Organizer Obligation to Seek Sponsors

[Alex Ferreira]

Hi,


Chesstalk seems to get cluttered very quickly and threads with 100 replies get difficult to follow. But I picked this up from Bob's response / motion / idea. I decided to respond here in hope there would be more CFC involvement.

I am not sure of the extent to which organizers outside of Quebec make significant effort to find sponsors.

But GM Mark Bluvshtein has brought a motion, seconded by me, to strengthen the national standards for major tournaments in Canada. One of the amendments he has proposed to Section 8 of the Handbook, dealing with the Canadian Closed , is:

" Section 811 ( b ) The organizers shall provide a prize fund; part of this obligation shall be to make a significant effort to find sponsors; .............

( d ) Bidders for the Canadian Championships shall take into account in their bids this section 811 of section 8 of the Handbook, and if they intend to exempt themselves from any of the conditions herein, they shall clearly note such in their bids, so the CFC can determine whether such bids will be accepted. "

Mark hopes that his will make clear that organizers have an obligation to at least try to find sponsors, and that they risk non-acceptance of their bid should they try to exempt themselves from this condition of bidding.

Bob

Being totally ignorant on how Quebec chess runs, I'd like to remind people that, at least in Toronto / GTA, but probably even in the rest of country, organizers are not professionals. Organizers seem to put on a good show while volunteering or getting paid far less than minimum wage for their troubles. Organizers need to have real jobs outside chess to make a living, and this is a hobby or at best some pocket change on the side.
Many organizers are so because they love chess and like organizing tournaments. Other organizers do it because nobody else will. I am currently the head organizer for Hart House Chess Club at University of Toronto, and involved in all tournaments we've organized in the past 2 years. We get asked to organize more and different types of events quite often, and people constantly ask when the next tournament is.

It's difficult for me to assess exactly how much time I've spent with each HH tournament, but so far with the 2010 Toronto Open (which hasn't happened yet), I've easily spent over 20 hours. Between getting approval at exec meetings, budgeting the project, securing a location, communicating with our TD Bryan Lamb, making flyers, maintaining a website, posting on forums, etc... Don't even mention e-mails. I enjoy doing it to an extent but also do it because nobody else will, in the sense that I prefer playing / socializing. Mind you I get support from my colleagues when needs be. Of course, this is pretty small potatoes compared to big tournaments. I can't even imagine someone running a Zonal / Canadian Open.

Now organizers are going to have an "obligation" to seek sponsors?
How about they stop organizing tournaments altogether?

Taking into account that of course this discussion is likely meant towards the 3-5 tournaments in Canada that actually draw some international attention...
Has it been discussed "why" sometimes everyone is concerned whether a Canadian Open will take place or not, because there was no adequate bid at the previous AGM? Why do organizers rescue certain situations to save Canadian Chess some face? Why doesn't the Canadian Closed take place every year?
Why is it that when someone rescues it last minute in Guelph, their efforts get stomped on by several members of the community, including some players?

Better yet...
Where on the CFC website is a guideline for organizers to approach sponsors?
Where's the list of sponsors approached with success in the past, posted for future reference?
Where is CFC's backing in contrast to these demands?


Alex Ferreira
Hart House Chess Club

[Bob Armstrong]

Hi Alex:

You are right that CFC has a corresponding obligation to assist organizers in their search for sponsors. The new Tournament Coordinator position is supposed to help develop bids for national tournaments, and part of this should be to develop packages of material that can be made available to organizers to assist them in approaching sponsors with beneficial materials. I can also see a role here for the new Public Relations Officer, in helping to develop chess promotional materials, some of which might be able to be used in approaching sponsors. I agree that the CFC cannot just dump the sponsorship obligation on the organizers, without doing anything. That is not Mark and my intention with our motion. It is to be a cooperative organizer/CFC project.

Bob

[Pierre Dénommée]

The current FQE president is also the president of Sobeys Quebec. Before him, there was little or no sponsorship for Quebec tournaments.


Marc Poulin¸, President Sobeys Québec and FQE

Marc Poulin studied Actuarial Science at Université Laval before going to Illinois, where he earned an MBA in Marketing at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.In 1986, Marc was invited to join Provigo group.From the moment he entered the Quebec food industry, Marc demonstrated his expertise in marketing and a great talent for banner development.

Marc rapidly moved up through the ranks at Provigo, then migrated to Culinar and subsequently to Groupe Vie Desjardins-Laurentienne.In 1997, he accepted the position of vice-president, Purchasing and Merchandising, at Sobeys Québec.His constant desire to provide Sobeys' clientele with outstanding service led him to implement programs that have received a remarkable response from consumers.In his current role as president, Marc Poulin oversees the growing success of the Sobeys Québec banners, including IGA and IGA extra.

[Jonathan Berry]

A few observations:

"Of course" everybody knows that elite events should have sponsors.
But in fact not everybody agrees. One CFC President, who was in
a corporate world position of power, did not believe in that at all.
So by putting it in the motion, the CFC is establishing a policy,
making a statement about how it relates to the world.
"Motherhood is good." Now we know.

A national event should not be organized by one person. Several
people should be involved, whether they form a "committee" (just
mentioning that word makes me think "dysfunctional") or something
looser. One of those people would have a special responsibility for
finding sponsorship.

Humourous results may accrue. For example, after months of asking
around, you might find that your sponsorship coordinator has dredged
up this prize (and remember that a lot of top players don't own a car):
a pair of all-weather radials. Or a pedicure.

For young people (aged say 20), organizing chess tournaments provides
useful experience for the "real world". Getting people to give you
money is the most practical skill you can have. I never developed it
too well, because in the big sponsored event I organized, it was the
other guy on the "committee" who sweet-talked the sponsor. Still, it's
a good thing.

A lot of sponsors won't give unless you have a budget. Is that why
the CFC doesn't have a sponsor? Grin!!