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CS President's Comments
#1
As many of you will know, I became President at the recent AGM.

In my view it is important to let players know what is happening and to get support for initiatives which will be taking place.

There are lots of opportunities for people to help promote chess in Scotland.

The following post will give you a better idea of my thoughts for the way forward.  These rely on an increase in the number of people working on behalf of Chess Scotland and their local chess community.

I would also love to hear any ideas which can help to grow chess in Scotland.

Either post your ideas or comments here or contact me privately at president@chessscotland.com


Alex

President’s Newsletter

Hi, my name is Alex McFarlane. At the recent AGM I was elected to the position of President. I intend to produce a regular newsletter to keep members informed of initiatives which are taking place and of opportunities to provide support.

Before going into more details however, I will start with some thanks. There can be very little doubt that Jim Webster did a tremendous job. As this was often done in the background it is not always realised the work that was undertaken by him. I am sure that we will have Jim involved with Chess Scotland again very shortly. David Congalton has also stepped down as Finance Director. David is another who has put in a tremendous amount of time and effort for the benefit of CS. I thank them both for their efforts and hope to see them again in the future.

There is evidence that playing chess can be good for keeping the brain active, especially in the elderly. One of my targets is to introduce chess to members of that section of the population. This could be done through offering basic tuition and playing opportunities through libraries, community centres and possibly even supermarkets with catering facilities.

Another area to further develop is junior chess. We have a number of very promising junior players. We must provide the training and playing opportunities necessary for them to achieve their maximum potential.

A brief outline of my three year plan is:
Year 1: Identify areas requiring development and to itemise these. Create and prioritise these into manageable targets and identify potential post holders. Consult with stakeholders, including clubs and individuals at all stages.
Year 2: Rewrite constitution to recognise new structure and implement this. Consider training and support for those taking up positions.
Year 3: Review progress and make amendments to the scheme where necessary. Identify and train future post holders to ensure continuous progression.

The priorities in the short term are to identify people willing to help promote chess and to find sources of funding for projects. It is also important that volunteers are not asked to do too much.
Those who think they can help should complete form CSVolunteer1.
Please also mention this to anyone who you think might be interested. The more people helping the greater the chance of success and the less work for everyone (except the co-ordinators!)
If you see me at an event please feel free to approach me with any ideas or concerns.

Alex McFarlane
president@chessscotland.com


CSVolunteer1 Form

First Name ……………………………………………….. Surname ……………………………………………………………….
Town ……………………………………………………… Postcode ……………………………………..
Telephone Number ………………………………………………………………
Email Address ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Please tick at least one of the following boxes which best describes your connection to chess.
Player ___ (Grand)Parent ___ Spouse ___ Other ___

Availability (approximately)
One off ___ Monthly ___ Weekly ___ As necessary ___

Please indicate the area that you might be able to help in. Note that some of these can be done from home in your spare time. Some can be as little as a couple of hours a year.

___ Becoming a National Arbiter ___ Training of Trainers
___ Becoming a FIDE Arbiter ___ Training Juniors (Beginners)
___ Becoming a Trainer ___ Training Juniors (Club level)
___ Organising Tournaments ___ Training Juniors (International)
___ Arranging Travel to International Events ___ Training Adults (Beginners)
___ Finding sponsorship (personal contact) ___ Training Adults (Club level)
___ Finding Sponsors (local) ___ Training Adults (International)
___ Finding Sponsors (national) ___Training Seniors (International)
___ Identifying potential awards/grants that
can be applied for
___ Running Daytime Senior ‘Club’ ___ Organising Training Events
___ Starting a chess club
___ Starting/Running a school club ___ Producing/Identifying Training Materials
___ Organising Publicity (co-ordinator) ___ Assessing Training Materials
___ Organising Publicity (local)
___ Other (please specify)


Please return the completed form to:
Ian Brownlee,
Admin Director
admindirector@chessscotland.com
Reply
#2
Happy New Year to all chess players and their families.

Why not make one of your New Year resolutions to help promote chess?

Alex
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#3
Quick question.

Should the Forum continue or be ended?

If it is to continue how can it be revitalised?
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#4
Alex, I am sorry to see that there have been no replies here to your comments about the possible future of the Forum. I hope that you have received feedback directly since you made the remarks.

As I am in Canada and therefore out of touch with day-to-day matters in Scottish chess, it is hard for me to contribute anything relevant and up-to-date. My contributions are usually questions concerning past events or people, in the hope of filling gaps in the Chess Scotland History Archive.

One possibility is to include a Chess History section; and it does not have to be just about Scottish chess history,  but any subject that takes a reader's fancy. The English Chess Forum section on Chess History is extremely active and includes comments, contributions, research, games etc.

Perhaps we might even persuade Geoff Chandler to contribute regularly!
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#5
I think that there is a strong case for keeping the Forum.

If you consider the topic General Chess Chat and look at simply the first 4 topic threads, you find:
  CS President's Comments             3 posts,   623 views
  SNCL 2023             7 posts,  1,595 views
  Edinburgh Chess Club - Open Tonight     0 posts,  194 views
  Liverpool Quadrangular     0 views, 234 views

Whilst they may not a large number of posts for topics, there is a considerable number who are viewing and reading the posts.
The CS Website pages do not necessarily cover all topics but has become a highway for information not found elsewhere.

Additionally, we have 200+ registered forum followers and admittedly many do not post, and not all want to access the same topics - information and informing members should be more important than shutting down the forum.
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