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The following is a copy of a post I send to the CFC governor's forum. It outlines my reasons for supporting the Richmond Hill Team over Toronto. You may not understand it without a little context so let me give you a summary of the situation:
There are two teams bidding for the CYCC, Toronto and Richmond Hill. The Toronto team is offering to hold the CYCC and the Canadian Open at the same time, while the Richmond Hill team is focused on just doing the CYCC as a single tournament.
The problem facing the governors is that there are no other bids for the Canadian Open so some of them are worried if they don't support the Toronto team for the CYCC they may be left with no one organizing the Canadian Open. I think their concerns are quite valid...
(post begins)
I think it needs to be remembered that the two main goals of the CYCC are 1. to act as a fund raiser to send our juniors to the WYCC. And, 2. To provide a strong tournament where our juniors can hone their chess skills. These are a far higher priority than how good the hotel looks.
Focusing on goal number 1, I have made a rough mental calculation of what it would cost to send our juniors to Brazil and it would be about 35 thousand dollars.
It seems clear to me that neither bid attempts to raise this amount and that both of them have prioritized other things over that goal.
That said and done, when I look at the numbers I am more confident in the Richmond Hill to raise monies in the 20 thousand dollar range than the Toronto bid.
I think Toronto has committed themselves to success only if there is a high turnout and that is a formula that is too risky imho.
Now lets look at goal number 2. Clearly, forcing our juniors to either play in two tournaments or to choose between them is less beneficial for their chess than the normal format, which is to have two separate tournaments.
As far as the Canadian Open goes, I think it is very important that we put it aside and consider the goals of the CYCC in isolation and whether either of these bids achieve its intended goals.
If the point of some is to say, well go with Toronto or there wont be a Canadian Open, my answer is - don't let yourself be bullied into compromising on our top juniors.
Simply pick the bid you think is the best for the CYCC and we will work on a solution for the Canadian Open as a separate issue.
These considerations combined with the fact the Toronto team did not answer the questions asked of them by the governors leads me to feel for the sake of our juniors I must put my support behind the Richmond Hill team.
I'd like to thank both teams for their support of junior chess. People who know me know how sincere I am when I say that.
There are two teams bidding for the CYCC, Toronto and Richmond Hill. The Toronto team is offering to hold the CYCC and the Canadian Open at the same time, while the Richmond Hill team is focused on just doing the CYCC as a single tournament.
The problem facing the governors is that there are no other bids for the Canadian Open so some of them are worried if they don't support the Toronto team for the CYCC they may be left with no one organizing the Canadian Open. I think their concerns are quite valid...
(post begins)
I think it needs to be remembered that the two main goals of the CYCC are 1. to act as a fund raiser to send our juniors to the WYCC. And, 2. To provide a strong tournament where our juniors can hone their chess skills. These are a far higher priority than how good the hotel looks.
Focusing on goal number 1, I have made a rough mental calculation of what it would cost to send our juniors to Brazil and it would be about 35 thousand dollars.
It seems clear to me that neither bid attempts to raise this amount and that both of them have prioritized other things over that goal.
That said and done, when I look at the numbers I am more confident in the Richmond Hill to raise monies in the 20 thousand dollar range than the Toronto bid.
I think Toronto has committed themselves to success only if there is a high turnout and that is a formula that is too risky imho.
Now lets look at goal number 2. Clearly, forcing our juniors to either play in two tournaments or to choose between them is less beneficial for their chess than the normal format, which is to have two separate tournaments.
As far as the Canadian Open goes, I think it is very important that we put it aside and consider the goals of the CYCC in isolation and whether either of these bids achieve its intended goals.
If the point of some is to say, well go with Toronto or there wont be a Canadian Open, my answer is - don't let yourself be bullied into compromising on our top juniors.
Simply pick the bid you think is the best for the CYCC and we will work on a solution for the Canadian Open as a separate issue.
These considerations combined with the fact the Toronto team did not answer the questions asked of them by the governors leads me to feel for the sake of our juniors I must put my support behind the Richmond Hill team.
I'd like to thank both teams for their support of junior chess. People who know me know how sincere I am when I say that.
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