MEET THE TEAM
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Norman Wragg OBE
Trustee
Chair of the boardThe chair presides over committee and annual general meetings and is the guardian of our constitution. The chairman leads in all matters of strategy, is prominent in public relations such as hosting guests, and signs off annual reports and business plans.
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Finance sub-committeeA key role of this sub-committee is to run the financial affairs of the Association, making decisions in some cases but also referring matters to the whole committee where necessary. The work also involves providing the information and support to enable our fundraiser to work as effectively as possible.
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Dr Guy Whitehouse
Trustee
SecretaryThe Secretary is responsible for the general running of the affairs of the Association. The work includes producing agendas and minutes for all meetings and dealing with enquiries from the public and our members on a wide range of topics. Other responsibilities include liaising with the International Braille Chess Association; facilitating our members’ participation in international events; supporting our fundraiser and treasurer; and assisting in the development of trustee reports and business plans.
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Technical sub-committeeThis sub-committee ensures that our UK-based visually impaired members have access to the equipment they need. This includes maintaining and quality checking a supply of adapted chess sets and talking digital clocks.
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Gill Smith
Trustee
TreasurerThe Treasurer maintains meticulous and confidential records of all our financial dealings and produces annual accounts which are independently examined and made available to the Charity Commission. These records highlight restricted funds, where donations are given for a specific purpose. Payments are always initiated by the treasurer and authorised by a second trustee. The treasurer notifies the appropriate people when payments are received, claims Gift Aid on donations, maintains the trustee information on the Charity Commission register and keeps a record of event risk assessments for insurance purposes.
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Dan Rugman
Trustee
PublicityThe publicity officer coordinates all our publicity efforts. This includes social media, information on our website, recruitment leaflets, and articles or interviews for news outlets in a variety of formats.
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WebsiteThe website officer ensures that our website is current, advertises our events and services to potential members, serves as a useful educational and information resource for our members, and assists our fundraising efforts.
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Information, communication and technology sub-committeeThis sub-committee supports members who wish to use computers and handheld devices to play chess or access chess related materials in digital form. It also supervises our email group and assists in the provision of materials in accessible formats such as e-books, tournament programs and other chess publications.
Email Information, communication and technology sub-committee -
Abi Baker
Trustee
PublicityThe publicity officer coordinates all our publicity efforts. This includes social media, information on our website, recruitment leaflets, and articles or interviews for news outlets in a variety of formats.
Email Publicity -
Mark Hague
Trustee
Membership secretaryThe membership secretary maintains the records of all members. This includes ensuring that members’ subscriptions are up-to-date and that they receive information in a format with which they are comfortable. The membership secretary also handles the induction process for new members, helping them to settle in.
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Voldi Gailans
Trustee
CoachingThe coaching officer runs the coaching programs that we offer developing players. This includes pairing members with appropriate coaches, organising group coaching sessions and investigating other methods for delivering effective coaching in person or by means of current technologies.
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Junior developmentThe junior development officer supervises the additional support that we give to players under the age of 25. This includes handling introductory sessions for beginners and ensuring younger players get plenty of opportunities to develop.
Email Junior development -
Mark Kirkham
Trustee
Audio librarianThe audio librarian curates our collection of audio chess books and other publications which we feel are relevant to our members. In addition to supervising readers on new recordings, the librarian advises members on suitable reading and ensures they receive material in their preferred audio format.
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Julie Leonard
Trustee
Gazette editorThe gazette editor sources and edits the articles for our quarterly gazette and organises the printing and brailling of the finished product. Articles typically include notifications of events organised by us and other chess organisations, tournament reports, awards, puzzles and games, personalia, news about the association, and chess related articles that may be of interest to our members.
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Paul Benson
Board member
Correspondence chess directorThe correspondence chess director is responsible for all aspects of running our long-form correspondence events. This includes pairing opponents, adjudicating games, and ensuring all players are able to communicate their moves regardless of preferred format. These events are typically run over two years and played using a variety of communication methods.
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Friendly games coordinatorThe friendly games coordinator runs a ladder where members can play as many games as they like without the strictures of our more formal tournaments.
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Efe Shimwell
Board member
Junior representativeThe junior representative sits on the main committee and ensures that the views of our younger members are properly aired during decision making.
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Steve Burnell
Tournament Sub-committeeThis Sub-committee oversees all of the tournaments we organise. It is responsible for setting rules of play, assessing the suitability of venues for over-the-board events and ensuring correspondence and email tournaments run smoothly.
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Tony Elbourn
Congress supportThe congress support officer organises the awards we give to our members so that they can participate in chess tournaments within the wider chess community.
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Gerry Walsh
Representative to the ECF councilOur Representative to the English Chess Federation council ensures that the views of visually-impaired chess players are taken into consideration by this organising body when conducting its business and keeps us informed about forthcoming changes and proposals.
Email Representative to the ECF council -
Steve Hilton
Representative to Chess ScotlandOur Representative to Chess Scotland ensures that the views of visually-impaired chess players are taken into consideration by this organising body when conducting its business and keeps us informed about forthcoming changes and proposals.
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