ECF Rules Governing:

Application for Membership, Payment of Fees and Votes

Constituent Units, County Associations and Other Organisations are admitted by the Finance Council and are required to provide full particulars of their scope, objects and working.

Chess Leagues and Chess Congresses are admitted by the Game Fee Officer and are required to produce evidence that they are fully autonomous organisations and not component parts of a larger chess body. Applications from a series of chess congresses organised by the same body shall be treated as an application from one Chess Congress. No vote at Council shall be acquired until such membership has been ratified by the Board.

Each organisation member shall register any graded event which it proposes to organise and shall at the same time furnish the Game Fee Officer with an estimate of the expected number of graded results when first applying for membership and annually thereafter no later than 30 November.

A minimum membership fee, currently £50, applies to all organisation members. (This sum is inclusive of any Game Fee or deemed Game Fee).

The due date for payment of the membership fee by Other Organisations which are not subject to Game Fee is 30 November in each year. There will be no voting entitlement at Council if payment is not received in the period 1 December to 28 February. Membership will lapse if payment is not received before 1 March.

The due date for payment of the membership fee based on Game Fee for Constituent Units, County Associations, Other Organisations and winter Chess Leagues is 15 December in each year. For payments received on or before this date a 2½ % prompt payment discount is currently available. There will be no voting entitlement at Council if payment (without discount) is not received in the period 16 December to 15 March. Membership will lapse if payment is not received before 16 March.

The due date for payment of the membership fee based on Game Fee for summer Leagues is 30 June in each year. For payments received on or before this date a 2½% prompt payment discount is currently available. There will be no voting entitlement at Council if payment (without discount) is not received in the period 1 July to 30 September. Membership will lapse if payment is not received before 1 October.

The due date for payment of the membership fee based on Game Fee for Chess Congresses is within 30 days of the conclusion of the congress or relevant part thereof. For payments received within this period a 2½% prompt payment discount is currently available. There will be no voting entitlement at Council if payment (without discount) is not received within a three month period following the 30 days after the conclusion of the event or relevant part thereof. Membership will lapse if payment is not received before three months and 30 days after the conclusion of the event or relevant part thereof.

The due date for payment of Game Fee by clubs and other non-member organisations is 30 days after the conclusion of their events. For payments received within this period only a 2½% prompt payment discount is currently available. These payments may be assigned explicitly to any member organisation.

No member shall be entitled to vote at any General meeting of the Company unless all membership fees presently payable by him or her to the Company have been paid by the date on which the Secretary shall publish a register of voting entitlement for that General Meeting.

These informal notes are provided to help members organise their affairs appropriately and to ensure that the implementation of the rules shall come as no surprise. In the event of any dispute, it shall be the wording of the relevant Articles and Game Fee Bye Laws that shall be applied.

John Dunleavy
Chairman of ECF Governance Committee
June 2006