Poll: How should the Sensory Boards be funded
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By Donation (individuals and congresses)
44.12%
15 44.12%
Increasing congress entry fees by £1 (going towards the costs)
23.53%
8 23.53%
Congresses using the boards paying a hire charge of £50
8.82%
3 8.82%
Congresses using the boards paying a hire charge of £75
2.94%
1 2.94%
Congresses using the boards paying an extra 5p per graded result
8.82%
3 8.82%
I do not think Chess Scotland should use such boards
11.76%
4 11.76%
Total 34 vote(s) 100%
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Sensory Boards
#71
I'm a bit confused as to the relationship between sponsorship, sensory boards and the Scottish Championships. I've looked through what I believe are the relevant posts, but still feel unclear-apologies if it should be clear to me.


A 'sponsorship deal' and an 'anonymous benefactor' are both mentioned. Are these one and the same thing - i.e. the sponsorship (or some of it) is coming from the money given by the anonymous benefactor?
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#72
okay, I looked harder and it seems that the sponsor and benefactor are the same person.


How is this money being used?
Is some being spent on prize money/attracting titled players and some on buying the sensory boards?
Is all of it being spent on the sensory boards
Is all of it being spent on prize money/attracting titled players

Are there any conditions attached to the donation/sponsorship or is it up to Chess Scotland/the Scottish Championship how the money is to be spent?
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#73
SRB Wrote:How is this money being used?
Is some being spent on prize money/attracting titled players and some on buying the sensory boards?
Is all of it being spent on the sensory boards
Is all of it being spent on prize money/attracting titled players

Are there any conditions attached to the donation/sponsorship or is it up to Chess Scotland/the Scottish Championship how the money is to be spent?

The entire amount is for the Scottish Championships in line with the budget submitted to the benefactor.
None of it is being spent on Sensory Boards. The benefactor has allowed £6000 to be used for the purchase of the boards but must be returned to the accounts for the 2012 event.

Most of it is being spent on improving the prizefund and on offering conditions but some will be spent on hire of the venue and the transmission of live games hopefully with commentary at the venue.

My calculations showed that the cost of the boards could be covered by known donations and other means that I'm not going into here over a period of two years. I have got an agreed interest free loan for £2000 had that been necessary but I hope it will not be.

I think this answers all of your points.
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#74
After all the discussion about funding sensory boards does this actually deal with that?

Quote:My calculations showed that the cost of the boards could be covered by known donations and other means that I'm not going into here over a period of two years

Is there any need to ask congresses for £50 or £1 on each entry as previously suggested?
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#75
Alex, thanks for this. However, I have to say that it's not made things any clearer for me. I don't know if this is a result of a failure on my part to understand something obvious.


Alex McFarlane Wrote:The entire amount is for the Scottish Championships in line with the budget submitted to the benefactor.

I'm not clear on this. Does the "entire amount" refer only to the money donated by the benefactor OR to all the money being used to fund the Scottish? I'm also unclear about the relationship between the proposed budget and the benefactor. Was the donation dependent on the budget being acceptable to the benefactor

None of it is being spent on Sensory Boards. The benefactor has allowed £6000 to be used for the purchase of the boards but must be returned to the accounts for the 2012 event.

Sorry if I'm not seeing something obvious, but I'm not sure what this means. I'm not sure what "it" refers to. Does this mean that the benefactor is donating a sum of money to the Scottish (to be spent on the things you mention below) and is also giving (lending?) an additonal £6000 that is to be paid back? Or is the £6000 being taken out of the donation, with a view to paying it back quickly by next year? Is the purchase of the boards a condition of the donation?

Most of it is being spent on improving the prizefund and on offering conditions but some will be spent on hire of the venue and the transmission of live games hopefully with commentary at the venue.

My calculations showed that the cost of the boards could be covered by known donations and other means that I'm not going into here over a period of two years. I have got an agreed interest free loan for £2000 had that been necessary but I hope it will not be.

I think this answers all of your points.

Overall, I'm finding this a bit unclear. I'm not sure why a donor/sponsor would not want publicity (to say nothing of the fact that it'd surely be "better" for the Scottish to have a name attached to any sponsorship). I'm not clear on the amount involved and whether or not there are conditions involved.

I'm aware all this might sound a bit 'picky' or negative. Sorry if that's the case. In one sense, maybe it doesn't matter, so long as funding as been found and will help produce a strong Scottish. However, there are implications in the sense that the cost of the boards may be borne by the wider chess playing community and in the way that it is (almost) being presented as a given that having these boards will be a "good thing" for all and used by all.
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#76
Stuart,

Everyone has their own reasons for not wanting publicity. If I had won the Euromillions on Friday, I would have made a sizable donation to Chess Scotland, however I would have conditions in place that I am not Identified.

Most people who give us donations do not want to be identified. We had a donation a year ago for new equipment. The person involved did not want to be known.

I'm afraid this is a null point
"How sad to see, what used to be, a model of decorum and tranquility become like any other sport, a battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee"
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#77
SRB Wrote:Alex, thanks for this. However, I have to say that it's not made things any clearer for me. I don't know if this is a result of a failure on my part to understand something obvious.

<snip>

I'm aware all this might sound a bit 'picky' or negative. Sorry if that's the case. In one sense, maybe it doesn't matter, so long as funding as been found and will help produce a strong Scottish. However, there are implications in the sense that the cost of the boards may be borne by the wider chess playing community and in the way that it is (almost) being presented as a given that having these boards will be a "good thing" for all and used by all.

SRB – I think you are right to keep asking questions – IMO such questions should be part of the process by which officers and suchlike of Chess Scotland are held to account, and are helpful to all concerned(not least such officers). And to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what was going on either...

£6,000 is a large proportion of the CS budget (particularly given the doubts over the Government grant – I don’t think anyone ever answered the questions I posed on that subject on the previous noticeboard) so questions needed to be asked. That doesn’t mean there aren’t perfectly satisfactory answers to be had.

I imagine that Alex advised the mysterious benefactor – let’s call them TMB (do we know their real initials BTW?? Big Grin ) - of the cost to hold a super-duper championships and TMB wrote out a cheque.

From that donation a loan has been made to purchase the sensory boards, a loan that must be repaid. Alex reckons we can generate the £6,000 required within 2 years (although another mysterious benefactor has offered to provide an interest free loan of £2,000 should that be necessary).

I think sensory boards are “a good thing”. I certainly enjoyed watching live(ish) coverage of the Scottish and the British Championships. Given that was free, I am happy to offer (strictly anonymously) a donation towards their purchase.

Do we know how many hits/unique visitors watched the coverage of the Scottish and British on both a daily basis and in total? That would help guage the interest.

As regards which games to broadcast, I am open-minded. Watching games both in person (and on t’internet), I know I like to keep an eye on the games in the top tournament, games involving people I know, and maybe one or two games of interest elsewhere – either a particular position or perhaps the crucial last round game in one of the other competitions. If that viewpoint is common, then the “big games” are going to be of more interest to the chess watching public than random games. I think that parallels the situation with football or any other sport, to be honest.
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#78
Alex McFarlane Wrote:Chess Scotland are getting 8 sensory boards in the near future. A number of donations towards these have already been secured.

To pay the balance of these 8 boards and to increase the number and eventually replace the boards will require continuous fund-raising.

These will be wifi boards not requiring the 'wiring' in of the current ones. As such they would be available for any game in a congress simply by placing them where needed (sort of drag and drop).

Any other ideas will be considered.

You may vote for more than one option.

The monies are not coming from Chess Scotland Budget. Even the purchase has not come from Chess Scotland Budget.
"How sad to see, what used to be, a model of decorum and tranquility become like any other sport, a battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee"
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#79
Andy

Is it the question of anonymity really a 'null point'? I agree that there are many reasons why a benefactor might want to secure anonymity. Of course, in any situation where there is a big sum of money and anonymous benefactor, something of an air of mystery is bound to be generated - such curiousity is only to be exptected and is quite natural. However, given that the whole thing seems rather complicated and unclear, it's maybe not an unreasonable issue to raise. Look at it another way. If a benefactor simply donates a sum of money and says, "get on with it" and it's then clear exactly what this money's being used for, then that's fine. That's not the case here, I don't believe.

Nobody is suggesting the benefactor be 'outed', I'm just asking for a bit more clarity on what is taking place.

BTW I notice you addressed me as 'Stuart'. That's fine, for me personally, I just chose SRB cos I liked it, and there's no secret over my identity. Just wondering if it's now policy to use real names rather than initials.
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#80
How many Sensory boards of the non wifi standard does Chess Scotland currently have?

Is it worth considering offering them to Chess Scotland Members in an auction of some sort?
Set a minimum reserved starting price and using any income generated to either contribute towards the new batch of wifi boards (I'm assuming that the current boards are not wifi) or adding to the crop of sensory boards. It may only generate enough money for 1 or 2 but it's better than nothing and also these older boards gathering dust somewhere.

On loaning out the new boards to congresses and clubs, how would Chess Scotland be covered by insurance? There is always a risk of damage or loss and these sensory boards are an expensive resource for Chess Scotland. It need to be the responsiblity of the requester to ensure that suitable insurance is in place before actually getting them. Alternatively they should be asked to pay an "insurance contribution" as part of the loan deal.
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