Section 1: West Suburban Conference Chess

Article 1: Definition

• West Suburban Conference Chess (WSC) is a competitive chess conference composed of various IHSA member schools located west of Chicago. The WSC is dedicated to creating a competitive and safe environment for high school chess players. The WSC is organized independently of other IHSA athletic conferences.

Article 2: Objectives

• To organize an annual competition season for member schools, which, if completed, will mean that member schools meet at least the minimum match requirement to participate in the IHSA State Chess Team Tournament.

• To maintain an accurate accounting of the results of the above competitive season for accurate reporting to IHSA as required by IHSA.

• To organize an annual WSC Tournament, one/two weeks before the IHSA Chess Team Tournament Sectionals.

• To establish and maintain an amiable and welcoming community of coaches who can provide resources for member school coaches to help establish, grow, and run successful programs at their schools.

• To grow the sport of chess by reaching out to communities in the region to promote the establishment of new teams.

Article 3: Organization

• The WSC is organized and led by the coaches of its member schools. All decisions are the responsibility and duty of those coaches.

• Decisions are to be made through a vote of member schools.

• The Conference Chair, as stipulated in Part II, serves the member schools and the conference within the boundaries of their listed duties.

Article 4: Expectations of Member Schools

• Participate with a qualifying team in scheduled conference matches. The WSC Tournament is not mandatory.

• Have at least one coach in attendance at coaches' meetings as stipulated in III-1

• Each member school is responsible for hosting WSC competitions when and if it is possible to do so, according to the size and space available, as decided.

Article 5: Member Schools

Active:

• Downers Grove North

• Downers Grove South

• Glenbard West

• Hinsdale Central

• Hinsdale South

• Leyden

• Lyons Township

• Morton

• Oak Park River Forest

• Willowbrook

• York

Inactive:

• Addison Trail

• Proviso East

• Proviso West

Article 6: Voting

• Each active member school has one vote.

• Candidate schools and inactive member schools do not have voting rights.

Section 2: The Policies of the WSC

Article 1: Definition

• Policies contained in this document are guidelines that should be adhered to in all conference matters. Exceptions may be made at the behest of member coaches, where emergencies or circumstances warrant such an exception to produce a better outcome.

Article 2: Purpose of Policies

• These policies have been established to provide WSC member schools with a code of principles and a set of operational procedures in the pursuit of the objectives listed in Part I: Section 1: Article 2 (I-1-2).

Article 1: Definition

• The WSC Conference Chair is elected to lead the WSC in its pursuit of the objectives and represent the WSC to other groups for a one-year term with no term limits.

Article 2: Duties

• Facilitate coaches' meetings as stipulated in III-1.

• Act as the chief point of contact for all conference issues.

• Responsible for sending out all conference information when necessary.

• Attends the IHSA Seeding Meeting for the IHSA State Chess Tournament.

• Attends the ICCA meeting at the IHSA State Chess Tournament as the WSC representative.

• Create the annual competitive season schedule for the following season. This schedule is to be presented and approved as stipulated by III-3.

• Maintain an accurate record of the current competitive season results and communicate those results to the conference via a spreadsheet.

• Report the Conference competition results in the appropriate format to the ICCA & IHSA.

• Responsible for notifying Candidate Schools of the procedures to gain admission to the WSC and for notifying them of the expectations of member schools

Section 1: Coaches' Meetings

Article 1: Required Coaches Meetings

• Fall Meeting — This occurs in the fall, before the beginning of conference events. 

• Conference Meeting — This occurs during the WSC Conference Tournament.

 Article 2: Agenda Items for Required Meetings

• Fall Meeting:

  • Final verification of host locations for the upcoming season.

  • Final verification of candidate (new) school participation.

  • Review rules, procedures, and policy changes voted on in the previous year.

  • Introduce/vote on any new rules or policies before the start of the year.

  • Review IHSA rule changes for the year.

  • Any business of the conference as raised by member schools.

• Conference Meeting

  • Decide Conference Chair for next season.

  • Propose and vote on new rules and policy proposals.

  • Review & finalize schedule and locations (including conference tournament) for the following season.

  • Discuss and vote on any candidate for school admissions.

  • Discuss and vote on any member school expulsions or withdrawals.

  • Any business of the conference as raised by member schools.

  • Schedule and select a host location for the following season's Fall Meeting.

Article 3: Other Conference Meetings

• Any member school can call for a conference meeting at any point.

• Attendance at other meetings will not be required.

• Rule and Policy changes can occur at other meetings, but all other voting and quorum requirements must be followed.

Section 2: Rule & Policy Changes

Article 1: Proposal of Rule and Policy Changes

• Rule and Policy changes may be proposed by any member school.

• Rule and Policy change proposals should be made in writing and presented to the WSC Conference Chair for entry into minutes.

• Proposed changes should include a reference to the current policy (if applicable).

Article 2: Voting on Rules and Policy Changes

• (Quorum) Two-thirds of member schools must be represented at a vote to approve a rule or policy change.

• Proposed changes to rules and policies will be voted on at Coaches' Meetings.

• Proposed policy changes require two-thirds of member schools to be approved.

Article 3: Approved Rule & Policy Changes

• Unless stated in the rule/policy change motion, all changes will not take effect until the following competitive season.

• Rule and Policy changes approved by the member schools shall be recorded and added to an updated version of the policy packet by the WSC Conference Chair.

• An updated Policy Packet shall be made available electronically to all member schools following the meeting where the vote occurred. A hard copy and/or an electronic version of the most up-to-date policy packet will be made available at the Fall Meeting of each season.

Section 3: Selecting Host Locations for Scheduled Matches

Article 1: Location of Matches

• Locations for matches will be changed from the previous season. This is so that teams will change board color when facing an opposing school season to season.

• Teams can choose to play their matches in a double-header on one day if there is an agreement from the coaches of 4 different schools.

Article 2: Location of WSC Conference Tournament

• The location for the WSC Conference Tournament will be voted on during the WSC Conference Tournament Coaches' Meeting.

• Each coach is responsible for selecting a location most suitable to host the tournament.

• No school is responsible for holding the conference tournament for consecutive years. Unless they volunteer to do so.

Section 4: Election of the WSC Conference Chair

Article 1: When to Elect Conference Chair

• The WSC Chair will be decided during the WSC Conference Tournament Coaches' Meeting.

• If the WSC Conference Chair must be elected before the next Fall Meeting, every effort should be made to wait until the next required meeting. If that is not possible, coaches must coordinate the nomination and election process via e-mail.

Article 2: Nominees

• Any current or previous coach of a member school may volunteer/be nominated to be the WSC Conference Chair.

• Any current coach of a member school may nominate any current or previous coach of a member school. Nominated individuals must accept a nomination to be considered a candidate.

Article 3: Election Procedures

• The chair's definition and duties are read aloud.

• Nominations and volunteers are taken.

• Candidates state their qualifications at the meeting.

• Candidates shall answer questions posed by coaches of member schools.

• A vote is taken.

• A simple majority of votes cast is required to elect an officer.

• In the event of a tie when only two candidates run, candidates shall be asked to again state their qualifications, and a run-off vote will be held.

• In the event of a winning tie when three or more candidates run, the top two candidates shall be voted on in a run-off vote.

• Candidates are expected to perform the duties of the office immediately upon election.

Section 5: Guidelines for Admission to the WSC

Article 1: Eligibility

• Any High School listed on the WSC website with an active chess team program is eligible to seek admission to the WSC Chess Conference.

Article 2: Procedures for New Schools to Gain Admission

• Schools that want to join the WSC Chess Season must:

  • Be an active member of the West Suburban Conference.

  • Have a coach.

  • Have their request been received before the start of the season

• The member school should notify the WSC Conference Chair of its request to join the WSC Chess Season. If their request to join is obtained during the regular season, they won't be able to participate in conference matches for the current season. However, they will be allowed to participate in the WSC Tournament.

• Upon being admitted to the WSC, the Conference Chair is responsible for ensuring that the new member school understands the responsibilities and expectations of member schools contained herein.

Section 6: Guidelines for Expulsion from the WSC

Article 1: Withdrawal from the WSC

• Any member school wishing to withdraw from the WSC must submit a written request for withdrawal to the conference chair before the Conference Meeting of the Season in which it is presently a member school. Such a request will be honored and will be considered in good standing. The withdrawal shall be effective at the start of the following season unless the withdrawing school and the member schools mutually agree upon another date.

Article 2: Guidelines for Expelling a Member School

• Any member school that forfeits 3 rounds of the regular season without notice and without making up the scheduled games before the WSC Conference Tournament may be expelled from the conference, effective at the WSC Conference Tournament of that season.

• Any member school that forfeits 4 rounds of the regular season without notice may be expelled from the conference, effective immediately at the end of the 4th forfeit.

• Any member school that fails to bring a full qualifying team to 4 or more rounds of the regular season may be expelled from the conference upon a two-thirds vote of the member schools, effective at the beginning of the following season.

Article 3: Re-Entry to the Conference

• Any member school expelled from the WSC that wishes to be readmitted to the WSC may do so following the same procedures as for other candidate schools as stipulated in Part III, Section 5.

• Any member school that has withdrawn from the WSC in good standing shall be allowed to re-enter the WSC upon a two-thirds vote of the member schools at the Fall Meeting before the season in which the team wishes to participate.

Section 1: General Rules, Terms, & Conditions

Article 1: Definition of Terms

• Team: A WSC Team consists of 5-8 players. Each member school is allowed to enter 1 team in the Season. A team of 4 or fewer players will not be considered a qualifying team. (This fulfills the IHSA requirement of 5 players on each team for qualifying matches)

• Season: The WSC Season includes all matches but does not include the WSC Tournaments

• Conference Match: A Conference Match is a scheduled match between two member schools

• WSC Conference Tournament: The WSC Conference Tournament is the culminating conference event of the Season, determining the final WSC standings for that season. It is to be scheduled one or two weeks before Sectionals.

Article 2: Playing Rules

• All WSC competitions shall be governed by the rules listed in the most current IHSA Chess Team Manual.

Article 3: Terms & Conditions

• All WSC competitions shall abide by the corresponding Terms and Conditions that apply to the IHSA State Chess Team Tournament as listed in the most current IHSA Chess Team Manual. 

• Teams shall be required to have participating students dress in appropriate clothing as outlined in the IHSA Terms and Conditions, but shall not be required to have team uniforms.

Section 2: WSC Season

Article 1: Format of WSC Season

• The WSC Season shall be a Round-Robin season wherein each member school competes once against each other.

• The week prior to the WSC Conference Tournament will be the final make-up date for all Conference Matches.

• The WSC Conference Tournament shall be seeded based on the standings from the WSC Season.

Article 2: Required Competitions

• Teams are required to complete all conference matches on the schedule.

• Teams are NOT required to attend the WSC Conference Tournament.

• Teams may schedule additional competitions, but they shall not be required.

Article 3: Season Standings

• Standings for the WSC Season shall be determined by ranking the teams in order of the greatest number of team wins.

• The following is how team tiebreaker points will be determined:

  • Team Wins

  • Point Total

  • Head-to-Head Record

  • IHSA Standing

• If a team benefits from a forfeit, the tiebreaker goes to the Head-to-Head Record

Section 3: Conference Matches

Article 1: Time Control

• Time control for conference matches must be at least G30 +5.

• Teams will have a 10-minute grace period after the scheduled start time.

  • After this grace period, opponents should start their clocks

• Forfeit time is when the clock runs out of time

Article 2: Board Order/Color

• Boards must be filled starting at Board 1

• Since it is reasonable to assume that players will improve and change in playing ability throughout the year, it is expected that board orders will not remain the same between rounds. Therefore, teams may rearrange their board order between each match if they so choose.

• Home School plays white on Boards 1, 3, 6, 8.

Article 3: Rule Enforcement

• Coaches of member schools must act as stewards during matches and the Conference Tournament.

• A Tournament Director must be contacted and hired to conduct the WSC Conference Tournament. The WSC Chess Conference Chair must reach out to the WSC Chess liaison and their Head of Student Activities to get this done.

Article 4: Submitting Results

• All coaches should submit complete and accurate results to the Conference Chair within 24 hours of the match.

• The Conference Chair shall process and report scores in a spreadsheet within 24 hours of receiving the results.

• All season match results are final on the day of the WSC Conference Tournament.

Article 4: Submitting Results

• WSC chess matches can be conducted online for the convenience of both teams. Per the IHSA Chess Handbook: "The IHSA will permit virtual matches to count towards the six-contest requirement." (Terms and Conditions, Section 3, 4 )

• Lichess.org must be the platform in use to play online matches. During the 2020-21 chess season (during COVID), this website was used because it has better cheating detection than other chess platforms.

• Coaches must also supervise their players while online matches are being played at all times.

Section 4: Season Forfeits

Article 1: Notification

• Coaches who know they must forfeit a match should give at least a 24-hour notice.

• Failure to give a 24-hour notice, except in emergency circumstances, will result in a forfeit that is ineligible to be rescheduled.

Article 2: Scoring Forfeits

• Forfeits will be scored as a 68-point win and a forfeit with 0 points.

• When a forfeit is made up, the forfeit win and score will be replaced with the actual score on the results and standings.

• Any uncompleted match will be scored as a 68-0 win in favor of the team that was available.

• In the event of a double forfeit, both teams will score a loss with 0 points.

Article 3: Rescheduling Eligible Forfeits

• Teams that forfeit must reschedule those competitions with the opponents within one week of the original forfeit to make up the match.

  • This does not mean the match needs to be made up within one week; it just needs to be rescheduled within one week.

• If the non-forfeiting school cannot successfully reschedule the match with the forfeiting school, the forfeit will stand.

• The Conference Chair must be notified of the rescheduled match as soon as possible to remove the forfeit from the current standings while awaiting the make-up result.

• All eligible forfeits must be made up by the week before the Conference tournament.

Section 5: WSC Conference Tournament

Article 1: Format

• The WSC Conference tournament shall be 4 rounds played with a time control of Game 45 with a 5-second simple delay

• The WSC Conference Tournament shall have a Team section consisting of an 8-board team section, as per standard IHSA Chess competition, using Strength Order.

• The WSC Conference Tournament shall have an open section consisting of an Individual format.

Article 2: Seeding & Pairing

• Teams are to be seeded based on the most recent Season Standings

• Pairing of WSC Tournaments shall use standard Swiss Pairing System rules.

• In case there are an odd number of teams an All-Star Team comprising 8 players from the open section will be created.

Article 3: Standings and Awards

• Final standings of Conference Tournaments are to be determined using the same method as the IHSA State Chess Team Tournament.

• 1st and 2nd teams in the regular season and/or conference tournament shall be awarded plaques.

• Individuals scoring 6.5 ≥ out of 8 during the regular season will receive medals.

• The top 3 players in the open section will receive medals.

• Most Improved/Sportsmanship Award medals are to be given to each school. The coach then decides which of their players deserves the award.

Section 1: Appealing Rulings

Article 1: Appealing Competition Rulings

• Appeals to rulings made at matches should follow the process allowed per the IHSA Chess Rules as listed in the most recent IHSA Chess Manual.

• Appeals to decisions made at matches may be made within 24 hours in writing to the Conference Chair. Then must send a copy of the written appeal along with corresponding references to IHSA rules and WSC policies to the non-involving coaches within the WSC. The other coaches within the conference must then arrive at a decision and report back to all involved parties within 72 hours.

Article 2: Appealing Tournament Rulings

• Appeals to rulings made at WSC Tournaments should follow the process allowed per the IHSA Chess Rules as listed in the most recent IHSA Chess Manual.

• Appeals to decisions made at WSC Tournaments must be made within 10 minutes in writing to the Tournament Director, along with corresponding references to IHSA rules and WSC policies.

Section 2: Appealing Policy

Article 1: Appealing WSC Policy Decisions

• Appeals to WSC Policy decisions (such as, but not limited to: policy changes, hosting location decisions, and expulsion from the conference) must be made in writing within one week to the Head of the Conference.

• Written appeals are submitted appropriately to the Conference Chair, who will notify all member schools of a pending appeal.

• WSC Coaches will consider the appeal and related rules and policies, and put together an explanation and recommendation. This recommendation will be voted on by member schools and will require a two-thirds vote of all eligible votes cast to overturn the original ruling.