How the ECF is funded

[Roger de Coverly]

A document to this effect has appeared on the ECF website.

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/?page_id=18725

Whilst factually correct, it fails to note that under the existing arrangements, the Game Fee is 58p per game, and under the new scheme £ 2 per game or £ 6 per Congress.

Elsewhere it seems to think that leagues will maintain their existing practice of paying Game Fee in November. I really don't see why, as a league may well project that all players will play at least 6 or 7 games and will be made members whether they want to be or not.

Also, whilst it suggests that club subs may be reduced, it fails to observe that for clubs with relatively low numbers of league games, the savings in club subs will be more than offset by the cost of £ 12 or £ 13 to the ECF.


Details of transitional arrangements are incomplete, as they don't detail what happens to existing members whose membership continues after August 2012.

Whilst being coy elsewhere on the costs, it fails to mention the benefit that will be given to existing Gold members, namely that if local leagues pass on their Game Fee savings for members, that their club membership costs will be reduced by the amount of the saving. That said, it's a proposition for a league that if it withholds any concessions for members, that could give it the funding to pay Game Fee at £ 2 per head (to a maximum of £ 12/£13) for non-members. Whilst not something it would really want to vote for, the local membership might prefer that to alternatives of removing itself wholly or partly from national grading, banning or defaulting non-members, or sending out bills for every league result reported for non-members.

(edit)

What's happened to on line membership at £ 12 ? If you just read http://www.englishchess.org.uk/?page_id=18733, it says

BRONZE: Members in this category will be entitled to have an unlimited number of games in club, league and county competitions graded in return for a one-off annual subscription. In practice, in areas not currently covered by a Membership Organisation, this should result in a significant reduction in club subscriptions, league and match fees (although this will depend upon the current funding arrangements in your area). Bronze membership will cost £13 for adults, £9 for juniors.

It looks as if the ECF now wants to promote MOs, having previously seemed to want to encourage direct on-line joining.

• Collection method (Membership) – Broadly, the choices are:

ο BULK PAYMENT – Existing Membership Organisations tend to prefer to collect memberships via their participating clubs. A single payment is then made by the member league or organisation to the ECF;
ο INDIVIDUAL PAYMENT – Each player is asked to join directly via the ECF.

In practice, the former method is preferred, because it gives the league or organisation a clearer idea of the take-up rate. It may be the best approach for those leagues and organisation who adopt the “mandatory” or “encouraged” line towards ECF membership.

(/edit)

[John Philpott]

Roger De Coverly wrote

Details of transitional arrangements are incomplete, as they don't detail what happens to existing members whose membership continues after August 2012.

If you read the documents as a whole, this is detailed

Old-style memberships expiring after 31st August 2012
A discount on the cost of a new-style membership will be available, based on a pro-rata monthly equivalent rate for the new categories.

Old-style memberships expiring after 31st August 2013
Some members who purchased 3-year memberships may have a current expiry date after 31st August 2013. These memberships will be converted to the appropriate new category as set out above and this will apply for the remaining membership term.

Upon expiry, the same approach will apply as for those whose memberships expire during the year to 31st August 2012, i.e. a discount on the cost of a new-style membership will be available, based on a pro-rata monthly equivalent rate for the new categories.

[Alex McFarlane]

Do these proposals really mean that a non member can play in the British for a membership fee of £3 or so for 2 months or a slightly higher fee (£4.75?) if the event is FIDE rated? Had I not already been sacked I would be considering resigning at this point. Pathetic communication from the Director responsible I think.

One might have thought that the Manager of the British would have been informed of this by the Home Director but I don't think she has. Is this the way to run the flagship event?

Who decided this latest fiasco? Why weren't the members informed in plenty of time? Why weren't ECF Officers made aware of such a significant change?

Will Mr Raoof finally answer at least one of my questions? If he is unwilling to explain this perhaps he should be considering his position within the organisation.

I know Lara has spent a considerable amount of time producing an on-line membership facility on the British website which now appears to be redundant or in need of radical change.

Left hand - right hand and ne'r the twain shall meet!!

[Paul Bielby]

John

I am currently an ECF Full Member with my membership expiring on 31st August 2014. I'm afraid that even with a mathematics degree I still can't work out how much extra I will have to pay to continue my membership - presumably translated to Platinum - up to that date from the detailed information given?

Can you help?

Paul Bielby

[Roger de Coverly]

Do these proposals really mean that a non member can play in the British for a membership fee of £3 or so for 2 months or a slightly higher fee (£4.75?) if the event is FIDE rated?

It might be effectively £ nil for someone not already a member as in

SPECIAL OFFER FOR NEW MEMBERS!
New members joining from 1 July 2012 will have the option of purchasing a membership from the date of joining to 31 August 2013, i.e. up to 14 months for the price of 12.

So you "gain the right" to play in both North Shields and Torquay for £ 19 or £ 28.

In some ways what they are doing makes a certain amount of sense as part of a transition, but again, why was this not on the table as part of the papers and proposals for the Finance Council? What rules, for that matter, will apply to other Congresses taking place up to August 31st?

[Mick Norris]

The British is a congress, I assume, so you either need Gold membership for a FIDE rated event, or Silver membership (or to pay an additional £6) for a non-FIDE rated event

Or am I missing something?

[John Philpott]

I am, for the first time in about 3 months, going out to play a serious game of chess this evening. I will endeavour to provide a proper response to posts to date and any others that come in over the next few hours, once I get back from this. My very quick comments are:

Roger De Coverly wrote

What's happened to on line membership at £ 12 ?

It is still there. Again you need to read all the documents.

Alex McFarlane wrote

Do these proposals really mean that a non member can play in the British for a membership fee of £3 or so for 2 months or a slightly higher fee (£4.75?) if the event is FIDE rated?

No.

Paul Bielby wrote

I am currently an ECF Full Member with my membership expiring on 31st August 2014. I'm afraid that even with a mathematics degree I still can't work out how much extra I will have to pay to continue my membership - presumably translated to Platinum - up to that date from the detailed information given?

Nothing until your existing membership expires.

[Mick Norris]

SPECIAL OFFER FOR NEW MEMBERS!
New members joining from 1 July 2012 will have the option of purchasing a membership from the date of joining to 31 August 2013, i.e. up to 14 months for the price of 12.

So you "gain the right" to play in both North Shields and Torquay for £ 19 or £ 28.

In some ways what they are doing makes a certain amount of sense as part of a transition, but again, why was this not on the table as part of the papers and proposals for the Finance Council? What rules, for that matter, will apply to other Congresses taking place up to August 31st?

The proposal that you could join for the British and get next year's membership too has been around since before October 2011 I think, so I understood that meant that you could join 2 months "early" as it were, and that would apply to any congresses

[Roger de Coverly]

I am currently an ECF Full Member with my membership expiring on 31st August 2014.

I would imagine you will be asked to renew on 1st September 2014 at whatever rate the ECF Finance Council meeting of April 2014 decides should be charged for Platinum membership. Had the membership expired on any other date than 31st August, some sort of proportionate payment would no doubt have been required either to extend to 31st August 2014 or a payment in excess of the yearly rate to extend to 31st August 2015.

[Alex McFarlane]

So someone who entered an event at the British yesterday will pay more than someone who enters tomorrow! How much office time is going to be wasted asking recent entries if they want a rebate or to extend their memberships?

This sort of thing will certainly help gain support for the new membership scheme. Still I'm sure Mr Raoof will explain everything shortly.

He seems happy to make complaints about things but much more reluctant to provide solutions and answers.

I've just noticed John's answer but I don't understand if you can take out membership to end September 2012 why this isn't the case. I certainly don't understand why whatever the arrangements are they weren't published months in advance or, as Paul Buswell suggested, implementation delayed until people are made aware.

[Roger de Coverly]

The British is a congress, I assume, so you either need Gold membership for a FIDE rated event, or Silver membership (or to pay an additional £6) for a non-FIDE rated event

Or am I missing something?

The entry form for the British makes ECF membership a requirement for ENG players in virtually every event. No £ 6 concessions, but no enhanced entry fee for the Scots, Welsh and Irish either.

It only excludes the rapidplays and Under 8 Championship, but with the rapidplays being FIDE rated, the ECF's rules would require membership for these as well.

[Andrew Farthing]

John

I am currently an ECF Full Member with my membership expiring on 31st August 2014. I'm afraid that even with a mathematics degree I still can't work out how much extra I will have to pay to continue my membership - presumably translated to Platinum - up to that date from the detailed information given?

Can you help?

Paul Bielby

You don't have to pay anything extra. If you have a Full membership expiring on 31 Aug 2014, it will be automatically changed to a Platinum membership with effect from 1 September 2012. The expiry date remains the same.

[Andrew Farthing]

Do these proposals really mean that a non member can play in the British for a membership fee of £3 or so for 2 months or a slightly higher fee (£4.75?) if the event is FIDE rated?

No.

Existing members renewing from June 2012 onwards will pay a pro rata membership subscription covering the period to 31 Aug 2012, plus the subscription for the following 12 months at whichever level - Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum - they wish.

For those who are not currently members, there is a promotional offer available, allowing them to purchase a membership from 1 July 2012 extending to 31 Aug 2013 for the price of 12 months.

As Mick Norris has pointed out, there was a specific mention in the Bye Laws of people being able to join from July if they were going to play in the British and pay only for a 12-month membership to 31 August of the following year. The Board decided to extend the scope of this as a special offer to mark the launch of the new membership scheme.

[Andrew Farthing]

Elsewhere it seems to think that leagues will maintain their existing practice of paying Game Fee in November. I really don't see why, as a league may well project that all players will play at least 6 or 7 games and will be made members whether they want to be or not.

Also, whilst it suggests that club subs may be reduced, it fails to observe that for clubs with relatively low numbers of league games, the savings in club subs will be more than offset by the cost of £ 12 or £ 13 to the ECF.

I assume this means that the league might insist upon membership if someone plays 6 or 7 games. The ECF won't, although it is true that Bronze membership at £13 is less than the cost of Game Fee for 7 or more games.

The guidelines do only say that there may be a reduction in club subs. Of course the number of games played varies from league to league. In Worcestershire, a colleague of mine did a count of the number of graded games played by the players in the Worcs and Worcester & District Leagues in 2010/11. Only 10 players (out of 130) played fewer than 6 games.

[Roger de Coverly]

I assume this means that the league might insist upon membership if someone plays 6 or 7 games.

The proposal is that the league should retain its existing entry fees for teams, increasing them if necessary. It then budgets for the cost of £ 2 per half game per non member. Provided it can make individuals "members" of the ECF without their consent, then its costs per player are capped at £ 12 or £ 13 per head. If the budget doesn't balance on that basis, it asks clubs for more money. There is no benefit in reduction of club subs for existing (to be) Gold members.

Whether the league ends up paying more or less to the ECF than it does now is going to depend on the relative activity of players and the number of existing members.

There won't be any relationship between the ECF and the individual players, since whoever does the work for the league, to revive an old title, we'll call him registrations secretary, won't pass details on, but then the ECF seems to have abandoned this objective, as witnessed by its renewed support for MOs.