Membership not a FIDE requirement

[Roger de Coverly]

This is now finally admitted on the ECF website

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/?page_id=18761

It is an ECF requirement that all English-registered players in FIDE-rated events must be ECF members at either GOLD or PLATINUM level.

The "nasty" policy to non Gold members is retained.

Games involving non-members or Bronze or Silver ECF members (unless registered with another federation for FIDE rating purposes) will be subject to the FIDE rating fee (currently £1.50) and the players will be de-registered from the FIDE rating list.

Personally I think both policies should be put to a vote of the ECF Council.

[Ray Sayers]

Did someone win a competition to invent the most ridiculously complicated way to make a cash grab?

I have read the new fees page and links and I am bewildered. But I have enough business experience to know when customers are baffled by the charges, the vendor is winning (ask the Gas Companies!).

[Alex Holowczak]

Did someone win a competition to invent the most ridiculously complicated way to make a cash grab?

ECF Council voted for it by a margin of about 70-30. What league do you play in? Or county league? I'm sure they had a vote or votes, so I'm sure they gave you the opportunity to comment.

[Roger de Coverly]

Did someone win a competition to invent the most ridiculously complicated way to make a cash grab?

In effect yes. The original idea was to charge a flat cost of around £ 18 to £ 20 for everyone. After it was voted through by a small majority, it was changed to the multi tier version you now see. Later they threw in the £ 2 per game per non member charge.

Switching existing membership from an anniversary approach, to a chess year approach increases the complexities of the changeover.

I don't know about Gas Company analogies, but in a mobile phone analogy, a lot of the country had Pay as You Go contracts and were quite happy with them. The ECF though wanted everyone to have contracts which includes forcing contracts on those who had previously rejected them. Contracts give unlimited usage of course, but that is of little value if you are a low volume user. Perhaps the energy analogy is if your cost of supply was almost exclusively a standing charge.

[Ray Sayers]

OK, I finally figured it out and I benefit from it.

But boy, it was hard work.