Tweet
Posted Sept. 17 on CFC Chess Forum ( http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/ ) :
Today, on behalf of the Grassroots' Campaign, the " gang of 4 " governors ( Barry Thorvardson, Gary Gladstone, Nikolay Noritsyn and Natalia Khoudgarian ) sent 3 " binding " motions on CFC fees to the CFC Secretary, Lyle Craver, to be included in the next GL, and voted on by the Governors. These arise out of the original Grassroots' platform, for which only " straw vote " motions were initially brought, and which items are still outstanding.
Here is the Motions/Backgrounder submitted:
Backgrounder to 3 Governors’ CFC Fees Motions September 17, 2008
( motions submitted by Bob Armstrong, with permission of mover/seconder; commentary prepared by Bob Armstrong, Grassroots’ Campaign Coordinator )
Motion # 1 – Moved: Barry Thorvardson; Seconded: Gary Gladstone –
CFC Tournament Membership Elimination – The Incoming Governors’ 2008 AGM Motion on CFC fees is amended by deleting from the fourth sentence the words “ the tournament membership shall be $ 10 per tournament for adults, and $ 5 per tournament for juniors. “ and shall be replaced with “ CFC shall eliminate tournament memberships – if a player wants to play in a CFC tournament, s/he must purchase an annual/life membership “.
Commentary: From the minutes of the AGM, we reproduce for convenience the relevant motion:
The following is moved by Les Bunning and seconded by Peter Stockhausen.
Effective January 1, 2009, the membership fee for adult members shall be $30.
The membership fee for junior members shall be $20. The CFC will
discontinue selling family memberships and junior participating memberships
effective January 1, 2009. Effective January 1, 2009, the tournament membership
shall be $10 per tournament for adults and $5 per tournament for juniors. Players
in a tournament in which all of the players are juniors shall not be required to be
members but shall be required to submit the CFC rating fee of $5 per player.
Effective January 1, 2009, the CFC rating fee shall be $5 per player per
tournament or match.
Chess players must support their national organization by membership and annual membership fee, if they want it to exist. CFC must have sustainable revenue. There is no reason for two classes of members, one subsidizing the other. Also, when tournament memberships were introduced, they were meant as a one-time only thing, to encourage first timers to play tournament chess – they were not meant to become a continuous use membership. Community input has asked for numbers of special case exemptions/partial exemptions for annual memberships. This motion makes clear that tournament memberships must go, but this issue can be fine-tuned at the time of implementation if special cases re annual memberships seem warranted.
Note: this motion, slightly amended, was passed by the Governors as a straw vote at the Incoming Governors’ AGM in July, 2008. Also, the CFC membership fees motion passed at the same Governors’ AGM in July, as can be seen, did not eliminate tournament memberships, despite the prior straw vote.
Motion # 2 – Moved: Barry Thorvardson; Seconded: Gary Gladstone –
CFC Annual Membership Discount – The Incoming Governors’ 2008 AGM Motion on CFC fees is amended by adding after the third sentence: “ Effective January 1, 2009, to encourage individuals to become CFC members, first time CFC members shall be given a 40% fee reduction for their first year. “
Commentary: See original motion above under Motion # 1. Organizers have advised that the annual CFC membership is a hindrance to getting first time tournament players to sign up for tournaments ( especially when tournament memberships have been eliminated ); so the 40% reduction for first-time CFC’ers attempts to ameliorate this difficulty. Even with the discount, the CFC will be collecting more than it did on tournament membership. Also, this replaces the tournament membership, which originally when introduced was meant to be a one-time only option.
Note: this motion, slightly amended, was passed by the Governors as a straw vote at the Incoming Governors’ AGM in July, 2008. Also, the CFC membership fees motion passed at the same Governors’ AGM in July, as can be seen above, did not incorporate the annual member discount, despite the prior straw vote.
Motion # 3 – Moved: Nikolay Noritsyn; Seconded: Natalia Khoudgarian –
CFC Junior Rating Fee Reduction – The Incoming Governors’ 2008 AGM Motion on CFC fees is amended by:
a) in the fifth sentence, the word “ junior “ shall be placed before the words “ rating fee “, and “ $ 1 “ shall replace “ $ 5 “;
b) in the last sentence, adding before the words “ rating fee “ , the word “ adult “; and
c) Adding at the end of the motion the sentence: “ Effective January 1, 2009, the junior rating fee shall be $ 1 per player per tournament or match “.
Commentary :
In CFC’s 2007-8 financial year, CFC took in from rating fees approx. $ 25,000. It was originally proposed by the Grassroots’ campaign that this be doubled to $ 50,000 [ Junior rating fee would go to $ 1 ( from $0.50 ); regular rating fee would go to $ 6/ player/ event ( from $ 3 ) ],. This was to shift CFC’s general revenue burden from membership to rating fees, as a more acceptable way to get general revenue – basically, a more “ user-pay “ system. This would give CFC an extra $ 25,000 revenue.
In the same year, CFC took in approx. $ 50,000 from membership fees of all kinds. With the extra $ 25,000 from increased rating fees, CFC would now have to raise only $ 25,000 from membership fees, or a reduction of 50 %. This meant annual membership fees could be decreased by 50% [ annual adult membership could go to $ 18 ( from $ 36 ) and annual junior membership could go to $ 12.50 ( from $ 25 ) ].
What happened at the Incoming Governors AGM in July, was that the annual adult membership was reduced, but only to $ 30 and the annual junior membership to only $ 20 [ the reason was that the CFC wanted to increase the amount of revenue in redistributing the burden between membership and rating fee. It did not want the change to be revenue neutral ( what was gained by the rating fee increase, was lost by the membership reduction ) ]. Once restructuring is completed, if there is a surplus, the grassroots campaign will move to further reduce the annual membership.
Junior organizers have clearly indicated that the huge 900% increase in junior rating fee ( from $ 0.50 to $ 5 ) will seriously damage their junior programs, and cast doubt on holding CFC-rated junior tournaments. Since juniors are so important to the future of chess in Canada, and CFC wants to encourage them to take up the game, we propose to increase the junior rating fee only 100%, from $ 0.50 to $ 1 ( note that the adult rating fee was increased only 66 2/3 % ). Our motion appears to increase the junior rating fee, but this is only due to the nature of the motion. We are amending an existing , passed motion. In fact we are lowering it from the proposed $ 5 to $ 1 ( a reduction of $ 4 ). A raise in rating fee is justified given the CFC’s financial situation, and the reduction in annual membership, but the 100% increase is more reasonable.
[ Note : The CFC motion also did not quite double the adult rating fee. It increased it to $5 ( not $ 6 ). Given this increase, and the increase in revenue from the modest annual membership reduction, we feel that the adult rating fee can stay where the CFC motion placed it, and need not be increased to $ 6 ].
General 3- motion note:
The amended motion, if all three motions are passed, would then read:
Effective January 1, 2009, the membership fee for adult members shall be $30.
The membership fee for junior members shall be $20. The CFC will
discontinue selling family memberships and junior participating memberships
effective January 1, 2009. Effective January 1, 2009, to encourage individuals to become CFC members, first time CFC members shall be given a 40% fee reduction for their first year. Effective January 1, 2009, CFC shall eliminate tournament memberships – if a player wants to play in a CFC tournament, s/he must purchase an annual/life membership. Players in a tournament in which all of the players are juniors shall not be required to be members but shall be required to submit the CFC junior rating fee of $1 per player. Effective January 1, 2009, the CFC adult rating fee shall be $5 per player per tournament or match. Effective January 1, 2009, the junior rating fee shall be $ 1 per player per tournament or match
Revision 3
Today, on behalf of the Grassroots' Campaign, the " gang of 4 " governors ( Barry Thorvardson, Gary Gladstone, Nikolay Noritsyn and Natalia Khoudgarian ) sent 3 " binding " motions on CFC fees to the CFC Secretary, Lyle Craver, to be included in the next GL, and voted on by the Governors. These arise out of the original Grassroots' platform, for which only " straw vote " motions were initially brought, and which items are still outstanding.
Here is the Motions/Backgrounder submitted:
Backgrounder to 3 Governors’ CFC Fees Motions September 17, 2008
( motions submitted by Bob Armstrong, with permission of mover/seconder; commentary prepared by Bob Armstrong, Grassroots’ Campaign Coordinator )
Motion # 1 – Moved: Barry Thorvardson; Seconded: Gary Gladstone –
CFC Tournament Membership Elimination – The Incoming Governors’ 2008 AGM Motion on CFC fees is amended by deleting from the fourth sentence the words “ the tournament membership shall be $ 10 per tournament for adults, and $ 5 per tournament for juniors. “ and shall be replaced with “ CFC shall eliminate tournament memberships – if a player wants to play in a CFC tournament, s/he must purchase an annual/life membership “.
Commentary: From the minutes of the AGM, we reproduce for convenience the relevant motion:
The following is moved by Les Bunning and seconded by Peter Stockhausen.
Effective January 1, 2009, the membership fee for adult members shall be $30.
The membership fee for junior members shall be $20. The CFC will
discontinue selling family memberships and junior participating memberships
effective January 1, 2009. Effective January 1, 2009, the tournament membership
shall be $10 per tournament for adults and $5 per tournament for juniors. Players
in a tournament in which all of the players are juniors shall not be required to be
members but shall be required to submit the CFC rating fee of $5 per player.
Effective January 1, 2009, the CFC rating fee shall be $5 per player per
tournament or match.
Chess players must support their national organization by membership and annual membership fee, if they want it to exist. CFC must have sustainable revenue. There is no reason for two classes of members, one subsidizing the other. Also, when tournament memberships were introduced, they were meant as a one-time only thing, to encourage first timers to play tournament chess – they were not meant to become a continuous use membership. Community input has asked for numbers of special case exemptions/partial exemptions for annual memberships. This motion makes clear that tournament memberships must go, but this issue can be fine-tuned at the time of implementation if special cases re annual memberships seem warranted.
Note: this motion, slightly amended, was passed by the Governors as a straw vote at the Incoming Governors’ AGM in July, 2008. Also, the CFC membership fees motion passed at the same Governors’ AGM in July, as can be seen, did not eliminate tournament memberships, despite the prior straw vote.
Motion # 2 – Moved: Barry Thorvardson; Seconded: Gary Gladstone –
CFC Annual Membership Discount – The Incoming Governors’ 2008 AGM Motion on CFC fees is amended by adding after the third sentence: “ Effective January 1, 2009, to encourage individuals to become CFC members, first time CFC members shall be given a 40% fee reduction for their first year. “
Commentary: See original motion above under Motion # 1. Organizers have advised that the annual CFC membership is a hindrance to getting first time tournament players to sign up for tournaments ( especially when tournament memberships have been eliminated ); so the 40% reduction for first-time CFC’ers attempts to ameliorate this difficulty. Even with the discount, the CFC will be collecting more than it did on tournament membership. Also, this replaces the tournament membership, which originally when introduced was meant to be a one-time only option.
Note: this motion, slightly amended, was passed by the Governors as a straw vote at the Incoming Governors’ AGM in July, 2008. Also, the CFC membership fees motion passed at the same Governors’ AGM in July, as can be seen above, did not incorporate the annual member discount, despite the prior straw vote.
Motion # 3 – Moved: Nikolay Noritsyn; Seconded: Natalia Khoudgarian –
CFC Junior Rating Fee Reduction – The Incoming Governors’ 2008 AGM Motion on CFC fees is amended by:
a) in the fifth sentence, the word “ junior “ shall be placed before the words “ rating fee “, and “ $ 1 “ shall replace “ $ 5 “;
b) in the last sentence, adding before the words “ rating fee “ , the word “ adult “; and
c) Adding at the end of the motion the sentence: “ Effective January 1, 2009, the junior rating fee shall be $ 1 per player per tournament or match “.
Commentary :
In CFC’s 2007-8 financial year, CFC took in from rating fees approx. $ 25,000. It was originally proposed by the Grassroots’ campaign that this be doubled to $ 50,000 [ Junior rating fee would go to $ 1 ( from $0.50 ); regular rating fee would go to $ 6/ player/ event ( from $ 3 ) ],. This was to shift CFC’s general revenue burden from membership to rating fees, as a more acceptable way to get general revenue – basically, a more “ user-pay “ system. This would give CFC an extra $ 25,000 revenue.
In the same year, CFC took in approx. $ 50,000 from membership fees of all kinds. With the extra $ 25,000 from increased rating fees, CFC would now have to raise only $ 25,000 from membership fees, or a reduction of 50 %. This meant annual membership fees could be decreased by 50% [ annual adult membership could go to $ 18 ( from $ 36 ) and annual junior membership could go to $ 12.50 ( from $ 25 ) ].
What happened at the Incoming Governors AGM in July, was that the annual adult membership was reduced, but only to $ 30 and the annual junior membership to only $ 20 [ the reason was that the CFC wanted to increase the amount of revenue in redistributing the burden between membership and rating fee. It did not want the change to be revenue neutral ( what was gained by the rating fee increase, was lost by the membership reduction ) ]. Once restructuring is completed, if there is a surplus, the grassroots campaign will move to further reduce the annual membership.
Junior organizers have clearly indicated that the huge 900% increase in junior rating fee ( from $ 0.50 to $ 5 ) will seriously damage their junior programs, and cast doubt on holding CFC-rated junior tournaments. Since juniors are so important to the future of chess in Canada, and CFC wants to encourage them to take up the game, we propose to increase the junior rating fee only 100%, from $ 0.50 to $ 1 ( note that the adult rating fee was increased only 66 2/3 % ). Our motion appears to increase the junior rating fee, but this is only due to the nature of the motion. We are amending an existing , passed motion. In fact we are lowering it from the proposed $ 5 to $ 1 ( a reduction of $ 4 ). A raise in rating fee is justified given the CFC’s financial situation, and the reduction in annual membership, but the 100% increase is more reasonable.
[ Note : The CFC motion also did not quite double the adult rating fee. It increased it to $5 ( not $ 6 ). Given this increase, and the increase in revenue from the modest annual membership reduction, we feel that the adult rating fee can stay where the CFC motion placed it, and need not be increased to $ 6 ].
General 3- motion note:
The amended motion, if all three motions are passed, would then read:
Effective January 1, 2009, the membership fee for adult members shall be $30.
The membership fee for junior members shall be $20. The CFC will
discontinue selling family memberships and junior participating memberships
effective January 1, 2009. Effective January 1, 2009, to encourage individuals to become CFC members, first time CFC members shall be given a 40% fee reduction for their first year. Effective January 1, 2009, CFC shall eliminate tournament memberships – if a player wants to play in a CFC tournament, s/he must purchase an annual/life membership. Players in a tournament in which all of the players are juniors shall not be required to be members but shall be required to submit the CFC junior rating fee of $1 per player. Effective January 1, 2009, the CFC adult rating fee shall be $5 per player per tournament or match. Effective January 1, 2009, the junior rating fee shall be $ 1 per player per tournament or match
Revision 3
Comment