COMMUNICATION
Cl Organization
Cl.l Top-class sport and recreational sport
Top-class sport and recreational sport are often worlds apart. But this does not always have to be the case. Of course you do not have to bother a seven
year-old girl who attends lessons and plays a weekly game at the school's chess club with information about grandmaster games. But a simul with twenty other children against a strong former student of the school can be a lot of fun.
Children will be amazed that such a boy or girl can play so many opponents at a time. Parents who come to watch will also think of it as a marvellous achievement. Their amazement will grow when they watch a blitz game - they never imagined that chess pieces could fly over the board so quickly! In The Netherlands people have never played chess as massively as when Max Euwe became World Champion. People clung to the radio massively. We are talking about a time when there weren't any computers - there wasn't even tel evision.
Even though hardly any Dutchman will understand the difference in level between the World Champion and the Dutch number 1000, still having a champion can stimulate many people to start practising a sport. Although, people are not always up to date everywhere. Once grandmaster Artur Yusupov, a member of Schaakstad Apeldoorn, visited the town house of his home town in Germany. He mentioned his name to the civil servant, who frowned: 'Yusupov, Yusupov ... , that's a well-known name.' A chess grandmaster nods politely in such cases. 'Ah, now I remember', said the civil servant. 'Of course - you are the husband of the coach of the school's chess team that took second place in the national championships!'
Many top-class chess players enjoy the experience of now and then giving workshops to well-motivated youth players. This not only applies to top players at the local club, but also to international masters and grandmasters. In order to analyse a game, an interest in children is the chief didactic prerequisite. If necessary, a more didactically experienced person can be asked to assist. The children will have a field day. Actually, top players are more often than not willing to do this. It's just that nobody asks them. In fact, that was exactly what grandmaster Jan Timman replied when asked why he was hardly involved in the education of young top talents. The authors of this book know from their own experience that he was already prepared to give workshops years ago.
For talented youth players, teaching is a good possibility to develop
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communication skills. It also forces them to reflect more closely on the matter at hand.
By the engagement of stronger club players, masters, and talented youth players for regular trainings or guest trainings, more youth players will get the opportunity to further their development.
For years Apeldoorn has known a primary school competition, in which more than twenty primary schools play against one or more other teams. This competition was an initiative by a few enthusiastic chess club members, like Hessel Visser. In the past, once in a while a talent would break through, but he would have to find his way to the top (or not) all by himself, with only his parents' support. After Marc Jonker, Renate Limbach (as trainers), and Karel van Delft (as an organizer) had set up a top training programme for youth players, many Apeldoorn youths developed quickly and achieved regional and national titles. This has resulted in a dozen or so players having a 2000 rating - or much higher - who play in the foremost teams of Schaakstad Apeldoorn today.
The trainings did not get off the ground without a struggle. A number of club members feared that top-class sport would be at the expense of the pleasant atmosphere at the chess clubs. Practical experience shows that a number of youth players who received extra trainings in the past have by now become active chess organizers. A number of these former youth players, such as Martin van Dommelen, Stefan Kuipers, Sjef Rijnaarts and Roeland Pruijssers, give trainings themselves today.
C1.2 Chess club or foundation
Dutch chess clubs often have a weekly club competition, and club teams participate in competitions against other clubs. Sometimes there is an entertaining evening with, for example, a blitz tournament. Clubs have -less and less - club bulletins, and more and more clubs have their own websites. Many clubs have a youth section of their own. Many of them organize tournaments where players from other clubs are welcome. A limited number of clubs play on top level, with or without the support of a sponsor. Here and there, chess foundations are established by people with ambitions that reach beyond those of the local club(s) . Some clubs cooperate under the umbrella of a foundation for part of their activities, like tournaments and trainings.
One reason for establishing a foundation may be that many fellow club members aren't interested in more than their weekly game. Sometimes they fear the financial risks of extra activities. Often they just prefer things to stay as they are. A foundation with a few enthusiastic people often turns out to be more decisive than club boards, which have often grow indolent over the years and do not have a clear vision of their possibilities and their future. It can be finanCially advisable to separate the relatively large tournament budgets from the modest club funds. Obviously it is a good thing for chess clubs and foundations to cooperate where possible.
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Armen Hachijan during a club evening of Schaakstad Apeldoorn. (photo Cocky van Delft)
Karin Pruijssers during a club evening of Schaakstad Apeldoorn. (photo Cocky van Delft)
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C1.3 Policy plan
In a policy plan, an organizaton writes down its aims and how it wants to achieve them. This can be combined with an organizational set-up including a division of tasks. For example, a club can make a policy plan which states that it aims to realize top-class sport, recreational sport, talent development and promotion of their sport. This involves a wide array of activities. These can be put on a list, which also contains the names of the responsible board members and other staff members who are responsible for the activities. Using such a policy plan, the board can evaluate regularly and give account at general meetings.
The chairman or the secretary can keep an eye on the day-to-day proceedings.
The advantage of a policy plan with an added organizational scheme is that the activities are clearly structured, the various responsibilities are put on paper, and if something goes wrong this will quickly become clear.
Cl.4 Costs
In comparison with many physical sports, chess is a cheap sport. Weekly club evenings and walk-in hours for novice youth players are not expensive. Talent development, however, does have a price. That's normal. Why should it be free of charge? Nevertheless, where chess is concerned, some club members and parents have a different opinion. They are, of course, fully entitled to this, but as a rule their objections will hamper youth players in their development. For the organization of good trainings and the achievement of good results, good trainers are needed. And they tend to cost money. Why should a chess trainer earn less than a music teacher or a tennis coach? And an ambitious youth player also needs books and a chess computer program.
Cl.S Volunteers
With all kinds of sports, many tasks are performed by volunteers, and only trainers receive payment. Some organizations suffer from a lack of volunteers, whereas for other organizations this is much less of a problem. The difference is not only a question of 'good or bad luck'. It turns out that every organization that has a sufficient or even a large number of volunteers, fulfils a few specific conditions. It is important that one single person or a small group of people act(s) as (an) enthusiastic pioneer(s). Volunteers like to be taken seriously by their organization. They do a better job performing their tasks if they feel that their opinions are listened to, and if they themselves bear the responsibility of giving shape and content to their tasks. More people will be willing to volunteer if their tasks are clearly described, and if a club asks them to do activities they are interested in, and/or which do not take too much time. It is a good thing to express your appreciation for the volunteers with a nice activity. This may be, for instance, a simul with a strong player, or a fun tournament between them.
SBSA was once involved in the organization of a tournament where supervisors of the more than twenty school chess clubs in Apeldoorn took part. Volunteers can also have limitations or bad character traits. They may forget things or be a little casual with their appointments. It is fatal to a club, and certainly to top-class sport, if volunteers view their activities as being free of obligations.
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It is important that someone bears the final responsibility for each activity. In consultation with volunteers, he can see to it that appointments are kept, and communicate regularly by email or telephone, or verbally.
L. to r. Sipke Ernst, Manuel Bosboom, Arthur van de Oudeweetering and Merijn van Delft win the national KNSB cup for Schaakstad Apeldoorn in Groningen.
C1.6 Calendar
Planning activities per year is convenient. It enables everyone to know timely what is on the programme. It also enables a good changeover of activities. It is useful if everyone involved knows where they can consult the calendar - on a clubsite, for example.
Cl.7 Evaluation, second opinion
An organization will function better if the board evaluates its activities regularly.
This involves making an inventory of experiences and opinions, and establishing what can be improved the next time around. It will lead to a better commitment if all the staff members of an organization get the chance to give their opinion and see that the board takes them seriously. A board should also explicitly involve youth players in the youth policy of the organization. Evaluation can be done in different ways: in passing, during brief conversations, in meetings, or via inquiries.
Anyone can make a mistake. Therefore, people who perform a task do well to
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regularly ask others for a second opinion. For example, it is not a lot of work to have someone else read through a press release via email before you send it around. It may contain spelling mistakes, or the author's intentions may be unclearly formulated, or he may forget to mention the time schedule or the playing venue. The same goes, for instance, for tournament scenarios or training programmes. Never forget that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A sound board is also useful. In SBSA's early years Petra Stellwagen, Daniel Stellwagen's mother, actively thought along with the foundation via email about the development of activities.
Analysis in club venue 'De Brinkhorst' after the m atch Schaakstad Apeldoorn - HSG.
C2 Communication
C2.1 The importance of communication
A chess organization that wants to function well, should communicate well. This should be taken into account with all its activities. It is rather unfortunate if at the start of a Premier League game two boards remain unoccupied, if these players do not take the trouble to call the team captain and the latter does not have their mobile phone numbers at hand. Appointments about such things are no luxury. Good communication leads to better involvement. A club board confers with the members at the annual general meeting.
But a chairman can also occasionally make a short speech at the start of
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a club evening, bringing the members up to date on topical issues in a few sentences. Bulletins, a website and email newsletters are different means to involve members and other interested people in your organization. The board of a club can hang announcements and information about tournaments on a notice board which also displays the club competition results. Good communication is two-way traffic: you tell people things and you listen to them. Organizers will gather a lot of information if they regularly ask committed people for their opinions.
L. to r. Arthur van de Oudeweetering, Lucien van Beek, Merijn van Delft and Manuel Bosboom win the Dutch b litz team cham pion ships for Schaakstad Apeldoorn in The Hague.
C2.2 Inquiry
With an inquiry, a chess club board can gather information from its members.
This can also be a useful instrument for the development of an active youth section. Since a club board can bring all kinds of questions to the attention of youth players and parents with such an inquiry, this also has the effect of an activating research project: by presenting possibilities you will hand people ideas. In the appendix section we have included an inquiry that was once held at De Schaakmaat when we were setting up a youth training programme there.
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C2.3 Contacts with the media
Via media like radio, tv, newspapers, local papers and Internet sites, a chess organization can generate free publicity and in this way involve more people in its chess activities. Sponsors are always interested in publicity. A tried
and-tested recipe to get sponsors mentioned in the media is by connecting the sponsor's name to that of a club or an event. Schaakstad Apeldoorn, for example, has acted under the artist's names of BIS and Homburg Apeldoorn. In full, the Apeldoorn weekend tournament is called ROC Aventus Open Apeldoorn Chess Championship. A chess organization can generate exposure in the media via contacts with journalists. It is practical to first make a press release, then contact journalists in person or via telephone, and then send them the press release. It is important for an organizer to think about the question why a journalist should want to receive his information, and to keep his message concise. A journalist will only be interested if he thinks that his readers or listeners will be interested. This may be the case if, for instance, a well-known chess master takes part in the tournament. A journalist is always looking for news, that is: information that is new and interesting for the public.
C2.4 Press release
A press release should be short and sweet. The receiver should get an answer to six questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. The information should be actual. A press release should contain information about the sender, his phone number and email address. This allows a journalist to contact him without trouble if he wants to have more information. Producing pieces of beautiful prose doesn't make much sense. Usually, journalists write down their own version of a story, though editors from local papers sometimes copy the delivered texts in full. It is wise to timely contact journalists personally (two weeks before the event) to make practical appointments about the sending of a press release or a report on an event. It is practical to make a press list (with names of contact persons where possible) of media that may be interested in chess activities.
C2.S Email newsletters
Via email messages, an organization can keep in contact with relations in a quick and cheap way. An example is SBSA's weekly email newsletter. It has a standard format. On top is the SBSA logo and the heading 'SBSA email newsletter', followed by the number of the newsletter and the date. The next line mentions that earlier email newsletters can be read on the foundation's website www.sbsa.nl. For non-Dutch-speaking relations, a summary in English is given first. This is followed by a table of contents and a list of attachments. These attachments are mostly pgn files with interesting games that are connected with an article in the email newsletter. The editor of the SBSA email newsletters is SBSA's secretary Karel van Delft. He writes a number of texts himself, but every year there are around 70 different people who also send in texts, photos and games. Every now and then the editor will slightly edit these texts to make them more reader-friendly.
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The articles are presented in the order indicated by the table of contents. tournament reports to results and tournament announcements with lists of applied participants. The reader can quickly find his way in the newsletters
The newsletters keep SBSA's relations up-to-date about events and developments. There are around 600 recipients, about one-third of whom are texts, pictures, films, game collections, and tournament calendars. The webmaster may be a member of the board, or a volunteer who simply enjoys
C2.7 Flyer, poster
Flyers and posters are approved means of attracting participants to join activities - even more so if they are made up in colour, with an attractive illustration.
It is easy to make a flyer on A4 format on a pc. Such a flyer should contain information, a contact address, possibly a logo, and sometimes a picture to attract attention. Excess information is not advisable. The marketing formula AIDA is a good guide for design and content. The formula stands for Attention (which it should attract), Interest (which it should arouse), Desire (it must be desired) and Action (it should inform which action can be undertaken to make use of the offer). Chess organizers can also design a poster themselves on a computer - they are often made on A3 format. It can be put on paper either by printing it out yourself, or by handing in a digital file on a usb stick or a CD-ROM in a copy shop. Organizers of bigger tournaments often engage professional printing companies, but this is only possible with a sufficient sponsoring budget. Spreading flyers and posters can be done by fellow club members. The organizers can hand out the information at tournaments and clubs. They can, for instance, pin up posters in libraries, at tournaments, in community centres, on the windows of private houses, in shops, and in schools.
C2.8 Making a CD-ROM or a DVD
A chess organization can make a report on CD-ROM or DVD about a jubilee evening, a chess tournament, a workshop day, or various other activities. One disc can contain pictures, films, pgn files with game collections, and texts. A short preface may be given in a Word file. There is a lot of free-of-charge study material on the Internet. A trainer can gather useful material and put this on a disc for his young pupils. With software that can be downloaded free-of-charge on the Internet, a picture can be made into a box sleeve. In the same way it is possible to make a sticker to put on the DVD or CD-ROM. The making of such a disc doesn't have to cost more than one euro apiece.
C2.9 Club bulletin
A club bulletin is an opportunity to involve members more strongly with their club. It can contain actual communications, but also enjoyable stories and reports on competitions. The club bulletin can also contain actual information about, for example, the club board, membership dues, a calendar of activities, or other pieces of information. Club bulletins on paper are increasingly giving
A club bulletin is an opportunity to involve members more strongly with their club. It can contain actual communications, but also enjoyable stories and reports on competitions. The club bulletin can also contain actual information about, for example, the club board, membership dues, a calendar of activities, or other pieces of information. Club bulletins on paper are increasingly giving