ICCF 2015-008: Unattached Players
Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF)
Create a class of player called "Unattached".
Proposal
WCCF proposes to create a class of player called "Unattached".
Unattached players will appear on the ICCF Rating List and tournament cross tables with a suitable international icon by their name instead of a national flag.
A player may apply for unattached status directly to the ICCF Executive Board (as it is likely that there may be some dispute with the player's natural federation, the federation will not be consulted), however the player must give evidence to support the claim that he or she would be disadvantaged by playing under the national flag of the country of either their birth or current residence; the EB will only consider chess related arguments, for example barriers to tournament entry; ICCF is an apolitical organization and so will not consider any political argument, neither will ICCF intervene in any dispute between a player and the national federation of which they are a member..
Unattached players will receive the same support from their Zonal Director as they would if they were from an unaffiliated country; if proposal ICCF 2015-007 is also adopted, they will become 'isolated players' and have the same rights and privileges as these players, otherwise they will continue to be able to enter the ICCF events which are available to players from unaffiliated countries through Direct Entry.
There will be no Direct Entry rebate from these entries.
Unattached players will not be represented at Congress.
At any time, an unattached player may join an ICCF national federation of either their birth or current residence, at this point they will immediately lose their unattached status.
Unattached players may be awarded ICCF ratings and titles, the collection of awards from Congress will be the player’s personal responsibility.
Rationale
Currently, a small number of ICCF National Federation will not permit players who play under the flag of that country to enter ICCF events unless they are members of that federation.
This creates an unfair disparity, as these players are at a disadvantage when compared to players from countries represented by less restrictive federations, or from countries unaffiliated to ICCF.
Affected players are forced to play under a foreign flag, and other federations are put in the difficult position of being asked to accept ‘mercenary’ players from other countries.
Relevent Documentation
ICCF Statutes:
No modification required as unattached players will not be considered as “members”, they will simply have equal status to players from unaffiliated countries.
ICCF Tournament Rules:
2. Promotion Tournaments: Replace “Correspondence chess players from non-ICCF member countries will have to enter via the Direct Entry programme and they are eligible to take part in the World Championship cycle.” with “Correspondence chess players from non-ICCF member countries and unattached players will have to enter via the Direct Entry programme and they are eligible to take part in the World Championship cycle.”
4. Norm Tournaments: Replace “If the player comes from a country, which is not a member of ICCF, he must prove his identity to the satisfaction of the Title Tournament Commissioner” with “If the player comes from a country which is not a member of ICCF or is an unattached player, he must prove his identity to the satisfaction of the Title Tournament Commissioner”
13. Players’ Eligibility: Add “13.5 A player may apply directly to the ICCF Executive Board for unattached player status.”
Voting Summary
- A vote of Yes will mean from 1.1.2016 players may apply directly to ICCF for unattached status as described in this proposal.
- A vote of No will mean that players from certain countries will be forced to play under another countries flag if they wish to participate in ICCF events.
- A vote of ABSTAIN is not a vote but means the vote holder has no opinion and does not wish to represent the correspondence chess players of his or her federation in this matter.
Comments by Relevant Committees, Commissions, or ICCF Officers
Eric Ruch (EB)
No comments yet