first tournament - help!

Well, I've taken the plunge and have registered with USCF and am preparing to enter my first tournament - and have my first rated game for that matter. I'm having a hard time understanding all the tourney related lingo. For example, here's one that I'm thinking of entering:

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A Heritage Event!
Sept. 3-5   75th Annual Virginia Closed State Championship

A State Championship Event! 6-SS, 30/90, SD/1. Hilton Garden Inn Richmond-Innsbrook, 4050 Cox Rd., Glen Allen, VA (804) 521-2900. Conveniently located off I-295. Ask for chess rate and mention the tournament. Reserve before 8/12 for $89 chess rate http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com. Open to VA residents, military stationed in VA, and students attending any VA school, College or University (must show valid ID or other proof of Fall 2011 VA school enrollment). Annual VCF Business Meeting Sat Sep 3 from 10am-12 noon. $$2,825 b/75 paid entries. Two sections, Open and Amateur (U1800). Open $600-350-250, Top Expert & A $125 ea. Trophy to 1st, Top Exp & A. Amateur $500-300-175. Top C, D, U1200, Unr $100 each. Trophy to 1st, Top C, D, U1200. Trophies to top Senior (60+), Junior (U18) and Woman with 1pt added to their Open section scores. Reg.: Fri Sep 2, 3-6:30PM and Sat Sep 3, 10:00AM-12:30PM. Rds.: Sat 1 & 7; Sun 11 & 5; Mon 10 & 3:30. Two 1/2 pt byes available, must declare before start of Rd 2. EF: $60 if received by Sep 2, $75 thereafter and on site. Re-entry allowed for Rd.2 only at $30 with 1/2 pt bye. Ent: Mail payment by 8/30 to Mike Hoffpauir, ATTN: VA Closed, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown, VA 23693. Checks to "VIRGINIA CHESS". Info: mhoffpauir@aol.com, 757-846-4805, or www.vachess.org/2011closed.htm. W, NS, NC, FIDE. Chess Magnet School JGP.

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Here's my questions:

What is the significance of a tournament being "Closed"?

What is the significance of this being a "Heritage Event"?

Given my chess.com rating, and my lack of a USCF rating, what section should I register in? I can't tell if Unrated is a section... or whether I should be in U1200.

Do I need to bring my own standard set and clock?

Is there anything about this particular event that makes you think it would be a bad choice for my first tournament?

One particularly stupid question that occurred to me - do you need to use a set with extra queens in case of promotion? Where do you put the extra queens before play begins?

Is it bad form to weep after being crushed by a third grader?

Bear in mind that I've never played chess in the US system so I'm going on the basis of UK tournament terminology. The best thing to do is email the organiser for information at the email address given. That said here are my guesses.

1) The tournament is closed: that is it is open only to residents of Virginia etc cf the sixth sentence.

2) The tournament is a "Heritage event": I suspect this is just flavour text, but it is possible that it means something in the US.

3) Which section to enter: There appear to be two sections: Open and Amateur (U1800) (cf 9th sentence). In the UK an ungraded player would typically be allowed to register in either section, the US may differ, but prizes are lower in the Amateur which is what I'd expect from the UK system. I would recommend you enter the Amateur section unless the organiser says you can't.

4) Equipment: In the UK equipment would be provided ... I get the impression that this is not the case in the US. Best to ask the organiser.

5) Does anything about this suggest it might not be a good idea to enter: Well personally I think the lack of useful information is something of a warning ... I'd expect there to be a website with all the info you need linked prominently. But this could just be a cultural difference.

6) Extra queens: See point 4). There is usually no problem (in the UK) with inverting an exchanged rook to represent a queen or even using two pawns. In the exceptional case where there is insufficient exchanged material to represent a queen I would just have asked the players next to me if they could spare a piece but again this may well be different in the US.

7) Weeping after being crushed by a third grader: I wouldn't do it in public ... .

     I will answer some of the questions.  WE used to turn the rook upside down to represent a queen, if extra queens were not available.

     IT is best to go for a rated division you fall into, because in an unrated you could face a player that is 1800 or more  strength, but never been rated so that person will clean up the competition.

     I would ask if you should bring your own set and clock because I have gone to tournaments that some people brought far out looking chess sets that were difficult to play with if you have a standard set, yours would take preference to sci-fi chess sets! lolo

    I do not know why many tornaments are like closed,  but it is a state competition, maybe looking for local talent. I was stationed at Andrews AFB, there is some good players in the service! 

     Its like jumping into a swimming pool, getting you self wet, this tournament is just as good as another for you to get the experience, and as far as crying, bring some extra tissue, but soon you will feel its no big deal when you lose, the most important part is you got out there and mingled with other chess players some just like you and have a good time win or lose. No one is going to look at you or single you out, they will all be nervous, just some people do not show it as much as others!  Go for it and have fun!  Oh wish I could be there, tooo far away, lolo

"Heritage" means it's an event that's been running for 25 years. Not important to know. "Closed" means that not everybody in the world can enter it - it seems to be limited to Virginia residents (which I presume you are).

You should bring a set and clock unless the ad says that sets are provided. If you have extra queens, you just put them beside the board or whatever you do with captured pieces. It's not strictly necessary to have such a set, though it is nice.

You should register for the Amateur (U1800) section. The good news for you is that they have a prize for the best unrated player.

This should be a good event for you. It might be a little rough for a very first tournament, but life is rough. One warning I have is that people tend to play a little worse than they normally would in their first tournament, so don't be depressed if you make some stupid mistakes and lose a couple games that you wouldn't normally lose. You're just getting it out of your system.

   Just for your information, looking at your live games, they are the best to get an idea of you playing strength.  you would fair well in the 1200 and below division. You got your game going but over looking opportunities and exposing your pieces at times, but so will your opponent, in that division, so stay alert and look for those opportunities before your opponent finds them!  Good Luck!

Thanks everybody for all the explanation of the tournament description - it's been very helpful!

 lobachevskii - I hadn't considered flipping a rook over for a queen. I'll keep it in mind. :-)

gzthompson - I'll bring a standard tournament set and clock with me just in case. It's good to know that the default is to bring your own equipment unless the ad says otherwise.

GhostNight - I appreciate you taking a look at my games. I'll take your advice and try for the U1200 division. I'm going to try hard to focus on playing sound moves with no reckless sacrifices.