7. Closing Comments by Chair

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Thank you, everyone, for your active participation and insightful contributions throughout this meeting in the face of some technical challenges which hopefully we can resolve before the AGM. Your engagement and the rich discussions have been invaluable in shaping the future of our federation. Moving forward, it's essential to reflect on the progress we've made recently and the strategic steps we need to take to elevate chess in Canada further. I am encouraged by the contributions of the executive and the voting members who seem to be bringing new energy to the tasks that we need to accomplish. The Candidates tournament brought to our clear attention what is possible when we have everyone working together to accomplish great things.


In the coming months we should move forward with improvements in our commitment to Safe Play to help make chess a sport and an environment that everyone can participate and thrive within. We need to explore various initiatives and proposals aimed at enhancing our programs, supporting our players, and increasing our community outreach. We will need your help as voting members, organizers, arbiters and players to allow these initiatives to come to fruition. I would ask each of you to make a commitment to advance these goals and to make positive suggestions and share best practices and experience with the new members of our communities. Our collective efforts will not only foster a stronger chess culture within our nation but also position us prominently on the global stage. Our standing in FIDE and in Canada has never been better. Let’s carry this momentum forward and improve not necessarily with revolutionary changes, which will come. Let’s make those small changes which stack one upon the other. Lets be friendly and help the newcomers become educated in the ways of our community and what is required to thrive in this environment.


In closing, let us continue to work collaboratively and uphold the spirit of sportsmanship and excellence that defines our federation. Your dedication and passion for chess are the driving forces behind our achievements, and together, we can achieve even greater things on our hero’s journey. Thank you once again for your dedication and participation. Safe travels as you head to the national or international events, and let's look forward to our next meeting with renewed enthusiasm and optimism.

Thank you everyone. We will likely leave the meeting open for comments for another day or two as the forum was unusable for many periods of time during this meeting and we did have issues with signing in. I will close off some threads with everything winding up on Saturday in all likelihood if the forum is stable enough to do so.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Tentatively, the AGM will be scheduled for September 29th through October 6th unless people convince me that the time frame does not work. The Olympiad and associated FIDE meetings are scheduled from September 10 to September 23 with a number of voting members scheduled to take part in those significant events. Trying to squeeze the meeting in before that is probably not a great idea. Hopefully the jet-lagged will still be able take part in the meetings at that time.