The following is the Agenda for the 82nd AGM to be held at the Morriston Chess Club on the 17th June at 7:30 pm.

A copy can also be obtained by clicking https://wwcl.leaguerepublic.com/l/documents.html

In summary there are five resolutions, two of which are to the constitution and require a two thirds majority to pass and three of which are changes which require a simple majority to pass.

Agenda

Apologies for Absence Minutes of the 2018 Annual General Meeting Reports a) Division 1 b) Division 2 c) Division 3 d) Secretary e) Junior League f) KO Cup g) EJ Clarke Trophy h) Lightening Championship i) Publicity and Grading j) 51st West Wales Congress Treasurers Report and Annual Subscription Resolutions Election of Officers Presentation of Trophies Resolution 1. Executive Committee membership

The League’s constitution has the current narrative related to Elected Officers. "The officers of the League shall consist of the League President, the Chairman, the Treasurer and the Secretary plus other officers elected to carry out specific duties as determined at an Annual General Meeting. These officers shall form the Executive Committee."

The proposal by White Knights Chess Club is that this be changed to:

The officers of the League shall consist of the League President, the Chairman, the Treasurer and the Secretary. These, together with one member nominated by each club, shall form the Executive Committee.

Consequential changes:

Management page 9. of the handbook

Change the first sentence to " The day to day business of the League shall be managed by the Executive Committee." Alter The quorum.... shall be four to" The quorum.... shall be five".

After "The Executive Committee shall" add the following as a) "appoint a grading officer and an officer for junior chess." and renumber the paragraphs that follow.

Over the years the League has struggled to get volunteers for positions on the executive committee and on occasions positions have been left vacant. Currently we have a high percentage of executive committee members from one club and this cannot be considered a strong governance arrangement. Having the decision making body of the league dominated by members of one club is not a healthy position for the League to be in.

In any organisation good governance and decision making is critical and having all clubs represented on the executive committee is essential to get their views heard and to ensure a fairness in decision making.

Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary to be elected at the AGM. Each club has to nominate one representative to sit on the committee on its behalf. Currently we have 7 clubs and this would give us a total of 10 members on the Executive committee. These 10 individuals would take all executive committee decisions and will coordinate all tasks to be carried out during the year. They should be given the power to allocate tasks to non executive committee members where appropriate but these individuals will not be voting members of the executive committee. We would suggest a quorum of 5 is needed to make any decision. This system would improve the perception of decision making and governance of the Executive Committee and ensure all club’s views are heard.

Resolution 2. Divisional Controllers With the website now up and running the work of divisional controllers has reduced significantly.

White Knights Chess Club propose that all Divisional controllers are replaced by a League Controller.

This would ensure a consistency and fairness in decision making as this individual’s key role will be to adjudicate on whether matches can be postponed or be the first decision making point for disputes between clubs on issues that occur between matches.

Resolution 3. League Time Control (page 20) League Rule 3.4 states - In all divisions except the Minor League, the rate of play is all moves in 90 minutes. The current rule was brought in at last season’s AGM. The previous time limit of 60 mins for 30 moves and 30 mins for the rest of the game was agreed so that players had more time to play endgames. It was felt that the 30 mins in the second time control would ensure a higher standard of play from move 30 onwards. White Knights Chess Club is of the view that the current time control has resulted in a deterioration in the quality of chess being played in the league. Many games are now reaching blitz finish situations in advance of move 30 and as a result players are not having the time to play good quality endgame positions.

We propose that this rule be changed to: In all divisions except the Minor League, the rate of play is 30 moves in 60 minutes and then all remaining moves to be played in an additional 30 minutes.

Resolution 4 - Change to Voting System AGM Section on page 11 of the handbook: In the 2nd paragraph, first sentence - delete the entire paragraph after the word Vice Presidents. Extraordinary general section on page 12 of the handbook: In the 3rd paragraph, first sentence- delete the entire paragraph after the word Vice Presidents .

Voting Section on page 13 of handbook. Replace the current paragraph with At an annual or extraordinary meeting individual members shall be entitled to one vote per motion on all proposals with the exception of proposals for changes to team competition rules. Voting shall normally be by a show of hands unless decided otherwise by the chairman. Proxy voting shall not be permitted. Except for alterations to the constitution, motions and elections shall be carried by a majority of those voting. The chairman shall have a casting vote only.

Then add the following paragraph

At an annual or extraordinary general meeting proposals to change team competition rules will not be voted on by individual members but on a basis of 1 vote per affiliated club. Proposals will be shared with clubs ahead of the meeting and clubs will be allowed to either register their vote in writing in advance of the meeting or by nominating a club member to cast their club's vote at the meeting. The Chairman will have the casting vote only.

Resolution 5 Change to Rule 11 relating to Quickplay (page 32 of Yearbook) To rationalise the minimum number of moves at 50 for both normal and minor league games. Currently the rule states a minimum of 60 and 50 moves are required to claim a draw for normal and minor league games respectively.

07/06/2019