Click below for revisions to the MD-Sweet-16 Qualification Rules that apply to MD Sweet 16 2018. The revisions give strong players (typically rated 1800+) more opportunities to qualify by rating for the invitational tournament at UMBC. See the tournament-announcement page for further details.
MD-Sweet-16 Qualification Rules
- Qualifiers must have competed in all scheduled rounds of at least 1 MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier (a Local Scholastic Tournament) during the qualifying season: September through February of a scholastic year. There are 4 exceptions to this rule:
- 1. If a player were to receive a 1-point bye in a round at a MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier (because the player's opponent forfeited the round, because there was an odd number of players in the section & the player was the lowest-rated player in the lowest score group, etc.), then MD Chess would consider the player to have competed in that round & the player would receive Varsity Points, as if the player had competed in that round.
- 2. In the event of an emergency, a player may be excused from competing in at most 1 round of a MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier. The emergency-exemption claim must be approved both on site by the Chief Tournament Director & subsequently by MD Chess's Scholastic Director. After the tournament, the player must submit to MD Chess's Scholastic Director documentation (such as a medical doctor’s note, a relative’s obituary, etc.) affirming the legitimacy of the emergency-exemption claim.
- 3. If a player were to have registered for only the final scheduled MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier in a qualifying season; & if that tournament were cancelled; or if that tournament were postponed to a new date after the MD Sweet 16; or if that tournament were postponed to a new date before the MD Sweet 16, but the player were unable to compete (or it would bee too much of a hardship to compete) on the rescheduled date; then the player would have fulfilled the MD-Sweet-16’s tournament-participation requirement by virtue of being considered to have competed in the final MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier as originally scheduled. Of course, the player would be considered to have competed for qualification purposes only. That is, because the player would not receive any Varsity Points for merely being considered to have competed in the tournament, the player could qualify for the MD Sweet 16 only by rating.
- 4. If a player were not to register for a MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier during the qualifying season, then the player would need to compete in all scheduled rounds of at least 1 of MD Chess's championship scholastic tournaments (a Major Scholastic Tournament) during that qualifying season—such as Greater Baltimore Scholastic Championships, Mid-Atlantic Grade Championships, Greater Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Championships, Mid-Atlantic Team Scholastic Championships, etc. After the player has competed in the tournament, the player must communicate to MD Chess via email at tournaments@mdchess.com the player's desire to qualify (only by rating) for the MD Sweet 16. It is not MD Chess's responsibility to search for such players in the crosstables of its championship scholastic tournaments.