Recognition for Chess in Scotland

[Jonathan Edwards]

I'll try not to turn this into a rant.

Basically, I think that chess doesn't receive the recognition it deserves in Scotland... I'm sure this was exactly what was discussed when looking into funding possibilities.

The reason I'm bringing this up again is that I'm treasurer for Edinburgh University Chess Club and we are going to be unable to defend our BUCA title in 2013 due to financial reasons. If such an important University fails to recognise chess then what hope is there? The only reason we entered a team this year was that we managed to secure sponsorship to cover the £200 team entry fee from a private company.

We then approached the University for funding as we are now British champions and received no financial support. OK, fair enough, they gave us a pat on the back and a mention in monthly uni magazine (only doing so because Raj who works at the Uni spoke to the Rector I believe). If we were a sports club in the Union's eyes then we would receive funding... We are seen as less than clubs such as Ultimate Frisbee (no disrespect meant!) who get all their expenses paid for.

[Andy Howie]

Jonathan

Can you contact me privately about this.

Andy

[Mike Mitchell]

Dare I ask what's involved with "Ultimate Frisbee" - and does EU really have a club for it? Bizarre.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Dare I ask what's involved with "Ultimate Frisbee" - and does EU really have a club for it? Bizarre.

Ultimate Frisbee is genuinely recognised as a sport. There is a club at EU for it and they enter various tournaments receiving funding from the sports association - which is fair enough.

It's just the way chess is seen in Scotland. Go to China and the top Universities recognise chess as a sport. If you reach a certain FIDE rating you get entry into any University you like =).

[Clement Sreeves]

Ultimate Frisbee starts to sound quite reasonable once you realise that the university has a Quidditch team.

[Adam Bremner]

Ultimate Frisbee starts to sound quite reasonable once you realise that the university has a Quidditch team.

In case anyone thinks that is a joke, it is 100% genuine.

The problem isn't with one University but with the image as a whole, and I do wonder what it is going to take to change this. The probability is, unless chess becomes an Olympic/Winter Olympic Sport (OK it has IOC representation, but no-one really seems to care), nothing will change the current mindset.

[Mike Mitchell]

OK, I have satisfied my curiosity using those fonts of all knowledge; wikipedia (which tells me there are 4.9m Ultimate Frisbee players in the US), and facebook, where the Holyrood Hippogriffs have their own facebook page.

I am flabbergasted and am beginning to wonder if I am already old-fashioned as I approach early middle age.

Btw I agree wholeheartedly with the comments regarding the standing of chess in Scotland, and am not trying to divert the thread. The frustration is felt by many chess players, myself included. How to compete with these other minority sports / clubs, never mind more mainstream activities? While it seems that chess and other sports are clearly not incompatible with each other in terms of participants, when it comes to funding the situation is very different.

[Andy Howie]

Without turning this into a political debate, I have spoken to ministers about this. The main issue is that it would really need to change in the whole of the UK. Depending how the vote goes in 2014 it may be easier for us to be recognised as a sport as it could be a single government we would have to deal with.

I firmly believe that we should take the Ioc ruling, that chess is indeed a sport. I already have the backing of Fide and the Ecu for attempting the change.

[Derek Howie]

Without turning this into a political debate, I have spoken to ministers about this. The main issue is that it would really need to change in the whole of the UK. Depending how the vote goes in 2014 it may be easier for us to be recognised as a sport as it could be a single government we would have to deal with.

Another pro-independence post from a CS director

[Andrew McHarg]

Without turning this into a political debate, I have spoken to ministers about this. The main issue is that it would really need to change in the whole of the UK. Depending how the vote goes in 2014 it may be easier for us to be recognised as a sport as it could be a single government we would have to deal with.

Another pro-independence post from a CS director

Surely good that a CS Director has taken it upon themselves to speak to ministers about the issue and try to work out what can be done to help? If the outcome of his enquiries is that such a change would need to be UK-wide then it's not a pro-independence post for the sake of a pro-independence post, it's a simple fact: dealing with only one government would be easier than dealing with two.