‘We are disgusted’: Youth chess coach says student kicked out of tournament for ‘seductive’ dress
Marissa Payne, April 29, 2917
Quoted from the Facebook post (includes photo above):
DEAR MALAYSIAN CHESS COMMUNITY,
I heard the most disturbing incident from one of my student’s mother.
At the National Scholastic Chess Championship 2017, in Putrajaya, one of my student, who is a 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL felt harassed and humiliated by the actions of Tournament Director and Chief Arbiter.
In the middle of Round 2, (without stopping the clocks) Chief Arbiter informs my student that the dress she wore was improper and have violated the dress code of the tournament. It was later informed (by Chief Arbiter) to my student and her mother, that the Tournament Director deemed my student’s dress to be “seductive” and a “temptation from a certain angle far, far away”.
We found this statement completely out of line!
We found this statement completely out of line!
Please see attached photo of what she was wearing! Completely ridiculous!
After some discussion, Chief Arbiter had conceded and apologised to my student, personally assuring her that there was nothing wrong with her attire, but due to Tournament Director’s decision, he could not allow this dress to be worn by my student in the tournament. This discussion happened at around 10pm and Chief Arbiter gave them a choice to go to the mall nearby to buy a long slack for the next day 9.00am round. Due to the timing of this incident, it was impossible to get another attire in time for the 9.00am round next day, as all shops were already closed and wouldn’t be open in time.
Before the morning round next day, my student’s mother called Tournament Director regarding this matter, initially he had replied that he was not aware of the situation but after a brief discussion, it was realized that he knew all the details on this incident prior to this phone call. He promised to return the call upon discussion with Chief Arbiter, but this did not happen. He would further not answer or return any calls of my student’s mother.
This situation had led to the inevitable decision of withdrawal from the tournament all together.
We are absolutely DIGUSTED by the treatment of Tournament Director to a 12-year-old girl and her mother. This incident has resulted in loss of time and money which was invested before, during and after the tournament on coaching, registration fees, travelling, accommodation and other incurred cost.
This bright young girl was recently the champion of her district in MSS Kuala Lumpur and has shown tremendous potential in Chess. This incident has left her extremely disturbed, and embarrassed.
I have been playing chess in Malaysia for almost 2 decades and I have never heard this type of issue ever in any tournaments in Malaysia. This should be the first and last time this kind of issue ever appears, I or anyone of us should never accept this in our Chess Community.
We demand a public apology from Tournament Director of National Scholastic Chess Championship 2017. In the event, we do not receive a public apology in the next 5 days, we shall have no choice but to resort to legal proceedings.
Regards,
Kaushal Khandhar
A Malaysian Chess Player & Coach
Kaushal Khandhar
A Malaysian Chess Player & Coach
Article:
A 12 year-old chess champion in Malaysia was forced to withdraw from a youth tournament in the country after tournament organizers deemed her knee-length dress too “seductive,” the girl’s coach said.
The tournament director of the National Scholastic Chess Championship held April 14-16 made the call personally, the coach noted, after finding the dress to be “temptation."
"We found this statement completely out of line!” youth chess coach Kaushal Khandhar wrote on Facebook.
He said the incident left his student feeling “extremely disturbed, and embarrassed."
Dress codes in chess are not unusual, as FIDE, world chess’s governing body, allows tournament organizers to set them before their events to ensure participants maintain a “dignified appearance.” In certain Muslim-majority countries, such as Iran, organizers may require female participants to follow local customs, including covering their hair with headscarves.
Malaysian women, however, do not face the same restrictions, and skirts or shorts that extend to the knee are commonly worn in public spaces.
"I have been playing chess in Malaysia for almost two decades and I have never heard this type of issue ever in any tournaments in Malaysia,” Khandhar added.
Making matters worse, the coach said, was the timing of the incident. The girl apparently was able to play in the dress without incident in the first round of the tournament but was pulled aside in the middle of the second round Thursday and told her attire didn’t conform with the dress code.
Khandhar said tournament organizers gave the girl the option to go purchase a pair of slacks and return to the event the next day, however, Khandhar said by the time that offer was made it was past 10 p.m., and all the shops had closed. They would not open again in time to meet the next day’s call time of 9 a.m., meaning the girl had no choice but to withdraw.
"We are absolutely DISGUSTED by the treatment of Tournament Director to a 12-year-old girl and her mother,” Khandhar continued. “This incident has resulted in loss of time and money which was invested before, during and after the tournament on coaching, registration fees, traveling, accommodation and other incurred costs."
Khandhar said the girl and her family are hoping for a public apology.
The unnamed tournament director has not commented on the allegations specifically, but told the Malay Mail Online on Friday that the would be lodging a police report. [What? A police report - for what? And who, exactly, is allegedly going to be or has already filed this 'police report?' The word typed in the article is "THE would be lodging a police report." Is this supposed to be HE - or THEY? And if it is THEY, who is THEY, specifically?]
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Chess Federation told the paper an investigation of the incident is underway. A spokesman for the governing body said it had already reached out to the girl’s mother, whose statement on the incident did not exactly match the coach’s.
"The claim [Khandhar] posted is different from the official complaint [from the mother],” the MCF told the Malay Mail Online, noting it could not comment further due to legal concerns. “We will take action once the report comes out." [How is Khandhar's claim different? Why hasn't anyone asked? What does this mean - we will take action once the report comes out? What report - their OWN 'investigation?' A police investigation? And what do the police have to do with something like this in the first place? NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE!]
WTF? There's more - DISGUSTING...
THIS, evidently, is considered an "official" response to what the mother says was a demand for an apology and the chess coach's Facebook post:
https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/2286/
Chess player not forced to drop out of tourney, say organisers
THE 12-year old chess district champion at the centre of a media frenzy over her dressing during a competition last week was not forced to withdraw but had done so willingly, according to the tournament organisers.
Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) information officer Amirul Mohamad said the "dignified appearance" for chess tournaments differs according to situations and is usually to be decided by the chief arbiter and tournament director.
"For example, during this year’s women's world championship in Iran, the organiser wanted participants to wear a scarf.
"So the chief arbiter or tournament director can impose a certain dress code based on the situation at hand," he told The Malaysian Insight.
Amirul said while dress codes were a part of all internationally recognised chess tournaments, violations rarely, if ever, led to disqualifications.
According to Amirul, the girl had played in the first round of the tournament on April 14 when the arbiters noticed that her skirt appeared too short when she was seated. After her match, she was asked to change before the next round.
"The girl played in the first round, then the other arbiters including the chief arbiter noticed her attire.
"The chief arbiter spoke to her during the second round about her attire. After the second round she went with her mom to the tournament secretariat table to hand her letter of withdrawal with her signature. She wasn't forced at all," he said.
The girl's mother, Chin Wai Ling, has said she expected tournament organisers to apologise over the incident, and said she has issued a letter demanding an explanation.
In a response letter addressed to Chin, tournament director Sofian Yusof said there had been no official protest from the girl at the time of the incident, nor was there an appeal against the dress code.
"The organiser (tournament official and the school) had advised your daughter to dress accordingly for the following days since the tournament was being played inside a school compound under the Ministry of Education,” he said in the letter.
According to MCF’s Amirul, the whole issue was blown out of proportion due to a Facebook post by a third party who was not there at the tournament.
"The Facebook post was made by a third party who wasn't even there at the tournament. It wasn't made by the mother or the player, so it is actually untrue.
"Even the coach wasn't there at the playing hall, so how can he make a statement if he is not there?"
The tournament director has lodged a police report towards the Facebook user that "spinned" the story, said Amirul.
The National Scholastic chess tournament was held in Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya and was jointly organised by the MCF and Ministry of Education as a recognised World Chess Federation (FIDE) event.
Yesterday, the girl's coach Kausal Khandhar and mother told The Star Online that the player was forced to withdraw from the chess championship due to her failure to change her attire.
Chief Arbiter Chan Kwai Keong issued a statement today saying that the issue will be further investigated by an Appeals Committee.
"The organisers do not admit to the complainant's version of the events. The organisers, however, will refrain from making a statement, as they wish to allow the Appeals Committee all opportunities to make an impartial and fair decision," he said in the statement. – April 29, 2017.Do I believe a single word of the evidently "official" explanation? NOPE. I HOPE ALL THEIR PENISES FALL OFF FROM LIARS' ROT.
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