SCCU IRREGULAR GENERAL MEETING
Saturday 17th June 2006 at the Golden Lion, 2 Britannia St, London WC1
rjh 23.6.06
It was to have been the AGM, but some county semi-finals getting played a week late robbed us of a quorum. Eight attended, and the quorum is 10. It was decided to hold the meeting anyway, and call another General Meeting in September to ratify its decisions. This will be immediately before the September Executive meeting. (When AGMs and Executive meetings are held back-to-back there is usually no noticeable difference between the two attendance lists.)
Though the budget and elections are Irregular for the moment, the Union will of course proceed as though they weren't. No one supposes ratification is likely to be withheld.
Anyway. (1) Money. The Union, having budgeted for a 2005-6 deficit of £150, was in surplus to the tune of £285. A donation of £250 had done no harm, and travel expenses had come down a lot. We had £2975 in the bank. The treasurer thought this more than adequate, and proposed a 2006-7 deficit budget of £250 including a £200 provision for junior activities. The entry and affiliation fees and Bulletin subscription would remain unchanged. The budget was agreed, and the 2005-6 Accounts approved subject to "audit".
Why "audit"? Your Webmaster didn't know, but it appears that what we actually get isn't an audit, it's an Independent Review. Audits cost money. Our impression, perhaps ignorant, is that the distinction has arisen over the last few years. No doubt the word "audited" in the SCCU Constitution needs to be replaced by "indepently reviewed". (2) U180/135 Jamborees. The 2005-6 events were not held, as you know. The entry for both was so small it was decided to cancel. Unfortunately by this time we were already committed to paying for the venue. It was suggested that in future the entry closing date should be earlier. Also that teams of six in both sections might be more viable, and that we might re-stage the 2005-6 event in September. All options are open, and David Smith will circularise the Counties and NCMs. (3) Juniors. This year has not gone well, with the U14/90 curtailed to a late-season (albeit successful) jamboree and the U18 Jamboree not happening at all. But concern was expressed about entry-fee defaulters in the U14/90 of last year and the year before. It was decided, but not unanimously, to write the debts off. A part of the problem is that organisation has been lax and the defaulters cannot all be identified with certainty. (4) Equipment. It was reported that we still had 40 boards, 36 sets and 36 clocks in working order. "So what is our equipment used for?" Not a lot, in recent years. Perhaps it goes back to the days when County matches were held at a central London venue. (Is our equipment so old?) (5) Presentation of Trophies. You know who won the Trophies. But it may be worth saying that the County Match Controller, having arrived with a carful of silverware, went away with nearly all of it. (5) Elections. The meeting resolved to combine the two Junior jobs, and elected Neill Cooper of Surrey as Junior Organiser. Combining the jobs is only a return to tradition. Junior responsibility was never split until 2002, and then only out of necessity.
Nothing else changed. Officers' details are in an updated Who's Who. (6) Non-County Reps didn't change either, but not for the reason you'd think. There were no nominations and the existing reps stay in place until some emerge.
The meeting closed at 4.22. An hour and 52 minutes falls sadly short of last year's hour and 5 minutes. There was then an
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
as always after AGMs. (There had already been a preparatory one before the General Meeting, but to report both of them would have been vexatiously repetitive.)
The Executive only did two things.
(a) Elections: BCF Council Rep Richard Haddrell ECF Council Reps Roy Heppinstall, Richard Haddrell, David Smith, Rod Langham Rules & Appeals Sub-Committee Roy Heppinstall, Mike Gunn, Richard Haddrell, Jonathan Melsom, John Philpott
(b) Dates of future meetings:
Executive Committee: Friday 22nd September 2006 (with a General meeting before it); Friday 9th March 2007
Annual General Meeting: Saturday 23rd June 2007
SCCU OPEN FIXTURES 2006-7
31.5.06
David Smith davidandjanesmith@boltblue.com, County Match Controller,
writes:
Below are the fixtures for the Open Division for next season. Again, a single round only, by the agreement of the Match
Captains who are the same as last year with the exception of Essex and Surrey. Current Essex MC Roy Heppinstall is seriously ill at the present time, and unlikely to be able to continue; as yet Essex have not appointed a successor.
We do have a new Surrey Captain though, details being:
Graeme Buckley, 3 Forge Lane, Sutton, Surrey SM3 8SH 020 8642 5239 GNBuckley@aol.com
Fixtures:
Sep 30
Oct 28
Nov 25
Jan 27
Feb 24
HE SxSy
SyH EK
KSy HSx
SxK SyE
KH ESx
These fixtures have been arranged taking into account the Metropolitan, Hitchin, Hastings and Portsmouth Congresses, plus all the dates for the 4NCL in 2006/2007. The fixtures are in any case provisional and may be re-arranged by mutual consent. Do please advise both myself and Webmaster Richard Haddrell of any variation. And no matches later than 24th March 2007 please.
Best Wishes to all for another season of enjoyable chess
SCCU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Friday 11th March 2006 (7 pm) at RADA, Gower St, London W1
rjh 13.3.06
8 attended, and it was another short meeting. (1) Money. We are comfortably placed, with liquid assets around £2000 and no huge losses expected this season, but a continuing worry is that the 2004-5 Accounts are still not audited. There have been lapses of communication between the Treasurer and the Auditor. The Executive will be reviewing this.
Two counties, and a couple of NCMs, had not yet paid their dues. It was unclear whether one of the NCMs was still in existence. Of the counties, one was in the throes of Treasurer-transfer and would clearly pay. The other was continually unresponsive and would need further chasing.
Richard Quin, the Treasurer, has just moved to Dorset. He will continue till season's end and it is always possible we could twist his arm to go on for another year, in absentia and by email, but really we're looking for a successor. (2) County matches. An unusual query had arisen in the Herts - Surrey Open match 28.1.06. A Herts player was taken ill at the board and his opponent offered a draw. It was not accepted (nor, apparently, declined either) as the Herts player wondered if he could have the game declared void or perhaps adjudicated. The game did not continue. Surrey reported the game as a Surrey win, and the Controller upheld this. It was no longer possible for Herts to accept the draw; draw offers cannot remain open indefinitely if not accepted at the time. The Rules & Appeals Sub-Committee agreed with the Controller. It remarked that, in general terms, a player unable to continue will lose if a different result is not agreed.
The Committee discussed the changed draw in the Counties Championships Open and Minor divisions (see ECF page 4.3.06), but that question is now resolved (see ECF-Stage page). The Chiltern League question (ECF page again) is not, necessarily. The Committee decided unanimously that we would oppose any proposal to allow nominations other than from the Unions. (3) Juniors. The U18 Jamboree, which was only nine days off, had one entry. It was agreed to cancel it if no more entries came in over the weekend. (None did, and it is cancelled.)
The U14/90 Championship was also discussed. There were now seven entries, and nothing had happened yet. Some of the entrants were getting understandably restive. It was agreed to hold a single jamboree in May or June. (4) SCCU Championship 2006-7 and BCQ places 2007. There had been five applications for our four BCQ places. Awards went to Hitchin, Ilford, Thanet and the newly revived Surrey Congress. The one that lost out was Coulsdon (particular event not specified). The SCCU Individual Championship was awarded to Surrey. (5) Next meeting. The Executive will meet briefly just before the AGM on 17th June.
The meeting closed at 8.55 pm, failing to beat last time's record.
SCCU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Friday 23rd September (7 pm) at RADA, Gower St, London W1
rjh 24.9.05
10 attended. It was a short meeting, largely of the nuts-and-bolts kind there's not an awful lot to say about. (1) Money. The 2004-5 Accounts are still not audited; one or two details need clearing up. Liquid assets are around £2080 after a recent anonymous donation of £200. (2) County matches. On the new Laws, it was agreed that banning mobiles would be unacceptable in County matches. They will be allowed in the playing area, either switched off or in silent mode (and naturally if you answer a silent call you go outside to do it). If your phone rings audibly in the playing area, you lose. What happens if your game is already over was not discussed. On recording of moves, it was agreed that the Controller would remind people of the new rule. It's hardly possible to lay down penalties.
Not about the new Laws, but there was also discussion of the role of match captains. The Arbiters' Association had recommended that it be (almost) purely administrative, but the Executive had some doubts. Nothing was agreed.
Still further from the Laws, a Chiltern League match captain was reported to have said that in his opinion the League should provide BCF-Stage qualifiers in its own right. The question had already been raised in a BCF Council meeting a year ago. The Chiltern League has no official position on it as far as we know, and if it had it would have to take it up with the BCF. Or ECF, we suppose we should be saying.
Also on the Chiltern front, a County has said its U125 team would be prepared to accept SCCU nomination on the strength of the Chiltern competition. The views of other Chiltern Counties will be sought. It is a different question from the Minor Counties one, because the Union is not usually short of U125 nominees from its own competition.
A curiosity. The number of teams in the SCCU U150 section has come down from 6 to 5 this year, thereby increasing the number of matches to be played. Rule for 5 teams is, double round unless everyone agrees different. One match captain thought this undemocratic because a single County can force double round whatever everyone else wants. He can always propose a rule change. (3) U14/90 2005-6. Entries are in, apart from one or two organisations that haven't responded yet. We can't give you a list. (4) SCCU Child Protection Policy. The Executive formally adopted a policy which is not entirely dissimilar to the BCF's. One or two thought it inadequate. One or two felt unable to get excited about it considering the number of junior activities the SCCU has a physical presence at. (Two one-day events, in a normal season.) [25.9.05: the policy now appears here on this site.] (5) Company Limited by Guarantee. The Executive had before it a paper setting out the pluses and minuses of becoming one, and coming down on the plus side. No decisions were taken, but the matter will be progressed.
The meeting concluded at 8.46 pm, an hour and eight minutes inside last season's record.