Bum Rush the Boards:
Hip-Hop Chess Tournament

The tournament consists of 6 rounds of team based tournament play for youth ages 5-23. There are three rounds of individual competition for adults who are often at the tournament as coaches. Between rounds, a series of hip-hop based interactive workshops are conducted. These give chess players an opportunity to have hands on learning experiences with core elements of hip-hop culture. A mix tape for the event is also created annually comprised of original music by independent MC’s and producers.

PURPOSE:

The Bum Rush the Boards Hip-Hop Chess Tournaments exist to open the minds of youth to the numerous opportunities that life can offer them as a result of critical thinking. It consists of a series of experiences geared towards helping youth to think ahead and develop a plan for their lives. By planning for the future, youth begin to understand the connections between their interests and the skills acquired through the pursuit of a post-secondary education. Beginning in the 2010 tournaments, there will be a specific focus on career exploration in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and the Arts (STEMA). This is important because together, these areas of study constitute key components of the creative economy, one of the largest employment sectors in the United States.

GOALS:

1) Make STEMA resources and educational opportunities relevant and possible for often overlooked and academically under motivated students.
2) To support the work of numerous universities to act are resources to the communities that surround them.
3) To make connections for youth between thing developed by the numerous segments of the creative economy (focus on STEMA) and the lifetime earning potential of the people who develop them.
4) To introduce youth and their families to adults who are employed in the creative economy (STEMA).
5) To support the creation of and expansion of community and school-based chess programs.
6) To offer youth hands-on experiences of the elements of hip-hop and the artists who produce its cultural artifacts. This is accomplished through interactive workshops in the core elements of hip-hop, which include, but are not limited to: DJ’ing, B-boying/B-girling (Breakdancing), MC’ing, and Graffiti Writing. These workshops also may include fashion, graphic design, production, spoken word poetry, etc.