I've run strategy game events on both a local and national level now for about 10 years, since my eldest DS was 8. Both sons have moved on from playing in tournaments but still love playing casually. Despite their lack of involvement, I still run events and I'm just stunned at the amount of highly intelligent and creative youth that frequent there. A lot of 2E kids.
One of the great things about many if not most gaming stores is that most of the kids seem to have obvious quirks, however, they all KNOW they have obvious quirks and so most everyone simply accepts each other's quirks, even joke about their own. There also isn't any age discrimination in gaming. I'm 50 and I can get whooped by an 8 year old who knows the game well just as easily as I can an adult. Kids like that, they're treated with respect because of their gaming ability, not because of their age.
