About

"The e-mail blast from Saint Louis Chess Club’s Executive Director, Tony Rich, seemed to be directed at everyone. But was it also really meant for me? The message requested that I pass a SafeSport online training. Moi? A lowly chess commentator? Why would I have to pass a SafeSport training? I’m no longer an athlete nor a coach — heck, I’m not even allowed into a playing hall. I wrote back to Tony asking for confirmation. Yep, as an employee of the Club, I, too, was required to be certified.  At that point I went through several stages all at once: Anger, resentment, outrage, acceptance, and finally, genuine interest.  I was told the training would last for 90 minutes. Not even close. Three hours was more like it. And much to my great surprise, I loved it! The training had “modules” that presented a scenario; I’d be asked about six questions beforehand, five of which I habitually got right. Invariably, I’d fail one, be annoyed, and then learn why my answer “might” have been wrong. (As you can guess, I didn’t always agree with the training!) Despite my misgivings, I learned a huge amount regarding … cyber-bullying. I completely missed the whole social media craze —just not my cup of tea — so I was utterly clueless. Now I was aghast by the things that athletes had to put up with. It was a real revelation. I took a lot of notes and carefully considered my answers as well as the scenarios presented as I went through the modules. A lot of careful thought and planning went into the training, and I found myself considering a variety of responses. In the end? I’m very happy that I went through the training. "