DETROIT Despite winning city, regional and national honors, the chess team from Hutchins Middle School in Detroit might not get to travel to the national tournament in Sacramento, California this year.
The budget for Detroit Public Schools cuts funding for chess programs to four-thousand dollars from 80-thousand dollars.
Funding problems have delayed and shortened the city’s competitive season this year.
Following complaints by teachers and parents, the district promised to put up 65-thousand dollars — enough to run about half as many city competitions as last year and send three teams to nationals.
Supporters say chess builds critical math, critical thinking and analytical skills.
If you live in Detroit, write to your local and state politicians to support chess and education! You can make a difference in saving chess for the children in Detroit!
Source: WLNS News
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… the chess team from Hutchins Middle School in Detroit might not get to travel …
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Travel is nicer, but it should be an unnecessary expense to tax payers. That is one beauty of digital sports like chess.
With some creative planning, routine games can be played over the internet for less money.
In G.Shahade’s USCL matches are held without travel.
Chess matches between two high schools can cost much less than say tennis matches.
So it puzzles me as to why most high schools do not have formal chess teams by now, in this new era of a mature internet.
Every year I read about how huge “scholastic” chess is. Yet most high schools still lack a formal team: why? There must be good reasons, but I cannot see them.
The USCF could fill the void, and become the NCAA of high school and/or college chess.
That would be chess promotion.
Gene_M
I am all for public support of chess in schools…to a point. At my school we get 0$ funding and have to raise money on our own. The good is that we often have great teams…the bad is that some years we don’t have a team due to lack of funds (it often depends on how much the club sponsor knows about raising $$).
Many bands have to raise cash to go to other parts of the country…I guess I’m not sure how this is much different. The real problem is that there isn’t much money collected at a gate like other sports such as football or basketball.
I can not believe that Detroit Public Schools are not funding chess. I have read all the positive news about Detroit Duffield’s Chess Team. Detroit also has a top player from Cass Tech in James Canty II. A freshmen expert chess player. Not to mention how all the teams from the Detroit league do well at the Nationals.