European Team Championship 13-22 November 2015

[Mick Norris]

I think you'd have to define what you mean by invest and also what outcome you are aiming at, so as to judge whether it has been successful

I have spent years listening to people talking about investing in Bury FC, when they actually mean throwing money at it with no plan and no chance of getting it back, so I may be cynical

Is the ECF currently spending anything on Youth? I think the parents are, the JRT is, but are the ECF actually spending any money e.g. on individuals or teams representing England at U21 level?

[LawrenceCooper]

I think you'd have to define what you mean by invest and also what outcome you are aiming at, so as to judge whether it has been successful

I have spent years listening to people talking about investing in Bury FC, when they actually mean throwing money at it with no plan and no chance of getting it back, so I may be cynical

Is the ECF currently spending anything on Youth? I think the parents are, the JRT is, but are the ECF actually spending any money e.g. on individuals or teams representing England at U21 level?

There was an agreement made at Council a couple of years ago to support the U16 Olympiad team along with the European Team & Olympiad sides but I soon found out when I became Junior Director that the board had no appetite for supporting the junior team and wanted all available funds to go into the adult teams. The reasons given were "Why should we fund junior chess when the parents (and JRT) can fund it all"

[Andrew Martin]

The desired outcome is simple: to protect the future of English chess.

[Roger de Coverly]

Is the ECF currently spending anything on Youth?

The 2015-16 Budget has it as £ 8,000, slightly more than half being net expenditure on the Academy.

ECF FIDE training Academy 4,200
U16 Youth Olympiad 2,000
Girls Chess 500
Other expenses (DBS, director's travel, etc) 1,300

Depending on how much Office time is consumed on Junior matters and support, there's an additional implicit cost there.

If you note that the ECF accounts are net of VAT, then it's £ 1 per paying member.

[LawrenceCooper]

Is the ECF currently spending anything on Youth?

The 2015-16 Budget has it as £ 8,000, slightly more than half being net expenditure on the Academy.

ECF FIDE training Academy 4,200
U16 Youth Olympiad 2,000
Girls Chess 500
Other expenses (DBS, director's travel, etc) 1,300

Depending on how much Office time is consumed on Junior matters and support, there's an additional implicit cost there.

If you note that the ECF accounts are net of VAT, then it's £ 1 per paying member.

That is welcome news, £8000 is certainly better than £0.

[Mick Norris]

Indeed, that's £8K more than I thought, although the academy expenditure I think is a one-off to get it up and running

[Matt Mackenzie]

The desired outcome is simple: to protect the future of English chess.

Which is what everybody wants, surely?

[Andrew Martin]

You say that, but if we compare the award to the Academy with the cost of sending the teams to Iceland, then what do we find ?

Hopefully, the Academy, as it picks up steam, will attract sponsorship. This may take a few years. It has to prove itself.

[Mike Truran]

One junior male (not home grown, and even then only in 68th place) and not a single junior female in the latest FIDE top 100 ranking lists (unless I've miscounted?).

[Roger de Coverly]

One junior male (not home grown, and even then only in 68th place) and not a single junior female in the latest FIDE top 100 ranking lists (

To put it in context, to make the world top 100 Under 20 Juniors, you need a minimum rating of 2454. For female players, the target is a bit lower at 2171.

[Neville Belinfante]

One junior male (not home grown, and even then only in 68th place) and not a single junior female in the latest FIDE top 100 ranking lists (unless I've miscounted?).

This should be in Loz Cooper's December Rating List thread. I have made comments about our top juniors in the equivalent October and November threads.