This first issue of the club’s newsletter probably comes as a surprise, partly because it actually exists at all, but also because of the name of the club at the top of the page – what is West Nottingham Chess Club? A few words of explanation are obviously in order.
First, West Nottingham Chess Club (WNCC) is the new name for Stapleford Chess Club. You haven’t suddenly been contacted by a brand new club. We’ll explain the reasons for the change later in the newsletter.
As you’ll read below, one of the topics discussed at this year’s AGM was the need to keep members better informed about what’s going on at the club. This newsletter is the first result of that discussion.
The rest of this issue mostly concerns the AGM. It won’t always be so formal.
The AGM of Stapleford Chess Club took place on 14 June 2004 at the club. In attendance were the Chairman (John Crawley), the Treasurer (Robert Willoughby), David Levens, Ian Kingston, Phil Burley and Guy Whitehouse.
Rather than ploughing through the agenda item by item, I’ll summarize what was said and subsequently decided. If my memory is wrong on any points I’ll add a correction in the next issue.
The club’s teams overall had a good year. The first team won Division 2 and was promoted to Division 1. The second team also did well, but despite a strong finish to the season, an early defaulted match cost the team promotion to Division 2 by a single point.
The other teams (primarily for juniors) all performed to expectations.
Attendance at the club on non-match nights was generally poor, and the club as a whole needs to make greater efforts to encourage participation. For example, David Levens’ series of post-season coaching sessions encouraged a higher turnout.
Over the last season, the club ran at a substantial loss (around £250). Another season like that would bankrupt the club. Obviously we have to raise more money.
The reasons for the loss seem to be that some members’ annual subscriptions were never paid; that nightly fees were not always collected when the Treasurer was not present; and that many people rarely visited the club except to play in matches. In addition, the charges for the playing hall have also been increased. Various methods of putting things right were discussed, but the final decisions were:
The new annual subscriptions are:
There will be a discount of £5.00 for payment within 30 days of being invoiced, so the increase is not as large as it might seem.
We decided to run at least two competitions: a lightning tournament (there’ll be a report next time) and a club championship. The championship will be a Swiss system tournament played throughout the season. More details will be announced at the start of next season.
The club will enter five teams in the Nottinghamshire League next season. The team captains are:
There will probably also be a team in the Derby and District League.
John Crawley and Robert Willoughby were re-elected as Chairman and Treasurer. Ian Kingston was elected Secretary. David Levens continues as a committee member.
One of the things that almost all chess clubs do badly is to communicate – either with their own members or with the outside world. This makes it hard for existing members to keep up with what’s going on and for new members to find the club. The incoming club Secretary volunteered to tackle this area.
To improve communication, we decided on the following:
The first steps in this process have already been taken, beginning with the name change. Since very few members still live in Stapleford, and the membership mostly comes from the western side of Nottingham, we have chosen West Nottingham Chess Club as the new name. This will also help when trying to publicise the club in the local media.
A provisional membership list has already been compiled. Some of the details are incomplete, however. The Secretary will be collecting more details (especially email addresses) over the coming weeks and months.
By the time you read this, the web site will be live. The URL is: http://www.iankingston.com/wncc/. [This URL refers to an earlier version of the site.]
The first issue of the newsletter is out (you’re reading it). Printed copies will be available at the club, but you can also read it at the web site or have it sent to you via email. Only major issues (such as this one) will be automatically sent to the whole membership because of the time and cost involved.
If you want the newsletter emailed to you, please email Ian Kingston.
I can write newsletters (sort of), but I’m hopeless at dreaming up catchy names for them. That’s why the front page says just ‘THE NEWSLETTER’. I’m looking for something (anything!) better. Please send suggestions to me (Ian Kingston). I’ll pick the best one and you’ll be immortalised in print forever.
The club closes for the summer on 26 July and reopens on 6 September.
Ian Kingston
Secretary, West Nottingham Chess Club
secretary@westnottinghamchess.org
0115 967 8367
48 Bramcote Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 4DT