Page 4 - Mar 23

Coming Events

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR OUR CLUB
Mar 23 Club Meeting - CPR and Defibulator Training [Speaker Stephen Knight Queensland
Emergency Services Caloundra]
Mar 25 Equine Therapy - Equine Therapy
Mar 30 Club Meeting - Sunshine Coast Events Centre Backstage Tour [Speaker Vocational]
Apr 1 Equine Therapy - Equine Therapy
Apr 13 Club Meeting - Visit Sunshine Coast Business Events [Speaker Ali Thompson]
Apr 14 Board Meeting (Short)
Apr 20 Club Meeting - Mooloolaba Past and Present.
Apr 27 Bunnings BBQ - Bunnings BBQ
Apr 27 Club Meeting - Multicap [Speaker Camae Colnan]
May 11 Club Meeting - Bamboo Projects [Speaker Kristy Paterson Bamboo Projects]
May 12 Board Meeting (Long)
May 31 Coastguard Open Day - QF6 Open Day
Jun 1 Club Meeting
Jun 9 Board Meeting (Combined)
Jun 22 Changeover Meeting
Oct 27 Club Meeting - Finalists in The Telling Stories Writing Competition [Speaker The Children of
The Sunshine Coast]
Members' Communications
Anniversaries

Shannon & Ian Fisher DOLAN (25/3 )

Rotary Information

Rotary Promotes Pathway to success

At the Victorious Chess Academy in the western city of Pune, in a little shrine decorated
with flowers and incense, instructors have made a traditional rangoli - a drawing with
colored powder - of the Hindu god Ganesha. But there is a twist: Ganesha, a popular patron
of letters and learning, is reading a book of chess rules. For the students here, says founder
Kapil Lohana, "chess is a religion."

Seeking to tap into that passion, Rotary members, clubs, and districts around India are
sponsoring tournaments and collaborating with chess academies to expand access to the
game, recognizing it presents a pathway to educational advancement, connection, and
potential prosperity for the communities they serve.
Lohana regularly organizes tournaments sponsored by Rotary clubs. His academy coaches
students in more than 30 countries; one student, Harshit Raja, became India's 69th
grandmaster in 2021. Playing chess competitively helped Lohana find a route out of poverty.
He grew up on a cotton farm in central Maharashtra state's drought-prone Yavatmal district,
known tragically for its high rates of farmer suicides.

Meanwhile, more and more people, especially parents, are coming to view chess as a way to
improve academic performance, decision making, critical thinking, and memory skills. In
Pune, Aparna Bodhe has been bringing her 5-year-old twins, Parikshita and Aradhita, to the
White Knight Chess Academy for coaching. "Playing chess has definitely calmed them
down," she says, as her girls play and giggle at a chessboard. "Earlier, it was impossible to
make them sit, but three months of chess has made them a little more focused and able to sit
down and concentrate."