ECF LMS - Bolton & District Chess League

Bolton & District Chess League is a friendly and welcoming organisation for all those with an interest in playing chess against other human opponents, over the board. With over 40 years of history, we continue to promote chess for all, within the Bolton area and beyond via our website.

BOLTON & DISTRICT CHESS LEAGUE
Constitution (2019)
Name
The name shall be the BOLTON & DISTRICT CHESS LEAGUE.
Objectives
The objectives of the league shall be primarily, the encouragement and promotion of chess in the area, though also to a wider audience via our website.
Membership
Membership shall be open to any club in Bolton and the surrounding areas, subject to approval of A.G.M.
Officers
The officers shall be – President, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixtures Secretary, Records Secretary, Grader, Webmaster, Primary Schools Organiser*, Secondary Schools Organiser*, Press Officer* and Archivist*.
The Officers shall constitute the Executive Committee, which shall meet as and when required. (*Excepted)
Annual General Meeting
The A.G.M. shall be held in August/September. The Secretary shall post notice of the meeting to all officers and clubs at least 14 days before the A.G.M. The only persons entitled to voting rights shall be one delegate per team in membership in the previous season.
The quorum shall consist of delegates representing three clubs in membership of the League in the previous season.
The A.G.M shall decide the format if the following seasons competitions.
Extraordinary General Meeting
The Secretary shall summon an E.G.M. within 28 days of receiving a requisition signed by the secretaries of any two clubs in membership of the League at that present time.
Notice of an E.G.M. shall be posted to all clubs at least 14 days beforehand.
An E.G.M. shall only consider proposals relating to the business for which it was called. Only those with voting rights at the next A.G.M. shall have the right to vote.
Teams
A team shall consist of 6 players except where a club at the AGM states that its team, or one of its teams (expected from lowest ranked upward), will compete over five, or four, boards only. This will be binding throughout the season. All clubs entering more than one team must supply the Records Secretary a full list of eligible players, numbered in order of strength, for that season. Players on this list may be bracketed, but players numbered 1 to 4 may not play for the second team or any team below that, those listed 5 to 10 may not play for the third team or any team below that, and so on in groups of six.
For administrative purposes, all member clubs shall present a list of players, in current strength order, to the Records Secretary, stating their listed rating or an estimate of this.
Players not named on the original eligibility list may not play for the club until registered appropriately.
New players to a club may be bracketed with existing players on the list, already provided to the Records Secretary, provided at least 24 hours notice is given to the Records Secretary.
Every player, (except a bracketed player), eligible for teams above the clubs lowest rated team, shall play at least two games for the club.
No player shall play for more than one club in any one given season.
Subscriptions
The annual subscriptions for the 2019/20 season, shall be, £13* per first team and £7* per subsequent team, per club, as decided at the AGM.
*A penalty of £4 per team will be incurred if the above subscriptions are not paid by the 1st of December of the current season.
Amendments
No amendments shall be made to this constitution except at an Annual General Meeting, or Extraordinary General Meeting, and with at least a two-thirds majority of those delegates present and voting.
Match Rules
The ‘Match Rules’ shall be considered an integral part of the Constitution.
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MATCH RULES (2019/2020)
Matches shall normally be played between teams of 6 players, with the exception outlined in Constitution (7) above.
Matches shall start at 7.30pm, unless agreed otherwise. The minimum playing time allotted shall be two and a half hours.
Before the agreed starting tine, the team captains shall exchange team lists in playing order. The captains shall then toss for the choice of colour.
When a team captain knows s/he will be defaulting (a) board(s), s/he must do so from the bottom board.
Clubs must inform the Fixtures Secretary at the start of the season how many working clocks they have. (Including number of digital clocks.) Clubs must provide this number of clocks at each home match. Any away club wishing to play with a greater number of clocks must provide them.
The default playing rate shall be 30 moves per hour, followed by an allegro rate of 20 minutes. In Division 1 matches (and permissible, where possible, in Division 2 and Cup matches) digital clocks, only, should be used, with the playing rate being: 1 hour (60 minutes) plus 15 seconds per move.
Providing a clock was started at the start of play a reserve may be substituted for any absent player up to one hour after the start of play. The clock shall not be restarted.
Both match captains shall send match results to the Records Secretary within 72 hours.
In the event of a draw in the cup matches (including the Cup Final), a board count shall decide the winner. Each side shall add up the board numbers on which they won, and the side with the lowest count shall be deemed the winner. If the board count is equal, progressive bottom board elimination shall be use to find the winning team.
Matches shall be replayed ONLY if it is not possible to determine a winner by the above methods.
All postponements require TEN days notice to be given to the Fixtures Secretary and the opposing team captain, based on reasonable grounds. The opposing team captain must accept the postponement and the match shall be rearranged by the team captains who shall then both notify the Fixtures Secretary of the new date.
All disputes shall be referred to the Secretary. Any appeal against his/her decision shall be made to the President, who shall then convene the Executive Committee.
League Competition Format for the 2018/19 Season (Redundant)
The first round of fixtures shall see each team in the division play every other team once. Whence, the division will be split into a ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ half (two separate divisions) with the two divisions seeing the comprising teams playing each other, once again, with home advantage reversed. In the event of the division containing an odd number of teams, the ‘top’ half shall include the middle ranking team, leaving one fewer in the ‘bottom’ division. All points garnered from the first round of matches shall be carried forward into the split.
All first round fixtures, (i.e. before the splitting of the division into a ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ half of teams), shall be completed by 1st March.
All fixtures shall be completed by 15th May.