The third annual Vision Taekwondo Kick-a-Thon took place on Saturday, February 4th. We raised some money for cancer all in the memory of his Grandmother (as written in on the sleeve of his shirt).
This year, the kick-a-thon was held in the gymnasium of Salem Baptist Church. Although a much bigger space, the acoustics weren't the best and we couldn't hear everything Master Beddow was saying.
Kade was all business though - he wouldn't let me take a video of any of his rounds because I might drop the kicking sheet or lose count - and he HAD to get as many kicks as possible!
Nailed it! After 10 rounds of kicks and a very tired right foot, he more than doubled his kicks from last year with a total of 900 kicks!! One proud boy!
The following weekend, Kade competed in his very first chess tournament. This was a big one! The North Carolina K-12 Chess Tournament was held at the Raleigh Convention Center the weekend of February 11-12 - yes, a TWO day tournament.
We got there early Saturday morning and it was interesting to see how this was all configured. Rows and rows of chess boards - ordered by grades and boards paired by similar ratings.
All the parents were welcome to help their child find their board, but then had to leave before games began. No spectators while playing happened - we had to wait patiently outside in the lobby to see how our child did!
Kade's first game started at 9am - with three games to follow that day and three total games on Sunday. It did not matter if you lost, you continued to play in the tournament. Your ranking just fell, but you were also paired with a lower ranked player.
The tournament itself was actually organized really well and once I understood how it worked and how he was paired (each game's pairings were only announced about 30 minutes before next game), it went really well - my only complaint was how much time was between games. I understand that they need to allow time for every single player's game to end (and the tournament included high schoolers), but most of Kade's games were done in less than 20 minutes - which meant two hours until the next game!!
He was happy to have some Washington Elementary buddies joining him - made the time between games pass a little quicker when he found friends to play with.
But yes, there was a LOT of time spent in the lobby of the Civic Center!
We had to pick up a shirt to commemorate this occasion! (A full roster is printed on the back of the shirt - split into two groups because of how many kids were at this event - we took the first half of the alphabet so his name is printed there!)
Sunday, Day two - we did not arrive as early as the previous day! Glad Kade had made some friends and was talking "best chess moves" to some other second graders.
And we came prepared this day with our own chess board to practice!
Sunday was special - after an event with Brock, Brent surprised Kade, bringing us lunch and to cheer him on! (Also treated Kade to this bigger chess set with flexible mat so he could practice just like the tournament)
Last game - finish strong!
Kade did really well for his very first time. This was a big event - and the fact that it was such a long day (two days!) really took a toll - on him and me!! He won his very first game, lost the next two (round 4 we asked for a bye since it was my birthday evening and Brent and I had dinner plans!!), lost the first two on Sunday morning and ended with a Draw for his last game.
Sidenote - Washington Elementary did take home the second place trophy for second graders! His other four friends scored high enough to secure that title!! Yay Wizards!!
Entering the event, Kade started with a 200 rating (because he did not have an actual rating, they assigned a rating 100/grade level) - after tournament, he currently has a formal chess rating of 196. This is a game that requires so much skill and he loves to be challenged. Thankfully, Kade is not deterred by his losses and has continued to watch chess videos, play chess and talk about chess! I am so excited to see where he goes from here!
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