Darlington and District Chess League
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Darlington Chess Club (Cockerton) at 7.30pm on 5th October 2011.
Chairman’s Opening Address – Pete M welcomed members and detailed the main issues of last season. Thanks were given to all who had given time to make the league a success last year, to Dave Smith for maintaining the website, Bryan Bainbridge for work with the fixtures and the website etc and Roger Anderson for undertaking the work of the grader. It was also pleasing to note that Darlington were to field a second team into the league and Kevin Wilson was welcomed to the meeting as he would captain that team.
2. Attendees: P.McKay (Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer), B Bainbridge (Fixture Secretary), R Anderson (Grader), D Dixon (Richmond), P Middleton, R Mortimer (Northallerton), G Parkin (B.Auckland), K Wilson (Darlington)
Apologies received from D Smith, B White, and K Smith.
3. Minutes of AGM 2010- these had been previously circulated but the salient points were highlighted by the chair. These were accepted as a true record. Any matters arising were on the agenda.
4. Presentation of Cups- cups were presented by P McKay to the following winners:
Division Winners - Bishop Auckland
Runner Up – Northallerton
Knockout – Northallerton
Individual Winner – L Smith
Runner Up – D Dixon
Player of the Year – B Bainbridge
5. League Format.
ECF Membership - After discussion and an outline of the implications of seeking ECF membership for the league it was unanimously agreed that this should be pursued. This would entail players becoming ECF members and this would be done via the Cleveland League. (Cost £13 and £8.50 for junior). If a non ECF member played in a league game then the league would incur a fee of 28p (plus admin. charge) per player per match, this would have to be reclaimed from the club concerned. Fuller details will be circulated to PMM as to the procedures team captains need to undertake re player membership etc.
Action: Pete M to pursue membership. Note: the application form has been submitted and will go before the ECF board on 15/10/11
Team Format - there were mixed opinions as to whether the league should revert to 5 man teams. After a lengthy discussion it was the majority vote that teams would consist of 5 players. However before the start of the fixtures a team captain may elect to only field a 4 man team throughout the season. This cannot be changed during the season as this would be unfair to opponent teams.
Action – Secretary to incorporate into rules. Captains to inform Secretary ASAP and prior to first fixture of the format of their team.
Note: At this time Darlington A and Hartlepool have notified the secretary that they will only be fielding a 4 man team throughout the season
Hartlepool – have stated that they will field a team in the league this year if the league becomes ECF affiliated. As a result of the decision detailed above, and pending ECF acceptance, as a working assumption it can be assumed for fixture purposes that Hartlepool will be in the league. Kevin Wilson attended his first meeting and outlined the proposals for Darlington to enter a second team in the league. He stated that there may be a number of juniors in his side and would it be possible for them to play a reduced time control. It was agreed that providing 48 hours notice was given to the opposing captain, then the time limit would be reduced to 61 minutes on each clock to finish (this allows for the game to count as ECF grading). A junior would be classed as being U16 at 1/9/11
Fixtures – Bryan B circulated a fixture list however as a result of Hartlepool now entering a team these would need amending.
Bryan B to amend and send to Secretary who will circulate with minutes.
Cup Security - Secretary asked that a rule be introduced which put the onus onto cup holders to return them to the secretary in a clean condition by 1 st September following the year of presentation to allow for engraving prior to the AGM. Also there was a need for cup holders to be aware that the security of the cups was their responsibility and they were invited to ensure that household insurance covered damage, theft etc. of the cups. The league held no insurance for any of the cups.
With the above changes the secretary would re write the rules containing all of the above and its implications (subject to board meeting on 15/10/11) and circulate prior to being entered onto the DDCL website.
Secretary’s note: have spoken to the ECF, Durham and Cleveland Leagues it is more appropriate to use the Cleveland league to administer our membership and to calculate grading. I will detail the procedures captains need to adopt in a separate document after the 15 th October.
6. Knock out Cup- As last season was the first were the competition was held under handicap rules the secretary asked members for their views on the format. It was totally accepted that this had been a valued and effective change and should continue in its present format and the 4 man teams remain.
The draw was made and the first matches are Darlington A v Darlington B, Hartlepool v Richmond and both Northallerton and Bishop Auckland have byes. The first matches to be played on or before 18 th December. Full dates etc will be on the website
Action: Captains to arrange as per league rules.
7. Gradings - As a result of the decision to become an ECF affiliated league the need for DDCL grades to be calculated would cease and those gradings would become defunct. Roger Anderson detailed that it may be necessary to use the DDCL grades to assess ECF grades for those players who do not have a current ECF grade. Roger was thanked for his work over the past years in ensuring that the gradings for the league were always up to date and accurate.
Action - Pete M to liaise with Cleveland Grader to ensure those without ECF grades have a suitable ECF estimated grade.
8. Individual Tournament - Pete M sought a discussion over the format of the current tournament which was currently integrated into the Richmond CC tournament. Pete M offered to run a 2 day Swiss style tournament over a weekend towards the end of the season subject to sufficient interest. Members agreed that there was a need to give a renewed impetus to this tournament and a discussion was held re its possible format. It was agreed that Pete M would seek the views of player re possible interest and analyse the viability of holding such a tournament. It was agreed that there would need to be some kind of criteria for entry as it should be a closed tournament for those showing commitment to the DDCL.
Action: Pete M to progress.
9. Treasurers Report. - Going into the 11/12 season the league had a balance of £68.80. No subscriptions were collected last season, from that figure had come £30 for engraving for cups and £37 for website fees for the 10/11 season. Leaving a balance of £1.80. It was agreed that team fees for the forthcoming season would be £15 per team. So far Northallerton, Richmond and Bishop Auckland have paid this fee. Current balance is £46.80
Action: Treasurer to obtain £30 from Darlington and £15 from Hartlepool
10. Emendations to League Website. - Bryan gave an outline of the issues involved and some of the technicalities re the hosting of the site. Bryan and Dave Smith were thanked for their most efficient work re the site and agreed to continue in its management. Bryan stated that fees of about £35 would be incurred during the forthcoming season mainly in the costing of its housing.
11. Election of Officers- the following were re-elected for the forthcoming season:
Chairman - P McKay
Secretary - P McKay
Treasurer - P McKay
Fixture Secretary - B Bainbridge
KO Cup Organiser - P McKay (in old format then P Middleton)
There being no other business the meeting closed at 8.45pm.