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Thread: 7D. Seniors Memberships (Barron / Armstrong)

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  1. #1
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    Default 7D. Seniors Memberships (Barron / Armstrong)

    Moved by Michael Barron, seconded by Bob Armstrong:

    "Add to the CFC Handbook after paragraph 9 in By-Law Number One:

    10. Any person ordinarily resident in Canada who has reached the age of 65 by January 1st of the current year, shall be granted a Senior membership.
    Replace the next paragraph:

    10. The Per Capita Fee for Ordinary Members shall be $36 per Annum, $24 for Junior Members, $12 for Participating Members, and $18 for Family Members;provided that these fees may be changed by the Assembly of Governors by ordinary resolution.

    by the following paragraph:
    11. The Per Capita Fee for Ordinary Members shall be $36 per Annum, $24 for Junior and Senior Members, and $18 for Family Members, provided that these fees may be changed by the Assembly of Governors by ordinary resolution.
    Re-number remaining paragraphs accordingly."

  2. #2
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    I don't think the CFC has accurate age data but I'm going to make an assumption that 10% of our members are over 65. That would be about 180 senior players. Nationally, according to the last census there are just over 5 million seniors out of 34 million for a proportion of 15% but in chess, youth seems over-represented.
    If my assumption is correct, the cost to the CFC of this motion would be 180 x $12 per year = $2,160. This might be offset somewhat by an increase in senior membership resulting from the $12 saving in dues.
    Paul Leblanc
    Treasurer, Chess Foundation of Canada
    CFC Voting Member

  3. #3
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    For the record, I'm philosophically opposed to ANY special memberships. I believe EVERYONE should pay the same, regardless of age.

  4. #4
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    Can we get some idea of how many CFC members are over 65? Is the 6% estimate for B.C. applicable for other regions?

    I continue to dislike financial proposals that have no cost estimate attached to them. What are we exactly agreeing to do? There are helpful hints about cost and there may well be a reserve of seniors that will join the CFC at the new membership. These folks are not known to me. Therefore I cannot support this.

    Organized chess is already an inexpensive activity. Are there some financial hardship cases among chess playing seniors? I would let the Executive & the Executive Director deal with those individuals on a case-by-case basis rather than changing the membership rates for everybody.

  5. #5
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    I also fail to see CFC membership fees as something stopping significant numbers of seniors from playing. Reducing their rates in Ontario (for example) from $48 to $say $30/year is nothing. Other cost factors (memberships to clubs, transit costs, tournament rating fees, weekend tournament fees, etc), make up so much more of the cost of playing chess, that the CFC membership fee is trivial in comparison.

    If you want to get more seniors to play chess, then provide easier access by providing transit, clubs where they play their age peers instead of juniors and so on. Reduced CFC memberships are not the way to go.

  6. #6
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    Yikes! I find myself agreeing with the Ottawa boys!

    Chess for Seniors with its Alzheimers mitigation properties is ringing louder each year and the demographic is growing so I can understand the appeal of doing something. I would prefer to see a specific campaign/promo like "seniors month" or a free trial/tournament permit for unrated seniors.

    Keep in mind that the World Seniors Championship splits this year into a +50 and a +65, and this will be reflected in the Canadian Senior. This is not a huge carrot but it is a nod of sorts to our senior players.

  7. #7

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    You would have to subtract those seniors who are already Life members - not sure how many that would affect.

  8. #8
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    While not against the theory as such, I want to point out that date of birth would have to be submitted with any membership.

    This has been a problem with some junior organizers who collected junior memberships both without address information and/or date of birth. These organizers have completely failed to grasp that the whole point of the CFC granting free rating fees and no membership charges in junior events is to give the CFC the ability to market to their parents. (This was more of an issue when we were in the books & equipment business). When talking to some of these organizers I got major "attitude" from some of them who felt that it was obvious they were juniors as it was a junior event - whereas from the CFC's point of view the whole proof of how useful this program was was how many of these kids are still playing in events as young adults.

    Obviously that's not a factor with seniors but no question we would need to be extremely strict with directors who took type "S" memberships without date of birth info.

  9. #9
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    I can't support this. We have only wild guesses as to how much this might cost the CFC, and we don't even have wilder guesses as to how many more seniors might join with a cut in membership fee.

    My question for the movers is: If in fact no new seniors do join, from which budget item do you propose to take away the potentially thousands of dollars in losses from this motion?
    Christopher Mallon
    FIDE Arbiter

  10. #10

    Default Senior Membership Growth - a Given!

    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher Mallon View Post
    My question for the movers is: If in fact no new seniors do join, from which budget item do you propose to take away the potentially thousands of dollars in losses from this motion?
    Hi Chris:

    I seconded this very positive motion to expand our membership into that mega-boomer population, that now has both the time and money to play chess.

    What you suggest - not one senior joining in 2014 is a straw man - not going to happen.

    And as Paul posted, and his projections seem reasonable, it will likely be a wash for CFC financially at least. I personally project many new senior members, especially ones on lower-income, which is the case for many Canadian seniors, women more than men.

    Bob

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