TCA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

Meeting held in Launceston, 9th of March 2020 after the Tasmanian Championships

OPENED : 1808h

PRESENT : • Denis McMahon (President) • Christopher Shepherd (Vice-President) • Ian Little (Secretary, Treasurer) • Christine Rumley (Junior Chess Officer) • Kevin Bonham (Ratings Officer) • Kerry Beeton (LCC Delegate) • Reg Harvey (BCC Delegate) • Esther Beeton (Observer) • Thomas Powell-Davies (Observer) • Addison Djatschenko (Observer) • Savitha Mapitigamaarachchi (Observer)

APOLOGIES : Nil

MINUTES : The minutes of the previous TCA Annual General Meeting of the 19 th of March 2019 were circulated prior to the start of the meeting. No amendments were notified, and the minutes were accepted as read and correct.

Matters arising:

• Ian Little, in his capacity as Webmaster, to revert the current TCA online entry system back to the previous 2-part entry system with separate pages for registering tournament entries and making online payments.

• Ian Little, in his capacity as Webmaster, to ensure updated entrant lists are made publicly available on the registration pages for future TCA events.

• Ian Little, in his capacity as Treasurer and/or Webmaster, to explore pre-authorisation options through third parties and Squarespace.

• Ian Little, in his capacity as Treasurer, to explore SquareUp, or a similarly low-cost portable credit card device for use at TCA events.

• Ian Little, in his capacity as Treasurer, to set up a TCA PayPal account and add PayPal as a payment option for tournaments posted on the TCA website .

• Ian Little, in his capacity as Treasurer, to add appropriate TCA bank details to tournament event pages and mark direct transfer as a payment option for tournaments posted on the TCA website. All actions were noted as closed with no further comment.

Moved Bonham The AGM accept the minutes of the previous TCA AGM of the 19 th of March 2019. Motion carried unanimously.

PRESIDENT ’ S REPORT : Denis McMahon, TCA President, tabled his president’s report. Denis made a note of those who have been added to various TCA honour boards during the 2019-20 season. At the school’s finals there were 76 players in the primary section, and 63 players in the secondary section. Launceston College won the secondary division teams’ event, while Launceston’s Mind Moves won the primary division teams’ event. Hobart’s William Rumley was the individual secondary division winner. Launceston’s Luwanna Beeton shared first place with Clark Wagner from Zeehan in the individual primary division. Denis was delighted to see that a participant from Zeehan was a winner of the primary division, and that the Advocate newspaper covered this. Denis noted he had the opportunity to congratulate Clark and his father and advise him that the TCA would be thankful of Clarks registration, and hope to see him at future events. Denis noted that the Launceston Club had changed to a new venue and was happy with the running of the inaugural Northern Champions event, and the revival of the Launceston Cup. The Hobart Club was stable and prosperous and possibly looking for a new venue, possibly moving to Guilford Young College. Denis noted that Burnie Club numbers are low, but the club also has a new venue, and a new Facebook page. Denis has once again revived the Devonport Club as a fortnightly club during school terms only with it being attended by half a dozen juniors and Denis at the same venue. The Glen Gibbs award was given to John Patrick. Denis concluded his report by saying he felt overall the Tasmanian chess community was doing well, surviving, and with good spirit and camaraderie.

Questions & Comments Nil

Moved Little The AGM accept the tabled President’s Report. Motion carried unanimously.

TREASURER ’ S REPORT : Ian Little, TCA Treasurer, tabled his treasurer’s report which had previously been circulated to the TCA executive via e-mail with the spelling correction of Table to Tablet on paragraph 2, line 2. Ian noted that in the previous treasurers report he predicted a modest profit of $200 to $400 dollars with the TCA actually recording a modest loss of around $120. The loss was a result of the purchase of new equipment, namely a Square Up credit card reader, and a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. Both purchases were authorised at the previous AGM and have created the TCA’s on site, on the day, credit card payment facility. Ian noted that beyond these purchases, the state of the TCA’s finances remains consistent with previous years. Major incomings remain tournament entries and TCA levies. Major outgoings remain tournament prize pools, tournament running costs, and website administration. Ian noted that at the time the TCA’s financial year closed the Launceston Club’s levies were outstanding as reported but had since been paid. Ian reminded clubs that registering their members, and then paying for all of them is crucial for keeping the TCA’s records up to date, and avoiding situations where club members are charged levies at major tournaments. The major tournaments, being the Tasmanian Championships and Tasmanian Open, have run at a small profit, with prize pools around the 90% mark after expenses. The major fund raising events, being the Tony Sturges and Tasmanian Rapid and Lightning generated nearly $700 in profit, allowing the TCA to remain in the black. Again, with not major purchases intended, the TCA is predicted to return a modest profit of $200 to $400 in the next financial year. Questions & Comments Denis McMahon noted, based on previous discussions with Ian Little, that a separate grant from the TCA was given to the Launceston Chess Club to the value of $200 for operating the Tasmanian Championship. The Treasurer’s Report shows a profit of $22 from the Tasmanian Championships, where in fact the event lost $178. Denis reaffirmed his preference, as stated in the guidelines for these events, that the TCA deduct all expenses before awarding the prize pool.

Moved Shepherd The AGM accept the tabled Treasure’s Report. Motion carried unanimously.

JUNIOR OFFICER ’ S REPORT : Christine Rumley, TCA Junior Chess Officer, tabled her junior officer’s report which had previously been circulated to the TCA executive via e-mail. Christine referred to notes from the President’s report on state-based schools’ chess and the Glen Gibbs award. Christine added that students from 7 schools travelled to Melbourne University for the National Interschool Chess Championships. 5 schools entered the primary division with Clark Wagner from Zeehan finishing equal 2 nd on 6 out of 7. Clark dropped to 7 th on countback. William Rumley finished in 4 th place in the middle years’ division on 6 out of 7. Addison Djatschenko and Rithvik Gollapalli finished in 15 th and 16 th places on 5 out of 7. Siddhant Kohli of Scotch Oakburn Senior finished in 16 th place in the secondary division on 4.5 out of 7. At the Australian Junior Championships held on the Gold Coast, Bayani Beeton and Clark Wagner represented Tasmania in the Under 8 and Under 12 divisions respectively. Bayani finished 21 st on 5 out of 9, and Clark finished 33 rd on 4.5 out of 9.

Questions & Comments Nil

Moved Little The AGM accept the tabled Junior Officer’s Report. Motion carried unanimously.

2020 ANNUAL FEES : Moved Little That membership fees for 2020 remain unchanged, with memberships dating from the 1 st of July 2020 to the 30 th of June 2021. With club-based adult memberships to remain at $15, and club-based junior memberships to remain at $5 for the year. With individual memberships being collected on a quarterly pro rata basis – Jul, Aug, Sep $20; Oct, Nov, Dec $15; Jan, Feb, Mar $10; Apr, May, Jun $5.

Motion carried unanimously.

ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS : The following people were all elected unopposed.

• Denis McMahon for the office of President (nominated by Ian Little)

• Christopher Shepherd for the office of Vice-President (nominated by Denis McMahon) • Ian Little for the office of Secretary (nominated by Denis McMahon)

• Ian Little for the office of Treasurer (nominated by Denis McMahon)

• Kevin Bonham for the office of Ratings Officer (nominated by Denis McMahon)

• Ian Little for the office of Webmaster (nominated by Denis McMahon)

• Christine Rumley for the office of Junior Chess Officer (nominated by Denis McMahon)

MOTIONS MOVED IN ADVANCE : Nil

ANY OTHER BUSINESS :

Launceston Cup Status as a TCA Event Denis McMahon noted that there had been discussion regarding making the Launceston Cup, a club- based tournament held by the Launceston Chess Club, a TCA event to ensure its longevity into the future, and prevent cancellations as seen in previous years. Denis called on Kerry Beeton, Launceston Chess Club President, to speak to that. Kerry noted that the Launceston Cup revival had been hosted by the Swinging Gate Vineyard, owned and operated by former Launceston Chess Club member Aidan Cox. Kerry noted that Aidan had since relocated and was not at the club, and the previous venue may no longer be useable. Denis McMahon noted that at the time of the meeting, it is the business of the Launceston Chess Club to operate the event as best it sees fit, and then asked if the TCA makes a financial contribution to the event at present. Ian Little confirmed the TCA had not previously made any financial contributions to the Launceston Chess Club, for the purpose of operating the Launceston Cup. Denis went on to ask if it were the expectation of the Launceston Chess Club that the TCA would provide financial support for any event that was given the status of a TCA event. Kerry Beeton confirmed the expectation of a financial contribution to such events, with the current intention of using that contribution as a hall hire and refreshment fund, with specific arrangements to be made with the current club venue on an ongoing basis. Ian Little clarified for the meeting that the TCA makes all of the website, registration, and payment facilities available to all clubs for club-based weekend events, and went on to clarify what the historical definitions were for a TCA event versus a Club event. For club-based events, the TCA makes any and all resources available to clubs with no fees or charges other than those charged to the TCA by third parties (such as PayPal, Stripe etc.) and the TCA presumes no authority over the event. All operational decisions are determined by the hosting club, including but not limited to: round times, round numbers, time controls, prize pool divisions, ratings prizes, and venue requirements. For TCA events, as seen with state based titled events, the TCA retains full operational authority over the event. While individual clubs may host events on behalf of the TCA, all operational decisions for the event are determined by the TCA, not the hosting club. Ian raised his personal concern that based on these historical definitions the Launceston Chess Club may not actually want the Launceston Cup to be a TCA event, but may just be seeking some level of financial backing from the TCA. Discussion led to the operation of the Burnie Shines events in the past, and the willingness of the TCA to provide support for catering and other running costs of the event. It was noted that often the Burnie Chess Club was not of the mind to provide receipts for such items and so the TCA did not historically provide financial support. Denis McMahon noted that, despite this, his preference was to provide support where able, to all club-based events, and would not personally think to exercise any rights over the clubs in making the operational decisions of the event itself. Ian Little proposed a grant system to support clubs in running club-based tournaments without the banner of being a TCA event. In this way the TCA could support club-based events with hire costs, refreshments, boosts to the prize pool etc. whatever the clubs felt was in the best interest of the tournaments. Ian suggested, as an initial proposal, each affiliated club could apply for a grant of $100 to operate a club-based tournament each year. Ian noted this may be a fair and equitable middle ground that the TCA could afford. Denis McMahon noted that while the AGM can determine such things, the current discussion was just based on whether to adopt the Launceston Cup as a TCA event or not. He went on to remark that the exact details of this decision could be determined at a later stage by the TCA executive.

Moved McMahon That the Launceston Cup receive the status of TCA Event. YES: 10 NO: 1 Motion carried.

CLOSED : 1853h