How to play US Chess online-rated events

Aloha.  Many people who are new USCF members in Hawaii are wondering, "What can I do with my membership?"  First, it allows you to play in any rated, in-person event in the USA.  In Hawaii we always have the Hawaii Open (usually Labor Day Weekend in September) and monthly scholastic tournaments for K-12 students.  Since the pandemic we have other rated events like the Hawaii Phoenix series in Honolulu or the Kauai Island series.  The Maui and Big Island Chess Clubs are both hoping to host their first Open chess tournaments in 2023.

In addition to this, your USCF membership allows you to play in a lot of online-rated events, some of which have cash entry fees and cash prizes.  The USCF hosts four little tournaments every week that are free and rated by both chess.com and USCF.  On days when I am not too exhausted from the week at school I enjoy the 3:00pm Friday tournament which is 15/10, a sane time control for those of us in the Senior age category.   They also hold a 10/0 tournament on Monday at 1:00pm and Blitz events on Monday at 6:00pm and Wednesday at 3:00pm.  As a USCF member you can play in any or all of these, just by joining the club.

In addition to this, there are many clubs around the USA who like to host their own club events that are USCF online rated and open to all USCF members.  I don't know of all of them, so please post the ones you know in the comments below.

Be aware that USCF online ratings are kind of disappointing, because they are lower than chess.com ratings and also lower than USCF over-the-board ratings.  That said, it is a good way to measure your current chess ability on a nation-wide scale, and a fun way to spend some time engaged in good chess games.