There has been a change in the representation of Victoria at ACF Council meetings:

ON Leonid Sandler
OFF Gary Wastell

This position, created as part of the restructuring of the
selection process, became vacant last year following the resignation of Mr N.Y. Wong.
Under the direction of the Selections Director, Kevin Bonham, an appointee might participate in the administration of the selection process that determines Australian representatives for international events such as Olympiads, World Mind Sports Games, World Senior, Zonal and Commonwealth championships.

In a message dated 21 April, Vice-president Denis Jessop advised that he believed that Shannon Oliver intends to resign as Junior Selections Coordinator once the current selections are finished.
Whether the ACF Council should continue to appoint a coordinator for the selection of players for junior events, given that the Council had authorised the Australian Junior Chess League to select Australian representatives for events for juniors, or whether events such as the Commonwealth championships can require the selection of players for both junior and non-junior competitions, it may be preferable to leave the situation remain unchanged, and the issue is not yet decided.

Nevertheless, it remains a good opportunity for a Victorian, with their flourishing program of integration of juniors into senior chess, to nominate for this task.

Clause 32 of the By-laws for ACF Tournaments provides for the appointment of one but not necessarily the same Councillor as ACF representative for each ACF tournament.
Relevant parts of that by-law read:
32. The Council may appoint one of its members to be the ACF representative for a tournament. If no person is appointed, the ACF President shall act as ACF representative.
33. The ACF representative:
(a) may in an emergency make any decision that could properly be made by the Council, if it is not considered practicable to convene a Council meeting in time;
(b) may not overrule a decision that has been made by the Council unless it has become unreasonably difficult to put that decision into effect.
34. The ACF Council or its appointee may deem a person ineligible to play in any ACF Tournament.

The next ACF event for which such an appointment might be made is the Australian Schools Teams Championships, in which Kerry Lyall is reputed to organise in Victoria in December.


In addition to the question of the appropriateness or otherwise of appointing an ACF Representative in accordance with the abovementioned by-law, a matter for consideration might arise in connection with a possible need to have the event seen as being conducted in conjunction with or under the auspices of an incorporated body.
Kevin Bonham has advised that the 2010 Australian Junior and Girls Championships are to be held in Hobart from 14 to 25 Jan.

We presume the appointment of Bill Gletsos as “ACF Liaison for the 2010 Australian Championship” can be taken as the
appointment of the “ACF representative” as formally described in by-law clauses.
A person fulfilling a “liaison” role would normally be expected to consult with the organisers during preparations for the championships, whereas the Council representative appointed under the by-law might be expected to represent the Council during ceremonies, answer inquiries from the media concerning the Federation and, in extreme cases, act on behalf of the Council to interpret rules and help as appropriate with disputes and appeals.
When a similar situation arose last year, a separate motion to appoint a Council representative was carried at the October Council meeting.
No ACF rule prevents one person fulfilling both roles in connection with the same event, as occurred for the 2009 Australian Open.
Other recent appointments in connection with the championships for purposes indicated in the By-laws for ACF Tournaments include Tom Accola as ACF Financial representative and Denis Jessop, Bill Gletsos and Kevin Bonham as selectors.

In recent weeks, Australian players were privileged to enjoy two of Australia’s most significant and memorable events.
Results of both events have been well reported and winners rewarded.
While Victorians were delighted to participate in events that required
generosity and organisational skills it is a fact of life that similar opportunities are not available here.

Strange indeed, especially as the current ACF president is a Victorian.

On Sat 21 March there was a well organised, although moderately attended, series of simultaneous exhibitions presented by Chess Victoria Inc in the Melbourne City Square to raise funds to assist the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.
Thanks to the considerable efforts of CV President Katrin Wills and CV Vice-president Leonid Sandler, the event made a worthy contribution to the aim of raising awareness of competitive chess. Exhibitions were given by Victorian champion Igor Goldenberg and junior champions James Morris and Bobby Cheng, among others.

Why do you post this using a hydra rather than under your MOZ username.