4.A President's Report

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08-25-2019, 12:25 PM
Vladimir Drkulec

4.A President's Report

Its hard to believe that it has been more than six years since I was first elected CFC president. It always feels like there is so much to do and so little time to do it. Much remains to be done and we have our issues though one can't help but think how far we have come. In March Hal Bond and I attended the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance conference in Ottawa. The previous year, Fred McKim and I attended the same conference in Halifax. Those two conferences which at least in part arose out of our recognition by the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national sports federation for chess after their reorganization under the Canadian NFP act have certainly made the job of the executive much easier. Instead of begging organizers to take on our flagship events we now have communities coming to us with sponsorship opportunities. At one time we had to consider paying organizers to organize tournaments like the Canadian Closed and Women's Closed and now we have stable four year sponsorships in the case of Kingston and other communities looking for ongoing relationships with the CFC. We could probably mine the contacts from those two CSTA conferences for the next decade and we probably will. The CMA's bid for the 2019 NAYCC even benefited from our contacts and received some sponsorship though we were a bit late to that party because of delays at FIDE America in awarding the tournament. Every bit helps and Larry Bevand reports that the CMA did not lose money hosting the tournament.

Three communities have expressed strong interest in hosting the Canadian Open and Canadian Youth Chess Championship in 2021. They are Victoriaville, Quebec, Hamilton, Ontario and Durham Region (Whitby, Ontario and surrounding region). Next year's CYCC/CO will be in Mississauga. The FQE has indicated that Montreal is interested in bidding on the 2024 CYCC/CO.

Halifax, Nova Scotia has bid on the 2020 Canadian Seniors. The executive has accepted their bid for next summer as part of a festival which could become a recurring event.

Memberships and rated games have gone up year over year and once again we have a healthy surplus. I won't steal Fred McKim's thunder but the financial results are good for this fiscal year and will hopefully be even better next year.

We have new management at FIDE and things seem to be gaining momentum there as well.
08-25-2019, 01:28 PM
Michael Barron

Thank you, Vlad, for your Report!
Could we see 2020 Canadian Seniors bid?
Do we have any bid for 2020 Canadian Juniors?
08-25-2019, 01:37 PM
Vladimir Drkulec

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Barron

Thank you, Vlad, for your Report!
Could we see 2020 Canadian Seniors bid?
Do we have any bid for 2020 Canadian Juniors?

The Canadian Seniors bid can be found here: https://destinationhalifax.sharefile.com/d-s21d64ace8c04d43a

Ken Green, the organizer of the last couple of tournaments, I believe, has expressed a desire to organize it again based on the template of his previous tournaments. He is also looking for other tournaments like a future Canadian Seniors.
08-25-2019, 01:45 PM
Fred McKim

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vladimir Drkulec

The Canadian Seniors bid can be found here: https://destinationhalifax.sharefile.com/d-s21d64ace8c04d43a

Ken Green, the organizer of the last couple of tournaments, I believe, has expressed a desire to organize it again based on the template of his previous tournaments. He is also looking for other tournaments like a future Canadian Seniors.

This stuff is supposed to be in the Incoming Meeting - but I think there are still some topics missing there. Ken should present his bid by the end of the meeting so it can be voted on / approved.
08-25-2019, 02:00 PM
Vladimir Drkulec

The incoming meeting should probably concentrate on the elections as we won't have a full complement of voting members until after elections are completed. Bids only need to be voted upon if there are multiple formal bids ready for a vote. I don't think we are there yet.
08-25-2019, 06:01 PM
Hal Bond

Thank you for your report Vlad. I can vouch for your comments on the value of the CSTA conferences. Circulating at this event is invaluable. I hope we continue to attend. Not only are the contacts important, but the presentations also shed light on many aspects of organizing events.

I also concur with your remarks about growing pains. As part of my duties I sign most of the cheques and assist Bob with our international wire transfers at the bank. This is time consuming over the course of a year. Growing membership means more work for volunteers and at the office. We are probably looking at additional staffing costs and I believe Bob is underpaid and due for a raise.
08-28-2019, 12:56 PM
Victor Plotkin

Vlad, I want to ask your opinion as a CFC president about last Canadian Open. Are you happy with this event?
08-28-2019, 01:18 PM
Vladimir Drkulec

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victor Plotkin

Vlad, I want to ask your opinion as a CFC president about last Canadian Open. Are you happy with this event?

I am not happy with the number of players though I have been concerned for several years now as the numbers have not been impressive even with a very generous prize fund in the case of Sault Ste. Marie or a location that was quite beautiful and full of historical significance in Quebec City. Were there other issues that I am unaware of? I am told by my students that CYCC was very well done. I presume that the Canadian Open was run in a similar manner.

I was unable to attend for various family reasons though in retrospect perhaps I am not so indispensible.
08-29-2019, 12:28 PM
Victor Plotkin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vladimir Drkulec

I am not happy with the number of players though I have been concerned for several years now as the numbers have not been impressive even with a very generous prize fund in the case of Sault Ste. Marie or a location that was quite beautiful and full of historical significance in Quebec City. Were there other issues that I am unaware of? I am told by my students that CYCC was very well done. I presume that the Canadian Open was run in a similar manner.

I was unable to attend for various family reasons though in retrospect perhaps I am not so indispensible.

The problem here is not only the "quantity" but also the "quality". That's why I believe it's not right to compare CO-2019 with CO in Sault Ste. Marie. I am sure no other CO was so weak in last 20 years. At least 20 years. If CFC wants "to make Canadian Open great again" (as it was 10-20 years ago) we should change our approach to this tournament.
08-29-2019, 01:16 PM
Pierre Dénommée

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victor Plotkin

If CFC wants "to make Canadian Open great again" (as it was 10-20 years ago) we should change our approach to this tournament.

I cannot comment on this year CO, but an organiser told me that because of the cost of inviting foreign GM, he will reduce the number of invitations. Money is the most important limiting factor when organising a tournament. In Montreal, the cost of venues rental has skyrocketed, forcing the organisers to move elsewhere, reduce the number of invited foreign players with appearance fees and paid hotel or do both.

Only organisers with very deep pockets can afford the risk to organise a tournament in an hotel with many thousands of dollars of penalty for each day that the minimum number of rooms has not been booked.
08-29-2019, 02:14 PM
Vladimir Drkulec

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victor Plotkin

The problem here is not only the "quantity" but also the "quality". That's why I believe it's not right to compare CO-2019 with CO in Sault Ste. Marie. I am sure no other CO was so weak in last 20 years. At least 20 years. If CFC wants "to make Canadian Open great again" (as it was 10-20 years ago) we should change our approach to this tournament.

We are changing our approach out of necessity. I believe that 2021 will be the first year that will see a very different approach to this tournament from the Executive and will likely carry over into all future years. Next year, while only slightly impacted by the CSTA will be the last one where we don't talk extensively with the local cities first. Next year we have good, experienced organizers right next to the GTA. There is no doubt that the CYCC will be a big success. I hope and expect that the Canadian Open will also be a great success.

What would you suggest that we do to make the Canadian Open great again?
08-29-2019, 03:40 PM
Vladimir Drkulec

Right now the Canadian Open would be a hard sell for organizers if it wasn't attached to the CYCC. The Canadian Open loses money while the CYCC usually makes money because of the economies of scale with having several hundred competitors versus 130 or less for the Canadian Open. Most organizers are not able to tap into very much in the way of sponsorship. Chess players tend to be a frugal lot so offering reduced price hotel rates is not enough to fill hotel rooms for a game a day tournament when there are cheaper alternatives like AirBnb or even less expensive motels. At the outset approaching a hotel, other than in a remote area or under special circumstances is going to be difficult. You probably have to start with the tourism officials and city officials who are more interested in "heads in beds" in general rather than in a particular hotel's beds. Ideally those city officials will be able to provide some cash, a low cost or no cost venue and perhaps some accommodations for GMs. That is just a starting point.

Once you have all of that and you have secured the bid then the tournament has to be marketed to sponsors and potential players. I think this is where things fall apart.
08-29-2019, 06:51 PM
Pierre Dénommée

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vladimir Drkulec

Once you have all of that and you have secured the bid then the tournament has to be marketed to sponsors and potential players. I think this is where things fall apart.

Long ago, we reached the conclusion that sponsors wants visibility and that the number of chess players in Canada is too low to interest a sponsor. Sponsors also prefers top world class players.

We are trying to build our sport Top-down but it should be built bottom-up. The bottom being a large number of young players playing just for fun. Baseball Quebec new umpires must pass 2 years in non-competitive minor baseball. This is not a loss of time because it grows the pool from which they can draw competitive strength players. Most sports recognise as distinct minor activities. Everywhere there is the sport equivalent of the GTCL, there is an associated minor baseball assassination of Toronto. Minor branch is recognised as being distinct with a distinct management. Minor chess branches would be attached to Provincial Association and would not required Constitutional change at our level.

We also need enough trainers to train those boys and girls. If by any miracle, tomorrow, 20 000 U8 players would decide to learn the game, we could never have the required number of trainers available.

We also need more certified TDs and more organisers and we must ensure that the financial consideration (TD fee) and support are such that the new TDs will not quit.
08-30-2019, 02:03 AM
Vladimir Drkulec

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pierre Dénommée

Long ago, we reached the conclusion that sponsors wants visibility and that the number of chess players in Canada is too low to interest a sponsor. Sponsors also prefers top world class players.

We are trying to build our sport Top-down but it should be built bottom-up. The bottom being a large number of young players playing just for fun.

This is the same thing the FIDE Chess in Schools program is saying. A good model to emulate in Canada is what they did with soccer.

Quote:

We also need enough trainers to train those boys and girls. If by any miracle, tomorrow, 20 000 U8 players would decide to learn the game, we could never have the required number of trainers available.

Actually we would. There is this thing called the internet and apps like Skype and Facetime that can be used to deliver lessons from and to anywhere in the world.

Quote:

We also need more certified TDs and more organisers and we must ensure that the financial consideration (TD fee) and support are such that the new TDs will not quit.

I would say that organizers are the limiting factor. Usually its an organizer/TD.