Executive Meeting held online, 16th of February 2023
OPENED
1935h
PRESENT
• Christopher Shepherd (Vice-President, Webmaster)
• Andrew Martini (Secretary)
• Christian Duboudin (Treasurer)
• James Bryant (Junior Chess Officer)
• Kevin Bonham (Ratings Officer)
• Fabian Ivancic (LCC Delegate)
APOLOGIES
• Scott Cohen (HCC Delegate)
AGENDA
• Action updates
• TCA Champs
o Hosting
o Eligibility (club-based membership and TCA levy)
• AGM
o Timing and location
o Move to online?
• Constitution changes
o Andrew’s proposal
• Yearly tournament calendar
• Fees
o Update on 2022 invoicing
o Managing fees (Chris’ proposal)
o Setting for 2023 (exec consensus before setting at AGM)
• Glen Gibbs Committee
o Formalising membership
o Discrepancies
o Awarding 2022
MINUTES
TCA Championships
Fabian confirmed that Carrick Hall has been secured for the 2023 TCA Championships at a good price, meaning that a decent prize pool should be available after costs. It was confirmed that TCA events are expected to be financially run by the hosting club, with financial support form the TCA potentially available if sought but not guaranteed.
Currently, the event is planned to be formally hosted by the HCC and utilise the HCC’s public liability insurance, though is still being organised by LCC. The need for LCC to hold its own public liability insurance, or even the TCA holding its own, was discussed. In other states there are various models for this, with some sate associations carrying it in addition to clubs. The possibility of the TCA holding public liability insurance which then included all TCA-affiliated clubs was considered.
Action – Christian to follow up with HCC’s insurance broker on possibility for insurance to be held at TCA level rather than club level.
A motion was passed unanimously that if a suitable policy is found and looks appealing (financially) compared to the current cost HCC pays for single club policy ($250/year), that Christian can purchase the insurance before the TCA Champs and have it cover the event.
Kevin was confirmed as Director of Play and Fabian was confirmed as Chief Arbiter of the event.
A discussion was had on the need for sets, clocks, boards ands scoresheets. Fabian will be checking and has avenues for getting more if needed from the TCA, HCC or Blacksquare Chess.
TCA Membership
The concept of TCA membership was discussed considering the information provided by Chris before the meeting on the cost breakdown of rating tournaments (attached), and how a simpler method of funding the TCA might be achieved. It was noted that other state associations do not have membership of every club member and/or individuals to the state association. Chess Victoria was highlighted as following something like this, and it was also noted that Tasmania previously had a system like this. The benefit of such a system was viewed favourably by all; James highlighted that many parents of junior players decide not to play in TCA events because they can’t follow the information on our tournament pages around TCA membership, levies, etc.
It was unanimously viewed that any new system should be as simple as possible for players wanting to join clubs and play in tournaments. A motion of intent was unanimously passed to scrap the existing TCA membership structure and adopt a structure similar to that described above. A method where both TCA run events and club run events that draw on TCA resources (including but not limited to ratings costs) can be appropriately structured and financed in the simplest manner will be sought.
Action – Andrew to review both the Chess Victoria Constitution and Tasmania Association Incorporation Model Rules and draft a revised constitution for consideration in the future, with the intent to adopt this model for the financial year starting 1 Jan 2024.
Both Christian and Andrew’s former proposals (sent via email out of session) on changes to membership in the Constitution were both not reviewed in the meeting, in lieu of the above approach being deemed favourable by all and endorsed.
Annual General Meeting / Proposed Amendment to Constitution, clause 15.4
A motion to move the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to online was unanimously supported, with the date of the AGM set to Thursday 23rd of March. Notification of the meeting and agenda will take place through the clubs and on the various online platforms available (website, Facebook). Reports that are submitted for the AGM will be made available on the website before the meeting. Finer details of the platform to be used, etc. are still to be determined.
Christian indicated his intent to vacate the Treasurer position in the future and would like to find a replacement that he can start transitioning to during 2023. He noted that we would continue in the position at the 2023 AGM if no other nominations come through.
It was noted that the TCA Delegate to the ACF, Tom Saltmarsh, is no longer active in the Tasmanian chess community, though is active in the ACF.
Andrew proposed amending the Constitution to allow the President to hold other officer positions, which was unanimously endorsed. Andrew will formally notify clubs of the intent bring this amendment at the AGM for voting on. The proposal is to change clause 15.4 from:
“Multiple offices, excepting the position of President, may be held by the same person.”
to:
“Multiple offices may be held by the same person.”
TCA Calendar 2023
The TCA calendar for 2023 was tentatively set as the following (start dates shown):
The first three events now have confirmation from both clubs and with confirmed locations. LCC also confirmed the dates for the final two events of the year, having been recently agreed to at an LCC committee meeting.
Two items remain to be confirmed – whether Burnie can host the Rapid & Lightning in August and when (date above is notional), and whether the two Launceston events later in the year will be ‘TCA Events’ or not. On this latter note, any determination on this is delayed, and clarification around this may be addressed in any updates to the Constitution as to what constitutes a TCA event or a club event, and the role of the TCA in both.
Action – Andrew to liaise with Reg Harvey to confirm Burnie’s ability to host the Tasmanian Rapid and Lightning this year and set a date. (Secretary note – ideally this would be confirmed by the AGM).
Glen Gibbs Award
Kevin re-established contact with Maria Gibbs and shared details with Christian for follow up, which Christian has done and is working through the history with Maria. This includes updating Maria on the
recipients of the Award in the years since contact was lost and working through current funding arrangements.
It was noted in the discussion that the original agreement stipulates TCA support for the award until 2030, contingent upon top up funding through 2020 and then utilisation of the trust funds if annual contributions are then ceased.
Action: Christian to follow up with Maria Gibbs as best as possible, to update her on the award in the last few years and determine current funding arrangements.
Action Register
See below for action updates and new actions. Two actions were added based on email discussion outside of the meeting:
CLOSED
2140hr