Membership Renewal

[Paul Robert Jackson]

If everyone waits long enough, the ECF will run out of money

This is a serious point.
Not only for the ECF, but also for chess clubs, who may have a reduced membership, or even worse, no venue.

[MartinCarpenter]

I'd fully reccommend, if personally financially viable right now of course, joining as per usual.

Still - how many outgoings does a normal chess club have right now? The ECF has some, I don't think a club will.

[Mick Norris]

I'd fully reccommend, if personally financially viable right now of course, joining as per usual.

Still - how many outgoings does a normal chess club have right now? The ECF has some, I don't think a club will.

I'm not sure we are a normal chess club, but Bury would normally have paid recently for Trophies & Engraving before our AGM, so that's deferred, not expunged, and we'd be paying the Summer League entry fee, so that's saved us £8

We'd then have the Winter League fees, which may not apply but are low, and the web domain fee, which will

Our second largest expenditure is the ECF fees, as we make sure all our members are ECF members, so we'd still have that as a possible/probable

The highest expedniture is the fees we pay each year to be members of the Sports club where we play (in lieu of venue fees, I guess); if we don't have a venue, we can't play; they would be due towards the end of 2020

Expenditure will vary a lot from club to club I guess

[John Reyes]

I have presented the Proposes to the ECF to be sent out on Friday as the ECF Agenda will be out this week

[Phil Neatherway]

I'll be renewing as usual too.
No doubt, there are many players who are finding lockdown financially difficult, but I hope as many as possible will renew promptly.
Equally, many charitable organisations will be in big financial trouble.
I am a member of the national trust, Ashmolean Museum, and the Richard III society to name a few, and my intention is to keep all thse memberships going.

[Paul Robert Jackson]

I will presume the ECF's staff will come off furlough towards the end of the year, & will need to be paid.
& I also make the presumption that most of that money comes from membership fees.

Club finances will be all different, but my main concern is that the venues they use
....church halls
....social clubs
....sports clubs
....village halls
....schools & school halls
....function rooms in public houses
just to name a few,
will not be available, or operate with a limited capacity.
This could result in no league chess being played this year, or even for the whole of next season.
Making (as has been suggested by other members) membership 2020 -2021 a charitable donation.

Venues for congresses will have the same problems with limited capacity.
eg:
Hotels used by larger congresses such as Blackpool, Hull & the 4NCL Congresses.
Frodsham Congress which uses its local community centre.

[MartinCarpenter]

League/congress chess is a write off for the duration anyway. The trick is going to be make sure there's something to come back to.

[Kevin Thurlow]

Pubs were closing at a spectacular rate anyway, so that could be a problem for clubs. If the bigger pub-owning companies get a sniff of compensation, they will be closing down loads of pubs and selling them for redevelopment immediately.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Pubs are going to be allowed to reopen from 4th July, and with a de facto "one metre" rule at least some OTB chess might be possible?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Pubs are going to be allowed to reopen from 4th July, and with a de facto "one metre" rule at least some OTB chess might be possible?"

It would be nice - perhaps Novak Djokovic will donate a trophy?

[Roger de Coverly]

Pubs are going to be allowed to reopen from 4th July, and with a de facto "one metre" rule at least some OTB chess might be possible?

Casual chess perhaps. I don't think indoor "meetings" will be allowed.

[NickFaulks]

I don't think indoor "meetings" will be allowed.

Nor do I, but I'm not sure why not.

[NickFaulks]

Ah, club cricket is banned because the ball is a "natural vector of disease". Perhaps so are pawns.

[Paul Robert Jackson]

League/congress chess is a write off for the duration anyway. The trick is going to be make sure there's something to come back to.

Hopefully we will have something to come back to
....but I expect the English / British chess scene will have to reinvent itself.
& what this will look like I have no idea
....as surely we cannot live our lives permanently online?

[Matt Mackenzie]

Of course what some of us still think of as "real" chess will return. Its just a question of when and how.