ECF Yearbook 2017

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
Neil Graham
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ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Neil Graham » Thu Feb 23, 2017 3:00 pm

Good news - the 2017 ECF Yearbook has dropped through my letter box today. In February!! :)

Bad news - an initial look indicates that every one of the editorial deficiencies I mentioned last year has been successfully reproduced in 2017! Bring back Paul Buswell please!

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Andrew Walker
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Andrew Walker » Fri Feb 24, 2017 12:40 pm

Hello Neil
Was your list of editorial deficiencies communicated to the office, can you say, or to me in particular, whose task it is to compile the yearbook? It would be good to know what they were, as we cannot recall seeing them and a search of my emails for last year cannot locate any communications. If you mentioned them here on the forum I will have missed them, as I am here so very rarely. Let me know.
Andrew Walker - Yearbook compiler (amongst many other things) :)
PS Paul is working with us currently, at the desk next to me, so in a way he IS back :)

Neil Graham
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Neil Graham » Fri Feb 24, 2017 3:23 pm

Andrew Walker wrote:Hello Neil
Was your list of editorial deficiencies communicated to the office, can you say, or to me in particular, whose task it is to compile the yearbook? It would be good to know what they were, as we cannot recall seeing them and a search of my emails for last year cannot locate any communications. If you mentioned them here on the forum I will have missed them, as I am here so very rarely. Let me know.
Andrew Walker - Yearbook compiler (amongst many other things) :)
PS Paul is working with us currently, at the desk next to me, so in a way he IS back :)
Andrew - I gave an non exhaustive list here:-

http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=8625

In the past the BCF as it was then appointed an editor and paid an honorarium - it might be better that this is done rather than you carrying this out with your other duties? As the Yearbook is the sole record of ECF history unless, as suggested, it is consigned to the bin we should really try to remedy this in future. Here are some of the things from the 2017 Yearbook that are either wrong or missing

a) No index at the front - just a very basic list of contents
b) The list of the names at the back (whatever that is supposed to be) is absolutely inadequate. It used to be shown as "Signpost" which listed names/addresses of chess officials not just a random list. It lists people who are deceased which should have been deleted, it doesn't list me (which of course it should :D), it lists Andrew Walker but unfortunately fails to realise that there are two completely different people with the same name.
c) There is no Cross-table for the British Championship (or proper details of any of the other events either)
d) The 4NCL appears as a Week 5 report - Divisions Three/Four aren't even mentioned.
e) The full County Championship results are not given but we have eight full pages on the World Cadet Championships!

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Andrew Walker
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Andrew Walker » Fri Feb 24, 2017 3:44 pm

Thank you Neil. I am a fairly low monkey on the tree, so the creation of a new Editor's position and the granting of an honorarium is way outside my sphere of influence. I have cut out and kept the other points you make in both your brief and your full critique, and if the YB survives another year (I hope it's OK for me to say that personally, I hope not - endless corrections in multiple places in print and online can only propagate errors, IMHO) I shall try to incorporate most if not all of them in the 2018 YB ...
Regarding points c(ii), d and e - these are the result, sadly, of a complete lack of input from the parties concerned in submitting suitable material for the website and/or the YB, a situation that has been steadily worsening since I started here in 2009 ...

Mike Truran
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Mike Truran » Fri Feb 24, 2017 6:56 pm

Neil

You may have had more success if you had contacted the ECF directly rather than just assuming that others would pass on your forum posts on your behalf.

BTW please feel free to put your hand up for the editorial job. I'm sure we can pay you a suitable fee.

I'll pick up Andrew's comments about 4NCL input privately.

Mike

Nick Grey
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Nick Grey » Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:17 pm

ECF stopped sending out or e-mailing club secretaries some years ago probably because of concentrating on individual members.
Anyway nice not to receive one because that means we will not get charged.
I thought agreed in future years after 2017 was going to be something simple like e-mails or some direct input to the web or from the web.

Neil Graham
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Neil Graham » Fri Mar 03, 2017 12:18 am

Mike Truran wrote:Neil

You may have had more success if you had contacted the ECF directly rather than just assuming that others would pass on your forum posts on your behalf.

BTW please feel free to put your hand up for the editorial job. I'm sure we can pay you a suitable fee.

I'll pick up Andrew's comments about 4NCL input privately.

Mike
Having done more than my fair stint of admin, I am trying to divest myself of the various jobs I hold by the time I get to 70 so I certainly don't want to start taking on new jobs thanks Mike! Nevertheless I am quite happy to assist Andrew or whoever when it comes to the 2018 Yearbook if one is produced. Whatever the situation even if the Yearbook is scrapped someone needs to be appointed as Archivist so important historical details are not simply consigned to the refuse internet bin.

I say this as I have in front of me the 1969-70 Yearbook. A full crosstable of the British Championship is given showing that Dr Jonathan Penrose won with 8/11 (+5,=6), half a point ahead of Bob Wade with five others tied for third place. Other full crosstables are given including a separate one for the 57 player British Junior Under 21 Championship where we find Roger de Coverley with 5/11. A full list of competitors and scores in all the other events - in the Under 18 Clive Cubitt won with 9/11 a clear point ahead of four players including Tony Miles & John Nunn. Michael Stean was Under 16 Champion and Jon Speelman Under 14 - whatever happened to them? In the 20 board County Championship Final Lancashire and Middlesex drew 10-10 with the Northern County edging it on Board Count - On Board 6 Jeff Horner beat Stewart Reuben. Membership of the BCF was 2 guineas. It would be a pity if we lost current information - it's a pleasure to leaf through the history of the Federation.

Mike Truran
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Re: ECF Yearbook 2017

Post by Mike Truran » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:50 am

Many thanks Neil! Offer greatly appreciated, and hopefully we can work something out.