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MINUTES OF GENERAL ASSSEMBLY,
CANNES, FRANCE - 24th February 2007
Present for the General Assembly :
Ali Nihat Yazici - Turkey and MCA Vice President
Sakis Kouvatsos - Greece and MCA Treasurer
Geoffrey Borg - Malta and MCA General Secretary
Boris Kutin - Montenegro (and ECU President)
Damir Levacic - France and Organiser of GA
Mehaibia Azzedine - Algeria
Elena Boric Titova - Bosnia Herzegovina
Goran Mufic - Croatia
Essam El Gindy - Egypt
Jean Claude Moingt - France
Evdokia Makantani - Greece
Roberto Rivello - Italy
Agostino Scalfi - Italy
Khaled Al Nhami - Libya
Jean Michel Rapaire - Monaco
Willy Iclicki - Monaco
GM Nebojsa Nicevic Montenegro
Slavisha Peric - Serbia
GM Jose Luis Fernandez - Spain
Nourredine Tabanne - Tunisia
REPORT BY THE PRESIDENT
On behalf of HE Eng Mohammed Al Gathafi, the outgoing President of the MCA, Deputy President Ali Nihat Yazici, made the following address :
One of the most common misconceptions about being on the Board of a commission or association is that it is a paid position. It is not. As volunteers, the MCA Board and organizers have devoted a large number of hours a week and traveled on trips without any form of financial remuneration.
The reward for this hard work is fortunately the fruit we see today in the fourth Men's and Women's Championships here in Cannes, France. We have a record number of participating member countries (15) plus also a guest participation. We also have a record number of Grand Masters taking part as well as a host of other titled players.
We set out in 2002 in Bled with a plan to implement several ideas. It is no coincidence that the rebirth of the MCA happened during the organization of an Olympiad in a Mediterranean country. Since 2000, the last four editions of the Olympiad have been hosted under the hospitality of a Mediterranean Federation. We have also had a World Championship organized in 2004 in Libya.
The initiative has taken off nicely and for the last four years Federations have stepped in and hosted gratis 20-30 players from various countries on a complete gratis basis. I would like to thank heartily the French, Lebanese, Libyan, and Turkish Federations who have organized both Junior and Adult championships these last four years.
I would also like to thank Board members and any other persons who have contributed to getting the MCA off the ground and staying up there. We will also see that a number of Board members are offering to continue offering their services and this will offer continuity to the MCA. We are also seeing the proposal of a Board extension with people taking more responsibility for achieving results in specific areas.
Once again, we are not recommending the charge of any subscription fee to Member federations but instead asking the stronger nations in the Mediterranean to assist the smaller chess countries. This can be done by offering invitations to top players in these smaller countries. My words are short today and I hope that together we can work to achieve the objectives we have set out and also to strengthen the participation of all member countries.
Thank you. Ali Nihat Yazici
Deputy President MCA and President - Turkish Chess Federation
•1. GENERAL SECRETARY'S REPORT
Geoffrey Borg addressed the GA and presented the following report to the GA. 14 countries out of a possible 21 were represented at the GA and easily satisfied the quorum requirements. He remarked that it was very pleasing to see the positive attendance in this year's Men and Women Championships and also the high turnout for the GA in Cannes.
"For the record, I am detailing below the various competitions and winners :
1st Men's Championship, Beirut, Lebanon, 2003 FM Spyrios Kapnisis, Greece 16 players
2nd Men's Championship, Antalya, Turkey, 2004 IM Mert Erdogdu, Turkey 14 players
3rd Men's Championship, Antalya, Turkey, 2004 GM Suat Atalik, Turkey 14 players
1st Women's Championship, Beirut, Lebanon, 2003 WGM Sylvia Collas, France 12 players
2nd Women's Championship, Antalya, Turkey, 2004 WFM Vesna Rozic, Slovenia 8 players
3rd Women's Championship, Antalya, Turkey, 2004 WGM Ekaterina Atalik, Turkey 8 players
From the second edition onwards, the Men & Women's Championships have been combined in order to give the female players more opportunities for norms. On the Junior side we have organised the Boys & Girls twice but following the low participation in 2004, this event was shelved for the time being.
1st Boys Championship, Ajelat, Libya, 2003 IM Dimitrios Mastrovasilis, Greece 14 players
2nd Boys Championship, Kozan, Turkey, 2004 Baris Esen, Turkey 13 players
1st Girls Championship, Ajelat, Libya, 2003 Ana Srebrnic, Slovenia 10 players
2nd Girls Championship, Kozan, Turkey, 2004 Eventhia Makka, Greece 11 players
A number of Board meetings were held in various locations, and one augurs that the communication between the new Board members to be elected today will continue to strengthen the achievements of the last four years.
Thank You,Geoffrey D Borg
General Secretary, MCA and FIDE Vice President
•2. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
The minutes of the GA in Torino were circulated again (although they had also been annexed to the FDIE GA Minutes) and were approved by the MCA General Assembly.
•3. REPORT OF THE TREASURER
Mr Sakis Kouvatsos advised the GA that there was a small balance in the bank which had come about from a donation by the Greek Federation and which was to be used to settle the affiliation with FIDE.
He would ensure that this would be settled with the FIDE Office on his return to Greece. Given that everything to date had been organised on a ‘free' basis there were no funds within the Association.
Also the Board were not recommending to charge any subscription in any form since the intention was to get full participation of all 21 member countries as detailed in the Mediterranean Games charter. However, he would like to see more work done on junior chess and on expanding the possibility of taining camps and exchange programs between MCA member Federations.
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At this point the floor was opened for discussion and Mr Roberto Rivello remarked that a number of programs were available in the EU to develop relations between the various cultural groups in the Mediterranean. It was critical that resources be directed towards addressing these funds if the MCA wished to make some progress there. There were programs such as the Meda Project or the Da Vinci Program.
Mr Damir Levacic said he had discussions with a number of important people, amongst them M. Vozel who was the President of the Region and who wished to help develop relations between Maghreb countries and the Euro-Med countries. Also, he would be meeting up with Minister Estrosi who was the Government Minister responsible for Sustainable Development.
Mr Rivello also mentioned that another important area was to aim for the introduction of chess in the Mediterranean Games which would be held in Pescara in 2009. The GA also approved that the next four years should focus on improving :
•1. Training sessions for the juniors and youths
•2. Aim to improve the prize funds in the Championships
•3. Get support from the EU
•4. Possibility of using the Mediterranean for promotion e.g. chess cruises
•5. MOTIONS
The following motions to change the statute were approved after some suggestions and discussions by the members present:
5.1 Addition to statute Articles of Association clause 5 re membership :
5(d) With a view of promoting better relations with neighbouring countries the Board may invite not more than two guest countries to participate in MCA competitions.
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