Greetings to fans of the Rudolf Rocker Chess Club,

We are now wrapping up our second year of hosting casual chess every Saturday noon to 4pm. I am proud that we have demonstrated the viability of a drop in chess club located downtown that makes rent by donation vs charging for memberships and is open every single week.

Attendance and donations have been very strong in the last three months in particular and we’re impressed by the scholastic and CFC tournament performance of club attendees.

As we start year three, we have decided it is time to open up our organizing committee to more people. Jamie and I (Mark) have been opening and closing every week and also receiving a lot of assistance from folks in attendance, Theo in particular. To make the club stronger, lighten the load on Jamie and I, and to ensure we continue to never miss a week we are expanding the organizing committee to include more responsible folks who love enabling casual chess.

To join our all-volunteer organizing committee, we require that you sign up in the next three months (May-July 2016) for a commitment to do three open/close shifts for casual days or organize one special event like a tournament, simul, or other chess related event like a workshop if they are designed to create high attendance and revenue.

Opening and closing a club day requires your to be responsible for the following:

• Checking our venue’s calendar to open the correct room. (we can be booked in any one of three rooms at 91 Albert) We will provide access to the keys.
• Showing up on time for opening at noon.
• Moving tables, chairs, equipment and cash box into position for club use, often requiring effort up and down stairs.
• Greeting newcomers, offering them extra attention in getting the opportunity to learn and play.
• Letting attendees know that voluntary donations allow the club to make rent and run casual chess week in and week out and showing appreciation for said donations.
• Room cleanup up to the standards of our venue, and commencing this cleanup in time to be out of the room by 4pm if there is another booking right after us.

We will train you in all of these things and be available to support you carrying out this work.

Organizing a special event requires all the above plus:

• Ensuring the largest room of our venue is booked specifically well in advance so we have room for a special event to hold a crowd.
• Marketing the event well in advance of the day, including direct contacts with other parts of the chess community to give us the greatest reach
• Pricing the event appropriately to ensure the event is both well attended and earns revenue for the club
• Operating the special event up to the standards expected by the chess community (this is particularly important for tournaments)
• If the event is a tournament, ensuring tournament specific rules are posted in advance

As a member of the organizing committee we will include you in the internal discussion process whenever the club has bigger decisions to make.

We will be wrapping up our organizer calendar for May-July at the April 30th club day, so if you would like to volunteer to open/close and be part of the organizing committee in that period, please let us know in advance of or at club that day. If you’re not able to attend, please let us know by email which days you would like to commit to.

Auxilary volunteer assistance to help us with the above workload is also welcome at any time. If you’d like to volunteer for us in the May-July period, but can’t commit to three shifts or a special event, let us know. At this time we also welcome offers to help us organize in the August-October, 2016 quarter.

Mark Jenkins
Co-founder and treasurer
club@rockerchess.ca