Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

A team play. Chess is too individual game.
A fighting spirit. How many times have you fights after or during chess games :D

Chess is a game of co-operation. After all each player can compete with another only by agreeing to play in accordance with the rules of chess. Physically, I can easily move my bishop as if it were a rook or a queen, but I do not do so because we cannot play the game "chess" unless we follow it's rules. So it gives one practice in follow group norms and conventions, surely an essential life skill.

And this is true of life in general. Every explicit competition requires, and indeed is only made possible by, an implicit co-operation. At the base of it we must co-operate with the laws of physics, so there is never any competition that does not involve a set of rules. Thus to learn to compete we must learn to follow the agreed upon rules which themselves make competition possible.

Furthermore one cannot play chess well unless he (or of course, she) learns to make all the individual pieces support and co-operate with each other. As good play requires planning it teaches leadership, generalship if you like. As it requires calculation it teaches one to be forward looking and to put oneself mentally in the position of the other. And as it also rewards alertness it gives us a practice in a skill that is needed throughout our entire life.

As for fighting spirit, the game is precisely a formalized fight, as Emanuel Lasker realized and pointed out. You will never be really good at chess without a fighting spirit. The real delight of a hard chess game, win or lose, is precisely the fight it involves. There is no need to fight again after the game for then the real fight is ended.

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean just sell chess to them as 'chess'?

Governments, if not sponsors, like to classify what things are, other than in terms of their name.

I mean that there are plenty of good things to say about chess other than saying "it is a sport" and as such it deserves funding. If government officials need to classify to allow funding, let them do it.

[Paul Leblanc]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

All interest/income from the investments goes to the CFC so it would have been a zero sum calculation to charge interest then hand it back.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

I mean that there are plenty of good things to say about chess other than saying "it is a sport" and as such it deserves funding. If government officials need to classify to allow funding, let them do it.

I happen to recall one of Jonathan Berry's posts from earlier in this thread (#49):


"To the world in general (e.g., the IOC), chess is a sport, but it's a tough sell in Canada. So, moving on to "other avenues" of government support, the federal-govt-message-that-the-CFC-didn't-want-to-hear (at least in the 1970s and 1980s) was that chess is a recreation and thus a provincial rather than federal field.

Embracing that idea can have exciting consequences. I wrote a longer reply, but "talking to the cat". I suppose that if anybody wants to discuss this, he or she could open a fresh thread"


To cut to the chase, the federal government back then, failing (or in spite of) a 'convincing' case made by the CFC for any sort of classification for chess, simply arbitrarily classed chess as a recreation (almost certainly as a convenient way to avoid doling out money for one more thing, such as chess, IMHO).

Decades later, the feds similarly arbitrarily decided the CFC didn't deserve charitable status anymore.

I think the CFC ought to continue to concentrate on trying to pull itself up mainly by its own bootstraps and not pin any of its major hopes on the tender mercies of federal governments. The CFC is not as lucky as the FQE, which gets funding from successive provincial governments that have a sympathetic (provincial) political philosophy to that of the FQE's.

Sponsorship, on the other hand, is something the CFC has much better hopes of obtaining than substantial federal dollars.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

The CFC is not as lucky as the FQE, which gets funding from successive provincial governments that have a sympathetic (provincial) political philosophy to that of the FQE's

The CFC is a national organization consisting of provincial associations. Do those provincial organizations get provincial monies? Yes. The OCA got two times from Trillium. ACA got too.

Anyway, chess should be recognized as a sport at first not by government but by ordinary people.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

The CFC is a national organization consisting of provincial associations. Do those provincial organizations get provincial monies? Yes. The OCA got two times from Trillium. ACA got too.

Anyway, chess should be recognized as a sport at first not by government but by ordinary people.

Alas, the CFC is not a provincial association capable of getting provincial gov't monies. Provincial gov'ts have a history of being friendlier to chess than the feds, for whatever reason.

Personally I don't care much anymore about what the public classifies chess as. If the CFC can better sell organized chess to the general public more for its recreation value (as to be explained by the CFC), I'd not be against it.

There are professional bowlers, yet the general public has chosen to see bowling pretty much as just for recreation IMHO (possibly because pro bowlers may often eek out a living, just like pro chess players).

There are professional tennis players or golfers, and while the public plays tennis and golf for recreation, there is wider recognition of these (than bowling) as professions IMHO, and recognition of these also as sports.

[Daniel Rouleau]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

The CFC is not as lucky as the FQE, which gets funding from successive provincial governments that have a sympathetic (provincial) political philosophy to that of the FQE's.

Bullshit; you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.

The efforts made by volunteers for the FQE to be officially recognized as a recreational activity meeting the level I funding criteria set forth by the government numbered in the thousands of hours over a year's period. These volunteers proved chess was an organized recreational activity which met or exceeded the various criteria, including minimum of registered members, clubs, and regions to deserve recognition and minimal funding.

Only proving chess met already existing criteria.

I never heard of an effort of such a large scale from the CFC. All we hear from time to time is "so-and-so wrote ONE letter or had a meeting with the government" and yet, there are always crybabies like you who cries "foul play! political philosophy!".

In addition to volunteers, the CFC is lucky to have such a large governing body which guarantees it will always includes luminaries with visions such "chess resorts could include areas with video games played for coins using chess (or chess variant) playing programs (with progressively harder levels of playing opposition)".

I wish I knew what they were smoking.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Bullshit; you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.

The efforts made by volunteers for the FQE to be officially recognized as a recreational activity meeting the level I funding criteria set forth by the government numbered in the thousands of hours over a year's period. These volunteers proved chess was an organized recreational activity which met or exceeded the various criteria, including minimum of registered members, clubs, and regions to deserve recognition and minimal funding.

Only proving chess met already existing criteria.

I never heard of an effort of such a large scale from the CFC. All we hear from time to time is "so-and-so wrote ONE letter or had a meeting with the government" and yet, there are always crybabies like you who cries "foul play! political philosophy!".

In addition to volunteers, the CFC is lucky to have such a large governing body which guarantees it will always includes luminaries with visions such "chess resorts could include areas with video games played for coins using chess (or chess variant) playing programs (with progressively harder levels of playing opposition)".

I wish I knew what they were smoking.

It goes against my better judgement to reply to someone who is clearly being so hotheaded and rude, but I can only say I am going by what I have been told, by people admittedly outside of Quebec.

Despite any amount of effort put into lobbying any government, the final decision to approve funding (of chess, for example) happens behind the closed doors of officials, when it can be easily surmised (but not proven) that political calculations can easily come to the fore. Try a websearch sometime and you may find that people outside of Canada have surmised the same thing about the FQE receiving funding. There is no question of being a crybaby.

To preempt a further conclusion you might jump to, I happen to be of Norman ancestry and was born in France, so I am not resentful of Quebec, except for the people within it who wish to divide our country.

As an aside, I once years ago emailed the FQE and politely asked them, as an interested CFC member, what it might take for them to reuniify with the CFC. Not quite as rudely as yorself, they did not reply.

[Jean Hébert]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

... but I can only say I am going by what I have been told, by people admittedly outside of Quebec.

Then you should not venture too far in trying to figure out the FQE situation. You lack the basic information, the one from within.

Despite any amount of effort put into lobbying any government, the final decision to approve funding (of chess, for example) happens behind the closed doors of officials, when it can be easily surmised (but not proven) that political calculations can easily come to the fore. Try a websearch sometime and you may find that people outside of Canada have surmised the same thing about the FQE receiving funding. There is no question of being a crybaby.

It is always possible to see political calculations but the facts that it is not just the FQE that receives funding but, under quite strict criterias, dozens of other sporting and cultural organisations indicates that the funding meets some more fondamental needs. And this has been true both under Parti Quebecois government and Quebec Liberals governement. Surely you can understand as a fair minded person that Quebecers, whether federalist or not prefer to have decisions that concern them made in Quebec rather that Ottawa, Toronto or Vancouver.

To preempt a further conclusion you might jump to, I happen to be of Norman ancestry and was born in France, so I am not resentful of Quebec, except for the people within it who wish to divide our country.

You only prove that having french ancestry has nothing to do with your resentment...

As an aside, I once years ago emailed the FQE and politely asked them, as an interested CFC member, what it might take for them to reuniify with the CFC. Not quite as rudely as yorself, they did not reply.

Maybe you should try to think of only one good reason for the FQE to reunify with a crippled organisation like the CFC. Surely not for chess reasons. But for political reasons who knows...

[Daniel Rouleau]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

It goes against my better judgement to reply to someone who is clearly being so hotheaded and rude, but I can only say I am going by what I have been told, by people admittedly outside of Quebec.

Despite any amount of effort put into lobbying any government, the final decision to approve funding (of chess, for example) happens behind the closed doors of officials, when it can be easily surmised (but not proven) that political calculations can easily come to the fore. Try a websearch sometime and you may find that people outside of Canada have surmised the same thing about the FQE receiving funding. There is no question of being a crybaby.

To preempt a further conclusion you might jump to, I happen to be of Norman ancestry and was born in France, so I am not resentful of Quebec, except for the people within it who wish to divide our country.

As an aside, I once years ago emailed the FQE and politely asked them, as an interested CFC member, what it might take for them to reuniify with the CFC. Not quite as rudely as yorself, they did not reply.

It goes against my better judgement who is so clearly ill-informed and hateful to recognize he has absolutely no clue what he talking about.

I was one of the volunteers who spent time to collect the data necessary to build the documents the FQE submitted to the government. I spent maybe 120-150 hours towards this goal, which I am guessing from my own observations is 10-20% of the time spent by each of the two main volunteers.

It's not hearsay from someone outside of Québec who has no clue what went on; it's a first hand statement from someone who actively participated in getting the initial recognition from the Québec provincial government.

Why would I try a web search about what people outside Québec surmised when I know first hand what happened? It's not as if chess was anything special as the "Fédération des jeux récréatifs" had already receive official recognition from the government.

Only the hate of people like you will see political calculations behind closed doors in lieu of hard work. The alternative is not pretty; you would have to come to grip that the Québec volunteers were far more competent and far, far less lazy than you.

[Daniel Rouleau]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

As an aside, I once years ago emailed the FQE and politely asked them, as an interested CFC member, what it might take for them to reuniify with the CFC. Not quite as rudely as yorself, they did not reply.

Seriously, did you really expect an organization of which you're not even a member to answer such an inquiry? Were you at least the official CFC representative mandated to negotiate with the FQE?

[Jason Lohner]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Why would anyone slide 640 lbs of granite down a sheet of ice while three others sweep? I'd rather watch caber tossing. Curling does seem to be a game for the well upholstered.

Well upholstered?

http://youtu.be/k39ju0Z5VmE

[Marcus Wilker]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

First SportAccord World Mind Games opens in Beijing December 9

SportAccord World Mind Games is a unique multi-sports event which highlights the great value of Mind Sports. This first edition includes five sports: Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go and Xiangqi. With players being the world’s best, the Games will deliver top-level performances. Competitions will combine the fun of playing games with concentration, critical thinking, analytical skills, deduction and logic.

http://www.sportaccord.com/en/news/i...dContent=15599

[Marcus Wilker]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

Even more to the point:

SportAccord World Mind Games is a multi-sport event centered on the gymnasium of the mind, highlighting the great value of the Mind Sports. On the programme of the SportAccord World Mind Games are five minds sports: Chess, Bridge, Go, Draughts and Xiangqi. They are all about the power of the human brain, strategy, intelligence and the exercise of the mind. In addition, a competitive attitude, quick reflexes, physical fitness, and discipline are needed to excel.

http://www.sportaccord.com/en/multi-...&idContent=658

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Chess recognized as a sport by Sport Canada

First SportAccord World Mind Games opens in Beijing December 9



http://www.sportaccord.com/en/news/i...dContent=15599

Interesting site - thanks. It isn't all that clear (to me) that the best players in the world will be playing - certainly seems not in the case of chess. Maybe this effort will grow and be transported into the IllusionOf empire of FIDE?