Oregon High School Chess Team Association

2007 Organizational Meeting

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2007 ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING MINUTES

Report from:
Mike Wolfe, Executive Secretary
Oregon High School Chess Team Association

The annual meeting of the OHSCTA took place on the evening of Friday,
February 23, 2007 at Portland Christian High School.

On the agenda were the following:

a. Annual report of the Association given by the Executive Secretary--(Mike
Wolfe)

Mike welcomed everyone and thanked those who played a role in organizing
and/or hosting the tournament.  Special recognition was extended to Alan
Svehaug, our host, Dan Sharp, Tournament Organizer, Pearl Yu, Linda Peake,
and Kris Field-Eaton, our registrars, Jon Nuxoll, our treasurer, and Jonna
Schuder, who kept the hospitality room stocked with various kinds of
goodies.

Mike went on to comment that the Association has grown significantly during
the past two years, and that each of those years we have hosted our biggest
tournaments ever.  He expressed thanks to all who over the past two years
have provided him with their opinions and wise counsel, and indicated that
ours is a great organization because the people, most of whom are
volunteers, make it so.


b. League reports--(Portland-area league, Steve Hawke; Midwestern League,
Dave Swanston; Southern League, Mike Wolfe)

The PIL/Metro League report was that 14 teams were in the league this year
and that there were some weather issues that kept the schedule from going
smoothly.  They are looking at the prospect of breaking into smaller
leagues if more schools apply for membership.

Dave Swanston of Springfield is in his first year as the Midwestern
(Eugene-area) League Director.  His league had eight teams participating
this year, as two of last year's teams left to help build a new league
south of Eugene.  They played a seven-round season, again with some
disruptions by weather, but felt that things went well.

Mike Wolfe of Cottage Grove joined with coaches from Oakland, Sutherlin,
Roseburg, Marshfield, and Coquille in forming a new Southern League.  The
six teams played a double round-robin season both at the varsity and JV
levels, meaning that there are actually 12 teams.  Travel is an issue in
this league, as the two teams furthest apart, Cottage Grove and Coquille,
must make a 260 mile round trip to play one another.  Nevertheless, the
inaugural season was a successful one.

c. Tournament issues:

A question arose about the possibility of starting round 3 early on
Saturday morning, rather than playing it on Friday evening.  Another
suggestion was to shorten the two game/90 Saturday rounds to game/60, to
better accommodate moving Round 3 to Saturday.  When the coaches were told
that the constitution required an amendment to move rounds, and that such
an amendment would require a 2/3 majority, an amendment was made that, by a
majority of votes, coaches should be able to move the rounds between the
days.  After a second and much discussion, the amendment failed, 22-5.

d. Committee reports-Jon Nuxoll gave a treasurer's report that indicated
that the Association is very healthy financially.  His report will be
available on-line after some final expenses are calculated.

e. Tournament Organizer's report-- Dan asked for questions and there were
none.  Again, we thanked Dan for his outstanding work in getting our
tournament underway.

f. Elections--Kate Taylor of Clatskanie was the overwhelming choice of the
group to become the next Executive Secretary of the OHSCTA.

g. Amendments to the Constitution--None

h. The date(s) and potential sites for the following year's tournament(s):  We are currently looking at a proposal from Roseburg High School for February 22 and 23. Because there are some costs involved, our constitution calls for us to know those costs and to deliberate before finalizing this opportunity.

Clackamas came forward with an offer to host the event in 2009.

i. Other items of interest to the members--Mike Wolfe came forward to ask
Kate Taylor for permission to form a committee to take a look at our
awards.  Our constitution gives the Executive Secretary broad powers to
determine what and how many awards to give out.  Once Kate granted her
permission, Mike asked for interested parties to come forward if they would
like to join him in serving on the committee.  (At this time, Alan Svehaug
of Portland Christian has volunteered.  As the chairer of this committee, I
would like to have one member from one of the 6A and one member from one of
the 5A schools take part as well, so that everyone's interests can be
represented.)

Again, I thank everyone for the outstanding contributions you all make to
the OHSCTA.  I have had a wonderful tenure as Executive Secretary, and
deeply appreciate the many kind words that I received from you.

Thank you all,

Mike

"Winning is the science of being totally prepared." – George Allen