Free Chess Sets for schools

[Neill Cooper]

"They are being asked to request them "

No where on the ECF website is that clear.
It was clear on my local MP's website, so I contacted his office. They told me to contact the ECF office.

I don't think our school has yet been hit in any of the directions you mention. I'll let you know when they have.

Should I plug the offer at the SCCU U18 Jamboree this coming Saturday? Quite a few (mainly chess playing) schools will be represented.

[Carl Hibbard]

There is a new section for discussing this project and everything has been moved there

All posts etc. have been moved as well

[Charles W. Wood]

"They are being asked to request them "

No where on the ECF website is that clear.
It was clear on my local MP's website, so I contacted his office. They told me to contact the ECF office.

I don't think our school has yet been hit in any of the directions you mention. I'll let you know when they have.

Should I plug the offer at the SCCU U18 Jamboree this coming Saturday? Quite a few (mainly chess playing) schools will be represented.

The MP's are the start of that wave. NAHT magazine has a huge article in next months addition to help spead the word to any schools that have been missed. etc etc, it will all come along in time.

As for mentioning this at the SCCU u18 Jamboree, feel free, the more its pushed the more this will work. Neill Your going to be very busy very soon I hope, your imput is invaluable as everyone input is. I'm in a very strange and odd situation in that, in order to find the areas I haven't covered I need people to question me so I can think about them. Keep em coming I need more.

Thank you all for your support, your calls and emails have been fantastic.

[Charles W. Wood]

Hi All

Our friends in the media are getting very exited about this project.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jh ... 080229.xml

I hope that works.

[Charles W. Wood]

What I find intriguing is why Holloid Plastics is doing this and whether by understanding the company's motives other chess benefactors could be identified.

The links on the ECF home page illustrate that Holloid Plastics is a well run company with finance available to use towards an expansion plan to achieve a £5m turnover by end of 2008 but are not a massive company with currently 40 emploees and a good balance sheet of about £500k.

The reported numbers of sets is 250,000 that equates to 6,250 sets per employee and at say £1 a set cost equal to 5% of the projected annual turnover. That is a substantial marketing exercise even if spread over several years. The positive side is that they are gaining tremendous press coverage though surprisingly little is seen on their own web site.

It is reported that the sales director came up with the idea for free chess sets for schools when he discovered a shortage of sets at his son's school but it would be instructive to know how this idea was then sold to the managing director and owner of the business.

As a director in previous businesses I found it impossible to promote chess to the managing director as a sponsorship opportunity for the company.

I wonder if Fergus Christie, Sales Director of Holloid Plastics could let us know his secret.

This is the oddest question ever, typical chess thinking though so I did think the same that the time.

Motive is down to perception, we see £2m worth of chess sets, to Holloid they have cancelled their exibitions this year and spent that money on tooling, the raw plastic has been donated. As for employees, thats just weird, its an automated factory and has employees (which mostly move stuff from x to y (they are very skilled to be honest)) there over the weekend even though no production is going on. The estimated amount Holloid will spend is £60k to £70k which includes wages. The secret is getting the whole package ready then putting it forward, the consultation period on this was 8 Months which gave the ECF time to come up with a plan. All in place and MD said yes.

What do Holloid want, just marketing, lots and lots of marketing.

Now with all those answers, David answer me these, if it was a mad business idea, do you think we should have turned it down? At what level do you think we should have turned it down? And most of all who are we to question them?

[Charles W. Wood]

I am sorry if you thought I was suggesting it was a mad business idea and I will take as a compliment that you thought I was thinking like a chess player (not many people have said that to me).

I thought I was thinking as a business man. I currently run my own business and in a very small way sponsor chess through a 4NCL team. However in the past I have been a director of a £15m turnover company with 30 automatic mouldings machines and I was never able to convince the board to sponsor chess.

This post was a genuine attempt to gain information as to how it was successfully achieved at Holloid Plastics.

I will assume that the tone of your post is something to do with comments by others that I am not aware of.

So please keep up the good work and don't let the detractors get you down.

It is a good question, I just struggle with the idea of putting someone down or questioning their motives when they have donated something. But it is true it does seem a huge gift. Packed them should be interesting, the logistics alone are massive. You are very right about who would want to start something like this in the first place, but there has been many instances of similar huge gifts in the past, creating a huge surge in sponsorship. If there was ever a time for us to use information to get sponsorship for our own leagues, it would be over 2008.

If my answer seemed harsh it wasn't meant to be, bad time to type after a very very long day.

Great piece in the Telegraph though, cheers Mr Pein.

[Charles W. Wood]

David

I think I should give a reason why it was such a long day. One of our chess community "Friends" took it upon themselves to phone up Holloid direct and point out his disappointment at Holloid not doing free clocks too.

Loose cannon.

This is the common reason sponsors back out. E.G.: Bradford City FC with the British Rapidplay held at BCFC ground for two years then, a player, told the chairman of the football club that chess shouldn't be played in this environment, so the price went from £300/day to the standard£3,000. Its now , Well Run, but in a sports centre in Halifax. Theres the Lennox Lewis mess up, as a player i would have travelled across the sea to be able to have prize giving done by that super hero of our shores. That just the ones I know about.

So I guess that leads me back to me, sorry about firing off, you just asked the wrong question just at the wrong time. So I apologise.

I am still human, and will remain so thoughout this Chess for Schools Project.

[Charles W. Wood]

eh not a problem

Just seen the pictures of the sets and they look great.

Is there going to be a press release with all the names of the sponsors and helpers - they deserve the maximum publicity

Already strarted the press side rolling. The Telegraph, Friday, every box has all the sponsors on. Theres far too much to write down. Can you do something in your area?

[Charles W. Wood]

Where do I find the press release?

I will do my best to get this on the sussex chess websites

There is Peter Wilsons response.

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/chess4sc ... _feb08.htm

but I'm putting something together now to release to the board and a shorter version for the website. I'll try get clearance to send it to all the county associations.

I hope that helps, typical that my pc is down poorly at the moment. I'm having to use one of the laptops.

[John Upham]

How can I find out who the local reps for this project at county (smaller than that) level are?

Specifically for Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey?

I'd like to help with my old school, Yateley School as I helped to run the club there in the days of the Sunday Times National Schools Championship.

Are the reps listed anywhere?

John

[Charles W. Wood]

How can I find out who the local reps for this project at county (smaller than that) level are?

Specifically for Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey?

I'd like to help with my old school, Yateley School as I helped to run the club there in the days of the Sunday Times National Schools Championship.

Are the reps listed anywhere?

John

Hi John

I started with the ECF yearbook, Warning though I did end you going round the houses a bit after that. But it is the best place to start.

Regards

[John Upham]

So who is handling this project for Berkshire?

If you don't know then I doubt the yearbook would know.

[Charles W. Wood]

So who is handling this project for Berkshire?

If you don't know then I doubt the yearbook would know.

For the Chess for Schools details I'll email you.

[andrew martin]

I have actually just started teaching chess at Yateley Comp John. The teachers helping me know of the Chess for Schools project and are eagerly awaiting the sets.

I advised them to buy new sets, clocks , equipment and this they have done, explaining that the delay in receiving these new sets could be quite considerable.

I'm sure Charles is doing his best,but it is quite ridiculous to put one man in charge of such a huge project. As you all know, I have had misgivings from the start about this one.

What you need to do to make this work is to get HELP Charles, from the vast number of well-meaning and highly competant junior officials dotted around the country. You need to DELEGATE.

If you don't , you are now going to be hounded, as on another thread ( quite rightly, bull**it won't do ) and no amount of posting long replies here is going to convince anyone unless those sets start rolling out soon. The good news for you and us ( the ECF) is that EVERYONE I know in the chess world wants this project to succeed, so you are going to get the assistance if you need it.

May I now suggest you contact me privately by email and we can look at it all.

I would also invite any junior organisers around the land who want to help also to get in touch : [email protected] and we will take it from there.

Andrew

[Donna Wood]

I have actually just started teaching chess at Yateley Comp John. The teachers helping me know of the Chess for Schools project and are eagerly awaiting the sets.

I advised them to buy new sets, clocks , equipment and this they have done, explaining that the delay in receiving these new sets could be quite considerable.

I'm sure Charles is doing his best,but it is quite ridiculous to put one man in charge of such a huge project. As you all know, I have had misgivings from the start about this one.

What you need to do to make this work is to get HELP Charles, from the vast number of well-meaning and highly competant junior officials dotted around the country. You need to DELEGATE.

If you don't , you are now going to be hounded, as on another thread ( quite rightly, bull**it won't do ) and no amount of posting long replies here is going to convince anyone unless those sets start rolling out soon. The good news for you and us ( the ECF) is that EVERYONE I know in the chess world wants this project to succeed, so you are going to get the assistance if you need it.

May I now suggest you contact me privately by email and we can look at it all.

I would also invite any junior organisers around the land who want to help also to get in touch : [email protected] and we will take it from there.

Andrew

With all due respect Andrew, you obviously have no clue as to what is going on here!!!

Charles has an army of people helping out, me included and regularly speaks with people at the ECF office who have been a huge support. On top of that he has spoken with organisers up and down the Country ready for the role out of these chess sets. The only thing he has been working on exclusively is arranging the transportation of the sets with a number of haulage companies up and down the Country.

Unfortunately though because of the negativity of people like yourself and the way people have behaved in this forum this has proved more difficult than was necessary, causing an awful lot more work than was required. You state yourself that you have had misgivings regarding the project from the start, and this has had a snowball effect. Everyone who could find the tiniest of faults has done!!!

Maybe it's time everyone grew up a little, stopped back biting and bitching over every little thing that goes on with the ECF and get behind what they are doing, it's pathetic and incredibly childish the way that everyone is carrying on!!! The sponsors look at this site to see if the Chess for Schools project is a viable one, would you sponsor something when everyone who is supposed to be backing it is doing the opposite? I think not!

On a personal note, Charles has been doing a wonderful job for no pay and little thanks, as his now wife I feel compelled to say that I am angry and upset by the chess community as a whole who have berated him, belittled him, had no support in him and feel the best way to show this is on an open forum. If you have an issue with the Chess for Schools project and the management of that project I suggest you contact Charles directly to discuss this, then maybe he can set the record straight with the facts and put to bed any doubts you may have.

Rant over for now
A very angry
Mrs Donna Wood (nee Southgate)