Has anyone heard anything to the extent that the USCF is planning to require that all TD’s require state association membership to participate in rated tournaments?
Another TD here in Missouri told me that he heard this rumour. In 2006, I stopped requiring MCA memberships at my events due to several reasons that I won’t elaborate on here.
If there is any truth to this, I’m afraid that it will do more to discourage than encourage both player and TD/Organizer membership, but maybe I’m mistaken. What do you think?
As chair of TDCC and a member of the rules committee I have also heard of no such rule. Perhaps some delegate at the convention in Chicago will make a motion to that effect; however, I can not imagine that it will pass.
If this had been a poker game, I think I would have successfully called someones bluff. I’m trying not to get sucked into the politics of Missouri chess, which as you eluded to has had a terrible history. I expect that other such tactics will follow, but I’m confident that I’ll still be standing when the smoke clears.
As a member of the board of the MCA, I think it would be a stupid idea to FORCE tournament directors to require state-affiliated memberships to play. Our goal as the governing body of Missouri is to provide incentives that encourage TDs to require MCA memberships. If WE fail to entice TDs to do that, then we’ve failed at our mission.
I was not involved in the Missouri chess scene when the political battles were being waged, and I intend for them to stay gone. We have some great state-wide organization (Al, Ken, etc) and we’re definitely on the up-swing.
USCF could require that the ad states that state membership is required. They could enforce that, but of course they couldn’t force follow through by the affiliate. That would be the worst of all worlds, as players might stay away because of a requirement that wouldn’t even be enforced. It’s hard for me to fathom what the objective of such a plan would be anyway. It’s good to here it’s not really in the works.
A few tournaments do require state membership (e.g. about a dozen a year in Illinois so that the tournaments count for ICA Tour points). USCF policy already is that any state membership requirement must be announced in the TLA.
This varies widely by state. There is no USCF policy other than that required memberships (like any other payments) must be announced in the TLA. (There is Grand Prix requirement that there can be no additional charge over $25, but I don’t think state chapter charges this much.)
Furthermore, a few state associations seem to have their organizers hornswoggled into believing that the state association has the authority to require state membership in USCF tournaments in their state. Not so.
I don’t quite follow you. Of course the state affiliate can’t require organizers to charge state membership. In some states, however (Southern California and Massachusetts are the ones I know best), the state chapter is made up of the major organizers, who choose to require state membership. Frankly, I am skeptical that a state association can operate successfully without such an arrangement, but chacun a son gout.