Who is eligible to apply?
Anyone who has already been playing rated games and taking their chess seriously can think about applying. Your child should have played at the Australian Juniors already and been one of the stronger players in their age group.
Your child has to be an Australian permanent resident, within the meaning of the Immigration Act. You might have every intention of trying to stay in Australia but that is usually not good enough. There are some grey areas, where people have applied for permanent residency, but their application is not yet processed. In that case you can apply and might get a provisional selection. If the residency is not finalised by a particular date, then the selection will be withdrawn. This is fairly complicated and best to discuss exact circumstances with the ACF Selections Coordinator.
As a guideline if your child is not close to the following ratings, then you would need to think very carefully about whether the expense and potential stress is worthwhile. The selectors will also decide whether your child is strong enough to play and might endorse them for one of the Asian or Asean events, but not the World Youth. (Please note – these ratings are a guideline for World, not Asian, events and the selectors often make exceptions.)
U8 Open and U8 Girls – 1,000+
U10 Open – ACF rating 1,400+
U10 Girls – ACF rating 1,200+
U12 Open – ACF rating 1,600+
U12 Girls – ACF rating 1,400+
U14 Open – ACF rating 1,800+
U14 Girls – ACF rating 1,600+
U16 Open – ACF rating 2,000+
U16 Girls – ACF rating 1,700+
U18 Open – ACF rating 2,100+
U18 Girls – ACF rating 1,800+
U20 Open – ACF rating 2,100+
U20 Girls – ACF rating 1,800+
Selections are not widely advertised – only in the ACF Bulletin – so it is very easy to miss the opening of applications. Normally applications for pre-June events open in February and open up for other events as the year progresses.
Normally you can apply for the following tournaments:
- ASEAN
- Asian Youth
- Asian Juniors
- World Cadet
- World Youth
- World Juniors
- U16 Olympiad
- Youth and Cadet World Cups
- Youth and Cadet Rapid and Blitz events
Go to the ACF website and contact the Selections Coordinator for details.
It is important to keep checking your e-mail so that you can swiftly respond to queries.