WIGAN CHESS CLUB

POINTS AGREED AT THE MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 18 JANUARY 2024

Present:

  • Jonathan Culshaw

  • Jude England

  • Ethan Holland

  • Steven Holland

  • Amanda Hurst

  • Amber Hurst

  • Ethan Hurst

  • Paul Keevil

  • Aidan McGee

  • Billy Muirhead

  • Ahmed Shalaby

  • John Shortt (chair)

1. INTRODUCTION.

This meeting was a chance to discuss how the club is developing and what we would like to see in future. These notes set out the key points we agreed rather than details of everything that was discussed.

2.COMMUNICATION.

Website

  • The new website looks excellent. We thank Paul K for his work to set this up.

  • The forum area of the website is new and will be developed over time.

  • We aim to add a list of members to the website including current grades (with the consent of members).

  • The calendar area of the website will be used for match fixtures and other key dates.

WhatsApp group

  • We will set up a new WhatsApp group for chess puzzles and non-urgent communication.

  • We will keep the current WhatsApp group for information that members need to know.

3.INTERNAL CLUB COMPETITION

  • Club members are encouraged to subscribe to a bronze membership of the English Chess Federation (ECF).

  • Currently, bronze ECF membership costs £18 per annum for adults over 25. Membership for under 25s is currently free for the first year then £6 per annum thereafter.

  • Each ECF member will have a rating which goes up or down as players win or lose rated games. ECF membership has other benefits including access to online tournaments and the ability to play in league games.

  • We will set up a system so that ECF rated ‘rapid’ games will take place on Thursday evening club nights. Players will be able to use the rating to measure their performance over time.

  • Any game over 15 minutes per side is regarded as rapid play.

  • Any game over 60 minutes is considered to be standard format.

  • It is up to individuals whether they wish to submit Friendly games for rating but they are encouraged to do so.

  • We will also have an annual blitz tournament which will take place during one evening each year.

4. ENTERING TEAMS IN A LEAGUE

  • We aim to enter teams in the Warrington and District Chess League. The next season starts in September 2024.

  • Applications to join the league should be made by June 2024.

  • We discussed entering teams into divisions two and three.

  • Before entering we need to be confident that we have enough members who wish to play league chess and that we will be able to field a team for all fixtures throughout the season.

  • Until the league matches start, we will play several friendly matches with other clubs. We have two fixtures arranged at present:

    • Thursday 8 February – home match against Atherton

    • Wednesday 21 February – away match against St Helens

5.CUPBOARD AND EQUIPMENT

  • We will get a lockable cupboard to secure our equipment.

  • Once the cupboard is in place we will review what we have and decide whether more equipment needs to be purchased.

6.FINANCE

  • The balance of the club bank account is currently just over £800.

  • Rental at St Judes is £250 per annum. We may also need to purchase equipment and pay any league fees.

  • Clearly, the club needs income to continue to operate.

  • We agreed to introduce membership fees of £25 per annum for adults and £15 per annum for juniors although this would be subject to the AGM

7.COMMITTEE

  • We agreed to set up a committee to oversee the running of the club and to develop the points discussed at this meet

  • The following people volunteered to be committee members:

    • John Shortt

    • Ahmed Shalaby

    • Paul Keevil

  • -Other club members are welcome to join the committee.

8.NEXT STEPS

  • The committee will develop the points raised at this meeting and report progress to members.