CYCC Vancouver bid.

[Scott Richardson]

"The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC), founded in 1872, is a registered non-profit organization in Canada whose mandate is to promote and encourage the knowledge, study and play of the game of chess in Canada."

How many times has the CYCC been held west of Ontario? 5 times. East, including Ontario, 16 times.

If there were more CYCC's our way we would have an easier time promoting and encouraging the knowledge, study and play of the game of chess here in the interior of BC.

The CFC's approach does look like it may have a little to do with the promotion of chess but certainly has more to do with raising for money for the chosen. Whose money is that?

To quote Vladimir Drkulec
CFC President ....................................... on the Vancouver bid.

"I don't believe that a point of order requires a seconder. I have made my ruling. The bid is withdrawn from consideration for being deficient as it does not follow one of the main handbook rules of CYCC with regard to allocation of entry fees to the youth fund as set forth in clause 714 of the handbook. If someone wishes to challenge the ruling of the chair they will require a seconder. I would not be offended if this were to happen and the question were to be thrown to the voting members."

The President of the CFC maybe could step away from promoting his home region of Windsor. It stinks a bit.

http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/sh...er-tournaments

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

If I may suggest, rather than bashing Vlad, please help us understand why this bid should be considered valid. At first glance, it seems to violate one of the main rules governing CYCC bids, which is how much money goes back to the CFC, which among other things, is required to fund the CYCC winners going to the WYCC. I could be mistaken, but I don't personally recall there ever having been a CYCC bid that didn't meet the $150 condition, from the time it was implemented. I think that most people strongly prefer that all other things being equal, that events get to move around the country. But this bid seems quite "unequal", in that it has a serious money flaw, no?!

[Halldor P. Palsson]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

I am the Voting Member who raised the Point of Order. I have no interest to promote in Windsor.

The BC bid does not meet CFC rules wrt to sending $150 per CYCC entry fee to the CFC to pay for Canadian participation at the WYCC. To expose the CFC to trying to fund WYCC participation on a $15-$20K from a BC bid was simply unacceptable to me. All the funds raised by the $150 levy per CYCC participant is needed to fund the Canadian WYCC program. The BC bid caps its WYCC contribution at $20K.

In 2013 the Ottawa CYCC sent over $40K to the CFC to fund the WYCC. Ditto for the 2014 and 2015 CYCCs. What the 2016 BC bid is attempting to do fundamentally offends me.

[Peter McKillop]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

.... among other things....

What are those other things?

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

"The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC), founded in 1872, is a registered non-profit organization in Canada whose mandate is to promote and encourage the knowledge, study and play of the game of chess in Canada."

How many times has the CYCC been held west of Ontario? 5 times. East, including Ontario, 16 times.

How many times has the west bid on CYCC in the last seven years prior to this year? Once. How many times did the west win the bid on CYCC in the last seven years? Once. What percentage of bids from the west have been successful over this period. 100%. Calgary was set to bid on the Canadian Open and CYCC this year and would have been successful because they would have been the only bid. Their bid fell apart because of the economy in Alberta. There are 161 kids who are CFC members out west. There are 688 CFC/FQE junior members or so out east though I am using 2013 figures for Quebec. According to your statistics 5 out of 21 CYCC's have been in the west or 23.8% of the total. The west comprises 19% of Canada's chess playing kids. By your own statistics the west as not hard done by as you are alleging but has actually had more than its share of CYCC's by chess population.

If there were more CYCC's our way we would have an easier time promoting and encouraging the knowledge, study and play of the game of chess here in the interior of BC.

The CFC's approach does look like it may have a little to do with the promotion of chess but certainly has more to do with raising for money for the chosen.

Yes a partial list of the Chosen:
Joanne Foote
John Doknjas
Neil Doknjas
Joshua Doknjas
Luke Pulfer
Jason Cao
Richard Wang
Diwen Shi
Max Gedajlovic

The Chosen: Western players who got some sponsorship benefit from the youth fund to attend WYCC and U16 Youth Olympiad (Hungary and Mongolia) in the last year or so usually by finishing top three in CYCC or by virtue of high rating.

Whose money is that?

The kids who attend CYCC or have a high rating and play in events like the U16 Olympiad.

To quote Vladimir Drkulec
CFC President ....................................... on the Vancouver bid.

"I don't believe that a point of order requires a seconder. I have made my ruling. The bid is withdrawn from consideration for being deficient as it does not follow one of the main handbook rules of CYCC with regard to allocation of entry fees to the youth fund as set forth in clause 714 of the handbook. If someone wishes to challenge the ruling of the chair they will require a seconder. I would not be offended if this were to happen and the question were to be thrown to the voting members."

The President of the CFC maybe could step away from promoting his home region of Windsor. It stinks a bit.

http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/sh...er-tournaments

Yes, I am such an ogre.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Makes me wonder why a Youth coordinator did not catch such obvious mistake before the bid was presented to Voting members. It would have been more appropriate to solve this issue without going public.

[Fred Harvey]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Of course, the CFC could consider whether its current support of WYCC is appropriate. I am sure that many outside of the internal "elite" could only marvel at the outlandish size of this years contingent, with no real justification other than a lot of parents with a lot of money. I know, I know, that many of the hangers-on paid their own way, but is everyone sure that the CFC is going for quality rather than quantity?

The debate should be held....it is a pity that a regional bid is ruled out for an arbitrary rule that could be changed easily after that debate?

[Vlad Rekhson]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

How many times has the west bid on CYCC in the last seven years prior to this year? Once. How many times did the west win the bid on CYCC in the last seven years? Once. What percentage of bids from the west have been successful over this period. 100%. Calgary was set to bid on the Canadian Open and CYCC this year and would have been successful because they would have been the only bid. Their bid fell apart because of the economy in Alberta.

Hi Vlad, I am quite surprised about this point. I am currently the president of the ACA and I can tell you that Calgary was not set up to bid on a 2016 event. Some people are considering bidding on the 2017 Canadian Open in Calgary but we are not sure yet, but our finances have not been affected by the worsened economy, other than the fact that the lower Canadian Dollar would make it more difficult to attract foreign players, but the same is true for anyone.

All the best,

Vlad Rekhson
ACA President

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Hi Vlad, I am quite surprised about this point. I am currently the president of the ACA and I can tell you that Calgary was not set up to bid on a 2016 event. Some people are considering bidding on the 2017 Canadian Open in Calgary but we are not sure yet, but our finances have not been affected by the worsened economy, other than the fact that the lower Canadian Dollar would make it more difficult to attract foreign players, but the same is true for anyone.

All the best,

Vlad Rekhson
ACA President

Hi Vlad,

I had multiple phone, possibly skype and some face to face conversations in Windsor and Kitchener in 2014 with a well know Alberta chess organizer and personal friend that I have know for almost 45 years, about the 2016 Canadian Open. He indicated that he or someone in Calgary had been contacted by your local visitors and convention bureau with the observation that it had been some time since the last Canadian Open in Calgary. An August date was suggested to avoid the craziness of the Calgary Stampede. At first he indicated that he was more interested in the Canadian Open but I believe the intention was to do the Canadian Youth Chess Championship as well. I thought it was close to a done deal. Of course then I waited and waited and then finally contacted him and he indicated that it likely was not going to be able to happen due to the problems in the oil patch and the difficulty getting sponsors in this environment. At that point the focus moved to Kitchener where they had indicated interest but I had put them off saying that it was probably Calgary's turn. Attracting GMs as a problem didn't come up in our conversations.

The 2017 Canadian Open and CYCC is booked for Sault Ste. Marie with a very impressive bid approved two years before the tournament date. We are still looking for someone to host 2018.

[Vlad Rekhson]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Hi Vlad,

I had multiple phone, possibly skype and some face to face conversations in Windsor and Kitchener in 2014 with a well know Alberta chess organizer and personal friend that I have know for almost 45 years, about the 2016 Canadian Open. He indicated that he or someone in Calgary had been contacted by your local visitors and convention bureau with the observation that it had been some time since the last Canadian Open in Calgary. An August date was suggested to avoid the craziness of the Calgary Stampede. At first he indicated that he was more interested in the Canadian Open but I believe the intention was to do the Canadian Youth Chess Championship as well. I thought it was close to a done deal. Of course then I waited and waited and then finally contacted him and he indicated that it likely was not going to be able to happen due to the problems in the oil patch and the difficulty getting sponsors in this environment. At that point the focus moved to Kitchener where they had indicated interest but I had put them off saying that it was probably Calgary's turn. Attracting GMs as a problem didn't come up in our conversations.

The 2017 Canadian Open and CYCC is booked for Sault Ste. Marie with a very impressive bid approved two years before the tournament date. We are still looking for someone to host 2018.

Hi Vlad, I know what you mean but that wasn't really a ready bid it was more like one person thinking about it. I think that there is a difference...

[Vlad Rekhson]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Hi Vlad,

The 2017 Canadian Open and CYCC is booked for Sault Ste. Marie with a very impressive bid approved two years before the tournament date. We are still looking for someone to host 2018.

In that case 2018 is a real possibility. We were thinking of bidding for 2017, but 2018 is something that we may consider and may actually decide whether to bid on that in our January 24 meeting.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Hi Vlad, I know what you mean but that wasn't really a ready bid it was more like one person thinking about it. I think that there is a difference...

Well they are never a bid until they are.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

In that case 2018 is a real possibility. We were thinking of bidding for 2017, but 2018 is something that we may consider and may actually decide whether to bid on that in our January 24 meeting.

I look forward to your decision and hopefully your eventual bid.

[Vlad Rekhson]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

Well they are never a bid until they are.

That is true, although based on what you originally wrote it seemed like ACA is having some financial difficulties which is very far from the truth. To be honest, I don't know when was the last time that a chess in tournament in Alberta relied on oil money (other than the Ft. McMurray Open) as most funding comes from Alberta Gaming related activities. Of course the worsening economy makes it less likely to receive any private sponsorship but I don't think that it would be a major constraint.

[Scott Richardson]

Re: CYCC Vancouver bid.

If I may suggest, rather than bashing Vlad, please help us understand why this bid should be considered valid.

I wasn't bashing Vlad. He and volunteers have done an incredible job in the Windsor area. I'm just saying what I'm seeing.

I was just contacted by the Vancouver Organizers. They've just created an account but wanted me to help by posting their statement now.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Hattie Guo and I am the person who has submitted the Vancouver bid for the 2016 CYCC. I, along with several other BC chess parents, want to host the 2016 CYCC in Vancouver, BC and to welcome all the chess playing youths in Canada to our beautiful British Columbia.

I have been informed that our bid has an error in it, in that it should include payment of $150 per player. I did not realize that this was a mandatory item when I submitted the bid. If I did, I would have for sure included that in the original bid. I want to thank CFC President Vlad Drkukec for emailing me personally and explaining this error and what I need to do to rectify it to get the Vancouver bid back on the table for the CFC Voting Members to consider it along with the other 2016 CYCC bids from Windsor, ON and Quebec City/FQE.

To do this, I need the CFC Voting Members help.

1. One CFC Voting Member needs to appeal the CFC President's ruling, and then another CFC Voting Member needs to second the appeal.
- CFC President Vlad Drkulec has stated that he takes no offence if this happens; and we are not doing this in any disrespect to the President. This unfortunately has to be done as part of the procedure to get the Vancouver bid back on the table.

2. The question on the vote would be "Shall the chairperson's decision be sustained" and the choices would be "Yes" or "No." If the voting members vote "No" then the Vancouver proposal is back on the table.

3. If we are successful in getting the Vancouver bid back on the table, I will need someone to help put forward a motion, with another voting member seconding it, to suspend the rules that bids had to be presented before the December 13th meeting presumably. To win, it will require a two thirds majority vote of the members present agreeing to suspend the rules to allow me to amend the Vancouver bid to rectify the mistake and change to include payment of $150 per player (with no cap).

Again, I apologize for my error in the bid. Now I am asking for the CFC Voting Members' help to rectify my mistake. Even if you don't believe the Vancouver bid for the 2016 CYCC is the best bid, please help get the bid back on the table so that it can be voted on with the other 2 bids from Windsor, ON and Quebec City/FQE. If the Vancouver bid is cut short and left off the table due to my error, as it is now, I fear that this will leave a "bad taste" in many people's mouths.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and any help that you can provide.

Hattie Guo
Chief Organizer for the 2016 CYCC Vancouver Bid