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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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---- Nous avons besoin d'un traduction français!
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A year's membership with the USCF = $34
Same with CFC = $48
That's over 40% more expensive (if we treat the dollar at par).
Please governors, make some effort to make playing chess cheaper.
At some point (if not already), we just end up pushing more people into online chess, where they can play for free.
It does not appear to be the case. Denton could have also noted that the US price include 12 issues of their printed magazine.
Perhaps it is economy of scale working here? A lot more members overall means more working capital and perhaps the possibility of getting off a shoestring budget.
It does not appear to be the case. Denton could have also noted that the US price include 12 issues of their printed magazine.
Perhaps it is economy of scale working here? A lot more members overall means more working capital and perhaps the possibility of getting off a shoestring budget.
I haven't looked at this in a number of years and don't know what they are doing now but for their postal chess event, The Golden Knights, a person had to join the USCF to play. The events would run over years so they would harvest the memberships from those players. Also, I thought they took the life membership money into revenue rather than the CFC model. The priinted magazine has to be big for them as it's available on book stands in this country as well as the U.S. The quality of the magazine was enough for a person to pay a membership although I never did.
Chess tournaments are expensive endeavours. Entry fees price out poor students (moi), and the CFC just adds a further cost.
It's crazy to me that it's more expensive to be a member of the CFC than to be a member of something like ICC where one gets free access to GM commentary and occasional games with titled players, among other perks.
I'd love to see the CFC make an effort to drive down membership costs significantly. (Chess) Government is too big! Where are the conservative individuals when you need them? ;)
I'd love to see the CFC make an effort to drive down membership costs significantly. (Chess) Government is too big! Where are the conservative individuals when you need them? ;)
As far as I can recall, chess in Canada has been slanted toward liberal views. The conservative individuals tend to be enthusiasts who tend more to sponsor or donate. Although, there are exceptions.
Chess isn't really a game. It's a life style. For those who choose it, chess can become all consuming.
The $34 (adult) rate for the USCF does not include the printed magazine, and must be processed online. By mail or phone, it's $41.
$42 with the printed magazine (12 issues) processed online; $49 by mail or phone.
They also have:
"Senior" (65+) for $36 (with printed magazine)
"Young Adult" (24 and under) for $24 (online mag.) or $32 (printed mag.)
"Youth" (under 16 at expiry) for $20 (online mag.) or $27 (printed mag. - 6 issues)
"Scholastic" (under 13 at expiry) for $16 (online mag. Chess Life for Kids) or $23 (printed mag. Chess Life for Kids).
There are also several "Family Membership" options.
All membership types have discounts for two or three year terms.
There are also "Life" memberships ($1500, or $750 for 65+), and "Sustaining" memberships (becomes "Life" after paying a fixed fee for 10 consecutive years). I think no new "Sustaining" memberships have been accepted sonce 2008.
Chess tournaments are expensive endeavours. Entry fees price out poor students (moi), and the CFC just adds a further cost.
It's crazy to me that it's more expensive to be a member of the CFC than to be a member of something like ICC where one gets free access to GM commentary and occasional games with titled players, among other perks.
I'd love to see the CFC make an effort to drive down membership costs significantly. (Chess) Government is too big! Where are the conservative individuals when you need them? ;)
Oh yeah, seems we have had this same discussion about regular governments but you took the opposite side of the one you are taking now. ;)
At the moment, there is not that much room to maneuver until the CFC can increase the number of members. For example if we had 8000 members which would be proportional to the U.S. then we could probably reduce the membership fees and even improve services. There are discussions under way led by Kevin Pacey at the Governors online meeting to start a membership drive.
The AGM meeting spent some time discussing costs and revenues and there is not much room to squeeze costs beyond eliminating those pesky storage fees at the Ottawa site in the aftermath of closing the office and selling the condo.
The major costs are the management contract which provide us with the services of Gerry (who is doing a good job by the way), the email magazine and probably the new website.
It would be dumb to mess with the management contract because you need someone to run the office who knows what he is doing. Gerry knows what he is doing. I can't think of any complaints about the CFC that can be laid at Gerry's feet.
The one thing that I would do is look at ways of farming out the ratings which takes a good deal of Gerry's time so that he could concentrate on things like maintaining the website and implementing initiatives that increase membership numbers.
I know that you don't like the PDF email magazine but I think a lot of people do. If you cut that to save money and a lot of people quit because they feel they aren't getting any services then you are not getting ahead. The email magazine is also an opportunity to sell advertising (as is the website) but you aren't going to get much in advertising revenues unless you increase the numbers. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
ICC is a private company that spreads its costs across tens of thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of subscribers. With lots of subscribers they get advertising revenues. Chessbase also provides high level commentary for free and they do it to attract customers that they can advertise their products to.
A year's membership is also a month longer or more in the uscf. For new members, a new uscf membership is forward dated to the end of the month. CFC policy is to backdate it to the first of the month. => the uscf new member gets a month more.
Returning CFC members who let their membership lapse but then rejoin will also find that their membership is backdated - up to 3 months I think.
As far as I can recall, chess in Canada has been slanted toward liberal views. The conservative individuals tend to be enthusiasts who tend more to sponsor or donate. Although, there are exceptions.
Chess isn't really a game. It's a life style. For those who choose it, chess can become all consuming.
I just want the government (CFC) out of my life...style. Maybe not fully because I do like ratings, but just way back to essential and cost-effective things.
Chess tournaments are expensive endeavours. Entry fees price out poor students (moi), and the CFC just adds a further cost.
It's crazy to me that it's more expensive to be a member of the CFC than to be a member of something like ICC where one gets free access to GM commentary and occasional games with titled players, among other perks.
I'd love to see the CFC make an effort to drive down membership costs significantly. (Chess) Government is too big! Where are the conservative individuals when you need them? ;)
Hmmmm.... maybe they are busy making sure the whole of Canada doesn't have to pay higher taxes to support chess players?
But seriously.... Denton, the CFC has a monopoly on Canadian organized chess because chess is (to borrow a term from Kenneth Regan elsewhere on this board) an "outlier" activity that is too rigid and lacking in creativity for its own good. This is exacerbated in Canada by the geographical realities of the nation's population distribution, which may partially account for the U.S. difference.
The people that love chess as it is and has been are glad for this, and do what they can to keep the status quo. Even the likes of Kevin Pacey will pretend to have new ideas for chess growth, but in reality they are offering yesterday's dinner warmed over. They simply don't want to consider anything bold or creative... and can you blame them when chess is such a shoestring operation? Anything that risks the bottom line is dissed immediately. And so you have a game played on a 64-square board that never can reach beyond its past because of a vicious circle.
And I might add that in this respect, you have plenty of conservative individuals in Canadian chess.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
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