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The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
Re: The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
Dear Vlad,
Thank you for the references. They are suitable vague to allow for lots of leeway. Is there also a bylaw on how the leftover money from the CYCC should be spent? If so, you should delete it as the bylaw:
TO expend any funds in its possession or under its control, in any manner or degree, in its entire discretion, for the furtherance of the general objectives of the Federation
pretty much allows the executive to do whatever it wants. I bet that you could use that money for the executive to go to France and Iceland to play, according to the rules you have laid out for us. Of course, you would never do that, but that is why more specific rules and procedures should be put in place. A can of worms has been opened, all with good intentions, but it is open.
I, and I am sure others, await the answers to my questions 3 to 8 when you have the time.
I am quite comfortable with the decision to use youth funds to support Razvan in his quest for a GM title at these tournaments. Certainly under the present CFC bylaws and under the provisions of the NFP act we were acting within our legal and moral powers as directors. Even under the old bylaw and precedents of many years of executive actions we acted within the rules.
If Razvan should be successful at one or both of these tournaments and is able to attain the GM title the resulting publicity, articles in newspapers, television stories, publicity on Facebook and other social media will be worth quite a bit more than the $1000 provided. If he doesn't do it at one of these tournaments then he will do it soon perhaps at one of the FIDE GM norm tournaments. In any case, the benefit from that publicity while possibly fleeting will accrue to the CFC. There will be half hour interviews of CFC presidents and officers which will be condensed to a few seconds of air time. Razvan's example is certainly inspiring to many of the Windsor kids and I am sure that is true for kids in many other parts of Canada.
There are some that seem to be arguing for the idea that the parents and kids are there to be an endless open wallet for the CFC to supply CYCC funds which will result in an endless and growing pile of funds in the CFC accounts to be used when necessary for other expenses. This administration has had the nerve to spend these funds on youth initiatives as have past CFC administrations. I would suggest that future administrations continue this practice as the satisfaction of parents and juniors is quite high with the CFC at the moment judging from my emails and meetings with parents at various tournaments. Satisfaction results in higher participation and more funds to spend on youth initiatives like WYCC, NAYCC, U16 Youth Olympiad and yes possibly helping Razvan get his last GM norm.
If we are limited in our resources to doing small things, lets at least do the right small things consistent with the purposes of the CFC as approved of by the governors (now voting members) and filed with the government in our continuation application when we became compliant with the NFP act.
Yes there were those who argued for an emasculated vision of the directors role but they did not win the political fights that they needed in order to implement their vision of how things should unfold.
There are some who would argue that the directors are constrained by what certain small minded members of the public perceive as the role that we should play. Sorry, but I didn't sign on for that and neither did the rest of the executive.
If I do have a regret it is that there wasn't a report on this and some of our other recent activities at the just concluded meeting of voting members. I went to a chess tournament on the last two days of the meeting and didn't accomplish everything that I would have wanted to when the trip home in a winter storm took much longer than expected. For that I am sorry and apologize to the voting members for not making sure that a report was filed earlier in the meeting.
6. You wrote that the CFC would contribute to hosting the Canadian Open. How much money is the CFC willing to put up for an organizer to run the Canadian Open?
I believe that we have offered to waive rating fees (both CFC and FIDE) and to provide $2000 towards expenses which would probably cost us $3000 for a moderately successful tournament. Details would be worked out when we had a concrete bid to consider. Hal Bond has been very actively courting prospective organizers and venues and even considered organizing it himself as part of the Closed but that turned out not to be possible.
7. Has this funding for the Canadian Open been advertised anywhere?
8. Will you be advertising this funding in an effort to have the Canadian Open run?
Dear Vlad,
Thank you for the references. They are suitable vague to allow for lots of leeway. Is there also a bylaw on how the leftover money from the CYCC should be spent? If so, you should delete it as the bylaw:
TO expend any funds in its possession or under its control, in any manner or degree, in its entire discretion, for the furtherance of the general objectives of the Federation
pretty much allows the executive to do whatever it wants. I bet that you could use that money for the executive to go to France and Iceland to play, according to the rules you have laid out for us. Of course, you would never do that, but that is why more specific rules and procedures should be put in place. A can of worms has been opened, all with good intentions, but it is open.
I, and I am sure others, await the answers to my questions 3 to 8 when you have the time.
Thanks
Brian
It would not be possible for the Executive to use those funds in that manner as it would be against the rules on conflict of interest as spelled out in the NFP act and other relevant laws and court decisions.
Re: The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
I can answer part of Gary's question and it's good to get this straight because a lot of members don't understand the Foundation or the Pugi Fund.
Since I took over management of the Foundation in 2008 there have been ZERO contributions to the Pugi Fund which totals about $20k in assets. Most of that $20k I believe came from the original donation from Kalev Pugi, a former CFC president. The CFC has added ZERO to the Pugi Fund since I took over. The $20k is part of the $300k investment portfolio that comprises what is known as the Chess Foundation of Canada.
The Pugi fund generates about $800 of income each year which I send to the CFC after the AGM in July.
The CFC adds this $800 to the "Pugi Fund Grant Account" and keeps track of how much is available for Pugi grants and I suppose the CFC Youth Fund can add to this CFC account.
Applications for Pugi funding go to the Pugi Fund trustees (Craver, MacDonald and Demian I believe). Vlad said that the trustees are considering an application from Preotu that will offset some of the $1,000 from the Youth Fund, if approved. I am not a trustee so I don't know how that discussion is proceeding.
When you are considering how much to leave to chess in your will, please consider the Pugi Fund and I will ensure that your bequest is properly managed.
Re: The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
An honest question:
If the executive wanted to travel to France to see how chess tournaments were run their and visit with members of their federation, would the voting members have to approve it?
Re: The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
Dear Paul,
Thank you for that explanation of how the fund works. I always thought you gave it out, but I have now learned that the CFC actually hands out the cheques.
An honest question:
If the executive wanted to travel to France to see how chess tournaments were run their and visit with members of their federation, would the voting members have to approve it?
The executive would probably be removed by the voting members at the next opportunity and possibly referred to the RCMP for criminal prosecution, if they tried that, I would suspect. An unscrupulous executive could probably do something worse with criminal sanctions as the only deterrent. A more principled board of directors could probably glean the same information through web searches and email discussions with the people in France who have found a novel way to run chess tournaments.
Yes, unfortunately me too.
The confusing thing is that you are so smart and you didn't think that anyone would point out the problems with the decision. I used the word criminal, as when someone raises money for one purpose and spends it on another while breaking written rules, one might call that criminal. Since it is clear you think what you did was correct, and there will be no convincing you otherwise, I will merely ask for the following questions to be answered.
1. Under the CFC rules for the money in the youth fund there is no mention of giving it to players to travel and play for themselves. Do you think you followed the rules as they are written? I am not asking if it was a good idea or not. I am asking if the written rules were followed.
2. Will you be rewriting the rules to allow for this?
3. Will you be laying out a procedure for youth players to apply for money like this in the future no matter if the rules are changed or not?
4. Will you be advertising this as a CFC policy in the future, such as in the literature for the next CYCC?
5. Will you consider just donating some of the excess funds from the CYCC to the Pugi fund as the proper mechanism for this sort of funding?
6. You wrote that the CFC would contribute to hosting the Canadian Open. How much money is the CFC willing to put up for an organizer to run the Canadian Open?
7. Has this funding for the Canadian Open been advertised anywhere?
8. Will you be advertising this funding in an effort to have the Canadian Open run?
Thanks
Brian
Brian, let me start by saying I'm glad someone had the balls to open this can of worms, even in a thread that was supposed to be congratulatory to a young IM getting to travel to international tournaments.
But at the same time, I wonder why anyone should be surprised that this is going on. Didn't Vlad Drkulec make it clear before the last AGM that he as CFC President not only supports, but endorses, the status quo in organized chess? He unequivocally rejected the more populist approach of Kasparov for FIDE President. That alone should tell you that the status quo shall be maintained under Vlad Drkulec.
The status quo is all about the "socialism" you described, Brian. The elite and the up-and-coming elite MUST be both adored and served, and the money to serve them must come from either outside organized chess (i.e. the starry-eyed parents of "the next Bobby Fischer" or "the next Judit Polgar") or from the base of the chess pyramid. That is how it's been done for decades, and that is how it must remain.
At least, Brian, you now know this money for Razvan didn't come from your membership dues.
In light of all this, Brian, your 8 questions are very moot. But there are other questions -- deeper, philosophical questions -- that haven't been asked that are far more important:
Is it a worthy proposition for a young child who has demonstrated remarkable mental talents through chess performance to pursue yet greater glory in chess? Or should such prodigious talents be better nurtured in fields that can make a difference in society, for example in the fields of science or engineering or even social science?
And in that context, we should indeed ask:
Is it in principal a good thing for the CFC to be giving money to young people such as Razvan and Qiyo for pursuit of a GM or IM title, considering that such pursuit may preclude them from other more rewarding pursuits in other fields that are going begging for people of their mental and creative talents? Should the CFC be in the business of (even indirectly) elevating chess above technology and science, above research and development in fields such as health care, green energy, or robotics? Or even the field of social science where the EFFECTS of technology and science are investigated (because technology and science are not necessarily good or even benign, and the introduction of new technologies and science has to be fully understood).
This is the debate we should REALLY be having here. The CFC could be giving this money to Razvan with a stipulation that it be used for a university education. But instead they send them off to the world of international chess competition, instilling in them a sense of Canadian pride. In one breath Vlad Drkulec would have you think this is a move "To promote and encourage generally in Canada, the knowledge, study and playing of the game of chess". Oh, the altruism, so admirable! But in the next breath comes the sobering truth directly from Vlad: "If we ever want to be something more than we are now as far as sponsorship and being considered a sport worthy of support then we had better have some success stories like Qiyu and Razvan to talk to corporate and government and sporting federations about."
Well, Razvan and Qiyo are not robots, they will make up their own minds about their futures, but in sending them off to 'prestigious' tournaments in this fashion, it is the CFC who is indeed TRYING to engineer their futures.... all with an eye to getting a return in the form of government sponsorship. Vlad Drkulec whimpers that "no good deed in Canadian chess goes unpunished", but he ignores the fact that he and the executive decided unilaterally the definition of 'good'.
Oh, and by the way, the rest of the kids that are Razvan's and Qiyu's age: don't worry, even if the CFC isn't giving YOU any money because you aren't winners, you or your parents can still pay through the nose to get coaching or lessons or books to get your rating up maybe another 100 points, or even 200 if you put lots and lots and LOTS of time in!
NOTE: when I form my non-chess federation in the near future, I will make sure that a significant portion of profits (if any!) will go towards both youth scholarships in the fields of engineering and science and social science AND towards charities such as children's hospitals. Sure, I want people to play my game, but I never want it to become another elitist and corrupt piece of garbage that is FIDE, with which the CFC is affiliated. And I never want a mere game to be raised above the importance of technology and science and social science in our society.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
Re: The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
Well said, Vlad.
To be clear, I do not have a perceived role that you should play, other than support Canadian chess. I think you have done a great job of this over your term. On this one, putting Razvan over the Canadian Open, in a sense, did not fit the job you had previously done.
I would also hope you regret not putting it out there for all organizers that they would get about $3000 worth of help to run the Canadian open. In that case, you might have had some people think harder about taking on the task.
Now, even with that money it may be too late. If Canada's longest running tournament does not happen this year, that will cancel out any GM title that might be earned.
Thanks for your time, and I hope we are still friends. :)
Brian
The CFC has added ZERO to the Pugi Fund since I took over.
While the CFC added ZERO to the Pugi Fund we did increase the payout decided upon by the Pugi trustees last year to coincide with two record CYCCs in a row.
Well said, Vlad.
To be clear, I do not have a perceived role that you should play, other than support Canadian chess. I think you have done a great job of this over your term. On this one, putting Razvan over the Canadian Open, in a sense, did not fit the job you had previously done.
In my mind and the mind of the current executive these are two separate sources of funds for two separate purposes. One is for youth oriented projects. Not one penny of that money that went to Razvan could go to the Canadian Open without exactly the type of misdirection that you are describing in your original and clarification posts.
On the Canadian Open front we have been exploring options with various individuals with the help of the CMA and on our own for some time. There have been a few kicking the tires but no serious bids yet. I am hoping that something will still be able to come together.
I would also hope you regret not putting it out there for all organizers that they would get about $3000 worth of help to run the Canadian open. In that case, you might have had some people think harder about taking on the task.
Now, even with that money it may be too late. If Canada's longest running tournament does not happen this year, that will cancel out any GM title that might be earned.
Thanks for your time, and I hope we are still friends. :)
Brian
We are still friends though I was disappointed with your original post.
I can answer part of Gary's question and it's good to get this straight because a lot of members don't understand the Foundation or the Pugi Fund.
Since I took over management of the Foundation in 2008 there have been ZERO contributions to the Pugi Fund which totals about $20k in assets. Most of that $20k I believe came from the original donation from Kalev Pugi, a former CFC president. The CFC has added ZERO to the Pugi Fund since I took over.
Thank you Paul. I was going by memory and see how I could have forgotten so I checked the CFC handbook. I sometime wonder if I'm that only one who reads that handbook.
1008. KALEV PUGI FUND - The will of former Chess Federation of Canada President Kalev Pugi bequested $10,000 to the Chess Foundation of Canada to be set aside as a seperate fund called the "Kalev Pugi Chess Education Fund". Subsequent donations have increased this amount to $20,000 (as of 2009). The income generated from that fund is to go toward assisting young Canadian chess players under the age of 18 years to travel to chess competitions and tournaments for the purpose of increasing their chess playing skills and education.
It is the responsibility of the Chess Foundation of Canada to manage the money in accordance with the terms of the will. At the Annual General Meeting of the Chess Federation of Canada each year, a committee of three persons is elected to select any players for assistance from the fund that have a need and meet the qualifications under the terms of the will. Applications from or on behalf of eligible recipients may be submitted to the Board of Trustees via the CFC at any time.
Re: The CMA and the CFC support IM Razvan's quest for the GM title!
Thanks, Vlad.
But according to the new rules you posted here that made us compliant, the executive could do whatever it wanted with whatever funds the rules were so vague.
"TO expend any funds in its possession or under its control, in any manner or degree, in its entire discretion, for the furtherance of the general objectives of the Federation"
As long as you are promoting chess and there is no conflict of interest, which you might be able to get around anyway if you are smart and devious, you can spend the money in many ways. Therefore, you could have used that money for the Canadian Open and been following the rules. That is the point of my other questions about putting rules and criteria in place for further inquiries for money from any player, not just a junior. Hopefully Ravzan will get the GM title and the CFC will get more requests and that will lead to actual structure being put in place for handouts.
Brian
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