| 9-16-12 Newsom: Poor Memory, Bad Judgment?! by NM Leland Fuerstman I feel compelled to address Newsom's response to NM CM's post on the NCCA Forum. For years, I have remained extremely vocal about my concerns relating to the annual North Carolina Scholastics Championship. Since the early days of "deregulation," it has been difficult to determine who was actually responsible for the tournament. In the past, the CMSCA in Charlotte routinely promoted the event until a few years ago, when the current "Articles of Incorporation" (authored by W.W. but never ratified by the members) included it in the articles. At first, the tournament was considered a "pariah" which required that a lot of attention be given to a large group of kids for little reward!? And, then, suddenly, someone got a good idea!! I fully agree with Newsom's statement that "we could point to the Wheeless run scholastics as a turning point that set the stage for Walter and I...?!" (Whew.. but, I wouldn't brag about it?) In case you have forgotten, for 9 months, R.W. was embroiled in controversy related to the accounting of that event? It was just about that time that the "entry fees" had escalated. R.W. went to great lengths to advertise and promote the event which included giving away 30 free entries that were never accounted for?! In fact, 9 weeks after the event, nothing was accounted for? (It took W.W. 9 months to fabricate a statement which, in effect, exonerated him, and condemned me?) And, "SURPRISE!," no accounting of the recent North Carolina Open has been published, either? Unfortunately, that seems to have been the trend for the past 6 years while the distribution of many thousands of dollars of revenue goes unaccounted for? All that needs to change, right now... Regardless of Newsom's ridiculous excuses, the fact is, there is no provision in the "NCCA Articles of Incorporation" which allows the president to "farm out" the annual N.C. Scholastic Championship to anyone. And, just exactly what does the NCCA get in return other than "little bits of profit here and there?" Well, according to their published rules for bidding on such events, though it cannot be found in their articles, the NCCA (or sombody) receives $9 per head from the organizer!? Well, why hasn't that been reported and explained? Newsom stated, "The non-profits in Charlotte and Raleigh have much bigger volunteer bases and they can do the work and make the profit." Oh, "much bigger volunteer bases?" According to the "public record," organizer Bill Claussen, owner of www.chessachieves.com, is the "lone officer" of his "non-profit" organization. A subsequent amendment indicates that "his non-profit organization will have NO members?!" (then, how can you call it an organization? Hmm, wonder what his salary is? Sorry, that information was not available...) Newsom plays down the $69 entry fee at the site by stating that the early EF is $49? (which in my opinion is still way too high and can not be substantiated). Then, why impose a $20 penalty? The only other tournaments that would charge that much give thousands of dollars away in prize money! Furthermore, a $129 per night hotel rate may cause a hardship on many families who are just struggling to make ends meet... Simply put, the design of this event does not serve the best interests of North Carolina scholastic players. And, as for paying attention to detail, though incredibly, this ad has already been published by the USCF, there are at least 4 glaring mistakes which give one pause?! Not only was his ad not "proofread," but it seems as though Claussen, himself, hasn't even looked at it since it was published?? O.K. In his haste, he misspelled the word "championship" ... and he tells everyone to renew at www.uschess.com? not ".org" but could he please explain why the word "collegiate" is included in his ad? There is no "college" section listed? Does that mean that college students can play in the K-12 section?!? But, far more disconcerting is the fact that other than listing the website address for chessachieves.com, his ad makes no specific reference as to which organization or person is actually sponsoring the event? Furthermore, nowhere in his advertisement does it mention that this is the "official" 2013 NCCA Scholastic Championship? And, mysteriously, the ad makes absolutely no mention of the $2,000 scholarship prize. In fact, the NCCA is not even mentioned? And, this is past President Gary Newsom's legacy?! It's high time that someone actually define what the NCCA's relationship is, or should be with these profiteers who have only played a handful of tournament games in their lives? Again, we are not bickering over a few dollars here, we are talking about over $25,000 in gross revenue that continues to be unaccounted for? The Articles of Incorporation should be more specific about such an important annual event, but, unfortunately, the by-laws pertaining to it (form a committee, decide upon format, EF, etc.) have been completely ignored? Considering their success with other major tournaments, the NCCA organizers and directors could have easily conducted the 2013 event, themselves, and made ALL of the profit! Hey new guys! In the spirit of fairness and openness within your non-profit organization, please get rid of the smoke screen. Publish the accounting and allow any member, who wishes, to look at the books upon request. I remain, NM Leland Fuerstman Charlotte Chess Club |