2021 JOOC League
Registrations Now Open!
​Starts April 24, 2021

What is the Junior Online Oceania Chess League?

In early 2020 COVID-19 forced us to isolate indoors. During isolation a few enthusiastic chess administrators shared an idea - an Online Teams Chess Tournament where junior players can represent their city and compete against players from all over Oceania. 

​And that's how JOOC (pronounced like juice) was born!

It's amazing to think that it's now one year later - and online chess has grown a lot in that time.

How do I join a Team?

The JOOC League is open to all juniors in Oceania. Simply register online through Tornelo (click Enter Now) and if you don't have a Team Manager yet, email us with which City you'd like to represent and we'll find you a Manager!

Your team will compete online against teams from 20 other cities!

Competition Format

  • All games played online
  • 7 Round Team Swiss
  • Players from the same team will not play against one another
  • Flexible team size; sum of Top 4 to calculate Team Score
  • Age Divisions for Under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18
  • Time limit per game of 25 minutes + 10 seconds per move

Tournament Ethics

This is NOT an anonymous online event. The expectations of fair play, sportsmanship and ethics are no different from an over-the-board tournament. Your reputation is at stake.
​
Players are representing their cities, coaches and managers' and all those reputations are on the line. We expect players to respect opponents, arbiters and team mates and follow the rules of chess at all times.  This means no assistance whatsoever during a game.

Our fair play policy is here.

2021 League - Starts April 24

One game per week, every Saturday at the following times:
  • Perth, Australia AWST (UTC +8) Sat, 25 Apr 2020 3:00 pm
  • Adelaide, Australia ACST (UTC +9:30)  Sat, 25 Apr 2020 4:30 pm
  • Melbourne, Australia AEST (UTC +10)  Sat, 25 Apr 2020 5:00 pm
  • Brisbane, Australia AEST (UTC +10)  Sat, 25 Apr 2020 5:00 pm
  • Auckland, New Zealand NZST (UTC +12)  Sat, 25 Apr 2020 7:00 pm

Games are expected to last about 1 hour.

Round 1, April 24 - Round 7, June 5
7 games over 7 Saturday's; April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5

Entry fees

AUD$35 per player, (just $5 per round!) payable at the time of entry

This is a wonderful opportunity to represent your city, enjoy some competitive chess and meet like-minded players!

Winners take pride of place in the JOOC Hall of Fame.

Tournament Platform

This is being run as an Arbiter Controlled live online event.
To play you will need to:

Before the event
  1. Visit Tornelo and join the online tournament 
    https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/ku/events/junior-online-oceania-chess-league/
  2. Download and install the Zoom video meeting app

On the day
  1. Join the Arbiter Room by Clicking JOIN ZOOM button on the Tournament Page

IMPORTANT: When you join the Zoom meeting please use the Player Name so the arbiter can easily know who is on the screen. Please try to login about 15 minutes before the round starts.  

Step 2:  Login to Tornelo using this link:
https://tornelo.com/chess/orgs/ku/events/junior-online-oceania-chess-league/

You must be logged in to play online games.

Tornelo for players

Tornelo for Team Managers

Information for Team Managers

We would like to attract a team from each of the 20 largest cities in Oceania. Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Suva should also be on the list/image.

A team manager (or managers) represents a city and is responsible for the promotion of the event. We can provide you with a marketing pack for email promotion, flyers, social media etc. 
To find out more about becoming a Team Manager, connect through our private Facebook group or email.
Style Guide

FAQ's

How do I know what age division I can play in?
The current year minus your Year of Birth tells you your Age Group. Eg. born in 2011? For the entire calendar year of 2021 you may play in Under 10's, regardless if your birthday is Jan 1 or Dec 31.

Can a child play up in an older division?
Yes, a child may play in any age group they are eligible for. Eg. born in 2011? You can choose from Under 18, Under 16, Under 14, Under 12 or Under 10.

Will there be individual prizes as well?
We will recognise the Top 3 individual players in each Divsion as well as the Top 4 scoring players in each Team.

What is the team prize?
Honour and glory! Winners will be immortalised and take pride of place in the JOOC League Hall of Fame.  All players receive a personalised digital certificate.

Email your questions to david@kidsunlimited.com.au

How does Team Scoring work?

  • ​Team sizes are flexible - you can have 1 or 100 in a team.
  • The scoring is based on the SUM of the Top 4 players at the end of the event.  The 4 players will only be determined at the end of the event, you don't need to pick them at the start. It's just the best 4 performing players on the day.
  • Teams with 1, 2 or 3 players will struggle to win a place
  • If 2 teams are on an EQUAL score at the end of the event, then the 5th highest scoring player is considered. If still tied, then 6th player score and so on.
  • Ultimately, if 2 teams have every member of the team on the same score it will be the larger team that finishes ahead on countback
  • Let's say there were 40 kids in your team, you could split into multiple teams (players from the same team won't play each other, but if you have multiple teams it is possible for a player from Brisbane 1 to play against a player from Brisbane 2). But unless you think you'll be finishing both 1st and 2nd (pretty unlikely that any team will have that sort of depth) it's better for you to stick to one large team.

Team Names and Mascots

Team Managers should rush to pick their team name and mascot by visting Chess Power JOOC LEAGUE MASCOTS website! First in best dressed.
Proudly powered by Tornelo