Annual Meeting 2014

Page published 27 May 2014

Proposals for 2014 Annual Meeting

Item 7.1 proposal from Worcs CA: mobile phones in MCCU county matches

Following our AGM yesterday evening, I have been asked by the Worcestershire Chess Association to submit the following proposal for inclusion on the MCCU AGM agenda please.

That rule 11(b) of the MCCU County Teams Tournament Rules

“Mobile phones and other electronic devices may be brought into the playing area, but must be switched off or set to silent, and may not be used in the playing area whilst any games are in progress. If a player’s electronic device makes a sound during his/her game that player shall lose the game. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, it will be declared a draw.”
be replaced by the following:

“Mobile phones and other electronic devices are allowed in the playing area. However they must be either switched off or switched to silent mode for the duration of play, and may not be used in the playing area while any games are in progress. Match captains must remind players of this requirement. If a player's electronic device makes any sound during his game, then: On the first occurrence he will receive a warning. For a second offence by the same player in the same game, the penalty is loss of the game.”

The proposed text is based on that used by the SCCU (with the sole differences being the addition of the phrase 'and other electronic devices' and the inclusion of the requirement that they 'may not be used in the playing area while any games are in progress').  The background to the proposal is a number of concerns expressed by Worcestershire players following early defaults in games which deprived them of the opportunity to play a county match game after travelling considerable distance to do so.  Even when the Worcestershire player is the beneficiary of the default, it leaves him or her feeling deflated at the absence of a proper game.

I'm sorry that this is being submitted right on the deadline for agenda items, but the timing of the Worcs CA AGM meant that it was not possible to vote on the issue before yesterday evening.

Regards,  Andrew Farthing Secretary & MCCU Delegate, Worcestershire Chess Association

Item 7.2 proposal from CEO: a closed MCCU tournament

Dear All
Ray and I have been working on the idea of an Individual chess tournament and a Closed MCCU team tournament. We now submit our thoughts for your information and advice.

Individual Swiss chess tournament with seven sections i.e. Open, u200, u180, u160, u140, u120 and u100 co-inciding with the grading limits which apply to the ECF county championships. Organisers retain the right to amalgamate sections, the arbiter will try to avoid clashes of players from the same county.

There will be seven team tournaments i.e. an Open and then six further team tournaments created by eliminating sections from the top downwards. Teams will consist of any number of players with say four to count. For the purpose of the team event, games scored in the open will be worth seven points, in the u200 six points, down to the u100 where each game point will be worth one point. In clarification this means a team of four players in the u100 section would be involved in all seven team tournaments.

Arbiters to be paid £50-00/day plus 45pence/mile for travel. All entry fees from juniors under the age of 16 will be banked by the MCCU in a high interest account. This will be paid out to assist any junior under the age of 16 incurring expenses after being selected by the ECF to play in the World, European or Glorney/Faber competitions. Possible format for the entry form- Name; County; Home Address; email address; Telephone number; Mobile; ECF grade/Reference number; ECF membership number; Age/Date of birth; Bye in round requested 1 2 3 4; Entry fee £15-00 rapid play £30-00 w/e; Donation; None ECF member surcharge - £4-00 rapid play or £6-00 long play; Over 60’s entry fee £10-00 rapid play £20-00 w/e; Grand masters/International Masters Free entry. Total-

Event- date to be fixed. Venue to be fixed -Police Social club 'Tally Ho' possibly the best venue in the country £1,250/week end. Other hotels i.e. Park Inn West Bromwich about £400-00/week end Prize fund subject to entries received but I would like to encourage entries to the open as a means of publicity. Team-Trophy ? Book prizes ? MCCU junior championships ? Entries received during the seven days prior to the event-£10-00 late fee Entries on the day will not be accepted.

I ask that MCCU board officials liaise with their County Championship captains with a view to attracting entries and seeking out in particular their level of enthusiasm for this competition. Please note this chess tournament is open to anyone to enter but it would be nice to have it filled by MCCU players from the start.
All the best - Alan Ruffle/ CEO Ray Dolan

Item 7.3 from CEO: MCCU GP congresses

Plus Could you include  the a Vote on which Congess should have GP Linked to there congress.

Item 7.4 from Peter Sherlock MCCU Counties controller: Proposed Changes to MCCU Open/Minor Rules

The following changes are intended to officially adopt those made at the start of the season to accommodate the joint Open/Minor competition. Also the number of teams qualifying for the national stages differs from the rules as currently stated.
It is proposed that in Rule 13.

If any of the grade restricted tournaments are arranged in one section, the winner shall take the MCCU title and the winners and runners up shall qualify for the ECF National stages. The Championship section shall be arranged in 2 divisions upper (Open) and lower (Minor). County Open teams may apply to enter either section. The winners of the upper division shall be awarded the title of MCCU Champions. The winners of the lower division shall be awarded the title of MCCU Minor Champions. For the purposes of qualification for the ECF National County Championship the winners and runners up in the upper division shall be nominated for the Open sections, and if a 3rd place is available the 3rd placed team in the upper division shall also be nominated. For the purposes of the ECF Minor Championships, the winners and runners up in the lower division shall be nominated.

is replaced by

In any of the Championship/grading sections the number of teams qualifying for the ECF National stages is determined by ECF rules. Currently these are – if there are 5 or more teams in the section then 3 shall be nominated for the ECF stages, if there are less than 5 teams in the section then a maximum of 2 teams shall be nominated. The Championship section can be arranged in 2 sections upper (Open) and lower (Minor). County teams may apply to enter either section. The winners of the Open section shall be awarded the title of MCCU Champions and the winners of the Minor section shall be awarded the title of MCCU Minor Champions.

If the participating counties agree the Championship section can be played as one combined Open/Minor section. If there are 8 or more teams in the combined section then this shall be in 2 zones as described above. The winner of this combined section shall be declared the MCCU Champions. The title of MCCU Minor Champion shall be awarded to the highest placed team that has applied to be in the Minor section.
Nominations for the ECF stages will be as per the applications made by the counties at the start of the season. ie teams applying to be in the Open section shall be eligible for nomination to the ECF Open competition and teams applying to be in the Minor section shall be eligible for nomination to the ECF Minor competition, in either section the number of teams receiving nominations shall be determined by the number of teams applying to enter that section as per the ECF rules described above.