ECF Director elections for 2012/13

[Roger de Coverly]

Could we sensibly wheel him out at the kinds of events one would want to wheel your President out at?

Did he not come on as substitute at the Sheffield prize giving and retain that role at North Shields? Would the 4NCL or the Counties Championship present problems? I'd agree you might want someone known outside of chess, or an experienced broadcaster for the Today program.

It is not for the President to try to set ECF policy. That is a matter for the CEO and the rest of the board

I don't think there are any absolutes about "who does what" in the ECF setup as the Directors can and do change their roles. There's a case of sorts for saying that the CEO should be a paid employee. If that were the case, whilst the current structure would permit them to be a board member ( I think), it wouldn't be allowed for a charity.

[Sean Hewitt]

I don't think there are any absolutes about "who does what" in the ECF setup as the Directors can and do change their roles.

You are correct that the ECF could change things so that the Persident sets policy but according to the current directors responsibilities, that's not how it is at the moment. Nor do I think that it should be, otherwise you get constant tension between CEO and President. Just ask Martin Regan,

There's a case of sorts for saying that the CEO should be a paid employee.

Absolutely.

If that were the case, whilst the current structure would permit them to be a board member ( I think), it wouldn't be allowed for a charity.

I've a vague recollection that the Charities Act 2006 paved the way for paying directors and even trustees but I might be wrong. Not my field at all.

[Roger de Coverly]

I've a vague recollection that the Charities Act 2006 paved the way for paying directors and even trustees but I might be wrong. Not my field at all.

The prospective Finance Director was involved with setting up a new school. This was set up as a charity and one of the points made was that teachers at the school were not able to be on the Board, as directors of the charity weren't allowed to profit from its activities as employees.

But the actual what you can do and what you cannot with charitable status appears notoriously difficult to pin down.

[Martin Regan]

Given that there is some support for Mr None of the Above in the Presidential election - though I suspect that if Roger tones down his manifesto at the meeting, he has a good chance of winning - will Mr None gain any scalps?

Mike Truran is a shoo-in, as most people do not understand what the job entails. His weakness is that he suffers from competence, not something which Council favours.

Sean, Jack and Chris Majer will probably win, though it might depend on how many enemies Sean has made in the preceeding weeks And Alex is banged on - Council really regards Home Chess as the most important post and does not like to see it vacant.

The interesting one is Adam. I think he will win comfortably, but he might not. The anti-CJ vote might go after him. I have never met him, but he strikes me as the type of younger volunteer the ECF needs.

[Alex Holowczak]

The interesting one is Adam. [...] I have never met him, but he strikes me as the type of younger volunteer the ECF needs.

Congratulations on finding your way onto Adam's Christmas card list: He's actually 46. (Well, he was born in 1966 according to FIDE.) In terms of other candidates, he's therefore older than Sean and Jack, and more than double my age!

[Adam Raoof]

The interesting one is Adam. [...] I have never met him, but he strikes me as the type of younger volunteer the ECF needs.

Congratulations on finding your way onto Adam's Christmas card list: He's actually 46. (Well, he was born in 1966 according to FIDE.) In terms of other candidates, he's therefore older than Sean and Jack, and more than double my age!

Quiet!

I am young at heart...

[Andrew Zigmond]

The interesting one is Adam. I think he will win comfortably, but he might not. The anti-CJ vote might go after him. I have never met him, but he strikes me as the type of younger volunteer the ECF needs.

Contrary to the sneering in some quarters Adam Raoof's contribution to English chess is considerable; he was one the few board members I had actually heard of before I started following ECF politics. However I would like a satisfactory answer as to why he apparently acted in bad faith over the proposed meeting between CJ de Mooi and Alex and Lara - no matter what your view on that dispute you have to agree that there was nothing to lose and everything to gain from such a meeting.

I also think the Board elect (particularly Roger Edwards) need to start giving some public indication of how they are going to fill the two critical vacant positions.

[Martin Regan]

(Adam) is actually 46. (Well, he was born in 1966 according to FIDE.) In terms of other candidates, he's therefore older than Sean and Jack, and more than double my age!

I had not realised that Adam was such an old fogey, nor that you were so young - scrap my win easily prediction. The ECF does not do precocious .

As for Sean - he has been around for so long, his age is counted in dog years.

[Alex Holowczak]

I am young at heart...

There might be snow on top, but there's still a fire in the belly...

[John Philpott]

Martin Regan wrote

As for Sean - he has been around for so long, his age is counted in dog years.

Younger than Adam, as it happens.

[Adam Raoof]

The interesting one is Adam. I think he will win comfortably, but he might not. The anti-CJ vote might go after him. I have never met him, but he strikes me as the type of younger volunteer the ECF needs.

Contrary to the sneering in some quarters Adam Raoof's contribution to English chess is considerable; he was one the few board members I had actually heard of before I started following ECF politics. However I would like a satisfactory answer as to why he apparently acted in bad faith over the proposed meeting between CJ de Mooi and Alex and Lara - no matter what your view on that dispute you have to agree that there was nothing to lose and everything to gain from such a meeting.

I also think the Board elect (particularly Roger Edwards) need to start giving some public indication of how they are going to fill the two critical vacant positions.

I think the key word there is 'apparently'. As far as I am concerned, what is done is done. Let's move on.

And can we stop discussing my age? I have a pretty good head of (largely snow-free) hair, for an ECF director.

[Sean Hewitt]

As for Sean - he has been around for so long, his age is counted in dog years.

LOL

[Stewart Reuben]

The definition of a young person is ONE 10 YEARS YOUNGER THAN ONESELF.
So, for me, that's anybody under 63.
Until the last day of the Olympiad I thought that the ECF was the FIDE federation that least had a hang-up about young officials. Then I met the captain of Kyrgistan. He was 11.
Please don't let me down in my impression that there is little ageism in English chess.

Martin Regan >I also think the Board elect (particularly Roger Edwards) need to start giving some public indication of how they are going to fill the two critical vacant positions.<

There is an argument that this would be improper or at least undesirable - if you mean naming individuals. If you mean indicate the mechanism, that's easy: Advertise, look through lists and sound out possible candidates.

[benedgell]

Assuming there's no CEO in the immediate aftermath of the AGM, would the President take on his responsibilites in interim? And if Roger Edwards doesn't get voted in then....?

Not sure if anyone replied to this when I originally posted it, but what would happen if the ECF ended up with no CEO and no President after the AGM?

[Roger de Coverly]

Not sure if anyone replied to this when I originally posted it, but what would happen if the ECF ended up with no CEO and no President after the AGM?

The remaining directors have to decide what to do about appointing a CEO and a President. Perhaps you appoint the remaining member of the triumvirate as Augustus and hand him all the powers. Elsewhere in the country, chess continues as before but with less interference from the ECF.