Hello all,
Although not particularly interested in politics or heated debates, it seems to me that there's room for healthy conversation in these important matters. I'd like to clarify that, Michael Barron approached the Hart House Chess Club as a possible host in mid-January, about a week or so before the topic surfaced on ChessTalk. When I responded to Aris' post, I had just gotten clearance from Hart House but needed to work out some minor details and officially submit the bid to CFC.
We're a University chess club and don't normally search for junior events, although we have the means to organize them. At Hart House, which is the cultural student centre of University of Toronto, justification on paper is required to organize major events, and it took us three weeks to be able to make it official. The Canadian Junior just so happens to be the one event that can combine juniors with 1st and 2nd year University students into one tournament. Three of our members showed immediate interest and are signed up.
The Canadian Junior is taking place in Toronto for the second time in 3 years. Several cities and chess clubs with respective organizers have proven capable of organizing much bigger and challenging events. Taking that into account, it would probably be healthier for the Canadian Junior to move around to different areas of the country. It may be that, most organizers focus on their communities' needs, which are different type of events. For obvious reasons, many juniors are brought to tournaments by their parents, and are still finding their voice in the chess community. It's important to have more developed juniors like Eric, who have "been there, done that" a few times and can express very valid concerns.
We have a 2010 Canadian Junior Championship, April 30 to May 4 at Hart House, University of Toronto. Lets work out these differences while focusing on future years. Starting a chat about 2011 Canadian Junior can't hurt, even if it's still early, never hurts to throw out ideas, "what ifs" and "what would be necessary to".
Back to Toronto! We're not interested in having a Toronto Junior, this is meant to be the Canadian Junior. With 10 weeks away, hopefully those who live further away will be able to get it all together in time to join us. Ending early May, gives the winner three months to prepare for the World Junior, which should be enough. One of the advantages of the Canadian Junior taking place in Toronto is definitely the large chess community. There are probably more promising youngsters in Toronto than any other Canadian city, which increases the odds of a larger and more competitive field. It can be argued that this should also make it more appealing for travelers: the certain competition, the city's accessibility and diversity.
University of Toronto, Hart House and its Chess Club have a solid tradition. In the past 2 years, we've re-opened to the community in a big way and have been more active since at least a couple of decades. We're not a 5 star hotel, but I'd like to believe people keep coming back because we're doing some things right. We hope to put on a respectable Canadian Junior!
http://hhchess.sa.utoronto.ca/cj
Cheers,
Alex Ferreira
Hart House Chess Club
Organizer, Canadian Junior 2010