Submitted by Bob Boland, Chess Advisor, Garretson Elementary School

On July 13, 2009, a momentous event occurred in the annals of South Dakota chess, and it didn’t even occur across the chess board. In fact, it occurred in front of another board, the School Board of the Garretson, SD, School District (49-4). On that date, the Garretson School Board voted and passed their 2009-2010 school year budget, and included in that budget was public funding for chess programs in the Garretson School District to the tune of $4500. This amount included $3500 for chess education & supplies, and an additional $1000 for transportation costs to get Garretson students to chess tournaments, primarily the annual SD State Scholastic Championships.

So, how did this come to pass, as we all know that funding is always one of the critical elements in building a successful scholastic chess program? In this case, the road to chess funding actually started in October 2005 with the creation of the Garretson ES Chess Club for students in grades 3-5. At that time there were three key items that came into play to begin this program: 1., a committed set of parents who wanted to establish a scholastic chess program; 2., a school administrator who was highly supportive of the program by providing the time and space to conduct the program during school hours and; 3., a Parent Teacher Organization that was willing to provide initial funding for the purchase of chess equipment. Despite these three key elements, any program also has the potential to fail without participation, but in that department there were no issues as more than 50 Garretson ES students opted to learn how to play chess. At the time, the most amazing aspect of that participation was that the students had to forego one of their recess periods for the once-a-week program!

That first year almost every student had to learn the basics of the game, which culminated in the first ever Garretson ES Chess Club Tournament (2006). This unrated scholastic tournament was played over a series of matches held during chess club times. At the end of the school year, trophies & medals were presented to the winners of the tournament at an end-of-year school assembly.

The second year of the program saw a switch to a before school program to accommodate the chess instructors, and a slight drop off in participation levels, but again the key to the program’s eventual success was to keep the aforementioned support, and to allow participation at no cost to the students.

With the program well established going into the third year, I decided it was time to introduce some of the students to competitive scholastic chess. So on a purely voluntary basis, four of our students opted to compete in the 2008 Sioux Falls Winter Open Chess Tournament (U800 section). On an individual basis we fairly struggled, but we did manage to pull out a 5^th place team finish in that section, resulting in the first ever trophy for a scholastic team from Garretson. Also during our third year, the Garretson PTO formally chose to sponsor our club with funding, although they had been supporting us from day one. More rated scholastic tournaments followed, and our teams began to have some success across the chess board.

Then in October 2008, we hosted our first rated scholastic chess tournament called the Split Rock Scholastic. As part of this tournament, our club ran the concessions, and even held a raffle in order to raise funds for the club. This allowed our club to bolster our funding. In order to host a tournament, we had to have the support of our school district which allowed us to utilize school facilities at no cost to the club. Although not a direct method of funding, the use of the school at no cost to our club was a great boost to our program.

At this point, I decided to take a chance on seeking direct funding for chess programs at our school. I prepared & submitted written proposals to our school administration & board to seek funding for the 2009-2010 school year, and I appeared as a witness before the board to further clarify my written proposals. I can honestly say now that the key to me was the track record our program had established since the program was started back in October 2005. At the same time, our board was actively seeking non-athletic programs they could support, so the timing for this was excellent.

This funding is allowing our school district to add a Middle School Chess Club so that ES students now have a program they can graduate into. However, it is important to note that our PTO is still an active partner in our chess programs, and we will continue to conduct fund raisers. Additional funding gives our programs the flexibility to seek out further chess education, purchase additional supplies, and to help students with the payment of fees, meals, etc., when they play in tournaments.

So, what lessons can I share with everyone about this road? In talking with many other chess parents around our state, I realize that funding is a huge issue that looms above all chess matters. How to pay for equipment & supplies? How to pay for chess instruction? How to pay for tournaments? I’ve learned that it is an issue that actually keeps some students away from the game. I’ve also learned that it is a rare school district that will do what the Garretson School District has done.

It all starts with a committed parent or teacher. I have been the face of that person at Garretson, but it’s not a one-man show, nor should it be wherever else a program is being run. I’ve had huge support from my wife, other parents, school officials, and other chess players. So, although a committed parent or teacher is critical, they need support!

In our case, the first thing we did was request money from our PTO to purchase chess equipment, but there are other sources for chess supplies as well. The Sioux Empire Chess Foundation (SECF) has long been a source of chess equipment to fledgling chess programs in our SD communities, and they will help when they can. I have to say that the PTO/PTA route to me is the best way to go because you want that local commitment, and these groups do have funding!

Other sources of funding that are out there include local business support. At one point in our program, we did get a nice donation from Sioux Valley Energy to help pay for awards. I have to say I’d have no qualms about calling our program the Sioux Valley Energy Blue Dragons Chess Club, if the price was right! I’ve always said it’s too bad T. Denny Sanford wasn’t an avid chess player!

The next step is to get your local school administration behind your program. They should give your program the same support they would give any other club, and quite frankly, because of the positive mental benefits of chess, they should hopefully be on board for additional support. We all know there are many studies that equate a systemic chess instruction program with improved academic performance, and one of the things I did in my funding proposal was to provide a list of this research that is available upon request from the US Chess Federation.

Lastly, in all this, I found that the ability to provide chess instruction to our kids at no cost goes a long way to having a successful program. This means beg, borrow, or steal, but get this financial support from wherever you can. Okay, I’d recommend foregoing the criminal path, but be willing to sell your program to get the support you need. This means, don’t go this alone. Both the SECF, and the SD Chess Association have folks who’d be glad to help you get a program going.

Nothing would please me more than to see other school districts around our state step up and support scholastic chess, but with the current state of school funding I know this is a tough challenge for many of our districts. However, scholastic chess is a worthwhile endeavor, and hopefully the future bodes well for more districts to do this. If I can be of any help to anyone who has a new chess program, or is interested in starting one, feel free to contact me at (605) 782-8202, or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .