A Strategic Plan for the Chess Federation of Canada
A Strategic Plan for the Chess Federation of Canada
A vision for the future of chess in Canada in the next decade
Prepared by the members of CFC long term planning committee:
Vladimir Drkulec(chairman), Brian Fiedler, Chris Mallon, Rob Clark, Chris Field 7/2/2012
WHY DOES THE CFC EXIST? WHAT IS IT TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH?
We exist as a herald to the call to adventure of the ancient game of chess. Our mission is to reveal the intangible and tangible benefits of this path of trials that is the hero’s journey to chess improvement for some and the road to chess mastery for others. It is not a journey for everyone but for the chosen ones it offers the promise of new experiences and capabilities in the company of a social and sociable community of fellow travellers.
MANDATE
According to our website, the Chess Federation of Canada (CFC), founded in 1872, is a registered non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and encourage the knowledge, study and play of the game of chess in Canada.
CFC’s PRIMARY/CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES
The CFC is the governing body for chess in Canada.
Governance of rules for national competitions (eligibility, formats, time controls, etc) and general rules of the game within Canada.
Affiliated with and the primary Canadian liason with the World Chess Federation(FIDE)
Maintenance of a national rating system
Publication of a websiteand member forumsand
provision of other member services such as the email newsletter which can be used to keep members informed of the happenings in Canadian chess
Outreach to enhance the popularity of the game in Canada. At the moment we are not doing this as an organization.
Sanctioning and coordination of activities with provincial and regional bodies.
THE GOALSOF THE CHESS FEDERATION OF CANADA
To promote and showcase chess across Canada and to encouragethe knowledge, study and play of chess at the recreational, amateur and elite levels for adults and children of all ages and genders
Raising visibility and top of mind awareness of chess in Canada and improving the image of chess in the media and among the general population.
Development, training and retention of young players of both genders as active members of the chess community
Development of volunteers, organizers, tournament directors and other partners and infrastructure which will allow players the opportunity to study, learn and play chess.
Emphasis on the long term and with full transparency of how funds are spent and assurance that members and participants receive value for money spent.
Focus on targeted fund-raising activities such as campaigns to raise the funds to send a men’s and women’s team to each Olympiad.
THE CURRENT SITUATION –CHESS IN CANADA
The CFC has become an organization of tournament players.If you don't play in tournaments, there is a perception that the CFC has nothing for you.There are two distinct market segments for chess within Canada based on age. The first segment is adult players. The second is junior age players which is usually defined as chess players under the age of 21. Among the members of the CFC there are currently 376 life members, 932 adult members, 449 Junior members, 71 Honorary members and 27 Family memberships as of May 1st, 2012. There are approximately 1000 members of the FQE.At the moment chess appears to be relatively stronger in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta with much lower participation in other parts of the country.It may also be possible to segment chess participants on the basis of gender and also on the basis of chess strength. Currently Canadian chess as a whole does a poor job of interesting girls and women in chess and also keeping them interested into adulthood. We also seem to be losing our strongest players of both genders and all ages. The experience in Windsor suggests that at least for younger players there is no significant difference in chess interest between boys and girls.The CFC encourages junior membership by offering a discount relative to the adult membership rate and also by offering a discount in rating fees for all junior events. Aside from participants in national championships, a CFC membership is not mandatory for participants in junior only events. There is a reduced rating fee for junior only events.Fragmentation of federations and chess organizations means that we are not always pulling in the same direction.Up until the recent agreement with the FQE (which still needs to be endorsed by the CFC governors) there has been a lack of influence in Quebec which causes a disconnect between the relatively thriving Quebec chess scene and the rest of Canada.The Chess and Math Association is a private non-profit company which organizes chess tournaments for children, sells chess books and equipment and also has programs of chess instruction, chess camps and outreach services and also holds national championships based on grade vs. the CFC which tends to hold youth championships based on age. In either case, it is often the same children competing in both sets of competitions. The CMA has always indicated a willingness to act as a partner rather than a competitor to the CFC. On balance the relationship between CMA and the CFC is a positive one. Many CMA organizers are also CFC organizers. The Chess and Math Association should not be considered a competitor but rather as an ally as they are doing some of the missionary work necessary to bring chess to a wider audience of participants. The real competition is the other activities that children and adults engage in which may prevent an adult or a child from participating in organized chess activities.To succeed in our current environment, the CFC must become more member centred –winning members by delivering greater value. Before we can satisfy members, we must first understand they value, want,need and desire from us.We need to learn how to do less and accomplish more-by focusing on what matters most, the critical success factors.For the CFC, onecritical success factor will be to throw off the negativity which often seems to surround us. We need to find the will to put aside petty differences and provide support or at least get out of the way of those who are successfully working to build up chess in Canada. We need to make the conscious choice of wanting more for this great game of ours and we need to be willing to do the things that are necessary to make that future of more a reality. We need to create better relationships with members, with provincial federations especially including and reintegrating Quebecinto our community, with chess organizers and with the Chess and Math Association.We can’t change what has happened before but we can learn from the mistakes of the past and resolve to do things differently.Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results can only be described as a form of insanity (Einstein). We need to consciously choose to pursue a better future by mapping out where we would like to be in ten years time and then looking at the steps we need to take in order to get to that future state. Of course things will never work out exactly as we have planned them and yet if we have a vision of where we want to go we can use that to guide us in pursuing actions which bring that desired future state into reality.
Our current reality has been that we have had tolower expectations and settle for a reduced role for chess and the CFC. We move from crisis to crisis, often triggered by external circumstances, but often based on our own foibles and mistakes.The current laissez faire approach to chess organization and promotion is not working.There is still a certain level of complacency in the CFC which needs to be shaken if we wish to improve the results that we can experience.For a period of time member service was non-existent and we simply drifted with the currents and the CFC paid a price in declining member numbers.We were very slow to face reality and for a time our very existence came into question as it became clear that the current membership could not support the cost structure that was in place and had worked when we were a much larger organization.We have arrested the decline but are still relatively stagnant with little or no growth in numbers
