4NCL rating prizes

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I recently heard something about rating prizes in the 4NCL. I'd never heard of these before. I found details here:

http://www.4ncl.co.uk/download/2011-12_ ... elines.pdf

"Division 3 team rating prize 
First £500 Second £250
Based on the two highest placed teams with a team average FIDE rating for the season as a whole (and for at least seven matches) of less than or equal to 2000."

Have there always been such prizes, or is this relatively new?

[Roger de Coverly]

Have there always been such prizes, or is this relatively new?

Hasn't your team won one of them?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Have there always been such prizes, or is this relatively new?

Hasn't your team won one of them?

Yeah. Cambridge University 3 (the winner of the other rating prize was e2e4 4th team, these prizes announced on 30.05.2012 along with the other results at the end of the season). We (the other members of the CU3 team and the rest of the CU squad) were told about it some time ago, but I've only just looked up the amount. Was surprised it was so much relative to the other prizes. You 'only' get £3000 for winning division 3. And there are no 'parachute' payments for relegated teams (no lucrative TV rights package...). Anyway, it got me wondering what the prizes were in the past. I presume there are complete details for all prizes ever awarded in the 4NCL from its inception, but the details are so mundane and boring they are probably not published anywhere except in accounts. Hence the question.

[Jonathan Rogers]

So as not to surprise Steve Giddins, I won't answer your question fully, but the following may help:

I believe first prize was £1,000 in the first division in the 1990s. Our second team won £500 when it won the inaugural second division in 1997/8. Our third team won £250 when it won the inaugural (!) third division in 2000/1. There have always been runner up prizes. I believe that there was no change until 2002/3 but at some point after that, the prizes moved upwards - I think that they would tend to be static for a number of years and then suddenly jump in one year. The main movement must have been somewhere between 2003-7, because our second team won as much as £1,500 for winning the second division in 2006/7 (suggesting that first prize in the first division must have been £3,000). Shortly after that it was even £3,600 (and again, half of that for second place; and also half of that for first place in division two, etc). Then shortly afterwards Max Devereaux joined the Board and persuaded the rest that the first and second prizes should be reduced in order to enable there to be a third prize in each division. So then first prize in the first division went down to £3,000, etc, where they have been held until this season. Given the vast number of entries to division three, it is hardly a surprise that there is room for grading prizes - one of the reasons for the Max proposal was that it would be better if a greater number of teams had something vaguely attainable to play for.

But if you look at the entry conditions for 2012/13 on the 4NCL site, you will see that now all prizes have been substantially downsized in order to allow for reductions in entry fees (captains were consulted on this).

I hope this is helpful and that I will be remembered when people vote for ECF Player of the Year next time ....

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I hope this is helpful and that I will be remembered when people vote for ECF Player of the Year next time ....

Thanks for that. Interesting to get a feel for how it has varied. It did get me wondering whether the option had been considered of one like the Premier League (football) uses, where there is an amount of money awarded for each position. Probably not enough money for that.