December may have brought countrywide storms, but it doesn’t stop the WWCL executive committee meetings!

There’s been discussions of the knock out and when to organise the fixtures of this competition that’s finally being brought back into the WWCL world. Taken out by covid, it will be enjoyable to see this different formatted tournament back in play. Once the last of the fixtures are complete in January (on the 14th, Noah’s Yard A v White Knights B), we’ll be looking to sort the dates. However, it’s still worth getting your teams together. Remember the new graded system is Open, U1900 and U1650, changes taking place due to the inflation in grading.

The website looks to be improving, and the bugs are being ironed out, but a couple were discussed. This was nothing massive, but the matters will be discussed with the website officer. Nevertheless, it’s doing a fab job and everyone is agreeing its brought a whole new life to the league.

Newsletters are now being released and they’re more like mini journals! We’ve had a few advertisers and it’s just one pound to buy, rasining money for you club and the league. Make sure you bring your change to club! It’s an interesting issue chatting about the West Wales Chess League’s past, the kids who have been picked for the Welsh team, World Champions, up and coming events and more. Definitely something worth having.

There’s been another rule change brought up, this time looking at ways to keep the league fresh and have new ideas brought in. Though its far away from the AGM, this new suggestion of a five-year maximum spell for chairmen is designed to have new thinking and a chance for others to step in. Naturally, any chairman can be voted out but there’ll have to be a break between any two ‘terms’. It’s an interesting idea to think about and there’s plenty of time to decide whether you agree, disagree or simply have your own take!

On top of this, it’s been suggested to have a vice-chairman who can be part of the executive committee, contribute to the league’s organisation, and fill in for the chairman if personal issues or other matters should stop them from carrying out their duties. On top, if a chairman can’t be found between terms, then it will be the vice-chairman who can act on their behalf for a year while a new lead figure can be found. Again, food for thought.

The new junior league progresses, starting in January with five teams taking part. There’s no official rule book now but it’s been agreed that there will be no league players (else it turn into another division of the league rather than a stepping stone for newcomers), be limited to primary school ages (at least for this year), with no clocks or scoring. In the end, this will be a simple step for those club kids who want to be part of a team. IUt will also allow schools to interact with the WWCL. Glynneath Library, Crymlyn, St Joseph’s, Clydach and the Castell Nedd Barbarians are all taking part with some interesting players such as Oscar Purell and Arush Ram from Crymlyn and Tristan Rosier-Llwyd from Castell Nedd. Clare O’Connor Gunston has volunteered to act as a communication point between the team organisers so hats off to her as she’s doing a fab job so far. Let’s see what happens to this new idea over the coming year.

One of our final topics was the discussion of equipment and how we can help those that lack the requirements. A few years ago it was discussed that digital clocks should be used in division two, and you never know when this might come about. Ideas such as away teams bringing clocks, the league lending money to be paid back, and the funds from the new newsletter helping clubs all came out and are something to look out for in the future. If there are any clubs that struggle financially then come chat to us and we’ll keep an eye out for funding.

Well, that’s the end of the December update and I hope it brought you the satisfaction of knowing what’s happening in the background. In the new year there’ll be a push for both junior and digital chess, as promised. The West Wales Chess Congress growing, a dazzling new website, update-to-date grades within days (if not hours), the beginning of a new junior league and a fantastic representation in the Welsh Juniors – here’s to a 2025 that is just as good.

Merry Christmas.