So there are basically two national competitions a year, both USCF, one K-1, K-3, K-6, K-9, and K-12, and one that is by each grade (K, 1, 2, etc.) Second one is less competitive. And then it appears that every so often there is this supernationals things, right? Which is the thing where all the tournaments are played in one spot (Nashville?) for osme reason. There are also local, regional, superregional (?), and state tournaments (not sure what superregional is). Do I have that right? And there are state chess federations but really just the one national scholastic chess federation? I need a cheat sheet!
I think you've got it, although we don't have a super-regionals where I live.
We started DS in local kids-only tournaments. His first few tournaments were unrated, before we moved to rated tournaments. Some tournaments were at chess clubs, while others were held in libraries, or even restaurants.
