Needing to be ECF member to play in British Championships?

[Mark Cockerton]

Why the need to be an ECF member to play in non FIDE rated British Championships events as opposed to paying the £7.50 game fee? I stopped my ECF membership because I do not currently play OTB chess at the moment. However, the British are in my hometown this year and I was thinking of playing in the Rapidplay. However, I find the cost of this will be £53, which is potentially prohibitive for a days chess, whereas the cost of £37.50 seems more reasonable, especially as the membership will only last to the 31/8 and will give me very few additional events to enter.

[Alex Holowczak]

Why the need to be an ECF member to play in non FIDE rated British Championships events as opposed to paying the £7.50 game fee?

The British Championships have been members only since well before the membership scheme, even in the days of 50p/game Game Fee.

It's reasonable to me that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members, with exceptions for the rest of the British Isles given it is a British Championship.

[Roger de Coverly]

However, I find the cost of this will be £53, which is potentially prohibitive for a days chess, whereas the cost of £37.50 seems more reasonable, especially as the membership will only last to the 31/8 and will give me very few additional events to enter.

There was an internal row about it a few years back, but I believe it to be now an established practice that sales of 2019-20 memberships will start on or about 1st July 2019 and for new or returning players, cover the 14 months to August 31st 2020.

[Roger Lancaster]

There was an internal row about it a few years back, but I believe it to be now an established practice that sales of 2019-20 memberships will start on or about 1st July 2019 and for new or returning players, cover the 14 months to August 31st 2020.

Rather later, more like mid-July in my experience, leaving a few weeks when it's difficult to join/renew (online at least, although I imagine the ECF office are helpful in emergency cases) ECF membership as sales of the current year's membership will have ceased on 30 June.

[Andrew Zigmond]

On the subject of British Championship costs (and apologies if I've missed a communication) is there any reason why the weekday rated events have gone up in cost from £40 last year to £70 this year? I don't mind paying but it is a bit of a big leap.

[Nigel White]

On the subject of British Championship costs (and apologies if I've missed a communication) is there any reason why the weekday rated events have gone up in cost from £40 last year to £70 this year? I don't mind paying but it is a bit of a big leap.

I think the core fee went up from £40 to £50, but the late entry deadline has been brought forward three weeks to the beginning of June and the late entry surcharge increased from £10 to £20.
Why? I don't know, but possibly related to the loss of sponsorship. I spotted these changes just in time to get my entry in last week, but I suspect that there will be a number of unhappy people caught out.

[Peter Shaw]

Hmmm, well you can count me among that number! Every year I wait until around now until I decide whether to enter and I always end up playing, but the ridiculous £75 late fee may sway me the other way this time.

[Angus French]

It's not the British but a few weeks later, in the same part of the World, the Paignton congress offers week-long tournaments for less. More information here.

[Mark Cockerton]

Why the need to be an ECF member to play in non FIDE rated British Championships events as opposed to paying the £7.50 game fee?

The British Championships have been members only since well before the membership scheme, even in the days of 50p/game Game Fee.

It's reasonable to me that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members, with exceptions for the rest of the British Isles given it is a British Championship.

In the handful of tournaments I have previously run I was happy to accept non-ECF members even though it was inconvient because I thought this encourages people to play OTB chess rather than online. Stipulating that people must be an ECF member to play an event makes it more prohibitive to do this. I thought this was the point of having the pay to play scheme?

As for the idea that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members. I should have thought that the vast majority of players are playing in the event because it gives them a chance to play competitive graded chess and have no great preference for playing ECF members or even any attachment to the ECF.

[Adam Raoof]

Why the need to be an ECF member to play in non FIDE rated British Championships events as opposed to paying the £7.50 game fee?

The British Championships have been members only since well before the membership scheme, even in the days of 50p/game Game Fee.

It's reasonable to me that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members, with exceptions for the rest of the British Isles given it is a British Championship.

In the handful of tournaments I have previously run I was happy to accept non-ECF members even though it was inconvient because I thought this encourages people to play OTB chess rather than online. Stipulating that people must be an ECF member to play an event makes it more prohibitive to do this. I thought this was the point of having the pay to play scheme?

As for the idea that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members. I should have thought that the vast majority of players are playing in the event because it gives them a chance to play competitive graded chess and have no great preference for playing ECF members or even any attachment to the ECF.

Assuming these events were graded, did you pay the subsequent invoice from the ECF?

This is almost the only reason to require membership of entrants.

[Mark Cockerton]

Yes, this is part of the reason why I found it more inconvenient to accept non-ECF members into the events I ran. I still accepted them anyway.

[Alex Holowczak]

In the handful of tournaments I have previously run I was happy to accept non-ECF members even though it was inconvient because I thought this encourages people to play OTB chess rather than online. Stipulating that people must be an ECF member to play an event makes it more prohibitive to do this. I thought this was the point of having the pay to play scheme?

As for the idea that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members. I should have thought that the vast majority of players are playing in the event because it gives them a chance to play competitive graded chess and have no great preference for playing ECF members or even any attachment to the ECF.

I was horrified that when I tried to play in the Torquay Club Internal Championships, they insisted I should be a member of Torquay Chess Club. If they want to encourage chess, why do they insist I should be a member of their club?

Or, perhaps there are the needs of the club to be factored into my line of thought?

[Paul Cooksey]

I assume Alex is making this analogy to support Mark's point. But a bit surprising given his position within the ECF.

[Michael Farthing]

I think Paul has missed a slight bit of sarcasm.

[John Reyes]

In the handful of tournaments I have previously run I was happy to accept non-ECF members even though it was inconvient because I thought this encourages people to play OTB chess rather than online. Stipulating that people must be an ECF member to play an event makes it more prohibitive to do this. I thought this was the point of having the pay to play scheme?

As for the idea that the ECF's Annual Congress should be for ECF members. I should have thought that the vast majority of players are playing in the event because it gives them a chance to play competitive graded chess and have no great preference for playing ECF members or even any attachment to the ECF.

I was horrified that when I tried to play in the Torquay Club Internal Championships, they insisted I should be a member of Torquay Chess Club. If they want to encourage chess, why do they insist I should be a member of their club?

Or, perhaps there are the needs of the club to be factored into my line of thought?

When I pop down to Torquay, I wanted to pop down to the club in the summer,