Organizing Committee Fall Meeting
Meeting Notes
Attendees:
Dan DeLuca Kathy Richards Dick Powell Ron Lewis
Andy Bryan Ryan Tripp Steve Abrahams
1. Kathy presented the Treasurer’s report for 2008-09. Bottom line – gain of $178.03, current balance $5,460.53. Copy appended.
2. Tentative dates for the events were selected, but need to be confirmed with Tom Sandford and the University. Tentative dates are:
All-Girls: February 27
Team events: March 6
Snow day: March 13
Individuals and Sidekick Quads: March 20
3. Tournament leader and organizing tasks assignments:
HS Team: Ron Lewis
El&JHS Teams: Ryan Tripp
Individuals: Kathy Richards
All-Girls: Dan DeLuca
Trophies: Bob Solinger
Entry forms and announcements: Ron Lewis
Treasurer: Kathy Richards
Publicity/reporting: Ron Lewis
Sidekick Quads: TBD
4. TDs and Assistant TDs. These are organized through the Maine Chess Association. Volunteers to date include:
All-Girls: Dan DeLuca
Individuals: K-3 and K-6 sections – Dan DeLuca
Unspecified: A section by Akagi Kayashima/Brian Roderick
Full list of TD needs:
HS Teams: Championship, Reserve and Novice
El Teams: Championship, Novice
JHS Teams: Championship, Novice
Individuals: K-3, K-6, JHS, HS Championship, HS Under 1200
5. Discussion was held on whether to continue scholastic tournament announcements through Chess Life magazine. Costs annually are $60-$70, with very little response to these announcements. However, it was felt that having these announcements were good for Maine chess in that it proclaimed activity in these areas and at these times, and the Sidekick Quads is an adult tournament that can stand wider announcement. Distribution of notices to schools and coaches will continue as postal cards to reduce costs which indicate that entry forms are available and can be downloaded from the ChessMaine.net web site.
6. The Committee, acting in its alternate role as Board of Directors, further addressed questions of what were the requirements for membership on a team based on recent requests for exemption. While keenly aware of its charge to promote and foster chess play in the state, the Board felt that the current by-law description of what constitutes a team, based on the USCF definitions and requirements (and even some relaxing of those requirements), should take precedence. There are two stated exemptions to this definition: 1) home schoolers may play for a nearby school program, preferably within their own community; and 2) should a member of a school chess team move to a new school during the school year, he or she may continue to play for that school team if the school that he or she moves to has no chess team (this exemption is for the remainder of that school year only). While discussion was held as to whether or not to eliminate the other exemption clause, it was decided to keep the other exemption clause but modify it that it states that any other situation that might arise as the basis for an exemption should be consistent with guidance and requirements as put forth by the USCF on this matter. Ron will draft wording for the Other Exemptions subsection of the by-laws for further review and finalization at the January 2010 meeting. This carried unanimously.
7. A second matter discussed by the Board arose due to concerns of imbalance in the number of entrants in a section from the same school skewing the pairing such that entrants from other schools nearly always were paired against members of the school with the preponderance of entrants only. A suggestion had been made to have the entrants from the larger group be split into more than one team or to have some limit (a percentage) to the number of entrants a school could enter in a section. Discussion arose concluding that the multiple team concept might actually exacerbate the problem, and that teams from the single school might take multiple trophies, shutting out the others. Allowing pairings of members from the same team might be helpful for avoiding the problem (at some reduction in winning chances), but that same situation might be very detrimental to teams with small numbers. Since this is recognized as a very specific problem in practice, it was suggested that the team with such a large number of players might have a number of the weaker players play in the Novice section where they might actually enjoy a greater chance of success. Seeing no clear solution to the occasional problem, the Board decided to leave the situation as is, with a vote of 5 yeas and 1 abstention (one Board member had to leave early and was not present at the vote). Schools with large numbers of entrants in a championship section will be encouraged to have some players entered into the Novice section but no specific limiting number or percentage is in effect for now.
8. A suggestion was
made and approved to provide medals to those players in the HS Team
championship who have perfect 4-0 scores on their respective board numbers.
9. A date of
Copy of the agenda:
MACC Fall
Meeting
UM
1.
Treasurer's report (Kathy)
2. Tournament dates – (coordinate with Tom) FYI
– 2010 Nationals: JHS at
Teams:
______________________________
Snow:
_______________________________
Individuals:
__________________________
All-Girls:
____________________________
3. Fill/confirm slots for volunteers as noted
below.
A) Overall Tournament Coordinator: Ron
Lewis________________
B) HS Teams Leader: __________________________
C) Elem Teams Leader:
___________________________________
D) JH Teams Leader: _________________________________
D) Individuals Leader:
____________________________
E)
All-Girls Leader: Dan DeLuca___________________________
F) Trophies: _Bob Solinger______________________________
G) Entry Form Production/Mailing: Ron
Lewis__________________
H) Treasurer: Kathy
Richards___________________________
I) Publicity/reporting
_______________________________
J) Sidekick Quads on day of
Individuals TL: _______________________
4. TDs/Asst. TDs from Maine Chess Association
(Philip Lowell or new president of MECA ).
A) HS Teams:
TDs____________________________________________
Asst.
TDs: ______________________________________
B) Elem/JHS Teams: TDs:_______________________________________
Asst.
TDs: _______________________________________
C) Individuals: TDs:_____________________________________________
Asst.
TDs: _________________________________________
D)
All-Girls: TD: Dan
Deluca____________________________________
Asst. TDs:
Andy Bryan, Ron Lewis___________________
E)
Sidekick Quads: TD: __________________________________________
5. Procedural Stuff:
A. Tournament announcement due in to
USCF by December 10 (to appear in Feb issue), so dates/contacts need to be
finalized by then. Can keep very generic as last year (or do we not want to
bother with this anymore – about $60/yr – but may want to keep Sidekick Quads
one)?
B.
Mailing of forms: Keep postcard notices and post on Chess Maine web site
again.
6. Discussion on exceptions to team member
requirements – only new additional input was from Dan – see below.
7. Discussion on Ed Rudnicki’s
proposal (see below) for a general rule to limit number of players per team.
- Other business –
January meeting date
