Re: 2016 draw
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:46 pm
I have no idea why anyone would want to play in a NCCU competition. As far as I can see 2 12 board matches (Yorks v Lancs x 2) were played last season. That's precisely half of the boards played by the Notts U140 in the MCCU Union competition or 11% of the total games played by Notts. There was no county chess played in Merseyside, Cheshire, Durham, Northumberland............
Greater Manchester (as it was then) played in the Under 100, Under 125, Under 150 and Under 175 MCCU competitions in the past - indeed winning 6 MCCU titles along the way. Having looked at Mick's note about eligibility, the position is even better than I thought. Players from Macclesfield, East Cheshire, Holmes Chapel etc would be eligible to play for Manchester as they are affiliated to the Stockport League which is in Manchester. Of course there is no county chess in Cheshire to get in the way. My original figure of 50+ came from the Manchester Federation website.
Can I move onto David Pardoe's note "that I share your concern". I have no more concerns about the Manchester situation than I do about the situation in other counties which we could go on and discuss. As the situation in Manchester has been discussed endlessly in this thread it was good illustrative material. As regards travel - aa route planner gives the mileage from Bolton or Manchester to Newcastle-under-Lyme as around 50 and the journey time as just over an hour - substantially less than a journey from South to North Lincolnshire say.
The bottom line, is as always, a lack of volunteers to organise and that scenario is not limited to Manchester but is, in general, nationwide.
Greater Manchester (as it was then) played in the Under 100, Under 125, Under 150 and Under 175 MCCU competitions in the past - indeed winning 6 MCCU titles along the way. Having looked at Mick's note about eligibility, the position is even better than I thought. Players from Macclesfield, East Cheshire, Holmes Chapel etc would be eligible to play for Manchester as they are affiliated to the Stockport League which is in Manchester. Of course there is no county chess in Cheshire to get in the way. My original figure of 50+ came from the Manchester Federation website.
Can I move onto David Pardoe's note "that I share your concern". I have no more concerns about the Manchester situation than I do about the situation in other counties which we could go on and discuss. As the situation in Manchester has been discussed endlessly in this thread it was good illustrative material. As regards travel - aa route planner gives the mileage from Bolton or Manchester to Newcastle-under-Lyme as around 50 and the journey time as just over an hour - substantially less than a journey from South to North Lincolnshire say.
The bottom line, is as always, a lack of volunteers to organise and that scenario is not limited to Manchester but is, in general, nationwide.