Board minutes

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
Andrew Zigmond
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Andrew Zigmond » Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:21 am

It depends what you mean by `interactively`. It is true that this forum may be the only place where discussions are publicly recorded; however the forum is also as unrepresentative in its own way as council is often accused of.

In terms of general communication, those members of the board who are arbiters can be approached up and down the country. Malcolm Pein and Dominic Lawson have strong media profiles. I'm assuming Traci Whitfield can often be seen at junior events; I know she is in regular contact with coaches and organisers up and down the country. You could do what we did in Yorkshire which was invite the ECF to our AGM (and make sure the meeting is managed to prevent anybody going on to the attack).
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:28 am

Andrew Zigmond wrote:It depends what you mean by `interactively`. It is true that this forum may be the only place where discussions are publicly recorded; however the forum is also as unrepresentative in its own way as council is often accused of.
The forum is representative of those who choose to contribute. That the discussions are automatically recorded for posterity is extremely important.

Martin Regan

Re: Board minutes

Post by Martin Regan » Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:35 pm

That the discussions are automatically recorded for posterity is extremely important.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No.It.Isn't.

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John Upham
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Re: Board minutes

Post by John Upham » Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:53 pm

Martin Regan wrote:
That the discussions are automatically recorded for posterity is extremely important.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No.It.Isn't.
It would seem that Sir Roger likens this place to Hansard :lol:
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John Upham
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Re: Board minutes

Post by John Upham » Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:31 pm

John Upham wrote:
Martin Regan wrote:
That the discussions are automatically recorded for posterity is extremely important.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No.It.Isn't.
It would seem that Lord de Coverley of Bourne End likens this place to Hansard :lol:
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Brian Towers
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Brian Towers » Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:52 pm

Did I miss that in Cameron's resignation honours list, John?
Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now.

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John Upham
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Re: Board minutes

Post by John Upham » Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:05 pm

Brian Towers wrote:Did I miss that in Cameron's resignation honours list, John?
I gather the ECF have been lobbying for this non-hereditary peerage for some time but it has yet to be disclosed publicly. :wink:

I do need to recognise that this place is likely to be archived with the same level of reverence as Hansard so the more times it appears the more likely Google etc will spider the text.
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:14 pm

John Upham wrote: I do need to recognise that this place is likely to be archived with the same level of reverence as Hansard so the more times it appears the more likely Google etc will spider the text.
If someone wants to look up what was said at the time, this site is a reliable place to look, as also is the SCCU web page. That's more so than the ECF's main site where material may no longer be accessible because of redesigns.

It's election time, directors and ex-directors start posting again.

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John Upham
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Re: Board minutes

Post by John Upham » Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:26 pm

As Roger points out in the run up to the elections we are likely to see some candidates declarations that would honestly say

"Should I be fortunate enough to be elected/reelected I will endeavour to communicate and engage with the ECFs customers and potential customers on a regular basis but in reality I will carry on just as I have this year!"

Promises, promises!
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Andrew Zigmond
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Andrew Zigmond » Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:37 pm

John Upham wrote:As Roger points out in the run up to the elections we are likely to see some candidates declarations that would honestly say

"Should I be fortunate enough to be elected/reelected I will endeavour to communicate and engage with the ECFs customers and potential customers on a regular basis but in reality I will carry on just as I have this year!"

Promises, promises!
Which of course conveniently ignores the fact that Mike Truran, Alex Holowczak and Julie Denning have been active on this forum throughout the season. The other board members choose not to use this forum and there is no obligation for them to do so. Malcolm Pein can be hardly be said to have kept his activities under the radar.

The ECF cannot put every comma and apostrophe of their discussions in the public domain. I think the board have kept a reasonably high profile this year.

It's worth noting that board members can hardly invite themselves to every county association AGM. The invitation HAS to work the other way. If Mike was willing to make a long round trip to a Northern County then Southern and Midland associations should have no problems.
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John Upham
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Re: Board minutes

Post by John Upham » Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:58 pm

Andrew Zigmond wrote:
Which of course conveniently ignores the fact that Mike Truran, Alex Holowczak and Julie Denning have been active on this forum throughout the season.
I did write "some" intentionally as there are the well known exceptions you have pointed out. Perhaps I should have even more explicit?
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Andrew Zigmond
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Andrew Zigmond » Tue Sep 20, 2016 11:01 pm

John Upham wrote:
Andrew Zigmond wrote:
Which of course conveniently ignores the fact that Mike Truran, Alex Holowczak and Julie Denning have been active on this forum throughout the season.
I did write "some" intentionally as there are the well known exceptions you have pointed out. Perhaps I should have even more explicit?
That's fair enough although I did wonder if there was an example of any board member failing to fulfill such a pledge. I also almost added that some board members have a more public `facing` role than others.
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John Upham
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Re: Board minutes

Post by John Upham » Tue Sep 20, 2016 11:19 pm

Perhaps we could imagine a board discussion in which those who chose to engage with this place discuss their reasons for doing so with those who regard this place as "toxic"?

How do we think such a discussion might unravel?
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Mike Truran
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Mike Truran » Tue Sep 20, 2016 11:23 pm

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.

Julie Denning
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Re: Board minutes

Post by Julie Denning » Wed Sep 21, 2016 9:34 am

Andrew Zigmond wrote: Which of course conveniently ignores the fact that Mike Truran, Alex Holowczak and Julie Denning have been active on this forum throughout the season.
Andrew,

Thanks for the endorsement. Although my computer is normally on and online throughout the day, with the Forum on an open tab, I haven't contributed too often. I've tried to limit myself to situations where I feel I have something worth contributing, or have been asked a specific question (either to myself personally or generically as a Board member).

A reality that I think we're all aware of, but don't have an answer to, is the disconnect between the efforts of the ECF (or even the regional Unions) and the typical club player (the only interest group I can claim to represent). Whilst I suspect most, if asked, would support many of the things the ECF sets out to do (junior academy programme, facilitating national championships, ensuring a national presence on the international scene ...) we don't see any connection with our participation in club and league chess, with perhaps the occasional county match or weekend congress thrown in. This has been brought home to me again recently. I suggested clubs throughout my county might invite me to their AGM. I wanted to drum up more support for our county teams that have struggled recently to fill all boards, but also to put myself up for questions on SCCU or ECF matters where I am their representative. Two clubs so far have taken me up on this, but in the latter objective I was met with complete silence.

This Forum provides a useful avenue of communication, but what proportion of the English chess playing community regularly read it or are even aware of its existence? (A partial answer is the statistic on the front page that there are 1220 members, which is less than 10% of currently graded players.)

The ECF this year set up the "Ask a Director" facility via its website. So far not a single question has come my way.

I'm open for communication, but it's a 2-way process.