the wait list (not the tournament). We will contact you if a place opens up for your child to play. This wait list will close at midnight Nov. 5th (the original registration deadline).”
Questions: gradelevels@georgiachess.org”
This sounds like one of those cases when it is not what you know, but who you know. Questions? How about, “Why is there a list of those waiting?”
In previous years as many as 450 children have participated in this tournament, usually held in a school with plenty of room for all the children, and their parents. This year the GCA, in its wisdom, decided to hold the tournament at a hotel with room for only 300 children; hence the “wait list.” I have no idea how the GCA board makes a decision, but one long-time member of the community has said, “Make no mistake, this is Fun Fong’s board. He makes the decisions and has stacked the board with sycophantic women and girly men who do what he says.” Whether or not this is the case, the fact remains that, as former GCA Board member Michael Mulford wrote, “The simple fact is that while the committee approach does a good job of sharing the workload, someone must be accountable, and that someone is the President. Whether the buck stops there or not, it clearly stopped.”
(https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/seniors-mad-as-hell/)
The buck stops with POTGCA Fun Fong. He makes the decisions, which are rubber-stamped by the toadies on the GCA Board. Who in his right mind procures a limited venue in which to hold a tournament knowing in advance half-again as many children will be precluded from playing?
The Legendary Georgia Ironman reports, “Some parents are livid, and these are mild-mannered types of people. When asked what can be done, all we can tell them is to join the GCA and go to the election in order to vote the ‘Know Nothings’ out!”
The GCA website shows this: “Spaces left 0.” Some children have “made the cut,” while others will be turned away at the door. It breaks my heart that possibly hundreds of children who wish to participate in this event will not be able to do so due to the incompetence of the GCA Board. This hit home when the Ironman mentioned that Sasha Creighton, a young boy who obviously loves chess, and a potential future star, will not be playing because there is no room. I simply cannot imagine the disappointment Sasha, and all the other children must feel at this revolting turn of events. As is always the case, the children will surfer due to the lunacy of certain adults.
There has still been no comment from Fun and the girls as to why two members of the GCA Board, Tim Payne and Frank Johnson, resigned. Rumors are rampant about the possibility of malfeasance on the part of the GCA Board with regard to the money taken in at scholastic tournaments. One informed source says the GCA has, “Built a war-chest of over $70,000 with little, if any, accountability.” This GCA Board is not the most transparent in recent memory. As a matter of fact, this is probably the least transparent GCA Board in the history of the GCA. Many are calling for an audit of the GCA finances, asking “What has the GCA got to hide?” What, indeed. There has been talk of impeaching the whole GCA Board. I have no idea if such is possible, but am certain former GCA Board members will send an email and/or leave a comment, providing the answer.
Most of the people on the current GCA Board are there for one reason, and that is because they come from the “scholastic side.” It would seem that for this reason alone the “Know Nothings” could be expected to get it at least half-right, would it not? Maybe the parents on the board who have a child playing in the tournament should consider telling their little Spud he cannot play in the event in order to allow one of the myriad children who will be excluded to take his place. After little Spud stops crying, and asks why he will not be allowed to play, the parent may possibly understand the disappointment felt by those other children who will not be playing.
Melanie Safka – Look What They’ve Done To My Song (Game) Ma
Armchair Warrior 