Over 300 young chess masters will meet in Wawa on Thursday, May 23, for the eighth Franco-Nord-Ouest Chess Tournament. The competition, hosted by Wawa's École Saint-Joseph, will attract francophone students from the following elementary and secondary schools: École Ste-Marie (Azilda), École Sacré-Cœur (Chapleau), ÉSC Trillium (Chapleau), École Alliance St-Joseph (Chelmsford), École St-Joseph (Dubreuilville), École La Renaissance (Espanola), École Notre-Dame (Hamner), École Saint Nom de Jésus (Hornepayne), École St-Paul (Lively), École Notre-Dame-du-Sault (Sault-Ste-Marie), École Écho-des-Rapides (Sault-Ste-Marie), ÉS Notre-Dame-du-Sault (Sault-Ste-Marie), École St-Charles Borromée (St-Charles), École St-Denis (Sudbury), École Ste-Thérèse (Val Thérèse), École St-Thomas (Warren), ÉSC de La Vérendrye (Thunder Bay), École l'Escalade (Wawa), École Saint-Joseph (Wawa) et ÉS Saint-Joseph (Wawa). This year, students from 20 French-language Catholic and public schools are taking part in this competition.
The tournament will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wawa's Community Centre (3 Chris Simon Drive, Wawa). All participants will be entitled to five games. Competing players will be divided in four categories: grades 3 and 4, grades 5 and 6, grades 7 and 8, and grades 9 to 12. Prizes will be awarded to winning teams and top students in each category.
Students from Wawa's École Saint-Joseph have acquired a reputation for their passion for chess, a discipline that requires considerable strategizing in addition to memory and problem-solving skills. By hosting this friendly francophone tournament, the school is seeking to promote the game and help Northwestern Ontario youth as well as those from other areas of the province to discover both this discipline and develop their chess skills.
For more information, please contact École Saint-Joseph (Wawa) teacher René-Guy Nobert at 705-856-2003 or reneguy.nobert@nouvelon.ca.
