March 18, 2013
Why aren’t girls going out for the Pocono Mountain East High School chess team?
Earlier this month the 18-member team won the Pennsylvania State Scholastic Chess Championship during a three-day tournament in Carlisle. The all-boy team also won the U.S. Amateur Team East championship for the first time. It’s the culmination of years of high achievement that have taken the team just short of the state crown. This year, they beat the Masterman of Philadelphia team, which has won numerous state titles and won national tournaments three times. Thus, Pocono Mountain has qualified for the national competition.
Why aren’t girls interested? Coach Larry Bias has had girls on the team, but says they haven’t stuck. But they could benefit every bit as much as boys.
Chess is not much of a spectator sport. It requires the kinds of skills that will serve participants for their whole lives. Chess players need focus, concentration, strategic and analytical thinking. These are skills that grow with practice, getting better and better. Best of all, they translate into many other areas besides chess — to academic pursuits, for example, or in a job.
Sure, plenty of girls, and boys, would rather take part in sports. The physical activity is healthy and it’s fun to play games, with family and friends cheering on the sidelines. But girls should use the chess team, too, to develop their minds. Even after a torn miniscus sidelines a soccer player or pitcher’s elbow ends a softball player’s career, they can use their brains.
Members of the chess team don’t get the marching band or the pep band or the cheerleaders. But they’re leaders themselves, working hard and maintaining the discipline they need to win a challenging mental game. Chess players find good, interesting company, too. The game draws smart participants from both genders and every age group from all around the world.
We encourage the coach to find a female teacher or local female chess player to assist, and to comb the ranks of students for girls who play chess. Team members are learning how to solve problems and survive tricky challenges. This is training that help girls as well as boys succeed for a lifetime.
Source: http://www.poconorecord.com
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Girls don’t play chess because of boys.
Well, that’s why we hold girls-only events.
But my girls LIKE beating the boys!