Women's Chess Promotion.

[Bob Armstrong]

Women's Chess Promotion.

An idea has surfaced as to how women, with male support, can raise money at "open" weekend tournaments, for women's chess promotion:

1. Women’s entry fees go into a women's chess promotion pot;
2. We figure out how much of an entry fee goes to tournament expenses, less prizes;
3. We then calculate what % of the women’s pot has to be contributed to the general pot to help cover all non-prize expenses;
4. If a woman wins a prize, she is paid from the women’s pot;
5. The balance of funds are given to a group specifically formed to raise funds to promote women's chess and to implement concrete programs.

The argument is that at this time women are generally under-represented numerically in tournaments, and for historical reasons have not achieved the rating levels of males. So nearly all prizes are won by males.

So it is preferable to have part of women's registration fees going to women’s chess promotion, rather than male-won tournament prizes.

Any thoughts on this?

Bob A

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Your scheme seems overly complicated to me. Who is this group that you propose that we send our money to? What are they going to do for us in Windsor? Or for the kids in BC or Quebec?

[Bob Armstrong]

I guess we don't have to worry about those questions if the basic premise of a Women's Chess Promotion Fund at weekend tournaments is not accepted.

So far we have had a few posts declaring it a bad plan because it will reduce the prize fund in the open sections (generally being won by males). We have had one post that the plan has merit.

Seems like the feedback is minimal, and the idea seems stalled.

Bob A

[Bob Gillanders]

Bob, having some group administer a fund is troublesome. Something simple like a top womens' prize is a better solution. Or, what do you think of my sponsored bursary program for the Ontario Girls' Chess Championship?

[Félix Dumont]

Women's Chess Promotion.

An idea has surfaced as to how to raise money at "open" weekend tournaments, for women's chess promotion:

1. Women’s entry fees go into a women's chess promotion pot;
2. We figure out how much of an entry fee goes to tournament expenses, less prizes;
3. We then calculate what % of the women’s pot has to be contributed to the general pot to help cover all non-prize expenses;
4. If a woman wins a prize, she is paid from the women’s pot;
5. The balance of funds are given to a group specifically formed to raise funds to promote women's chess and to implement concrete programs.

The argument is that at this time women are generally under-represented numerically in tournaments, and for historical reasons have not achieved the rating levels of males. So nearly all prizes are won by males.

So it is preferable to have part of women's registration fees going to women’s chess promotion, rather than male-won tournament prizes.

Any thoughts on this?

Bob A

This seems overly complicated.

I think the key to promote chess among women is to work with younger ones.
What exactly is offered to top girls in the Ontario Girls' chess championship?

In Quebec we don't have separate tournaments for girls and boys, but offer separate prizes for girls. For instance, we limit the prizes we give in the junior championship ($2675), but we use the profits from the tournament to give lessons to the most promising girls. The girls that had the best performance in the youth championship will then receive lessons for the rest of the year, and this year their trip to the NAYCC will be mostly covered by us.
I think it works pretty well, since for example one of the girls who took advantage of this opportunity improved so much that she even won the New York State scholastic championship, in front of New York's best girls and boys.

[Garland Best]

Cart before horse.

First come up with ideas that could be used to promote women's chess.
Then estimate costs of the ideas. Based on cost and predicted effectiveness select the best ideas.
Third raise money to implement ideas.

Anyone doing it the other way is only asking for the money to be wasted.

[Kevin Pacey]

How about organizers first being somehow encouraged to have more FIDE rated events in Canada?

They can also be encouraged somehow to give incentives to women to play in events (FIDE rated or otherwise) - such as a break on their entry fee if they have at least a WNM title (btw, the recent Gatineau Open organizers offered free entry even to NMs). A recent Kevin Spraggett blog, critical as usual of the CFC (fairly or unfairly) indicated no top listed Canadian women with FIDE ratings played any FIDE rated games within the last month, I seem to recall.

Of course, FIDE is perhaps making it significantly more difficult to encourage FIDE rated events to be held, due to the new arbiter (and assistant arbiter) license fee policies they have, a bit of a money grab IMO.

[Félix Dumont]

How about organizers first being somehow encouraged to have more FIDE rated events in Canada?

They can also be encouraged somehow to give incentives to women to play in events (FIDE rated or otherwise) - such as a break on their entry fee if they have at least a WNM title (btw, the recent Gatineau Open organizers offered free entry even to NMs). A recent Kevin Spraggett blog, critical as usual of the CFC (fairly or unfairly) indicated no top listed Canadian women with FIDE ratings played any FIDE rated games within the last month, I seem to recall.

Of course, FIDE is perhaps making it significantly more difficult to encourage FIDE rated events to be held, due to the new arbiter (and assistant arbiter) license fee policies they have, a bit of a money grab IMO.

Is there any tournament that do not offer free entry for NMs?
I completely agree regarding FIDE tournaments... However, there's no point for a young chess player (let's say with a rating under 2000) to play in FIDE rated tournaments. After that, though, it would be great if most open sections were FIDE rated. The license fees are really annoying, but we unfortunately have no choice but to live with it

[Kevin Pacey]

Is there any tournament that do not offer free entry for NMs?

Just about every event I've played in (mainly Ontario, usually Ottawa) offers no break on entry fee to NMs. The organizer of the Gatineau Open in Quebec (though the event has been a part of the Eastern Ontario Chess Association Grand Prix for a couple of years now) chose to gave NMs free entry after he didn't do so in a previous year, in an effort to boost attendence. It meant the difference to me, at least, whether I played, as I was a bit tight for funds at the time.

[Kevin Pacey]

I completely agree regarding FIDE tournaments... However, there's no point for a young chess player (let's say with a rating under 2000) to play in FIDE rated tournaments. After that, though, it would be great if most open sections were FIDE rated. The license fees are really annoying, but we unfortunately have no choice but to live with it

Ottawa weekend tournaments, held at the RA Centre about every other month or so each year, that are open swisses are Eastern Ontario Chess Association Grand Prix events. For years now the top section has been FIDE rated.