Michigan Junior Arena League

Bryan Wilson, Commissioner

Jeff Aldrich, MCA President & Organizer

Draft Date currently planned for June 15

Overview

Chess league for JUNIORS!

1. Entry fee: $20 - current MCA membership required - collected through onlineregistration.cc
   1. All players must be younger than 18 years of age as of the drafting date.
   2. All Kids will be put in a database and drafted by the lowest rated players. Any children 7 and under identified as a drafter must have the child's parent draft for them.
   3. Teams will consist of 5 players. The base plan is to have 12 teams (2 divisions of 6), but will create more teams and divisions depending on entries. Each team gets a unique logo and team name.
   4. There will also be a free agent list for all late entries and undrafted players. Commissioner will try to make a competitive team up of these free agents to add to the league.
   5. If a player misses two rounds, that will be considered a dropout and that player will be removed from league play.
2. The playing platform will be Lichess.org who has the best operating system and anti-cheating policy and measures. These measures are strong with potential ban for the IP address if found to be cheating as determined by computer engine algorithms that match moves.
   1. Chatting on teammates' games is prohibited and will result in team forfeit. Cheating using an engine {computer} will result in full ban of IP address forever.
3. Schedule will be generated once we have the teams drafted, though teams will most likely play on Friday and Sunday each week.
   1. There will be no games played the weekend of July 4.
4. Commentary videos and customized intros will be provided each week on all social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) to increase our social media presence.
   1. Advertising will be done through social media and MCA email databases.
   2. We will also interview one kid every week and highlight his or her team.
   3. Included will be a video showing the process of playing in this league. The draft will also be live streamed using zoom. Once the drafting order and drafters (lowest rated players) are determined we will give the zoom link to those who are drafting.
5. Teams are made up of 5 players; the home team gets white on the odd boards {1,3,5}. Board 1 will always play board 1 of the opposing team, so the individual matchups are evenly dispersed.
6. Time Control will be 30 min / 2 sec increment
   1. Games will not be USCF rated, but will use USCF ratings to gauge strength. Lichess.org has a rating system and games will be rated within their system.
7. The winner of the team match goes to the team who has more points after the team match is over. An even match result is a Draw.
   1. The top 2 teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs.
   2. Drawn matches during the playoffs will result in a 5/2 timed tiebreak match. If still tied, additional 3/2 timed matches will be played until there is a winner.
8. The prizes are made up of 75% of the entries and paid out via virtual gift cards. Distributed through email address supplied at registration.
   1. Prizes will be distributed evenly amongst all team members. Specific place distributions will be determined once the number of entries and teams are complete.