The Board accepted the proposal to introduce three free games per subscription year and
abolish game fee. Leagues will be invoiced £25 for every non-member who plays more than
three games. It was agreed that a formal proposal should be put to the Finance Council
meeting.
A welcome development, allowing try before you buy and free use of otherwise inactive emergency substitutes, and should result in a reduction in the number of small invoices that treasurers receive and then seek reimbursement for.
Mike Truran wrote:
1. Three games per league, not player. The issue of players playing three games or fewer across more than one league is not particularly significant financially.
A pragmatic way of handling a minor problem, though no doubt someone somewhere will complain that this is not fair to those who have access to only one league.
Pay per play for congresses to continue unaltered, but then it is difficult to come up with administrative or financial benefits for changing the principle.
No mention of what happens for non-members in club events. Is there some residual residual game fee or is there an additional free allowance of three games per player per club beyond which a £25 fee applies.
Dragoljub Sudar wrote:
It does appear on the surface to be just a money grabbing exercise.
As a money grabbing exercise the proposal is poor.
Since
Mike Truran wrote:
2. Players who play more than three games in a league can sign up for Bronze membership at any time before the end of the season. The £25 is only levied if they are still non-members at the end of the season.
the number of £25s to be collected will surely be small. Thus the gain is restricted to extra monies collected in membership fees from those playing more than three games but for whom game fee would have been cheaper, less loss of all income from those who would otherwise be paying game fee on at most three games. Difficult to see the net result being financially transformational.
Paul Cooksey wrote:
If the system is for members to pay, I'd be happy to see membership enforced through grading by not grading the games of non-members.
I disagree with this since for me the grading system is not about my grade but about those of my opponents and resolving questions of eligibility.