Last Tuesday saw the AGM of Horsham Chess Club. There were no major changes in the club’s list of officers, with the exception of the election of me as the club’s inaugural web master. This was prompted by the club’s recent efforts to improve its web presence.
The main matters discussed at the meeting were:
- The new ECF membership scheme: On the proposal of the committee, the club agreed to fund basic membership for all members. The money for this would come out of the regular club subscriptions. If members for some reason signed up independently (e.g. as members of another club, or because they wanted a higher level of membership), they would be given a £12 discount from their club subscription.
- The club competitions: The club agreed, in light of last year’s improvements, to push even harder to get club knockout competitions played in good time. Deadlines for fixtures being played will be enforced more strictly. There will also be a switch to using a quick-play finish in all knockout games, so that they can be concluded on the night.
- The website: The current progress and future direction of the website was discussed. I noted that about half the members had already signed up to the website, and urged the others to get in contact so they could be supplied with a log-in.
John Cannon, the club president, recently broke his right arm, so when it came to presenting the trophies, the recipients had to shake his left rather than right hand, and receive the trophy with the other. He also found it difficult to get a proper look at the trophies because of his lack of mobility; as several of them look very similar, some people ended up with the wrong one and had to swap.
The AGM concluded promptly in just under two hours, giving the members plenty of time to head over to the local pub.