James MacGregor (President), Fiona Wright (Secretary), Chris McKnight (Treasurer), Philip Cowan, Anna Dowding, Paul Mendes, David Robertson (1st Team Captain) (late), Craig Browning (3 rd Team Captain) (late), Shawn Archer, Iain Robinson, Michael Ruzhansky (late), Darren Viñales.
Simon Taylor, David McIlhinney
The President constituted the meeting at 7.25pm and welcomed members to the meeting.
The minutes of the 1999 AGM were approved.
James asked how we could measure success. If we were a football team we could look at our position in the league and this year our teams have been neither a success or a failure. If we were a business, we could look at the balance and we have been successful there. The most important thing is the club nights. There were three times as many paid up members this year than there was last year and the reduced fees probably helped bring about this. However, people have not come back. He has asked people why and some answers have been that the long row of people sitting in silence is unwelcoming and intimidating. Fiona has suggested a ladder but this something for next years committee to look at. The Holyrood Tavern sponsored the club this year, which helped the club over the summer. The pub crawls were well attended but he is not the best person to ask about those.
(David arrived)
There were no problems with the room bookings this year. There were three tournaments. The first blitz was chaotic because there was not enough clocks for all 26 people to play at once. This did nothing to encourage new members to return. The allegro was held on a Wednesday afternoon instead of a Saturday this year. Eleven people took part compared to six last year. The go-karting at Knockhill was successful. Fiona was the fastest (again!).
A statement of accounts was distributed to those present. There was a £230 profit. The club received a capital grant to pay for new clocks and a revenue grant for sundry expenses. There is £24 to be used to pay for petrol money. The main candidates for this are Neil Irving, Craig Browning and James.
Philip proposed that the accounts should be approved. This was seconded by Darren.
Dave joked that he had been a failure but the team had not been relegated. (James informed him that they had finished sixth.) The team had three wins including two against Lasswade, which were particularly satisfying. The team performed well and there was a large pool of players.
(Michael arrived)
Fiona said that she was also a failure. The team finished tenth in the first division. It will probably be relegated. It was a difficult season because the team had lost players while other teams in the division had become stronger.
As Craig had not arrived, James informed us that the team had finished sixth out of 11 teams. They had a poor start but it picked up once they had a consistent team and the season finished well. However, he didn't know how the next season will be as there will be so many changes in the team.
James told us that the club's previous constitution has been lost and that we need a new one. He proposed a vote and the motion was passed unanimously.
James said that this may seem like the club are paying team captains but he pointed out that there are a lot of expenses such as stamps, bus tickets or petrol and phone calls. Chris asked if this was to cover travel expenses. James said that we should apply for a revenue grant for that. Dave said that other than the stamps he did not think his expenses were greater than those of any other team members were. James said that the £10 could be shared amongst the players. Fiona pointed out that the cost of her phone calls was easily £5. A vote was taken. Nine people were in favour and one voted against the motion. The motion was passed.
James told us that although this topic is often discussed it has not been done so formally for several years. He explained that it would cost £21 and that the benefits would be grading of any tournaments, being allowed to enter the Richardson Cup and a £1.90 reduction in the subscription to Scottish Chess magazine. He urged members to vote against this motion as using these benefits would be too much hassle and too expensive.
Chris asked what members of the club get for their money as its only expense is league fees and many members do not play in the teams. Philip suggested that the ladder could be linked to who plays in the team. David said that it seemed unfair that everyone paid the same membership fees whether or not they played for the teams. He asked if the club could consider charging less for those members who do not. James replied that only new members tended not to play on the teams and they could join for £3. He pointed out that EUSA set a minimum 3fee of £2 and said there was not much we could do.
The motion failed. James said the vote was closer than he expected.
Before asking for nominations, James reminded everyone that they may nominate themselves.
| Position | Nominee | Nominated by | Seconded by | Elected? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | Fiona Wright | James | Darren | RU |
| Secretary | Simon Taylor | Fiona | Chris | RU |
| Treasurer | James Morrison | Chris | Craig | RU |
| 1st Team Captain | Michael Ruzhansky | James | David | RU |
| 2nd Team Captain | Chris McKnight | Fiona | James | RU |
| 3rd Team Captain | Craig Browning | James | David | RU |
| Web page Developer | Iain Robinson | James | Chris | RU |
| Ordinary member | James McGregor | Fiona | Darren | RU |
Craig nominated James for secretary but James refused the nomination. Before the nomination for web page developer, James pointed out that the position is now developer not maintainer.
6.1 Chris suggested that the books should be audited every year. James asked if this would have to happen anyway if the club continued to apply for a revenue grant. Chris replied that it would and agreed that the club should apply for a grant annually.
6.2 James suggested that the club continues to offer new members discounted fee of three pounds at the Societies Fair. There were no objections.
6.3 James asked if everyone felt that they've been kept informed about the club. There was general agreement. Anna said that James' e-mails have worked well.
6.4 Craig apologised for being late then asked what was happening about clocks. James pointed out the new ones and informed him that these would be used only for matches.
Darren proposed a motion to close the meeting, which was seconded by Philip.
A. New Constitution
It is proposed that the existing constitution of the University of
Edinburgh Chess Club is replaced by that shown below under the heading
"The Constitution".
B. Team Captains' Expenses
It is proposed that from season 2000/01 onwards team captain's expenses
are to be reimbursed in the form of a single payment of £10 sterling
to be made after their team's final match of the season.
C. SCA Membership
It is proposed that the University of Edinburgh Chess Club will become
a member of the Scottish Chess Association.