Item # 16 - CFC Membership Fee / Tournament Playing Fee ( = tournament membership )

Introductory Post by Aris Marghetis

1. CFC Annual Membership Fee Structure - It is proposed that the CFC membership annual fee structure be rationalized to a single amount, with no discounts of any kind. It is expected that an arithmetic analysis of will confirm a new annual CFC membership amount of less than the current $36, which most regular members will appreciate. A potential downside is that parents of juniors will likely pay more in the future than they currently do, but it should be argued that all currently available discounts are being subsidized by regular adult members, are unrealistically and unfairly low, and benefit from discrimination (i.e. age discrimination).

2. Tournament Playing Fee ( = tournament membership ) - It is suggested that the recently elevated tournament membership fee (from $10 to $20) is negatively influencing potential growth in CFC membership. This negative influence is particularly inhibiting when trying to attract FQE members from Quebec to CFC events in Ontario. The FQE tournament membership fee is still only $10. Therefore, it is proposed that either the CFC tournament membership fee be returned to the prior $10 level, or that it be eliminated completely. Whereas the latter might seem to be a harsh alternative, the $20 tournament membership fee seems to be generating a lot of ill will, as it is understandably being thought of more as gouging vs. policy. If we eliminate tournament memberships, to avoid attempts to circumvent process, we should also eliminate first-time membership discounts.