Notice of Special General Meeting to replace NZCF constitution – 7pm, 19 October

September 10, 2025 Craig Hall

NZCF Council has called a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the New Zealand Chess Federation Inc (NZCF) for Sunday 19 October at 7pm to be held online (VC links will be sent to delegates and other attendees closer to the date). The business of the SGM will be to decide motions to:

Adopt a new constitution which will apply from reregistration of NZCF – view here (Council will formally reregister NZCF with MBIE once other arrangements are complete)
Adopt Supplementary Bylaws from reregistration (these will replace the current Supplementary Regulations) – view here
Apply a cap on Tournament Levies of $5,000 for the 2025 calendar year i.e. the maximum tournament levies any one club would pay this year would be $5,000. This would have retrospective effect.

An information sheet is available to view here – queries should be emailed to NZCF President, Craig Hall: president@newzealandchess.co.nz.

The proposed constitution and supplementary bylaws represent a major change and modernisation in the NZCF membership structure and how it will operate. If approved by clubs, the exact effective date will be decided by the Council to apply from next year. Key points:

Adding individual membership (NB: non-voting – voting will remain with clubs)
Closing associate membership as a category – existing associate members can choose to remain associate members, but no new associate members may join
Adding affiliation to NZCF outside of membership (commonly used in other sports e.g. rugby) to replace associate membership for non-profit clubs which are unincorporated groups, or sections of larger societies e.g. university chess clubs are commonly part of the students’ association, or other entities e.g. schools, charitable trusts – will be managed via bylaws
Modernising Council:
- Moving to 2-year terms
- Reduction in size to maximum of 10 – President becomes Chairperson, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary are removed
- 8 Regional Councillors (3 Auckland, 1 Wellington, 2 rest of North Island, 1 Upper South Island, 1 Lower South Island) who must reside in the relevant region and be nominated by Club Members in the relevant region (and are also the only voters)
- 1 optional Appointed Councillor to fill skills/knowledge gaps
- Council no longer based in a region, so “resident councillors” are removed
Disputes Resolution procedures (including complaints)

For players and organisers, a major component of the proposal is that, from next year (exact effective date TBC), players must be members of NZCF to play in NZCF-rated and/or FIDE-rated competitions. Individual membership fees will be $25/year or $5/month – these will be from the date of application e.g. sign up on 1 May for 1 year and membership expires the following year on 30 April.

The option for monthly membership recognises that under similar structures in the past, the full fee was quite a barrier for potential new members/players who want to try out rated tournaments before committing to a full membership, and also for players who only play in the annual open of their region/club (particularly common outside Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin).

More details on how to sign up etc. will be available closer to the time, and likewise for smaller clubs interested in becoming affiliates, and commercial organisers looking to organise NZCF-rated and FIDE-rated competitions.

https://newzealandchess.co.nz/nzcf-constitution-review-online-workshop-4-may/ has some previous information for those interested.

A template club constitution is currently being developed for club use – this will be circulated once available.