In the unlikely event the USCF gets in financial shape, one thing they might try is having tournaments in States in smaller area. They would rotate this tournaments in clearly stated manner.
Benefits (known)
Help develop local Organizers. I think this will be chief benefit myself.
Help encourage Chess Playing in out-of-the-way places like my state of Alabama.
Problems (known)
Some area will not the facilities (Hotel and Tournament Room).
I would suggest four regions with four separate tournaments, with Alaska and Hawaii being part of the Pacific region.
Sample rotation year-1 Tennessee 2-Florida and so on.
I do think that US Open and etc will still need to be a more urban area. I am suggesting tournaments that a step down from the US Open.
That being said I think a Chess Server for both Correspondence and real time would be more useful
I guess I don’t understand. USCF doesn’t run very many tournaments, not even national championships. Are you suggesting that it should start running tournaments, especially tournaments in out of the way places? I don’t think I can support that.
Why don’t you run tournaments in Alabama? USCF will help you out. You can even bid for some national events, if you want.
I’m not clear just what kind of tournaments you have in mind here.
The USCF only runs a few tournaments each year.
The last year or two the USCF has taken bids for the Youth Action tournament rather than run it. Other national events that are bid on each year include the US Championships, the US Senior, the US Class, the US Blind, the US Junior (open and closed), the National Open, the Amateur Teams, the Game/60, Game/30 and Game/10 championships, etc. (I’m sure I’ve missed several events.)
Events that the USCF has run itself include the Spring Nationals, the US Open, and the US K-12 Championships.
I think the USCF would still entertain bids on any of those as well, though the reasons the USCF has been running them itself are multi-faceted.
I agree with Mike, and others. If an organizer in Alabama wants to bid on one of the smaller events, and is not sure how to do this, I am sure USCF personnel, and others, will be glad to provide some guidance. How many players do you think you will get if any of those events are held near you?
My suggestion would be: If you want more events in your area, organize them and show that it is possible to hold larger events there. Before I attempt to ask the USCF to allow me to hold a National event in my area, I would get involved in organizing State-wide events first. Again, if you need help, many of us who have done so, many times, will be more than happy to give you some guidance!
And more importantly, what reason is there to think that the USCF could hold a successful event there when the local organizers cannot? (You can hold a tournament almost anywhere if the object isn’t to make money and you have enough funds to run it at a loss.)
I see… You are talking about a new set of Regional National events.
We are glad that you want to develop chess programs in your area. Before you suggest that the USCF start a new program in order to develop chess in your area, you may want to consider taking action by organizing state-wide events, or even regional events. You should also consult with your State Association since you will need help of other directors, etc. Talk to other organizers and directors in your state. I am sure they also have plenty of ideas. If you are successful organizing events there, later on, you may want to bid on small National events. The USCF, and, I am sure, many of us who have done that before, are here to give you any advice you may need or want.
It is easy to suggest to the USCF and let them figure things out, do the work, and take the financial risk. It is harder for us to be pro-active and organize the events. Having said that, many do it.
Nolan: The USCF can provide financial (remember I conditioned the idea on financial stability) and organizational skills or perhaps supplement the local organizer.
Franc - Please I am already doing organizational work, including tournaments. Thanks for the suggestion but I am not the topic. BTW the Southern Open (until CCA took it over) was run by a committee. So yes individuals/groups can start and run big tournaments . But I am talking about specially the USCF starting big regional tournaments.
All; FYI strangely enough the American Contract Bridge League does this. So the idea is not entirely new. I am not sure what the financial obligation of the ACBL is all of these. Hope to find out though. But they hire the directors even for small local tournaments (like we have in Alabama).
This year the Southern National American Bridge Championship was in Washington. Houston in 2008. San Diego is location of the Pacific National for this year. They have three a year and sometimes four. acbl.org/play/nabc.html.
There is private large Bridge tournaments independent of ACBL NABC. So the NABCs doesn’t drown those out.
However I will say the ACBL doesn’t not have anything equivalent to the US Open unless it is the NABCs, to my knowledge. I know that they organizational meetings at the NABC. So at least it is like the US Open that way.
So, in other words, you want the USCF to come in and run events that will probably lose money, because the local organizers can’t or won’t take that risk.
Since you mentioned financial stability, do you mean that such a tournament might be expected to break even, but with a significant risk of substantial financial loss, and a similarly likely prospect of substantial financial gain?
If there isn’t the similar prospect of gain, then we’re back to Nolan’s question.
You are the topic, particularly because you made the suggestion! And so am I. And so are the other tournament organizers and directors. We, all of us, are the USCF, and it is up to us to have a successful organization and provide the opportunities for our players.
The USCF has a membership program and an affiliate program. It has a tournament director certification program and it has a national rating system. Those are the tools we need to organize and direct events! I do not ask the USCF to come to my area to organize National or Regional events, I do the opposite – I bid on those events and organize them for the USCF. Many others do likewise. I do not expect the USCF to take the financial risk. That is my job. If I do not think it is a good idea for me, why would I ask my organization (the USCF) to take that risk?
We do have Regional events sponsored by the USCF – the USAT. Inasmuch as those are part of a National program, those regional events are organized and directed by people like you and me, not the USCF office. The US Amateur Team - South (USATS) is organized and directed by Harvey Lerman in Florida. Since no one else in your region is willing to do it, he does it year after year. Anyone else could bid on it. You could have it in Alabama! That way, you could “test the waters” and find out if it would be a good idea to have another Regional event in your area.
I am all for providing opportunities for our players, in areas big and small. If we really think that having another set of regional events is such a good idea, why wait until the USCF is in great financial posture? We know our areas better than our people at the USCF office. Why not now? The more events we have, the more our organization benefits…
I think were we disagree is that it is possible that USCF could be helpful to some organizers. And I think a proactive approach might be worth a try when the situation allows. If it doesn’t work then of course try something else.
I am not sure why the focus on the finances. In my idealize model of the USCF it is able to handle the finance should that be a problem. Although I certainly understand the proposed tournaments should be paid by the players through EF (Ideally true of all tournaments). After all we don’t want the tournaments to drag the USCF down.
Private regional tournaments are of course to be encouraged. I am not interested in discouraging those.
Never said I was. If an opportunity presents itself to participate in such then I might. But again I must say neither one of us are the issue at hand.
In addition to the US Amateur Teams, the US Amateur is also held as a set of regional events, though it isn’t as well known and doesn’t draw as well as the USAT does, especially the USATE.
There’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg relationship between having successful events in an area and having an active player base in that area. Attempting to jump-start activity in an area with a big event is risky and may not be the best way to get things started, even if money wasn’t an issue, which it unfortunately almost always is.
Unfortunately, many, particularly less experienced organizers, think that the solution is to have the USCF office do the work. The answer is for all of us to get involved and implement the ideas that we have and not expect the USCF to do it for us! When we are the ones at financial risk, we are more likely to think things through better. And, as both of us already mentioned, there are, indeed, USCF regional events available and anyone is welcome to bid on them.
sigh. No I am not saying “USCF Please do all the work”. But instead saying “When able considering doing some tournament work”. Although I understand why you thought that at first I am puzzled why you don’t get that the third time. Also I conceded that I thought a chess server was a higher priority.
Well never mind. If you want to believe I want the USCF do all the work be my guest. You are very wrong though. Just keep in mind this is just a forum nothing more. Do try to understand the purpose of a forum is provide information or exchange ideas. Not to reform Chess in America. That is the job of the USCF and many other organizations to do that.
But interesting points about the USAT tournaments. Thanks for that to both of you.
BTW Please get in your mind that I am heavily involved with the local and state chess organization. Which isn’t always tournaments btw. I even offered just recently to drive 170 miles to help an organizer with scholastics should he want that. And I have financed tournaments very recently. Even gasp lost money and made money.
Also please be aware that I have been on/off with Chess as a player and officer/td for a very long time. A little more as a player then organizer. In fact we are talking about before Fischer was World Champion as a player…
I am not bragging and not interested in praise but telling all interested to be very careful about your assumptions about people you really don’t know. Assumptions about people are not unusual on a forum but those assumptions are usually invalid in my experience. Or possibly people have a hard time figuring me out . I am including non-Chess forums in my experience mostly.
Be at peace. I appreciate the discussion despite the invalid assumptions.
. I am including non-Chess forums in my experience mostly.