What should the ICU website do?

HaraldSchmidt · 28-03-2016 1:48pm

Calendar is back on the menu.

sinbad68 · 31-03-2016 11:05am

HaraldSchmidt wrote: »

Calendar is back on the menu.

Yes I see it now

, we both must have had an old cache in our PC's, that why we couldn't see it earlier.

sinbad68 · 20-04-2016 3:24pm

Several events are now being advertised in ICU calendar in Irish language . This is Ireland and it's perfectly fine to advertise events in Irish language if organiser chooses to, but many ICU members can't read Irish and it would be good if organiser/ICU were more inclusive and English translation was also available so all members could understand, Also there is NO info about the format of advertised competitions, you need to ring a mobile phone number to get info!. I think webmaster should have a quick look at material sent to him to be posted in calendar section and if Not enough info as in this cases ( entry fee, age sections, time format, number of rounds ) the event should Not be advertised until sufficient info is also provided in the organiser's link.

I don't want to get into politics of it, but the fact that English is the primary language spoken on this island has been great help economically to the people of this island, being fluent in English has helped countless Irish emigrants to integrate & secure jobs overseas, Lots of students & tourists come to Ireland every year for study/holiday because English is the primary language here. I also doubt many of the multi-nationals would have moved their base to Ireland and created all those jobs if English was not the first language, certainly Sinbad would not have been here in first place ( may be a good thing for Ireland ?:rolleyes: )

HaraldSchmidt · 20-04-2016 3:44pm

The events are junior events for players who go to Gaelscoileanna, where Irish is used to teach all subjects apart from English. It is also expected that Irish is used as the main language during the events. As such, you are not one of the people who could play in such an event.

sinbad68 · 20-04-2016 10:39pm

@HeraldSchmidt . thanks for clarification. When you don't speak the language , you don't know what is going on, little info there anyway, If The couple of lines you've typed above was available where I clicked on ICU calendar link, it would have been great, talking languages someone with a username like yours must be fluent in German?.

HaraldSchmidt · 21-04-2016 8:21am

Sinbad: You will find that translate.google.com will automatically recognize Irish and do an excellent job translating it.

We live in a multilingual country, where one language, English, is completely dominant. I find it quite amusing when people complain that another language has been used instead, especially when this is the normal situation for people who prefer to use a language other than English.

I am quite sure that you can speak more than one language, and that you should appreciate the beauty and wonder of that ability.

sinbad68 · 21-04-2016 8:57am

HaraldSchmidt wrote: »

I find it quite amusing when people complain that another language has been used instead

If you read my comment again, you'll see, I did NOT complain that a Language other than English was used. merely that it would be good if English translation or explanation was also available so everyone could understand, I also pointed out to the lack of info about the event.

sinbad68 · 17-05-2016 12:36pm

Many tournament organisers have chosen to use ICU site for payment options, The problem, ICU site is geared towards ICU members, if Non-ICU members decided to enter for example Bray Rapid, they would have difficulty entering on line, their entry should also be facilitated .

reunion · 17-05-2016 8:09pm

sinbad68 wrote: »

Many tournament organisers have chosen to use ICU site for payment options, The problem, ICU site is geared towards ICU members, if Non-ICU members decided to enter for example Bray Rapid, they would have difficulty entering on line, their entry should also be facilitated .

You do raise a valid point for members of other federations who wish to enter. I gather that could be sorted via an email first. Not-ideal but the payment facility offered by the ICU is a new concept (for the ICU).

The ICU facilitates payment for it's members. It is up to the organisers to faciliate payment for non ICU members to enter their tournament (if they are permitted to enter). The payment facility is new, it should be aimed initially at ICU members and then expanded (if it works).

sinbad68 · 18-05-2016 11:32pm

I think it is only fair for the previous poster on this thread to know that, as he is on my ignore list, Boards.ie lets me see the name of the poster but can't read the post ( to be aware, in case he is talking to me ).

mikhail · 19-05-2016 7:43am

sinbad68 wrote: »

Many tournament organisers have chosen to use ICU site for payment options, The problem, ICU site is geared towards ICU members, if Non-ICU members decided to enter for example Bray Rapid, they would have difficulty entering on line, their entry should also be facilitated .

Why?

sinbad68 · 19-05-2016 8:26am

mikhail wrote: »

Why?

Because Non-ICU players have as much right entering tournaments such as Bray Rapid as ICU members have, when ICU membership is Not a requirement. ICU should facilitate Non- members entering tournaments in line with it's own constitution Article 3 section 1.b.

To encourage, develop and promote the sport of Chess in Ireland.

My post was really directed at organisers whom we can assume would like to have highest number of entrants in their tournaments. Lack of on line facility inhibits entry of Non-ICU players whether resident or overseas players on holiday here, for an organiser their money is as good as one from an ICU member.

Ballynafeigh Chess · 19-05-2016 11:23am

You can call me an ugly selfish self centred git if you must, hell I've been called far worse on many occasions but I don't think we should be discussing the Dalai Lama on a forum, so we'll move on. Could I ask for a login code or password for the ICU site just to have a nosey around for a bit of craic checking ratings and stuff?

mikhail · 22-05-2016 11:43am

sinbad68 wrote: »

My post was really directed at organisers whom we can assume would like to have highest number of entrants in their tournaments. Lack of on line facility inhibits entry of Non-ICU players whether resident or overseas players on holiday here, for an organiser their money is as good as one from an ICU member.

I broadly agree, but TANSTAAFL. The tournaments should agree a small transaction fee with the ICU for such a service, which would allow these non-ICU members to support it.

sinbad68 · 25-05-2016 9:14pm

mikhail wrote: »

I broadly agree, but TANSTAAFL.

May I assume by this acronym you mean " There ain't No such thing as a free lunch"?, by your statement I can tell that you are a new arrival to Ireland, so First, let me welcome you to the Emerald isle, Second, say that your statement could not be further from the truth! , because if you ask any of the 179,500 people on the latest unemployment list and those on benefit, politicians, pensioners, they will tell you, Not only there is a FREE lunch, there is Free breakfast, Free dinner, and also, FREE [ housing,clothing, fuel,doctor,travel pass, etc]! and if a young healthy adult who is living on benefit decides instead of looking for a job to support himself wants to engage in leisure activity and play chess and become an ICU member, he will find that his subscription is also subsidised by players who do work !, with The 15 Euro discount given by ICU to those claiming to be unemployed ---> buy a FREE LUNCH.

mikhail wrote: »

The tournaments should agree a small transaction fee with the ICU for such a service, which would allow these non-ICU members to support it.

I think ICU was trying to make life easier for it's members and organisers by providing a single platform for tournament entry but forgot/didn't care about Non-ICU players, Some organisers have declined the offer and prefer to look after their own finances, it's easy to set up a Paypal account and collect entry fees on line, remember Non- ICU players could one day become ICU members and should be encouraged and facilitated.

mikhail · 27-05-2016 10:29am

sinbad68 wrote: »

remember Non- ICU players could one day become ICU members and should be encouraged and facilitated.

Why would they become members if we keep offering services for free to non-members?

reunion · 27-05-2016 10:41am

mikhail wrote: »

Why would they become members if we keep offering services for free to non-members?

The ICU facilitates payment for ICU members primarily. This feature has only been implemented fairly recently.

The next step (if online payment works for both the ICU and the tournament organisers) is to facilitate non-ICU members (foreign players for instance) and charge a surcharge to individuals not currently a member of the ICU or an approved foreign federation.

mikhail · 27-05-2016 10:56am

reunion wrote: »

The ICU facilitates payment for ICU members primarily. This feature has only been implemented fairly recently.

The next step (if online payment works for both the ICU and the tournament organisers) is to facilitate non-ICU members (foreign players for instance) and charge a surcharge to individuals not currently a member of the ICU or an approved foreign federation.

I'm all for that - I suggested it a few posts back - but I'm curious where you are getting this information from, reunion. Is this the official line from someone, or personal speculation or what?

reunion · 27-05-2016 11:15am

mikhail wrote: »

I'm all for that - I suggested it a few posts back - but I'm curious where you are getting this information from, reunion. Is this the official line from someone, or personal speculation or what?

Personal speculation and experience.

With any new feature you have to get the basics working first prior to getting ambitious and making it complicated. I just think some of the discussion here needs a bit of perspective. This is a new feature in terms of paying for chess tournaments in Ireland. Once it works properly and is a success, then it's features can be broadened.

If you've organised a tournament before, getting money for the event is a big priority. If the ICU can't get payment to organisers in a reasonable time it doesn't matter if they accept non-ICU members or not; it just wouldn't be practical. The fact that the payment hasn't had any obvious hiccups is quite an achievement but something that will go unnoticed and unappreciated. This isn't the case of putting a link on the website and leaving it there. This would have had to have been an effort by a number of executive to make this work smoothly.

sinbad68 · 27-05-2016 12:37pm

mikhail wrote: »

Why would they become members if we keep offering services for free to non-members?

The services are primarily provided by organisers and NOT the ICU and those players are paying an entry fee like anyone else.Bray Rapid is Not rated, so except collecting fees in this case ICU is not doing much else.

As I said, it is EASY for an organiser to set up a Paypal account and collect entry fees himself. It would be SILLY for an organiser to hand over control of fee collection to ICU who does Not cover Non-ICU players which could hit entry numbers.

As regarding entry fee surcharge for Non-ICU players

IMO, A resident player entering his/her first ever tournament should have NO additional fees imposed on him in order to encourage entry for First timers and if that player wants to enter further tournaments then ICU membership or a surcharge becomes a requirement, 15 Euro surcharge per tournament ( collected on behalf of ICU) for resident Non-ICU players is about right, so if you ( employed )enter more than two tournaments annually, It would be cheaper to become an ICU member.It would be steep to ask a player who only plays one tournament a year to pay 35 euro membership and entry fee.

As for foreign visitor on holiday here , you could have a debate whether its better (IMO) NOT to have a excess charges to encourage overseas visitors or there should be a charge.

What should the ICU website do?

Comments