2013 USCF National Girls Invitational Tournament
February 4, 2013
Description
The 2013 USCF National Girls Invitational Tournament will be held annually. In the model of the Denker and Barber Tournaments, the NGIT Tournament will proceed in conjunction with the US Open held in Madison, Wisconsin. Each state affiliate will be invited to send one representative, a female player in grades K-12. Each affiliate will be encouraged to arrange for an alternate player to attend should the original selected player be unable to participate. If there are an odd number of players in the event, the host state affiliate may include a second participant to complete the field of players. The winning participant in the NGIT will receive recognition and reward to be determined by the USCF Committee on Women’s Chess.

Following the model of the Denker and Barber events, the NGIT will consist of 6 rounds, and will be completed in time for the participants to play in the US Open, if so desired.  Eligible participants are granted FREE entry to the US Open.  Some player expenses may be covered by USCF and other sponsors, but players must complete all games to be eligible for expense coverage.

Selection
The USCF Committee on Women’s Chess strongly recommends that each affiliate organize a Girl’s State Championship as the mechanism to determine its representative to the National Girls Invitational Tournament. This event, which various affiliates already hold in February or March, could be enthusiastically promoted.  No State affiliate is required to use a specific selection procedure. It would certainly be exciting to see 40 (or 50!) girl champions on the cover of “Chess Life”.

Sponsorship
The USCF and other sponsors have allotted funds for the Inaugural National Girls Invitational Tournament to be held this August, in Madison, Wisconsin. However, generating long-term private sponsorship for this event could clearly create a more supporting event more appealing to both players and the observant world. If you have specific suggestions or thoughts on this subject, please contact Dr. Phil Chase at [email protected], or Isabelle Minoofar at [email protected]