Richardson/Spens 2014-15

[Keith Rose]

If you are a Richardson or Spens player and want to know what changes are afoot for this season, wonder no more. There are a number of changes to the rules of both, some of which are only of interest to captains but briefly:

Richardson and Spens (and Rosebowl)
• will be FIDE rated;
• Bona fide criteria have been clarified;
• Matches can be deferred from the scheduled date by a maximum of 8 days;
• Default arrival time is now specified - 30 minutes;
• Home teams are no longer advised to provide refreshments - this was never compulsory, only recommended; quality/quantity provided was variable and it added an additional financial burden to clubs;
• Captains must report teams and results within 48 hours and in a way that all will be revealed to everyone very quickly;

Richardson only - qualification criteria and procedure for the Euro Club Cup are now defined.

Spens - will now be five-board matches, not six. This is to enable one-car trips if desired.

Copies of the new rules have been sent to the captains of last year and can be downloaded from http://www.chessscotland.com/membership/...Events.htm

[amuir]

We are going to use Grangemouth again for finals venue as it has a lift for disabled. I haven't been for a while. Can anyone remember if the main hall has space for all 3 finals - 20 boards - so we don't need the smaller Inchyra Room ?

[Ianbrownlee]

Andy
I'm hopefully going there either this Wednesday or next Wednesday to check it out for suitability for disability . I remember the downstairs rooms either on that venue or next door would be adequate . I'm also informed the lift to the 1st floor is working but I'm not sure it would be compliant in the event of a fire or controlled evacuation. I'll let you know once I've seen it. I need to contact Grangemouth Chess Club so I don't turn up unannounced. I know the fire exit on the existing room is certainly not adequate to evacuate anyone wheel chair bound but I'm sure downstairs would be OK

[amuir]

Ian, Keith said to book the Main Room so we are currently upstairs with Inchyra too if too small. Never played downstairs before. Grangemouth contact is Emma Allardyce. Let me know how you get on.

[Ianbrownlee]

upstairs in my opinion is no use as the only fire exit is a round metal spiral staircase which obviously cannot be used by disabled people, especially wheelchair bound people. The lift is part of the main entrance which would possibly be blocked in the event of a fire etc. I also believe the lift has to be fire resistant rated which I'm sure may be the case I may be pedantic in this but this is what happens when fide guidelines come into play. In my opinion one of the downstairs rooms would be better or least in the event of a disabled participant a standby room would be preferable, possibly as part of the main foyer or in the café itself if available. There are always options and solutions. If no disabled participants then we're fine. Have you Grace's contact details?

[amuir]

Ian, could you please liaise with <!-- e --><a href="mailto:Emma.Allardyce@falkirk.gov.uk">Emma.Allardyce@falkirk.gov.uk</a><!-- e --> regarding the booking. I have booked the main hall for 25 April : 12.30-6.30pm because youth club meet in the evenings but it sounds like this needs changed. Please copy myself and Keith in on any email correspondence. Thanks.

[Patrick McGovern]

are there any players with physical disabilities in the finals? hard to predict this i guess. why not wait until you see who is in the final? provisionally book space downstairs so they can be accommodated downstairs as a solution.

[George Murphy]

Ian,

I don’t think you are being pedantic at all. Fire resistant lift? Isn’t the usual advice in case of Fire not to use lifts at all? Loss of electricity supply?

[My work experience, of course, was more related to multi-storeyed buildings.]

George

[amuir]

Rooms have to be booked well in advance. It is acceptable to me for upstairs venues e.g. Grangemouth & Edinburgh to continue to host Richardson matches with a proviso that if a team has a disabled player they must inform their opponents 3 weeks in advance and that this board must be played at a separate venue in advance of the match. However it is up to Keith as ID to set the rules with guidance from Ian and he might not like splitting a match in this way.

[Ianbrownlee]

are there any players with physical disabilities in the finals?

There could easily have been as there were two disabled players (one requiring wheelchair access) playing in the Nancy Elder and there was one pool player in the Spens who is unable to climb stairs

Loss of electricity supply?

I think its more to do with Oxygen supply and being trapped but I'm sure your point is also relevant

I don’t think you are being pedantic at all. Fire resistant lift? Isn’t the usual advice in case of Fire not to use lifts at all? Loss of electricity supply?

thanks for the vote of confidence George My understanding is that lifts are vetted and in general not able to be used in the case of a fire. I'm surprised at this room being available as the only exit (apart from the fire exit) leads to both the lift and the internal stairwell. As I've already stated the only other exit I am aware of is the fire exit which can only be used by able bodied people. Perhaps there is another exit I am not aware of. From Fide's I'm not sure what would happen if the lift became available say three weeks before the finals or sooner and a wheelchair user was intending to use the lift. If I may, the way the Nancy Elder tournament was played out, a wheelchair user could have played at this years final. The Nancy Elder is not FIDE rated but the other tournaments are therefore accepting the FIDE guidelines does take on an onus of responsibility separate from the local authority. Remember it only takes one disabled person to be unable to participate in an event and then the whole tournament does not get FIDE rated, not just that round.
I think in general there has to be an "what if" policy in place, perhaps as a general rule policy play all FIDE rated games at ground level with suitable access. If games are played on the first floor, then considerable thought into playing conditions for disable players, particularly wheelchair access should take place.

I haven't had much feedback from other clubs about disabled members requirements although perhaps this should take place at regional level where chess leagues manage their own tournaments