05-04-2022, 12:27 PM
There seems to be three main questions here. I think we should be trying to focus on these.
a) Should qualification for being Scottish be in the Constitution or just a Rule?
b) Should those with temporary residence be allowed to be considered Scottish?
c) Should Matt Turner have full Scottish status.
a) I think that this is important enough to be a constitutional matter. If it had been in the constitution then there should have been no way Matt should have been accepted. (I don't think he should have been anyway.)
b) The difficulty here is in defining temporary residence and considering the effects. Here is a hypothetical situation based on a real life example. Z arrives in Scotland aged 6 months. He remains in Scotland until 17. I think everyone would be happy for that person to be registered as SCO. However, he (or she) now goes to University in England. Should he still be SCO or should he be forced to change? Probably to soon to decide. He graduates and gets a job in England. At what point would he stop being regarded as Scottish? Remember for titled players it can be an expensive process to change federations for titled players. In addition, who keeps these records?
Personally I would find it difficult to accept someone arriving in Scotland to attend University or on a short term work contract as SCO. But I would also find it difficult to draw up watertight rules. Eg adult arrives on rolling contract, no former federation. It is not unreasonable to say they cannot be SCO. But is it right to say they cannot become SCO when we accept someone on a full time contract after 24 months even if the leave after 25 months.
c) I believe Matt Turner should not have been accepted as SCO. However an AGM accepted him. Is it fair to now cast him adrift? I do not believe so. Like many errors, once they are made you need to learn to live with them. Where the second motion is not satisfactory in my opinion is that it should include details of the compensation required to Matt to overturn his SCO status, a not insignificant amount for a GM. It should also state that Chess Scotland will not require compensation from the receiving federation.
So my opinion
a) Yes, it minimises the risk of a repeat of this fiasco
b) In theory yes but too difficult to administer in practice therefore NO.
c) We accept him as a full member. Given the history, it is unfair to do otherwise.
a) Should qualification for being Scottish be in the Constitution or just a Rule?
b) Should those with temporary residence be allowed to be considered Scottish?
c) Should Matt Turner have full Scottish status.
a) I think that this is important enough to be a constitutional matter. If it had been in the constitution then there should have been no way Matt should have been accepted. (I don't think he should have been anyway.)
b) The difficulty here is in defining temporary residence and considering the effects. Here is a hypothetical situation based on a real life example. Z arrives in Scotland aged 6 months. He remains in Scotland until 17. I think everyone would be happy for that person to be registered as SCO. However, he (or she) now goes to University in England. Should he still be SCO or should he be forced to change? Probably to soon to decide. He graduates and gets a job in England. At what point would he stop being regarded as Scottish? Remember for titled players it can be an expensive process to change federations for titled players. In addition, who keeps these records?
Personally I would find it difficult to accept someone arriving in Scotland to attend University or on a short term work contract as SCO. But I would also find it difficult to draw up watertight rules. Eg adult arrives on rolling contract, no former federation. It is not unreasonable to say they cannot be SCO. But is it right to say they cannot become SCO when we accept someone on a full time contract after 24 months even if the leave after 25 months.
c) I believe Matt Turner should not have been accepted as SCO. However an AGM accepted him. Is it fair to now cast him adrift? I do not believe so. Like many errors, once they are made you need to learn to live with them. Where the second motion is not satisfactory in my opinion is that it should include details of the compensation required to Matt to overturn his SCO status, a not insignificant amount for a GM. It should also state that Chess Scotland will not require compensation from the receiving federation.
So my opinion
a) Yes, it minimises the risk of a repeat of this fiasco
b) In theory yes but too difficult to administer in practice therefore NO.
c) We accept him as a full member. Given the history, it is unfair to do otherwise.