Each candidate has his/her campaign statement. One guy says job one
is the website, another is freaked out by COI issues, and there is the
usual crew of kiddie herders.
I didn't see anything from any candidate (or current Board) that
could be taken as a commitment to grow adult membership by even a
modest 3-5%.
What would it take to grow the adult numbers by just 3-5%? Ideas
please.

Old Haasie

I think membership would go up by much more than 3% if the USCF stopped trying to exert ownership over tournaments. The $49 dues should allow the member to play in ANY USCF sanctioned tournament FREE OF CHARGE. The focus should be on PROMOTING chess, not trying to control the venues, sponsors, and players.

Chess Life should be converted to an electronic magazine. There is no justification for the cost of a paper publication for an organization with less than 50K adult members. The USCF should devote money to sponsoring top american players to give lectures and demos at USCF affiliate sites throughout the nation. If the Marshall Chess Club can include such perks for all members, the USCF can certainly do the same.

The USCF needs to stay out of any kind of buying or selling of merchandise. Pieces, boards, and clocks should have published standards, but the sales should be conducted ONLY by outside companies. The USCF could charge a fee for official endorsement. Makers of chess equipment, books, and software, should be encouraged to sponsor tournaments and exhibitions as part of the correct USCF purpose: to PROMOTE chess!

"Forking Knight" wrote in
message ...


I think membership would go up by much more than 3% if the USCF stopped
trying to exert ownership over tournaments. The $49 dues should allow
the member to play in ANY USCF sanctioned tournament FREE OF CHARGE.
The focus should be on PROMOTING chess, not trying to control the
venues, sponsors, and players.


These aren't defending anything, FK, just helping you out with some facts.

Unless you are playing in a very small set of tournaments, you do not pay
the USCF anything for your tournament participation. A portion of your
tournament fee is used by the organizer to pay the USCF for rating the
tournament. This is pennies per game.

snip magazine discussion


The USCF needs to stay out of any kind of buying or selling of
merchandise. Pieces, boards, and clocks should have published
standards, but the sales should be conducted ONLY by outside companies.
The USCF could charge a fee for official endorsement. Makers of chess
equipment, books, and software, should be encouraged to sponsor
tournaments and exhibitions as part of the correct USCF purpose: to
PROMOTE chess!

So, I take it that you are unaware that the USCF doesn't sell merchandise?

David

--
without the block

So far we've seen nothing from the Board or its candidates re a
commitment to a 3-5% growth in the adult numbers. They're all hung up
with their cosmetic approaches, i.e., piddle with Chess Life, diddle
with the website, and funky dance the COI matters,.. but growth is not
a hot item among them, particularly in the adult arena.
More lipstick for the pig, please.

Old Haasie

Unless you are playing in a very small set of tournaments, you do not pay
the USCF anything for your tournament participation. A portion of your
tournament fee is used by the organizer to pay the USCF for rating the
tournament. This is pennies per game.

"For just 52 cents a day you can support a chess federation..."

With regard to selling merchandise: What is this then? http://www.uscfsales.com/
Whether or not the USCF is directly involved in these sales doesn't matter. They shouldn't devote any resources to it, and this online catalog clearly violates that principle IMHO.

I'm posting a schedule for a USCF affiliate I am familiar with below:

Sunday: closed


Monday: League games
Call to sign-up as teams or as individuals
USCF rated. Game/90 minutes.
$25

Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday: Bughouse fun tournament, 6:30pm to 8:30pm. For adults and kids
Partner assigned. $3
Rated games with the Community Chess Club.
Rated USCF Games, 7:30pm to 10pm. Opponent assigned. $3

Thursday: Closed

Friday: Closed

Saturday: Youth Rated USCF Tournament 10am to 1pm.
Players can learn how to use clocks and record moves
Prizes for each player and each player earns national ratings
30 minute games, usually 3 to 5 games. $5
Adult Rated USCF Tournament 2pm to 8pm.
60 minute games, 3 rounds. $12 adult, $10 in high school, $8 pre HS


/end of schedule

The fees you see there are in addition to the club membership fees, and on top of USCF membership fees as well. So, if I wanted to participate in the Monday night leagues, I'd be paying about $100 a month just for some USCF rated games (perhaps as few as 4) a month. I can't imagine many people would pay this kind of money, and this is the only club for a large area. I think the USCF should insist that fees for USCF rated games be as nominal as possible, up to and including no charge, if practical. It just seems to me that these affiliates feel they should make several dollars for EVERY game played on their premises. Am I wrong?

For those who can take advantage of the promotional membership it can
work to be less than 9 cents each day. For an annual Regular
Membership, it's less than 14 cents each day.

Best regards,

George John

When I first joined the USCF I did so to play in tournaments. I didn't
know they had a magazine and really didn't care. I care even less
about the magazine now because the flatulent bloviation of people like
fat-ass Jerry Hanken make me ill.

In the first year (1973) I played in USCF events, the little town I
lived in (population 8,000) had a twenty-year-old USCF affiliated club
with 20 USCF members and about 30 non-USCF members. That year I
played in about 50 rated games and played in over 60 rated games the
next year.

Fast forward 30+ years. The little town I grew up in has long lost its
chess club and the last time I asked for mailing lables, it didn't even
have a single USCF member (even widdle kiddies!) even though its
population is now 12,000.

I now live in a small city of 250,000 and it also long ago lost its
chess club. If I am lucky, I might find some skittles games with a few
players in one of the bookstores, but that is not guaranteed. At most
there are two weekend tournaments a year here and they both lose money
and are financially supported by the tournament directors in order for
them to have tournaments to play in. I used to run USCF tournaments
here too, but I finally stopped when it became too difficult and
expensive to recruit new players to replace the inevitable deaths,
moves, and loss of interest among current players.

Since I hate the magazine, joined the USCF only to play in tournaments,
have to travel to play in a weekend tournament, even 14 cents each day
for the membership is no longer worth it.

An idea to facilitate the growth of adult USCF members:

Put all of the current crop of national chess polititions in a rickety
school bus with no brakes and bald tires. Then let Ted Kennedy drive
them around all the bridges in the Florida Keys during a major
hurricane after he has had two fifths of vodka to keep out the chill.

Either that let the next Policy Board meeting take place in downtown
Faluja, Iraq and plaster the building with lots of United States flags
and ask the locals to provide ham sandwiches for lunch.

"Forking Knight" wrote in
message ...[color=blue][i]

David Wrote:
"Forking Knight" wrote in
message ...
-


These aren't defending anything, FK, just helping you out with some
facts.

Unless you are playing in a very small set of tournaments, you do not
pay
the USCF anything for your tournament participation. A portion of your
tournament fee is used by the organizer to pay the USCF for rating the
tournament. This is pennies per game.

snip magazine discussion


The USCF needs to stay out of any kind of buying or selling of
merchandise. Pieces, boards, and clocks should have published
standards, but the sales should be conducted ONLY by outside
companies.
The USCF could charge a fee for official endorsement. Makers of chess
equipment, books, and software, should be encouraged to sponsor
tournaments and exhibitions as part of the correct USCF purpose: to
PROMOTE chess!-

So, I take it that you are unaware that the USCF doesn't sell
merchandise?

David

--
without the block

With regard to selling merchandise: What is this then?
http://www.uscfsales.com/
Whether or not the USCF is directly involved in these sales doesn't
matter. They shouldn't devote any resources to it, and this online
catalog clearly violates that principle IMHO.

I'm posting a schedule for a USCF affiliate I am familiar with below:

Sunday: closed


Monday: League games
Call to sign-up as teams or as individuals
USCF rated. Game/90 minutes.
$25

stuff deleted

/end of schedule

The fees you see there are in addition to the club membership fees, and
on top of USCF membership fees as well. So, if I wanted to participate
in the Monday night leagues, I'd be paying about $100 a month just for
some USCF rated games (perhaps as few as 4) a month. I can't imagine
many people would pay this kind of money, and this is the only club for
a large area. I think the USCF should insist that fees for USCF rated
games be as nominal as possible, up to and including no charge, if
practical. It just seems to me that these affiliates feel they should
make several dollars for EVERY game played on their premises. Am I
wrong?


--
Forking Knight

The $25 you quoted is for an entire league session, typically 10 weeks. At
four games
a month your cost would be $10 not including USCF membership, club
membership,
coffee, ... The $25 includes expenses for team and individual trophies.

Club membership reduces the $25 to something less but I don't recall to
what.