2018 DISTRICT 8 TOURNAMENT IS ANNOUNCED

Good News!  This year's tournament will be the biggest and best ever in the history of District 8 Checkers!  Currently, we have a prize fund of $2500 and growing.  We are guaranteeing $600 for First Place Winner of the Tournament along with Trophy.  We also plan to have two divisions this year=  Masters-Major and Minor Division.

The Master-Major's Division will be composed of all players with tournament experience.  The Minor Division will be for all new tournament players.  Encourage new players to come with you and give it a try.  We guarantee $250 to winner of the Minor Division. We see this as a good way to get new players into tournament play.

The Tournament will begin on Friday Morning, June 1, 2018 at the Lakewood Community Center(pending).  There will be a breakfast served at 8:00 AM as registration begins.  The business meeting will begin at 8:30 AM to go over guidelines for tournament and to elect officers for coming year.

There will be four rounds of Checkers on Friday with Round Robin Play.  The times will be

Round One    9:00-11:00

Round Two   11:00-1:00

Lunch Provided 1:00-1:30

Round Three   1:30-3:30

Round Four   3:30-5:30

Saturday Schedule:

Round Five   8:00-10:00

Round Six    10:00-12:00

Trophy Presentation and Awards Presented 12 Noon

We reserve the right to change the above schedule if necessary during the business meeting.  We are hoping to have a great group of players.

All players must have current membership with the ACF.  If not, you may purchase membership at the door for $40 a year.  The fee for the tournament is only $25.  I can guarantee that you will likely  get more than your money back.

There will be a special award for the player driving the furthest.  I think Joe won that award last year.  The city and local media are behind this tournament.  Lets come in force!!!

Our continued support of this tournament is linked to support of our local hotels.  Please, if you plan to come, make reservations Holiday Inn Motel Suites, Vidor TX.  The discount price is $99 per night.  Most will be staying on Thursday and Friday night. The Hotel is not far from the Checker Site.

To make reservations, please call    Blaine Reeves, Manager, at Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Vidor South, 20691 IH 10, Vidor Texas 77662. Phone number is 409-783-2420

Be sure to mention you are with the Checkers Tournament for District 8.

 

Also, please contact me if you plan to come or if you have any questions.  My Phone number is 409-201-2543.  You can text or call.  My email address is texascheckerplayer@aol.com

Come and have a great time! Support our local businesses! Spread good checkers cheer!   Bring some new players with you!

See you there...

Watson Franks, District 8 Checkers Director, ACF

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(News from last year's tournament)

What a Week!

Thank you to Vidor Business Network for their sponsorship of District 8 & Texas State Championship Checkers Tournament. With their generous donation of $1500 and a $300 donation from Joe McDaniel, we saw a total tournament fund of $1800!  That provided a great week for all.

Tournament Director Watson Franks was hard at work throughout the year getting ready for this week.  The news was in the local papers as well as on Channel 12 News!  Everyone knew about the Checkers Tournament.

Franks was able to locate the perfect spot to host the tournament.  Lakewood Community Center offered their place and Franks was quick to accept.  The beauty of the area was appreciated by all.  The room was spacious, clean and perfect to host this year's tournament.  We sincerely thank Lakewood Community for the pleasure of meeting at this site.

The tournament began on Friday morning. The business meeting saw Watson Franks elected as the new District 8 Manager.  Elbert Jones, the previous year's manager, nominated Franks. He was elected without opposition.  Those present approved the round robin style with three rounds on Friday and two rounds on Saturday.

After two rounds of morning play, the players were given the opportunity to order whatever they desired for lunch from Barbque Depot in Vidor.    The food was picked up from the Depot and brought to the players. Delicious!

The tournament concluded on Saturday morning.  The first round saw Albert Tucker face off against Franks with the tournament on the line.  After a draw in the first game, Tucker won a hard fought contest in the second game.  After a win in the final match against Quinten Pierce, Tucker was officially the tournament champion.

Franks came away with the District Title and the Texas State Title by finishing 2nd in the tournament after a first game win over Joe McDaniel.  Quinten Pierce finished in a tight second in the race for District.

It was a fun weekend for all.  Director Franks even brought his Dog Spicy over to do some great dog tricks to the delight of all.

Plans are already in the making for next year's tournament.  We hope to be even bigger and better!  We are doing our best to help the game of Checkers grow in this area.  We will hope once again to have the best players in the state as well as the five state area of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.

Checker players are some of the best people that you will want to meet. They are good sports, hard workers and competitive.  Come out next year and check these players out and see what it is like.  Enter into the competition and see how you stack up against the best.