Meeting Opened at 7.35 on 5th May
Venue; Barassie Works Club, Troon
Members Present:-
Mike Chapman Len Weir Gary weir Christopher King David McCafferty George Allan
Alex Smith Shaun Taylor Joe Pedrosa Duncan Malcolm Cameron Smith Mark Gibson
Alex Smith opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending the AGM. Alex stated that the club had enjoyed a good year, with the highlight being Jonathan Rowson’s simultaneous display against Troon Chess Club and some other Ayrshire players. Cameron Smith managed a highly creditable draw against Jonathan.
The minutes from the previous AGM were read and two minor additions were requested to be added to the minutes. (The vice-president’s name and who won the Dodds Cup)
Minutes adopted. (LW & DM)
Mike Chapman to amend the Minutes. (Done 7th May 2004)
The club kicked the season off with the annual prize-giving, which was held in the Railwayman’s Club. This year the prizes were presented by Betty Sloan. (Ian’s mum) Len Weir won the friendly lightning chess match.
Thanks to June Malcolm and Francis Stevens for running the refreshment stall during the 20 opponent simultaneous display against Jonathan Rowson. In the evening, Jonathan, along with some club members, enjoyed some good food at the Maharani restaurant in Troon.
The members that were unable to attend the club this season were; Clive Baird. Mark Gibson, John Calder, Alan Welsh, Ian Sloan, Joe Bradley, Tom Mitchell and Callum O’Neil.
Past member, Jack Dryburgh has been undergoing radiotherapy for the past month and hope he has a speedy recovery.
Again the club entered two teams in the Ayrshire League. (First and third division)
Please see attached Treasurer’s report.
£300 in bank at end of season.
Membership fees to remain as they are at present: Adult £20; Associate £15; Unemployed £10: Junior £10
With regulars John Calder, Mark Gibson (1 game), and Ian Sloan not playing for the team this season meant that the lower boards had no regular players. Thanks to Alan Welsh, Christopher King, and Joe Pedrosa for stepping in to help out. Troon ‘A’ finished 6th in the league, with 20½ points from 8 games. The best team players were David McCafferty and Cameron Smith, both on 5 points each.
Troon ’B’ had a very successful season but just couldn’t get a good result against Carrick. Troon ‘B’ finished second in the 3rd division, with Carrick clear winners. The 4 board team scored 11 points from 8 games. The best team player was Chistopher King, on 6½, just pipping the captain, Alex smith by ½ point.
The Junior Club began the season with ten competitors for the Junior Championship. It soon transpired that there were in reality two groups as an age division was apparent. Joe Pedrosa won the title with Donald Pritchard and Shaun Taylor sharing the runner-up spot. Those three were promoted to the adult club in January along with Andrew Rankin and proved to be valuable additions. I look forward to seeing their progress in the coming season.
In January we started what must now be called the Junior Championship, the former being referred to as the Youth Championship. It was hoped to have six players, but one girl dropped out at the turn of the year. The winner was Nicole Gray with runners-up Murry Irvine and Sunni Basi.
Our future looks bright as our Junior team proved in the Junior league, finishing second in a ten team competition. Our team consisted of the 4 promoted players mentioned above.
It may be a couple of years until there is anyone to promote, so a plea to our adults, please encourage these youngsters, and the team captains to monitor their progress.
I was pleased to get so many competitive games played. There were actually 43 championship games played with the odd one being the game between Gary and Mark Gibson. Mark had to leave for London with his job so was unable to fulfil his commitments. The Championship winner was Gary Weir with Duncan Malcolm runner-up.
The Coronelli was a good mixture of surprise results and David McCafferty secured his first tournament win with a victory over Len Weir.
The Gardiner trophy was a slight disappointment with insufficient competitors eventually resulting in a three way tie between George Allan, Christopher King, and Jordan Gray. A play-off is underway to decide the winner, with two runners-up. (George Allan won 25/06/04)
My recommendation for next season is to examine the competition in December and if the amount of games played is low, develop the competition into a double all-play-all.
The Dodds was successfully contested with a high quality field and although Duncan Malcolm was to triumph against Jordan Gray in the final, his hurdles have been Clive Baird, George Allan, and Cameron Smith.
The Radford was also keenly fought and until last week Mike Chapman had lead by 3½ points, but when Len Weir won the first game and drew the second it left him ½ point ahead. As this was such a small amount, Len agreed to a play-off and won.
My recommendations are that someone in the Gardiner oversee the smooth running and liaise with whoever is Tournament Convener.
There is to be no increase in the club membership fees as recommended by the Treasurer. Adult £20; Associate £15; Unemployed £10: Junior £10
| Position | Member Elected | Proposed | Seconded |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Gary Weir * | - |
- |
| Vice-President | Cameron Smith | LW |
DMc |
| Club Secretary | Mike Chapman | LW |
DM |
| Club Treasurer | Gary Weir | DM |
MC |
| Tournament Convenor | Len Weir** | CK |
AS |
| Website Controller | Christopher King*** | MC |
DM |
| Press Correspondent | Len Weir | CK |
ST |
| Committee | Duncan Malcolm | MC |
GW |
| Commitee | George Allan | GW |
DM |
| Committee | Alex Smith | CK |
MC |
| Committee | David McCafferty | DM |
CK |
| Committee | Shaun Taaylor | LW |
DMc |
* The Vice-President automatically becomes the President at the end of their two-year term.
** A member is to look after the Radford Trophy and an entrant in the Gardner Cup to oversee the running of it.
*** Duncan Malcolm and Mike Chapman to learn about the TCC website.
This year there are no Juniors of age or ability.
Christopher King indicated that he could not update the website on a regular basis due to the delay in obtaining the internal tournament results. Christopher also indicated that he would like some help running the website, even if it was only collecting data.
It was noted that the club needed some new players. All members were encouraged to promote the chess club during the summer months. Advertising to be placed in the library and the Railway Club.