THE PRESIDENT’S ROLE


1. In the Stockport and District Chess League, the President traditionally has a dual role, also combining the functions of Chairman. This description is therefore written for both roles.

2. The paramount consideration of the President is the well being of the League, and the promotion of chess in the League and the area that it covers.

3. The President will normally chair the Annual General Meeting, the Annual Fixtures Meeting, and any Extraordinary General Meetings, and therefore must be conversant and happy with agendas, venues, dates and times etc.

4. A primary duty of the President is to ensure that a full committee is established: that each committee member is capable of fulfilling his or her role; that committee members work together in harmony to ensure that business of the League is conducted in a satisfactory and timely manner. The President should ensure, as far as reasonably practical, that the Committee is representative of the whole League. He should periodically review the composition of the Committee, and recommend beneficial changes if necessary.

5. From time to time exceptional issues may arise which cannot be delegated to any other single committee member or group of members. In such cases, and particularly if prompt action is required, the President may have to act on his own behalf. However, it should be noted that the President has no long term authority independent of the Committee, and so should preferably seek agreement in advance, or at the very least provide explanation as soon as possible thereafter.

6. The President should be well versed in the traditions and practices of the Stockport and District League, and of the wider aspects of the game. He ought to be exemplary in conduct, impartial in decision making, courteous in disposition, easy of address, steady and firm in principle and well capable of managing the business of the League. His tenure should be for a limited period only, and, in any event, only continuing as long as he retains the support of the members and Committee. He should consider himself as a servant of the League.



THE LEAGUE SECRETARY’S ROLE


1. Communicate with the current League Officers and Club Secretaries. Use email ‘read receipts’ as a check when appropriate.

2. Book meeting rooms for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Annual Fixtures Meeting (AFM). An Extraordinary General Meeting might be called, but this is rare.

3. Prepare the notices and agendas of the AGM and AFM, in consultation with the President.

4. Take minutes of the meetings.

5. Maintain a master copy of the Constitution and Rules, with voted rule changes.

6. Circulate Minutes and Constitution and Rules for League Officers to check and then circulate to Officers and Club Secretaries.

7. At the start of the season, compile up-to-date details of league officials, disputes sub-committee, and clubs. Send these to the Website Manager and Handbook Editor. (Clubs can email their details before the Fixtures Meeting).

8. Buy Stockport League Rapidplay Trophies for presentation at Stockport Chess Club’s annual Stockport Rapidplay Tournament. Deliver trophies. (Treasurer will reimburse cost).

9. Pass on to successor helpful details, such as about room booking and purchasing of trophies, and templates for documents.

10. Manage other external correspondence (infrequent).



THE TREASURER’S ROLE


1. Collect the subscriptions from each club and deposit them in the Building Society.

2. Chase up any unpaid subscriptions during the year and before the AGM.

3. Reimburse Clubs or Officials by cheque for any valid receipted expenditure on League business, such as production of Handbooks or Cup engraving.

4. Draw up the Accounts for the League on an annual basis for submission at the AGM. This includes an Income Statement, and a Statement of Financial Position (aka Profit & Loss, and Balance Sheet).

5. Go through the Accounts with the League Auditor before the AGM, to show how figures are prepared, for example show receipts, and match teams and clubs with subscription figures.

6. Give a short presentation of the Figures at the AGM, and answer any questions from the membership.

7. Work out an appropriate value for the Annual subscription for each team based on the based on the events of the year (usually a figure to keep the reserves approximately the same as the previous year.

8. Agree any expenditure with Officials on League business as far as possible.

9. Attend AGM in May and Fixtures Meeting in September.

10. Keep the Building Society passbook safe (together with receipts and documentation)



THE FIXTURES SECRETARY’S ROLE


1. To oversee the allocation of teams to divisions at The Fixtures Meeting.

2. To organise the draw for the cup competitions at The Fixtures Meeting

3. To collate the league fixtures following the Fixtures Meeting.

4. To pass to the website manager and handbook editor detailed fixture lists for league and cup matches as soon as possible following The Fixtures Meeting.

5. To receive, record and collate results throughout the season, checking that teams are complying with the rules regarding eligibility, board order, dates etc. To take action as necessary where breaches are found. To forward results to the website manager on a regular basis.

6. To chase overdue results.

7. To accept new player registrations during the season when the Registration Secretary is unavailable.

8. To oversee the rearrangement of fixtures postponed for whatever reason.

9. To receive notice of any disputes and to activate the Disputes Committee if necessary. To supply that committee with such relevant information as in his/her possession.

10. To produce a report for the AGM of the season’s matches and to supply details of league champions and cup winners.



THE REGISTRATION SECRETARY’S ROLE


1. Be a point of contact for club secretaries and captains to send their club’s registration list at the start of the season and any updates throughout the season.

2. At the start of the season compile a spreadsheet containing the registration list for each club with the ECF reference, membership number and grade for each player. Send all these details to the Website Manager, Fixtures Secretary and Handbook Editor.

3. Maintain the registration list spreadsheet, amending it when updates received for new players. Forward these updates to the Website Manager and Fixtures Secretary.

4. Add the January grades for each player when published and forward to the Website Manager.



THE GRADING OFFICER’S ROLE


1. Submit League game results to ECF for grading in January and at the end of the season.

The process for this is -

Receive game results and Players list from website manager

Format these for ECF input

Run ECF Result-File Checker and note output on players' names

Resolve any errors or queries on players' names, including ECF reference number OR that player is new to ECF.

When ECF Result-File Checker says acceptable, then submit file (cover, results and players) to ECF Grading Officer.


2. The feedback from ECF Grading Officer includes a report on games for non-ECF members. This is used by the Treasurer for game fees.

3. Assist the Registration Officer in registering players, especially those new to the league. Any queries must be resolved before the ECF submission.


NOTE

The grading process has completely changed in 2013/14. Now the website manager provides the basic grading input in ECF format, which is a big time saving over the old method. Now, the Grading Officer only needs a basic knowledge of Excel.



THE WEBSITE MANAGER’S ROLE


1. To prepare the site for the beginning of each new season, by archiving the previous season's results & tables, and creating pages for the new season's fixtures and registered players lists, using information supplied by the Fixtures Secretary and Registration Secretary.

2. To update the fixture list pages and registered players page when required, using information supplied by the Fixtures Secretary and Registration Secretary.

3. To process results supplied by the Fixtures Secretary in a timely fashion, so that the results pages, tables and performance statistics pages are updated.

4. To ensure that Club information, League rules and League Officials' details on the site are kept up to date.

5. To publish Meeting reports on the site in a timely fashion (AGMs, AFMs).

6. To investigate and fix any reported bugs or data inaccuracies on the site.

7. To display information on the site from time to time that may be of interest to members, or required to assist the smooth running of the League.

8. To act on any reasonable requests from members or organisations, such as giving publicity for congresses.

9. To keep a backup copy of the website

10.To maintain documentation for the website to facilitate handover to future website managers.