I would like to thank everyone who attended the AGM on the 25th, and for the chance I’ve been given to make a difference as Chairman. Ian Eustis has worked hard for over 40 years and, after stepping down on Tuesday, he has left big shoes to fill! Acting as Junior Director on the WCU board, running and acting as arbiter for numerous tournaments, and providing aid for the juniors when representing the country and taking part in competitions, the list seems never ending. However, we hope that the new committee (consisting of newly elected members and veterans with knowledge and experience) can build upon the work Ian has carried out.

Primarily, I would like to be working on communication and feedback with our members, putting work into the digital side of our league, and investing in our juniors. The youngsters are the way forward, which can clearly be seen in the experience of some of our strongest players who started when they were the under 18s. The executive committee will be meeting to discuss how to make these progressions and drive our league forward.

There was much discussed at the AGM, with some invaluable feedback on how we can improve things. Please feel free to give me or one of the committee members a shout at any time to pass ideas along. Communication with our members is something that will be the key to going forward.

There were several rule changes and suggestions for the committee at the meeting, which I wanted to mention to make everyone aware. To straighten out bumps in relation to payments, fees for the WCU and WWCL are to now be collected by the league and passed on to the WCU. This will hopefully create a more efficient system where fewer mistakes can be made. It will also make matters easier for the clubs who collect payments and the WCU treasurer. The exception to this rule is when a player wishes to join the WCU when not playing in the West Wales Chess League.

Following on with membership fees, prior to the AGM fees were due on the 1st of September, to be paid up to two months in arrears. After this point, any affiliated member or affiliated club was to be removed from the league. Instead, we now have no removal from the league but instead penalisation is to be carried out for any matches played since the 1st of September with unregistered members. This penalisation takes place when the two months arrears have passed. Again, this was another rule changed to make the system of registration more effective.

Another good suggestion was the change of the division one structure, having the four weaker teams play each other in the second half of the season to play for a separate trophy. We have some fantastic teams and players in our league that, I can certainly say, play some outstanding chess, but unfortunately this results in decreased morale for the weaker teams. Although decisions about this new structure are to be made at an executive committee meeting, it certainly seemed appealing to numerous players who attended.

Another matter arising concerned upset with food and drink being used at licenced premises, as this can risk loss of venues that our clubs have managed to maintain. Speaking as a player from a club that was nomadic for a short time, I can thoroughly agree that you don’t want to lose a good premises once it’s found! The new rule prevents this from occurring.

The last rule change was in relation to new players being registered for the league. In previous rules new members didn’t have to pay to take part in league matches, but still needed to be registered 24 hours in advance of a match. This has now been changed so they need to register by their second match. It should be noted that the WCU will still need to be paid, due to insurance and grading, but clubs will now have the chance to contact unregistered members the night before a match (provided the treasurer is contacted and payment for the WCU is made).

Finally, we have now organised an executive committee meeting for a week Monday where we hope to discuss the way forward and what we can do for our members. Like I said, if anyone has ideas feel free to give me a shout, and if anybody feels they wish to volunteer to help in any way we would be very grateful. Working together is the way to progress.

Yours, Hywel Griffiths hywel862@aol.com