CHESS SCOTLAND (CS) MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

City Inn, Glasgow Sunday 28 August 2005

PRESENT (27 members)

JM Glendinning (chair), J Aagaard*, G Anderson, L Barnes, DM Bryson, GA Clarke, S Collins*, J Dempsey, S Emery, DL Gillespie, G Grant, S Hilton, J Hughes, A McCulloch, A McFarlane, L R McKenzie, A Maxwell, M Mathie, James Montgomery, John Montgomery, R Montgomery, S O'Donnell, D Officer, C Postlethwaite, J Rowson*, D Wilson and K Stewart (who took the minutes).

* Present for only part of meeting

APOLOGIES

Apologies had been received from the following: - R Coleman, T Donohue, K Emery, D Griffin, P Macnab, N Mathie, AJ Muir, A Plato, C Pritchett

 

PRESIDENT'S REMARKS

The President congratulated Jonathan Rowson on winning the Player of the Year title and made a presentation to him. He also warmly congratulated him on his (much greater) success in retaining the title of British Champion. The meeting added its congratulations.

 

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The minutes of the previous AGM, 29 August 2004, were approved. There were no matters arising.

The minutes of the SGM held on 1 July 2005 were approved. There were no matters arising.

 

ANNUAL REPORT and ACCOUNTS

The Annual Report had been published on the CS website; the President invited questions.

John Montgomery asked about the state of the Congress account. A McFarlane explained that the 2005 congress at Oban had probably incurred a small deficit and that the 2004 Hamilton congress had made a heavy loss because of late loss of expected sponsorship. Accordingly, there was little money in the account. The two would discuss the implications for the 2006 congress at Ayr later.

G Clarke asked what advice there was to Arbiters regarding officiating at SJC events. The President replied that he would not expect CS to offer advice on what events arbiters wished to support. In answer to other questions, he indicated that CS expected to run a full range of junior events and that CS would grade SJC events if they satisfied the normal conditions for grading.

G Clarke also asked how many schools were participating in the North Ayrshire schools' project. The President replied that information is currently incomplete but independent research commissioned by North Ayrshire is very positive. It seems likely that the project will bear fruit elsewhere also. It was agreed that more follow-up is needed by CS and that it is crucial to obtain hard data on the project.

G Clarke also corrected the Report by pointing out that the congress at Stirling in 2002 had daily coverage of the games.

J Hughes suggested that professional assistance may be required for fundraising and that this would probably require a substantial initial outlay. There was considerable potential for income from many trusts. It was suggested that CS may need an arm registered as a charity (perhaps as well as SJCA Trust) to progress this The Management Board would seek to get further input from J Hughes before the February Council Meeting but it was also crucial for people to come forward to help deliver the income raising ideas.

The Treasurer presented the accounts which had been previously displayed on the website. G Clarke requested that the Treasurer and Membership Secretary examine the financial implications of offering a 50% discount to juniors up to age 20 while in full time education, and report to Council in February.

The Annual Report and Accounts were adopted, as amended .

 

APPOINTMENT OF OFFICE BEARERS

The President explained that only those candidates for office whose nominations had been proposed and seconded timeously could be elected by the meeting.

There were no contested positions and all candidates were approved.

The meeting adjourned for a few minutes. The Management Board met and filled most of the vacancies from those who had put themselves forward, though outside the due time. The appointments were as follows (with proposers/seconders in brackets) :

President J M Glendinning (G Grant/LR McKenzie)

Honorary President J Rowson*

Executive Director vacant

Finance Director L R McKenzie (J Glendinning/K Stewart)

Schools Development Director C W Pritchett*

Home Chess Director (Open) A H McFarlane (J Glendinning/LR McKenzie)

Home Chess Director (Junior) G Grant*

Customer Services Director A Bisset (J Glendinning/D Bryson)

International Director (Open) J Aagaard*

International Director (Junior) D Officer*

Marketing Director vacant

Technical Director K W C Stewart (J Glendinning/LR McKenzie)

Chief Grader D Bryson (J Glendinning/LR McKenzie)

Webmaster D Bryson (J Glendinning/LR McKenzie)

Membership Secretary G Anderson (J Glendinning/LR McKenzie)

Scottish Chess Editor S Collins (J Glendinning/LR McKenzie)

FIDE/ECU delegate J M Glendinning (D Bryson/LR McKenzie)

Auditor K Oswald (LR McKenzie/J Glendinning)

Director with responsibility for

political engagement Peter Macnab*

 

(An asterisk denotes that the appointment was made by the Management Board)

The meeting congratulated all the above on their appointments. The President made clear that the Management Board would regard appointments to the vacant positions as an early priority. He also commented that he had written to Council in October 2004 indicating his intention to stand down as President in 2005 or, after the first full year of the new constitution, in 2006. This would also be progressed in the Management Board, to seek to identify a President / Executive Director duo to recommend.

No valid nominations had been made for other members of Council (eg representatives of individual members, clubs, congresses, etc). This was remitted to the Management Board to arrange appointments well in advance of any meeting of Council.

MEMBERS' MATTERS

Three items had been validly put forward for discussion by members.

(a) AJ Muir had requested that the Home Chess Director (Open) conduct a review of procedures for dealing with a tie in the Scottish Championship. A McFarlane reported that he has invited Andrew Muir to carry out such a review and report back in time for a February Council meeting and that this has been accepted. J Aagaard suggested that the views of candidate title winners should carry the greatest weight. All this was approved.

(b) (c) R Montgomery put forward two motions regarding junior selection. It was agreed that any category of individual membership was acceptable for a player to eligible for selection and that membership of the Youth Squad was not a prerequisite for selection, although it would be encouraged for all selected players. This would be made clear on the website.

AOB

DL Gillespie asked for guidance from the meeting as to whether it was acceptable for SJC to use the bulletin board to advertise events. There was considerable discussion over related topics. The meeting's advice to the relevant officials was that SJC events should be eligible for grading and inclusion in the Grand Prix so long as they satisfied the normal rules; they should also be accepted for inclusion in the Calendar. At this point D Gillespie declared himself satisfied with the feedback.

G Grant appealed for more junior organisers and for anyone who can otherwise assist in this area.

S Hilton asked that Arbiters should be aware of the rules relating to visually handicapped players.

John Montgomery asked about the revised Rules Book. K Stewart indicated that its preparation was complete and that it would shortly be available for download from the website and soon available in paper form.

The meeting closed at about 4.30pm.