AGM Nominees Manifesto

Retd.LoyolaCpt

My fellow ICU members,

As you may be aware the AGM will be held on Sunday 11th October 2015commencing at 11.00 am in the Academy Plaza Hotel, Findlater Place.

I will be seeking election to the role of Chairperson of the ICU and I want to share with you what I think the ICU should be, what it should do for its members, and the environment it should help create.

I'm tired of hearing that chess is "too unpopular" or that "this is how it's always been". I want to see Irish chess reach its full potential, and not by scrounging for cash and depending largely on the subscriptions of members - but by offering legitimate opportunities to invest in Irish chess and reap the rewards of those investments. I believe that the best way to achieve this goal, is by creating a Fundraising Committee made up of members with experience in sourcing funds. I want to funnel these investments back into the game via tournaments, clubs and our players.

From day one, I want to support tournaments and organisers, continue and expand upon the work done in bringing Irish juniors to where they are now, develop lasting and strong relationships with the MCU, LCU and UCU as well as the clubs of Connaught but also tackle areas that have fallen through the cracks in previous "5 year plans". I've been a member of the ICU for two thirds of my life, and have seen the damaging affects these cracks have had, taking some of our most promising players. Women's and university chess is a linked issue in some ways. I, myself, came through the junior ranks playing against many female juniors, only to see these promising juniors (some even with Olympiad experience) move away from chess at the third level stage. This poses a dangerous threat to our progress with so many promising male and female juniors coming through.

Lastly, if I am to represent the ICU, I would hope to head a committee that acts with total transparency. This is the only way that our provincial unions, clubs and individual members can offer advice, constructive criticism and feedback. In the interest of transparency, we plan to publish a monthly summary of executive activity, as well as news and upcoming events.

Our ticket is the following:

Chairperson: John McMorrow mcmorrowjohn@gmail.com

Vice Chairperson: GM Alex Baburin baburin@gmail.com

Treasurer: Shane Sheedy ssheedy@tcd.ie

Ratings Officer: David Murray davidmurray11@gmail.com

Development Officer: Rory Delaney rdelane@tcd.ie

Public Relations Officer: Carl Jackson carljackson2727@gmail.com

Tournament Director: Gerry Graham gerrygraham@eircom.net

Membership Officer: John Cassidy

Women's Officer: Hannah Lowry-O'Reilly

Our Non-executive candidates:
WebMaster: Jonathan O'Connor
Arbitration: Ted Jennings
Selections: Daniel Lynch (incumbent)

I hope to see you at the AGM.

Kind Regards,
John McMorrow

Retd.LoyolaCpt

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday. Should be a great day with the AGM at 11am, followed by the blitz at 2.30, rugby and football.

Tychoo

Best of luck john.