I’m the club sponsor for a chess club at an Early College High School that has a low-SES (read poor) student body.
We are sponsoring our first non-rated chess tournament in two weeks. But we are wanting to move into providing rated opportunities for our students. I have not affiliated our club yet (we are waiting to use the proceeds from our tournament to do so).
However, when we do affiliate, I know the next step will be to get our players memberships. What is the best way to do so? I know that there are some organizations that purchase K-12 memberships in bulk and can offer USCF memberships for about half the price. Is this a good way to go? If that is acceptable, I am looking at purchasing memberships for my players.
Are there any organizations that assist Tier 1 schools in getting memberships?
Yeah, I think 12 is far too few to warrant bulk memberships. Once you set up your school affiliate, you can run in-school tournaments without any membership dues. You might also solicit local businesses when they feel ready to go to outside tournaments, and more importantly see who sticks in the JTP tournaments. I mean we’re talking less than $300 here. That shouldn’t be insurmountable. Also, note that the commissions you’ll get from “selling” the student memberships will just about cover the affiliate fee.
You can do that. Call the office for all of the details. 931-787-1234
There is a group here that oversees programs in a large block of public and private schools. So they purchase a large block which is rolled in the club fee. they also hold a tournament inviting other schools and the discounted price is rolled into the entry fee.
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so very much.
I have to say that the responses I’ve received on this forum are the most helpful that I’ve experienced on any board. Thanks to everyone who has taken time to send me PMs and provide insightful, useful answers to my questions!