NSDCA AGM

The NSDCA AGM was held at Newcastle last night, with 22 people in attendance. The official minutes will be published in due course. In the meantime the following is a brief summary of the salient points arising from the meeting.

• A motion to impose an individual grade limit on players in Division 4, in addition to the overall grade limit, was defeated.
• A motion to impose an individual grade limit on players in Division 5, in addition to the overall grade limit, was passed. As a result of this there will now be an individual grade limit of 125 for anybody playing in Division 5. An amendment to the motion, to abolish the minimum grade used for counting purposes, currently 75, was also passed.
• A motion to make the use of Fischer timing mandatory in all cases where digital clocks are available was defeated. 
• An amendment to the motion making Fischer timing mandatory in Divisions 1 and 2 and the Open (8 Board) Cup only, where digital clocks are available, was passed.
• League fees to remain unchanged @ £7.50 for 5 board teams and £6 for 4 board teams.
• A motion to impose a £10 surcharge on clubs not paying their league fees by 31st December was passed.
• A motion to make donations of £50 to the ECF, towards the cost of running the England team in the European and World Team Championships, to the Leek Congress, to the Newcastle Mini Congress and to the Staffordshire Junior Congress, was passed.
• Clubs indicated their League and Cup entries for the 2013/2014 season. As a result of this, Division 5 will be resurrected this year, with 5 clubs signalling their intention to enter. The exact composition of Divisions 1 - 4 is not yet confirmed as some clubs are either awaiting the publication of the July Grading List or the deliberations of their own Club AGMs, or both.
• The draw for the various Cup competitions was made and will be published shortly. 
• The date of next year's AGM was set at 7th July 2014 and it will be held at Meir.