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The Future of Checkers and Draughts Learn the game of checkers in school International Youth Junior Cadets |
CheckersThe Future of Checkers and Draughts 
FRIENDS, FELLOWSHIP AND A FUN-OMENAL LIFE EXPERIENCE! After an amazing historical legacy, will Checkers and its counterpart, Draughts, survive well into the 21st century? With the advent of gaming systems and computer games with no end and the existence of a diversity within physical sports, is there still a place in the future, in society for 64 square Checkers/ Draughts, 100 square Draughts and 144 square Canadian ‘jeu de dames’? ABSOLUTELY! 
There was a time when checkers was a simple game meant to keep the children quietly occupied in the recreation room, at the cottage or travelling in the car, or it was considered to be an old man’s amusement when he got together with his cronies at the local grocery store or across the barrel in the back alley, but this mind sport has grown far beyond that perception in recent times.  Dusty Checkerboard from days gone by.  Calvin Munroe vs Michael Jordan American Pool Checkers Champ  Montreal Club Tournament Canadian ‘Jeu de dames’ Interest in the game of checkers/draughts did face a steady decline into the 1970’s, but because serious checkerists were intent on promoting the checkers game, a revival began to take place and it was no longer only the old cronies who now faced opponents at the checkerboard. Today’s youth have been encouraged to develop a variety of skills at the game board as well as a deep and profound knowledge of the game itself. Throughout the gaming world, checkers and draughts clubs have been created to meet the needs of the growing populace intrigued by the competition at the checkerboard. There are levels of play for the novice, intermediate, and master checkers player and there are Master and Grandmaster coaches willing to share their knowledge and encourage the development of great skills to be learned from even the most basic of checkers games.  In 1971, the FMJD created a European checkers/draughts championship for junior players. At that time, the focus of the games was mostly in Europe until the checkers activities on the other continents became more important. In 1987, the Olympiads for juniors made a presence on the International checkers stage and today continental tournaments are held throughout the world: Europe, Africa, Asia, America and PanAmerica. There are also International club competitions for interested participants and youth teams. There is a World Youth Championships 64 and a World Championships Cadets or Championnat du Monde Cadets for senior youth checkers competitors. These championship tournaments still appear to be attended more by European nations, as travel costs at this level has not been feasible for most other clubs.
International checkers and draughts clubs have devoted time to developing the interest of novice players and youth in the mind sport for generations and most tournaments have a history of a solid representation from various European nations, as well as countries close to the European boundaries. Checkers and International Draughts Grandmasters not only devote their time to competition at the checkerboard but also encourage young minds to become involved in checkers clubs as well as local, district and international tournaments.
Leopold Kouogueu with Junior Checkers Players The World Championship Cadets of Toulouse held in Tournefeuille, France, hosted teams from the Netherlands, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Italy, Belgium, France, Poland, Mongolia and Azerbaijan.
Other countries are often represented in different tournaments throughout the world. The West Indies and some South American countries usually participate in the PanAmerican Senior and Junior World Championships, held alternatively in different locations throughout the West Indian islands or South America. Curacao has held youth checkers tournaments for several years and is a great promoter of the game. In 2004, the 4th PanAmerican Draughts/Checkers Junior Championships were held in Willemstad, Curacao. Each participating country could represent their homeland checkers association by two boys and two girls, whereas Curacao, as the hosting country, could have three or four checkers players, should the number of competitors be uneven. The participants had to be 19 or under and could not turn twenty during the year of the tournament. The checkers competition would consist of a Swiss system of play with nine rounds of games to be completed by each contender. Considering this was a youth tournament, the prize money to be awarded to the winners was a nice bonus for these young checkerists: $1000, $700, $500, $300 and $200. Checkers in the 21st Century Since the beginning of the new millennium, the interest in the game of Checkers and Draughts (64-square) and International Draughts (100-square) has grown by leaps and bounds within the sphere of children and youth activities. Not only is this great game promoted by professional checkers players and coaches, but by many individual schools and school boards in North America, Europe and within some South America and Caribbean countries. Is it simply to offer the children a different choice of amusement for their free time in school? No, there is greater depth to a game of checkers/draughts than many people are inclined to believe. The mind sport requires a lot more skill than merely pushing some little discs randomly around the checkerboard and it offers the players so much more than that. Checkers is more than just an enjoyable, leisurely past time. It is certainly a great way to develop the intellect, build self-esteem and meet new friends. But more than that, Checkers or draughts is a great teaching tool for today’s educators because the many inherent qualities within the checkers game assist in developing personal skill sets within young individuals:
The checkers/draughts board game also develops and enhances many other essential life skill qualities that are needed to make a success within this ever changing world of technology and computers and for this reason schools around the world have begun incorporating checkers into curricula and extra curricular activities over the past few years. The success of the checkers programs within the educational field is becoming self-evident in the development of young modern, minds. |
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