New South Wales Chess Association Inc.
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 1 December 2002
Meeting: The Meeting was held at the Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club commencing at 2.30pm
Present:
Council Members: Bill Gletsos, Norman Greenwood, Peter Cassettari, Kerry Stead, Mal Murrell, Amiel Rosario and Tom Accola.
Other Members: Alfred Flatow, Brian Jones, Paul Sike, Nick Kordahi, Raul Samar, Victor Liuga, Trent Parker, Vic Salecich, Samuel Talisayon, Johnny Bolens, Josef Reif, Lloyd S Fell, Frank Kresinger and Peter Hanna.
1. Welcome and Apologies
Bill Gletsos as Vice President and Chairman opened the Meeting at 2.38pm and welcomed Members to the Meeting.
Apologies for non-attendance were received from Robert Keast (President), Richard Gastineau-Hills, Steve Carratt and Keith Farrell.
2. Confirmation of the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
The Minutes had been circulated at the Meeting and had been available on the website for almost a year.
Motion: That the Minutes of the 2001 Annual General Meeting be accepted as a true and correct record. (Moved Kerry Stead, seconded Paul Sike) Carried.
3. President’s Report
In the absence of Robert Keast, the Vice President read the report issued by the President.
The President thanked Members for their support and the NSWCA Council for their dedication and hard work over the last year and highlighted the following achievements.
Financial: Nearly all events were run to a budget and produced a small surplus.
Equipment: Moved into the digital era with the purchase of 32 digital clocks.
Australian Open: The NSWCA and Australian Chess Enterprises will jointly host
the 2003 Australian Open with Mr Brian Jones managing the tournament.
2003 Calendar: The incoming Council will have a comprehensive Calendar of
events for 2003.
The Report pointed out that the challenges for the future remain similar to those of previous years:
Electing and maintaining a strong motivated Council for 2003.
Attracting increased participation rates by providing popular events in good
venues at which chess players will participate.
Attracting competent arbiters to run successful events.
Increasing the number of juniors competing in adult tournaments.
Attracting the internet players from the computers to the board.
The President announced in his report that owing to family reasons he would not be standing for the NSWCA Council for the immediate future.
4. Treasurer’s Report
The Financial Report comprising the Statement of Financial Position at 31 July 2002 (Balance Sheet) and Statement of Financial Performance for the year ended 31 July 2002 (Statement of Income and Expenditure) and the Report by the independent Auditor thereon had been circulated to Members present. The Report showed that the Association had earned a surplus of $10,619 compared to incurring a loss for the previous year of $5,063.
Norman pointed out that there were a number of items, which contributed to the surplus:
Australian Chess Forum costs were lower for 2002.
ACF fees were lower for 2002.
No expenses in 2002 for the Nellie Edwards Bequest, Olympiad expenses and
donation, and grants to juniors participating in overseas tournaments.
Tournaments showed a surplus.
The Treasurer drew Members’ attention to Balance Sheet in that the surplus was reflected in the increase in the Bank accounts and the purchase of 32 DGT clocks.
Motion: That the Treasurer’s Report be accepted. (Moved Peter Cassettari, seconded Peter Hanna) Carried.
5. Other Office Bearers Reports
The Vice President had no matters to report.
The Secretary had no matters to report.
Steve Carratt had sent his apology and there was no report.
Peter Cassettari reported that there were 405 registrations comprising 375 Members, 20 Clubs and 10 Life Members.
Kerry Stead reported that all Clubs had been busy with their competitions. A number of new Clubs had started including the Sydney CBD Chess Club and other places such as the Sydney Games Centre had begun operations. Numbers for the Grade Matches were strong as always, but a little down from the previous year. A new initiative is the Australian Clubs Teams Championships to be held in Queensland next year.
Amiel Rosario advised he had no matters to report.
Mal Murrell reported that the Website had received an average of 61 hits per day during October/November 2002.
Keith Farrell had sent his apology and there was no report.
Richard Gastineau-Hills was conducting a tournament and had sent his apology. There was no report.
Bill Gletsos reported that there had been no appeals during the year.
6. Notices of Motion
Bill Gletsos advised that Council was of the opinion that there was not a need for this position on the Council and owing to the workload of email communications; there is a need for a Communications Officer.
Peter Hanna, Brian Jones and Nick Kordahi all spoke against the motion indicating that they were of the opinion that there is a need for a Women’s Representative on the Council. Brian Jones suggested that the Women’s Representative position be retained and an additional Council Member be appointed Communications Officer. Peter Cassettari spoke in support of the Motion.
The Motion was put to the Meeting by the Chairman and the voting was 17 in favour, 4 against. Carried.
The reasons for the Motion.
The Motion was put to the Meeting by the Chairman and the voting was 19 in favour, 2 against. Carried.
7. Determination of Annual Membership and Club Affiliation Fees for 2003.
The Chairman proposed that the fee structure for 2003 would remain the same as the previous year with the exception of the Country Members whose fee would reduce from $15 to $10. The fees proposed were as follows.
Sydney Metropolitan $ 25
Sydney Metropolitan Concession $ 20
Country Member $10
Former NSWJCL members turning
18 this year $10
There would no longer be a concession for Country Members.
Peter Hanna raised the point that juniors at 18 should be free. Nick Kordahi commented that juniors turning 18 should pay $25. The Meeting was informed that the fee of $10 was stipulated by the NSWJCL.
The Motion was put to the Meeting by the Chairman that the fees for 2003 be fixed as set out, i.e. the same as the previous year except for Country Members. Carried
8. Office Bearers Appointments for 2003
It was agreed that Bill Gletsos remain in the Chair. (proposed Peter Hanna, seconded Peter Cassettari) Carried.
President – Peter Cassettari (proposed Nick Kordahi). Peter Cassettari declined the nomination. There were no other nominations – position declared vacant.
Vice President - Bill Gletsos (proposed Mal Murrell, seconded Peter Cassettai) Carried.
Treasurer – Norman Greenwood (proposed Kerry Stead, seconded Peter Hanna) Carried.
Secretary – Tom Accola (proposed Norman Greenwood, seconded Peter Hanna) Carried.
Ratings Officer – Steve Carratt (proposed Peter Hanna, seconded Amiel Rosario) Carried.
Registrar – Peter Cassettari (proposed Kerry Stead, seconded Paul Sike) Carried.
Club Liaison Officer – Kerry Stead (proposed Peter Cassettari, seconded Nick Kordahi) Carried.
Tournaments Officer – There were no nominations – position declared vacant.
Communications Officer – There were no nominations – position declared vacant.
Publicity Officer – There were no nominations – position declared vacant.
Webmaster – Mal Murrell (proposed Nick Kordahi, seconded Peter Cassettari) Carried.
Country Representative – Keith Farrell (proposed Mal Murrell, seconded Norman Greenwood subject to his acceptance) Carried.
Member Without Portfolio – Paul Sike (proposed Mal Murrell, seconded Fred Flatow) Carried.
9. Appointment of Auditor
Motion: That Ross A Hamilton be appointed Auditor for the ensuing year. (Proposed Fred Flatow, seconded Peter Hanna) Carried.
10. Appointment of Appeals Committee
The following persons were nominated and accepted for the Appeals Board.
Bill Gletsos, Richard Gastineau-Hills and Kerry Stead (proposed Trent Parker, seconded Norman Greenwood) Carried.
Alternates –
Alfred Flatow (proposed Peter Hanna, seconded Mal Murrell)
Peter Cassettari (proposed Amiel Rosario, seconded Norman Greenwood)
11. Other Business
a) Chess Centre
Peter Hanna raised the matter of the NSWCA buying premises. The Chairman pointed out that there had been a history of a Chess Centre in previous years. Also if borrowings were contemplated, the Council Members’ liability would be a matter to be considered very carefully. Peter Hanna also suggested that a partnership with the Ukranian Club may be a possibility.
The Chairman invited Peter Hanna to present a proposal and budget to Council.
Brian Jones raised the matter of the Minutes of Council Meetings being placed
on the Website.
The Chairman responded by declining to place the Minutes on the
Website as the information would be available to the general public.
Brian Jones requested that the Minutes of the Council Meetings be made
available to him.
The Chairman advised that the matter would be referred to the Council.
Peter Cassettari raised the matter that at the ACF Conference to be held in
January 2003 the matter of the ACF being disbandoned and replaced with a
Commission comprising 8 Commissioners and an Executive of 4 would be on
the Agenda. Bill Gletsos reported that the matter had been brought up last year
and NSW, Tasmania and South Australia had voted against the Motion.
The matter was being reconsidered by the NSWCA Council.
Peter Hanna raised the matter of the Easter Cup being held next year. Bill
Gletsos responded that the event would not be sponsored by NSWCA and
therefore could not be an ACF Grand Prix tournament. The event could be
held, but any advertising should not mention NSWCA sponsorship.
Norman Greenwood raised the matter of venues for weekend tournaments
and drew attention to the varying attendances. Ashfield and Rockdale did not
appear to be popular venues, whilst the recent November weekender held at
North Sydney Leagues Club attracted 61 entries.
The Queen’s Birthday weekender would be renamed the NSW Open
Championship and would become a Category 3 tournament.
Norman asked Members for a choice of venues and it was suggested that no
Tournaments should be held at Ashfield or Rockdale.
There being no other business, the Meeting closed at 4.15pm.
Confirmed as a correct record.
………………………………………………………… Date………………………..
Chairman
Please note that these Minutes are yet to be accepted at the next Annual General Meeting scheduled for 30 November 2003.