5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
Ian Thompson
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Ian Thompson » Wed May 01, 2019 5:22 pm

Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 4:31 pm
Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 4:05 pm
Perhaps I have misunderstood Charlie but, since the details of the competing bids are supposed to remain confidential, I don't entirely understand how he is able to make comparisons between his bid and that of the Longsons, let alone know how the respective bids were scored. Please elucidate.
I've probably answered my own question in that Charlie has presumably seen the information referred to in my last answer. Assuming that's the case, is he actually saying that his bid was scored higher than the successful bid?
My assumption from other parts of his post was that he observed how UKCC ran the first academy under their control, as he attended it, and concluded that it wouldn't have scored very highly under the ECF's bid evaluation criteria. He thinks his own bid would have scored higher.

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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Simon Brown » Wed May 01, 2019 5:23 pm

I read it that he had compared his bid to the criteria in the tender document and concluded that he met just about all the criteria, hence the "100% points". He then noted that the successful bid had neither a business plan nor a Head Coach, so concluded that he scored higher. How he knows that without sight of the bid isn't clear.

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Charlie Storey
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Charlie Storey » Wed May 01, 2019 6:58 pm

How I knew my points were higher despite the secrecy.

There was a presentation to parents about the Longsons 'plans' at the last Academy. The Longsons Powerpoints based on their Academy Offering. https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint. ... ?e=h8fja8

Sarah Longson in our Coaches meeting made the following clear;
1. She had not asked any Coach their permission despite points on offer for each coach and each coaches skills and experience. This appeared to me to be a fraudulent attempt to increase bid points as no coaches were asked. Why on earth was there points assigned to them, bizarelly the ECF then told me that this was fine!
I could not believe this and at this point I believed this was not a fair process as I had went to great lengths to get approval.


I then asked who would be the New Academy Head and as I knew Glenn had suddenly started Coaching Sarah I suggested it would be him, this was also coupled with Sarahs presentation implying the New Academy Head would be a GM. To my surprise GM Glenn Flear became extremely defensive, the following day accusing me of being rude and aggressive...I was not.
After this accusal Alex Longson then changed the rules of the ECF tender bid and it seems ECF allowed this, slurring my name in the process, by saying he was now in charge of what was IM Andy Martins role for the remainder of the year and he was dismissing me from the Academy and therefore removing Andy from his role.

Only after severe pressure from this thread was Andy Martin reinstated with a message from ECF saying everything was okay again.

From my pespective it seems there are entrepreneur alliances formed inside the ECF.
I think this is very bad for ECF and an ethics committe setup with bite should be setup that has bite, to remove them as they seem to be protecting themselves rather than allowing what's best for ECF Junior chess.

What is worse is that when I stayed with the Longsons in the Summer 2018, acting as their chess education consultant and then working as their coach at Lady Barn School; before leaving after they attempted to reduce my agreed rate...they also did this to FM Adam Taylor, they had told me in this summer period they were gong to have Alex Holowczak as a part owner.

I was very surprised when he became Junior Director and even more surprised when he handed over the ECF Academy to the Longsons then even more surprised when suddenly qualification for England if you won a Terafinal! (the Longsons purchased the hard work done by Mike Basman) Surprise Surprise England places for this predominantly rapidplay event. Charlie knows all if this..lets discredit him and that is what they have tried to do hence my passion in defending myself here.

Sorry guys...I am now Head of a New Academy sponsored by Chessbase with the Worlds greatest trainers. The chess world knows what has happened here despite efforts to keep it hidden. The mild disappointment is that this ould have been in harmony with ECF.

I will post my Academy proposal, the points system, and the prsentation the Longsons made about The New Academy and you will be able to compare the offerings.
Bear in mind Sarah Longson declared that she had not asked any Coaches, and told us ECF Academy Coaches she had no Head of Academy!

I would suggest that anyone involved with allowing that bid through should be challeneged by FIDE Ethics commission and the bids compared to see if mine was substantially superior and if so those responsible for allowing the weaker bid through should be removed from their posts within the ECF which is the England Governing Body of Chess with important ethical responsibilities.

I may be blowing the whistle here on some people within ECF. I would invite the Longsons for the sake of transparency to also show their entire submitted plan so the ECF members can form their own views on the is important area of being stewards of our ECF junior chess education and if so not a new xreation after the event that maps to the already disclosed facts given at the ECF Academy and what was shown to oarents on the soon to be attached Powerpoint Slides;

Attatchments

ECF Points based Bidding Process https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint ... ?e=QRez9D

My Bid clearly showing almost 100 per cent points. https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint. ... e=Lhpav2

The Longsons Powerpoints based on their Academy Offering. https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint. ... ?e=h8fja8

Bear in mind she declared she had not sought permission of any coach, not checked their academic experience.
Not checked their International Experience and then put their names on an official points based Tender Document.

Now ask yourself...why did the committee which involved Malcolm Pein Alex Holowczak Julie Dennining and Tim Herring allow this, further, why did the governance committe within ECF not have any bite to see the bid was clearly malformed. I mean in a points based system you could say anything if you do not have permission---she clearly declared to several oaches she did not have permission.

There needs to be an investigation why these people are allowed to make these decisions and if malpractice any wrongdoers removed from position immediately.

This is hopefully my last comments on this as I am off on a few well earned Chess holidays.

I will offer 1 more suggestion which will be a Poll to ask ECF members have the bids be made public and not ones that are edited after the event.

So you can make an informed decision if your money, membership and stewardship of ECF junior chess education is being correctly managed by people in positions of power.

Here is to transparency to our ECF :D

Quick marketing plugs;

I have a weekly show every Tuesday on www.chessclub.com
My next www.Chessbase Fritz TrainerDVD is out next month called The White Sniper - please buy it my royalties are good and I need to eat! :D

Yours in Chess,

Charlie Storey. ALL Informative documents are there for all to see in links 3 paragraphs up- it seems fairly obvious to me what has happened. :D
Last edited by Charlie Storey on Thu May 02, 2019 12:18 am, edited 22 times in total.
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Roger Lancaster
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Roger Lancaster » Wed May 01, 2019 8:35 pm

Well, yes, I can understand how Charlie believes his bid scored higher, based on what he knew about the Longsons bid, but that's rather different to knowing how the respective bids were scored.

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Charlie Storey
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Charlie Storey » Thu May 02, 2019 12:16 am

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10216

After you have read the key tender documents please fill in above Poll.


ECF Points based Bidding Process https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint ... ?e=QRez9D

My Bid clearly showing almost 100 per cent points. https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint. ... e=Lhpav2

The Longsons Powerpoints based on their Academy Offering. https://netorgft2837877-my.sharepoint. ... ?e=h8fja8

Bear in mind she declared she had not sought permission of any coach, not checked their academic experience.
Not checked their International Experience and then put their names on an official points based Tender Document.
FIDE Master/FIDE Trainer PGCE Won170+ Opens
Many National Junior Champions 1-1
ChessBase Author
ICC Presenter
England junior Team Coach 2008-19
Head of WCJS
Https://ChessSERVICESmap.com
https://chesscasestudy.gr8.com/
www.QueensGambitAcademy.com

Roger Lancaster
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Roger Lancaster » Thu May 02, 2019 9:05 am

The thought that occurs to me throughout all this is quite simple. If I were in the position of bidding for any contract such as this, the last thing I would do is advertise full details of my bid up-front so that any and all competitors knew exactly what they had to beat. If I were to advertise anything at all, it would necessarily have to be deceptive in some respects - that's basic gamesmanship. Of course, it's entirely possible that the Longsons obligingly supplied full and accurate advance details of their bid, as Charlie appears to believe, but that would rather surprise me.

Ian Thompson
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Ian Thompson » Thu May 02, 2019 10:00 am

Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 8:35 pm
Well, yes, I can understand how Charlie believes his bid scored higher, based on what he knew about the Longsons bid, but that's rather different to knowing how the respective bids were scored.
It also makes the assumption that the bid with most points would automatically win, which probably wasn't the case. The evaluation would be likely to assess the credibility of the proposals and the risk of the winner not delivering what they offered. It must have considered whether the ECF could meet the obligations placed on it by the bidders, and any bid asking the ECF to do something they were unable to couldn't possibly be accepted. It probably also made an assessment of the cost to parents/students and the value for money they would be getting.

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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Angus French » Thu May 02, 2019 11:00 am

Ian Thompson wrote:
Thu May 02, 2019 10:00 am
Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 8:35 pm
Well, yes, I can understand how Charlie believes his bid scored higher, based on what he knew about the Longsons bid, but that's rather different to knowing how the respective bids were scored.
It also makes the assumption that the bid with most points would automatically win, which probably wasn't the case. The evaluation would be likely to assess the credibility of the proposals and the risk of the winner not delivering what they offered. It must have considered whether the ECF could meet the obligations placed on it by the bidders, and any bid asking the ECF to do something they were unable to couldn't possibly be accepted. It probably also made an assessment of the cost to parents/students and the value for money they would be getting.
I think Ian - as he consistently does - makes excellent points... And, dare I say, I think it would have been very useful for the report from the Adjudication Panel to have said more about its deliberations (notwithstanding what Regulation No. 1 says).

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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Paul Dargan » Sun May 12, 2019 10:13 am

It's reasonably normal practice these days in public sector procurements to get a feedback report showing what you scored for each section and how your score comapred to the winning bidder. It's not always pleasant reading to find that you scored 50% less than a competitor - but it helps improve future bids and forces a high degree of transparency on the awarding body.

Remember that the most common FOI request for years was "can I see their bid" - which is why organisations take care upfront to spell-out which sectiosn they consider commercially sensitive in an attempt to stop public bodies sharing their bid wholesale. I know of one lost bid - where miraculously all of the proposed team from our bid were mysteriously contacted by a headhunter the week after we lost - who it turned-out was working for the firm that won the contract. I've no idea who they actually proposed to do the work, if they then neede to steal all of our team...

So TLDR - some kind of anonymised summary of the scores or precis of the deliberations, or margin of award from the panel would be useful.

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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun May 12, 2019 1:46 pm

"I know of one lost bid - where miraculously all of the proposed team from our bid were mysteriously contacted by a headhunter the week after we lost - who it turned-out was working for the firm that won the contract. I've no idea who they actually proposed to do the work, if they then neede to steal all of our team..."

Not an isolated incident!

"It's reasonably normal practice these days in public sector procurements to get a feedback report showing what you scored for each section and how your score comapred to the winning bidder. It's not always pleasant reading to find that you scored 50% less than a competitor - but it helps improve future bids and forces a high degree of transparency on the awarding body."

I agree.

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Charlie Storey
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Charlie Storey » Sun May 12, 2019 4:59 pm

Dear All,

I was somewhat upset my Academy bid did not win as it was, by some distance, simply the best.
I am now concerned that entrepreneurs within the ECF now have too much 'power' and this is naturally preventing them from making wise decisions which are in the best interests of junior chess. It is my strong belief they should be removed from positions on our Chess Governing Body and that the ECF should have;

Its own Chess Shop
its own Chess into Schools Program
its own School Chess Tournaments
Its own (not bidded for) Academy

There will be of course natural resistance from certain embers of the ECF, however, they should be focusing on their own business and not influencing any policy of the ECF as there is a clear conflict of interest and this is preventing the ECF from growing organically.

To this end I have set up a support organisation that will address these concerns and also offer excellent value for money World, International & National events with excellent support coaching.

The intention of this is to have an excellent transparent chess organisation that will, naturally grow and eventually hand over to the ECF such that it is a good functioning business model and the majority of the funds that go into chess will then be recycled by the ECF for junior development rather than into entrepreneurs pockets.

I invite all chess players and parents to help support this new organisation which will then be in a position to give serious support to the ECF.

The new website is completed https://greatbritainjuniorsquad.com/ and all of the new business plan can be clearly seen by looking at all of the links.

There are also over 120 official Branding Partnerships available made up of 1 for each of the 112 Counties in the UK and for taking charge of some of The National and International Events - I will be personally running The Great Britain Junior Squad - partnered with Chessbase World Tour.

I have decided, for now, not to make it a FIDE Academy such that parents can choose to be part of both learning and playing organisations, or see ours as having better value with better and more qualified Chess Coaches and a lot cheaper!

Here it is - it took me 3 days to complete Business Plan and create and devolop the entire website - enjoy and please become a part of us;

https://greatbritainjuniorsquad.com/ Buying any of our clothing brand really helps us give juniors International Chess opportunities

All good things,

FM/FT Charles Storey PGCE
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JustinHorton
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by JustinHorton » Sun May 12, 2019 5:44 pm

Charlie Storey wrote:
Sun May 12, 2019 4:59 pm

There are also over 120 official Branding Partnerships available made up of 1 for each of the 112 Counties in the UK
Uh huh
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"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Charlie Storey
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by Charlie Storey » Sun May 12, 2019 6:21 pm

Hi Justin,

This is made clear on the website.

Happy to answer all questions if you care to take a look at a few pages at www.GreatBritainJuniorSquad.com

Cheers

The Sniper!
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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by JustinHorton » Sun May 12, 2019 6:32 pm

Charlie Storey wrote:
Sun May 12, 2019 6:21 pm
Hi Justin,

This is made clear on the website.
Perhaps you can tell me exactly where
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

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Re: 5 Questions about the ECF Academy Tender that need answers

Post by John Upham » Sun May 12, 2019 6:39 pm

In the "About Us" section we have
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
which translates as
There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain
:D

Is this a reference to the ECF ?
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