'Ottawa & Eastern Ontario chesstalk Public Social Group' thread 1.0

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: 'Ottawa & Eastern Ontario chesstalk Public Social Group' thread 1.0

Hi Neil

I was hoping you'd eventually comment, as no else has so far (though please do recall I've been out of chess politics officially for a number of years now).

I share your expressed yearning for the EOCA to (at least gradually) grow more centres of organized chess activity that are outside of the Ottawa area, which is more or less saturated with Grand Prix events nowadays (if the two Gatineau events are added in). I even seem to recall you once telling me years ago that you took road trips to the west of Ottawa, to scout around, perhaps what some of your links allude to. Every so often the EOCA gets to host the Ontario Open, at least, which it did so handsomely this year (as we both have indicated).

As of last year Garland is running the new summer event in Almonte (though I'm not aware of there being any nearby or local club at present). It's invaluable to have willing local boots on the ground, but the EOCA might lend support such as some sort of equipment, seed money (could even be used for cheap advertising if necessary), or an imported TD to at least show how to (or help) run an event when it is actually held.

One thing I worry about that I haven't mentioned so far is that the RA is the main club in Ottawa, but for some people its location in Ottawa South may be remote (for them) or the club+RA fee may cause sticker shock. In either case, the other clubs in the city may also be unattractive, for other reasons (e.g. remoteness or seemingly too few members). Another city club that's fairly central, low club membership fee, and CFC-rated chess oriented, is something the EOCA might try to foster, however gradually.

Just today I was trying to figure out if in 1970 dollars CFC rated chess (all fees considered) is far more expensive these days. Did you know tax freedom day in Canada now comes 9 June? That is, (43% of) one's income is consumed by taxes until that day, so to speak (I don't know what tax freedom day would have been in 1970). It's hard to figure out (just with quick research) whether people have relatively more disposable income on average now (again in 1970 dollars), though apparently a lower percentage of people have trouble meeting just their very basic needs nowadays (though maybe those are, in relative terms, now cheaper[?]). Such calculations might be relavent, since the sum of all fees for playing organized chess might be relatively too high compared to what it was in 1970, if all factors are considered. An RA club membership fee of over $100 total can be a shock (never mind weekend tournament entry or CFC membership/rating fees), even if one is not poor, and even when considering that, say, the price of a bottle of pop was about 15 cents circa 1970, compared to $1.50 or more just for a can in 2017.

[Neil Frarey]

Re: 'Ottawa & Eastern Ontario chesstalk Public Social Group' thread 1.0

Do you remember any of my platform the last (and final) time I ran for pres of the EOCA, Kevin?

When I was president of the EOCA, even tho I managed to bring positive change(s) re: Tournament Director/Organizer Remuneration, etc., I have since deeply regretted how much I left undone. And to this very day, the EOCA exists and defines itself on nothing more than a Grand Prix ...as sad as that is.


So, I'm feelin' generous. Here's a simple 3 step process even you kiddies can achieve ... I think.

Step 1.
Realize and come to grips with the fact that the EOCA is currently nothing more than a short sighted (due to its confines) Grand Prix ...and MOSTLY an Ottawa Grand Prix at that! Even more, a GP that is GREATLY subsidized. Think no room rental fee(s)!

Step 2.
Take a GOOD look around the EOCA area. Hard to do isn't it, Kevin? Hard to know where to grow when you don't know where you are, or even WHO you are for that matter. So, define EOCA's boundaries!

Get our map (yes, there is a map) up on EOCA dot ca! Let everybody have a good look!

Step 3.
Classify what and who is in our territory. This where the fun and growth begins to really take shape!

***

OK, let's pretend you kiddies actually make an effort to do the above 3 step process ... congrats!

Here's a simple and easy path of quick growth for both the EOCA and the equally sluggish CFC...

Identify our armed forces bases, you know, places such as ...Petawawa, Kingston, etc., etc.. There are quite a few on our map! Here's a couple of links to point you in the right direction:

4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa
http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/e...awa/index.page

Canadian Forces Base Kingston
http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/e...ton/index.page

Get the idea? Good! Identify them ALL! Approach them all! Ask them about Chess, about chess activities within their services! Pitch a well prepared well coordinated chess activity. Perhaps something like a round robin? Could be played on chess dot com. Or, where ever. In other words, sign them up! Get them involved! Create a whole new category from them!

Easy Peasy!!!

And look at that, Kevin. You just grew beyond the restraints of the current brain trust!

Welcome to the new millennium!

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: 'Ottawa & Eastern Ontario chesstalk Public Social Group' thread 1.0

Thought I'd give a single example of the common need to proactively advertise (at least to [often novice] adults thinking of playing chess, e.g. in Ottawa, as resident juniors are often directed to more serious clubs at some point, but we still need more older CFC/club members who are less likely to leave organized chess behind after a few years).

I'm not surprised not nearly everyone comes up with the idea of Googling keywords "Ottawa Chess" and getting some examples of clubs etc., but some (as here) persist and even eventually succeed by other kinds of internet enquiry alone; normally clubs that advertise in cities I've been in do so before the season starts, then it abruptly stops, not even further using free community cable TV (or community newspapers) until a full year later:

http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/sh...Play-in-Ottawa

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: 'Ottawa & Eastern Ontario chesstalk Public Social Group' thread 1.0

I've edited my first post somewhat, in case people missed it.

Perhaps a more or less feel-good report of subjective impressions concerning the state of organized chess in a local region in Canada, with a few ideas thrown in, is a little too banal to inspire any comment? I had thought it might be a good time for such, in light of all the big rocks figuratively being thrown in all the recent Trump threads.

[Kevin Pacey]

The 'Ottawa & Eastern Ontario chesstalk Public Social Group' (and other chesstalk social groups) may have been long disabled for posting purposes, due to trouble with spammers in the past, if nothing else. Hence I'll post in this thread my latest thoughts about organized chess as it relates to our former social group's region.

The recent Ontario Open, held at the RA centre in Ottawa, was a fine success in my view, judging alone by the impressive prize fund (as apparent in another chesstalk thread), and by the attendence of a considerable number of players of master strength or better (including a number of titled players). The Eastern Ontario Grand Prix schedule has about one rated weekend event per month on average now (counting 2 regular events in Gatineau that were put off for just this year, due to Canada 150 activities planned for the event hall). Kingston organized chess is resurgent, as far as I can tell (if it did in fact completely recede for a time). Morrisburg and Arnprior continue to host Grand Prix events, plus an Almonte summer event has been added. When I was still attending annual EOCA meetings as a CFC member, some years ago, the EOCA was in relatively healthy shape financially IMHO, occasionally suppying some such support to special chess events or causes. There is no obvious lack of organizers of rated events at present, in Ottawa at least. Things look relatively rosy. How could things be realistically improved for the EOCA, or at least for Ottawa organized chess, in the forseeable future?

This was my train of thought recently, as I reflected on my now not so fresh decision to get out of chess governance. Regarding the CFC level, all my ideas had been exhausted, with a few tried, and most not commented upon (or some not well greeted). Regarding the OCA level, I've always regarded that association as a shell organization that handles bids for provincial events or championships (if any held, or currently affordable), and otherwise passes on to its leagues their cut from the CFC, while the OCA keeps its own cut, hopefully much of it reserved in the bank for the bad times (after any set aside for e.g. provincial event[s] partial funding). Until there are more CFC members in Ontario, the OCA cannot be too ambitious at all in its aims, I feel, unless somehow it can garner a lot of sponsorship $. Highly inclusive provincial team championships or matches would be nice even now and then, but for travel issues/costs due to Ontario being so large. Internet team matches might be a substitute, but there are organizational issues with this too.

Back to the EOCA (plus Ottawa organized chess) level: as I wrote previously, things seem rosy enough here (at least for Ottawa), and this was my state of mind as I left this last level of chess governance behind as well. Still, can we possibly do better anytime soon? If so, where might any new initiatives be directed?

I first thought of the number of CFC Voting Members the EOCA has nowadays (i.e. three). For some reason it seems low to me, and yet the number of CFC members in the EOCA is likely not so low these days, since it's up in Canada. Then it hit me that by OCA rules junior members are worth only a fraction of what adult members are as far as counting towards 50, the number required to be entitled to a single CFC Voting Member (with 51 actually being worth a 2nd Voting Member, for example). This was part of my remembering suddenly that the proportion of adult members is down (and not just apparently in the EOCA region).

However you slice it, it would be good for the EOCA to have more members, adult or junior, regardless of whether you care about the number of Voting Members the EOCA has. A high number of VMs could be good for more than just the EOCA all the same, if only because the EOCA is fairly well run and thus arguably deserves more say in decisions at higher levels of chess governance.

So, how to get more CFC members signed up in the EOCA area? I may be wrong, but the idea of (even cheap/free) advertising to newbies, old as well as young, never seems to meet with too much enthusiasm in Canada, other than perhaps for any number of clubs' Executives. Nor does trying hard to attract media attention (proactively). Instead we seem to hope that newbies and the media fall into our lap. Then there's hoping for fresh organizers, and/or starting up new chess clubs and tournaments. On this last score, chess in just Ottawa is hardly cause for concern; the EOCA Grand Prix features a high percentage of Ottawa area events (and also currently having just end-of-season trophy prizes, but with unrelated $ prizes for all individual events). There are 7 or 8 clubs minimum in the area (which, plus the Grand Prix events, undercuts serious thought of the EOCA spending funds/efforts on trying to add to the bulk of such 'infrastructure' in Ottawa at least, though in regard to the largely barren EOCA area outside Ottawa it may [or perhaps should] be another story). So, I can't complain too much about the state of organized chess in Ottawa. If more people join CFC rated chess clubs in the area, I've secretly wished more would go to such Ottawa clubs other than the RA club, as it gets pretty full at times, and I'm not sure we'd permanently get a bigger room at some point if required.

Some may ask, what 7 or 8 Ottawa clubs do I refer to? Well, afaik there are two in Gatineau/Hull, then the Carleton & Ottawa University clubs. There is a Kanata club, plus at least one more in Kanata that's just for juniors. Of course there is the RA in Ottawa South, which is the largest club in the city, and then there are any possible remnants of the once very active Ottawa Chess Club.

At this point I recall my earlier wishing for team chess (unlikely for the OCA level any given year), and I then think it would be nice to have a club team league in Ottawa (as apparently there was long ago), but somehow I doubt all clubs involved could always field much more than 4 players reliably these days (plus many games might be mismatches). Maybe there's some (unrated?) club team league action going on at the Ottawa high school level still these days, who knows? Once again my thoughts about expanding organized chess reach an impasse for the time being. Perhaps others (even those outside the EOCA region) may have ideas or comments (possibly applicable to regions in Canada outside the EOCA area, too)?


P.S.: Here's link to chesstalk 2017 Ontario Open thread:

http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...ide-B-(-amp-A)